Factions, Alliances, and Politics in Late Qing China: A Study Centered on the "Empress Dowager Conflict"

Author: Lin Wenren
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-04-01
Features: The main purpose of this book is to observe and analyze the factional integration and confrontation between the Manchu new elite group and the Han officials in the late Qing political structure during 1885-1898, focusing on the emerging "imperial-empress faction struggle" due to the enthronement of Emperor Dezong. It further presents major political events during this period, including the First Sino-Japanese War, the secret treaty between China and Russia, the division crisis, and their connecting threads, aiming to provide an alternative path for a more comprehensive understanding of late Qing political history. When this book places the historical process of 1885-1898 within the context of factional dynamics, readers may discover that many people or events they thought they understood or had already firmly concluded may appear quite different. This does not necessarily mean that factional struggles are the only path to explaining this period of history, but it may reflect the weakness of past cognitive approaches in lacking a deeper grasp of the continuity between historical events. This book hopes to contribute a small effort toward a more complete political history of the late Qing dynasty.