Xinyou Coup
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Xinyou Coup 辛酉政变 | |||
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Date | November 1861 | ||
Location | Peking | ||
Caused by | Death of Xianfeng Emperor | ||
Resulted in | Tongzhi Restoration | ||
Lead figures | |||
Xianfeng Emperor,Zaiyuan, Duanhua, Jingshou, Sushun, Muyin, Kuangyuan, Du Han and Jiao Youying | |||
Casualties and losses | |||
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Xinyou Coup (
Background
While most of the royal family fled the Western occupation of Peking in the Second Opium War, Prince Gong remained in the city to deal with the crisis. He would gain respect from the Westerners as a result of his conduct.
By the time of the death of the Xianfeng Emperor, Empress Dowager Cixi had become a shrewd
Tensions grew between the two Empresses Dowager and the eight regents, who were led by Sushun. The regents did not appreciate Cixi's interference in political affairs, and their frequent confrontations with the Empresses Dowager left Empress Dowager Ci'an frustrated. Ci'an often refused to come to court audiences, leaving Cixi to deal with the ministers alone. Secretly, Cixi had begun gathering the support of talented ministers, soldiers, and others who were ostracized by the eight regents for personal or political reasons. Among them was Prince Gong, who had been excluded from power, yet harboured great ambitions, and Prince Chun, the sixth and seventh brothers of the Xianfeng Emperor, respectively. While Cixi aligned herself with the two princes, a memorial came from Shandong asking for her to "listen to politics behind the curtains," i.e., to assume power as de facto ruler. The same memorial also asked Prince Gong to enter the political arena as a principal "aide to the Emperor".
When the Xianfeng Emperor's funeral procession left for Beijing, Cixi took advantage of her alliances with Princes Gong and Chun. She and the boy emperor returned to the capital before the rest of the party, along with Zaiyuan and Duanhua, two of the eight regents, while Sushun was left to accompany the deceased emperor's procession. Cixi's early return to Beijing meant that she had more time to plan with Prince Gong and ensure that the power base of the eight regents was divided between Sushun and his allies, Zaiyuan and Duanhua. In order to remove them from power, history was rewritten: the regents were dismissed for having carried out incompetent negotiations with the "barbarians" that had caused the Xianfeng Emperor to flee to Rehe Province "greatly against his will", among other charges.[2]
To display her high moral standards, Cixi executed only three of the eight regents. Prince Gong had suggested that Sushun and others be executed by the most painful method, known as
References
- ^ China's Last Empire.
- ^ a b Edward Behr, The Last Emperor, 1987, p. 45
- ISBN 9780195125047.