Tbf, Ci'an was the only real friend Cixi had back when they were nobodies in the imperial selection process, and was the reason that Cixi got noticed by the Emperor. Ci'an likewise couldn't undertake any hostile action against Cixi as the biological mother of the Emperor lent considerable legitimacy and influence.
Chinese history is so fascinating. Very few cultures have survived since the dawn of man, and one that recorded its own history so well, I’m still learning new stuff all the time.
I was watching another video about Cixi and the voice over kept pronouncing her name as "Sick-see". Though video was good, I really can't stand hearing "Sick-see" over and over again 😐, and stopped watching.
Her hands were kind of tied though, for the first Decade of regency. Empress Dowager Ci’an was still her senior and many believe she had a secret will left by her husband that allowed her to stop anything that was deemed threats to her power. But it seems in the end Cixi won.
Oh yes there is. That is a two-valued Aristotelian exaggeration to dramatize the realities of life by going to extremes. There are as many gradations of successes and failures as there are real numbers on the number line.... an incalculable infinitude with different types of infinities beyond your comprehension.
Thank you for such a clear explanation of a complex topic. (I also appreciate the natural and accurate Chinese pronunciation of the names! Such a big help for non-Chinese like myself.)
Cixi was a modernizer up to a point. The Qing Empire was over 90% Han with the ruling Manchus a tiny minority. Modernization inevitably leads to the increase in wealth and position of the Han thus threatening the balance of power. This was the main reason earlier emperors refused to modernize. Cixi would soon run into the same problem. At this point in history it was too late to save the Qing dynasty, but it was still possible to save China. Cixi would chose the interests of the dynasty over the country and kill reforms when it threatened her power.
i love everything about your videos!! from how you pronounce every single name perfectly, to how you represent Chinese history in an objective way!!! I’ve seen so many documentaries of cixi portrayed in a very, i would say ‘coloniser’ perspective, but you put it in such an authentic manner. love your videos and i hope you keep it up!!!
These documentaries are incredible. Most westerners could never find this information on our own and your presentation is exceptional. I did notice there were no advert spots in the video. You should definitely get paid for all this incredible work you put into these. I and many others would have no problem watching a few commercials for watching your videos. Please consider it and thank you for these great vids!🙏🙂❤️
Chinese here. Han ethnicity with overall positive sentiment towards my country's last emperial dynasty. Cixi aka 孝钦显 was a reluctant "moderniser" with limited understanding of what "modernization" meant (not her fault) and absolutely no willingness to relinquish an iota of power. I don't blame her for not having saved China from foreign invasion and colonization during the 50 or so years when she was the de facto ruler of my country -- it was mission impossible, which I sometimes think only God himself can do. Her greatest crime was to place her personal comfort before the wellbeing of the nation. I wouldn't think that people would criticize her so harshly had she not built the 颐和园, not spent so lavishly on her meals, birthdays, and funeral, not run away to safety when foreign troops invaded Beijing, etc. Cough, cough, cough. Some Chinese blame Cixi for failing to install constitutional monarchy in China. This is again not her fault. Constitutional monarchy mostly likely wouldn't have worked.
Of course it's her fault. There is no excuse for the ignorance of the Qing Dynasty after the first Opium War. That should have been a wake up call. She wasn't stupid, she could have learned these things if she had wanted to. It's not only her fault, there are a lot of people to blame but she's definitely one of them. You can't hold absolute power for 45 years and not take the blame.
Cixi repeatedly killed off earnest efforts for reformation. If saving China was "mission impossible", it was made even more so with her at the top. Placing one's personal comfort before the wellbeing of the nation is a serious crime that should not be downplayed *particularly when said nation is on the verge of collapse.*
You are talking nonsense. Not only Han Chinese but also Chinese of the whole country were shamed of the Qing dynasty, which brought China over a hundred years of humiliation. The money Cixi used to build the marble ship in the summer palace ( 颐和园） was supposed to be used to build a Chinese Navy.
Quite interesting, Empress Cixi, together with the Empress of India, Queen Empress Victoria ruled the world. They were both the most powerful women in the world at that time.
Reading “China” by Edward Rutherford. These videos have helped my comprehension immensely. Thank you for sharing. Excellent animations and easy to understand.
Great work. I think a rather interesting series to do will be one centered around Wang Anshi and the New Policies, the problems that plagued the dynasty at the time and the context as to why these problems developed in the first place. This has a lot of parallels and lessons learned that can be applied to understanding current events and modern political discussions.
She murdered her. This lady is cersi Lannister but in real life. She found out the other queen had a second will left by the emperor. He knew that there was a possibility she would over step her boundaries. And when she did the other queen took the will out putting her in her place. Thinking she would change. But in the end she was murdered by cixi servant. The great empire started its decline because of this women. Because she didn’t want to give up her power she kept insisting replacing the king with younger and young princes.
@@celestephelps144 nope, Cixi from yehenara clan while cian from niohuru, they might didn’t even know each other before entering the forbidden city, the previous wife of emperor from sakda clan died a month before he descended the throne and yet Cian and the sakda wife’s related by marriage, Cian’s paternal aunt married Sakda’s Maternal uncle nam Duanhua who was one of Tongzhi’s regent. But still, they weren’t sister.
i think it can be safe to say that Cian likely held more power behind the scenes to keep Cixi in check, as Cian was the true Empress and matriarch of the family as the late Emperor's main wife. Cixi without Cian become the most corrupt person in the Late Qing and had noone to check her power, which she used to remove all threats to her power playing everyone off eachother to the destruction of the Qing.
