The Ailing Emperor and a Throne in Crisis

In late 1874, the Forbidden City buzzed with hushed tension as 19-year-old Emperor Tongzhi—the only surviving son of Empress Dowager Cixi—lay gravely ill. What began as a routine fever spiraled into a political earthquake when the emperor, too weak to review daily memorials from officials, made an unprecedented decision. Defying Qing dynasty norms that reserved such power for Manchu nobility, Tongzhi entrusted the responsibility to Li Hongzao, his Han Chinese tutor and a leader of the “Purist Faction” known for integrity. This choice would ignite a behind-the-scenes power struggle exposing the fractures within China’s imperial leadership.

The Doctor’s Dilemma: Smallpox or Something Sinister?

Court physicians initially diagnosed Tongzhi with smallpox, a plausible explanation given the pustules covering his body. Yet Prince Gong, the emperor’s uncle and head of the Grand Council, voiced dangerous suspicions during a tense bedside audience. “Does Your Majesty truly believe the diagnosis?” he pressed, hinting at signs of syphilis—a taboo suggestion implying the young emperor had contracted the disease through illicit visits to Beijing’s brothel districts. Historical records reveal Tongzhi’s furious reaction before conceding to reevaluate his treatment.

The medical controversy took a political turn when physicians admitted under interrogation: “This was the Empress Dowager’s order.” Cixi’s interference in her son’s treatment—whether misguided or deliberate—exposed her determination to control the narrative of the illness, and by extension, the throne itself.

Cixi’s Calculated Move: The Bedroom Coup

As Tongzhi weakened, Cixi staged an extraordinary political theater. On November 28, 1874, she summoned ministers to the emperor’s sickroom—a breach of medical protocol for smallpox patients—ostensibly to discuss state affairs. With candles held close to the bedridden monarch’s lesions, the message was clear: the Son of Heaven was incapacitated.

When officials proposed reviving the regency system (last used during Tongzhi’s minority), Cixi feigned reluctance: “This matter is too significant—you must consult the emperor first.” The charade continued for days until a coerced edict emerged, bearing Tongzhi’s seal but not his consent: “State affairs cannot pause… We request the empress dowagers to review memorials temporarily.” Thus, Cixi dismantled her son’s authority from his deathbed.

The Fatal “Auspicious Promotion”

Amidst the power struggle, Cixi orchestrated a symbolic gesture with deadly consequences. To “ward off misfortune” through imperial tradition, she elevated Consort Hui—her favored daughter-in-law and rival to Empress Alute—to the unprecedented rank of Imperial Noble Consort. This violated palace protocols reserving such titles for childless consorts when no empress existed.

Tongzhi, possibly believing in the ritual’s healing power or seeking comfort, visited Consort Hui against medical advice. Contemporary accounts suggest this nocturnal encounter exacerbated his condition. The Unofficial History of the Qing Dynasty records Empress Alute’s reluctant permission and subsequent remorse as the emperor’s health catastrophically declined afterward.

The Lost Succession Plan

By December 1874, Tongzhi recognized his impending death. In a final act of defiance, he summoned Li Hongzao to draft a secret will appoint 5-year-old Zai Shu (Prince Gong’s nephew) as successor—a choice bypassing Cixi’s influence. Empress Alute reportedly supported this, telling her husband: “I refuse to be another regent harming the nation.”

The plan unraveled spectacularly. When Li presented the document at Cixi’s palace, she tore it to shreds. Within hours, the court announced Tongzhi’s death and the selection of Cixi’s 3-year-old nephew as the new Guangxu Emperor—ensuring another 14 years of her regency. Empress Alute’s mysterious death months later (officially suicide) removed the last obstacle.

Legacy of a Bedroom Conspiracy

The 40-day crisis surrounding Tongzhi’s illness became a microcosm of late Qing dynastic struggles. It revealed:
– Medical Politics: Competing diagnoses reflected factional rivalries, with syphilis allegations tarnishing the emperor’s posthumous reputation
– Constitutional Weakness: Cixi’s manipulation exposed the Qing system’s vulnerability to regent dominance
– Reform Paradox: Tongzhi’s attempt to empower Han officials like Li Hongzao foreshadowed later reform movements, albeit cut short

Modern historians debate whether Tongzhi truly had syphilis or if the rumor served political purposes. Recent studies of palace medical records suggest a possible smallpox-malnutrition complication, but the truth remains buried beneath layers of Qing propaganda. What’s undeniable is how a young emperor’s illness became the catalyst for Cixi’s definitive grasp on power—one that would shape China’s encounter with modernity and eventual revolution.

The events of 1874 remind us that in imperial China, even a monarch’s deathbed could become a battleground where personal ambition, medical uncertainty, and state survival collided with lasting consequences.