CiXi – the Dragon Lady

The Dragon Lady Few women in history have been as vilified as Cixi (“Tse-shee”, 1835-1905), the concubine who took absolute power in China, and held on to it, for almost 50 years. After a century of defamation as a Wicked Witch of the East, historians have decided it’s time to relook at her legacy. From a powerless teenager in the harem of Emperor Xianfeng, Cixi rose sharply in the ranks, becoming the Empress Dowager and effectively the person in command of China. She did this through a mix of fate (by giving birth to the emperor’s only son), and the clever move of befriending Empress Ci’an. They would be co-regents and remain close allies until Ci’an’s death. As Xianfeng sank into a stupor induced by opium and women with tiny feet, Cixi spent time studying Confucianism, while mastering court politics. After his death, she ruthlessly dismissed the men in power, putting her son Tongzhi on the throne aged 5. Cixi stood behind a scroll, taking every decision. (And so was born the phrase ‘ruling from behind a curtain’). This strangle-hold on power continued, with one toddler and then another being made Emperor (the last being Pu Yi, who abdicated in 1911, ending over 2000 years of imperial rule.) Although Cixi’s reign brought modern changes like the railways and electricity, she stubbornly protected China from Western influence. The anti-Christian Boxer Rebellion, her most critical error, cost lives, territories, and millions in reparations; arguably the last nail in the imperial coffin. Under the KMT, her grave was robbed, her body thrown out after her jaws were prized open to take a rare pearl from between her teeth, and priceless personal effects looted. Who really was Cixi? A power-hungry monster, or a formidable woman with a tenacious grip on a slippery world? It's true though, history can have trouble giving a powerful woman her due.

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