Empress Dowager Cixi (Mandarin pronunciation: [tsʰɹ̩̌.ɕì]; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908) was a Manchu noblewoman of the Yehe Nara clan who effectively but periodically controlled the Chinese government in the late Qing dynasty as empress dowager and regent for almost 50 years, from 1861 until her death in 1908.

Mar 22, 2025 · Cixi, consort of the Xianfeng emperor (reigned 1850–61), mother of the Tongzhi emperor (reigned 1861–75), adoptive mother of the Guangxu emperor (reigned 1875–1908), and a towering presence over the Chinese empire for almost half a century.

Mar 1, 2008 · History can be a slippery substance, particularly when it comes to personalities. A century after the death of China's last and most famous empress, Cixi, the story of her life and reign remains...

After Cixi seized power, the brilliant queen regent of China never let it go and guided her people into the 20th century. Born in 1835, the girl who would gain fame as the Empress Dowager Cixi...

Empress Dowager Cixi stands out as infamous in Qing Dynasty and Chinese history. Cixi's early life, reign, and events of her time are covered here.

She was a powerful and charismatic figure who became the de facto ruler of the Manchu Qing Dynasty when her son ascended the throne at the age of five, ruling over China for 47 years from 1861 to her death in 1908.

Arguably the most powerful empress in Chinese history, Empress Dowager Cixi dominated the court and policies of China’s last imperial dynasty for nearly 50 years. She entered the court as a low-ranking consort, or wife, of the Xianfeng emperor and bore his heir, the Tongzhi emperor.

May 26, 2024 · In the annals of Chinese history, few figures loom as large or cast as long a shadow as Empress Dowager Cixi. For nearly half a century, Cixi was the most powerful woman in China, ruling over the twilight years of the Qing dynasty as regent and de facto sovereign.

Jul 3, 2019 · Rather than a power-mad harridan with a harem of faux eunuchs, or a woman who poisoned most of her own family, Cixi comes across as an intelligent survivor who learned to navigate Qing politics and rode the wave of very troubled times for 50 years.

Jan 7, 2025 · Empress Dowager Cixi, born in 1835 as Yehenara, remains one of the most influential and controversial figures in Chinese history. She governed China from behind the scenes for nearly half a century, wielding significant power during the Qing Dynasty.