Empress Cixi. The Concubine Who Changed the Fate of China

Empress Cixi, one of the greatest women rulers in history, held supreme power as the regent of three emperors of the Celestial Empire for 47 years. During her reign, many industries were initiated 'behind the curtain,' the first railroads and... telegraph communication were established. It was Cixi who abolished painful corporal punishments, banned foot binding for girls, and granted women the right to receive education and work. The dowager empress was beloved by her people, and ministers of western powers considered her 'equal to Catherine the Great in Russia, Elizabeth in England.' However, due to the slanderous activities of political opponents, Cixi earned a reputation as a mad tyrant and an opponent of modernization. The book by the authoritative historian Jung Chang, based on the memories of contemporaries and irrefutable archival data, is not only the most comprehensive biography of Cixi but also a 'vindication' of the most ambiguous ruler of China.