Fung's interest in Cixi is shaped both by her heritage and her reading of Chinese history. "Empress Dowager Cixi is a fascinating figure because she represents a contradiction — she wielded ...

Toward the end of the Qing Dynasty, Empress Dowager Cixi arrogated all powers onto herself. This period, called the Guangxu Xuantong Reign, was China's darkest and most corrupt political period.

Like Wild Swans it is banned in China. 2013 saw the publication of Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China. Here Chang reassesses the reputation of the formidable 19th ...

The Diplomat’s Justin McDonnell spoke with author Jung Chang about her latest book, Empress Dowager Cixi, a biography of the “most important woman in Chinese history.