It is said that? Dongling thief? Sun Dianying took off Empress Dowager Cixi's shoes when she stole the Empress Dowager Cixi's tomb and discovered a big secret. So what did Sun Dianying find at that time? Can this secret explain the identity of Cixi?
It is said that the secret discovered by Sun Dianying at that time was that Empress Dowager Cixi's feet were so small that people suspected that Empress Dowager Cixi was not a Han woman who had wrapped her feet, because Manchu women in the Qing Dynasty didn't have to wrap their feet. It is precisely because of this problem in Sun Dianying that it was widely circulated and evolved into a statement that Empress Dowager Cixi may be a Han Chinese.
So will Empress Dowager Cixi really be a Han Chinese? The answer is impossible. There are at least three evidences to prove that Cixi is not a Han Chinese.
First of all, Cixi was born in a Manchu family, and her father Cheng Wai was a blue flag bearer. Later, Cixi changed it to yellow flag, one of the three flags. In a word, Cixi's father is a standard bearer, which shows that Cixi is also a Manchu.
Secondly, in Qing Dynasty, Han women began to bind their feet at an early age. Long-term foot binding will cause the soles of their feet to bend and deform, not just become smaller. So Sun Dianying saw that Cixi's feet were small probably because she was born with small feet, or because the soles of her feet were dry 20 years after her death.
Thirdly, Cixi entered the imperial court through the draft, which can best prove that Cixi was Manchu, because the Qing Dynasty stipulated that only Manchu women could participate in the draft. If Cixi is a China woman, she has no chance to take part in the draft.
Through the above three reasons, it can be basically proved that Empress Dowager Cixi is a Manchu woman, and the reason why Empress Dowager Cixi is a Han Chinese may just be that someone deliberately added some mystery to Empress Dowager Cixi through Sun Dianying's mouth. This statement is not credible.