生平經歷

出身

同治十年六月二十八日（1871年8月14日），載湉出生於北京太平湖醇親王府內，他是同治帝的堂弟兼表弟。父親為道光帝第七子醇賢親王奕譞，母親是嫡福晉葉赫那拉·婉貞。因穆宗（同治帝）為文宗（咸豐帝）獨子，又早死無後，慈禧選擇醇賢親王奕譞之子載湉，過繼于咸豐帝，登基為帝，名義上繼承咸豐帝而非同治帝的皇位。

兩宮太后垂簾聽政時期

四歲即位，主少國疑，大臣未附，兩宮太后姑允王大臣所請，依《太后垂簾章程》十一條，垂簾聽政。

光緒七年（1881年），慈安太后駕崩，慈禧太后獨自垂簾聽政。

光緒九年（1883年），中法戰爭爆發，翌年簽定《中法新約》。

光緒帝一生受慈禧太后的控制，自小由翁同龢做他的老師，但慈禧太后規定翁同龢只能教孝經，更被李連英監視。朝廷大權在成年（1890年，20歲）後，人事任命權仍掌握在慈禧太后手中。

短暫親政

光緒十四年（1888年），光緒帝已十八歲（虛歲），而在達到他這個年齡之前，包括同治帝在內的幼年繼位的清帝均已完成大婚並親政。六月己亥，慈禧太后頒布懿旨，明年正月舉行皇帝大婚典禮。婚禮完成，光緒帝即應親政。壬寅，再頒懿旨，明年二月初三日歸政。慈禧太后選擇自己的侄女亦是光緒帝的表姐葉赫那拉氏為其皇后。

光緒十五年正月丁卯，御史屠仁守請求慈禧太后在歸政後繼續批閱奏摺，被斥「乖謬」。癸酉，清廷如期舉行大婚典禮。此次大婚相比同治帝大婚，花費較少。二月戊寅，慈禧太后頒懿旨斥責吳大澂要求尊崇光緒帝的生父醇親王奕譞的請求，並出示醇親王在光緒元年的奏摺，表明醇親王的忠心。己卯，慈禧太后正式歸政，宣告十九歲的光緒帝親政。慈禧太后勉允禮親王領班軍機大臣世鐸等王大臣所請，於皇帝親政後再訓政數年。中外同辭，再三瀝懇，慈禧不得不依據《訓政細則》開始訓政，不需垂簾亦無須議政王引見大臣，其餘細則與《垂簾章程》略同，實際大權仍掌握在慈禧太后手中。此後，光緒帝逐漸建立了以翁同龢、汪鳴鑾、孫家鼐、文廷式、志銳等為骨幹的帝黨，影響光緒親政後的作為。

甲午戰爭

光緒二十年（1894年）甲午戰爭爆發，堅決主戰，但光緒指揮不當，加上翁同龢、李鴻章之間內鬥嚴重，導致清帝國戰敗，次年在《馬關條約》上簽字用璽。

戊戌變法

自甲午戰敗後，光緒帝銳意變法革新，「不做亡國之君」，1898年頒布《明定國是詔》，表明變革決心。在慈禧的默許下，于1898年起用康有為、梁啓超等推行新政，並以譚嗣同、楊銳、林旭、劉光第等四軍卿架空原有的軍機大臣，但受到保守派的反對。光緒在軍事上，陸軍改練洋操，為掌握軍事召袁世凱來京，下旨進行一系列整頓：

戊戌政變

光緒二十四年（1898年）8、9月間，由于變法操之過急，坊間盛傳慈禧太后有以借「天津閱兵」廢弒光緒帝的陰謀。光緒帝懼怕變法失敗，聽信康有為的意見，打算不經過慈禧太后同意，親自提拔候補侍郎袁世凱，以新式陸軍發兵，殺慈禧提拔的直隸總督兼北洋大臣榮祿，圍頤和園（慈禧所居）。慈禧得知消息，立刻從頤和園返回紫禁城，發動政變幽禁光緒帝，戊戌變法宣布失敗，軍機處譚嗣同、楊銳、林旭、劉光第四軍卿以及楊深秀、康廣仁等六維新派人士被捕處死，康有為、梁啟超流亡日本，光緒帝被慈禧幽禁在三面環水的南海瀛台，對外則宣布光緒帝生病，由慈禧訓政。從戊戌年（1898年）四月二十三日光緒帝下「明定國是詔」起，到政變發生的八月六日為止（西曆6月11日至9月21日），整個變法維新曆時不過103天，故稱百日維新。