@@haodeplorable266 Not at all. Cersei is deliberately cruel to many people, especially other women who she is viciously jealous of such as her 16 year old daughter-in-law Margaery and Sansa. She’s also not the cleverest. She’s deliberately armed the sept that despises her.
Just because a mother in history is ambitious and power-hungry, doesn’t mean she’s an inspiration for Cersei. The name comes from Greek mythology. She is very clearly an exaggeration of Elizabeth Woodville (blonde, married to a warrior king that became drunk and lazy later on, children are declared bastards by brother-in-law, marriage greatly enriched her family) and also Margaret of Anjou.
the chinese version of dragon isnt nearly the same as european version of dragon, i would prefer verbose transliterate it into english as "long" 龙 {second tone}.
I mean to be fair this was the 1800s, there some diseases that are easily treatable now that were death sentences back then, and that’s assuming the medical treatment you’re receiving isn’t bunk pseudoscience like bloodletting or consuming mercury pills.
It's disputed. There's evidence for two arguments, small pox (the official line) or syphilis (the common rumor at the time), but either way, traditional Chinese medicine, with it's focus on blocking wind and balancing qi with soup made of boiled bark is hardly going to do the job.
Lot of very suspicious deaths. Some of these people were definitely murdered. People who were disgraced or inconvenient seemed to have very sudden health problems.
Wow so glad you made this! I actually briefly know about this empress through a WEBTOON called Phantom Paradise. I wasn’t sure if she was actually real though
Obviously the author of Phantom Paradise took A LOT of artistic liberties with the story, especially since it's set in hell after all the characters have died already, but I recall them mentioning when they were originally posting it on Tapas that part of their purpose for creating the story was to teach readers about Chinese history.
Liking this deep dive format to your vids. The pics and film clips are a nice backdrop to what could have been a big info dump. Great work. Loving the channel
Beautiful and Interesting women. Sad story, but I learned that in 1928 her grave and body was looted and stripped by a Warlord General name Sun Dianying and his solders. The items were never recovered; some are now in museums, others in private collections, and I’ve even came across a few of her stolen artifacts on auction sites… If I had the money, I’d buy them and return them to her grave 😢. Also, the Pearl that was placed in her mouth when she passed has never been found.
Here after reading chapter 67-71 of Phantom Paradise. So minor spoilers ahead. The comic showed her life in a more sympathetic light. Some things I found interesting that were changed around is that Cixi was not the emperor's birth mother, and instead his stepmother. And it seems like that British guy and the eunuch she was suspected of having an affair with were sort of mashed together to create Javert. Also I believe the comic made her birth name was 'Lan-er', and in the comic she's the adopted/servant to the daughter of her irl family.
It is pivotal to understand Chinese history to understand why they act as they do now. The Belt and Road Initiative is very reminiscent to similarities of the old Silk Road sea routes and the areas where Zheng He had onced voyaged during the Ming Dynasty. Not to mention the control of Xinjiang having been gained and lost multiple times since the Han Dynasty Or the push for Hong Kong to remain under Chinese rule, let alone Taiwan or the Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands
I first found out about Cixi from reading a fictionalized story written by Pearl S. Buck. I thought it was a great story. Then I got a a non-fiction book about her. The stories about how she maneuvered her way to the top were incredible. Try it. Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China by Jung Chang
@@History_of_China Please tell me how reliable and credible is Jung Chang's book work on Cixi? She is no historian in training, and her earlier book work on Mao was much criticised by political scholars and historians alike.
Yes...I too just finished reading JUNG CHANGS BOOK AND AM PRESENTING IT Monday at my book club. Chang did a deep dive into Cixis life and her years ruling. Apparently most historians who have written about her make her out to be vile, manipulative and not the effective ruler who was actually prescient about saving China under terrible pressures from western countries. Very complex times and people's from differentvworlds. The abuse against China by many other nations is still be playing out today. Everybody wanted a piece of China on their own terms. The fact that she navigated through those years and stayed alive and in charge is extrodinary.
In the history lesson every Chinese student would learn"new policies of Qing"(清末新政)which were a series modernizing reformations led by Cixi after 1900.
The best case scenario would be for imperial insiders to purge majority of the Qing government and replace them with western style statesmen in the 1850s. Thus establishing a Napoleonic dictatorship. By the way, I know it’s pretty much impossible, but alternate history is fun.
@@matthewct8167 The main issue Qing was facing in the mid 19th century was the Taiping rebellion when the central government give local governors the millitary and financial authorities thus obviously weakened the power of the Empire led to the collapse of Qing in 1911.I'm afraid a Napoleonic dictatorship ruling only Beijing would not help.
that charles gordon really got to wear a yellow/gold vest? thats the official qing dynasty color, only royals can wear those colors, supposedly guess he did: The Emperor promoted Gordon to the rank of tidu (提督: "Chief commander of Jiangsu province" - a title equal to field marshal), decorated him with the imperial yellow jacket, and raised him to Qing's Viscount first class, but Gordon declined an additional gift of 10,000 taels of silver from the imperial treasury. Only forty men were allowed to wear the Yellow Jacket, which was the Emperor's ceremonial bodyguard, and it was thus a signal honour for Gordon to be allowed to wear it. That is impressive, this guy deserves his own tv series!
