I very much enjoyed Empress Dowager Cixi by Jung Chang which is a biography of the last empress of China. This story is well-researched by the author who wrote Wild Swans. The story begins in the mid-1850s when the Emperor chooses some concubines. The Empress Cixi dies in 1908 so her story is also the story of China for the years that she lived. It is a very interesting story, almost reads like a suspense novel as the reader is always thinking - what will happen next? The Empress has a lot to deal with during her life including foreign invasions, assassination attempts, weak Emperors, political machinations. I knew nothing of this story and am very pleased to have learned about it. The writing is excellent and compelling, not at all dry. Anyone interested in history would enjoy this book. Highly recommended. 41/2/5.Thursday, August 25, 2016
Empress Dowager Cixi
I very much enjoyed Empress Dowager Cixi by Jung Chang which is a biography of the last empress of China. This story is well-researched by the author who wrote Wild Swans. The story begins in the mid-1850s when the Emperor chooses some concubines. The Empress Cixi dies in 1908 so her story is also the story of China for the years that she lived. It is a very interesting story, almost reads like a suspense novel as the reader is always thinking - what will happen next? The Empress has a lot to deal with during her life including foreign invasions, assassination attempts, weak Emperors, political machinations. I knew nothing of this story and am very pleased to have learned about it. The writing is excellent and compelling, not at all dry. Anyone interested in history would enjoy this book. Highly recommended. 41/2/5.
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