軟禁時期

戊戌政變後，慈禧太后宣布訓政，架空光緒。光緒二十五年（己亥年）十二月二十四日（公元1900年1月24日），慈禧太后欲廢光緒帝，挑選載漪之子溥儁入宮，成為同治帝的嗣子，是為己亥立儲，由於這是廢立皇帝的先兆，上海電報局總辦經元善領銜，與馬裕藻、章太炎、丁惠康、沈藎，唐才常、經亨頤、蔡元培、黃炎培等聯名抗議，且各國公使都同情光緒，否認此事的合法性，導致慈禧失敗。慈禧遂不斷召外國西醫入宮探視「上疾」。

庚子事變

溥儁之父載漪等權貴利用剛剛興起的義和團排洋情緒，招引義和團進京，發生庚子事變，光緒帝與慈禧太后共同參加決定是否向八國聯軍宣戰的御前會議，光緒表達反對與八國聯軍開戰，但他已沒有親政的權力。八國聯軍攻入北京，慈禧挾光緒帝逃至西安，並殺害珍妃。次年簽定辛丑條約（庚子事變賠款）後才回北京。此後處境稍有改善，但仍被慈禧軟禁。八國聯軍之後，慈禧太后啟動第三波的政治變革，稱為清末新政（或稱庚子新政）。

死亡

光緒帝的葬禮

1908年11月14日，光緒帝駕崩於瀛台，比慈禧早一日駕崩，得年37歲。

清代官方文獻和宮廷檔案記載光緒帝為病死。但光緒帝在慈禧死前一日晏駕，時間過於巧合，外界對其死因歷來有諸多揣測。許多野史、宮廷回憶錄包括溥儀均指出光緒帝是被人下毒所害，但對兇手的推測各不相同。中華民國成立之後，據光緒帝的御醫透露，皇帝生前的確身體並不健康，主因是長時間不見天日、身體欠運動、心情不佳導致飲食不正常，卻也無病重之跡象。1980年，整理崇陵光緒帝遺骨時「未發現外傷及中毒跡象」，結合官方檔案上的說法，自然病死一說在當時一度成為學術界主流觀點。直到2008年對清西陵光緒遺體的頭髮、遺骨、衣服及墓內外環境樣品進行檢測分析後，証實光緒帝是砒霜中毒死亡。

光緒辭世時尚沒有陵墓，一直到1913年（民國二年）才葬入中國最後一座帝陵——河北易縣清西陵中的崇陵。1938年曾被盜。

兇手之推斷

慈禧說

《崇陵傳信錄》和《清稗類鈔》兩書指出：慈禧太后病危期間，曾猶豫對光緒帝要如何處置，遂以自己不久人世的消息透露給光緒帝知道，惟其近侍回報，帝曾微露喜色，故慈禧決意自己病終前，帝須先於自己命終，以免皇帝有再度親政、否定慈禧生前之佈局的可能。

