Continental Center / Full Report
▲ Cixi has left many photos in her later years. (Image / Summary from “Netease Video”)
The Qing Dynasty was the last feudal dynasty in ancient Chinese history, and at the end of the Qing Dynasty, Cixi ruled the Qing Dynasty for nearly half a century. Many people believe that the rise and fall of the Qing Dynasty began with the two Empress Dowagers. The Qing Dynasty prospered because of Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang and also declined because of Empress Dowager Cixi.
In the mid to late 19th century, cameras had been introduced in China, and many dignitaries at that time had begun to come into contact with this new toy from the West, and many wealthy families also took a family portrait. Most of modern people’s impressions of Empress Dowager Cixi are still on the photos of Empress Dowager Cixi in her last years. Many historians believe that Empress Dowager Cixi’s love of photography may be due to the influence of Princess De Lin. Princess De Lin’s father, Yu Geng, was once the Qing Dynasty’s diplomatic envoy to France. Princess De Lin lived with her father in Paris, France for about 4 years. In 1903, Princess De Lin returned to the Qing Dynasty and presented Empress Dowager Cixi with some photos she had taken in Paris.
Empress Dowager Cixi was very surprised when she saw these photos, so she said that as long as she was fresh, she was willing to try it, especially this kind of thing that outsiders would not know. When Empress Dowager Cixi was alive, the photos she took were in fact only seen by her and a few close people. When Puyi was expelled from the Forbidden City, the staff of the Qing Dynasty Rehabilitation Committee found photos taken by Empress Dowager Cixi in the Jingfu Palace in the northeast corner of the Forbidden City, which were very well preserved.
▲Cixi’s photo has been restored to about 25 years old. (Image / Summary from “Netease Video”)
With the rapid development of human science and technology, some people use professional image processing software, combined with the photos left by Empress Dowager Cixi and the portrait painted by Huashi Hu Bo for Empress Dowager Cixi. After a series of repairs and synthesis, the appearance of the Dowager Empress Cixi was reproduced when she was young, and “Netease Video” also uploaded this photo of the restoration. Indeed, this restoration map is still very accurate. In general, in the case of real photos, there is not much difference between the restored look and the real look. For example, now through some image processing software, you can also see your appearance in old age, which is technically not difficult. Relatively speaking, it is more difficult to restore images using the remains of ancient people, and the gap with the real appearance is even greater.
