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ghada_mohammed's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
5.0
A remarkable account of a remarkable historical figure. Jung Chang did a marvellous job of bringing Cixi to life on these pages: not just as a monarch, but also as a daughter, a wife, a mother, and a woman who was equally capable as she was vulnerable and flawed, her ambition and ingenuity evident through the bars of societal constraints. The author challenged modern views of Cixi as a corrupt tyrant with historical facts and logical reasoning, maintaining an objective approach throughout without glorification or obloquy. All in all, an excellent book with an engaging narrative. I highly recommend.
akemichan's review against another edition
4.0
Amo quanto emerga l'irritazione dell'autrice per i meriti rubati a questa figura storia femminile dai suoi collaboratori maschili e le accuse che le sono state rivolte mentre si assolvevano le controparti maschili.
avefrater's review against another edition
5.0
I wrote a long review and then GoodReads crashed... Here is the shorter version:
- I need to read more books about Chinese history! This was a great start. My boyfriend and I exchanged books for Christmas Eve, I gave him the 3 key words of “China”, “self-realization”, and “feminism” — and he knocked it out of the park with this book!
- Did not mind the positive take on Cixi as much as other readers did, since many Chinese people (including my mom) curse her name and call her a “despot”. Surely one positively skewed biography can’t hurt?
- Also, she was flawed, for sure, but how many flawed historical men get lauded in their biographies??? All of them!
- She committed heinous deeds BUT she also brought modernization into China, did many great things, and was a powerful woman in a country and time when that was a rarity.
- This book lays that out in a great fashion. The middle is a little bit of a slog, but any time it focuses solely on Cixi or on the descriptions of Court life, it’s a gem. Greatly enjoyed reading it.
- I need to read more books about Chinese history! This was a great start. My boyfriend and I exchanged books for Christmas Eve, I gave him the 3 key words of “China”, “self-realization”, and “feminism” — and he knocked it out of the park with this book!
- Did not mind the positive take on Cixi as much as other readers did, since many Chinese people (including my mom) curse her name and call her a “despot”. Surely one positively skewed biography can’t hurt?
- Also, she was flawed, for sure, but how many flawed historical men get lauded in their biographies??? All of them!
- She committed heinous deeds BUT she also brought modernization into China, did many great things, and was a powerful woman in a country and time when that was a rarity.
- This book lays that out in a great fashion. The middle is a little bit of a slog, but any time it focuses solely on Cixi or on the descriptions of Court life, it’s a gem. Greatly enjoyed reading it.
kayu99's review against another edition
5.0
Immersively written and easy to follow. Does a good job portraying the strengths and weaknesses of Cixi's rule
kitkat2500's review against another edition
4.0
A very readable account of the life of the Dowager Empress Cixi, about whom I knew absolutely nothing before reading this book. I'm glad to have learned about her achievements, and also about the history of China during her reign (from around 1860-1908). I agree with some of the criticism that the author seems to be quite one-sided in her judgment of Cixi. However, I feel it's a fair counterpoint to the historical misrepresentation of Cixi. Overall, she was one impressive woman whose achievements are worth knowing about.
bellisk's review against another edition
5.0
A detailed, thorough and beautifully written account of the life of a complex and very capable person.
Before I read this biography, I had no real knowledge of Cixi's role in history, only the vague impression, picked up who knows where, that she was in some way a monster. Jung Chang mentions several points in her reign where evil ideas about her were deliberately spread by her enemies, propaganda that Cixi was unable to counteract for fear of revealing more harmful truths. For example, when she imprisoned her ineffectual adopted son, the Emperor Guangxu, and retook the reigns of the empire, slander of all kinds was spread about her. Cixi, however, could not let out the knowledge that Guangxu had attempted to assassinate her, which would risk delegitimising the whole Qing dynasty and her own right to rule. I wondered at times if Chang's account favoured Cixi too much, but she doesn't shirk from depicting the Empress Dowager's real flaws and missteps. The unprecedentedly deep research that supports the book also backs up her view on Cixi.
No one interested in courtly life and political intrigue should miss out on this book. I've had conversations with several friends recently about how much we love this in SFF (JY Yang's Tensorate series has been recommended to me on this basis, though I haven't read it yet); here is a wonderful original study. Throughout, Chang's writing is clear and enjoyable. She presents Cixi as a political genius working successfully within near-impossible limits, as simultaneously a devout Buddhist and a moderniser, and as a very human lover of beauty and the arts. Balancing a huge cast of historical figures, all with their own agendas and beliefs, Chang shows Cixi's place in the context of both China's long dynastic history and its new relations with the wider world. The result is fascinating.
Before I read this biography, I had no real knowledge of Cixi's role in history, only the vague impression, picked up who knows where, that she was in some way a monster. Jung Chang mentions several points in her reign where evil ideas about her were deliberately spread by her enemies, propaganda that Cixi was unable to counteract for fear of revealing more harmful truths. For example, when she imprisoned her ineffectual adopted son, the Emperor Guangxu, and retook the reigns of the empire, slander of all kinds was spread about her. Cixi, however, could not let out the knowledge that Guangxu had attempted to assassinate her, which would risk delegitimising the whole Qing dynasty and her own right to rule. I wondered at times if Chang's account favoured Cixi too much, but she doesn't shirk from depicting the Empress Dowager's real flaws and missteps. The unprecedentedly deep research that supports the book also backs up her view on Cixi.
No one interested in courtly life and political intrigue should miss out on this book. I've had conversations with several friends recently about how much we love this in SFF (JY Yang's Tensorate series has been recommended to me on this basis, though I haven't read it yet); here is a wonderful original study. Throughout, Chang's writing is clear and enjoyable. She presents Cixi as a political genius working successfully within near-impossible limits, as simultaneously a devout Buddhist and a moderniser, and as a very human lover of beauty and the arts. Balancing a huge cast of historical figures, all with their own agendas and beliefs, Chang shows Cixi's place in the context of both China's long dynastic history and its new relations with the wider world. The result is fascinating.
plumrain's review against another edition
4.0
On one hand, Cixi was pretty badass, orchestrating a coup at 25 to take control of the empire which she was forced to rule through her son but still managed to pass reforms modernizing China and promoting women's rights. On the other hand, the author seems eager to downplay Cixi's brutality when she was ultimately an autocrat concerned with maintaining dynastic supremacy. Not to mention one of her last acts was to poison the Emperor so he wouldn't ally with Japan after her death. Sounds pretty brutal.