清室後裔、書法家啟功指出，其曾祖父、時任一品大員禮部尚書兼管宴大臣的溥良曾親眼看到太監從病重的慈禧宮中傳出一個蓋碗，稱「是老佛爺賞給萬歲爺的塌喇」。「塌喇」在滿語中是酸奶之意。此前從未聽說過光緒帝有任何急症大病。送後不久，就由隆裕皇后的太監小德張（張蘭德）向太醫院正堂宣布光緒皇帝駕崩了。隨後樂壽宮才哭聲四起，宣布太后已死。慈禧與光緒素有嫌隙，況且當時慈禧已處於彌留之際，此時派人給軟禁中的皇帝贈食，極不尋常。啟功認為，慈禧可能先於光緒帝病死，但祕不發喪，直到確認光緒帝死亡後才對外公布死訊。啟功大師的說法應該最為可信，根據《爵秩全覽》光緒三十四年秋、冬記載：啟功曾祖父溥良在光緒駕崩時的官職為正一品光祿大夫、經筵講官、禮部尚書、對引大臣、管宴大臣、稽察七倉大臣、參預政務大臣。光緒慈禧去世時，溥良確實有資格在慈禧寢宮外等候。光緒皇后隆裕皇后為慈禧太后親侄女，為慈禧強行指配婚姻，光緒並不喜歡。隆裕與光緒有名無實，多年來分居未曾同床無子，對光緒心懷恨意已久。隆裕多次向慈禧訴苦，隆裕和太監崔玉貴等參與了慈禧處死光緒之寵妃珍妃，讓光緒皇帝對這位皇后更為憎恨冷淡。光緒對慈禧和隆裕憎恨已久，慈禧重病時光緒露出喜容，卻被太監告知慈禧，慈禧實為生氣，曾說要讓光緒先死於自己。老佛爺慈禧臨終時，隆裕在旁伺候。慈禧便吩咐派隆裕皇后的禦膳房掌管太監小德張（張恆泰）送去塌喇（滿語酸奶），賞賜給光緒，實為大量砒霜糊狀液體形似酸奶。雖光緒已被慈禧軟禁瀛台，但貴為皇帝平時用藥需禦醫幾人嚴格審查，但除老佛爺慈禧親賜的食物外。光緒喝了塌喇後痛苦掙紮好些時間才死去，慈禧其實先於光緒死去。光緒之死主謀者為慈禧，默認在場知情者為隆裕皇后、太監小德張以及小德張的上司太監二總管崔玉貴。事後，太監崔玉貴立即出宮回家原品休致以迴避。小德張被隆裕提拔為長春宮四司八處大總管。隆裕皇后在清滅亡後內心不安，很快去世。崔玉貴藏居寺廟，卒於1926年左右。小德張晚年寓居天津，隱姓埋名以賣煎餅果子為生，不談政事，守密一生，卒於1957年左右。清皇室核心層載灃少數幾人知實情，但礙於家醜名聲將責任混淆視聽，推給清宗室外的袁世凱和李蓮英等人，導致民國謠言亂起。

央視主任編輯鍾里滿依檢驗結果及史料記載認為，慈禧自戊戌政變以後就陰謀廢黜及弒害光緒，更擔心光緒會在自己死後復位翻案，所以才會在病危之時下毒手。

曾留洋並擔任慈禧的御前女官的裕德齡在其英文版自述《瀛台泣血記》中提出，應是慈禧指使李蓮英下手。

袁世凱說

稱光緒帝為袁世凱所弒者認為，袁負恩反戈，陷光緒帝于萬劫不複，光緒帝在瀛台，「日書『項城』（袁世凱別號「袁項城」）名以志其憤」。袁既知光緒帝對其深惡痛絕，則不能不懼太后死而帝獨生，故加以謀害（見于光緒侄、末帝溥儀所著《我的前半生》及其他）。但鍾里滿認為，當時除了慈禧太后外，並無其他人具備指使人對皇帝下毒的能力。袁世凱亦難以接近光緒帝。

死亡日期

雖然清政府公布的死亡日期是清曆十月二十一日（西曆1908年11月14日），但喻大華認為清政府推遲了光緒帝的死亡日期，光緒帝的起居注史官惲毓鼎在他的《崇陵傳信錄》中回憶，在此前兩天的十月十九日，太監成群結隊地出宮剃頭，並毫不避諱地說皇上駕崩，因為國喪期間，服喪不允許理髮，所以搶在發布之前剃頭。由此看來，朝廷發布的光緒帝死亡時間不準，在溥儀入宮之前光緒就已經死了，慈禧從容布置之後，確信可以掌控全局的時候才向天下公布皇帝已駕崩。日本電報也稱光緒皇帝死于11月12日夜。

