Revealing the secret to the ageless beauty of Empress Dowager Cixi

Not only was she one of the most powerful women in Chinese history, Empress Dowager Cixi was also famous for her astonishingly youthful appearance. History books record,The maid recounted that at the age of 60, Empress Dowager Cixi's skin was still "soft and smooth like a young girl's."

Katharine Carl, the first artist to paint a portrait of the Queen Mother, described: "She was 70 years old but looked only 30." Besides, clate Qing Dynasty, tThe average life expectancy of Chinese people is only about 50, but Tu Xi lived to be 74 years old.

So what is the secret that helps Empress Dowager Cixi stay young, beautiful and live long? Share withWomen of China, professorZhang Jingchun from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, who specializes in studying Qing Dynasty medical records, points out five key points below.

Diverse food

Empress Dowager Cixi ate a variety of healthful foods, including honey, walnuts, and sesame oil. She also regularly supplemented with ginseng to increase vitality and ward off fatigue.

Another food that Empress Dowager Cixi included in her diet was snow frog, the mucous membrane in the ovaries of female snow frogs. This special food contains many hormones that promote protein synthesis, which has the effect of improving the immune system, especially for menopausal women.

Liver care and menstrual regulation

Oriental medicine believes that the liver greatly affects women's health. Therefore, Empress Dowager Cixi regularly drank rose tea and chrysanthemum tea with mulberry leaves, both to protect the liver and to regulate the menstrual cycle.

Hair care

Empress Dowager Cixi's hair was falling out and becoming dry. The royal physician believed that she had weak kidneys, so he prescribed medicine to treat her kidney disease and also had the Empress Dowager use many herbs to wash and spray on her hair.

Scientific timetable

Throughout her life, Empress Dowager Cixi followed a fairly regular schedule. She woke up at 5-6am and had breakfast at 7am. At 10:30am, Cixi had lunch and rested from 11am to 1pm.

2pm was tea time. Then, at exactly 5pm, the Empress Dowager had dinner. After waiting for about an hour, Cixi took a bath and went to bed around 9-10pm. No matter what problems she encountered, the Empress Dowager easily fell asleep.

Empress Dowager Cixi's lifestyle followed the principles of traditional Chinese medicine. Specifically, traditional Chinese medicine recommends that people sleep at the hour of the Rat (11pm-1am), have breakfast at the hour of the Dragon (7am-9am), take a nap at the hour of the Horse (11am-1pm) and work at the hour of the Monkey (3pm-5pm).

Open-minded

No matter how busy she was, Empress Dowager Cixi still made time for entertainment. She was a fan of Peking opera and frequently introduced Western culture to the Forbidden City through food, photography, and telephones.Her positive attitude towards life and curiosity about new things seem to have contributed a lot to Empress Dowager Cixi's long and healthy life.