Empress Dowager Cixi
Manchu noblewoman who controlled the late Qing Dynasty as Empress Dowager and Regent.
Chronology: 1835-11-29 – 1908-11-15
Origins & Early Life
Empress Dowager Cixi (Mandarin pronunciation: [tsʰɹ̩̌.ɕì]; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908) was a Manchu noblewoman of the Yehe Nara clan who periodically controlled the government of the late Qing dynasty as empress dowager and regent from 1861 until her death in 1908. Cixi was selected as a concubine of the Xianfeng Emperor in her adolescence and gave birth to his son, Zaichun, in 1856. After the Xianfeng Emperor's death in 1861, their son became the Tongzhi Emperor, and Cixi assumed the role of co-empress dowager alongside Xianfeng's widow, Empress Dowager Ci'an. She and Ci'an ousted a group of regents appointed by the late emperor and assumed the regency together.
Pivotal Works & Achievements
Cixi then consolidated control over the dynasty when she installed her nephew as the Guangxu Emperor at the death of the Tongzhi Emperor in 1875. Ci'an continued to be co-regent with Cixi until her death in 1881. Cixi oversaw the Tongzhi Restoration, during which she rejected Western political institutions but supported technological and military modernization. In 1898, she suppressed the Hundred Days' Reform initiated by the Guangxu Emperor and placed him under house arrest for the remainder of his life, likely eventually...
Enduring Legacy & Impact
The historical impact and works continue to influence the modern world.
Source: Wikipedia