Meiji and Cixi are two influential figures in modern world history. One is the Emperor of Japan and the other is the Empress Dowager of the Qing Dynasty. As the actual rulers of the two empires, their lives are completely different, which can be said to be two extremes. Cixi likes pleasure and lives a luxurious life, while Emperor Meiji lives a simple and even shabby life.

Japan is a small country with few people, so Emperor Meiji is not as rich as Empress Dowager Cixi, and Japan's finance is far less rich than that of the Great Qing Dynasty. In order to save money to buy warships, the Japanese emperor only ate one meal a day, and the dishes were porridge, wild vegetables, rice balls and dried salted fish. For the monarch of a country, the life of Emperor Meiji can no longer be described as shabby, it is simply begging. However, although Meiji was hungry, he used all the money saved to buy warships!

Compared with the stingy Emperor Meiji, Cixi's life can no longer be described as luxury. But as far as eating is concerned, Cixi is not as good as Emperor Meiji. Cixi has a total of 120 dishes in a meal, and every dish will not be eaten less. Of course, she can't eat so many dishes at all. She only eats two or three bites of each dish, and the rest is for servants or dogs. Cixi never had to help herself to eat. As long as it is a maid-in-waiting eunuch, she will give her long chopsticks and bring the food to her mouth. All she has to do is open her mouth.

Cixi's dishes are exquisite, including delicacies, bird's nest, shark's fin, bear's paw, velvet antler and even tiger bone soup. A wild Siberian tiger will be caught in the dish of "clear soup and tiger gall". If Cixi lived for decades, it is estimated that the Siberian tiger would have been extinct long ago. Even small stinky tofu should be cooked in "Wang Zhihe South Sauce Garden", which is rare in ancient and modern times.

According to reports, Cixi's "Western Restaurant" can cook more than 4,000 kinds of dishes and more than 400 kinds of snacks. New products are produced every day, and there is not enough to eat every day. She is very picky about eating watermelons. She only eats the middle part of the pulp, one bite at a time, and can eat more than 200 watermelons a day. Of course, eating watermelon is nothing. Apples are the most consumed in the palace. It is said that Cixi can use 158000 apples a year. She uses apples not to eat, but to smell the fruit.

Cixi lives like a local tyrant. I don't know how Meiji, who only eats pickles once a day, feels after knowing this.