I have read that the perception of Wu was not very favorable after her reign so it's a curious idea. Would she have identified with Wu Zetian or avoided the comparison? Interesting
@@mdstanton1813 cixi enjoyed the the political and cultural effect of the severe national turmoil and transition due to foreign political culture poking on their native political upbringing.
The Catholic Church and missionaries were very prominent in China all the way back to the 16th century, including priests who were part of the imperial circle.
*Video Idea:* Clan system in Chinese history. What were these clans like Sima, Cao, etc? Why was at times entire clan killed? Do Chinese still have clan identity? This video can be a brief sociological history of China.
Thank you do for your video , unfortunatly looks like you been running to finish this video , talking so quickly which didnt gave the story its real charme Hopefully next videos will be much better All the best
What I’m absolutely desperate to see is a more modern remake of a drama based around Cixi’s life. I’ve been looking for one for ages but they’re all so old I can’t find anything apart from clips, and those don’t even have English subs😢😭😭
dramacool.bz/drama/the-confidant.html This was by hong kong eight years ago with eng sub. this is about Cixi with her eununch don't know how accurate it is to actual.
This dynasty supressed the han like there's not tomorrow. They forced their subjects to have a specific of hair cut to remind the people they been conquer . It's either you got the hair cut or leave your head... Also what kinda stupid culture is that you have to keep the hairs because it's what your ancestor gave you??? Is that confucianism??? Really thousands of year and they find that's normal that hair can't be cut because it's what you father and mother gave it to you??? And then they build statues of Confius??? Ok the statues are build, don't destroy it, but At least in elementary schoool can someone remind how stupid is that. Anyway which dynasty in the end was not catastropic? All dynasty sucks big time. Most dynasty will encouter one or two idiot emperor who will be too coward to embrace modernity and progress because thoses things can overthrown him. They are too occupy to have as sex and eat as they can. In all dynasty you will encounter a idiot emperor like that and then downward spiral will follow. Imagine a big country and decisions need to pass through one person???? maybe not all things, but most things... he has the veto right all the time. It's amazing that system work for so long.
Are Beijing And Peking Interchangeable names for the Chinese Capital? Im a bit confused because im pretty sure it was known as Peking Back Then Which name was more historically accurate?
Yes they are interchangeable, even though practically noone in the English-speaking world today would refer to Beijing as Peking. In my Qing dynasty videos, I want to give the Chinese side of the story, so I tend to call it Beijing, however Westerners at the time would have referred to it as Peking. Considering battles or treaties, I prefer to use 'Peking' (e.g. Convention of Peking in 1860, Battle of Peking in 1900) because that is their official name in historiography :)
I'm curious how much research was put into making these videos? and how accurate is it? From my research previously, I learned that Cixi was against modernization due to fear of losing her power and did her best to undermine Guanxu at any attempts to modernize and attempts to instill other administration reforms along with school reforms.
Basically : in her early rule (described in this video), she saved the Qing from collapse. In her late rule (that I'll cover in next video), she sabotaged Guangxu's attempts to reform China. Her role overall was neither completely positive nor completely negative
This is according to a descendant of the Yehenara clan, Yehenara Gengzheng (aka Na Gengzheng). He claims Cixi's grandfather gave her that name. Since her personal name was never officially written down, it is the only source available.
I am profoundly puzzled regarding Why internal government documents are consistently (across differing production sites) called “memorials”. A) who died in order to write the MEMO? B) a “ memo” according to Webster’s dictionary (online) is short for MEMORANDUM, a Latin term stemming from the same root as memorial (obviously), memory, the Greek goddess of memory (and the mother of the nine Muses) Memosyne (spelling correct?). How did this bizarre appellation originate? Why has it been allowed to perpetuate? It seems to me to imply a state fascination with death, rather than life.
@@History_of_China Maybe put it together in some form of video about Chinese modernization in the late Qing period? Hanyang Arsenal, Fuzhou Arsenal, Jiangnan Arsenal, the expansions of the Dagu Forts, Chinese Ironclad Battleships Zhenyuan and Dingyuan, Zuo Zongtang, reformists like Kang Youwei, the New Army, etc
Hi, I'm not exactly sure as I haven't studied the forbidden city in depth yet. It depends at what time : As noble lady Yan, many areas where inaccessible, but as empress dowager Cixi, I believe she could access most of it
![Blox Fruits Dragon Rework Update [Full Stream]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EqDAp8udhm0/mqdefault.jpg)
Can we take a moment to appreciate the narrator’s immaculate pronunciation of ALL the languages heard in the video?!
Indeed. I have to say I enjoyed this video all the more because of the beautiful pronunciation of the Chinese names. Bravo!
I would have preferred him to use the English pronunciation. I found it spoilt the documentary for me.
ever considered that he might be chinese who also speak english idiot
@@paulsharp2565 lol
@@paulsharp2565you sound like an American. Are you?
