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Cixi's extraordinary story has all the elements of a good fairy tale: bizarre, sinister, triumphant and terrible. -- The Economist A truly authoritative account of Cixi's rule. Her story is both important and evocative. --Orville Schell, The New York Times Book Review A fantastic Machiavellian tale. . . . Dives into a genuinely fascinating figure: a fierce imperial consort who rules behind the thrones of two successive Chinese emperors and helped ease China into the twentieth century. -- New York magazine Certain to become the standard by which all future biographies of the Dowager Empress are measured. -- The Daily Beast Jung Chang has written a pathbreaking and generally persuasive book. -- The New York Review of Books If there is one woman who mattered in the history of modern China, it is the empress dowager Cixi. . . . [Her] conventional image is queried in this detailed and beautifully narrated biography, which at long last restores the empress dowager to her rightful place. -- The Sunday Times (London) Sets out to rehabilitate the reputation of a woman who, [Chang] argues, helped modernize China. . . . While Chang acknowledges Cixi's missteps--such as allowing the Boxers to fight against a Western invasion, which led to widespread slaughter--she sees her as a woman whose energy, farsightedness, and ruthless pragmatism transformed a country. -- The New Yorker [An] authoritative and epic biography. -- The Toronto Star Well-researched and provocative. . . . Cixi deserves to be remembered and this book is to be welcomed for giving an important figure in Chinese history the prominence she deserves. . . . This spirited biography reminds us that a greater female presence might be a trigger for much-needed political change. -- New Statesman Fascinating. . . . Wonderfully illuminating. . . . Jung Chang's new book gives the infamous concubine Cixi her due. -- The Spectator This is a rich, dramatic story of rebellions, battles, plotting, rivalry, foreign invasion, punishment and forbidden love. . . . [Chang] uses new evidence and meticulous research to cast a spotlight on the amazing woman she regards as the mother of modern China. -- Daily Mail Corrects a longstanding misconception about a woman whose impact on China can't be overstated. It's a fascinating look at power, politics and the gender divide. -- BookPage A rich and fascinating book that never relaxes its hold on the reader despite the marshalling of a mass of complex historical details seen through the prism of Cixi. -- The New York Journal of Books

**A Barnes & Noble Best New Nonfiction Book of 2013****A New York Times Notable Book of 2013** A fascinating and instructive biography for anyone interested in how today's China began. -- Library Journal (starred review) In [Chang's] absorbing new book....her extensive use of new Chinese sources makes a strong case for reappraisal. Since none have made use of a full range of sources in both languages, there has been no truly authoritative account of Cixi's rule. Her story is both important and evocative....What makes reading this new biography so provocative are the similarities between the challenges faced by the Qing court a century ago and those confronting the Chinese Communist Party today....there is much to learn here from the experiences of Empress Dowager Cixi. --Orville Schell, The New York Times Jung Chang's book dives into a genuinely fascinating figure: a fierce imperial consort who rules behind the thrones of two successive Chinese emperors and helped ease china into the twentieth century....a fantastic Machiavellian tale by the author of the definitive Mao biography. -- New York Magazine The author of Wild Swans sets out to rehabilitate the reputation of a woman who, she argues, helped modernize China....While Chang acknowledges Cixi's missteps--such as allowing the Boxers to fight against a Western invasion, which led to widespread slaughter--she sees her as a woman whose energy, farsightedness, and ruthless pragmatism transformed a country. -- The New Yorker A largely new--and to me, mostly convincing--interpretation. Chang makes a unique claim for Cixi, summed up in her subtitle: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China... .Jung Chang has written a pathbreaking and generally persuasive book. --Jonathan Mirsky, The New York Review of Books [Chang has] trained her sleuthing skills and piercing pen on the common concubine who rose to rule china, and what she's uncovered is nothing sho

