Life

Birth

The future Empress Dowager Cixi was born on the tenth day of the tenth lunar month in the 15th year of the reign of the Daoguang Emperor (29 November 1835). Her father was Huizheng (惠征), a member of the Bordered Blue Banner who held the title of a third class duke (三等公). Palace archives show that Huizheng was working in Beijing during the year of Lady Yehe Nara's birth, an indication that she was born in Beijing. The file records the location of her childhood home: Pichai Hutong, Xisipailou, Beijing (西四牌樓劈柴胡同). She had a sister named Wanzhen and a brother named Guixiang.

Xianfeng era

In 1851, Cixi participated in the selection for wives to the Xianfeng Emperor alongside 60 other candidates. Cixi was one of the few candidates chosen to stay. Among the other chosen candidates were Noble Lady Li of the Tatara clan (later Consort Li) and Concubine Zhen of the Niohuru clan (later the Xianfeng Emperor's empress consort). On 26 June 1852, she entered the Forbidden City and was placed in the sixth rank of consorts, styled "Noble Lady Lan".

On 28 February 1854, Cixi was elevated to the fifth rank of consorts and granted the title "Concubine Yi". In 1855, Cixi became pregnant, and on 27 April 1856, she gave birth to Zaichun, the Xianfeng Emperor's first and only surviving son. On the same day, she was elevated to the fourth rank of consorts as "Consort Yi". In 1857, when her son reached his first birthday, Cixi was elevated to the third rank of consorts as "Noble Consort Yi". This rank placed her second only to the Empress Niohuru among the women within the Xianfeng Emperor's harem.

Unlike many of the other Manchu women in the imperial household, Cixi was known for her ability to read and write Chinese. This skill granted her numerous opportunities to help the ailing emperor in the governing of the Chinese state on a daily basis. On various occasions, the Xianfeng Emperor had Cixi read palace memorials for him and leave instructions on the memorials according to his will. As a result, Cixi became well-informed about state affairs and the art of governing from the ailing emperor.

Tongzhi era

In September 1860, during the closing stages of the Second Opium War, the British diplomatic envoy Harry Parkes was arrested along with other hostages, who were tortured and executed. In retaliation, British and French troops under the command of Lord Elgin attacked Beijing, and by the following month they had burned the Old Summer Palace to the ground. The Xianfeng Emperor and his entourage, including Cixi, fled Beijing to Rehe Province (around present-day Chengde, Hebei). On hearing the news of the destruction of the Old Summer Palace, the Xianfeng Emperor, who was already showing signs of dementia, fell into a depression. He turned heavily to alcohol and drugs and became seriously ill. He summoned eight of his most prestigious ministers, headed by Sushun, Zaiyuan and Duanhua, and named them the "Eight Regent Ministers" to direct and support the future emperor. The Xianfeng Emperor died on 22 August 1861 at the Chengde Mountain Resort in Rehe Province.

The Xianfeng Emperor's heir, the son of Noble Consort Yi (Empress Dowager Cixi), was only five years old. It is commonly assumed that on his deathbed, the Xianfeng Emperor summoned his Empress and Noble Consort Yi and gave each of them a stamp. He hoped that when his son ascended the throne, the Empress and Noble Consort Yi would cooperate in harmony and help the young emperor to grow and mature together. This may also have been done as a check on the power of the eight regents. There is no evidence for this incident, however, and it is unlikely that the emperor ever would have intended Noble Consort Yi to wield political power. It is possible that the seal, allegedly given as a symbol for the child, was really just a present for Noble Consort Yi herself. Informal seals numbered in the thousands and were not considered political accouterments, rather objects of art commissioned for pleasure by emperors to stamp on items such as paintings, or given as presents to the concubines. Upon the death of the Xianfeng Emperor, his Empress was elevated to the status of empress dowager. Although her official title was "Empress Dowager Ci'an", she was popularly known as the "East Empress Dowager" because she lived in the eastern Zhongcui Palace. Noble Consort Yi was also elevated to "Empress Dowager Cixi". She was popularly known as the "West Empress Dowager" (西太后) because she lived inside the western Chuxiu Palace.

Xinyou Coup: Ousting Sushun

By the time of the death of the Xianfeng Emperor, Empress Dowager Cixi had become a shrewd political strategist. In Rehe Province, while waiting for an astrologically favourable time to transport the emperor's coffin back to Beijing, Cixi conspired with court officials and imperial relatives to seize power. Cixi's position as the lower-ranked empress dowager had no intrinsic political power attached to it. In addition, her son, the young emperor, was not a political force himself. As a result, it became necessary for her to ally herself with other powerful figures, including the late emperor's principal wife, Empress Dowager Ci'an. Cixi suggested that they become co-reigning empress dowagers, with powers exceeding the eight regents; the two had long been close friends since Cixi first came to the imperial household.

Tensions grew between the two Empresses Dowager and the eight regents, who were led by Sushun. The regents did not appreciate Cixi's interference in political affairs, and their frequent confrontations with the Empresses Dowager left Empress Dowager Ci'an frustrated. Ci'an often refused to come to court audiences, leaving Cixi to deal with the ministers alone. Secretly, Cixi had begun gathering the support of talented ministers, soldiers, and others who were ostracized by the eight regents for personal or political reasons. Among them was Prince Gong, who had been excluded from power, yet harboured great ambitions, and Prince Chun, the sixth and seventh brothers of the Xianfeng Emperor, respectively. While Cixi aligned herself with the two princes, a memorial came from Shandong asking for her to "listen to politics behind the curtains," i.e., to assume power as de facto ruler. The same memorial also asked Prince Gong to enter the political arena as a principal "aide to the Emperor".

When the Xianfeng Emperor's funeral procession left for Beijing, Cixi took advantage of her alliances with Princes Gong and Chun. She and the boy emperor returned to the capital before the rest of the party, along with Zaiyuan and Duanhua, two of the eight regents, while Sushun was left to accompany the deceased emperor's procession. Cixi's early return to Beijing meant that she had more time to plan with Prince Gong and ensure that the power base of the eight regents was divided between Sushun and his allies, Zaiyuan and Duanhua. In order to remove them from power, history was rewritten: the regents were dismissed for having carried out incompetent negotiations with the "barbarians" that had caused the Xianfeng Emperor to flee to Rehe Province "greatly against his will", among other charges.

To display her high moral standards, Cixi executed only three of the eight regents. Prince Gong had suggested that Sushun and others be executed by the most painful method, known as slow slicing ("death by a thousand cuts"), but Cixi declined the suggestion and ordered that Sushun be beheaded, while the other two also marked for execution, Zaiyuan and Duanhua, were given pieces of white silk for them to hang themselves with. In addition, Cixi refused outright the idea of executing the family members of the regents, as would be done in accordance with imperial tradition of an alleged usurper. Ironically, Qing imperial tradition also dictated that women and princes were never to engage in politics. In breaking with tradition, Cixi became the only empress dowager in the Qing dynasty to assume the role of regent, following a practice known as "ruling from behind the curtains" (垂簾聽政) in Chinese.

This coup is historically known as the Xinyou Coup because it took place in the xinyou year, the name of the year 1861 in the Chinese sexagenary cycle.

Ruling behind the curtain

New era

In November 1861, a few days following the Xinyou Coup, Cixi was quick to reward Prince Gong for his help. He was appointed Prince-Regent and his eldest daughter was made a first rank princess, a title usually bestowed only on the Empress's first-born daughter. However, Cixi avoided giving Prince Gong the absolute political power that princes such as Dorgon exercised during the Shunzhi Emperor's reign. As one of the first acts of "ruling behind the curtain" from within the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the political and governmental hub during this era, Cixi, nominally along with Ci'an, issued two imperial edicts on behalf of the boy emperor. The first stated that the two Empresses Dowager were to be the sole decision-makers "without interference," and the second changed the emperor's regnal title from Qixiang (祺祥; "auspicious") to Tongzhi (同治; "collective stability").

Despite being designated as the sole decision-makers, both Ci'an and Cixi were forced to rely on the Grand Council and a complex series of procedures in order to deal with affairs of state. When state documents came in, they were to be first forwarded to the Empresses Dowager, then referred back to Prince Gong and the Grand Council. Having discussed the matters, Prince Gong and his colleagues would seek the instruction of the Empresses Dowager at audiences and imperial orders would be drawn up accordingly, with drafts having to be approved by the Empresses Dowager before edicts were issued. The most important role of the Empresses Dowager during the regency was to apply their seals to edicts, a merely mechanical role in a complex bureaucracy.

Cleaning up the bureaucracy

Cixi's ascendancy came at a time of internal chaos and foreign challenges. The effects of the Second Opium War were still hovering over the country, and the Taiping Rebellion continued its seemingly unstoppable advance through China's south, eating up the Qing Empire bit by bit. Internally, both the national bureaucracy and regional authorities were infested with corruption. 1861 happened to be the year of official examinations, whereby officials of all levels presented their political reports from the previous three years. Cixi decided that the time was ripe for a bureaucratic overhaul, and she personally sought audience with all officials above the level of provincial governor, who had to report to her personally. Cixi thus took on part of the role usually given to the Bureaucratic Affairs Department (吏部). Cixi had two prominent officials executed to serve as examples for others: Qingying, a military shilang who had tried to bribe his way out of demotion, and He Guiqing, then Viceroy of Liangjiang, who fled Changzhou in the wake of an incoming Taiping army instead of trying to defend the city. A number of reforms were implemented, such as the development of the Zongli Yamen, an official foreign ministry to deal with international affairs, the restoration of regional armies and regional strongmen, modernization of railroads, factories, and arsenals, an increase of industrial and commercial productivity, and the institution of a period of peace that allowed China time to modernize and develop.

