Mysterious Death of Cixi's daughter in law, Empress Jiashun

Empress Jiaxuan was born in 1854 from the Alute clan of the Mongol ethnicity. Originally, her clan had a low status with its founder being a commoner. The clan later rose to prominence through their success in the imperial examination. At that time, Emperor Tongzhi was the ninth emperor of the Qing dynasty. His reign was largely overshadowed by the rule of his mother, He had little influence over state affairs. In the fall of 1872, a concubine selection was held for the teenage emperor, in which Empress Jiaxuan also participated. During the selection of the Empress, the two Empress Dowagers had different opinions. Empress Dowager Qixi favored the beautiful and charming Fucha because she saw herself in her when she was young, Meanwhile, Empress Dowager Qiyan supported Jiaxuan, who was two years older than Emperor Tongzhi. Empress Dowager Qiyan believed that Fucha was too light-hearted and restless to be the mother of the country, while Jiaxuan was dignified and reasonable, and was suitable to be the Empress. Since childhood, Emperor Tongzhi had been closer to his stepmother, who treated him as her own child. Their relationship was more like that of a mother and son. In contrast, Emperor Tongzhi has a distant relationship with his biological mother, Empress Dowager Qixi. Therefore, the Emperor finally listened to Qiyan and chose Jiaxuan as his Empress. Qixi was furious that Emperor Tongzhi did not follow her wishes. She then made Fucha his consort and gave her the treatment of a noble consort, hoping that she could win his favor later. Empress Jiaxuan and other concubines entered the palace in the 11th year of Tongzhi's reign. Empress Jiaxuan was beautiful, gentle, and intelligent. She was influenced by her father and could write beautifully, especially with her left hand, which was highly praised by people at that time. She loved literature and could recite famous Tang poems effortlessly. However, after marriage, Empress Jiaxuan did not have a happy life in the palace. Her life was very stressful. She had a poor relationship with Empress Dowager Qixi. As the Emperor did not listen to Qixi and chose Empress Jiaxuan, it caused Qixi to dislike her from the start. Gradually, the Emperor and Empress became very close and respected each other, which made Empress Dowager Qixi even angrier. She often intervened in the private lives of the Emperor and Empress, although there was no official record to prove the conflict between Empress Dowager Qixi and Empress Jiaxuan. Many oral histories from the Manchu nobility mention this. Some even suggested that conflict was severe. Empress Jiaxuan came from a family of successful scholars who had excelled in imperial examination. She possessed a strong personality that deviated from the traditional expectation of women being submissive. Considering Empress Dowager Qixi's controlling personality, it was likely that the two had considerable conflict. It was said that one time, Empress Dowager Qixi complained about Empress Jiaxuan not listening to her instructions and she even wanted to depose her. Just two years into the marriage, Emperor Tongzhi died of smallpox in 1875. However, according to a book story, he actually died of syphilis, rumor has it that after marriage, he often discouraged himself and went to brothel to seek pleasure. Empress Jiaxuan was beautiful and was highly respected by the Emperor, but she was not favored by Empress Dowager Qixi. Instead, Qixi forced the Emperor to love an unfavored consort. The Emperor lost interest in his family and in the end he indulged in debauchery and sought pleasure from prostitutes. Unfortunately, he finally contracted syphilis, but he did not notice it at first. Later, the symptoms appeared on his face and back. The imperial physicians knew it was syphilis, but they did not speak out. They treated it with smallpox medicine, which did not work. Only 74 days after his death, Empress Jiaxuan also passed away at the age of 20. It was considered as a bad omen that both the Emperor and Empress had died in such a short period of time. Rumor has it that Empress Jiaxuan was prosecuted to death by Empress Dowager Qixi. There are two common theories about the cause of Empress Jiaxuan's death. One theory suggested that she was forced to commit suicide by Qixi, while the other suggested that it was purely a suicide. Some say she died from swallowing gold. As recorded in the Chongning biography, after the Emperor deceased, the Empress was sad and didn't want to leave. So on February 20th of the following year, she swallowed gold and died by suicide. There are also accounts that suggest that she died from fasting. After the Emperor's death, Empress Jiaxuan was heartbroken and vowed to commit suicide. She refused to eat and died less than 100 days after the Emperor's death. There are also accounts that she died from ingesting opium. As recorded in the Chronicles of the Qing Dynasty, when the Emperor was ill, Empress Dowager Qixi blamed and scolded the Empress. After the Emperor died, the Empress was so sad that she became swollen from crying. One day, her father visited her and gave her opium. He was hurt saying to her, the Empress is in so much pain, why continue to live? It would be better to join the Emperor in the afterlife. After he left, the Empress committed suicide. According to the official record, on January 20th, after Emperor Guangxi ascended to the throne, he visited Empress Jiaxuan. On February 18th, as Empress Jiaxuan was very ill, Emperor Guangxi accompanied Empress Dowager Qiyan and Qixi to visit her and observe her condition. On February 19th, the Emperor accompanied Empress Dowager Qiyan and Qixi to visit the Empress. During the Shun Hour, Empress Dowager Qixi visited Empress Jiaxuan again. On February 20th, Empress Jiaxuan passed away in the palace. Some believe that the last time Empress Dowager Qixi visited Empress Jiaxuan was when she poisoned her. However, Empress Jiaxuan had already been very ill on the 18th day. The theory of poisoning was too presumptuous. Also, as Empress Dowager Qiyan was supportive of Empress Jiaxuan, if Qixi forced her to commit suicide, Qiyan would not have turned a blind eye to it. Therefore, many tend to believe that the Empress did commit suicide. Because Emperor Tongzhi did not have any children, when he died, his cousin Emperor Guangxu was elected to cede the throne. Empress Jiaxuan suddenly became a widow with a political standing, which may have led to her pessimistic mood about the future. After the death of Empress Jiaxuan, she was buried together with Emperor Tongzhi in the Hui Tomb in 1879. In August 1945, some bandits took advantage of the chaotic situation caused by the political transition and created a second major robbery of the Qing East tombs, including Emperor Tongzhi's Hui Tomb. The Hui Tomb was robbed in December 1945. Two coffins were taken, one for Emperor Tongzhi and one for his consort. Various jewels, jade, metal items and around 10 kg of gold were stolen. After the robbery, the Hui Tomb remained unguarded. Until the establishment of the Cultural Relics Management Office of the Qing East Tombs in 1952, the robbery halls were finally sealed.