家族

• 嗣父（伯父、姨丈）：文宗顯皇帝奕詝

• 嗣母（伯母、姨母）：孝欽顯皇后

后妃

• 孝定景皇后（1868年－1913年）：葉赫那拉氏，名靜芬，慈禧太后姪女，光緒帝的表姊，父為桂祥。後稱為宣統帝的兼祧母后，尊為隆裕皇太后。

• 溫靖皇貴妃（1874年－1924年）：瑾妃，他他拉氏，長敘之女。宣統即位後稱為皇考瑾貴妃，清遜國後被尊為端康皇貴妃，為四大太妃之一。諡溫靖皇貴妃。

• 恪順皇貴妃（1876年－1900年）：珍妃，他他拉氏，長敘之女，瑾妃之妹。因其家人多支持維新，在八國聯軍進京時被慈禧太后逼迫投井而死，清遜國後將其祔葬光緒帝的崇陵，追贈為恪順皇貴妃。

嗣子

• 溥儀，光緒帝宗法上的侄子，本為兄弟醇親王載灃之子，過繼于同治帝，同時兼承光緒帝之祧，一人祧兩房。

評價

大事記

• 元年（1875年）──丁戊奇荒，一場罕見的特大旱災饑荒，波及山西、直隸、陝西、河南、山東等省，受災人口1.08億，造成900萬至2000萬人餓死。

• 二年（1876年）──清廷在英政府外交壓力下籤訂煙臺條約，內容包括清政府對馬嘉理事件及以前中英之間的案件各賠償15萬兩白銀；洋貨在中國內陸免收厘金；增加開放宜昌﹑蕪湖﹑溫州﹑北海等為通商口岸；以及正式遣使道歉。

• 三年（1877年）──左宗棠率領清軍成功收復西域。

• 五年（1879年）──甘肅武都地震，大約22000人死亡。

• 七年（1881年）三月──清朝咸豐皇帝的皇后—孝貞顯皇后暴崩。

• 九年（1883年）──中法戰爭

• 十一年（1885年）──與法國簽定中法新約，承認法國對越南的保護權。

• 十三年（1887年）──河南鄭州下汛十堡（今惠濟區花園口鎮石橋村）發生黃河決口，致使200多萬（一說93萬；一說最保守估計150萬；一說700萬）人罹難。

• 十三年（1887年）──與葡萄牙帝國簽訂中葡和好通商條約，同意葡萄牙永居管理澳門。

• 十四年（1888年）──光緒帝大婚。北洋水師成立。光緒帝親政。

• 二十年（1894年）──為朝鮮主權中日爆發甲午戰爭。

• 二十年（1894年）──日軍攻陷旅順，執行旅順大屠殺，對城內進行4天3夜的搶劫、屠殺和強姦，造成旅順2萬名平民遇難。

• 二十一年（1895年）四月──與大日本帝國簽定馬關條約，割讓遼東半島、台灣、澎湖群島並支付賠款2億兩白銀（約3億日圓）。

• 二十四年（1898年）三月──德意志帝國因曹州教案強迫清政府在北京簽訂膠澳租借條約，租借膠澳（即膠州灣）及其周邊地區（今屬青島市）99年，山東省成為德國的勢力範圍。

