Character Catalog

Cixi financed the reconstruction of the Summer Palace, destroyed by Franco-British forces in 1860, by diverting funds from the imperial navy. This 2.9 km² architectural complex, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is her most visible legacy.

Following the Boxer disaster, Cixi launched a sweeping modernization program: abolition of the imperial examinations (1905), establishment of modern schools, military reform, sending students abroad, and drafting a constitution. These reforms, too late in coming, could not save the dynasty.

Cixi's first regency, during which she governed China in the name of her minor son. She stabilized the empire in the aftermath of the Taiping Rebellion and negotiated with foreign powers.

Cixi put an end to Emperor Guangxu's liberal reforms after only 103 days, had the reformers arrested — including Kang Youwei and Tang Sitong (who was executed) — and restored conservatism at court. This episode remains debated by historians as to its true motivations.

The first official portrait of the empress, painted by American artist Katherine Carl, intended to present imperial China in a favorable light to the Western world. It stands as a unique testimony to Cixi's appearance and staging of power.

The eight regents have failed in their duties and acted contrary to the imperial will. We order their immediate arrest and the seizure of their official seals, so that the regency may be carried out in accordance with rites and law.

Her Majesty rose each morning before dawn. She prayed before the Buddha statues, then underwent her lengthy toilette assisted by numerous ladies-in-waiting. Her nails, protected by long sheaths of gold and jade, were the object of constant care and symbolized her absolute rank.

The Empress Dowager received the diplomatic corps with calculated magnificence. She personally distributed cakes to the ambassadors' wives, displaying a sudden affability that contrasted sharply with the hostility toward foreigners she had shown during the events of 1900.

The traditional examination system, in place for more than a thousand years, is henceforth abolished. New schools teaching science and foreign languages shall be established in every province, in order to train the servants the Empire needs in the face of the challenges of the present age.

A woman must never hold power in China. It must never again be permitted for a woman to govern the affairs of the State, as I have done. This is contrary to the natural order of things and can only lead the country to its ruin.

The official residence of the emperors and seat of imperial government, the Forbidden City was the center of Cixi's power for nearly fifty years. She lived there from her arrival as a concubine in 1851 until her death in 1908.

Cixi had this imperial palace rebuilt between 1886 and 1895, diverting funds intended for the imperial navy for that purpose. It became her favorite residence and the place where she received foreign ambassadors after 1902.

The imperial mountain summer residence where Emperor Xianfeng died in 1861. It was here that Cixi, present at his side, orchestrated the coup d'état that would allow her to seize power.

Cixi fled here when allied troops seized Beijing during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. This humiliating retreat by palanquin across hundreds of kilometers left a deep mark on her reign.

A grand Buddhist temple that Cixi visited regularly on pilgrimage, particularly for her birthday. Her Buddhist devotion was sincere and influenced many political and artistic decisions of her court.

Cixi wore long gilded nail guards encrusted with precious stones to protect her excessively long nails, an absolute symbol of imperial rank. They testified that she never worked with her hands and held supreme power.

The jade seal engraved with the imperial arms was the ultimate instrument of power: no law or edict had force unless stamped with this seal. Cixi seized it during the coup of 1861 to legitimize her authority.

Cixi was known to smoke a water pipe regularly, a common practice in Chinese aristocratic courts. Her ladies-in-waiting would prepare and light her pipe according to a precise ritual during moments of leisure.

Cixi traveled exclusively by palanquin, carried by sixteen bearers in imperial yellow livery. No gaze was to meet hers during her movements through the Forbidden City or toward the Summer Palace.

A passionate devotee of jingju (Peking opera), Cixi owned a vast collection of stage costumes and props. She funded the finest troupes in the empire and attended performances from a private balcony.

Mastery of calligraphy had been one of the first qualities that distinguished the young Cixi at the court of Emperor Xianfeng. She continued throughout her life to write inscriptions in large characters, offering her calligraphic works as the highest of rewards.