I love how instead of fighting each other for more power, Empress Dowagers Cixi and Ci'an worked together.
Tbf, Ci'an was the only real friend Cixi had back when they were nobodies in the imperial selection process, and was the reason that Cixi got noticed by the Emperor.
Ci'an likewise couldn't undertake any hostile action against Cixi as the biological mother of the Emperor lent considerable legitimacy and influence.
Not really Cixi pulled all the strings Cian only just throw her support behind her, she never had political ambitions.
Ci’an had all the ritual and traditional power and Cixi had all the political power. They made up for each other’s low points
Just like Map and Chiang Kai Shek
@@terence_k cian was killed by cixi ! Cixi’s only friend was the eunuch who fucked her and make her pregnant many times
Chinese history is so fascinating. Very few cultures have survived since the dawn of man, and one that recorded its own history so well, I’m still learning new stuff all the time.
ruclips.net/video/zBtHgHy2iyM/видео.html
FINALLY, someone who knows how to pronounce her name! Bless you! Very good doc, so you've earned a new subscriber
I was watching another video about Cixi and the voice over kept pronouncing her name as "Sick-see". Though video was good, I really can't stand hearing "Sick-see" over and over again 😐, and stopped watching.
I can't hear clearly how it is being pronounced. It sounds more like su-see to me. Please tell me how it is said. This has bothered me for a while.
@@topherpadilla Suhk-see?
@@topherpadilla Suh-shee? I'm going mad.
@@reneefuller5609 Suh-shee
Cixi seizing power of a celestial empire at 25 kinda makes all of us look like underachievers lol
So true so true considering shes swimming in a sea of extreme patriarchal culture during her time
Food Police
She triggered the fall of that empire by putting a 3 tear old on the throne.
She can kill an entire clan in an instant
@@cconyap the only patriarchal empires are the whites ones. Even today
Her hands were kind of tied though, for the first Decade of regency. Empress Dowager Ci’an was still her senior and many believe she had a secret will left by her husband that allowed her to stop anything that was deemed threats to her power. But it seems in the end Cixi won.
Cixi : When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.
Oh yes there is. That is a two-valued Aristotelian exaggeration to dramatize the realities of life by going to extremes. There are as many gradations of successes and failures as there are real numbers on the number line.... an incalculable infinitude with different types of infinities beyond your comprehension.
@Lor Ein thanks. I don’t play “Games of toilets” :-D (or read or watch)
@Lor Ein I’m a serious kind of person.... at times
@@dougr.2398 it's just a reference, there's no need to for the further insult. It was uncalled for.
@@debishvebishwish4839 sorry you are offended, and have no sense of humor
The automatic generated subtitles are displaying Cixi as Cersei LOL
She does make Cersei look like a noob
Thank you for such a clear explanation of a complex topic. (I also appreciate the natural and accurate Chinese pronunciation of the names! Such a big help for non-Chinese like myself.)
Thanks for your comment :)
@@History_of_China your french pronunciation was also on point, i was shocked
I really appreciate your voice and summary of events. Very dramatic and enjoyable to listen to the historical events.
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed
Cixi was a modernizer up to a point. The Qing Empire was over 90% Han with the ruling Manchus a tiny minority. Modernization inevitably leads to the increase in wealth and position of the Han thus threatening the balance of power. This was the main reason earlier emperors refused to modernize. Cixi would soon run into the same problem.
At this point in history it was too late to save the Qing dynasty, but it was still possible to save China. Cixi would chose the interests of the dynasty over the country and kill reforms when it threatened her power.
Yet she failed to save the dynasty
That's why they should've intermarried with the Han then
@Matthew Who knows
@@thefalconflame so she gave power to a 3 years old? crazy man 😲 and kill the 37 years old man who going take over?. Lack of sense.
@@sophiawilson8696 Yes, and the 3 year old grew up to be a sociopath, who liked to torture and beat his servants to death.
i love everything about your videos!! from how you pronounce every single name perfectly, to how you represent Chinese history in an objective way!!! I’ve seen so many documentaries of cixi portrayed in a very, i would say ‘coloniser’ perspective, but you put it in such an authentic manner. love your videos and i hope you keep it up!!!
And the irony that China has now turned into a colonizer themselves 😂
These documentaries are incredible. Most westerners could never find this information on our own and your presentation is exceptional.
I did notice there were no advert spots in the video. You should definitely get paid for all this incredible work you put into these. I and many others would have no problem watching a few commercials for watching your videos. Please consider it and thank you for these great vids!🙏🙂❤️
no commercials please
So so impressed by your perfect prononciation of French names ! And congrats your videos are excellent ! Thank you ✨
Thank you so much!
He's half French I read somewhere. I'm so impressed with his Chinese pronunciation.
this channel deserves much more subscribers
Could you do a series on “The Step Empress”. One of the most misunderstood Consorts in Chinese history
Yes, I probably will make a video on her some time ;)
YESSS SHES MY FAVE
Empress Nara?
The would be beyond awsome
@@History_of_China yes please do i really wanna see a video about her
I really love learning about Chinese history.
