Empress Dowager Cixi predicted the demise of the Qing Dynasty in one sentence: What happened?

The relevant historical materials of the story are explained as follows:

Empress Dowager Cixi was the highest decision-maker and actual ruler in the late Qing Dynasty and Guangxu. She ruled China for 47 years in the name of listening to politics and speaking politics. In the face of China's "once-in-a-thousand-year great change", Cixi did not judge the situation, look at the world, enrich Qiang Bing and push forward history like Peter the Great of Russia and Emperor Meiji of Japan. On the contrary, she regards her own power as more important than the interests of the country and the nation and its future development, and goes her own way, thus making China far behind the world. This is her tragedy and the misfortune of the Chinese nation.

In her life, Cixi once said many things that have been notorious for thousands of years, such as "measuring China's material resources, the country's favor". But there is an interesting saying, which not only goes against the trend, but also becomes a prophecy of the demise of the Qing Dynasty. The thing is this: One day in the late Qing Dynasty, Empress Dowager Cixi cursed at the imperial court because of the incompetence of her ministers: "I am a powerful country in the Great Qing Dynasty, and the people are rich and strong. Although the sword is now hidden, the horse is in the south. But the foundation is there, and not anyone can overthrow it casually. " Later, Cixi looked at the candles in the palace and said loudly, "Unless the lampholders face down, the Qing Dynasty will perish!"

No one can stop the pace of civilization. In the eighth year of Guangxu (1882), liddell, an Englishman, established Shanghai Electric Company (also known as Shanghai Electro-Optical Company) by way of share offering, and founded the first power plant in China at No.3 Dasha Road1(now No.90 Nanjing East Road/kloc-0). At the same time, the first arc lamp pole was erected in the corner fence of the power plant, and the 15 lamp was connected in series along the vertical pole line from the Bund to the China Merchants Wharf in Hongkou. At 7: 00 p.m. on June 12 of the same year (1July 26, 882), the power plant began to supply power. At night, the arc lights shine together, dazzling people and attracting hundreds of people to watch. The next day, Chinese and foreign newspapers in Shanghai reported that the lights were flashing.

1886 (the 12th year of Guangxu), Xiyuan and Sanhai, built large-scale buildings and palaces. When the palace was built, electric lights were installed in the Ilan Hall, which was the earliest electric light installed in the Qing Palace. Later, electric lights were installed in the Forbidden City. Cixi was still alive at that time. I guess she forgot what she once said. Otherwise, according to her personality, she would never be allowed to install this "lamp head down" electric light.

Electric lights are also installed in the Summer Palace. Meng Xinshi's Collection of Historical Records of the Ming and Qing Dynasties contains two notes on current affairs in Qin Xiao in Qing Dynasty by Tao Lanquan. Tao Lanquan (Xiang, a famous bibliophile) is an official appointed by Sheng Xuanhuai to handle the installation of electric lights in the Summer Palace and Lu Han Road. Cixi agreed to install electric lights in the Summer Palace because she could have more fun in it. If she doesn't play enough during the day, she will come back at night. At this time, electric lights show extraordinary advantages over things like candles.

To Cixi's surprise, she became a prophet in one sentence. After the "lamp holder" really "fell down", the mountains and rivers of the Qing Dynasty declined more and more, and finally they were helplessly spent in the gunfire of Wuchang Uprising.