Another significant challenge Cixi faced was the increasingly decrepit state of the Manchu elites. Since the beginning of Qing rule over China in 1644, most major positions at court had been held by Manchus. Cixi, again in a reversal of imperial tradition, entrusted the country's most powerful military unit against the Taiping rebels into the hands of a Han Chinese, Zeng Guofan. Additionally, in the next three years, Cixi appointed Han Chinese officials as governors in all southern Chinese provinces, raising alarm bells in the court, traditionally protective of Manchu dominance.

Regarding the reforms of the Tongzhi Restoration, Mary C. Wright suggested that "Not only a dynasty but also a civilization which appeared to have collapsed was revived to last for another sixty years by the extraordinary efforts of extraordinary men in the 1860s." John K. Fairbank wrote, "That the Qing managed to survive both domestic and international attacks is due largely to the policy and leadership changes known as the Qing Restoration."

Taiping victory and Prince Gong

Under the command of Zeng Guofan, the victorious Xiang Army defeated the Taiping rebel army in a hard-fought battle at Tianjing (present-day Nanjing) in July 1864. Zeng was rewarded with the title of "Marquess Yiyong, First Class", while his brother Zeng Guoquan, along with Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zongtang and other Han Chinese officers who fought against the Taiping rebels, were rewarded with auspicious decorations and titles. With the Taiping rebel threat receding, Cixi focused her attention on new internal threats to her power. Of special concern was the position of Prince Gong, who was Prince-Regent in the imperial court. Prince Gong gathered under his command the support of all outstanding Han Chinese armies. In addition, Prince Gong controlled daily court affairs as the head of the Grand Council and the Zongli Yamen (the de facto foreign affairs ministry). With his increasing stature, Prince Gong was considered a threat to Cixi and her power.

Although Prince Gong was rewarded for his conduct and recommendation of Zeng Guofan before the Taiping rebels' defeat, Cixi was quick to move after Cai Shouqi, a minor scribe-official, filed a memorial accusing Prince Gong of corruption and showing disrespect to the emperor. Having built up a powerful base and a network of allies at court, Prince Gong considered the accusations insignificant. Cixi, however, took the memorial as a stepping stone to Prince Gong's removal. In April 1865, under the pretext that Prince Gong had "improper court conduct before the two empresses," among a series of other charges, the prince was dismissed from all his offices and appointments, but was allowed to retain his status as a noble. The dismissal surprised the nobility and court officials and brought about numerous petitions for his return. Prince Gong's brothers, Prince Dun and Prince Chun, both sought their brother's reinstatement. Prince Gong himself, in an audience with the two empresses, burst into tears. Bowing to popular pressure, Cixi allowed Prince Gong to return to his position as the head of the Zongli Yamen, but rid him of his title of Prince-Regent. Prince Gong would never return to political prominence again, and neither would the liberal and pro-reform policies of his time. Prince Gong's demotion revealed Cixi's iron grip on politics, and her lack of willingness to give up absolute power to anyone – not even Prince Gong, her most important ally in the Xinyou Coup.

Foreign influence

China's defeat in the Second Opium War of 1856–60 was a wake-up call. Military strategies were outdated, both on land and sea and in terms of weaponry. Sensing an immediate threat from foreigners and realising that China's agricultural-based economy could not hope to compete with the industrial prowess of the West, Cixi decided that for the first time in Chinese history, China would learn from the Western powers and import their knowledge and technology. At the time, three prominent Han Chinese officials, Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang, had all begun industrial programs in the country's southern regions. In supporting these programmes, Cixi also decreed the opening of the Tongwen Guan in 1862, a school for foreign languages in Beijing. The Tongwen Guan specialised in new-age topics such as astronomy and mathematics, as well as the English, French and Russian languages. Groups of young boys were also sent abroad to the United States for studies.

China's "learn from foreigners" programme quickly met with impediments. The Chinese military institutions were in desperate need of reform. Cixi's solution, under the advice of officials at court, was to purchase seven British warships. When the warships arrived in China, however, they were staffed with British sailors, all under British command. The Chinese were enraged at this "international joke", negotiations broke down between the two parties, and China returned the warships to Britain, where they were to be auctioned off. Scholars sometimes attribute the failure of China's foreign programmes to Cixi's conservative attitude and old methods of thinking, and contend that Cixi would learn only so much from the foreigners, provided it did not infringe upon her own power. Under the pretext that a railway was too loud and would "disturb the emperors' tombs", Cixi forbade its construction. When construction went ahead anyway in 1877 on Li Hongzhang's recommendation, Cixi asked that they be pulled by horse-drawn carts. Cixi was especially alarmed at the liberal thinking of people who had studied abroad, and saw that it posed a new threat to her power. In 1881, Cixi put a halt to the policy of sending children abroad to study and withdrew her formerly open attitude towards foreigners.

The Tongzhi Emperors marriage

In 1872, the Tongzhi Emperor turned 17. Under the guidance of the Empress Dowager Ci'an, he was married to the Jiashun Empress. The empress's grandfather, Prince Zheng, was one of the eight regents ousted from power in the Xinyou Coup of 1861. He had been Cixi's rival during the coup and was ordered to commit suicide after Cixi's victory. As a consequence, there were tensions between Cixi and the empress, and this was often a source of irritation for Cixi. Moreover, the empress's zodiac symbol of tiger was perceived as life-threatening by the superstitious Cixi, whose own zodiac symbol was a goat. According to Cixi's belief, it was a warning from the gods that she would eventually fall prey to the empress.

As the principal consort of the Tongzhi Emperor, the Jiashun Empress was well received by both the emperor and Empress Dowager Ci'an. Her personal consultants once warned her to be more agreeable and docile to Cixi, as Cixi was truly the one in power. The empress replied, "I am a principal consort, having been carried through the front gate with pomp and circumstance, as mandated by our ancestors. Empress Dowager Cixi was a concubine, and entered our household through a side gate."

Since the very beginning of his marriage, the Tongzhi Emperor proceeded to spend most of his time with his empress at the expense of his four concubines, including the Imperial Noble Consort Shushen, who was Cixi's preferred candidate for the Tongzhi Emperor's empress consort. As hostility grew between Cixi and the Jiashun Empress, Cixi suggested the couple spend more time on studies and spied on the Tongzhi Emperor using palace eunuchs. After her warning was ignored, Cixi ordered the couple to separate, and the Tongzhi Emperor purportedly spent several months following Cixi's order in isolation at Qianqing Palace.

The young emperor, who could no longer cope with his grief and loneliness, grew more and more ill-tempered. He began to treat his servants with cruelty and punished them physically for minor offences. Under the joined influence of court eunuchs and Zaicheng, Prince Gong's eldest son and the Tongzhi Emperor's best friend, the emperor managed to escape the palace in search of pleasure in the unrestricted parts of Beijing. For several evenings the emperor disguised himself as a commoner and secretly spent the nights in the brothels of Beijing. The emperor's sexual habits became common talk among court officials and commoners, and there are many records of the emperor's escapades.

The Tongzhi Emperors deficiencies in ruling

The Tongzhi Emperor received a rigorous education from four famous teachers of Cixi's own choosing: Li Hongzao, Qi Junzao, Weng Xincun, and Woren. This group was later joined by Weng Xincun's son, Weng Tonghe; the emperor's governor, also selected by Cixi, was Mianyu. The imperial teachers instructed the emperor in the classics and various old texts for which the emperor displayed little or no interest.

Despite, or perhaps because of, the pressure and stress put upon the young emperor, he despised learning for the majority of his life. According to Weng Tonghe's diary, the emperor could not read a memorandum in full sentences by the age of 16. Worried about her son's inability to learn, Cixi only pressured him more. When he was given personal rule in November 1873 at the age of 18 (four years behind the usual custom), the Tongzhi Emperor proved to be an incompetent ruler.

The Tongzhi Emperor made two important policy decisions during his short stint of rule, which lasted from 1873 to 1875. First, he decreed that the Summer Palace, destroyed by the English and French in the Second Opium War, would be completely rebuilt under the pretext that it was a gift to Cixi and Ci'an. Historians also suggest that it was an attempt to drive Cixi from the Forbidden City so that he could rule without interference in policy or his private affairs.

The imperial treasury was almost depleted at the time from internal strife and foreign wars, and as a result, the Tongzhi Emperor asked the Board of Finance to forage for the necessary funds. In addition, he encouraged members of the nobility and high officials to donate funds from their personal resources. Once construction began, the emperor checked its progress on a monthly basis, and would often spend days away from court, indulging himself in pleasures outside of the Forbidden City.

Uneasy about the Tongzhi Emperor's neglect of national affairs, the emperor's uncles Prince Gong and Prince Chun, along with other senior court officials, submitted a joint memorandum asking the emperor to cease the construction of the Summer Palace, among other recommendations. The Tongzhi Emperor, unwilling to submit to criticism, issued an imperial edict in August 1874 to strip Prince Gong of his princely title and demote him to the status of a commoner. Two days later, Prince Dun, Prince Chun, Prince Fu, Jingshou, Prince Qing, Wenxiang, Baojun, and Grand Councillors Shen Guifen and Li Hongzao were all to be stripped of their respective titles and jobs.

