The Burning of the Imperial Palace
The grand Taihe Hall, resplendent with ceremonial flags and banners, bears witness to the proceedings as court officials, under the vigilant eyes of imperial guards, prostrate themselves while imperial court music fills the air. They are performing the kowtow rite during the enthronement ceremony for the tenth emperor of the Ching Dynasty - a six-year-old. The mastermind behind this court scene is the well-known Empress Dowager, Cixi - a woman of extraordinary power in modern history.
Cixi comes from a family of officials. Endowed with beauty, she is at the same time a refined lady well-versed in song but also a shrewd and calculating one. She, then known as Yulan, is chosen by the Emperor Xianfeng to grace his court. But because her family has been having a long-standing feud with the royal family, she is thus not particularly favoured by the Emperor. On top of that, the most influential official, Sushun, often speaks ill of her. She is eventually not chosen to be Empress. The whole world rejoices on the day of the royal wedding, but the unhappy Yulan alone is filled with hate and jealousy. However, because the Empress is not able to produce an heir, Xianfeng turns to Lady Li, a pretty woman and skilful dancer. But Lady Li gives birth to a girl, to the disappointment of Xianfeng but the secret delight of Yulan.
One day in Yuanming Palace, Yulan, in her best array, is whiling her time away in boredom when she hears of the sudden royal visit to the place. She manages to win the heart of Xianfeng by singing a song of lingering sadness.
Henceforth, Yulan could often be found in the Emperor's presence while he is playing chess, practising calligraphy or correcting reports. She is given the title Lady-in-waiting Ji. From that time on, Xianfeng indulges in the pleasures of the court and consoles himself with the thought that the world would be at peace now that he has an heir.
In reality, the kindgom is threatened internally by the Taiping rebels and Nien bandits, and externally by the British and French imperialists, who, using the ‘Yaluo Incident’ and ‘The murder of Rev. Ma’ as excuses, attack Guangzhou and deploy their battleships in Tianjin’s Dagukou Harbour, directly threatening the capital. The Manchu court is thrown into a state of turmoil. Some officials are for war, others for peace; some want to defend the capital, others want to desert it. The fearful and despairing cries of the common folk rent the air as the situation comes to a head.
The group of officials headed by Sushun strongly advise Xianfeng to spirit the royal family away to the Rehe temporary Palace, under the pretence of going on an autumnal hunt. The gorup led by Prince Consort Yixin is firmly against the desertion of the capital. Lady Ji comes forth to settle the dispute. She belittles Sushun's advice to his face and is all for war against the foreign invaders. Xianfeng, torn between two alternatives, finally orders Prince Consort Senggelinqin’s cavalry to fight the united armies of Britain and France at Baliqiao on the outskirts of the capital. Xianfeng, together with his empresses, concubines and Sushun, escape headlong from the palace, ordering Prince Consort Yixin to stay behind to meet the invaders.
Xianfeng takes refuge in the Rehe temporary palace, but still spends his days in pleasure, unconcerned about the common folk who are being callously maltreated by the foreign armies.
While the invaders are burning down the Xie village and slaughtering the villagers on the outskirts of the capital, a hunter Feng Sanbao and his daughter Feng Wanzhen bravely resist the invaders and make them pay dearly in blood for their outrageous deeds. But they are hopelessly outnumbered and heroically sacrifice their lives in the end.
The united armies of Britain and France push their way to Yuanming Palace and, under the pretext of searching the Palace, begin their plunder. Palace guardians Wenfeng and his son try in vain to stop them and drown themselves in Fuhai. The foreign armies wantonly ransack the Palace, plundering untold treasures in antiques, jewels, paintings and calligraphy. To wipe out the evidence of their plunder, the British and French leaders set fire to the world-famous ‘Palace of all Palaces’ and force the Ching Dynasty to sign a humiliating treaty at gunpoint.