Empress Dowager Cixi (Radio Edit)
About this episode
This episode explores the life and influence of Empress Dowager Cixi, a powerful ruler of late Qing dynasty China.
Greg Jenner is joined in 19th-century China by historian Professor Yangwen Zheng and comedian Sophie Duker to learn about the Qing dynasty ruler Empress Dowager Cixi. A contemporary of Queen Victoria, Cixi rose from low-ranked concubine to de facto ruler of China for nearly half a century, and lived through a dizzying array of events in China’s nineteenth-century history, including the Taiping Rebellion, the Opium Wars, and the Boxer Rebellion. Ruling through her son and then her nephew, Empress Dowager Cixi dominated late Qing dynasty China, and oversaw a variety of economic and military – if not political – reforms. This episode charts her life, from her entry into the Forbidden Palace as a teenager all the way to her death in 1908, taking in the politics and traditions of the Qing imperial court, her relationship with Emperor Xianfeng and her rival turned co-ruler Empress Dowager Ci'an, and her determined attempts to gain and maintain power. This is a radio edit of the original podcast episode. For the full-length version, please look further back in the feed. Hosted by: Greg Jenner Research by: Emma Mitchell Written by: Emma Mitchell, Dr Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Dr Emma…
People in this episode
Host: Greg Jenner
Guests: Professor Yangwen Zheng, Sophie Duker
Topics covered
- Empress Dowager Cixi
- Qing dynasty
- Chinese history
- political power
- 19th-century events
- imperial court
Keywords
- Cixi
- Qing dynasty
- China
- history
- Empress
- politics
- reforms
- 19th-century
- Taiping Rebellion
- Opium Wars
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: BBC Radio 4
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