China Under the Empress Dowager: The History of the Life and Times of Tzu Hsi

by J.O.P. Bland, Edmund Backhouse, Derek Sandhaus (Foreword)

One of the most popular and controversial Chinese history books ever written, this account explores the Forbidden City during the reign of Empress Dowager Cixi (1861–1908). Entertaining and enlightening, this record examines a world of power-thirsty eunuchs, concubines, and Mandarins. Filled with intrigue, bitter antagonism, and ruthless reprisals and predicting the fall of the Qing dynasty, this history is heavily based on Chinese source materials, some of which may have been fabricated.

Genres: History

552 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2010

About the author

J.O.P. (John Otway Percy) Bland b. 1863

Reviews

[Whitlaw Tanyanyiwa Mugwiji · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tsu Hsi is a very interesting and sophisticated character. She is one of the most powerful women to have ever lived, yet very little is known about her outside China. This is a highly informative book, with so many of the primary sources included as quotes, which makes the book move somewhat slower. But these none fiction books are my kind of books.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic - even if half of it was based on a forgery: it was a great forgery.

[HY · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are into Chinese history, it is still best to read such books in Chinese. I had a hard time trying to figure out the terms used as they were written in English.

[Brandon Kurtz · Rating 1 out of 5]

According to research by late 20th-century historians, Backhouse forged most of the sources on which this book is based. Tzu Hsi (Cixi) has been unfairly vilified by him and other Western and Chinese historians, propagandists, and journalists.

[๖ۣۜSαᴙαh ๖ۣۜMᴄĄłłiƨʈeʀ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Outdated, but good. The factual evidence is still useful even if the arguments are somewhat obsolete.