Chapter 34 Lecture 32

In the Dongnuan Pavilion of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, four of the five young emperors of the Qing Dynasty, Shunzhi, Tongzhi, Guangxu and Xuantong except Emperor Kangxi, staged tragedies here.Among them, Emperor Shunzhi and Emperor Tongzhi both died of smallpox on the dragon bed in the East Nuan Pavilion of the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Emperor Shunzhi and Emperor Tongzhi who died in the East Nuan Pavilion of the Hall of Mental Cultivation are very interesting. They have eight things in common: they both ascended to the throne at the age of six, the emperor's uncle and prince were regents, they were self-willed young, lazy in studying, contracted smallpox, passed away when they were young, and died in their hometown. The Hall of Mental Cultivation also had a tragic ending.

I counted: out of the ten emperors of the Qing Dynasty in Beijing, seven died outside the palace—Emperor Kangxi died in Qingxi Bookstore in Changchun Garden, Emperor Yongzheng died in Yuanmingyuan, Emperor Jiaqing died in Yanbozhishuang Hall of Chengde Mountain Resort, Emperor Daoguang died in Shende Hall in Yuanmingyuan, Emperor Xianfeng died in Yanbozhishuang Hall in Chengde Mountain Resort, Emperor Guangxu died in Hanyuan Hall in Yingtai, Xiyuan (now Zhongnanhai), and Empress Xuantong died in Beijing Hospital as a commoner.The other three—Emperor Shunzhi, Emperor Qianlong and Emperor Tongzhi all died in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Emperor Shunzhi was the first emperor after the Qing Dynasty entered the customs. He set the tripod in the Central Plains and ruled the world.However, in the past eight years, no matter where I went, in the south or the north, in the mainland or Taiwan, in China or abroad, I was often asked the same question: did Emperor Shunzhi die from smallpox, or did he become a monk? I can say with certainty: Emperor Shunzhi died of smallpox in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.Some people still don't believe it, so I will list the historical facts and give a brief explanation.

Why do readers generally think that Emperor Shunzhi became a monk?This is related to his belief in Buddhism: In the 14th year of Shunzhi (1657), under the careful arrangement of the eunuch, the 20-year-old Shunzhi Emperor met with the monk Han Pucong at the Haihui Temple in the Xuanwu Gate of the capital. phase printing.Then Emperor Shunzhi called Han Pucong into the palace.Emperor Shunzhi summoned Monk Han Pucong in Wanshan Hall in Xiyuan (now Zhongnanhai) to ask him about Buddhism, and bestowed him the title of "Master Mingjue".The more Emperor Shunzhi practiced Buddhism, the more pious he became, and the more he believed in it, the more sincere he became.He also summoned monks such as Yulinxiu, Muchenmian and (ang) Xisen to give lectures in the palace.Emperor Shunzhi asked Yulinxiu to give him a dharma name, and he chose the word "Chi", so he took the dharma name "Xingchi" and the dharma name "Idiot Taoist".Yulinxiu praised Emperor Shunzhi as "the son of heaven with a Buddha heart", and Shunzhi called himself a disciple in front of these monks.

Emperor Shunzhi had the idea of ​​shaving or becoming a monk.Once he said to Mu Chenmin that he must have been a monk in his previous life, so when he came to the Buddhist temple and saw that the windows of the monk's house were bright and clean, he didn't want to go back to the palace again.If it weren't for the empress dowager's concern, I would have become a monk!After the death of his beloved concubine Dong E, he lost all thoughts and wanted to escape into Buddhism.According to records and statistics, in two months, he went to the monk's meditation house 38 times, interviewed each other and discussed Zen, talked all night, and indulged in the world of Buddha.Emperor Shunzhi ordered Monk Xisen to clean his hair, to give up the throne, to wear cassocks, and to practice alone.Xisen began to dissuade him, but Emperor Shunzhi refused to listen, so he had to shave his hair.This time the Empress Dowager became anxious, and quickly called Xisen's master, Yulinxiu, to the capital.After Yulinxiu arrived in Beijing, he saw his disciple Xisen shaving the hair of the current emperor, and immediately ordered people to build a pyre to burn Xisen to death.Seeing this scene, Emperor Shunzhi felt helpless and said that he would not go home.

