After becoming a concubine (a woman who lives with a man but has lower status than his wife or wives) for Emperor Xianfeng at the age of 16, Cixi rose to power when he died and her young son inherited the throne. She governed China from behind a screen for more than 45 years, and eventually sealed the fate of the Qing Dynasty.
Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China
Wild Swans author Jung Chang talks to the BBC’s Nick Higham about her new book on China’s Empress Dowager Cixi.
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