| FACING PAGE | |
| THE “HOLY MOTHER,” HER MAJESTY TZŬ HSI | Frontispiece |
| MAP OF PEKING | xii, xiii |
| THE REGENT PRINCE CH’UN, WITH HIS TWO SONS, THE PRESENT EMPEROR (STANDING) AND PRINCE P’U CHIEH | 4 |
| THE IMPERIAL DAÏS IN THE CHIAO-TAL HALL | 18 |
| H.I.H. P’U JU, COUSIN OF THE PRESENT EMPEROR, SON OF THE BOXER PRINCE TSAI-YING, AND GRANDSON OF PRINCE KUNG | 20 |
| HER MAJESTY TZŬ HSI IN THE YEAR 1903 | 36 |
| EXTERIOR OF THE CH’IEN CH’ING PALACE | 54 |
| H.M. TZŬ HSI, WITH THE CONSORT (LUNG YÜ) AND PRINCIPAL CONCUBINE (JEN FEI) OF H.M. KUANG-HSÜ, ACCOMPANIED BY COURT LADIES AND EUNUCHS | 90 |
| FACSIMILE OF LETTER WRITTEN BY CHIEF EUNUCH LI LIEN-YING | 98 |
| INTERIOR OF THE YANG HSIN TIEN. (PALACE OF “MIND NURTURE.”) | 122 |
| INTERIOR OF THE I KUN KUNG | 148 |
| INTERIOR OF THE TAI HO TIEN | 166 |
| CIRCULAR THRONE HALL IN THE GROUNDS OF THE LAKE PALACE LOOTED BY ALLIED TROOPS IN 1900 | 208 |
| PAVILION ON LAKE TO THE WEST OF FORBIDDEN CITY | 208 |
| THE “BEILEH” TSAI YING, SON OF PRINCE KUNG (CASHIERED BY TZŬ HSI FOR PRO-BOXER PROCLIVITIES), AND HIS SON | 252 |
| H.M. THE EMPRESS DOWAGER AND LADIES OF HER COURT (1903) | 256 |
| THE TA-A-KO, SON OF PRINCE TUAN, THE BOXER LEADER | 280 |
| REPRODUCTION OF PICTURE PAINTED ON SILK BY HER MAJESTY TZŬ HSI | 284 |
| FACSIMILE OF A FRAGMENT OF THE DIARY | 299 |
| DAUGHTERS OF A HIGH MANCHU OFFICIAL OF THE COURT | 302 |
| MARBLE BRIDGE IN THE GROUNDS OF THE LAKE PALACE | 350 |
| IN THE GROUNDS OF THE PALACE IN THE WESTERN PARK | 350 |
| HIS HIGHNESS PRINCE TSAI HSÜN | 386 |
| VIEW, FROM THE K’UN MING LAKE, OF THE SUMMER PALACE | 452 |
| THE EMPRESS DOWAGER, WITH THE CHIEF EUNUCH, LI LIEN-YING | 454 |
| THE SON OF HEAVEN | 458 |
| MARBLE BRIDGE OVER THE LAKE IN THE WESTERN PARK WHICH SURROUNDS THE LAKE PALACE | 474 |
| “TI WANG MIAO” OR TEMPLE TO THE MEMORY OF VIRTUOUS EMPERORS OF PREVIOUS DYNASTIES | 474 |
| PORTRAIT OF THE EMPRESS DOWAGER | 482 |
| THE IMPERIAL DAÏS IN THE CH’IEN CH’ING HALL | 498 |
| CEILING AND PILLARS OF THE TAI HO TIEN | 510 |
About This Book
A chronological account of the life and political career of the Empress Dowager Tzŭ Hsi, tracing her origins and rise within the imperial court, her regencies and influence over successive emperors, interactions with court factions and eunuchs, responses to reform movements, and her role during the anti-foreign uprising and court exile; the book draws on official papers and a household diary to describe palace ceremonies, statecraft decisions, and the recovery and final years of her rule, illustrating the complexities of late imperial governance and the personal and institutional forces that shaped policy and succession.