Dragon Lady: The Life and Legend of the Last Empress of China

I am very impressed with Seagrave's knowledge about Manchu and Chinese history. Not easy for a "westerner" from a very different background and perspective. Besides a good understanding of Chinese culture, he actually seems to grasp the complexity and intricacy of Chinese court lives. Very rare achievement indeed. However, a few issues:1. Huang Taiji was the successor of Nurhachi. Not Abahai. Abahai was one of Nurhachi's many wives and mother of Dorgon. She was forced to kill herself when Nurhachi died. (As Seagrave said, this happened in China all the time. Nothing unique about it.) The confusion is probably because one of Huang Taiji's Manchu titles was "Abkai". Seagrave's mixing up Abahai with Huang Taiji confused me for a while until I figured out the mistake.2. It is a common mistake to downgrade Chinese "nobilities" because there is no equivalent in Europe. Kings and Princes, westerners understand. Emperors and Kings, westerns don't. In China, the Son of Heaven was the "Emperor". There could only be one. Some of the favorite sons and brothers of the "emperor" were made "kings". There were always many at any given time. (Think about it - China was and is bigger than Europe. Each Chinese king's assigned territory was about the size of a European "kingdom". The absolute ruler of the EU would be the emperor, if there is one.) Those sons not made kings remained "princes". Daughters of emperors were always "princesses" and they were useful commodities for political marriages with "barbarians" or political rivals. "Prince Yixin", the half brother of Emperor Xian Feng, was made "king" and given the honorific name "Gong" which means "Respect". As he was the sixth son of Emperor Dao Kuang, he was addressed as "My Six Lord King", not Prince.3. "Princess Der Ling" was a controversial figure. She was not a princess because she was not the daughter of any emperor. A king's daughters had their own titles, not princesses. Der Ling was the daughter of an aristocrat. She had no title at all. At best, she could only claim a "ladyship".4. Westerners were obssessed with "sexual debauchery" and "orgies" of the rich and powerful. Not so in China. As Seagrave said, Chinese women were not valued and could be bought cheaply. There was no need to engage in fantasy. Actually, this was pretty much true in all "oriental" cultures. Why dream about it? Just go and buy yourself a haram. As this was not available to western men, they transfer their own fantasies and dreams of debauchery to the mysterious Orient and the forbidden China. That's why all the titillating stories written by westerners appeal mostly to westerners. It shows not Chinese history but western mentality.Over all, I am very impressed with Seagrave's knowledge. And it is a well written book, easy to read, well researched, very educational, and highly entertaining.

Throughout the years, I heard many things, which I came to believe, about Ci Xi (or Tzu Hsi) and none of them were kind. So, it was my surprise when I found this book which contradicted "common knowledge".The book presents an overall view of that particular historic period, going back and forth between the actions and reactions to the unfolding events of Ci Xi, George Morrison and Edmund Backhouse. The influence and positions of other figures such as Robert Hart, J.O.P. Bland, Li Hongzhang (or Li Hung-chang), ..., are also carefully detailed.The ideas of vilification of Ci Xi, and to some degree, of China, with the objective of promoting the standing of Western Powers, can be felt strongly throughout the book, especially in the coverage of the events regarding the Boxer Uprising.Interestingly enough, and in contrast to how Western Powers are depicted, Japan's imperialistic designs are only briefly mentioned in the book, if at all, and in some instances Japan is put in a much better light.Overall, the book carefully presents its ideas and its sources, followed by sensible reasoning when contrasting the different sides.The only flaw in the book was the usage of Wade-Giles for Chinese names and terms. Pinyin has been for many years now the most commonly used romanization standard for Mandarin. Regardless, the non-usage of Pinyin does not limit the reach of the book.

