ScholarWorks@숙명여자대학교

초록

This paper examines the background of Empress Dowager Cixi’s selection of “Tian Lei Bao” for court performances after the Coup in 1898, and psychology of Empress, who wanted to express through the performance of this work. It was to directly express Empress Dowager Cixi’s hatred for Emperor Gwangxi’s ungrateful disrespect. Empress strongly pushed Guangxi, who could not become emperor as he was not born a prince, making him the first emperor in the history of the Qing Dynasty, as well as raised Guangxi with great care, who entered the palace at the age of four. However, far from repaying such “sincere affection”, Guangxi attempted to eliminate Empress by initiating martial arts reform under the pretext of the Qing dynasty reform. Empress was outraged, and she attempted to imprison and dethrone the Guangxi Emperor by triggering a martial arts coup in 1898. However, the dethronement of Gwangxi ended in failure due to internal and external opposition, and Empress Cixi’s hatred for Gwangxi reached its peak. So, she chose “Tian Lei Bao”, a work that scolded the filial piety in the private sector, watching it four times in March and April 1900. “Tian Lei Bao” means “retaliation of lightning,” and it is a story of an unfilial son who dies after being struck by a “thunderbolt,” the heavenly punishment. After watching “Tian Lei Bao”, a representative work that punishes disloyal people and awakens the importance of filial piety in the private sector at that time, Empress ordered detailed modifications to the contents and stage effects of original work in order to further maximize Emperor Gwangxi’s disloyalty and its cost. Through this, Empress expressed her hatred for Emperor Gwanxi to the extreme. In the end, the “Stge of Htred” was set up in the palace from Empress Dowager Cixi’s wish that the ingratitude of Emperor Guangxi would appear as ‘retribution of lightning’.

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