Chinese here. Han ethnicity with overall positive sentiment towards my country's last emperial dynasty. Cixi aka 孝钦显 was a reluctant "moderniser" with limited understanding of what "modernization" meant (not her fault) and absolutely no willingness to relinquish an iota of power. I don't blame her for not having saved China from foreign invasion and colonization during the 50 or so years when she was the de facto ruler of my country -- it was mission impossible, which I sometimes think only God himself can do. Her greatest crime was to place her personal comfort before the wellbeing of the nation. I wouldn't think that people would criticize her so harshly had she not built the 颐和园, not spent so lavishly on her meals, birthdays, and funeral, not run away to safety when foreign troops invaded Beijing, etc.
Cough, cough, cough. Some Chinese blame Cixi for failing to install constitutional monarchy in China. This is again not her fault. Constitutional monarchy mostly likely wouldn't have worked.
ye tian
Shouldn't she stay at her place instead of putting a puppet? She did do that, didn't she ?
Of course it's her fault. There is no excuse for the ignorance of the Qing Dynasty after the first Opium War. That should have been a wake up call. She wasn't stupid, she could have learned these things if she had wanted to. It's not only her fault, there are a lot of people to blame but she's definitely one of them. You can't hold absolute power for 45 years and not take the blame.
She squandered the countrys money, failed to modernise the country and screwed the countrys leadership.
Cixi repeatedly killed off earnest efforts for reformation. If saving China was "mission impossible", it was made even more so with her at the top. Placing one's personal comfort before the wellbeing of the nation is a serious crime that should not be downplayed *particularly when said nation is on the verge of collapse.*
You are talking nonsense. Not only Han Chinese but also Chinese of the whole country were shamed of the Qing dynasty, which brought China over a hundred years of humiliation. The money Cixi used to build the marble ship in the summer palace ( 颐和园） was supposed to be used to build a Chinese Navy.
I like that she got along with the empress. I mean, how often does that happen that the empress will actually have a concubine in her good books?
This is a wonderful documentary! Thank you so much!
I'm glad you liked it!
Excellent video: superior analysis of history, great narration and terrific graphics
Thank you so much!
@@History_of_China Keep up the great work
Excellent work! I might show this to my World History students!
excellent video. i barely know anything about China so these videos are a great watch for me!
Thanks for following ! I'm glad you enjoy :)
Quite interesting, Empress Cixi, together with the Empress of India, Queen Empress Victoria ruled the world. They were both the most powerful women in the world at that time.
And yet both did little to nothing for women's suffrage
Empress of India is a vastly self-deluded title
this is empress wu erasure lol
Not really, one was a powerful player in a decaying empire and the other one was Chinese.
She damned the Chinese to stagnation and by doing so,let her peoples teeth get kicked in by the Japanese
Very well done. Very well written. Moore please on all the Royalty of Asia.
Reading “China” by Edward Rutherford. These videos have helped my comprehension immensely. Thank you for sharing. Excellent animations and easy to understand.
Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed
Great history rarely taught in Western high Schools. Worth watching at least twice
Thank you ! Glad you njoyed it :)
So awesome! That's about the best documentary on CiXi and China I've even seen!🙂 Notifications are on, keep them coming.❤️
I'm glad you started to post the info about the songs you use in the description.
How on earth you only have 9.8k subscribers?
Great stuff you have here.
Thanks so much ! Feel free to share my work around ;)
Great work. I think a rather interesting series to do will be one centered around Wang Anshi and the New Policies, the problems that plagued the dynasty at the time and the context as to why these problems developed in the first place. This has a lot of parallels and lessons learned that can be applied to understanding current events and modern political discussions.
Thank you.
Did the two Empresses stay friends. I find their relationship interesting, especially if the trust between them stayed strong.
I think they continuously had more or less good relations
Weren't they cousins, and Zu'An had a sister who was the Empress, and when she died was automatically chosen as the new one?
She murdered her. This lady is cersi Lannister but in real life. She found out the other queen had a second will left by the emperor. He knew that there was a possibility she would over step her boundaries. And when she did the other queen took the will out putting her in her place. Thinking she would change. But in the end she was murdered by cixi servant. The great empire started its decline because of this women. Because she didn’t want to give up her power she kept insisting replacing the king with younger and young princes.
So true. She almost had her karma strike back when her adopted son was in collusion with others who wanted her dead.
@@celestephelps144 nope, Cixi from yehenara clan while cian from niohuru, they might didn’t even know each other before entering the forbidden city, the previous wife of emperor from sakda clan died a month before he descended the throne and yet Cian and the sakda wife’s related by marriage, Cian’s paternal aunt married Sakda’s Maternal uncle nam Duanhua who was one of Tongzhi’s regent. But still, they weren’t sister.
i think it can be safe to say that Cian likely held more power behind the scenes to keep Cixi in check, as Cian was the true Empress and matriarch of the family as the late Emperor's main wife.
Cixi without Cian become the most corrupt person in the Late Qing and had noone to check her power, which she used to remove all threats to her power playing everyone off eachother to the destruction of the Qing.
Somehow I think I now know from where George R R Martin got his inspiration for Cersei in ASOIAF, even the name kind of fits
Maybe also from Circe of ancient legends
Wu Zetian was even more brutal than Cixi.
I love cersei. She's just trying to survive
@@haodeplorable266 Not at all. Cersei is deliberately cruel to many people, especially other women who she is viciously jealous of such as her 16 year old daughter-in-law Margaery and Sansa. She’s also not the cleverest. She’s deliberately armed the sept that despises her.
