"To a considerable extent the Dowager Empress Cixi must be held responsible for the downfall of the Qing Dynasty". DISCUSS.
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Welcome Class of 2011
Welcome
This blog is intended as a resource and means of communication for students studying the VCE Revolutions course. I wish you well in your studies and hope that you find this site not only useful, but also fun.
Many Thanks
Mr G.
Many Thanks
Mr G.
Useful links
Wider Reading
- A People's Tragedy by Orlando Figes
- China: From Empire to People's Republic 1900-49 by Michael Lynch
- China: Revolutionary Leadership by John Wood & Andrew McManus
- Spirit of Change: China in Revolution by Margot Morcombe & Mark Fielding
- The People's Republic of China since 1949 by Michael Lynch
2 comments:
The inadequacy of the last rulers of China, who were either children or began their reign under the regency of Dowager Empress Cixi, is widely believed to be a key factor in the downfall of the Qing dynasty. Cixi, also known as Tzu Hsi or Yehanala, effectively ruled China from 1861 until 1908, and "... to a large degree she must be held responsible for the failure to regenerate the dynasty and modernise the country."
Cixi was a concubine to the Emperor Xianfeng, giving birth to his only son, and becoming co-regent when the six-year-old succeeded the throne in 1861. Following the death of both her son and the other regent, (Cixi was implicated as having had a hand in both cases) the Dowager Empress chose her three-year-old nephew Guangxu as heir and became regent once more. Following the failed Hundred Days of Reform, she staged a coup and forced Guangxu to give her power.
Cixi died in 1908, the day after the death of Guangxu, who had supposedly been poisoned on her orders.
Cixi has been portrayed as a cruel and ruthless ruler, manipulating the succession in order to maintain her own position of power. She also supported the rebels during the anti-Western Boxer Rebellion, and has been widely blamed for the downfall of the old regime in China.
Your definately on the right track here Virag. Good answer!
Cixi was very much anti-reform. wishing to maintain the staus quo and her power, she denied Ghangxu the chance to reform China. After the Hundred Days of Reform she supposedly detained him on a small island in the Summer palace.
However, read up on what Di McDonald has to say on page 18 of her text. Particularly about the work of the historian Sterling Seagrave who suggests that history may have judged Cixi too harshly.
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