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Dragon Lady

The Life and Legend of the Last Empress of China

By Sterling Seagrave

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| Paperback | 9780679733690

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Book Description

The author of The Soong Dynasty gives us our most vivid and reliable biography yet of the Dowager Empress Tzu Hsi, remembered through the exaggeration and falsehood of legend as the ruthless Manchu concubine who seduced and murdered her way to the Chinese throne in 1861.

1 Review

Who fears The Dragon Lady?

For years, I took it as a fact that Tsu Hsi was a monster. Her long nails were vividly imprinted in my mind. On a recent trip to The Summer Palace in Beijing, I was once more told by our guide how this woman was terrible. Then came this book. Revisionist history maybe. Nonetheless, does she deserve ... (continue)

For years, I took it as a fact that Tsu Hsi was a monster. Her long nails were vividly imprinted in my mind. On a recent trip to The Summer Palace in Beijing, I was once more told by our guide how this woman was terrible. Then came this book. Revisionist history maybe. Nonetheless, does she deserve her reputation? She was a strong, willful and intelligent woman, and as such she was feared and reviled, mostly by men. Not usually by women. Women are usually tough critics especially of each other. It's somehow reassuring that women - wives of the diplomats - who met her were utterly charmed by the Empress. There is surely something to learn from this woman who ruled China in times of great upheaval.

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jacoutofthebox said on Jul 2, 2008 | Add your feedback