Just because a mother in history is ambitious and power-hungry, doesn’t mean she’s an inspiration for Cersei. The name comes from Greek mythology. She is very clearly an exaggeration of Elizabeth Woodville (blonde, married to a warrior king that became drunk and lazy later on, children are declared bastards by brother-in-law, marriage greatly enriched her family) and also Margaret of Anjou.
What a wonderfully put together vid , Cixi was quite a lady ; )
Thanks for posting this
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it :)
“The dragon lady”- awesome nickname
the chinese version of dragon isnt nearly the same as european version of dragon, i would prefer verbose transliterate it into english as "long" 龙 {second tone}.
verbatim
Dragon lady...was M.mme Nu in Vietnam
@@albertovilla3039 it’s madame Ngo Dinh Nhu
I like how we glossed over a healthy 18 year old emperor “dying” lol
xD
I mean to be fair this was the 1800s, there some diseases that are easily treatable now that were death sentences back then, and that’s assuming the medical treatment you’re receiving isn’t bunk pseudoscience like bloodletting or consuming mercury pills.
It's disputed. There's evidence for two arguments, small pox (the official line) or syphilis (the common rumor at the time), but either way, traditional Chinese medicine, with it's focus on blocking wind and balancing qi with soup made of boiled bark is hardly going to do the job.
Lot of very suspicious deaths. Some of these people were definitely murdered. People who were disgraced or inconvenient seemed to have very sudden health problems.
He probably had syphillis
Wow so glad you made this! I actually briefly know about this empress through a WEBTOON called Phantom Paradise. I wasn’t sure if she was actually real though
Glad you enjoyed!
Obviously the author of Phantom Paradise took A LOT of artistic liberties with the story, especially since it's set in hell after all the characters have died already, but I recall them mentioning when they were originally posting it on Tapas that part of their purpose for creating the story was to teach readers about Chinese history.
I'm over here getting distractedly entranced by the instrumental version of "painted heart" in the background music. 😍
You're a very good narrator for such complex as Chinese history even for me being half Chinese!
Thank you!
Impressive presentation. I subscribe for more.
Wonderful!! Never learned any of China’s history in school. This is real education!
Glad you enjoyed :)
History of China your videos are fantastic! Keep up the great work. Your audience is benefiting so much from your dedicated high quality work.
Ancient Chinese history is so cool.
hardly ancient
Liking this deep dive format to your vids. The pics and film clips are a nice backdrop to what could have been a big info dump. Great work. Loving the channel
Thank you!
Awesome video, really enjoyed it. Thanks for your effort!
Glad to hear it :)
Wow, i have learnt so much. Thank you👏👏👏👏👏👏
Glad to hear it :)
Beautiful and Interesting women. Sad story, but I learned that in 1928 her grave and body was looted and stripped by a Warlord General name Sun Dianying and his solders. The items were never recovered; some are now in museums, others in private collections, and I’ve even came across a few of her stolen artifacts on auction sites… If I had the money, I’d buy them and return them to her grave 😢. Also, the Pearl that was placed in her mouth when she passed has never been found.
Here after reading chapter 67-71 of Phantom Paradise. So minor spoilers ahead.
The comic showed her life in a more sympathetic light. Some things I found interesting that were changed around is that Cixi was not the emperor's birth mother, and instead his stepmother. And it seems like that British guy and the eunuch she was suspected of having an affair with were sort of mashed together to create Javert. Also I believe the comic made her birth name was 'Lan-er', and in the comic she's the adopted/servant to the daughter of her irl family.
Very interesting knowing about empress Cixi life 👍🏽
*Very informative and interesting ....... Particularly with what's going on in China right now❗️❗️❗️*
Thank you !
It is pivotal to understand Chinese history to understand why they act as they do now.
The Belt and Road Initiative is very reminiscent to similarities of the old Silk Road sea routes and the areas where Zheng He had onced voyaged during the Ming Dynasty.
Not to mention the control of Xinjiang having been gained and lost multiple times since the Han Dynasty
Or the push for Hong Kong to remain under Chinese rule, let alone Taiwan or the Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands
Very interesting,fascinating information,learn something new and different everyday and year,bless the Lord!!!!!?
Empress Dowager Tz'u Hsi was also portrayed as a villainess in the Canadian animated series "Twins of Destiny".
TQ.a good presentation of past history of China.love your command of history of the middle kingdom.
I first found out about Cixi from reading a fictionalized story written by Pearl S. Buck. I thought it was a great story. Then I got a a non-fiction book about her. The stories about how she maneuvered her way to the top were incredible. Try it. Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China by Jung Chang
I know this book! It was one of the sources I used while making this video :)
@@History_of_China Please tell me how reliable and credible is Jung Chang's book work on Cixi? She is no historian in training, and her earlier book work on Mao was much criticised by political scholars and historians alike.
generous words for a corrupted power loving old hag
Yes...I too just finished reading JUNG CHANGS BOOK AND AM PRESENTING IT Monday at my book club. Chang did a deep dive into Cixis life and her years ruling. Apparently most historians who have written about her make her out to be vile, manipulative and not the effective ruler who was actually prescient about saving China under terrible pressures from western countries. Very complex times and people's from differentvworlds. The abuse against China by many other nations is still be playing out today. Everybody wanted a piece of China on their own terms. The fact that she navigated through those years and stayed alive and in charge is extrodinary.
I didn’t know she was such a modernizer. In China she’s known as the person who didn’t want to modernize.
Most likely misogynistic character assassination by the warlord factions trying to legitimize their own rule.
She was in the beginning, but wait until we get to part 2 ;)
In the history lesson every Chinese student would learn"new policies of Qing"(清末新政)which were a series modernizing reformations led by Cixi after 1900.
The best case scenario would be for imperial insiders to purge majority of the Qing government and replace them with western style statesmen in the 1850s. Thus establishing a Napoleonic dictatorship. By the way, I know it’s pretty much impossible, but alternate history is fun.
@@matthewct8167
The main issue Qing was facing in the mid 19th century was the Taiping rebellion when the central government give local governors the millitary and financial authorities thus obviously weakened the power of the Empire led to the collapse of Qing in 1911.I'm afraid a Napoleonic dictatorship ruling only Beijing would not help.
that charles gordon really got to wear a yellow/gold vest? thats the official qing dynasty color, only royals can wear those colors, supposedly
guess he did:
The Emperor promoted Gordon to the rank of tidu (提督: "Chief commander of Jiangsu province" - a title equal to field marshal), decorated him with the imperial yellow jacket, and raised him to Qing's Viscount first class, but Gordon declined an additional gift of 10,000 taels of silver from the imperial treasury. Only forty men were allowed to wear the Yellow Jacket, which was the Emperor's ceremonial bodyguard, and it was thus a signal honour for Gordon to be allowed to wear it.
That is impressive, this guy deserves his own tv series!
Definitely! He was one of the rare foreigners to ever receive such an honour.
Many many thanks for this
Most welcome!
You can practically see the dynasty grow weak and frail at 23:35
I've always perceived strong parallels between Cixi and Empress Wu Zetian. I wonder if she did too.
Maybe she was Empress Wu in her past life.
I have read that the perception of Wu was not very favorable after her reign so it's a curious idea. Would she have identified with Wu Zetian or avoided the comparison? Interesting
@@mdstanton1813 cixi enjoyed the the political and cultural effect of the severe national turmoil and transition due to foreign political culture poking on their native political upbringing.
dont see the similarities except whats between their legs.
After watching the history of the last Emperor Puyi I just had to subscribe.
The Catholic Church and missionaries were very prominent in China all the way back to the 16th century, including priests who were part of the imperial circle.
So?
Great series, thank you ❤
Glad you enjoy!
*Video Idea:* Clan system in Chinese history. What were these clans like Sima, Cao, etc? Why was at times entire clan killed? Do Chinese still have clan identity?
This video can be a brief sociological history of China.
Her nickname was called “Old Buddha”
Correct. I'll talk about it in part 2 :)
I love that you pronounced her name correct 👍
Talk about power behind the throne. I gotta wonder if they discussed what they would advise before audience meetings
Thank you do for your video , unfortunatly looks like you been running to finish this video , talking so quickly which didnt gave the story its real charme
Hopefully next videos will be much better
All the best
Love ur channel !!!!
And I thank you so much for helping fix many mispronunciations I’ve made over the years , like totally Anglicanizing Chengde as “Chengh-dee” 👍👍
I never know that ronglu was a police officer and also could do a video about him please
I'll perhaps make a video of him someday, but not anytime soon. I'll talk more about him in Cixi part 2 though
Can you do a documentary about Yinglou? She fascinates me, and in Drama Forever, the actress who plays her, does a beautiful job! Thank you!
I have many different projects planned, but I'll think about it :)
Thank you very much!
This is so true.
Many thanks for the elaborate history
Glad you enjoyed!
Please tell me what movie is in there the clips what movie are they from
All video credits are in the description :)
Would it be possible to make an in depth video on Prince Gong, and whether he had a positive impact on China?
I'm afraid I don't really have enough time for that subject. I have many more projects planned first
@@History_of_China In that case, looking forward to your other videos.
What I’m absolutely desperate to see is a more modern remake of a drama based around Cixi’s life. I’ve been looking for one for ages but they’re all so old I can’t find anything apart from clips, and those don’t even have English subs😢😭😭
dramacool.bz/drama/the-confidant.html
This was by hong kong eight years ago with eng sub. this is about Cixi with her eununch don't know how accurate it is to actual.
Janice Kwok oh my gosh thank you so much!!!! I’ve wanted to see one for agessssss
Check out "Firmament of the Pleaides"
F F I literally found that yesterday! It’s so good, I’ve been watching it!
@@JanooseCanada usually very dramatized
I love Empress Cixi ... she was lovely 😊
Its amazing that neither empresses tried to liquidate each other.... The frienship is strong.
What show did you get the footage from?
You are hot
from which series/film you have collected those video clips??
All video credits are in the descritption :)
More three kingdoms vids please
Where did you get the photo of Li Hongzhang sitting with a small dog on his lap ?
I'm sorry, which one are you referring to?
"The state of the Qing Dynasty was catastrophic."
