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A Wicked History
Cixi: Evil Empress of China?
Discover the life of Cixi, the Empress of China, her devious rise to power to the consequences of supporting the Boxers. The wicked ways of some of the most ruthless rulers to walk the earth are revealed in these thrilling biographies (A Wicked History) about men and women so monstrous, they make Frankenstein look like a sweetheart.
128 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
December 10, 2019
The book “Cixi The Evil Empress of China” , by Sean Stewart Price is a very good book.And the thing that makes this book great is the fact that it is a part in history.The reason is like this book is because it is about a very poor time in china and it talks alot about Cixi and how she caused chaos is China.One way she caused chaos was by causing so much war and conflict in to china .And the fact that Cixi in some ways did sort of help China to become a better place in very great ways like not accepting horrible treaties makes it hard to believe she was a very bad person.I would recommend this book to everyone who likes to read about Chinese history or just history.
January 9, 2020
Solid middle-grade nonfiction, clearly worked to show multiple sides to things. Too condensed to be a full look at everything, but a good introduction for those who might know a little about this time period or about Chinese history and would like to know more.
April 12, 2022
I like that I’m learning about some people I’ve never heard of. I have never heard of Cixi. I also like the culture lesson. It’s also crazy to see what events in America took place at the same time. We often think things are 100’s of years apart but in reality they may have been months.
January 23, 2021
This girl REALLY wants her power. Anyways, this book is great for me, a middle schooler.
March 10, 2023
Quite the powerful history of China's last dynasty. In some ways, I can see how they have fallen behind as a world power.
February 22, 2018
I loved this book! It was very intense on how they talked about Cixi. How she would be on the sidelines to rule China. I liked how it had a lot of detail about Cixi.
May 10, 2013
Pages: 120
Genre: Non Fiction
Summary:
In the early 1800's to the late 1800's, Cixi's presence was infamous. Cixi was the leader, (and before, the wife of the former Emperor) of China during a time where foreign intervention was sprouting all across third world countries. Cixi stood as the absolute monarch who wanted to keep the power of a country in the monarch's hands and was desperate to keep her Qing dynasty running, or die trying. Before being the Empress, she rose to natural nobility being a Manchin in Mandarin China and after pulling the strings for several years and learning skills to get her noticed, she became the Emperor's consult and was chosen to be his wife and soon the regent of her son who was to be the next heir. During her reign, she was actively against foreign influence and the spread of liberalism/or democracy and as a result was hated by major powers at the time like the British, later the French and then the Austrian-Hungarians. Tensions rose as she outlawed christian missionaries (being a dedicated buddhist) and foreign trade to the point where the First Opium War was started and later the Second Opium War that forcefully made China a westernized country and gave European powers the right to trade. A look on her reign marks terror with all the rebellions started, her starvation of the country, and her attempts to keep an absolute monarchy.
My Thought(s):
I never really knew about Chinese history and I sort of figured they'd have wars with colonials because the British and French and Germans were competing for having an Empire and they'd travel all across the East, but I never thought they'd have so much war there. I thought it was definitely interesting because, again, I don't know anything about Chinese or Eastern history. I'd recommend this to someone who was interested in history.
Genre: Non Fiction
Summary:
In the early 1800's to the late 1800's, Cixi's presence was infamous. Cixi was the leader, (and before, the wife of the former Emperor) of China during a time where foreign intervention was sprouting all across third world countries. Cixi stood as the absolute monarch who wanted to keep the power of a country in the monarch's hands and was desperate to keep her Qing dynasty running, or die trying. Before being the Empress, she rose to natural nobility being a Manchin in Mandarin China and after pulling the strings for several years and learning skills to get her noticed, she became the Emperor's consult and was chosen to be his wife and soon the regent of her son who was to be the next heir. During her reign, she was actively against foreign influence and the spread of liberalism/or democracy and as a result was hated by major powers at the time like the British, later the French and then the Austrian-Hungarians. Tensions rose as she outlawed christian missionaries (being a dedicated buddhist) and foreign trade to the point where the First Opium War was started and later the Second Opium War that forcefully made China a westernized country and gave European powers the right to trade. A look on her reign marks terror with all the rebellions started, her starvation of the country, and her attempts to keep an absolute monarchy.
My Thought(s):
I never really knew about Chinese history and I sort of figured they'd have wars with colonials because the British and French and Germans were competing for having an Empire and they'd travel all across the East, but I never thought they'd have so much war there. I thought it was definitely interesting because, again, I don't know anything about Chinese or Eastern history. I'd recommend this to someone who was interested in history.
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October 31, 2020Part of the WICKED HISTORY series, this title tells about the Evil Empress of China -- Cixi.
