Announcing
the f unction of the Hall of Jade Ripples:
The
Hall of Jade Ripples, also called Yulantang in Chinese, used to be the
place where Qing Emperor Qianlong spend his leisure hours with his ministers
and friends. Later it was Emperor Guanxu's private living quarters and
also the place where he was under house arrest after 1898.
Discover
the relation between Cixi and Emperor Guangxu
Emperor Guangxu was Empress Dowager Cixi's nephew. After Emperor Tongzhi
died, Empress Dowager Cixi made her nephew, who was at that time four
years old a successor in order to continue her wielding of power behind
the screen. When Emperor Guangxu was 19 years old, Empress Dowager
Cixi relinquished power to him but continued to exert considerable
influence. In 1898, the Reform Movement took place with the aim of
sustaining the core principles of the Qing Dynasty while reforming
outdated laws. The movement lasted for 103 days until it was suppressed
by Empress Dowager Cixi.
Discover
historical events took place here:
It was here that Emperor Guangxu called in Yuan Shaikai, an army commander,
on September 16, 1898, and instructed him to help the reformists and
kill Ronglu, a close follower of Empress Dowager Cixi. But Yuan Shikai
betrayed him and reported to Empress Dowager the news. Five days later,
Cixi staged a coup and put Emperor Guangxu under house arrest here in
the Hall of Jade Ripples. Whenever she came to the Summer Palace, she
took Guangxu with her.
Emperor
Guangxu was placed under house arrest, which lasted for 10 years. All
the back doors were sealed and a brick wall was put up behind the wooden
partition on each side of the two annexes of the courtyard. Emperor
Guangxu was
closely watched by eunuchs. The wall remains intact for tourists to
see. The emperor's six earnest reformists were beheaded.