Cixi's extraordinary story has all the elements of a good fairy tale: bizarre, sinister, triumphant and terrible. -The Economist A truly authoritative account of Cixi's rule. Her story is both important and evocative. -Orville Schell, The New York Times Book Review A fantastic Machiavellian tale. . . . Dives into a genuinely fascinating figure: a fierce imperial consort who ruled behind the thrones of two successive Chinese emperors and helped ease China into the twentieth century. -New York magazine Certain to become the standard by which all future biographies of the Dowager Empress are measured. -The Daily Beast Jung Chang has written a pathbreaking and generally persuasive book. -The New York Review of Books If there is one woman who mattered in the history of modern China, it is the empress dowager Cixi. . . . [Her] conventional image is queried in this detailed and beautifully narrated biography, which at long last restores the empress dowager to her rightful place. -The Sunday Times (London) Sets out to rehabilitate the reputation of a woman who, [Chang] argues, helped modernize China. . . . While Chang acknowledges Cixi's missteps-such as allowing the Boxers to fight against a Western invasion, which led to widespread slaughter-she sees her as a woman whose energy, farsightedness, and ruthless pragmatism transformed a country. -The New Yorker [An] authoritative and epic biography. -The Toronto Star Well-researched and provocative. . . . Cixi deserves to be remembered and this book is to be welcomed for giving an important figure in Chinese history the prominence she deserves. . . . This spirited biography reminds us that a greater female presence might be a trigger for much-needed political change. -New Statesman Fascinating. . . . Wonderfully illuminating. . . . Jung Chang's new book gives the infamous concubine Cixi her due. -The Spectator This is a rich, dramatic story of rebellions, battles, plotting, rivalry, foreign invasion, punishment and forbidden love. . . . [Chang] uses new evidence and meticulous research to cast a spotlight on the amazing woman she regards as the mother of modern China. -Daily Mail Corrects a longstanding misconception about a woman whose impact on China can't be overstated. It's a fascinating look at power, politics and the gender divide. -BookPage A rich and fascinating book that never relaxes its hold on the reader despite the marshalling of a mass of complex historical details seen through the prism of Cixi. -The New York Journal of Books

-Cixi's extraordinary story has all the elements of a good fairy tale: bizarre, sinister, triumphant and terrible.- --The Economist -A truly authoritative account of Cixi's rule. Her story is both important and evocative.- --Orville Schell, The New York Times Book Review -A fantastic Machiavellian tale. . . . Dives into a genuinely fascinating figure: a fierce imperial consort who ruled behind the thrones of two successive Chinese emperors and helped ease China into the twentieth century.- --New York magazine -Certain to become the standard by which all future biographies of the Dowager Empress are measured.- --The Daily Beast -Jung Chang has written a pathbreaking and generally persuasive book.- --The New York Review of Books -If there is one woman who mattered in the history of modern China, it is the empress dowager Cixi. . . . [Her] conventional image is queried in this detailed and beautifully narrated biography, which at long last restores the empress dowager to her rightful place.- --The Sunday Times (London) -Sets out to rehabilitate the reputation of a woman who, [Chang] argues, helped modernize China. . . . While Chang acknowledges Cixi's missteps--such as allowing the Boxers to fight against a Western invasion, which led to widespread slaughter--she sees her as a woman whose energy, farsightedness, and ruthless pragmatism transformed a country.- --The New Yorker -[An] authoritative and epic biography.- --The Toronto Star -Well-researched and provocative. . . . Cixi deserves to be remembered and this book is to be welcomed for giving an important figure in Chinese history the prominence she deserves. . . . This spirited biography reminds us that a greater female presence might be a trigger for much-needed political change.- --New Statesman -Fascinating. . . . Wonderfully illuminating. . . . Jung Chang's new book gives the infamous concubine Cixi her due.- --The Spectator -This is a rich, dramatic story of rebellions, battles, plotting, rivalry, foreign invasion, punishment and forbidden love. . . . [Chang] uses new evidence and meticulous research to cast a spotlight on the amazing woman she regards as the mother of modern China.- --Daily Mail -Corrects a longstanding misconception about a woman whose impact on China can't be overstated. It's a fascinating look at power, politics and the gender divide.- --BookPage -A rich and fascinating book that never relaxes its hold on the reader despite the marshalling of a mass of complex historical details seen through the prism of Cixi.- --The New York Journal of Books

Author Information

Jung Chang is the best-selling author of Wild Swans, which The Asian Wall Street Journal called the most widely read book about China, and Mao: The Unknown Story (with Jon Halliday), which was described by Time as “an atom bomb of a book.” Her books have been translated into more than forty languages and sold more than fifteen million copies outside mainland China, where they are both banned. She was born in China in 1952 and moved to Britain in 1978. She lives in London.

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