Cixi's power only increased after this, and she finally exacted revenge on Guangxu just before her death in 1908. Cixi's actions and methods were at times controversial, and in 1898 she thwarted an assassination attempt sanctioned by Emperor Guangxu, her adopted son. Cixi, Wade-Giles romanization Tz’u-hsi, also called Xitaihou or Xiaoqin Xianhuanghou, byname Empress Dowager, (born November 29, 1835, Beijing, Chinadied November 15, 1908, Beijing), consort of the Xianfeng emperor (reigned 185061), mother of the Tongzhi emperor (reigned 186175), adoptive mother of the Guangxu emperor (reigned 1875. Physical Description: xiii, 436 pages, 32 unnumbered pages of plates. Memoirist Chang (Wild Swans) melds her deep knowledge of Chinese history with deft storytelling to unravel the empress dowager's behind-the-throne efforts to "Make China Strong" by developing international trade, building railroads and utilities, expanding education, and constructing a modern military. Empress Dowager Cixi : the concubine who launched modern China / Jung Chang. Cixi did not trust these men to competently rule China, so she conspired with Empress Zhen, her close friend and the deceased emperor's first wife, to orchestrate a coup. When the emperor died in 1861, he bequeathed his title to this son, with regents to oversee his reign. Literate, politically aware, and graceful rather than beautiful, Cixi was not Xianfeng's favorite, but she delivered his firstborn son in 1856. Born in 1835 to a prominent Manchu family, Cixi was chosen in 1852 by the young Chinese Emperor Xianfeng as one of his concubines. Her original first name was considered too inconsequential to enter in the court registry, yet she became the most powerful woman in 19th-century China.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |