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A review by oneeasyreader
Empress Dowager Cixi by Jung Chang
4.0
Empress Dowager Cixi by Jung Chang is a relatively laudatory biography of a former concubine who exerted executive power over China from the mid-19th to early 20th centuries.
Cixi's main time "behind the throne" occurred during the reigns of her son and nephew. Chang writes that Cixi was reasonably influential but often in tandem with others. Chang presents Cixi as a moderniser, though somewhat haphazardly and subject to reverses. Cixi's interpersonal skills are a major feature, tempered by several brutal punishments, including having one of her nephew's favourite concubines thrown down a well rather than share the same carriage. Some year later, she poisoned her nephew virtually from her deathbed.
Chang sees Cixi as rationally driven rather than beholden to some mysterious Orientalism. While Cixi's errors are acknowledged, we see them as mistakes that Cixi tries to remedy, which is a relatively favourable interpretation. There are alot of assumptions based on limited evidence about Cixi's feelings, and it is a stretch for Chang to to write that Cixi couldn't have been a racist because some of Cixi's best friends were white.
Chang previous book on Chairman Mao was described by Henry Kissinger as “grotesque in that it depicts Mao as a man without any qualities.” This book tends in the other direction as to its treatment of its subject. It is possible to argue that Chang is letting personal biases dictate her writings.
And I love it.
I crave opinionated books, so long as the author brings the receipts. There is an extensive bibliography here, including the Imperial Archives. While my detailed searching of academic reviews (Wikipedia) suggests that elements of her portrayal of Cxi and the time-period are in dispute, the main source cited (Pamela Crossley) has herself run into criticism of her writings on Chinese history. I don’t mention this to question Crossley’s credentials but to note that historiography tends to be incredibly acrimonious. Read any academic book on the origins of World War One and you will find footnotes, or even in the body, barely euphemistically questioning the mental sanity of opposing historians. Chang looked at primary sources as well as secondary to draw her own conclusions and interpretations, so let’s see someone come at Chang with a book of their own. I’ve got the popcorn ready.
Crossley waspishly mentions in her review that there have been a dozen books, as well as films and television series on Cixi but “Still, we evidently need more Cixi.” My own prior knowledge of Cixi was virtually limited to a scene in The Last Emperor where she speaks of the emperor “riding the Dragon on high” with a look that suggests Cixi herself was “riding the Dragon on high” at that moment. It would seem she could still do with a more grounded portrayal.
Cixi married an emperor who was a dilettante, gave birth to a wastrel, and finally ruled over a wet noodle. She struggled with literacy, often had to exercise power behind a yellow curtain, and was not even permitted to visit the front end of the Forbidden City. When she tried the relatively progressive step of letting a eunuch walk outside the Forbidden City, her opponents executed him. She held to power with the consent of many men until her death. Mao is a guy who ruled during a period known as the Great Chinese Famine. I'm kind of leaning toward Cixi on this one.
Finally, a guy who thought his semi-major roles in Executive Government merited him writing 3,000 pages about it might not be the best judge about a person's qualities.
I thought this book was an enjoyable read and provocative with a number of its takes. To my uneducated eye, I feel it adds to the debate about Cixi's contribution to modern Chinese history.
Cixi's main time "behind the throne" occurred during the reigns of her son and nephew. Chang writes that Cixi was reasonably influential but often in tandem with others. Chang presents Cixi as a moderniser, though somewhat haphazardly and subject to reverses. Cixi's interpersonal skills are a major feature, tempered by several brutal punishments, including having one of her nephew's favourite concubines thrown down a well rather than share the same carriage. Some year later, she poisoned her nephew virtually from her deathbed.
Chang sees Cixi as rationally driven rather than beholden to some mysterious Orientalism. While Cixi's errors are acknowledged, we see them as mistakes that Cixi tries to remedy, which is a relatively favourable interpretation. There are alot of assumptions based on limited evidence about Cixi's feelings, and it is a stretch for Chang to to write that Cixi couldn't have been a racist because some of Cixi's best friends were white.
Chang previous book on Chairman Mao was described by Henry Kissinger as “grotesque in that it depicts Mao as a man without any qualities.” This book tends in the other direction as to its treatment of its subject. It is possible to argue that Chang is letting personal biases dictate her writings.
And I love it.
I crave opinionated books, so long as the author brings the receipts. There is an extensive bibliography here, including the Imperial Archives. While my detailed searching of academic reviews (Wikipedia) suggests that elements of her portrayal of Cxi and the time-period are in dispute, the main source cited (Pamela Crossley) has herself run into criticism of her writings on Chinese history. I don’t mention this to question Crossley’s credentials but to note that historiography tends to be incredibly acrimonious. Read any academic book on the origins of World War One and you will find footnotes, or even in the body, barely euphemistically questioning the mental sanity of opposing historians. Chang looked at primary sources as well as secondary to draw her own conclusions and interpretations, so let’s see someone come at Chang with a book of their own. I’ve got the popcorn ready.
Crossley waspishly mentions in her review that there have been a dozen books, as well as films and television series on Cixi but “Still, we evidently need more Cixi.” My own prior knowledge of Cixi was virtually limited to a scene in The Last Emperor where she speaks of the emperor “riding the Dragon on high” with a look that suggests Cixi herself was “riding the Dragon on high” at that moment. It would seem she could still do with a more grounded portrayal.
Cixi married an emperor who was a dilettante, gave birth to a wastrel, and finally ruled over a wet noodle. She struggled with literacy, often had to exercise power behind a yellow curtain, and was not even permitted to visit the front end of the Forbidden City. When she tried the relatively progressive step of letting a eunuch walk outside the Forbidden City, her opponents executed him. She held to power with the consent of many men until her death. Mao is a guy who ruled during a period known as the Great Chinese Famine. I'm kind of leaning toward Cixi on this one.
Finally, a guy who thought his semi-major roles in Executive Government merited him writing 3,000 pages about it might not be the best judge about a person's qualities.
I thought this book was an enjoyable read and provocative with a number of its takes. To my uneducated eye, I feel it adds to the debate about Cixi's contribution to modern Chinese history.