SUMMARY: She entered China's Forbidden City as a low-ranking member of the emperor's household, a girl in a nation ruled by men. But she was sly, ruthless, and hungry for power. Within a decade, as Empress Cixi, she controlled the most populous country on earth. -- The fate of China rested in her hands. She faced rebellion from within and invasion from abroad. Her people suffered through flood and famine. The desperately needed a leader who could meet the challenges of a brave new world. -- Instead Cixi drove them into chaos and starvation. taken from back of book)
REVIEW: I have enjoyed the WICKED HISTORY series for years. It was nice to see biographies of different people than the usual "good people" you would find on the shelf. The design of the books always appealed to me with their smaller size, quality paper, and many pictures. The books are small (usually around 100 pages) with large print making a quick read. Always a little depressing and violent because you are always dealing with "wicked" people. But they are also a part of history and explain some of the whys of how events took place that are not in the usual history books.
However, with this title, I had to make myself finish the book. It was not holding my interest like most of the others. Cixi was a very selfish individual that was more concerned about her own comfort, wealth, and power than that of the entire country she ruled. Her resistance to acknowledging the world was changing and adapting new skills and new technologies kept her country poor and backward and open to invasion of foreign people and (trade and governments). A said story, but also rather dull. Good for a quick summary of the person of Cixi and this time in China's history (if needed) otherwise I think you can skip this one.
SUMMARY: She entered China's Forbidden City as a low-ranking member of the emperor's household, a girl in a nation ruled by men. But she was sly, ruthless, and hungry for power. Within a decade, as Empress Cixi, she controlled the most populous country on earth. -- The fate of China rested in her hands. She faced rebellion from within and invasion from abroad. Her people suffered through flood and famine. The desperately needed a leader who could meet the challenges of a brave new world. -- Instead Cixi drove them into chaos and starvation. taken from back of book)
REVIEW: I have enjoyed the WICKED HISTORY series for years. It was nice to see biographies of different people than the usual "good people" you would find on the shelf. The design of the books always appealed to me with their smaller size, quality paper, and many pictures. The books are small (usually around 100 pages) with large print making a quick read. Always a little depressing and violent because you are always dealing with "wicked" people. But they are also a part of history and explain some of the whys of how events took place that are not in the usual history books.
However, with this title, I had to make myself finish the book. It was not holding my interest like most of the others. Cixi was a very selfish individual that was more concerned about her own comfort, wealth, and power than that of the entire country she ruled. Her resistance to acknowledging the world was changing and adapting new skills and new technologies kept her country poor and backward and open to invasion of foreign people and (trade and governments). A said story, but also rather dull. Good for a quick summary of the person of Cixi and this time in China's history (if needed) otherwise I think you can skip this one.
January 15, 2015
After more than four thousand years of imperial rule, China was in ruins. The Q’ing Dynasty had been driven into ruins by the Boxer Rebellion. And most of the destruction was the fault of one woman.
The book Cixi: Evil Empress of China? tells the story of Cixi (tsu sh’ee), the last empress of China and by far the cruelest. Since her entrance into the royal palaces as a concubine, she stopped at nothing to ensure her hold over China. She even went so far as murdering her rivals and dismissing those who she thought insufficient out of the royal court. This includes her nephew Guangxu (gwang shoo), who she put under house arrest after he tried to modernize the country. This book describes Cixi’s rule, rise to power, youth, and private life. I would recommend the book to anyone who is interested in the Boxer Rebellion and the fall of the Q’ing Dynasty, because it provides inside information on both.
The book Cixi: Evil Empress of China? tells the story of Cixi (tsu sh’ee), the last empress of China and by far the cruelest. Since her entrance into the royal palaces as a concubine, she stopped at nothing to ensure her hold over China. She even went so far as murdering her rivals and dismissing those who she thought insufficient out of the royal court. This includes her nephew Guangxu (gwang shoo), who she put under house arrest after he tried to modernize the country. This book describes Cixi’s rule, rise to power, youth, and private life. I would recommend the book to anyone who is interested in the Boxer Rebellion and the fall of the Q’ing Dynasty, because it provides inside information on both.
January 23, 2015
The book Cixi : Evil Empress of China? is about the life of the Empress Cixi and how she became one of Chinas most evil empresses. Life in china in the 1800’s was not great. There was total chaos everywhere and the empress didn’t even try to stop it. With China on the edge of civil war it was not a great time to be ignoring something so important. Cixi : Evil Empress of China? is a VERY informational book on Empress Cixi by Sean Stewart Prince. One weakness about this book is that it is very informational, which makes it pretty hard to read. Sometimes an informational book can be fun to read but this one was not the best. Empress Cixi reminded me of a principal, very strict and orderly. I would not recommend this book to a classmate because I really did not like it. It was way too informational for my liking.There are many books in this “series”. I do not plan on reading any of the other books.
