As the head eunch in Cixi's reign as well as the
most powerful one in the late Qing Dynasty, Li Lianying gained
the special favor of Cixi. Aaccompanying her every day, Li Lianying
has a say in both internal and foreign affairs. Li Lianying played
an important role in encouraging Cixi to build the Summer Palace
with military expenditure, despite the dissent of all officials.
Some said that Li Lianying was second only to the Empress Dowager,
equal to the minister at that time.
Eunuchs were castrated male servants in the court. Except for
a few head eunuchs, most of them were engaged in daily chores,
including cleaning, serving food, keeping antiques, closing the
gate, growing flowers and repairing various articles. In Cixi's
reign, some eunuchs also formed a group to learn Peking Opera.
Among such a large number of eunuchs, why did only Li Lianying
gain the special favor of Cixi? It was said that this was because
he was very good at doing Cixi's hair and fawning on her.
Learning that Cixi often lost her temper with eunuchs who were
unskilled in putting up her hair, Li Lianying made a special effort
to learn how to do up hair. Once he entered the palace, he offered
to do Cixi's hair. She was soon fond of him, as he expected, and
in a few years, he was assigned to the post of head eunuch.
Let's take a look at two examples of his talent for flattery.
Cixi once set caged birds free in the Summer Palace, but they
flew back to the cage. Cixi asked Li Lianying, "Why do they
return?" Li replied, "Of course, it is due to your benevolence."
Cixi really knew that if birds were caged for a long time, they
would always fly back. Seeting that she did not believe him, Li
suggested that she set fish free in Kunming Lake, saying, "If
the fish declined to leave, it will prove this." Cixi then
did as he suggested. To her surpries, the fish all returned and
even queued in order. Later, it was discovered that Li put a lot
of aromatic food in the water nearby, and then left the fish unfed
for several days. Subsequently, when set free into the lake, the
fish refused to leave, In this way, Li Lianying gradually won
the favor of Cixi.
| The Summer Palace |
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