Seeing the mayhem unfold from behind the scenes, Cixi and Ci'an made an unprecedented appearance at court directly criticising the emperor for his wrongful actions and asked him to withdraw the edict; Cixi said that "without Prince Gong, the situation today would not exist for you and me."

Feeling a grand sense of loss at court and unable to assert his authority, the Tongzhi Emperor returned to his former habits. It was rumoured that he caught syphilis and became visibly ill. The physicians spread a rumour that the emperor had smallpox, and proceeded to give medical treatment accordingly. Within a few weeks, on 13 January 1875, the emperor died. The Jiashun Empress followed suit in March. Judging from a modern medical perspective, the onset of syphilis comes in stages, thus the emperor's quick death does not seem to reflect its symptoms. Therefore, most historians maintain that the Tongzhi Emperor did, in fact, die from smallpox. Regardless, by 1875, Cixi was back onto the helm of imperial power.

Guangxu era

New challenges and illness

The Tongzhi Emperor died without a male heir, a circumstance that created an unprecedented succession crisis in the dynastic line. Members of the generation above were considered unfit, as they could not, by definition, be the successor of their nephew. Therefore, the new emperor had to be from a generation below or the same generation as the Tongzhi Emperor. After considerable disagreement between the two Empresses Dowager, Zaitian, the four-year-old firstborn son of Prince Chun and Cixi's sister, was to become the new emperor. 1875 was declared the first year of the Guangxu era; Guangxu was the new emperor's regnal name and it means "glorious succession". Zaitian was taken from home and for the remainder of his life would be cut completely off from his family. While addressing Ci'an conventionally as huang e'niang ("Empress Mother"), Zaitian was forced to address Cixi as qin baba ("Dear Father"), in order to enforce an image that she was the fatherly figure in the household. The Guangxu Emperor began his education when he was aged five, taught by the imperial tutor Weng Tonghe, with whom he would develop a lasting bond.

Shortly after the accession of the Guangxu Emperor, Cixi fell severely ill. This rendered her largely inaccessible to her young nephew and had the result of leaving Ci'an to attend to most of the affairs of state.

The sudden death of Ci'an in April 1881 brought Cixi a new challenge. Ci'an had taken little interest in running state affairs, but was the decision-maker in most family affairs. As the consort of the Xianfeng Emperor, she took seniority over Cixi, despite being two years her junior. Some believe that rumours began circulating at court to the effect that Cixi had poisoned Ci'an, perhaps as a result of a possible conflict between Cixi and Ci'an over the execution of the eunuch An Dehai in 1869 or a possible will from the late Xianfeng Emperor that was issued exclusively to Ci'an. Because of a lack of evidence, however, historians are reluctant to believe that Ci'an was poisoned by Cixi, but instead choose to believe that the cause of death was a sudden stroke, as validated by traditional Chinese medicine.

In the years between 1881 and 1883, Cixi resorted to written communication only with her ministers. The young Guangxu Emperor reportedly was forced to conduct some audiences alone, without Cixi to assist him.

The once fierce and determined Prince Gong, frustrated by Cixi's iron grip on power, did little to question Cixi on state affairs, and supported Manchu involvement in the Sino-French War of 1884–1885. Cixi used China's loss in the war as a pretext for getting rid of Prince Gong and other important decision-makers in the Grand Council in 1885. She downgraded Prince Gong to "advisor" and elevated the more easily influenced Prince Chun.

When it was first developed by Empress Dowager Cixi, the Beiyang Fleet was said to be the strongest navy in East Asia. Before her adopted son, Emperor Guangxu, took over the throne in 1889, Cixi wrote out explicit orders that the navy should continue to develop and expand gradually. However, after Cixi went into retirement, all naval and military development came to a drastic halt. Japan's victories over China has often been falsely rumored to be the fault of Cixi. Many believed that Cixi was the cause of the navy's defeat by embezzling funds from the navy in order to build the Summer Palace in Beijing. However, extensive research by Chinese historians revealed that Cixi was not the cause of the Chinese navy's decline. In actuality, China's defeat was caused by Emperor Guangxu's lack of interest in developing and maintaining the military. His close adviser, Grand Tutor Weng Tonghe, advised Guangxu to cut all funding to the navy and army, because he did not see Japan as a true threat, and there were several natural disasters during the early 1890s which the emperor thought to be more pressing to expend funds on.

The Guangxu Emperors accession

The Guangxu Emperor technically gained the right to rule at the age of 16 in 1887 after Cixi issued an edict to arrange a ceremony to mark his accession. Because of her prestige and power, however, court officials voiced their opposition to the Guangxu Emperor's personal rule, citing the emperor's youth as the main reason. Prince Chun and Weng Tonghe, each with a different motive, requested that the Guangxu Emperor's accession be postponed until a later date. Cixi, with her reputed reluctance, accepted the "advice" and legitimised her continued rule through a new legal document that allowed her to "aid" the Guangxu Emperor in his rule indefinitely.

The Guangxu Emperor slowly began to take on more responsibilities in spite of Cixi's prolonged regency. In 1886, he attended his first field plowing ceremony and began commenting on imperial state documents. By 1887, he began to rule under Cixi's supervision.

The Guangxu Emperor married and took up the reins of power in 1889. By that year, the emperor was already 18, older than the conventional marriage age for emperors. Prior to his wedding, a large fire engulfed the Gate of Supreme Harmony at the Forbidden City. This event followed a trend of recent natural disasters that were considered alarming by many observers. According to traditional Chinese political theory, such incidents were taken as a warning of the imminent loss of the "Mandate of Heaven" by current rulers.

For his empress, Empress Dowager Cixi chose the Guangxu Emperor's cousin Jingfen, who would become Empress Longyu. Besides her close relation to the emperor himself, she was also Cixi's niece. Cixi in addition selected two concubines for the Guangxu Emperor who were sisters, Consorts Jin and Zhen. The Guangxu Emperor eventually would prefer to spend more time with Consort Zhen, neglecting his Empress, much to Cixi's dismay. In 1894, Cixi degraded Consort Zhen, citing intervention in political affairs as the main reason. According to some reports, she even had her flogged. Consort Jin had also been implicated in Consort Zhen's reported influence peddling and also apparently suffered a similar punishment. A cousin of theirs, Zhirui, was banished from the capital to a military outpost.

"Retirement"

On 5 March 1889, Cixi retired from her second regency, but nonetheless served as the effective head of the imperial family. Many officials felt and showed more loyalty to the empress dowager than they did to the emperor, owing in part to her seniority and in part to her personalised approach to cultivating court favourites, many of whom would be given gifts of her artwork and invitations to join her at the theater for opera and acrobatics.

In spite of her residence for a period of time at the Summer Palace, which had been constructed with the official intention of providing her a suitable place to live after retiring from political affairs, Cixi continued to influence the decisions and actions of the Guangxu Emperor even after he began his formal rule at age 19. Along with an entourage of court officials, the Guangxu Emperor would pay visits to her every second or third day at which major political decisions would be made. Weng Tonghe observed that while the emperor dealt with day-to-day administration, the Grand Councillors gave their advice in more complex cases, and in the most complex cases of all, the advice of Cixi was sought.

In 1894, the First Sino-Japanese War broke out at the instigation of Japan which used the war as a pretext to annex Taiwan from Qing China. Of note, the Japanese annexation of Taiwan followed Japanese annexation of the RyuKyu island Kingdom in 1874 and was followed by Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910. During this period, Cixi was continuously called upon to arbitrate policy-making, and the emperor was sometimes even bypassed in decision-making processes. Cixi eventually was given copies of the secret palace memorials as well, a practice that was carried on until 1898, when it became unnecessary.

In November 1894, Cixi celebrated her 60th birthday. Borrowing from the plans used for the celebrations of the 70th and 80th birthdays of Empress Xiaoshengxian (the Qianlong Emperor's mother), plans included a triumphal progress along the decorated road between the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace, decorations for the Beijing city gates and monumental archways, free theatrical performances, remission of punishments and the restoration of degraded officials. However, the war between China and Japan forced the empress dowager to cancel the lavish celebrations she had planned and settle for a much smaller commemoration that was held in the Forbidden City.

Hundred Days Reform

After coming to the throne, the Guangxu Emperor became more reform-minded. After a humiliating defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894, during which the Chinese Beiyang Fleet was virtually destroyed by the Imperial Japanese Navy, the Qing government faced unprecedented challenges internally and abroad, with its very existence at stake. Under the influence of reformist-officials Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao, the Guangxu Emperor believed that by learning from constitutional monarchies such as Japan and Germany, China would become politically and economically powerful. In June 1898, the Guangxu Emperor launched the Hundred Days' Reform aimed at sweeping political, legal and social changes and issued edicts for far-reaching modernising reforms.

These abrupt reforms, however, came without building support either at court or in the bureaucracy. Cixi, whether concerned that they would check her power or fearful that they would lead to disorder, stepped in to prevent them from going further. Some government and military officials warned Cixi that the ming-shi (reformation bureau) had been geared toward conspiracy. Allegations of treason against the emperor, as well as suspected Japanese influence within the reform movement, led Cixi to resume the role of regent and resume control at the court. The Manchu general Ronglu on 21 September 1898, took the Emperor to Ocean Terrace, a small palace on an island in the middle of Zhongnanhai linked to the rest of the Forbidden City only by a controlled causeway. Cixi followed this action with an edict that proclaimed the Guangxu Emperor's total disgrace and unfitness to be emperor. The Guangxu Emperor's reign effectively came to an end.