February 28, 2016
Cixi started life with her family in Beijing before being selected to be one of the Emperor's concubines. When the Emperor died, she became regent to her son. Life in China in the 1800s was hard, foreigners were invading, there were several droughts and natural disasters and the Qing dynasty was clinging to power and to its traditions.
Why I started this book: I've been meaning to try this middle-school series of villianous biographies for a while. I picked Cixi because I didn't know anything about her and I was eager to see how bad she was.
Why I finished it: Quick read, with pictures. The text was more balanced than the cover showed and I was left feeling sorry for Cixi, trying to hold on to traditions that couldn't withstand the Western powers or technology. But I felt more sorry for her subjects, who had to struggle under her rule and then under her and the Western powers.
Why I started this book: I've been meaning to try this middle-school series of villianous biographies for a while. I picked Cixi because I didn't know anything about her and I was eager to see how bad she was.
Why I finished it: Quick read, with pictures. The text was more balanced than the cover showed and I was left feeling sorry for Cixi, trying to hold on to traditions that couldn't withstand the Western powers or technology. But I felt more sorry for her subjects, who had to struggle under her rule and then under her and the Western powers.
May 14, 2012
When i first got this book i thought it wouldn't be so interesting at all, but i was mistaken because it was about the insane life of one powerful women. Her name was CiXi and she left a huge mark on China's history even after all these years because of all the saracfices she made to stay on top with the most power over everyone no matter what it took or who to kill. This wasn't only a book about a women who was strong,but about a women who would do anything for power even if it was about killing innocent people. After reading a couple of pages i really started to understand everything that one women could achieve just to get power.
January 21, 2015
China in the 1800’s was not a great place to be. Pressured by foreign powers and on the edge of a civil war, there was absolute chaos everywhere and Empress Cixi did nothing to try to stop it. Instead she used taxes for her own personal greed and was suspected of poisoning those who challenged her power.
Cixi: Evil Empress of China? by Sean Price is an informative book about Empress Cixi. I found that it was very factual and did a good job on staying true to the past. One weakness about this book is that there were parts where I had a hard time staying focused because the writing got a little boring. I recommend this book to people who want a quick non-fiction read.
Cixi: Evil Empress of China? by Sean Price is an informative book about Empress Cixi. I found that it was very factual and did a good job on staying true to the past. One weakness about this book is that there were parts where I had a hard time staying focused because the writing got a little boring. I recommend this book to people who want a quick non-fiction read.
March 10, 2025
This short biography describes the history of China and Cixi in well explained and organized facts. Her impact on not only China, but also the rest of the developing world, is made clearer. Written in simplified sentences, a complex history is made accessible. The included photographs, as well as the personal/world timeline, vocabulary list, web links, and index in the back of the book makes it a comprehensive source of learning and research.
June 7, 2014
A good introduction to major figures in world history for middle-school aged students. The writing in this series tends to be fairly balanced, although the images of Cixi on the front cover would lead you to believe otherwise. There are helpful timelines and maps in each book, as well as suggestions for further reading. I learned something new, too!
December 8, 2014
this book was very informative about Cixi. She does seem pretty evil but at the time I do not believe people ever chose the right decisions. This book is a very exciting and is a story of a girl which works her way up to emperess. She killed many people along the way. I would suggest this book to anyone that enjoys reading about past historical figures
January 24, 2015
CIXI: Evil Empress of China?, by Sean Stewart Price is a very entertaining and educational novel. It t gives an accurate but still entertaining story about Chinas colorful history under the rule of the empress Cixi in the late 1800s. Even if you don' like like history, I would still recommend this book because of the way that Price writes, which makes it fun and feel like a fictional book.
September 1, 2015
Nothing really to add on top of the other books from the same series, except I think this one was very well-written and that I could make an incredibly strong case for her not being evil.
4/5 on here, 8/10 for myself
4/5 on here, 8/10 for myself
November 30, 2016
I recommend this book. I recommend it because it explains what happened in her life. The book also has a time line so I can see info about her easily. Cixi wasn't evil she wanted to protect china. If she wasn't here, china would have fallen a long time ago.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 20, 2011
Cixi was a really powerful empress dowager and ruled China with an iron fist, her fingers keeping out developers from other countries. Really good.
November 8, 2014
This narrative nonfiction telling of Chinese history includes lots of photos, maps, and side notes that kept me reading.
Lexile 880
Lexile 880
January 31, 2016
Was actually rather interesting. I learned more than what I would normally learn in history class.
September 23, 2016
I loved this book Cixi is savage
October 27, 2013
Not bad. I knew absolutely NOTHING about this subject, so it was a fast, interesting read.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews