Empress Dowager Cixi Memorial Sites

Empress Dowager Cixi Memorial Sites

For over a hundred years, the birthplace and childhood experiences of Empress Dowager Cixi have remained a mystery. On May 27, 1999, Xinhua News Agency reported that, “Experts believe that Empress Dowager Cixi was born in Changzhi County, Shanxi Province.” According to research by some experts and related individuals, Cixi was born in the 15th year of the Daoguang reign (1835) in Wang’s family home in Xipo Village, Changzhi County. At the age of four, she was sold to the Song family in Shangqin Village of the same county as their daughter; seven or eight years later, she was sold again to serve as a maid in the household of the prefect of Luzhou Prefecture, where she was later adopted as a foster daughter. Eventually, she entered the imperial palace under the identity of the daughter of a Manchu official named Huizheng, gradually rising to become the Empress Dowager. Today, the ruins of Cixi’s birthplace and the tomb of her birth mother remain, along with the “Empress Dowager Cixi’s Courtyard” and the “Empress Dowager Cixi’s Study Courtyard.”

“Empress Dowager Cixi’s Courtyard” – Located in Shangqin Village, Changzhi County, it earned its name because Cixi once lived here. The courtyard consists of two connected courtyards covering an area of about 800 square meters. There are 33 rooms in total, with single-story houses in the front courtyard and a two-story building in the rear courtyard. All structures are made of brick and wood, representing typical Qing Dynasty architecture. They are now largely well-preserved, possessing both historical and aesthetic value.

“Empress Dowager Cixi’s Study Courtyard” – Located in the former West Garden of the Luzhou Prefecture Government Office within the compound of the Changzhi Transport Company in downtown Changzhi, it is named after the fact that Cixi once studied here. The courtyard covers an area of about 330 square meters and is known as the “West Flower Hall,” consisting of four rooms that served as Cixi’s study after she was adopted as a foster daughter by the prefect of Luzhou Prefecture during her childhood. The building was originally constructed during the Sui and Tang dynasties and was renovated during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It remains largely intact today. Outside the Study Courtyard lies the back hall courtyard of the Luzhou Prefecture Government Office. The courtyard contains the back hall and three east and west wing rooms, all built during the Sui and Tang dynasties and renovated during the Ming and Qing periods. In 1997, after renovation, an exhibition titled “Research on Cixi’s Childhood” and a related calligraphy and painting exhibition were held there, displaying over 100 precious cultural relics, historical photos, and artworks by notable figures. The courtyard is graced with tall poplar trees, drooping willow branches, birdsong, floral scents, and a gathering of pines and cypresses.