Toward the end of the Qing Dynasty, Empress Dowager Cixi arrogated all powers onto herself. This period, called the Guangxu Xuantong Reign, was China's darkest and most corrupt political period.

But the newly named Empress Dowager Cixi quickly ousted them on fabricated charges of incompetence. She then issued imperial edicts "from behind the curtains" that she and Dowager Empress Cian ...

Fung's interest in Cixi is shaped both by her heritage and her reading of Chinese history. "Empress Dowager Cixi is a fascinating figure because she represents a contradiction — she wielded ...

That was Empress Dowager Cixi’s life story; the woman who ruled China in the 19th century and arguably the most important Chinese woman in history. Born in 1835, Cixi was brought in as a ...