What skills and qualities did Li Lianying possess that made Empress Dowager Cixi love him so much?

Empress Dowager Cixi was one of the most powerful women in Chinese history. In addition to her family background, beauty, and intelligence, it is impossible not to mention the powerful confidants who stood by her. Prominent among them was the great eunuch Li Lianying.

For 53 years, Empress Dowager Cixi only favored and trusted this person. During the Qing Dynasty, the rank of a eunuch could not exceed "fourth rank". Yet Li Lianying had risen to the second rank.

It can be said that Li Lianying is the right hand of the empress dowager, although he is below one person, he is above thousands of people. What is special is that Li Lianying is not really talented or extraordinary, and his appearance is also ugly. So why does this person still have such a solid position in Cixi's heart?

The first reason is because Li Lianying was an extremely tactful speaker. It is said that Empress Dowager Cixi was very fond of giving back items she had used and considered it a privilege. However, the current prime minister once refused her gift and wanted to exchange it for a handwritten note.

The Queen Mother burst out laughing and ordered Li Lianying to bring ink and paper, and wrote the word "Phuc" but there was an extra stroke so it turned into another word. Eunuch Li quickly spoke up to "put out the fire" for his master: "Empress Mother, your blessings are indeed always greater than others!" Just one sentence from Li Lianying was enough to make the Prime Minister breathe a sigh of relief, and the Queen Mother was not embarrassed.

In particular, he knew how to calm the empress dowager when she became hot-tempered. Whenever Cixi lost control and became angry, Li Lianying would listen and then say words to calm the situation. Whenever someone made a mistake that angered the empress dowager, Li Lianying never added fuel to the fire but knew how to choose his words carefully.

Although she was good at talking, Li Lianying was not the type to "just talk and help the hands", but was very skillful with her hands. The Empress Dowager was busy with state affairs and often had back pain, but Li Lianying's soft, supple massaging hands helped the Empress Dowager dispel all her fatigue, and from then on she trusted this close servant more and more.

In addition, Li Lianying also bathed the Empress Dowager every day, groomed her, and pinned her hair neatly. To please the Empress Dowager Cixi, Li Lianying was so meticulous and careful that he did not lose a single strand of hair. The eunuch also braided unique hairstyles for the Empress Dowager, telling her many stories inside and outside the palace while combing her hair.

However, to maintain the position of chief eunuch for many years, Li Lianying must have had an outstanding intelligence to be able to help Empress Dowager Cixi handle the affairs of state and the harem. He was also considered a good chief eunuch when he repeatedly restrained the Empress Dowager's anger from being directed at other eunuchs and palace maids, even rescuing his subordinates from deadly situations. Not only did he satisfy his master, but he also made the eunuchs and palace maids respect him. In Chinese history, few people could do what Li Lianying did.

Putting aside Li Lianying's crimes and wrongdoings towards the royal family and the Manchu country at that time, many people still had to acknowledge the eunuch's loyalty to Cixi. After the Empress Dowager passed away, Li Lianying took care of her funeral, then left the palace to live in seclusion. Two years after Cixi passed away, Li Lianying also passed away.

On January 14, 2011, the Chinese Cultural History e-newspaper published an article titled "Decoding the complex relationship between Empress Dowager Cixi and eunuch Li Lianying." In it, the author relied on many pieces of evidence such as Li Lianying's stele, his resume stored in the Qing Dynasty's Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the testimony of a palace maid who married a eunuch close to Li to conclude that the above information was inaccurate and baseless.

Not only that, the old eunuch Truong Phuc once recounted that the rules for eunuchs were extremely strict. He said: "If you are a fake eunuch, you are absolutely not allowed to enter the palace. If you have entered the palace and are found to not meet the standards of a eunuch, you will be beheaded. For more than 200 years of the Great Qing Dynasty, the palace was extremely clean. Every year, eunuchs went through an inspection. This was the rule of the Kinh Su room. But the old eunuchs who already had status only came here to chat, drink tea, and take roll call. Because they had already gone through more than ten inspections, there could be no mistakes. There were also knife makers here to inspect the eunuchs, there were no ordinary doctors."

In the book "Things I Saw and Heard in the Qing Dynasty Palace" it is recorded that the Old Buddha showed favor to his chief steward as follows: "... During the Qing Dynasty, many people became widows. Although the Western Empress Dowager had a lot of work to do, she still felt very dull and bored every day. When she had free time, she would write, paint or watch a little theater... but her heart still felt empty. The person who could help the Empress Dowager dispel this feeling was the eunuch Li Lianying.

Li Lianying became inseparable from the empress dowager, always following her closely. The relationship between the two became extremely intimate. During three meals a day, from morning to night, they would ask each other questions like: "Is the food delicious?". Sometimes, the empress dowager would personally come to Li Lianying's bedroom: "Lianying, let's go for a walk!". Sometimes, the empress dowager would call Li Lianying into her room, and the two would chat until late at night.

Empress Dowager Cixi was famous for her authority, but there was only one person who made her "speechless" Uyển Đình18:46:38 15/07/2024At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Empress Dowager Cixi was always considered a figure above ten thousand people, the person in charge of the Qing Dynasty. Possessing supreme power, Tu Hi makes many people fear and dare to disobey her wishes.