• 二十四年（1898年）三月──與俄羅斯帝國簽訂旅大租地條約，把旅順和大連灣沿海租給俄國25年作為軍港使用。

• 二十四年（1898年）九月──戊戌政變發生，六君子被殺。

• 二十五年（1899年）──義和團運動興起，屠殺洋人、姦淫婦女、搶奪店鋪、破壞各國使館、燒毀與西洋有關的東西。

• 二十六年（1900年）──太原教案，義和團針對基督徒和傳教士的屠殺事件。中國內地會的刊物記載說，在山西省北部共有15,000到20,000名本地信徒被殺害。

• 二十六年（1900年）──慈禧太后不理會各國抗議，更向十一國宣戰，引發八國聯軍之役。

• 二十六年（1900年）──俄軍于黑龍江海蘭泡越境，悉數屠殺清民六千多人，史稱海蘭泡慘案。

• 二十七年（1901年）──與十一國簽定辛丑條約，是中國近代史上賠款數目最龐大，皇權喪失最嚴重的條約。

• 二十七年（1901年）──李鴻章病逝。

• 三十年（1904年）──日俄兩國因在東北地區的利益衝突爆發日俄戰爭。

• 三十一年（1905年）──平綏鐵路興工。

• 三十二年（1906年）──清政府立憲改革。

• 三十三年（1907年）──因1906年暴雨，導致安徽、湖南和江蘇三省的農作物歉收。持續的降雨淹沒了40,000平方英里（100,000平方公里）的土地，導致三省陷入嚴重饑荒，饑荒死亡人數高達2500萬人，是人類歷史記錄以來死亡人數第二多的饑荒。

• 三十四年（1908年）十一月──光緒帝駕崩。

事蹟

敘述光緒事蹟的書籍，《清史稿·德宗本紀》及清宮檔案自是第一信史，此外有清末民初惲毓鼎的《崇陵傳信錄》和清室遠支德齡的《瀛台泣血記》等。關於戊戌變法的資料則有梁啟超的《戊戌政變記》和袁世凱的《戊戌日記》。近年來有《走向共和》《戊戌風雲》等影視，亦頗有影響。

定語

• 惲毓鼎（1862－1917）《崇陵傳信錄》

:「緬維先帝御宇，不為不久。幼而提攜，長而禁制，終於損其天年。無母子之親，無夫婦、昆季之愛，無臣下侍從宴遊暇豫之樂。平世齊民之福，且有勝於一人之尊者。毓鼎侍左右，近且久，天顏戚戚，常若不愉，未嘗一日展容舒氣也。」

相關影視中的扮演者

注釋

Accession to the throne and upbringing

Zaitian was the second son of Yixuan (Prince Chun), and his primary spouse Yehenara Wanzhen, a younger sister of Empress Dowager Cixi. On 12 January 1875, Zaitian's cousin, the Tongzhi Emperor, died without a son to succeed him. Breaking the imperial convention that a new emperor must always be of a generation after that of the previous emperor, candidates were considered from the generation of the Tongzhi Emperor. Empress Dowager Ci'an suggested choosing one of Prince Gong's sons to be the next emperor, but was overruled by her co-regent, Empress Dowager Cixi. Instead, Cixi nominated Zaitian (her nephew) and the imperial clan eventually agreed with her choice because Zaitian was younger than other adoptable children of the same generation.

Zaitian was named heir and successor to his late uncle, the Xianfeng Emperor, rather than his cousin and predecessor, the Tongzhi Emperor, so as to maintain the father-son succession law. He ascended to the throne at the age of four and adopted "Guangxu" as his regnal name, therefore he is known as the "Guangxu Emperor". He was adopted by Empress Dowager Ci'an and Cixi. For her part, she remained as regent under the title "Holy Mother, Empress Dowager" (聖母皇太后) while her co-regent Empress Dowager Ci'an was called "Mother Empress, Empress Dowager" (母后皇太后).

Beginning in 1876, the Guangxu Emperor was taught by Weng Tonghe, who had also been involved in the disastrous upbringing of the Tongzhi Emperor yet somehow managed to be exonerated of all possible charges. Weng instilled in the Guangxu Emperor a duty of filial piety toward the Empress Dowagers Cixi and Ci'an.

In 1881, when the Guangxu Emperor was nine, Empress Dowager Ci'an died unexpectedly, leaving Empress Dowager Cixi as sole regent for the boy. In Weng's diaries during those days, Guangxu was reportedly seen with swollen eyes, had poor concentration and was seeking consolation from Weng. Weng too expressed his concern that Cixi was the one who had been suffering from chronic ill health, not Ci'an. During this time, the imperial eunuchs often abused their influence over the boy emperor. The Guangxu Emperor had also reportedly begun to hold some audiences on his own as an act of necessity.