According to research by Professor Lei Chia-sheng (雷家聖), during the Hundred Days' Reform, former Japanese Prime Minister Itō Hirobumi arrived in China on 11 September 1898. Almost at the same time, British missionary Timothy Richard was invited to Beijing by the reformist Kang Youwei. Richard suggested that China should hand over some political power to Itō in order to help push the reforms further. On 18 September, Richard convinced Kang to adopt a plan by which China would join a federation composed of China, Japan, the United States, and England. This suggestion did not reflect the policies of the countries concerned. It was Richard's (and perhaps Itō's) trick to convince China to hand over national rights. Kang nonetheless asked fellow reformers Yang Shenxiu (楊深秀) and Song Bolu (宋伯魯) to report this plan to the Guangxu Emperor. On 20 September, Yang sent a memorial to this effect to the emperor. In another memorial written the next day, Song Bolu also advocated the formation of a federation and the sharing of the diplomatic, fiscal, and military powers of the four countries under a hundred-man committee.

Still according to Lei's findings, on 13 October, British ambassador Claude MacDonald reported to his government about the Chinese situation, saying that Chinese reforms had been damaged by Kang Youwei and his friends' actions. British diplomat Frederick Bourne claimed in his own report that Kang was a dreamer who had been seduced by Timothy Richard's sweet words. Bourne thought Richard was a plotter. The British and U.S. governments were unaware of the "federation" plot, which seems to have been Richard's personal idea. Because Richard's partner Itō Hirobumi had been Prime Minister of Japan, the Japanese government might have known about Richard's plan, but there is no evidence to this effect.

A crisis over the issue of abdication emerged. Bowing to increasing pressure from the West and general civil discontent, Cixi did not forcibly remove the Guangxu Emperor from the throne, although she attempted to have Pujun, a boy of 14 who was from a close branch of the imperial family, installed as crown prince. The Guangxu era nominally continued until his death in 1908, but the emperor lost all respect, power, and privileges, including his freedom of movement. Most of his supporters, including his political mentor Kang Youwei, fled into exile, and the six prominent reformers including Tan Sitong and Kang's younger brother, were publicly beheaded. Kang continued to work for a constitutional monarchy while in exile, remaining loyal to the Guangxu Emperor and hoping eventually to restore him to power. His efforts would prove to be in vain.

Boxer Rebellion

In 1900, the Boxer Rebellion broke out in northern China. Perhaps fearing further foreign intervention, Cixi threw her support to these anti-foreign bands by making an official announcement of her support for the movement and a formal declaration of war on the Western powers. The general Ronglu deliberately sabotaged the performance of the imperial army during the rebellion. Dong Fuxiang's Muslim troops (the "Kansu Braves") were able and eager to destroy the foreign military forces in the legations, but Ronglu stopped them from doing so. The Manchu prince Zaiyi was xenophobic and friendly with Dong Fuxiang. Zaiyi wanted artillery for Dong's troops to destroy the legations. Ronglu blocked the transfer of artillery to Zaiyi and Dong, preventing them from destroying the legations. When artillery was finally supplied to the imperial army and Boxers, it was only done so in limited amounts; Ronglu deliberately held back the rest of them. The Chinese forces defeated the small 2,000-man Western relief force at the Battle of Langfang, but lost several decisive battles, including the Battle of Beicang, and the entire imperial court was forced to retreat as the forces of the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beijing. Due to the fact that moderates at the Qing imperial court tried to appease the foreigners by moving the Muslim Kansu Braves out of their way, the allied army was able to march into Beijing and seize the capital.

During the war, Cixi displayed concern about China's situation and foreign aggression, saying, "Perhaps their magic is not to be relied upon; but can we not rely on the hearts and minds of the people? Today China is extremely weak. We have only the people's hearts and minds to depend upon. If we cast them aside and lose the people's hearts, what can we use to sustain the country?" The Chinese people were almost unanimous in their support for the Boxers due to the Western Allied invasion.

When Cixi received an ultimatum demanding that China surrender total control over all its military and financial affairs to foreigners, she defiantly stated before the Grand Council, "Now they Powers have started the aggression, and the extinction of our nation is imminent. If we just fold our arms and yield to them, I would have no face to see our ancestors after death. If we must perish, why not fight to the death?" It was at this point that Cixi began to blockade the legations with the armies of the Beijing Field Force, which began the siege.

Cixi stated that "I have always been of the opinion, that the allied armies had been permitted to escape too easily in 1860. Only a united effort was then necessary to have given China the victory. Today, at last, the opportunity for revenge has come", and said that millions of Chinese would join the cause of fighting the foreigners since the Manchus had provided "great benefits" to China.

During the Battle of Beijing, the entire imperial court, including Empress Dowager Cixi and the Guangxu Emperor, fled Beijing and evacuated to Xi'an as the allied forces invaded the city. After the fall of Beijing, the Eight-Nation Alliance negotiated a treaty with the Qing government, sending messengers to the empress dowager in Xi'an. Included in the terms of the agreement was a guarantee that China would not have to give up any further territories to foreign powers. Many of Cixi's advisers in the imperial court insisted that the war against the foreigners be continued. They recommended that Dong Fuxiang be given responsibility to continue the war effort. Cixi was practical, however, and decided that the terms were generous enough for her to acquiesce and stop the war, at least after she was assured of her continued reign when the war was concluded. The Western powers needed a government strong enough to suppress further anti-foreign movements, but too weak to act on its own; they supported the continuation of the Qing dynasty, rather than allowing it to be overthrown. Cixi turned once more to Li Hongzhang to negotiate. Li agreed to sign the Boxer Protocol, which stipulated the presence of an international military force in Beijing and the payment of £67 million (almost $333 million) in war reparations. The United States used its share of the war indemnity to fund the creation of China's prestigious Tsinghua University. The Guangxu Emperor and Cixi did not return to Beijing from Xi'an until roughly 18 months after their flight.

Return to Beijing and reforms

In January 1902, Cixi, the Guangxu Emperor, the empress and the rest of the court made a ceremonious return to Beijing. At the railhead at Chengtingfu, Cixi and the court boarded a 21-car train to convey them the rest of the way to the capital. In Beijing, many of the legation women turned out to watch the procession from the Beijing railway station to the Forbidden City, and for the first time, commoners were permitted to watch as well.

Once back in the palace, Cixi implemented sweeping political reforms. High officials were dispatched to Japan and Europe to gather facts and draw up plans for sweeping administrative reforms in law, education, government structure, and social policy, many of which were modeled on the reforms of the Meiji Restoration. The abolition of the examination system in 1905 was only the most visible of these sweeping reforms. Ironically, Cixi sponsored the implementation of the New Policies, a reform program more radical than the one proposed by the reformers she had beheaded in 1898.

In an attempt to woo foreigners, Cixi also invited the wives of the diplomatic corps to a tea in the Forbidden City soon after her return, and in time, would hold summer garden parties for the foreign community at the Summer Palace. In 1903, she acquiesced to the request of Sarah Conger, wife of Edwin H. Conger, the U.S. Ambassador to China, to have her portrait painted by American artist Katharine Carl for the St. Louis World's Fair. Between 1903 and 1905, Cixi had a Western-educated lady-in-waiting by the name of Yu Deling, along with her sister and mother, serve at her court. Yu Deling, fluent in English and French, as well as Chinese, often served as translator at meetings with the wives of the diplomatic corps.

In 1903, Cixi allowed a young aristocratic photographer named Xunling, a brother of Yu Deling, to take elaborately staged shots of her and her court. They were designed to convey imperial authority, aesthetic refinement, and religious piety. As the only photographic series taken of Cixi – the supreme leader of China for more than 45 years – it represents a unique convergence of Qing court pictorial traditions, modern photographic techniques, and Western standards of artistic portraiture. The rare glass plates have been blown up into full-size images, included in the exhibition "The Empress Dowager" at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.

Xuantong era

Empress Dowager Cixi died in the Hall of Graceful Bird at the Middle Sea (中海儀鸞殿) of Zhongnanhai, Beijing, on 15 November 1908, after having installed Puyi as the new emperor on 14 November 1908. Her death came only a day after the death of the Guangxu Emperor. Radicals greeted the news with scorn. The anarchist Wu Zhihui, who had leveled some of the most vitriol at Cixi in life, wrote from exile in Paris of the "vixen empress and vermin emperor" that "their lingering stench makes me vomit."

On 4 November 2008, forensic tests concluded that the Guangxu Emperor died from acute arsenic poisoning. China Daily quoted an historian, Dai Yi, who speculated that Cixi may have known of her imminent death and may have worried that the Guangxu Emperor would continue his reforms after her death. It was reported in November 2008 that the level of arsenic in his remains was 2,000 times higher than that of ordinary people.

Empress Dowager Cixi was interred amidst the Eastern Qing tombs, east of Beijing, in the Eastern Ding Mausoleum, along with Empress Dowager Ci'an. Empress Dowager Ci'an lies in the Puxiangyu Eastern Ding Mausoleum (; lit. "Tomb East of the Ding Mausoleum in the Broad Valley of Good Omen"), while Empress Dowager Cixi built herself the much larger Putuoyu Eastern Ding Mausoleum (; lit. "Tomb East of the Ding Mausoleum in the Putuo Valley"). The Ding Mausoleum (lit. "Tomb of Quietude"), where the Xianfeng Emperor is buried, is located west of the Dingdongling. The Putuo Valley owes its name to Mount Putuo, one of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China.

