empress dowager CiXi

Empress Dowager Cixi was one of the most powerful women to have ever ruled China, the mention of her name struck fear to any one that dared to defy her. She ruled China with an iron fist, she was cruel and unjust and she is said to have killed any one that stood in her way. She was born in to low middle-class family and was able to rise to the top because of her beauty, but soon after she was able to rise to the top she became power hungry and corrupt. Her rise to power would cause the fall of the Qing Dynasty and of the imperial system that had been in place for hundreds of years. Cixi rise to power began in 1854, when she participated in the selection of consorts for the Emperor Xianfeng, Cixi was chosen an created as a worthy Lady Yi. After being chosen to be a consort it is said that she would do anything to get the Emperor 's attention resulting in her her tittle to be elevated to Concubine Yi in 1854. Soon after that she became pregnant with what would be the Emperors only surviving son giving birth to him in April 27, 1856 resulting in her elevation of status to the title Noble Consort Yi. It is stated that unlike the rest of the Emperors wife’s she was the only one that could read and write,often helping the Emperor in certain affairs of how to run the country, this would later on give Cixi the idea of how to run China, from the very beginning Cixi was already in charge because the Emperor would ask for her advise. In September 1860, British and French troops attacked the city of Beijing as a result of the second Opium War. This forced the Emperor to flee taking with him his concubines and family, after a month in Beijing the British and French troops burned down the Emperors Garden known as Yuan Ming Yuan. It is said that this caused the Emperor to become depressed and indulge in drugs and alcohol leading to his death in August 1861. Before his death however he had appointed Noble Consort Yi the tittle of Empress Dowager Cixi, she was second

Bibliography: Seagrave, Sterling. Dragon Lady, The Life and Legend of the Last Empress of China. New York Vintage Books, 1992 Woo, X.L. Empress Dowager Cixi, China Last Dynasty and The Long Reign of a Formidable Concubine. Algora, 2002