Taking over the reins of power

In 1887, the Guangxu Emperor was old enough to begin to rule in his own right, but the previous year, several courtiers, including Prince Chun and Weng Tonghe, had petitioned Empress Dowager Cixi to postpone her retirement from the regency. Despite Cixi's agreement to remain as regent, by 1886 the Guangxu Emperor had begun to write comments on memorials to the throne. In the spring of 1887, he partook in his first field-plowing ceremony, and by the end of the year he had begun to rule under Cixi's supervision.

Eventually, in February 1889, in preparation for Cixi's retirement, the Guangxu Emperor was married. Much to the emperor's dislike, Cixi selected her niece, Jingfen, to be empress. She became known as Empress Longyu. She also selected a pair of sisters, who became Consorts Jin and Zhen, to be the emperor's concubines. The following week, with the Guangxu Emperor married, Cixi retired from the regency.

Years in power

Even after the Guangxu Emperor began formal rule, Empress Dowager Cixi continued to influence his decisions and actions, despite residing several months of the year at the Summer Palace. Weng Tonghe reportedly observed that while the emperor attended to day-to-day state affairs, in more difficult cases the emperor and the Grand Council sought Cixi's advice. In fact, the emperor often journeyed to the Summer Palace to pay his respects to his aunt and to discuss state affairs with her.

In March 1891, the Guangxu Emperor received the foreign ministers to China at an audience in the "Pavilion of Purple Light", in what is now part of Zhongnanhai, something that had also been done by the Tongzhi Emperor in 1873. That summer, under pressure from the foreign legations and in response to revolts in the Yangtze River valley that were targeting Christian missionaries, the emperor issued an edict ordering Christians to be placed under state protection.

The Guangxu Emperor, while growing up, apparently had been instilled with the importance of frugality. In 1892, he tried to implement a series of draconian measures to reduce expenditures by the Imperial Household Department, which proved to be one of his few administrative successes. But it was only a partial victory, as he had to approve higher expenditures than he would have liked to meet Cixi's needs.

1894 saw the outbreak of the First Sino-Japanese War. During the war, even though the Guangxu Emperor was nominally the sovereign ruler of the Qing Empire, officials often ignored him and instead sent their memorials to Cixi for her approval. Eventually, two sets of Grand Council memoranda were created, one for the emperor and the other for the empress dowager, a practice that continued until it was rendered unnecessary by the events in the autumn of 1898. Following the Qing Empire's defeat and forced agreement to the terms of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, the Guangxu Emperor reportedly expressed his wish to abdicate. The emperor and the Qing government faced further humiliation in late 1897 when the German Empire used the murders of two priests in Shandong Province as an excuse to occupy Jiaozhou Bay, prompting a "scramble for concessions" by other foreign powers.

Following the war and the scramble for concessions, the Guangxu Emperor came to believe that by learning from constitutional monarchies like Japan, the Qing Empire would become more politically and economically powerful. In June 1898, the emperor began the Hundred Days' Reform, aimed at a series of sweeping political, legal and social changes. For a brief time, after Cixi's supposed retirement, the Guangxu Emperor issued edicts for a massive number of far-reaching modernizing reforms with the help of more progressive officials such as Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao.

Changes ranged from infrastructure to industry and the civil examination system. The Guangxu Emperor issued decrees allowing the establishment of a modern university in Beijing, the construction of the Lu-Han railway, and a system of budgets similar to that of Western governments. The initial goal was to make China a modern constitutional empire, but still within the traditional framework, as with Japan's Meiji Restoration.

The reforms, however, were not only too sudden for a China still under significant neo-Confucian influence and other elements of traditional culture, but also came into conflict with Cixi, who held real power. Many officials, deemed useless and dismissed by the Guangxu Emperor, begged her for help. Although Cixi did nothing to stop the Hundred Days' Reform from taking place, she knew the only way to secure her power base was to stage a military coup. The Guangxu Emperor became aware of such a plan, so he asked Kang Youwei and his reformist allies to plan his rescue. They decided to use the help of Yuan Shikai, who had a modernized army, albeit only 6,000-strong. Cixi relied on Ronglu's army in Tianjin.

