Empress Dowager Cixi: A Life from Beginning to End

Empress Dowager Cixi, who first rose to prominence as a royal consort, connived and schemed her way to the very pinnacle of power in China. From the shadows of the Forbidden City's inner chambers, she emerged as the empire's de facto ruler, wielding authority few women in history had ever possessed. She ruthlessly crushed her opponents and at times subjected even close family members to abject cruelty all in pursuit of power. Yet outside forces and internal turmoil proved too much for even her guile and cunning to overcome.

Empress Dowager Cixi became the last noteworthy ruler of imperial China. During her reign, she sought to keep the imperial might of China alive, but traditional dynastic power was colliding head-on with the encroaching modern world. It was under her rule that the Boxer Rebellion erupted and a massive international backlash threatened to tear China apart. Her efforts to preserve the old order ultimately hastened its demise. Soon after her rule ended, the entire Qing dynasty came crashing down, closing the final chapter on thousands of years of imperial tradition in China. This is the life and legend of Empress Dowager Cixi in full.