A review by sams84
Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China by Jung Chang

3.0

I am rather torn by this book, on the one hand Cixi's life is incredible and she really did push the boundaries of what women were allowed to do in a country governed by tradition. However on the other hand Chang has an obvious affection and awe for Cixi which colours her portrayal of her and results in her justifying and apologising for many of her less positive decisions and actions (which I can understand but such works need a little balance I feel, or at least a bit more evidence to back up the justifications made). I also wasn't overly keen on the general layout in that while Cixi's story was told in a generally chronological order some of the chapters did jump back and fore in an effort to cover specific subject matters (such as assassination attempts) as a whole rather than as single events. As I'm not very familiar with Chinese history (in fact I know next to nothing about it) this did make things a little complicated and I found myself getting slightly lost at times. A timeline or something similar detailing key events might have helped with this as it has done so in other similar works that I've read. Having said all of that though, Chang has been thorough in her research and provides a good portrayal of a woman ultimately let down by the history books (as many such women have been). Worth a read but readers may benefit from a bit of background knowledge (or the brain power to keep up with a little time-travelling as they read).