Emperor Shunzhi was a capricious, fragile, sentimental, and melancholy young emperor.He was hit by tragedies one after another—the death of his beloved son, the death of his beloved concubine, the death of his nurse, his attempted suicide, his failure to become a monk, his mental torture under extreme grief, and his emaciated body suddenly collapsed!Just a hundred days after the death of Concubine Dong E, Emperor Shunzhi, the "infatuated son of heaven", collapsed in the Hall of Mental Cultivation due to smallpox and the treatment was ineffective.According to some books, Emperor Shunzhi died on the dragon bed hung with curtains in the East Nuan Pavilion of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.Emperor Shunzhi died of smallpox and was not a monk. Is there any basis for this?Have.

First, official history records.In the first month of the eighteenth year of Shunzhi (1661), "Ding Si (the seventh day of the first day) Yezi engraved, and collapsed in the Hall of Mental Cultivation." (Volume 144 of "Records of Emperor Shizu of the Qing Dynasty") Second, court evidence.Because Emperor Shunzhi suffered from smallpox, the Qing government banned folk fried beans. Third, direct written testimony.When Emperor Shunzhi was critically ill, Wang Xi, a scholar in charge of the Imperial Academy, drafted the Legacy Edict. "Wang Xi's Self-determination Chronicle" records this event: On the second day of the first month of the eighteenth year of Shunzhi, Emperor Shunzhi suddenly fell ill and became seriously ill.The next day, Wang Xi was called to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.On the night of the sixth day, Wang Xi was summoned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation and said, "I am suffering from acne, and I will never get rid of it. You can listen to my words carefully and write an imperial edict quickly." Wang Xi retreated to the Xiwei screen under the gate of Qianqing, according to the According to the dictation of Emperor Shunzhi, the "Last Edict" was written, and one article was written and submitted immediately.One day and one night, three visits, three appointments. "The Legacy" was written and revised by the evening of the seventh day.That night, Emperor Shunzhi passed away.

Fourth, the remains are cremated.Emperor Shunzhi ordered the cremation of the body on his deathbed: "The ancestors made a fire bath, and now I pay attention to the principles of Zen, and I must learn French with a torch..." Monk Xisen wrote a verse before his death: "In the Qing Dynasty, the Son of Heaven was saved, and the Golden Luan Hall taught Zen!" Fifth, Jingshan Bingju.After the death of Emperor Shunzhi, the body was cremated, presided over by the monk Xisen.On April 17th, Monk Xisen cremated the remains of Emperor Shunzhi in the Shouhuang Palace in Jingshan.After Xisen passed away, his disciple Chaode and others compiled the "Quotations of Zen Master Mingdao Zhengjue Xisen" to record relevant events.

Sixth, records in classics. "Wudeng Quanshu" quotes Xisen's quotations, saying: Shizu's edict, summoned the teacher (Xixen) to Jingshan Shouhuang Hall to hold the torch, saying: Sakyamuni Nirvana, human and heaven are all enlightened.The cremation of the first emperor went a step further.Gu Zuoyou said: In front of Shouhuang Hall, Guanma Road.Then enter the torch. Seventh, the "League" is evidence.The fourteen articles of Emperor Shunzhi's "Last Edict" are like the last words of a dying patient, not like a message before becoming a monk. Eighth, Wutai counter-evidence.It was in the 22nd year of Kangxi (1683) that Emperor Kangxi sent the Empress Dowager of Xiaozhuang to Wutai Mountain. He first went to explore the road, and then he went with the Empress Dowager. On Mount Wutai.This inspires people to think: mothers look at their sons, and sons look at their fathers. How could it be that Emperor Shunzhi left home 22 years after he became a monk?Obviously unreasonable.

Not only Emperor Shunzhi died of smallpox, but also Emperor Tongzhi died of smallpox.Emperor Tongzhi inherited the throne at the age of 6, and took charge at the age of 18. He died on the dragon bed in the East Nuan Pavilion of the Hall of Mental Cultivation the next year at the age of 19.The successor was four-year-old Zaitan, Emperor Guangxu. In addition, there is another young emperor who is the Xuantong Emperor Puyi. Ascension to the throne at the age of 3, the queen mother and prince assisted the government.As a result, there were three famous empress dowagers in the late Qing Dynasty.