Empress Dowager Cixi, unsatisfied with her tomb, ordered its destruction and reconstruction in 1895. The new tomb was a complex of temples, gates, and pavilions, covered with gold leaf, and with gold and gilded-bronze ornaments hanging from the beams and the eaves. In July 1928, Cixi's tomb was plundered by the warlord Sun Dianying and his army as part of the looting of the Eastern Mausoleum. They methodically stripped the complex of its precious ornaments, then dynamited the entrance to the burial chamber, opened Cixi's coffin, threw her corpse (said to have been found intact) on the ground, and stole the jewels contained in the coffin. They also took the massive pearl that had been placed in the empress dowager's mouth to protect her corpse from decomposing (in accordance with Chinese tradition).

After 1949, the complex of Empress Dowager Cixi's tomb was restored by the Chinese government.

Appraisal

For many years, the mainstream view of Empress Dowager Cixi was that she was a devious despot who contributed in no small part to China's slide into corruption, anarchy, and revolution. Cixi used her power to accumulate vast quantities of money, bullion, antiques and jewelry, using the revenues of the state as her own. The long-time China journalist Jasper Becker recalled that "every visitor to the Summer Palace is shown the beautiful lakeside pavilion in the shape of an elegant marble pleasure boat and told how Cixi spent funds destined for the imperial navy on such extravagant fripperies—which ultimately led to Japan's victory over China in 1895 and the loss of Taiwan".

Yet even after the violent anti-foreign Boxer movement and equally violent foreign reprisal, the initial foreign accounts of Cixi emphasized her warmth and friendliness.

This was perhaps because Cixi took the initiative and invited several women to spend time with her in the Forbidden City. Katharine Carl, an American painter, was called to China in 1903 to paint Cixi's portrait for the St. Louis Exposition. In her With the Empress Dowager. Carl portrays Cixi as a kind and considerate woman for her station. Cixi, though shrewd, had great presence, charm, and graceful movements resulting in "an unusually attractive personality". Carl wrote of the empress dowager's love of dogs and of flowers, as well as boating, Chinese opera and her Chinese water pipes and European cigarettes. Cixi also commissioned the well-known portraitist, Hubert Vos to produce a series of oil portraits.

The publication of China Under The Empress Dowager (1910) by J. O. P. Bland and Edmund Backhouse contributed to Cixi's reputation with its back-door gossip, much of which came from palace eunuchs. Their portrait included contradictory elements, writes one recent study, "on the one hand... imperious, manipulative, and lascivious" and on the other "ingenuous, politically shrewd, and conscientious..." Backhouse and Bland told their readers that "to summarize her essence simply, she a woman and an Oriental". Backhouse was later found to have forged some of the source materials used in this work. The vivid writing and lascivious details of their account provided material for many of the books over the following decades, including Chinese fiction and histories that drew on a 1914 translation.

In the People's Republic after 1949, the image of the Manchu Empress was debated and changed several times. She was sometimes praised for her anti-imperialist role in the Boxer Uprising and sometimes she was reviled as a member of the "feudalist regime". When Mao Zedong's wife, Jiang Qing was arrested in 1976 for abuse of power, an exhibit at the Palace Museum put Cixi's luxurious goods on display to show that a female ruler weakened the nation.

By the mid-1970s, views among scholars began to change. Sue Fawn Chung's doctoral dissertation at University of California, Berkeley was the first study in English to use court documents rather than popular histories and hearsay. Her influential 1979 article titled "The Much Maligned Empress Dowager" opened with the sentence "Clio, the Muse of History, has not been kind" to Cixi. Traditional historians in China, Chung continued, "always have been prejudiced against feminine influence in court", and historians have long taken the word of Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, and other Chinese, who opposed the Empress Dowager. Luke Kwong, in his analysis of the Hundred Days' Reform, argued that many of the allegations of Empress Dowager Cixi being power-hungry and immoral could not be verified. He portrays her as a relatively insecure woman, concerned about her legitimacy and haunted by her relatively humble origins in the palace. Chinese historians have traditionally held a negative prejudice of female members of court. The Empress Dowager was also a more conservative leader, which was not common for a female leader of those times. This has resulted in Empress Dowager Cixi being portrayed in a one-sided, negative and narrow view where she was called names such as "she dragon" or the "usurper of a throne" and viewed as either a tyrant or incompetent. Despite this, writers such as Jung Chang have criticized this narrative and have written works such as Chang's Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China in order to offer an opposing view.

In recent decades, says Pamela Kyle Crossley, a historian of the dynasty, historians in the West developed what had become "truisms" in the representation of Cixi: "that she has been obscured by misogyny and orientalist stereotyping, as well as the anti-Manchu sentiment running through Chinese nationalist narratives". Crossley felt that Cixi appealed to feminists as a powerful leader and to Chinese patriots as a defender of China. In the 1960s and 1970s, Cixi was one of "a small collection of 'powerful' women newly discovered" and now "she appears in the vanguard of stubborn Chinese opposition to foreign arrogance and encroachment".

Several widely read popular biographies appeared. Sterling Seagrave's Dragon Lady: The Life and Legend of the Last Empress of China portrays Cixi as a woman stuck between the xenophobic faction of Manchu nobility and more moderate influences. The empress dowager, Seagrave argues, did not crave power but simply acted to balance these influences and protect the Qing dynasty as best she could.

In 2013, Jung Chang's biography, Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China, portrays Cixi as the most capable ruler and administrator that China could have had at the time. Pamela Kyle Crossley said in the London Review of Books that Chang's claims "seem to be minted from her own musings, and have little to do with what we know was actually going in China". Although Crossley was sympathetic to restoring women's place in Chinese history, she found "rewriting Cixi as Catherine the Great or Margaret Thatcher is a poor bargain: the gain of an illusory icon at the expense of historical sense".

Titles and honours

Titles

• During the reign of the Daoguang Emperor (r. 1820–1850):

　• Lady Yehe Nara (from 29 November 1835)

• During the reign of the Xianfeng Emperor (r. 1850–1861):

　• Noble Lady Lan (蘭貴人; from 26 June 1852), sixth rank consort

　• Imperial Concubine Yi (懿嬪; from 28 February 1854), fifth rank consort

　• Consort Yi (懿妃; from 27 April 1856), fourth rank consort

　• Noble Consort Yi (懿貴妃; from January/February 1857), third rank consort

• During the reign of the Tongzhi Emperor (r. 1861–1875):

　• Empress Dowager Cixi (慈禧皇太后; from 22 August 1861)

• During the reign of the Xuantong Emperor (r. 1908–1912):

　• Grand Empress Dowager Cixi (慈禧太皇太后; from 14 November 1908)

　• Empress Xiaoqinxian (孝欽顯皇后; from 16 November 1909)

Honours

Dame Grand Cordon of the Order of the Precious Crown (Empire of Japan).

Family

• Father: Yehenara Huizheng (惠徵; 1805–1853)

　• Paternal grandfather: Jingrui (景瑞)

　• Paternal grandmother: Lady Gūwalgiya

• Mother: Lady Fuca

　• Maternal grandfather: Huixian (惠顯)

• Three younger brothers

　• Second younger brother: Guixiang (桂祥; 1849–1913), served as first rank military official (都統), and held the title of a third class duke (三等公), the father of Empress Xiao Ding Jing (1868–1913)

• One younger sister

　• Second younger sister: Wanzhen (1841–1896), the mother of the Guangxu Emperor (1871–1908)

Issue

• As Concubine Yi:

　• Zaichun (載淳; 27 April 1856 – 12 January 1875), the Xianfeng Emperor's first son, enthroned on 11 November 1861 as the Tongzhi Emperor

In fiction and popular culture

• Flora Robson portrays the empress 'Tzu Hsi' in the 1963 Nicholas Ray's American epic historical film 55 Days at Peking; this film (based on a book by Noel Gerson) dramatizes the siege of the foreign legations' compounds in Peking during the Boxer Rebellion.

• Der Ling's story The True Story of the Empress Dowager (originally published as Old Buddha) gives a portrayal of the history behind the character of the Empress-Dowager Cixi—not as the monster of depravity depicted in the popular press, but an aging woman who loved beautiful things and had many regrets about the past. (Soul Care Publishing, 2015)

• Pearl S. Buck's novel Imperial Woman chronicles the life of the Empress Dowager from the time of her selection as a concubine until near to her death.

• Bette Bao Lord's novel Spring Moon starts in the days of Cixi, and includes the involvement of the Imperial Court in the Boxer Rebellion.

• The novels Empress Orchid (2004) and The Last Empress (2007), by Anchee Min portray the life of Empress Dowager Cixi from a first-person perspective.

• The Noble Consort Yi is featured in George McDonald Fraser's novel, Flashman and the Dragon (1985).

• The 1968 novel Wij Tz'e Hsi Keizerin Van China ("We, Tz'e Hsi, Empress of China") by Dutch author Johan Fabricius is a fictional diary of the Empress.

• In the 1970s, she was portrayed by Lisa Lu in two Hong Kong-made films, The Empress Dowager (set during the Sino-Japanese War), and its sequel, The Last Tempest (set during the "Hundred Days of Reform").

• Lu reprised her role as Cixi in the 1987 film The Last Emperor, depicting the dowager on her deathbed.

• In the 1980s, she was portrayed by Liu Xiaoqing, in Burning of Imperial Palace (depicting her rise to power in the 1850s, and the burning of the Old Summer Palace by French and British troops in 1860), in Reign Behind a Curtain (depicting the Xinyou Coup of 1861), in The Empress Dowager (set during the latter part of the reign of Tongzhi), and in Li Lianying, the Imperial Eunuch.

