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Cixi: The Woman Behind the ThroneExplore more photos from the story |
"Too much mystery surrounds the Forbidden City for us to write of its inmates with assured authority. Even when the facts are known, there are two or three versions, each giving a different rendering of what occurred. This vagueness is like the nebulous parts of a Chinese painting; it has a charm that it might be a mistake to dispel. Nor is it certain that the historian, could he lift the veil, would discover the truth."
—Daniele Vare, an Italian diplomat in Peking, in his 1936 biography of Cixi,"The Last Empress"
History can be a slippery substance, particularly when it comes to personalities. A century after the death of China's last and most famous empress, Cixi, the story of her life and reign remains veiled by varying versions of the truth.
Some sources paint her as a veritable wicked witch of the east, whose enemies often mysteriously dropped dead. Others link her to tales of sexual intrigue within the palace walls, even questioning whether her favorite eunuch was truly a eunuch. But recent scholarly analyses discredit many of those sensational stories and suggest a more complicated woman than this caricature.
What do we really know about this woman who indirectly controlled China's throne for almost half a century, in the twilight of the Qing dynasty?
She entered history on November 29, 1835 as a rather ordinary Chinese girl named Yehenara, although there was a certain prestige in being born to a family from the ruling Manchu minority. At age 16, she was brought to the Forbidden City to join Emperor Xianfeng's harem—which may sound like punishment to modern ears, but was considered a swank role for Chinese women of her time.
Daniele Vare's book, The Last Empress, says Yehenara (he calls her Yehonala) rose to the top of the concubine ranks when the emperor overheard her singing and asked to see her. Infatuated, he began picking her name from the nightly roster of choices to visit his bedchamber, and soon she bore him a son. This earned her the title Tzu Hsi, meaning "empress of the western palace," spelled Cixi these days.
When Xianfeng died in 1861, Cixi's five-year-old son was his only male heir and became the emperor Tongzhi, making her the "empress dowager" and a regent ruler. Cixi relinquished the regency when her son turned 17, but Tongzhi died two years later and Cixi became a regent again, this time for her three-year-old nephew Guangxu.
Some historians have pointed to this turn of events as proof of Cixi's political shrewdness because it defied tradition for the new emperor to be of the same generation as his predecessor. Also, although Tongzhi had no heir when he died, his first-ranking concubine, Alute, was pregnant. So it seems far too convenient that Alute and her unborn child died during the debate over succession. The court announced it as a suicide, but as the New York Times reported at the time, the circumstances "aroused general suspicion."
Even if Alute was murdered, Cixi wasn't necessarily responsible, as author Sterling Seagrave points out. The late emperor had five brothers, princes of the imperial court, who had their own rivalries and ambitions for controlling the throne indirectly.
Comments
On a related note, I've just learned about a new book that might interest readers fascinated with Cixi and her era. The author, Grant Hayter-Menzies, offers this information: "My book, "Imperial Masquerade: The Legend of Princess Der Ling," is the first biography of Der Ling, who was the first great apologist of the Empress Dowager who was of the same race as Cixi, and who was rehabilitated along with Cixi in Sterling Seagrave's biography." The book comes out in April from Hong Kong University Press, and Hayter-Menzies will give a reading at the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Asian art on May 29. More info on that and other Freer events here: http://www.asia.si.edu/events/lectures.asp
Posted by Amanda Bensen on February 28,2008 | 09:48AM
Why does no one mention Pearl S. Buck's excellent biography of Cixi written in 1956, "Imperial Woman"? This portrait of the Dowager Empress' life is beautifully written and gives a great sense of her personality an life. Buck was an apologist for the Empress, but also gives a wonderful portrait of what the Empress faced and how she dealt with her responsibilities and majesty. This is a great book and since Buck loved China so much, it's a disservice not to mention this excellent biography.
Posted by Lorraine Allen on March 3,2008 | 04:47PM
Lorraine, you're right, Pearl Buck's book about Cixi is well worth reading, so thanks for mentioning it! However, readers should be aware that it is a work of fiction (though based on history) rather than a true biography.
Posted by Amanda Bensen on March 4,2008 | 10:21AM
Dear Amanda, This is very intriguing piece of History! I have an interest in the "forbidden city" and about life in the Imperial court. I had never heard about Cixi before this article. Great Researching! I hope we hear more about other " hidden " women who had a hand in history! Sincerely, Grace
Posted by Grace in VT on March 4,2008 | 05:34PM
My grandfather, Warren Abner Seavey, was hired by the Dowager Empress to start a western style law school. The law school was established in Tianjin. This was in 1905 -1908. He was awarded a medal, the order of the double dragon, by the Empress. This was an award created for foreigners.
Posted by Beverly Seavey on March 11,2008 | 01:02PM
Wonderful article. When my wife, Naomi, and I visited Cixi's "realm," we saw her cement barge, as well as the man-made lake that she commissioned supposedly for her "navy," to explain the need for her barge, among other incredible extravagances. According to our tour-guide, if nothing else, she knew how to spend money, much the same as a deep-pocketed youngster on a spending spree in Beverly Hills, California.
Posted by TONY HOROWITZ on March 13,2008 | 12:04AM
The "cement" barge is actually marble, and was built not by Cixi but in the reign of the Qianlong emperor in the 18th century. An official of Cixi's, Prince Chun, had the paddle wheels added to please her, and some decorations added to the superstructure, in the late 19th century - but that's all. There's been a big business for tour guides at the Summer Palace and Forbidden City in blaming Cixi for everything that went wrong with China, since shortly after the fall of the dynasty opened these sites to the public. Princess Der Ling dealt with it herself when guiding foreigners through the palaces - everyone assumed Cixi had carried around with her a cleaver to decapitate people with, and weren't interested in Der Ling's efforts to clue them in to the reality of the woman she knew. Gossip sells tickets even as it sells books, but it's not the truth.
Posted by Grant Hayter-Menzies on March 14,2008 | 12:43PM
It is so fascinating to read about the Empress Dowager and to view the photo gallery.I remember watching the movie 'The Reign behind the Iron Curtain' which featured her life.Thanks for the interesting reviews too.
Posted by Leslie Thio on May 27,2008 | 06:49AM
Dear Amanda, as a Chinese reader, I am really amazed by your interpretation of the Empress Dowager, which offered me with a totally different perspective of this controversial woman. Thanks!
Posted by Zang Yuan on June 29,2008 | 02:18AM
Wasn't Cixi involved in the Boxer Rebellion?
Posted by Gerald G. Bigus on July 23,2008 | 04:08PM
Great article! does anyone know the italian translation of the quote by Daniele Vere?
Posted by Fra on September 15,2009 | 08:01AM