Do you know who invented the call "eggplant" when taking pictures? Even if I think about it, I would never have thought that it was invented by , Cixi, more than a hundred years ago. Because of this, the old lady still made a big fool in front of foreigners.
The cold wind cannot blow the years, and the yellow sand cannot bury history. Empress Dowager Cixi was the last ruler of the royal power of the Qing Dynasty. She also personally ruined the dying Qing Dynasty. Although patriotic righteous men such as Kang Youwei , Liang Qichao and Liang Qichao ended in failure. The shame of "Hankan Treaty" and "Hankan Treaty" nailed Cixi firmly on the cross of the national sinners.
In the late Qing Dynasty, they were always closed-door countries, unwilling to communicate with foreign countries, and had no contact with other countries. Empress Dowager Cixi mistakenly believed that it would be safe if they did not deal with others, but when the West had already begun the industrial revolution , the Qing Dynasty still had no idea how wonderful the outside world was.
Until 1840, Britain used cannons to open the corrupt door of the Qing government, and Western science and technology and some new things rushed into China.
The introduction of advanced machines forced many handicraft workshops to go bankrupt. People living in feudal society did not understand the products of technology and could only rely on subjective speculation, some were curious, some were afraid, and some were cursed.
The first ones to come into contact with these new things were the high-ranking officials and nobles, and the Empress Dowager Cixi in the Bauhinia City was no exception. She also liked to follow the trend. At first, she knew nothing about Western things until a female official named Yu Deling appeared.
Yu Deling was born in Zhengbai Banner , and is an authentic Manchu aristocratic bloodline. Due to her prominent identity, she had been in and out of Japan, France and other countries with her father very early. Her long overseas life made her accept a lot of Western ideas. She is a progressive woman who advocates democracy and freedom and can easily accept new things.
After she returned to China, she became a female official for Cixi and told Cixi some things about the West. At first, Cixi was proud and felt that she knew everything. When Yu Deling showed the camera she brought back from abroad, Cixi was confused and didn't know what it was. When taking pictures of the old cameras before
, a stream of white smoke would appear, and then a "bang" sound would be heard, which scared Cixi. She said that this thing was a monster, which could capture people's souls, and then pasted the person on a piece of paper. Yu Deling asked her to take a photo, but she didn't dare to do anything.
Yu Deling told her the principle of the camera, so that she could rest assured that this thing would not hurt people, so Cixi tried to let Yu Deling take pictures. Maybe it is because of Cixi's identity. She is used to being serious in normal times, so she also has a stern face when taking photos, and her expression looks very unnatural.
In order to make her relax, Yu Deling thought of many ways to make Cixi laugh, but Cixi just couldn't laugh. Later, she remembered that when Westerners took photos, they were used to saying the word "cheese". When they said this word, the corners of their mouths would rise, which looked relaxed and smiling, but Cixi didn't understand English, let alone could not speak it. Yu Deling could not teach her several times, but later Cixi said "eggplant". When she said it, the effect was very similar to "chees", and it happened to be a smiling expression. After
After Cixi was not afraid of taking pictures. She found that the portrait was printed on paper, and she did not lose her soul, nor became the living dead person she imagined. Instead, she fell in love with taking pictures. She especially liked Putuo Mountain , and asked Li Lianying to dress up as guardian Weituo , and took photos together with Prince Qing's fourth princess dressed up as Dragon Girl .
Once, foreigners came to the Qing Palace and brought the light bulbs invented by Cixi to Edison . At that time, there were only candles lighting up in the Qing Dynasty. How could Cixi know what a light bulb was? When the foreigners turned on the light bulbs, the whole room was illuminated instantly, but Cixi blurted out a word: "eggplant", which made everyone present confused.
It turned out that when Cixi saw the light bulb lit, she thought it was the camera flash, and she thought she was taking pictures of her. Yu Deling hurriedly came out to resolve the embarrassing scene.
Think about this stupid and ignorant woman who was in power in the Qing Dynasty for decades. Her cowardice and selfishness will definitely lead this feudal dynasty to demise. The shame and losses she brought to China will never be restored.
