Author(s): Jung Chang

Audio Books

Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908) is the most important woman in Chinese history. She ruled China for decades and brought a medieval empire into the modern age. Under her the ancient country attained virtually all the attributes of a modern state: industries, railways, electricity, the telegraph and an army and navy with up-to-date weaponry. It was she who abolished gruesome punishments like 'death by a thousand cuts' and put an end to foot-binding. In this groundbreaking biography, Jung Chang comprehensively overturns the conventional view of Cixi as a diehard conservative and cruel despot. Based on newly available court records, official and private correspondence, diaries and eyewitness accounts, this biography will revolutionise historical thinking about a crucial period in China's - and the world's - history.