• In the Lover of the Last Empress, she was portrayed by Chingmy Yau.

• The China Central Television production Towards the Republic portrayed Empress Dowager Cixi as a capable ruler, the first time that Mainland Chinese television had shown her in this light. The portrayal was not entirely positive, as it also clearly depicted her political views as very conservative.

• She is portrayed in the novel The Ginger Tree, by Oswald Wynd (1977).

• The novel The Pleiades, by Japanese author Asada Jiro, focuses on Empress Cixi's relationship with a court eunuch named Chun'er, and depicted Cixi as a ruthless and calculating leader. It was adapted into a 2010 Japanese television series, that was also broadcast in China, and starred Japanese actress Yūko Tanaka as Empress Cixi.

• Cixi is a major character in the novel Mandarin, by American author Robert Elegant. The novel is set in the 1850s through the 1870s.

• Earth Queen Hou-Ting in The Legend of Korra is clearly based upon Cixi and the state of the Earth Kingdom during her reign mirrors the decline of Imperial China in the late 19th century.

• Portrayed by Michelle Yim in The Rise and Fall of Qing Dynasty (1990) and The Confidant (2012)

• Portrayed by Susanna Au-yeung in The Rise and Fall of Qing Dynasty (1992)

• Portrayed by Law Lan in The Last Healer in Forbidden City (2016)

• Portrayed by Xi Meijuan in Nothing Gold Can Stay (2017)

• Empress Cixi is the primary antagonist and recurring character, though only ever named as "the Empress Dowager" in the 1991 animated show The Twins of Destiny by French writer/producer Jean Chalopin.

• Portrayed as the primary antagonist of the WEBTOON Phantom Paradise.

生平

道光十五年十月十日（1835年11月29日）出生，歸化城副都統惠顯之女鑲黃旗滿洲富察氏所出。根據《宮中檔差務雜錄》的記載，孝欽顯皇后給其本家祖先祭祀時所寫的文辭「孝次女」來看，孝欽顯皇后應是惠徵的次女。

咸豐時期

咸豐二年二月十一日（1852年3月31日），時年十七歲的葉赫那拉氏在外八旗選秀中被指定「蘭貴人」（「蘭」字為那拉氏的「拉」字諧音），同年五月初九日由錫拉胡同19號四合院的本家送入圓明園，居儲秀宮麗景軒。葉赫那拉氏未知何時改號為「懿貴人」。

咸豐三年六月初三日（1853年7月8日），蘭貴人之父惠徵在鎮江府病逝。同年七月初六日報單內開，咸豐帝命沈振麟畫皇上穿盔甲乘馬式御容大挂軸一張，以及主位喜容稿九張，即蘭貴人那拉氏等全體內庭主位俱有一幅畫像。咸豐四年二月二十六日（1854年），時年十九歲的蘭貴人詔封「懿嬪」。根據《鴻稱通用》的記載，懿字的滿文意思為「端莊」和「文雅」，充分體現了文宗視角內孝欽顯皇后的性格。冊文如下：

咸豐五年十月十三日，候補員外郎春年和懋勤殿太監張得喜交御筆字條一張：「慎重和平」。咸豐帝命人用一寸藍綾邊貼儲秀宮殿內，不進工匠，而張貼地方要問懿嬪娘娘。咸豐六年三月（1856年），生下咸豐帝獨子載淳（即同治帝），晉封為「懿妃」。冊文如下：

咸豐七年正月（1857年），時年二十二歲的懿妃晉封為「懿貴妃」。冊文如下：

咸豐六年十二月二十七日，咸豐帝命人交「御筆福、祿、壽、喜」各一張。翌日，進內貼儲秀宮大爺殿內，張貼的地方要問貴妃娘娘。咸豐帝體弱多病，兼之當時的大清北有英法聯軍入侵北京、南有太平天國反清農民運動，正值內憂外患之際，讓他心力憔悴。懿貴妃工於書法，於是咸豐帝時常口授並讓其代筆批閱奏章，並且允許懿貴妃發表自己的意見，因而大臣們多對葉赫那拉氏不滿。

咸豐十年八月（1860年），英法聯軍在第二次鴉片戰爭中攻破大沽口，占領天津。隨後在八里橋擊潰了清軍的精銳，京師危在旦夕。9月22日，咸豐帝率包含慈禧在內的一幹宮眷逃往熱河避暑山莊避難，留恭親王奕訢在京師與聯軍議和。英法聯軍在北京大肆搶劫後，10月18日將包括圓明園在內的皇家「三山五園」焚燒，大火燒了三天三夜。

咸豐皇帝臨終前將「御賞」、「同道堂」兩方小璽分別賜予鈕祜祿氏皇后和太子載淳，並規定凡以後下發諭旨必須鈐用此二璽為憑。據《熱河密札》記載：「兩璽均大行所賜，母后用『御賞』璽，上用『同道堂』璽，凡應硃筆處用此代之，述旨亦均用之，以杜弊端。」由于載淳年幼，「同道堂」璽便被其生母控制。也就是所有的旨意先由顧命八大臣擬定後，再交由兩宮太后審查後蓋上咸豐皇帝所賜的御印後，即可正式生效。咸豐帝令其年僅五歲的獨子載淳繼承皇位，並任命怡親王載垣、鄭親王端華、戶部尚書肅順、額駙景壽、兵部尚書穆蔭、吏部左侍郎匡源、禮部右侍郎杜翰、太僕寺少卿焦祐瀛八人為「贊襄政務王、大臣」，輔佐嗣君，人稱「顧命八大臣」。

咸豐十一年七月十七日（1861年8月22日），咸豐帝在承德避暑山莊煙波致爽殿內駕崩，享年30歲。皇后在當天自動升級成為皇太后，懿貴妃在第二天才被兒子封為太后。

同治帝在避暑山莊居喪期間，奉嫡母皇后鈕祜祿氏為「母后皇太后」，住煙波致爽殿的東暖閣；奉生母懿貴妃那拉氏封為「聖母皇太后」住煙波致爽殿的西暖閣，分別被稱為「東宮太后」和「西宮太后」。

祺祥之變

咸豐帝死後，皇子載淳即位，9月3日發命，明年改元「祺祥」。

顧命八大臣與慈禧產生了嚴重的矛盾。而當時恭親王奕訢已與西方列國達成議和，于9月5日赴熱河奔喪。奕訢與慈禧秘密取得聯繫，決定策劃一次政變。在慈禧的鼓動下，這次政變得到了慈安太后的同意。同年9月14日，山東道監察御史董元醇奏請兩宮皇太后兩宮聽政，慈禧與慈安便召八大臣入議，八大臣以「本朝未有皇太后垂簾」為由拒絕。在奕訢的幫助下，慈禧取得了侍郎勝保、大學士賈楨等多人的支持。10月26日，咸豐帝的靈柩運回京師時，慈禧命八大臣護送靈柩殿後，自己與慈安、嗣君載淳則先達京師。隨後，慈禧便先發制人，利用帝后和咸豐帝的梓宮回京的機會發動辛酉政變，設計逮捕了八大臣，判處怡親王載垣、鄭親王端華自裁、肅順斬立決，其他人革職。奕訢被封為議政王。

自此，八大臣勢力被剷除。由八大臣擬定的年號「祺祥」也被廢除，11月7日下詔，廢除「祺祥」年號，翌年改元為「同治」，出自《書經·蔡仲之命》：「為善不同，同歸於治；為惡不同，同歸於亂」。同治甲子，載淳在北京紫禁城太和殿登基，頒詔天下，以第二年為同治元年，故稱同治帝。十一月乙酉朔，嫡母慈安太后、生母慈禧太后在養心殿正式垂簾聽政。登基時，同治帝年僅五歲，故其後一直由慈安太后、慈禧太后臨朝稱制，史稱兩宮聽政。

同治時期

垂簾聽政

執政初期，在議政王奕訢的輔佐下，整飭吏治，重用漢臣，依靠曾國藩、左宗棠、李鴻章等漢族地主武裝；又在列強支持下，先後鎮壓了太平天國、捻軍、苗民、回民起義，緩解清王朝的統治危機，使清王朝得到暫時穩定。出於維護封建專制統治，她又重用洋務派，以「自強」和「求富」的方針，發展一些軍用，民用工業，訓練海軍和陸軍以加強政權實力。客觀上對清國的近代化起到了一定積極作用。這一時期，國內起義被平定，兩次鴉片戰爭暫時滿足列強的貪欲，外交上沒有吃大虧，洋務運動後清王朝的軍事實力有所提高，工商業有了初步發展，史稱為同光中興「同治中興」。

同治十一年（1872年），同治帝載淳已滿18歲，慈禧不得已為他選后，次年兩宮太后撤簾歸政。但同治帝親政後為了盡孝心，下旨修繕圓明園以供慈安、慈禧兩宮太后居住，然而當時財政緊缺，圓明園又殘毀嚴重，修復耗資甚鉅，同治帝堅持開工，引起奕訢等王公大臣多人反對，同治帝竟要將他們全部革職，慈禧出面制止了同治帝這一決定。

