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.

Jul 3, 2019 · Cixi publicly denounced Su Shun and allied herself with Empress Niuhuru and three imperial princes against him. Su Shun, who controlled the treasury, cut off food and other household items for the Empresses, but they would not give in.

By the time of Emperor Xianfeng's death, the Empress Dowager Cixi launched a palace coup and had Minister Su Shun beheaded. After that, Cixi became the first and only Qing Dynasty Empress to rule from "behind the curtain" for over 48 years (1861-1809).

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.

Apr 15, 2022 · Beginning her ascent to power as one of the low-ranking concubines of the Xianfeng emperor, Cixi (also spelled as Tzu His) went on to be one of the most influential and controversial figures of the Qing Dynasty for over four decades.

Cixi's Coup refers to a significant power struggle in China following the death of Emperor Xianfeng on August 22, 1861, which resulted in Empress Dowager Cixi and her allies seizing control of the imperial government.

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.

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...