The Twilight of the Dragon Throne

In the sweltering summer of 1908, the Forbidden City buzzed with whispers of impending doom. Empress Dowager Cixi, the iron-willed matriarch who had ruled China for nearly half a century, showed alarming signs of physical decline. Simultaneously, Emperor Guangxu—her nephew and political prisoner for a decade—lay dying under mysterious circumstances. Their nearly simultaneous deaths on November 14-15, 1908, sparked conspiracy theories that endure to this day. Was this a tragic coincidence, or the culmination of a palace coup? The truth died with Cixi’s powerful eunuch Li Lianying and his inner circle, leaving historians to piece together clues from contradictory accounts.

The Poisoned Chalice of Power

Cixi’s reign (1861-1908) began with promise. As a young concubine to the Xianfeng Emperor, she seized control as regent after his death, ruling through her son Tongzhi and later nephew Guangxu. But her 1898 crackdown on Guangxu’s Hundred Days’ Reform—imprisoning him in the Ocean Terrace (瀛台)—turned her into a reactionary figure. By 1908, China was a shadow of its former glory: humiliated by foreign powers after the Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901), its treasury drained by indemnities.

Key tensions emerged:
– The Succession Crisis: With Guangxu childless, Cixi had secretly groomed Puyi, the two-year-old son of Prince Chun, as heir—violating Qing dynastic law requiring adult succession.
– The Reform Dilemma: After initially supporting the anti-foreign Boxers, Cixi performed a stunning volte-face, implementing Japanese-style constitutional reforms in 1906—too little, too late.
– The Guangxu Enigma: The emperor’s sudden illness in 1907 coincided with Cixi’s decline. Court physicians diagnosed nephritis, but foreign doctors noted his weak pulse and suspected poisoning.

The Final Months: Omens and Intrigue

### The Summer of 1908
Cixi, despite summer dysentery and a minor stroke, remained shockingly active. She hosted foreign diplomats at the Summer Palace and even visited Beijing’s new zoo (万牲园), delighting in lions while chastising incompetent staff. Yet ominous signs mounted:
– The Dalai Lama’s Curse: When the Tibetan spiritual leader visited Beijing, Chief Eunuch Li Lianying warned that “two sacred beings cannot occupy one city”—a prophecy that one must die. Cixi dismissed it, believing Guangxu was already doomed.
– The Birthday Portents: During her 73rd birthday celebrations (November 3), Cixi dressed as Guanyin (观音) but fell ill after overindulging in cream and hawthorn berries. The final incense stick at Wanshou Temple failed to light—a dire omen.

### The Deathbed Gambits
On November 12, a dramatic council convened in the Hall of Imperial Brilliance (仪鸾殿). Weak but resolute, Cixi announced Puyi’s succession and Prince Chun’s regency, overruling officials who favored elder candidates. Her motives were deeply personal:
– A Debt to Loyalty: The appointment honored her longtime ally Ronglu, whose daughter had married Prince Chun.
– Legacy Protection: By controlling the toddler emperor, Cixi ensured her policies would outlive her.

Meanwhile, Guangxu’s final hours were chilling. His deathbed edict (later suppressed) accused General Yuan Shikai of treason—a revenge wish never fulfilled. When he refused to don his burial robes, attendants forcibly dressed his convulsing body.

The Double Funeral and Its Aftermath

At 3 PM on November 14, Guangxu died at 37. Cixi, showing eerie vitality, immediately issued succession decrees. By 5 PM the next day, she too was dead—officially from stroke, though rumors swirled of suicide or even assassination.

The consequences were catastrophic:
– Puyi’s Ill-Fated Reign: The “Last Emperor” took the throne at age 2 under a regency that collapsed within three years, leading to the 1911 Revolution.
– Yuan Shikai’s Betrayal: The very general Guangxu had cursed would later betray the Qing, becoming China’s first post-imperial president.
– The Poison Theory: In 2008, forensic tests confirmed lethal arsenic levels in Guangxu’s hair—proof of murder, likely ordered by Cixi or Li Lianying to prevent his posthumous revenge.

Conclusion: The Empress’s Shadow

Cixi’s death marked not just the end of a reign, but of a 2,000-year system. Her final acts—a mix of reform and repression—couldn’t save the Qing, yet her political theater (the birthday as Guanyin, the zoo visit) revealed a leader acutely aware of her mythmaking. Today, as historians reassess her legacy, the 1908 mystery endures as a Shakespearean tragedy of power: a matriarch who sacrificed her dynasty to control its dying breath.

The Forbidden City’s walls still whisper their secrets—but the arsenic in Guangxu’s bones speaks loudest of all.