She was very particular about beauty.Every morning she would first drink a bowl of human milk and then eat a silver spoon of pearl powder made from high quality pearls.Also,she would first use a jade stick,which had both ends decorated in gold and wood,to massage her face with rice powder and applied rouge made from rose extract.An eunuch would comb her head and tell stories at the same time to relieve boredom.He would also dye Cixi's hair every 10 days so that there were no white hairs on her head.
When Cixi ate,she was very fussy.Dishes served for breakfast must not be less than 100.
Before she slept,she would soak her feet in water with medicine sent by the imperial doctor in accordance with the changes in weather and her health.In addition to that,there were two palace women to wash and massage her feet.Also,she would have egg white and silk applied to her face and her finger nails would be soaked and trimmed.
Washing at night was also a big fuss.There were four palace women to attend to her bath and another four to change the towels and water.In order to have a bath,100 towels were prepared.
Cixi also liked to fuss over her guanfang 官房 (imperial toilet).The palace women would run around getting ready while the eunuchs would wrap the chamber pot with embroidered cloth and carry it over their heads to just outside the Empress Dowager's sleeping quarters where it would be taken to a clean room for Cixi to use.After the Empress Dowager was done with her "business",the palace women would carry the chamber pot out and give it to the eunuchs who would wrap it up and carry it out.After washing,they would replace the pinewood sawdust and make sure that it was ready for the Empress Dowager to use whenever needed.
According to records,Cixi's guanfang was made from sandalwood and on the outside was carved a large gecko.The gecko mouth was slightly opened to hold the toilet paper.Along the gecko's back was a lid which could be opened to enable the user to sit and use it.In it was sprinkled some pinewood sawdust to mask the unpleasant odour.
Her tomb was robbed and her body was thrown aside.The body was found intact on the floor.
Here's a picture of her corpse.
WARNING...This picture is not for the faint of heart.
Edited by WuXiaHer0, 15 December 2009 - 01:04 AM.