From 1861 to 1908 the Celestial Empire was ruled by the iron hand of a woman -- the Empress Dowager Tz'u-hsi. She was opportunistic, malicious, ruthless, and xenophobic. While her determination held the empire together for nearly 50 years, her reactionary, Sino-centric view of the world plunged China into poverty and civil war, encouraged foreign invasions, and ultimately brought about the end of the Ch-ing Dynasty | |