Empress Dowager Cixi

By Christina Lelon

Early Life– Origins unclear– Low ranking Machu family, father named Huizheng

• Member of blue banner of the eight banners• Served in Shaxi prince• Commisioner of Anhui Province

– Born Nov. 29, 1835– LanKueu (Little Orchid) or Yu Lan (Jade Orchid)– Relative insists her name was Xing’er, and she used Xingzhen during

schooling– Either from: Yangtze Region, Changzhi, Shanxi, Suiyuan, Inner Mongolia or

Beijing– Moved to Beijing somewhere between third and fifteenth birthday– In September 1851 Cixi became a concubine for the Xianfeng Emperor– Became pregnant and gave birth to the only male heir

Death of Xianfeng Emperor

• September 1860, Xianfeng Emperor fell into a depression because of the destruction of his Imperial Summer Palace Complex

• August 22, 1861, Xianfeng Emperor died• Chose eight ministers and titled them the “Eight

Regent Ministers” to support his son, who was five years old at the time

• Also gave the Empress and Cixi power, to balance out the power of the Regent Ministers

Xinyou Coup

• While the Emperor’s body was being transported to Peking, Empress Dowager Cixi plotted to gain power by suggesting she and the Empress become co-reigning Empress Dowagers

• Empress Cixi caused tension between ministers and the Empress, and gained support from the people, including Prince Gong

• Regents were dismissed from power for having negotiated with barbarians

Regency over Guangxu Emperor• In 1875, Zaitian, the first-born of Cixi’s sister, became ruler at

age four, and Cixi essentially ruled for him• It is thought that Cixipoisioned the Empress, Ci’an, to gain

more power• Even after he officially had power, Cixi made decisions and

ruled for him• After Cixi retired, Zaitian began the Hundred Day’s Reform, a

period in which there was much political, legal and social change

• This began the Boxer Uprising, which was a movement towards traditional Chinese styles of rule

Death

• Cixi died on November 15, 1908• She installed Puyi as the new Emperor the

previous day, when the Guangxu Emperor, Zaitian, died due to posioning

• The Empress, before she died, was unsatisfied with her tomb and built a new one in 1985, which was large and ornate

• Her tomb was later robbed in July, 1928, and all the precious jewels and other items were stolen

So What?

• Cixi was important for many different reasons– Woman doing a man’s job– One of the most powerful women ever to come

out of China– Last true Emperor or Empress of China– Many Chinese regard her as the reason the

Dynasty fell and the reason other forms of government began

Bibliography• "Empress Dowager Cixi." May 8 2009. 18 May 2009

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empress_Dowager_Cixi>. • “Cixi.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2009. Ecyclopaedia Britannica

Online. 17 May 2009. http://search.eb.com/eb/article-9074044• Upshur, Jiu-Hwa Lo. "Cixi." In Ackermann, Marsha E., Michael

Schroeder, Janice J. Terry, Jiu-Hwa Lo Upshur, and Mark F. Whitters, eds. Encyclopedia of World History: Age of Revolution and Empire, 1750 to 1900, vol. 4. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE53&iPin=WHIV061&SingleRecord=True (accessed May 18, 2009).