This day, rise and fall are also the Empress Dowager: fall. Empress Dowager Cixi

Author: Ding Yanshi
Publisher: Yuanliu Publishing Company
Publication Date: 2005-02-01
Features: The Qing Empire unexpectedly had two empresses dowagers—Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang and Empress Dowager Cixi—whose relationships directly impacted, and could even be said to dominated, the empire's rise and fall and the rise and fall of regimes at the beginning and end of its establishment. These two women directly and indirectly controlled a total of ninety years of political power and partially or completely controlled four out of eleven emperors, surpassing one-third of the entire dynasty's rule. This is unprecedented in the history of the world, both ancient and modern! These two empresses dowagers, separated by over two hundred years, had many similarities in their life journeys. Their ages at marriage differed by five years, their ages at childbirth by two years, their ages at widowhood by one year, and the time it took for them to become empresses dowagers and their time of death also differed by only one year. Both empresses dowagers were widowed in their prime and raised two young emperors. These numerous coincidences are truly exceptional in history. However, there were also vast differences between them. Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang was born in the vast grasslands of the Gobi Desert, where she grew up herding sheep and riding horses, close to nature, cultivating a broad-minded, reverent toward heaven, respectful of ancestors, and benevolent personality. Empress Dowager Heqin, on the other hand, was born into a mid-level Manchu official family. Nearly two hundred years of a unique status had eroded the pioneering spirit of her Manchu ancestors, and she was deeply influenced by the negative aspects of Han culture, resulting in a narrow-minded, power-hungry, and self-centered personality. The difference between the two in wisdom and virtue was immeasurable. Ultimately, the rise of the Qing Empire was inseparable from Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang's contributions, while the fall of the Qing Empire was inextricably linked to Empress Dowager Cixi's faults. Thus, the book This Reign: Rise by the Empresses Dowagers, Fall by the Empresses Dowagers was born. This book is the Fall? Cixi chapter of This Reign: Rise by the Empresses Dowagers, Fall by the Empresses Dowagers.