Chinese authorities release the denial of royal bloodline scandal—Cnetizens' reaction towards the denial: utter nonsense
See previous post here: DNA testing has accidentally uncovered the biggest royal secret in modern Chinese history (Two of the most highly regarded and powerful emperors in Qing dynasty are impostors, and had no royal blood at all).
Yesterday, authorities suddenly stepped in with emergency measures. Multiple state-media outlets published statements debunking the rumors, stating that the "bloodline swap" theory is a baseless conspiracy. They emphasized that official genetic sampling of Aisin Gioro descendants confirms the Qing imperial bloodline has always been legitimate. This urgent clarification was originally published on the official WeChat account of "Science China(科普中国)".
But Chinese netizens have taken it remarkably chill and aren't buying it at all. They just keep roasting calmly. And many Cnetizens have proved that the "fact-check" is full of holes.
This "debunking paper" was authored by Professor Yan Shi from Minzu University of China. Cnetizens find the so-called evidence he provided unconvincing—essentially lacking substance. More importantly, the public widely understands that the core mission of universities for ethnic affairs is to promote ethnic unity and maintain social stability (Note: The Chinese term "Minzu" and the English word "ethnic" don't have exact equivalents, though we won't delve into that distinction here). Also the term "Central" in the university's name highlights its official background. In China, the use of "Central/Zhongyang" is strictly regulated—it is exclusively reserved for institutions of the central government (all such organizations are based in Beijing, and local governments are not permitted to use it). The swift and high-level nature of this response, however, only makes people feel it's a case of "protesting too much."
Chinese netizens have responded with the following rebuttals:
What's more snowballing, Cnetizens suspected Yan Shi came from an academic elite family and served as a government mouthpiece. In the age of big data, personal information is practically public—if it's not, the resourceful Chinese netizens will find a way to dig it up. So they dug into his background—and were shocked. He truly is descended from a powerful lineage: his great-grandfather was Yan Xiu, a renowned modern historical figure and one of the founders of Nankai University.
Netizens pointed out the flaw: you'd need to test the Y chromosome of every single male in every generation to be sure the lineage is unbroken. A single match doesn't prove anything, making the paper's argument weak. People remain unconvinced not only because of its lack of rigor, but also because the study completely ignores the independently tested results from the public — specifically, those showing that descendants of the Aisin Gioro and the Hong & Chen families share the same Han Chinese ancestral genes.
This matter is far from over—it's only escalating. It's expected to become a recurring topic of ongoing discussion, as Dream of the Red Chamber is regarded as the masterpiece among masterpieces. When people discuss the novel, they simply can't avoid this issue. The authorities certainly can't ban Dream of the Red Chamber now—that would be like shooting themselves in the foot.
Now, Cnetizens are saying they wouldn't believe it even if Kangxi was dug up on a live stream—who knows what foul play might happen off-camera? There's precedent: 50 billion in disaster relief for Ya'an of Sichuan was embezzled, and an actress tied to the scandal was let off the hook officially. This protection of interests happens all the time.
Jokes aside, those who know the history see it differently. They say we shouldn't cast Hong Chengchou as some kind of hero. From the perspective of ordinary people, this guy was pretty awful. To climb the ranks, he helped the Qing design an even harsher system to control civilians. And after he rose to power, the Qing dynasty became more and more isolated.
Here's a interesting theory: since Shunzhi was supposedly killed by cannon fire (orchestrated by Hong himself), Kangxi became super wary of cannons afterward — he was scared it would happen again. So he tightly restricted cannon development. And that move, like a butterfly effect, might have been one reason the Qing missed the Industrial Revolution. Some believe that if the Ming's emphasis on cannon technology had continued, China would've had a much better shot at an industrial revolution.
So these history buffs think the late Qing wasn't really the dynasty Nurhaci built, nor did it resemble the Ming at its peak — it was more like a strange, hybrid regime stitched together from conflicting legacies.
While Cnetizens are used to these stories from their own history, international audiences might find it all pretty wild — like, why were they so obsessed with male bloodlines? And why were wives and concubines locked away in inner courtyards? (This mostly happened after the rise of Neo-Confucianism — back in the open-minded Tang Dynasty, things were totally different.)
To simply put: it was a mix of patriarchal interests and brainwashing by the ruling class to control ordinary people.
In China, Confucian filial piety serves as an exceptionally effective tool precisely because rulers have used it to shift the responsibility of elder care from society onto individuals—a practice that has persisted throughout history. Until a comprehensive elder care system is established, this system will endure for a long time. Therefore, on Chinese social media, if you openly suggest that adults need not support their parents or adhere to filial piety and get a lot of likes comments reblogs, your social media accounts will be suspended overnight - you have touched upon the fundamental interests and underlying logic of the nation.