同治十三年（1875年），同治帝病逝，年僅19歲。同治無後，慈禧太后就立咸豐帝之弟奕譞之子載湉入嗣大宗，繼承大清皇位，改年號為「光緒」，兩宮太后再次聽政。

光緒時期

光緒初年政局與清法戰爭

光緒六年（1880年），慈禧太后重病。

光緒七年（1881年），慈禧太后痊癒。同年，東太后慈安太后逝世，慈禧太后獨自臨朝聽政。

光緒九年（1883年），清法戰爭爆發，雙方在軍事上互有勝負，但朝廷卻主張「乘勝即收」。

光緒十年（1884年），清軍在北圻作戰不利，慈禧太后遂罷免恭親王奕訢為首的全班軍機大臣。以禮親王世鐸入值領班軍機，慶郡王奕劻領總理各國事務衙門，惟慈禧獨斷乾綱，此為甲申易樞朝局之變。

光緒十一年（1885年），與法國簽定《中法新約》，中國默認法國對越南的保護權。此條約亦加速中國西南邊陲淪為法國的勢力範圍。

光緒十四年（1888年），光緒皇帝大婚，慈禧太后主張冊立其侄女，就是後來的隆裕太后為皇后。婚後光緒皇帝開始親政，但朝廷一切用人行政，仍惟慈禧之命是從，一體裁決：「上（光緒帝）事太后謹，朝廷大政，必請命乃行。」

光緒二十年（1894年），光緒帝以慈禧六十壽辰擬「在頤和園受賀，仿康熙、乾隆年間成例，自大內至園，路所經，設彩棚經壇，舉行慶典」。納海防捐以繕修頤和園、佈置點景，廣收貢獻。但因清日甲午戰爭吃緊，慈禧宣布停辦。

清日甲午戰爭

光緒二十年（1894年），甲午海戰爆發。由光緒皇帝主導戰事，慈禧復議「不准有示弱語」。戰爭伊始，清軍便在朝鮮戰場上接連失利，而北洋水師在黃海之戰中又遭受嚴重挫折。光緒皇帝近臣阻止將朝鮮戰場上接連失利的消息呈報慈禧，直到李鴻章將自開戰以來與京師來往的電報呈給慈禧，慈禧驚覺戰況不妙，除了將宮內的三百萬兩銀子交給李鴻章外，並延長住在西苑的時間，停辦六旬壽典。李鴻章深知日本佔優勢，期冀列強幹涉，以盡快結束戰爭。一方面為了討好慈禧，在慈禧宣布停辦六旬壽典之後，李鴻章送上九件禮品給慈禧，原本因戰事失利而停止送壽禮的事情，又在臣僚之間傳開，紛紛呈上壽禮，但隨著戰事吃緊，這項舉措使慈禧聲望下跌。鑒於列強幹涉失敗，形勢日益緊張以及朝野上下的重重壓力，再加上金州、大連相繼陷落，旅順萬分危急的情況下，紫禁城寧壽宮內慈禧的壽典落幕。

由於戰事一直由光緒帝主導，慈禧無法過問，但隨著戰事吃緊，慈禧設法想主導戰事，除了關閉光緒帝與近臣們討論國政的書房外，將帝師翁同龢升為軍機大臣以得知戰事，一方面威脅珍妃，當作對光緒帝的懲罰，強迫光緒帝將主導戰事權交給慈禧，但戰事已無可挽回。

光緒二十一年二月（1895年），威海衛日艦及砲台夾攻劉公島，北洋水師全軍覆沒，日軍挺進山海關，京師告急。不得已，慈禧下定決心不惜代價向日本求和。三月，光緒帝派李鴻章為全權大臣，赴日議和。四月簽訂《馬關條約》，中國放棄對大朝鮮國的宗主國地位，賠款二億兩白銀，割讓遼東半島（在俄羅斯帝國，德國，法國等西方列強幹涉下，後以白銀3000萬兩贖回）、台灣、澎湖列島，開放4個通商口岸，允許大日本帝國在通商口岸開礦設廠。

戊戌變法與慈禧訓政

光緒二十四年六月（1898年），光緒帝命翁同龢起草《明定國是詔》，覲見慈禧，得到應允。乃于翌日頒布，戊戌變法正式展開。但變法過於操切，觸動了滿洲貴族和眾多官僚的利益，反對者十之八九。慈禧支持維新強國，默許皇帝對變法反對者的制裁。但慈禧與康有為的摩擦愈趨激烈。當時傳言光緒帝聽信康有為之言授意維新派命袁世凱派兵殺榮祿，圍頤和園迫使慈禧歸政。慈禧太后聞之大怒，宣佈軟禁光緒帝，對外宣稱光緒帝得病，不能視朝，「不得已臨朝稱制」，因此慈禧重新訓政，此為戊戌政變。自此，為期一百餘日的維新變法終止，維新期間的大部分條綱被廢止，維新派重要人物譚嗣同、楊銳、林旭、劉光第、楊深秀、康有溥等維新六君子被斬首，康有為、梁啓超流亡海外。

上海師範大學教授雷家聖指出：日本前首相伊藤博文在戊戌變法期間到中國訪問。當時英國傳教士李提摩太向變法派領袖康有為建議，要求清朝方面聘請伊藤為顧問，甚至付以事權，變法派官員在伊藤抵華後，紛紛上書請求重用伊藤，引起保守派官員的警惕。保守派官員楊崇伊甚至就事件密奏慈禧太后：「風聞東洋故相伊藤博文，將專政柄。伊藤果用，則祖宗所傳之天下，不啻拱手讓人。」楊崇伊的激烈言論，促使慈禧太后在9月19日由頤和園回到紫禁城，意欲瞭解光緒皇帝對伊藤有何看法。

伊藤與李提摩太又向康有為提議「中美英日合邦」，於是在康有為的授意下，變法派官員楊深秀於9月20日上書光緒：「臣尤伏願我皇上早定大計，固結英、美、日本三國，勿嫌『合邦』之名之不美。」另一變法派官員宋伯魯也於9月21日上書言道：雷家聖認為，這是欲將中國軍事、財稅、外交等國家大權，交於外人之手，所以慈禧太后驚覺事態嚴重，當機立斷發動政變，重新訓政，結束了戊戌變法。雷家聖亦認為「合邦」為外國的陰謀，康有為在戊戌變法前即曾與日本人聯繫，要與日本人聯合召開「兩國合邦大會議」。戊戌變法開始後，李提摩太又向康有為建議中、美、英、日四國「合邦」，藉以對抗俄羅斯帝國，他指出，這在當時是完全不切實際的。但身為高級知識分子的李提摩太卻向康有為提出這種建議，動機令人懷疑。康有為更向光緒建議要向李提摩太與伊藤博文「商酌辦法」，則控制權將完全掌握在外人手中。因此李提摩太「合邦」的計劃，可以說是一個外交騙局，利用康有為等人對國際常識不足的弱點，誘騙康有為等人與光緒將交出軍事、財政、外交等權力給外國人，任由外國操控宰割。

戊戌政變之後，許多官吏紛紛上書彈劾康有為、梁啟超等人，如兵部掌印給事中高燮曾於八月十一日上奏言：「從前朝鮮被倭人戕妃逼王，其明證也。」福建道監察御史黃桂鋆上奏：「大約康有為等，內則巧奪政權，外則私通敵國，其主持變法之說，皆欺人語也。」民間學者王先謙也批評康有為「借兵外臣，倚重鄰敵，以危宗社，又兼崔胤、張邦昌而有之，誠亂臣賊子之尤也。」當時的官僚與士大夫，已經將康有為等人的陰謀與大朝鮮國乙未事變作比較，並發現了其中的相似之處。

義和拳事件與八國聯軍

受到戊戌政變的影響，慈禧太后在此後一段時間內開始排斥維新派，並因此利用端王載漪、剛毅等守舊親貴。而對于如何處置光緒帝，是否廢黜他，成為朝野關注的焦點。

光緒二十五年十二月二十四日（1899年1月24日），以光緒帝名義下詔，溥儁被正式過繼于同治帝，獲得皇子身份，受詔入宮，封為大阿哥，有「立儲」之意，並以崇綺為師傅，命在弘德殿讀書，欽定年號「保慶」。是為己亥立儲。列國公使認為此舉有廢除光緒之意，拒絕入賀，廢立之事遂偃旗息鼓。

載漪為求其子早日登基，乃利用皇太后對「洋人」的嫉忌之心，極力離間帝后。順此，朝中形勢乃逐漸演變為非理性仇視「洋人」的守舊親貴，結合保守的清流派，對抗主張務實外交的朝臣之局。在端王等當權親貴的縱容，甚至暗助之下，以扶乩迷信加上民族主義起家的義和團事件「庚子國變」乃得以大舉進入直隸、進迫北京，形成一股「逼宮」的形勢。

慈禧太后雖未必相信拳民「神功護體」、「刀槍不入」之說，但看到「民氣可用」；且號稱上百萬的義和團民已經在北京附近大量聚集，慈禧太后擔心鎮壓義和團會促使其矛頭轉而指向清王朝，亦未嘗嚴令鎮壓拳民，終於釀成拳民大規模進入京畿，並且殘殺「教民」、攻擊外人、甚至殺死德國公使、日本外交官等人員的事故，引起八國聯軍幹涉之禍。慈禧太后又誤信各國欲迫其退位的假情報，負氣處死主張透過外交途徑解決危機的五大臣，並隨即對多國宣戰，至此大勢乃全無轉圜餘地。

光緒二十六年七月二十日（1900年8月14日凌晨），八國聯軍攻入北京；15日凌晨，攻紫禁城東華門，慈禧帶著光緒帝等宮眷自德勝門逃出京師，經過宣化、大同、太原，于九月到達西安。令奕劻、李鴻章為全權大臣，與列強進行談判，把戰爭的責任推到義和團身上，下令對義和團「痛加剿除」。