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Ronglu also had an ally, General Dong Fuxiang, who commanded 10,000 Muslim Kansu Braves, including generals such as Ma Fuxiang and Ma Fulu, stationed in the Beijing metropolitan area. Armed with more advanced firearms and artillery, they sided with Cixi's conservative faction during the coup.

The day before the staged coup was supposed to take place, Yuan Shikai revealed everything to Ronglu, exposing the Guangxu Emperor's plans. This gained Yuan Shikai the trust of Cixi, as well as the status of lifetime enemy of the Guangxu Emperor as well as the emperor's younger half-brother, Zaifeng. Following the exposure of the plot, the emperor and empress dowager met, and the emperor retreated to the Yingtai Pavilion, a palace on a lake that is now part of the Zhongnanhai Compound.

Lei Chia-sheng (雷家聖), a Taiwanese history professor, proposes an alternative view: that the Guangxu Emperor might have been led into a trap by the reformists led by Kang Youwei, who in turn was in Lei's opinion tricked by British missionary Timothy Richard and former Japanese prime minister Itō Hirobumi into agreeing to appoint Itō as one of many foreign advisors. British ambassador Claude MacDonald claimed that the reformists had actually "much injured" the modernization of China. Lei claims that Cixi learned of the plot and decided to put an end to it to prevent China from coming under foreign control.

Under house arrest after 1898

The Guangxu Emperor's duties after 1898 became rather limited. The emperor was effectively removed from power as emperor (despite keeping the title), but he did retain some status.

The emperor was kept informed of state affairs, reading them with Cixi prior to audiences, and was also present at audiences, sitting on a stool to Cixi's left hand while Cixi occupied the main throne. He discharged his ceremonial duties, such as offering sacrifices during ceremonies, but never ruled alone again.

In 1898, shortly after the collapse of the Hundred Days' Reform, the Guangxu Emperor's health began to decline, prompting Cixi to name Pujun, a son of the emperor's cousin, the reactionary Prince Duan, as heir presumptive. Pujun and his father were removed from their positions after the Boxer Rebellion. He was examined by a physician at the French Legation and diagnosed with chronic nephritis; he was also discovered to be impotent at the time.

During the Boxer Rebellion, Emperor Guangxu fiercely opposed the idea of using usurpers as a means to counter foreign invasion. His letter to then United States president Theodore Roosevelt is still preserved in U.S. government archives. On 14 August 1900, the Guangxu Emperor, along with Cixi, Empress Longyu and some other court officials, fled from Beijing as the forces of the Eight-Nation Alliance marched on the capital to relieve the legations that had been besieged during the Boxer Rebellion.

Returning to the capital in January 1902, after the withdrawal of the foreign powers, the Guangxu Emperor spent the next few years working in his isolated palace with watches and clocks, which had been a childhood fascination, some say in an effort to pass the time until Cixi's death. He also read widely and spent time learning English from Cixi's Western-educated lady-in-waiting, Yu Deling. His relationship with Empress Longyu, Cixi's niece (and the Emperor's own first cousin), also improved to some extent.

Death

The Guangxu Emperor died on 14 November 1908, a day before Cixi's death, at the age of 37. For a long time there were several theories about the emperor's death, none of which was accepted fully by historians. Most were inclined to believe that Cixi, herself very ill, poisoned the Guangxu Emperor because she was afraid he would reverse her policies after her death. Another theory is that the Guangxu Emperor was poisoned by Yuan Shikai, who knew that if the emperor were to come to power again, Yuan would likely be executed for treason. There were no reliable sources to prove who murdered the Guangxu Emperor. In 1911, Cixi's former eunuch Li Lianying was murdered, possibly by Yuan, implying that they had conspired in the emperor's murder. This theory was offered by Puyi in his biography; he claimed he heard it from an old eunuch.