This book is one of the more readable and accessible books by Sterling Seagrave which I have read (the others being Lords of the Rim and The Yamato Dynasty), and much more enjoyable and interesting to read as well. Dragon Lady is a biography of the Last Empress of China, Tzu His. In a highly readable fashion, Seagrave debunks the popular history of Tzu Hsi as a highly sexed, manipulative and ruthless woman. Instead, Seagrave portrays the Dowager Empress as a mere tool, being manipulated by powerful Manchu Princes and other figures behind the throne of the China for their own ends.The general and popular view of Tzu Hsi has its origins in reportings and books by JOP Bland and Sir Edmund Backhouse. In particular, Backhouse, in the late 19th and early 20th century presented himself as an expert in Chinese Royalty, with particularly close ties to the throne. Of course, Backhouse has long been exposed (since 1974) as a historical fraud, but this has not changed the general and traditional view of Tzu Hsi as being a particularly ruthless and unpleasant character in Chinese history. In fact, in my recent trip to Beijing (formerly Peking) last month, as I toured the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace, my tour guide during her narration of the sights mentioned several "facts" about the Empress and her activities which have been debunked by Seagrave as lies and fabrications from the pen of Backhouse.Seagrave easily and deftly fills in the background to the history of China in the 18th and 19th century leading up to Tzu Hsi acceding to the throne as Regent, at the time of an increasing foreign interest in China. Characters are vividly sketched out, ranging from the perceptive Prince Kung, the Empress's brother-in-law who played a significant role in shaping the direction of China for the first decade of Tzu Hsi's rule to Viceroy Li, reputedly at one time China's wealthiest man to the stirrer and malcontent Kang, who played a key role in establishing a negative perception of the Empress in the eye's of the Western world, a perception which many hold to today. Dragon Lady is as much the tale of the myths and legend makers of Tzu Hsi as Tzu Hsi herself, and how they (Backhouse in particular) achieved what they did.Dragon Lady is recommended for those interested in Chinese history, particularly the 19th and early 20th century, and the characters, both Chinese and foreign that played key roles in the downfall of the last Chinese dynasty. Dragon Lady draws upon many sources, some of which is Chinese. As discussed by Seagrave, popular histories of China by Western authors have tended to rely directly on the writings of Backhouse, or rely on books which relied on Backhouse for source material. By avoiding these, Seagrave manages to achieve a much more interesting, and balanced, account of a fascinating period in Chinese history.

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The book was as expected, delivery was two days after the target dates.

print in very small, book was in good condition and made for an interesting read though in some parts it was quite hard going but is definitely worth a read if you like your chinese culture and history

Amazing book,The main book to read if you want a comprehensive history of the.... GRAND EMPRESS DOWAGER.... What i loved about her is that she was able to servive the machinations of the Quing Court of her time....not many did.

Einerseits ist das Buch extrem gut. So eine detaillierte und erlebte Einsicht in das China von der Mitte bis zum ausklingenden 19. Jahrhunderts habe ich bisher noch ich gelesen.Andererseits bin ich doch ein wenig skeptisch, wenn ein einzelner Autor die komplette Geschichtsschreibung eines halben Jahrhunderts als Propaganda abtut und aus vermeintlichen Tätern hilflose Opfer macht. Ohne Grauzonen und Zwischentöne. Mein Common Sense sagt mir, dass die Wahrheit vermutlich in der Mitte liegt.Als Lektüre ist das Buch nicht ganz einfach, bei so unfassbar vielen Details fällt es schwer, das große Bild zu sehen. Es fehlen definitiv Hilfsmittel, die für ein Buch von diesem Kaliber essentiell wären: eine Zeittafel mit den wichtigsten Ereignissen; ein Stammbaum bzw. ein Überblick über die relevantesten Persönlichkeiten; eine Landkarte mit den zentralen Orten des Geschehens.So wurde die zunächst spannende Lektüre leider auf Dauer sehr, sehr ermüdend und irgendwann habe ich mich auch gefragt, warum das eigentlich als Biographie CiXis ausgewiesen ist. Sie ist zwar Bezugsperson und es handelt sich definitiv um eine historische Korrektur an ihrer Persönlichkeit, aber das Buch ist eigentlich ein geschichtliches Werk zu einer Epoche.