The Complete Biography of Empress Dowager Cixi (Box Set) (10 Volumes)

Author: Gao Yang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-03-01
Features: Where there is well water, there is Jin Yong; where there are villages and towns, there is Gao Yang! A magnificent panoramic view of late Qing history spanning seven decades and featuring over a thousand characters, the epic masterpiece of the late renowned Taiwanese novelist Gao Yang! Fiction is not history; it must have dramatic and engaging plotlines. Gao Yang was a master storyteller. Another great advantage of Gao Yang's historical fiction lies in this. The late Qing history was intricate and unpredictable, "a tangled mess." Yet Gao Yang navigated it with ease, weaving separate storylines that were interwoven. Through the ebb and flow of his narrative, the face of late Qing history naturally emerged. Readers, driven by their eagerness to know what happens next, unknowingly became familiar with the historical facts. The Prequel to Cixi: The political career of a woman began with the death of her husband, the emperor. In the lonely palace, a woman who had lost favor, her inner suffering was forever beyond others' understanding. In the eleventh year of the Xianfeng reign, the Xianzong Emperor died in the summer palace. The young emperor ascended the throne, and his mother, Lian'er, was hailed as the "Holy Mother Empress." Faced with the temptation of power and the loss of her husband, Lian'er's heart gave rise to an unimaginable path in life, forcing her onto the road to politics. A woman's dynasty was thus established. The Jade Throne and Pearled Curtain: After the Xinyou Coup, the political situation was in disarray, with everything in need of revival. Behind the pearl curtain, how did the young empress demonstrate her political prowess to gradually ascend to the pinnacle of power? The Secret History of the Qing Court: The candlelight and axes in the palace, the petty intrigues of ministers and officials, the charming roguishness of the noble youth in a corrupt world, the heroic spirit of the outlaws—those unforgettable days of hardship were filled with endless charm and indescribable allure. Mother and Son, Ruler and Minister: The last emperor, with lofty ambitions to revitalize the world, but the formidable empress and the treacherous courtiers inevitably crushed the last chance to rewrite history. In the palace, where was there room for family bonds, only power? The Crimson Well: The Hundred Days' Reform pushed the conflict between the imperial and conservative factions to the extreme. Thanks to Yuan Shikai's "impromptu decision," the conservative faction climbed to the summit of power. The court intended to use the Boxer Movement to eliminate the foreigners but failed to stop the foreigners' relentless advance. Cixi ordered Zhen to be thrown into the well, and the emperor fled in panic. The nation's fate reached its most perilous historical juncture.