The medical records kept by the Guangxu Emperor's physician show the emperor suffered from "spells of violent stomachaches" and that his face had turned blue, typical symptoms of arsenic poisoning. To dispel persistent rumors that the emperor had been poisoned, the Qing imperial court produced documents and doctors' records suggesting that the Guangxu Emperor died from natural causes, but these did not allay suspicion.

On 4 November 2008, forensic tests revealed that the level of arsenic in the Guangxu Emperor's remains was 2,000 times higher than that of ordinary people. Scientists concluded that the poison could only have been administered in a high dose at one time. China Daily quoted a historian, Dai Yi, who speculated that Cixi might have known of her imminent death and worried that the Guangxu Emperor would continue his reforms after her death.

The Guangxu Emperor was succeeded by Cixi's choice as heir, his nephew Puyi, who took the regnal name "Xuantong". The Guangxu Emperor's consort, who became Empress Dowager Longyu, signed the abdication decree as regent in 1912, ending two thousand years of imperial rule in China. Longyu died childless in 1913.

After the Xinhai Revolution of 1911–1912, the Chinese Republic funded the construction of the Guangxu Emperor's mausoleum in the Western Qing Tombs. The tomb was robbed during the Chinese Civil War and the underground palace (burial chamber) is now open to the public.

Appraisal

In 1912, Sun Yat-sen praised the Guangxu Emperor for his educational reform package that allowed China to learn more about Western culture. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, historian Fan Wenlan (范文瀾) called the Guangxu Emperor "a Manchu noble who could accept Western ideas". Some historians believe that the Guangxu Emperor was the first Chinese leader to implement modernizing reforms and capitalism. Imperial power in the Qing dynasty saw its nadir under Guangxu, and he was the only Qing emperor to have been put under house arrest during his own reign.

Honors

Domestic honors

• Sovereign of the Order of the Double Dragon

Foreign honors

• Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle, 28 June 1898 (German Empire)

• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Red Eagle, in Diamonds, 28 June 1898 (German Empire)

• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Kamehameha I, 1882 (Kingdom of Hawaii)

• Grand Cordon of the Order of the Chrysanthemum, 29 April 1899 (Empire of Japan)

• Grand Cross of the Sash of the Three Orders, 1904 (Kingdom of Portugal)

Family

The Guangxu Emperor had one empress and two consorts in total.The emperor was forced by Empress Dowager Cixi to marry her niece (his cousin) Jingfen, who was two years his senior. Jingfen's father, Guixiang (Cixi's younger brother), and Cixi selected her to be the Guangxu Emperor's Empress Consort in order to strengthen the power of her own family. After the marriage, Jingfen was made empress and was granted the honorific title of "Longyu", meaning "auspicious and prosperous" after the death of her husband. However, the Guangxu Emperor detested Empress Longyu, and spent most of his time with his favorite concubine, Consort Zhen, (better known in English as the "Pearl Consort"). Rumors allege that in 1900, Consort Zhen was drowned by being thrown into a well on Cixi's order after Consort Zhen begged Empress Dowager Cixi to let the Guangxu Emperor stay in Beijing for negotiations with the foreign powers. That incident happened before Empress Dowager Cixi was preparing to leave the Forbidden City due to the occupation of Beijing by the Eight-Nation Alliance in 1900. Like his predecessor, the Tongzhi Emperor, the Guangxu Emperor died without issue. After the Guangxu Emperor's death in 1908, Empress Dowager Longyu reigned in cooperation with Zaifeng (Prince Chun).

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Consorts:

• Empress Xiaodingjing, of the Yehe Nara clan (; 28 January 1868 – 22 February 1913), first cousin, personal name Jingfen

• Imperial Noble Consort Wenjing, of the Tatara clan (; 6 October 1873 – 24 September 1924)

• Imperial Noble Consort Keshun, of the Tatara clan (; 27 February 1876 – 15 August 1900)

Ancestry