Empress Dowager Cixi's Tomb Hides 10 Treasures, 1 Was Stolen

During her lifetime, Empress Dowager Cixi was fond of precious gems and jade. When she died, she was buried with rare treasures worth hundreds of millions of taels of silver. Among the treasures that Empress Dowager Cixi brought with her to the tomb were 10 of the most valuable.

1. Jade lotus

In ancient China, the "Jade Seal" and "Green Seal" were symbols of the Emperor and Empress, symbolizing power, warding off evil spirits and bringing good luck. This "Green Seal" was a treasure that Empress Dowager Cixi often placed beside her pillow. According to records, when Empress Dowager Cixi died, she was buried with a lotus flower made of green jade weighing about 5,092 grams.

2. White cabbage

This is also an extremely precious and famous item. It was the thing that Empress Dowager Cixi loved the most when she was alive. This cabbage is sprouting green buds. In addition, accompanying this cabbage are two red and yellow painted cows crossing each other. This treasure is very lifelike, very delicately crafted. This cabbage jade is shaped very similar to a real cabbage. It is made from a large jade stone, polished and carved.

3. Watermelon jade

This is a unique treasure in the world, crafted during the Qing Dynasty. Although it is called jadeite, it is actually made of Tourmaline imported from America and is the color of a watermelon, with green ski.n with dark green veins and bright red flesh.

According to legend, Empress Dowager Cixi guarded this treasure as if it were her own life. She always placed the watermelon jade in the most secure cabinet with a lock. To open this lock, you had to turn the key 5 times to the left to open it. If you turned it in the wrong direction or more or less than 5 times, it would not open. Empress Dowager Cixi also assigned 3 trusted eunuchs to guard the room where this treasure was kept day and night. Occasionally, Empress Dowager Cixi would send someone to bring the treasure back to her room to admire and let others enjoy it.

Because Empress Dowager Cixi loved the Watermelon Jadeite so much, she ordered that a pair of melons be buried with her when she died. However, Sun Dianying's group broke into Cixi's tomb and stole many of the treasures buried with her, including the pair of melons, and their whereabouts are currently unknown.

4. Jade lotus shoots

The jade lotus root was a treasure that Empress Dowager Cixi loved very much. On top of this lotus root, green lotus leaves grew out and a pink lotus flower bloomed. Next to the lotus flower, several black jade beads were hung, looking extremely exquisite and magnificent. However, after this tomb was robbed, the whereabouts of this treasure are unknown.

5. Pearl of the Night

The Night Pearl is one of the masterpieces of ancient world culture. At the same time, it is also a mystery of nature, history and culture.

According to recorded documents, when Empress Dowager Cixi passed away, she was buried with a Night Pearl in her mouth. This Night Pearl can be separated into two pieces and when put together, it will form a sphere. When separated, the two halves of the Night Pearl are transparent, but when put together, it will form a line of light. At night, this Night Pearl glows and illuminates within a range of 100 steps.

Unfortunately, the tomb of Empress Dowager Cixi was robbed and the person who dared to violate the resting place of the powerful Qing Dynasty woman was Sun Dianying. After breaking into Empress Dowager Cixi's tomb, Sun Dianying took many burial objects, including the "huge" night pearl placed in her mouth. According to some documents, after being removed from Empress Dowager Cixi's tomb, the night pearl passed through many hands.

According to many research sources, it is possible that this lost Night Pearl is the famous "Diamond of the Great Mogul".

6. Linh Lung Pagoda

Some documents say that this Linh Lung pagoda was made entirely of jade. With such meticulous and elaborate details, it required a skilled craftsman and a long time to complete.

7. Coral tree

The Empress Dowager Cixi was especially fond of this magnificent and beautiful coral branch. The trunks of these large coral branches were covered with small coral branches, which were cherry trees with green leaves and extremely bright persimmons. In addition, on the tree there was also a cherry tree and a pair of kingfishers inlaid with jade.

8. Buddha's friend (Pearl Buddha)

This treasure is made very elaborately and meticulously from pearls to create the shape of Buddha, then people put it into the body of an oyster so that the oyster secretes a layer around this object. After a long time, this layer covers the treasure more and more thickly and finally creates a shiny pearl Buddha image.

Of course, each of these "Buddha statues" would be a priceless treasure. Empress Dowager Cixi buried 18 of these "Buddha statues" with her, but they were all eventually stolen. Currently, people still cannot verify the whereabouts of these stolen "Buddha statues".

9. Phoenix hat

During the Qing Dynasty, the phoenix crown of Empress Dowager Cixi had nine phoenixes attached to it. Each of these nine phoenixes held nine Night Pearls in its mouth. Each of these Night Pearls was of different sizes. In the darkness, these Night Pearls could emit white light, and when placed outside in a place with light, they would return to their original form.

10. The blanket covering the body of Empress Dowager Cixi

This blanket is extremely delicately crafted with 25,000 words of the Dharani Sutra embroidered with gold threads. In addition, this precious blanket is also attached with 820 pearls. With an area of about 3 square meters, this large blanket is also embroidered with many patterns, Buddha statues,....

It is believed that this item is worth hundreds of millions of taels. Moreover, the manual production process of the embroidered Dharani Sutra blanket is very elaborate, requiring several years to complete. This shows the value of this unique treasure in the tomb of Empress Dowager Cixi.

According to experts, the value of this blanket in the tomb of Empress Dowager Cixi lies not only in itself and the precious jewelry on it, but also in its historical value. Accordingly, this luxurious embroidered blanket was used in the royal family and is believed to have existed since the Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1368).

The quilt was then sent to the Palace Museum, where it was repaired and restored. In recent years, the precious quilt was brought out by staff from the Qingdong Mausoleum Conservation Area in Hebei Province. This is the first time that the embroidered quilt, which was beloved by Empress Dowager Cixi, has appeared in public in nearly a century.

The treasures in the tomb of Empress Dowager Cixi help to shed some light on the luxurious yet mysterious life behind the gates of the Forbidden City. Indeed, these treasures not only show that Empress Dowager Cixi was the richest person in the world, but also demonstrate the sophisticated crafting culture of ancient China.

"Bánh chó cũng không thèm" được Từ Hy Thái Hậu khen, gọi là thức ăn trường thọ Minh Lợi17:48:42 16/11/2024Từ Hi Thái hậu là một người phụ nữ nắm giữ quyền lực tối thượng của nhà Thanh vào giai đoạn cuối. Đứng trên đỉnh cao danh vọng và quyền lực, Từ Hi Thái hậu khiến nhiều người kinh ngạc vì lối sống vô cùng xa hoa.