The Disputed Reign of Dowager Empress Tz’u-hsi Historical record is not always an accurate representation of fact. An example of this would be the long reign of the Dowager Empress Tz’u-hsi, in which there were hundreds of documents written about her life. These documents have been taken and used in the production of numerous books, especially among Western historians. It was these early historians who have established the widely accepted perspective that Tz’u-hsi hungered for power, abused it, and retained it using any means necessary. This understanding is echoed today by authors such as W.G. Sebald, author of The Rings of Saturn. There are many differences between the accounts of the Western perspective and that of Sebald’s, but the overall idea of Tz’u-Hsi as a conniving and unworthy Empress is intact between the two. Still, the investigation is not over. There happens to be an abundance of historical documentation and opinion that contradicts the Western view on Tz’u-hsi. First, Western accounts of the major issues in Tz’u-hsi’s reign will be examined; following this will be a look at how unreliable these sources are by showing their inconsistencies, where the arguments came from, and the all the other evidence supporting a different perspective on the great Empress. It is possible the Empress was everything that her enemies said she was, but the evidence at hand does not support image of a sinister Tz’u-hsi. The Western perspective on the Dowager Empress is harsh and W.G. Sebald is perhaps the harshest of all of the Western historians. One of Sebald’s first descriptions of the Empress is that her “craving for power was insatiable” (Sebald 147). Sebald wastes no time in backing up this claim. At the cru... ... middle of paper ... ...istorians like Sebald recognize the uncertainty. Works Cited Bland, J. O. P., and E. Backhouse. China Under the Empress Dowager. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1914. Chung, Sue Fawn. “The Much Maligned Empress Dowager : A Revisionist Study of the Empress Dowager Tz’u-his.” Modern Asian Studies. 13 vol. Cambrige UP, 1979. JSTOR. 1 May 2005 < http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0026-749X%281979%2913%3A2%3C177%3ATMMEDA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-U>. Collis, Maurice. The Motherly and Auspicious. New York: G.P. Putnam’s, 1944. Laidler, Keith. The Last Empress. Chichester: John Wiley, 2003. Seagrave, Sterling. Dragon Lady. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1992. Sebald, W. G. The Rings of Saturn. Trans. Michael Hulse. London: Harvill, 1995. Vare, Daniele. The Last Empress. Garden City: Doubleday, Doran, 1938. Warner, Marina. The Dragon Empress. New York: Macmillan, 1972.
(1800)Topic 2: A Literary Analysis of the Historical Differentiation of Patriarchal Culture and Female Gender Identity in the Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong and the Tale of Genji
The birth of an eastern circus woman attracted no attention at all in mid-millennium year 500. No one could ever imagine that this baby would grow up to be one of the most remarkable women in history of the World. She was the daughter of the bear keeper, a public performer,wife of Justinian, Empress of the Byzantine Empire and a natural beauty whose name became the one name in the voluminous annals of the Byzantine empire known to almost everyone; Theodora. Once the former show girl settled down to respectable married life, she touched every branch of life in the Empire. She had her finger on everything including military campaigns, architectural developments, and government policy and law reforms. With her intelligence and charm and her indomitable willpower she became the backbone of Justinian by being the partner in power. Her supremacy and authority over Justinian and her role in the empire made her a significant woman in the history and the empress of one of the great civilizations of the world. She brought Justinian a stabilizing influence and helped him shaped his policies and became the foreground of every picture of the period. For all the long series of masterful empresses none is as astonishing and stunning as the consort of Justinian. This essay will analyze the dynamic of the marriage between Justinian and Theodora and it will argue the importance of this marriage for the strength of the Byzantine Empire.
The Ottoman Empire was one of the longest running empires in history, spanning 624 years. The women of the Ottoman empire were often limited to the household of their husband’s and held back by Ottoman lawmakers and authorities. The point of view of outsiders was varied, but there were both positive and negative views.