光緒二十七年十二月二十六日（1902年2月14日），批准《議和大綱》，並發布上諭，表示要「量中華之物力，結與國之歡心。」然而根據近年來的研究，此句話斷章取義，聯繫《清史稿》上下文，本來的意思是「儘量少用中華之物力」。同年9月7日清廷與11個列強國家簽訂了《辛丑條約》，規定按照當時中國人口的數量賠款4.5億兩白銀，39年內賠款9.8億兩白銀，懲辦主戰官員，拆除大沽到北京沿線所有砲台等。是中國歷史上賠款最多的條約之一。

光緒二十八年十一月二十九日（1903年1月8日），歷時三月回到北京。慈禧和光緒帝都下詔罪己。端郡王載漪失勢，溥儁也被廢除大阿哥頭銜，以公爵頭銜遷出宮。

庚子新政

光緒二十七年（1901年），簽訂了《辛丑條約》之後，慈禧太后為了挽回人心而下詔實行新政，是為庚子新政。這次改革比戊戌變法更廣更深，實行千年之久的科舉制度也被廢除。在張之洞、劉坤一的建議下，慈禧決定效仿日本，實行君主立憲制，下令預備立憲，又派五大臣前往西方列國考察。

1904年（光緒三十年）爆發日俄戰爭，戰場正是在中國東北，慈禧太后對于這場在自己本土上的戰爭表示中立，而戰爭中大量東北地區平民遇難，使得中國的有識之士徹底看清清朝政府的腐敗無能，決心進行變法或革命；與此同時，國內革命運動也愈發高漲。為了維持政權，慈禧作出要立憲的姿態。

1905年（光緒三十一年）派五大臣出洋考察，1906年（光緒三十二年）又下詔預備立憲，1908（光緒三十四年）年頒布《欽定憲法大綱》，內容仿照德國和日本的憲法，維護皇帝「君上大權」。

1908年美國總統老羅斯福簽署法案，退還庚子賠款（庚款）一千多萬美元，希望讓中國人認識西洋文化，支持留美教育，與照顧中國官派留美學生；之後，英國、法國、比利時、意大利、荷蘭等國相繼；七國退還中國庚子之賠款「溢款」總數，約在海關銀三億兩左右。

晚年

光緒三十四年十月二十一日（1908年11月14日），光緒皇帝在北京中南海瀛臺涵元殿內駕崩（今考証被砒霜毒死），享年三十七歲，大行皇帝無嗣，經慈禧皇太后下詔，命醇親王載灃為監國攝政王，其長子溥儀繼承大清王朝皇位，年號「宣統」，慈禧被尊為太皇太后。

光緒三十四年十月二十二日（1908年11月15日），慈禧皇太后崩逝於北京中南海儀鸞殿的後殿福昌殿內，享壽七十三歲，結束了長達四十七年的統治。

宣統元年十月四日（1909年11月16日），慈禧太后靈柩從北京紫禁城被遷至河北省遵化市清東陵內的菩陀峪定東陵安葬，其牌位被請入北京太廟供奉。定徽號慈禧端佑康頤昭豫莊誠壽恭欽獻崇熙太皇太后，諡號孝欽慈禧端佑康頤昭豫莊誠壽恭欽獻崇熙配天興聖顯皇后，簡稱孝欽顯皇后，諡號共29字，諡號長度超過中國歷代皇帝以及皇后，成為中國之最。

身後之事

慈禧的陵寢菩陀峪定東陵，營建工程歷時十三年，直到她死前才告結束。耗銀227萬兩，金碧輝煌、極盡奢華。

建築材料的貴重、工藝的精湛、裝飾的奢華等方面均居於清朝皇后陵寢的首位。即使是與清朝諸帝陵相比，某些帝陵也要比她遜色很多。她的隨葬品之奢華也令人瞠目結舌，嘆為觀止。慈禧的隨葬品分為兩部分：生前置放於墓中金井裡的珍寶與下葬時的隨葬珍品，許多都是極其罕見的曠世奇寶，價格和價值也根本無法估量。

1928年6月，軍閥孫殿英藉演習之名，率其部下對慈禧的菩陀峪定東陵和乾隆帝的裕陵進行大規模盜掘。盜墓者將定東陵內的珍寶洗劫一空，甚至連慈禧口中所含的一粒大如雞蛋的夜明珠都被挖走，此案即是轟動全國的東陵事件「清東陵盜寶案」。在清皇室的呼籲下，民國政府派員調查此事。孫殿英對外宣稱是報祖上孫承宗之仇，並將其中部分盜取的寶物賄賂蔣宋美齡、孔祥熙等人，案件查辦最終不了了之。寓居天津的溥儀只得派人將挖出的遺骨重新斂葬。

後來溥儀在其回憶錄里提及：祖母慈禧太后夜明珠被盜事，並改餽贈給某位民初權貴夫人（指宋美齡），讓他耿耿於懷。

傳說軼事

• 傳聞清末重臣榮祿少年時代，與選秀入宮前之慈禧為情侶，故當慈禧成為皇太后並掌權之後，對於榮祿大力提拔，寵信有加。此說，見於前清宮中女官裕德齡原以英文出版、亦發行有中文版之小說體作品《愛戀紫禁城：慈禧私秘感情生活》，亦為台灣中視八點檔連續劇《戲說慈禧》所採用。

• 《清史稿》記載，慈禧去世時仍然在批閱奏摺，可見她的勤政。《戲說慈禧》如實拍攝此事。

• 大英帝國外交官埃德蒙·巴恪思爵士，第二代從男爵曾出使清朝，據其著作《太后與我》所載，慈禧在滿五十歲之前，嗜好房事，數度祕密地招幸外交官，一夜能行房五次。然而該書被指內容極為離奇荒誕。對于該書的指責主要集中于兩點，一是「虛假」、一是「色情」，其文學價值大于史料價值。

• 有關光緒帝之死因傳聞與慈禧有關聯，其遺骨及衣物經現代法醫技術鑑定後，確認死于急性砷中毒（急性砒霜中毒），兇手極有可能為慈禧。主因是慈禧病重時曾猶豫對光緒帝要如何處置，遂以自己不久人世的消息透露給光緒帝知道，惟其近侍回報光緒帝曾微露喜色；故慈禧決意自己病終前，光緒帝須先於自己命終，以免光緒帝有再度親政、否定慈禧生前之佈局的可能。

• 民間傳說稱，葉赫那拉氏先祖布揚古被努爾哈赤殺害前，詛咒「吾子孫，雖存一女子，亦必覆滿洲」。巧合的是，慈禧太后和隆裕太后均為葉赫那拉氏，而且一個被認為治國無能導致國力日衰，另一個在位時清朝滅亡。慈禧為蘇完葉赫那拉氏，與葉赫國主支系的葉赫那拉氏並非同宗，慈禧與葉赫國主同姓只是巧合。而此說法最早在光緒年間才出現，且從未出現在之前的史料當中，因此為後人穿鑿附會之說。

• 慈禧太后母親富察氏六十大壽的時候，雖然紫禁城距離錫拉胡同母親宅邸咫尺之遙，慈禧卻無法去參加母親的大壽，就讓侍臣給母親送了很多的東西；同時親筆寫了一幅書法，裱好後送去了。這幅書法一直保存了幾代人，最後毀于文革。那是慈禧寫給母親的一首詩：「世間爹媽情最真，淚血溶入兒女身。殫竭心力終為子，可憐天下父母心！」

• 據大清秘錄紀載，慈禧太后生前醉心於義和團的靈魂出竅之神通修練，於死前秘令義和團巫師雕塑其金身供義和團眾參拜，金身神諱天上聖母皇太后。其也為中國歷代各朝鮮少在世時自稱神仙的領導人，並成為未過世之前就接受萬民朝拜的老佛爺。在現時道教中，因義和團的拱佐，天上聖母老佛爺已經與媽祖娘娘信仰混為一談。

家族

兄弟姊妹

• 姊 夭折

• 妹 醇親王嫡福晉（醇親王奕譞嫡妃）

　• 第一子 載瀚

　• 第二子 載湉（光緒帝）

　• 第三子

　• 第四子 載洸

• 妹 （慶親王奕劻二弟奕勛嫡妻）

• 大弟 照祥

　• 第一子 德善

• 二弟 桂祥

　• 第一女 靜榮（載澤福晉）

　• 第二女 靜芬（孝定景皇后）

　• 第三女 靜芳

　• 第一子 德恆，字「健亭」

　　• 第一女 淑敏

　　• 第二女 淑琴

　　• 第一子 恩賢

　• 第二子 德祺，字「壽芝」

　　• 第一女 希賢

　　• 第二女 希嬿

　　• 第一子 恩印

　　• 第二子 恩顯

　　• 第三子 恩民

　　• 第四子 恩植

• 三弟 福祥

　• 第一子 德奎，字「文伯」

　　• 第一子 恩華

　　• 第二女 恩秀

　　• 第一子 恩銓

　　• 第二子 恩輝

　　• 第三子 恩耀

　　• 第四子 恩光

字畫

File:Painting by Dowager Empress Cixi 02.jpg|粉色牡丹

File:Painting by Empress Dowager Cixi.PNG|牡丹

File:Painting by the Empress Dowager Cixi 06.JPG|鳥與水果

File:Painting by the Empress Dowager Cixi 04.JPG|黃牡丹

File:Calligraphy of Empress Dowager Cixi at Summer Palace.JPG|慈禧手書

影視形象

評價