Cixi: The Last Ruler Of China

She has previously become the empress dowager (the widow of the emperor with the power over all of his property), then the regent (the substitute for the emperor). However, after the emperor Gaozong suffered a stroke in 660, Wu seized the real power within China. Wu’s slyness resulted in the exile of members of the royal family that were heirs to the throne and in at least in one case, to be poisoned (Li Hong).

Empress Wu Zetian, the only woman to rule China, ruled during the Tang dynasty, but exerted cruel and malicious methods to gain power. She was born with the name Wu Zhao into a wealthy family and learned to write, read, and play music. Because of her beauty and intelligence, Wu became Emperor Tsung’s fifth favorite concubine, or

The empires of Rome and China were very great ones, they both had many similarities and differences in the way they ran their empires. One major difference was the way they treated their women. Both Chinese and Roman women were unequal in social status than the men of the empires were, but they were definitely treated different in both empires. Women of China were treated quite harshly and were expected to take orders at all times by their husbands, and were to serve them always. This started to happen especially after Confucius died because he taught people to treat each other the same, “after his death women became less free and lost status,”(Arvind 10). Women of Rome were treated like goddesses; they were to stay at home as housewives

Ineffective leadership and very luxurious living of the emperors and government officials also led to the collapse of the Qing Dynasty. Officials were left in charge of the administration of the dynasty because the two emperors of the time, Tongzhi and Guangxu were still children, and this lack of imperial control gave Cixi the ability to ‘rule from behind the curtain’.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, power is the ability or right to control people or things. This definition is apparent throughout the history of China and through historical figures. Confucius is one of the most influential historical figures of Chinese history. In Confucius’s mind, the government should retain power, however, not to the extent that they do today. According to The Confucian Ethic and More About Confucius, “the government’s most important job was to inspire people [...] to feed and protect the people and gain their admiration” (The Confucian Ethic 13) . Confucius’ beliefs differ from what is going on now because he is calling for the government to treat the people with respect and take care of them. This may exist somewhat in China today, but China is known for killing political prisoners and silencing people who disagree with them. Mao Zedong, another historical

Ancient China DBQ     Ancient China made advancements to many things that we still use on a daily basis. Not only did China make advancements, they also were inventors. These inventions improved their lives then and still improves our lives now. To this day, we still use these inventions and advancements.

The first ever knowing emperor of china was Shi Huangdi, His named applied to the country, while in Zhou’s dynasty he created the feudal system Shi abolished it was no more. Shi was a strong emperor and he expanded the country of Vietnam, during his reign he built the Great wall and a lot of different things that china is revolved around. During the Shi dynasty there where strict laws. If you didn’t go to school you were killed.

The only woman to become the emperor of China in all of its history was Empress Wu from 690-705. She used her physical beauty and intelligence to make her way up until eventually she had worked her way to the highest position in the government. Her marriage to Gaozong, the emperor before her, led her closer to the position. She showed no mercy to those who tried to impede her strides to the top. Many did not concur to her becoming emperor because she was a woman and at the time men were seen as superior to the woman, and therefore a woman could not be emperor. She did not let these things hold her back and ultimately was a positive addition to China. Empress Wu was the emperor of China who overcame the standard role of Chinese women to get

During the time of the Han there was peace for China. During this time they were a world power and had many advances in technology and other things. During this time they had some excellent rulers that followed Confucianism and lead by example and were good to the people unlike some of the rulers in the past.

After witnessing the strict policies and rule of the Qin Dynasty, the emperors of the Han Dynasty began to base their rule upon Confucian ideals revolving around the mandate of heaven and the legitimization of the emperor’s rule. Jia Yi, a scholar of both the Qin and Han Dynasties and a witness of Empress Lu’s harsh ruling, stated that “It is said that in government, the people are in every way the root (base)… Thus the security of the state or its endangerment depends on them [the people].” Yi explains that the power and legitimacy of the government resided in the people, thus, emperors

The Han dynasty was a golden era for China. It saw the greatest land confiscation of the nation’s history and economic success. In this paper I will be focusing on the structure of the national government, the monopolizing of iron and salt, the Yumen Pass and the Yellow Turban rebellion. Join me as we take a trip back in time to visit a time in Chinas history that is highly revered.

Wu Zhao belonged to the Tang Empire, which according to the author which “…was a true empire, encompassing many lands, many peoples, and many ideologies. Multi ethnic and cosmopolitan, Tang China was perfectly suited for the ascent of a historical anomaly like Wu Zhao…” (Rothschild, 2008, p. 11) In a sense, there was a conflict of traditional Confucian values which promoted a patriarchal society and the liberal Steppe culture which gave women more freedom and rights. China at that time was a cocktail of these cultures which led to a significant impact on the lifestyle and values of peoples in that era. Women were bold and tough, and unlike earlier societies, were no longer confined socially and sexually (Rothschild, 2008, p. 12). While did not exist a perfect equality between men and women, women of that era were allowed to live without hiding under the dominance of the male Yang. As the author talks of the Silk Road, it is mentioned that,”…In this free-wheeling milieu, women donned men’s attire and rode horses…” (Rothschild, 2008, p. 15) .This “cosmopolitan” (Rothschild, 2008, p. 16) society was the foundation for the Tang Empire. Another important factor was the prevalence of Buddhism as a religion of the masses. Buddhism, in itself, helped united much of Asia, and was a common platform for men and women, unlike in Confucianism where

Many people argued that Empress Dowager Cixi accelerated the speed of the demise of the Qing dynasty. Cixi might be a blasting fuse but she was not accounted for the final fall of the dynasty. The actions Cixi took had profoundly changed the foundation of feudal China so as to push China forward into a modern stage. Although many historical data suggested that whatever Cixi had done were to consolidate her authority and personal status. But no matter what, the impact on the country was obvious. Cixi broke the previous traditions from Confucianism that had been lasted for centuries. Tensions between the Manchus and Han Chinese had been greatly improved, which made a great contribution to China for later unification. Under the reign of the Empress Dowager, the social structure had undergone a series of changes. Qing 's demise is doomed, this was resulted from issues that had stacked up from previous generations. Moreover, Cixi did her best to secure China’s status in the world in such a chaotic period in history. She made undeniable contributions to China.

When she meets Fan Liuyuan, she takes her chances and follows him to Hong Kong. Her decision to leave Shanghai has two implications. Firstly, she wants an escape from her family. After years of following their rules and hearing their complaints about her presence, she finally has a chance to leave it all behind to find her own independence. Secondly, she is strangely attracted to Liuyuan and securing his love and attention is a conquest for her.

Rhoads Murphey describes the history of China history is on the succession of dynasties that ruled it over a period of time until around 1912 when Republic of china was formed before rising to the current People’s Republic of China was formed in 1949. In China, a dynasty was made up of Kings or emperors that came from the same family. They ruled in succession where a king could be inherited by his son or his immediate relatives. Although china’s history is majorly regarded on the basis of dynastic ruling, other small kingdoms were established that ruled different part of china. For example, in 200AD, the fall of great Han dynasty triggered formation of smaller kingdoms all over the china which were later united by a short lived Sui Dynasty that reigned between 580 and 618 AD.