This dynasty supressed the han like there's not tomorrow. They forced their subjects to have a specific of hair cut to remind the people they been conquer . It's either you got the hair cut or leave your head... Also what kinda stupid culture is that you have to keep the hairs because it's what your ancestor gave you??? Is that confucianism??? Really thousands of year and they find that's normal that hair can't be cut because it's what you father and mother gave it to you??? And then they build statues of Confius??? Ok the statues are build, don't destroy it, but At least in elementary schoool can someone remind how stupid is that. Anyway which dynasty in the end was not catastropic? All dynasty sucks big time. Most dynasty will encouter one or two idiot emperor who will be too coward to embrace modernity and progress because thoses things can overthrown him. They are too occupy to have as sex and eat as they can. In all dynasty you will encounter a idiot emperor like that and then downward spiral will follow. Imagine a big country and decisions need to pass through one person???? maybe not all things, but most things... he has the veto right all the time. It's amazing that system work for so long.
I find it so interesting.
I want to watch the drama of empress Cixi... anyone can u tell me the name of drama plizzzzz
There are several from which I used extracts to make this video, but I think you're looking for The Empress Dowager (1975)
ruclips.net/video/zBtHgHy2iyM/видео.html
I am reading a book about her life and i can say that she was very smart
Are Beijing And Peking Interchangeable names for the Chinese Capital?
Im a bit confused because im pretty sure it was known as Peking Back Then
Which name was more historically accurate?
Yes they are interchangeable, even though practically noone in the English-speaking world today would refer to Beijing as Peking. In my Qing dynasty videos, I want to give the Chinese side of the story, so I tend to call it Beijing, however Westerners at the time would have referred to it as Peking. Considering battles or treaties, I prefer to use 'Peking' (e.g. Convention of Peking in 1860, Battle of Peking in 1900) because that is their official name in historiography :)
@History_of_China thank you that really helps clear things up a bit
So the did the Chinese back then refer to it as Peking Beijing Or Both?
Pretty sure there is no link in the description to the other video you mentioned about the concubines
I must have forgotten to add it. It's fixed now! I'll also provide the link here : ruclips.net/video/RlCtb_7zGeg/видео.html
I'm curious how much research was put into making these videos? and how accurate is it? From my research previously, I learned that Cixi was against modernization due to fear of losing her power and did her best to undermine Guanxu at any attempts to modernize and attempts to instill other administration reforms along with school reforms.
wait until part 2
Basically : in her early rule (described in this video), she saved the Qing from collapse. In her late rule (that I'll cover in next video), she sabotaged Guangxu's attempts to reform China. Her role overall was neither completely positive nor completely negative
@@History_of_China Thanks for the clarification. Love the videos, very informative!
@@finalfantsyx Glad you enjoy :)
At least kid was related to the emperor even if he was a cousin
Part 2 Part 2! Cant wait for it!
There probably will be 2 videos in between before part 2 ;)
Can’t find part 2. Is it not made yet?
I'm afraid not. Since I resumed my studies, I have very little time to make videos. It should be released in 1 - 2 weeks though !
Can you also discuss about Cao Cao and Sima Yi...
I made a Cao Cao video a long time ago. I'll go back to the Three Kingdom era in the future though
@@History_of_China thank you... Am new to your channel
@@ahmadcap-atan3552 No problem! Hope you enjoy my work :)
Where have you found Cixis name as a child? I've found no source where it was mentioned
This is according to a descendant of the Yehenara clan, Yehenara Gengzheng (aka Na Gengzheng). He claims Cixi's grandfather gave her that name. Since her personal name was never officially written down, it is the only source available.
@@History_of_China thank you!
I am profoundly puzzled regarding Why internal government documents are consistently (across differing production sites) called “memorials”. A) who died in order to write the MEMO? B) a “ memo” according to Webster’s dictionary (online) is short for MEMORANDUM, a Latin term stemming from the same root as memorial (obviously), memory, the Greek goddess of memory (and the mother of the nine Muses) Memosyne (spelling correct?). How did this bizarre appellation originate? Why has it been allowed to perpetuate? It seems to me to imply a state fascination with death, rather than life.
Imagine Prince Gong being the Emperor
Can i havw the movie link please
All video credits are in the description! You should find some of them on RUclips :)
Who is presenting the video?
How about a video about the Self-Strenghtening Movement
I'll talk more about it in part 2, but probably won't make a video specifically on it
@@History_of_China Maybe put it together in some form of video about Chinese modernization in the late Qing period?
Hanyang Arsenal, Fuzhou Arsenal, Jiangnan Arsenal, the expansions of the Dagu Forts, Chinese Ironclad Battleships Zhenyuan and Dingyuan, Zuo Zongtang, reformists like Kang Youwei, the New Army, etc
@@GeneralLiuofBoston1911 I'm more interested in making a dedicated video about the Imperial Chinese Navy. I would also talk about the Hai Chi warship.
Her and empress Wu Zetian, which one is better?
comparing apple and orange
Both suck
hi! do you happen to know which part of the forbidden city was cixi prohibited from entering?
Hi, I'm not exactly sure as I haven't studied the forbidden city in depth yet. It depends at what time : As noble lady Yan, many areas where inaccessible, but as empress dowager Cixi, I believe she could access most of it
@@History_of_China thank you for your response!