Hatshepsut’s reign especially leaves much to the scholar’s speculation and interpretation since little evidence is left. The reader must acknowledge how an author’s views may be construed by sexism and other concepts prevalent in their time. What these five authors imply about Hatshepsut’s personality and attitude concerning her political ascent, her usage of propaganda, and her achievements during that time all differ from each other, some more drastically than others. This certainly shows that when one reads of history, their research should span as far as possible in order to most accurately inform themselves of what truly happened; it is from there that they can formulate the best
Chen, Jo-shui. "Empress Wu and Proto-feminist Sentiments in T'ang China." In Imperial Rulership and Cultural Change in Traditional China, edited by Frederick P. Brandauer and Chün-chieh Huang. 77-116. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994.
Joanna Walley-Cohen is a professor of History at New York University and written two books on the subject on China (Exile in Mid-Qing China: Banishment to Xinjiang, 1758-1820 and The Sextants of Beijing.) In this book, The Sextants of Beijing: Global Currents in Chinese History Joanna Waley-Cohen refutes the long held notion that Chinese civilization is “monolithic, unchanging, and perennially cut off from the rest of the world.”(Waley-Cohen BackCover) Although the book lacks visual aides, there are two small maps in the entire book, it conveys her theory well enough and delivers an explanative, meticulous, although boring, account of Chinese history spanning from 200 B.C.E. until 1997 C.E. Ms. Cohen helps us “understand the many levels at which the Chinese across two millennia have used or integrated elements of foreign beliefs or technologies”(Jonathan D. Spence), and gives the reader a “Complling revisionist history of Chinese foreign relations” (Kirkus Reviews).
Cleopatra has done to Marc and Julius, both women have the power to seduce men and get what they wanted. Empress Wu next move was to challenge Confucian beliefs against rule by women, Wu began a crusade to elevate the position of women. She had scholars write biographies of famous women and raised the position of her mother's clan by giving her relatives high political posts. Empress Wu’s belief was that an ideal ruler was one who ruled like a mother does over her children.
Chapter 4: China's Qing Dynasty & Its Collapse." East-Asian-History Home. Penn State. Web. 06 Apr. 2011..
The first Memoir of 1795 was addressed to the heir of her natal family and took the form of a public appeal in her effort to reestablish her family’s moral legitimacy and honorable family tradition. Before we explore her memoir, it is important to note that she felt responsible for her family’s downfall – believing that her marriage into the royal house had led to directly their suffering and decline. Beyond the scholarly merit of her stories, they are important in the view Lady Hyegyong provides of the court life and the strict Confucian beliefs that stress filial piety, loyalty and virtue. To being with, the move from
Wu Zetian was a woman who made sure she got her dream of becoming Emperor. Very few people would be as patient as Wu was to become Emperor. Empress Wu Zetian is a lot like a 5 year old child that if doesn’t get their way will throw a fit, but in Wu’s situation she does get her way by becoming
Gittings, John. The Changing Face of China: From Mao to market. Oxford University Press, 2005.
Throughout time, women have left a significant impact on the culture and outlook of one of the largest and longest-lasting nations in world history: the Ottoman Empire. As would be expected, the role of women has transformed and adapted throughout the empire’s long breadth of control along with larger cultural shifts. However, an accurate idea of life as a whole for women living in the Ottoman empire from the 13th century to 1920s can be found in a variety of documents describing their role in the context of the law, the home, and society as a whole.
Empress Dowager Cixi controlled China’s Throne for about half a century.She was the last ruler of China and one of the most famous Emperors.
It is a fair assessment that up until the early part of the twentieth century, when the definitive link between Ashoka and that of the “Devanampiya Piyadassi (Beloved of the Gods Piyadassi)” character inscribed on the edicts was established, very little was either known about Ashoka or cared for by historians. However, it must be said that the Mauryan Empire itself was an era of significant historical value not without a good deal of historical and archaeological evidence to substantiate its importance. In addressing the issue of what the edicts in particular reveal to us about Ashoka and the period of his reign one needs to acknowledge undoubtedly what is being stated, but perhaps moreover one needs to pay attention to the inherent meanings, the intended meanings and the contextual meanings of the inscriptions themselves.
The Overseas Chinese Affairs of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China (OCAC), Common Knowledge about Chinese History. Higher Education Press, 2007. Print.