But the more intense the patriarchal suppression, the stronger the public backlash becomes. Most Cnetizens believe that maternal lineage is fundamental and unchanging. Here is the context: surrogacy is completely illegal in China - its legality varies in other countries. Cnetizens view surrogacy as a direct form of exploitation against women and children - extremely inhumane. They look down on the practice, and consider those who run surrogacy companies to be fundamentally selfish and evil. In China, if a celeb is proven to have used surrogacy, they will face a permanent ban from public life. Not only that, but their reputation will be completely ruined. However, this still doesn't stop many wealthy individuals from secretly going abroad for surrogacy services. The government has also outlawed surrogacy to align with public opinion on this issue—the government wants things such as gender ratio to be balanced because it's good for the nation. But surrogacy messes that up – a lot of people using it just pick boys. So, it also shows how vast and complex society is.
And the buzz around this bombshell hasn't faded at all — Cnetizens say that it feels like we're all at this massive, open archaeological dig site that anyone can join. Everyone's digging eagerly, uncovering new clues one after another. It's as if each person has found the right puzzle piece, and together we're slowly fitting them into this enormous, incomplete map. Love and peace everywhere. They're having so much fun and they won't stop.
Most Cnetizens are just here for the drama. Even if they think the story is true, it's all past history to them — nobody's taking it too seriously. The whole vibe is like binge-watching a TV series.
The most amazing part is how wildly this gossip spread—big data algorithms actually pushed the posts to a direct descendant of the Chen family. She's a young woman now based in Shanghai, and seeing all these discussions online has got her really excited. Ms. Chen said the complete version might really be in the hands of the clan leader. However, the main branch of the Chen family was separated during the war. She now plans to start searching for the clan leader and has even visited the local museum to study the Chen family's complete genealogy. In the comments, a netizen chatted with her and mentioned having bought a batch of timber from her family back in the day. She actually recalled the incident.
Here's what Ms. Chen originally said: "My family was very close to the emperor back then. From what the older generations said, it was to secure favor—our Chen family had no choice, and it was heartbreaking. At that time, our ancestors held high positions like Grand Secretary, and had strong influence across court departments. That’s why they grew close to the princes—probably because the royals knew our family wouldn’t gossip. We were all on the same boat, so they felt secure. That’s the story I heard from my elders. Over the years, word got out anyway—pretty much everyone in Haining knows about it." "I’ve visited the former residence of Senior Chen—it’s still there today. Writers like Jin Yong and Qiong Yao knew these secrets too. The Chens, Jin Yong’s Zha family, Xu Zhimo’s Xu family, and Jiang Baili and Jiang Ying’s Jiang family—all these Haining families intermarried for generations. We’re basically all relatives. Back in those days, they were all aware of these inside stories, so it’s no surprise they wrote them into their novels. I heard from elders that Jin Yong often visited my family when he was a kid."
As for whether Kangxi himself knew he was Hong Chengchou's son—based on current clues, the answer is yes, very much so. Chinese netizens have been digging through official historical records and cross-referencing details. Many unexplained mysteries suddenly align:
According to accounts by foreign envoys, Kangxi didn’t look or act like a nine-year-old but more like a thirteen-year-old (his age didn’t match).
Kangxi was exceptionally intelligent, especially in literature and mathematics—traits starkly different from his supposed father and grandfather (note: Hong Chengchou was a Ming dynasty scholar).
Kangxi observed only about ten days of mourning for his nominal mother, Empress Xiaokang, whose burial was modest. Yet, he mourned Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang—officially his grandmother—as a mother, for three full years.
Why did Oboi, once a loyal Qing minister, suddenly turn against Kangxi after the emperor “recovered from smallpox and returned to the palace,” even attempting a coup?
Why did the Plain Blue Banner, composed almost entirely of Manchu soldiers, inexplicably support the Southern Ming emperor Zhu Youlang against Kangxi—a legitimate Qing ruler—effectively committing treason?
All evidence suggests that early Qing leaders discovered the bloodline substitution: the empire founded by Nurhaci was being redirected, and they felt compelled to act.
Additional clues include:
Kangxi elevated the temple where Hong Chengchou was imprisoned into an ancestral shrine.
Hong Chengchou's son, Hong Shiming, held the position of Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, managing ancestral temple rites. Under traditional norms, this ceremonial duty fell specifically to the legitimate eldest son.
An unidentified male corpse was excavated from a Qing imperial tomb—wearing Ming official robes outside, but a dragon robe inside. His name was recorded as Huang Zhuowu (suspected to be a hidden reference to "The Emperor Came From My Family", suggesting this person was actually Hong Chengchou).
If you're interested, you can search social media platforms for detailed evidence and discussions.
The funniest part of this whole situation is the local cultural and tourism bureau in Haining—the hometown of Emperor Qianlong’s biological parents, the Chen family. They seized the viral moment to promote local tourism on their Xiaohongshu account. Their first post, written as if Emperor Qianlong himself was addressing netizens, said: "Your Emperor misses you in Haining." But soon after, it was reported by an anonymous user and temporarily taken down. Undeterred, the account continued posting humorous follow-ups like, "Your Emperor has a plaque in Haining" "With autumn's splendor at its peak, We cordially invite thee to revel in the joys of a journey south of the River" "In Haining, We seek to recruit people of virtue and talent for thy Emperor"and "There’s mink fur in my dragon robe—We don’t get cold in winter." Clearly, they know how to keep up with the trends.
