Empress Dowager Cixi: Famous Women In Chinese History

Emperor K’ang-hsi tried to live forever through his children. He had 56 children all together but only one with his first wife, who later took over the thrown. The Emperor was very protective of his sons and made sure they got everything they wanted. He would often kill someone that threatened the chance of a power overthrow. He once killed three cooks and several servant boys for suspicion of homosexual activity with his son Yin-jeng. At the end of K’ang-hsi’s life, he became very senile and distant from reality and the Chinese people.

The Chinese possessed strong beliefs about astrology, so when it was prophesised that a women ruler would soon ascend the throne word quickly spread throughout the common people. It was predicted that within 30 years this woman known as ‘The Prince of Wu’ would rule over China. Whether or not Empress Wu’s rise to power was due to ‘heaven ordained fate’, she fulfilled the prophecy and became China’s first woman ruler in the 7th century. Historians, scholars and common people alike have long debated Wu’s reign. She is commonly referred to as an evil usurper due to the way she took power. However whether she fully deserves this reputation is to be examined. As the only female Chinese ruler, Wu challenged traditional gender roles and

Empress Wu was born in Shanxi Province in the part of Wenshui in the 624 A.D. Her father Wu Shihuo was an aristocratic family member of the Shanxi province and also an Tang dynasty

Poetic Analysis of “Empress Dowager Boogies” Poet Bio Tina Chang was born in 1969 to a Chinese family in Oklahoma City. When she was only a year old, her family moved to New York City. As a child, she was sent to live with relatives in China for two years, where she became immersed in Chinese history and culture. Her fascination with Chinese history inspired her to write several poems, including “Empress Dowager Boogies.”

The Tang was a very aristocratic society that is known for being the “Golden Age” in Chinese history, with some of the greatest developments in the society occurring, (CD Benn, 2002). The dynasty made the unheard-of move of allowing women to sit for the Imperial examination and serve as government officials, with women enjoying the unprecedented power in politics (CD Benn, 2002). Charles Benn’s book, “China’s Golden Age: Everyday Life in the Tang dynasty”, is a secondary source in the form of a book, published in 2002. He is a professor studying Chinese history, in particular, the Tang dynasty, and in his publication, details the lives of Chinese people in this dynasty. Women had much more freedom than seen in any dynasty before it and it gave women a voice and saw women with almost as equal rights in society, with women finally being able to enjoy the privilege of education and marriage

Imperial history was written for instruction rather than as a memoir and because of this, tended to be heavily biased against usurpers (which Wu was) and anyone who offended the Confucian beliefs of the scholars who recorded them – Wu being a women, did exactly that. The empress who was well aware of these biases was not against tampering with the record herself but also, some accounts of her reign were written by her own relatives, who had good reason to dislike

As China faced new international pressures and the change to a communist society, gender relations transformed women from servants of men to full independent workers, who finally became soldiers of the communist state. In Jung Chang’s novel, Wild Swans, the three women – grandmother Yu-Fang, mother Bao-Qin and daughter Jung Chang – exemplify the expected gender roles of each generation. I will argue that Confucian society presented few economic opportunities for women to support

Lessons for Women is a book of conduct written during the Han Dynasty by Ban Zhao (C. 45-120) to advise the women of her family on the proper conduct of a wife. Ancient China around this time was a Confucian state in which the society was control by the belief in order and harmony. The book contains seven chapters that talks about: humility, husband and wife, respect and caution, womanly qualifications, wholehearted devotion, implicit obedience, and harmony with younger brothers- and sisters- in law. This work of literature reflects on how a proper women was to behave obediently to the husband, by being devoted and respectful to avoid humility to herself, her parents and her clan. It gives the readers an idea of the power that men had over women during this time period and the exceptions for both roles of husband and wife. Lessons of women informs the readers that women during the Han Dynasty had no control over their own lives and the philosophy of Confucian had a huge influence on the society’s everyday life. Ban Zhao emphasizes the importance of distinctions between men and women, and their separate natures.

Living in a world where stereotypes of women and men rule has a deep effect on how people live their lives. The men gained an education and had jobs. Staying at home, cooking and caring for the kids was what was generally expected of the women. But some women chose to ignore those stereotypes and shoot for their dreams. They fought for what they believed in, and never stopped trying till their goal was achieved no matter the trials they faced. In the early 600’s in China, women did not get an education or become leaders. But a certain young girl decided to break through that stereotype and eventually became known as the most brutal but successful women Emperor of China. Though women were not seen as leaders in China in the late 600’s AD, Wu

Isaac Taylor Headland: Court Life in China: The Capital, Its Officials and People, (New York, F.H. Revell, c1909).It talks about The Empress Dowager Cixi who went from non-royal to royal we can gain an understanding of what it was like to be her position along with the roles she undertook.

I chose this topic because I view women as the backbone to the development or a nation, therefore the Chinese woman is paramount in one of the world’s great civilizations. The role of women in Chinese culture has changed over the years. When we consider the position that women held in ancient Chinese society we find that they have come a long way to be where they are today.

Xie's book surely is first of all an autobiography and contains the description of historical facts and events that surrounded her life. However when Xie mentioned the ideas of revolution and the ideals of war, she strongly romanticized them, emphasizing on the beauty of freedom. Such sentences as 'The clear breeze blew a fragrance of flowers across our faces, and the fragrance penetrated our hearts with the sweetness of ice cream' and 'The sun climbed out of her deep blue eastern clouds like a young girl coming out of her bath, shy and smiling, moving slowly' can be found throughout the whole book and indicate a connection to traditional Chinese poetry. Thus, one can assume, that while Xie aimed to revolutionize the political ideas of life, she did not mind preserving the beautiful aspects of her traditional culture, such as poetry. 5.

Not much is known of Liu Hui’s life. He was born in the beginning of the Three Kingdoms period and died at the end of it, a period considered one of the most romantic times in Chinese history. His name, Liu Hui (Chinese name) which means that he was Hui of the Liu family and not the other way around. Liu Hui was born about 220 AD and died 280 AD, nobody really knows the exact dates of his birth and death. Liu Hui lived in the Kingdom of Wei, and died in somewhere in China. The Kingdom of Wei had come about after the Han Empire collapsed. The Han Empire only lasted for about 2 decades, but many important things happened during the time. The collapse of the Han Empire led to three more kingdoms built, not including the at time current Kingdom

Empress Dowager Cixi, at the lovely age of 73 she passed away. She perished on Sunday, November, 15, 1908 in Zhongnanhai, Beijing, China. She was born on November 29, 1835, she was the daughter of Yehenara Huizheng and Lady Fuca in Beijing, China and was the oldest of of 5 children. At the age of 14 she was nominated as a candidate-concubine, she took it for the chance to get away from her stony-hearted family and this nomination was a honor to her. By the age of 16 she was chosen to be one of the concubines to Emperor Xianfeng, than at the age of 18 she completed the ritual preparation to become royal concubine. After the first birthday of her son Tongzhi, Cixi ranked up from third-level coincide to a secondary consort. In the 1961 Cixi became

The deceased emperor had fourteen sons but none with Consort Wu. According to the regulations, consorts of deceased emperors are to leave and stay in a monastic institution afterwards. Wu Zetian was sent to Ganye Temple where she would serve as a Buddhist nun for the remaining of her life. However, when she was still Emperor Taizong’s concubine she had an affair with Li Zhi, Emperor Gaozong. He often visited the temple to see Wu Zetian, he found her even more beautiful, intelligent, and intriguing as she was more feminine and grown up; as a result he took her back as his own concubine.