Imperialism in China

Biography - Empress Dowager Tsu Hsi (China)

Tsu Hsi was born to a noble family in China in 1835. Very little is known about her childhood because the Imperial Chinese policy forbade the publication of personal details of the Imperial (royal) family. When she was fourteen she was chosen to be the emperor Xianfeng’s concubine (official mistress). Xianfeng had one wife, two consorts, and eleven concubines. In 1856, Tsu Hsi gave birth to a birth to a boy named Zaichun. Zaichun was the emperor’s only son. The emperor died shortly after without naming an heir. Tsu Hsi made sure that her 5-year-old son was named the new emperor. At this point, Tsu Hsi became the Empress Dowager becuase she was the mother so she was given power to assist the child emperor. However, she shared this power with several government ministers. Several of these ministers opposed Tsu Hsi and tried to take away her power. Tsu Hsi turned the imperial family against these ministers and had them beheaded.

At this point, Tsu Hsi basically became the leader of China by ruling in the name of her son. This was a hard time for China because it was forced to pay the Europeans for the cost of the Second Opium War (which it had lost) and for putting down the Taiping Rebellion, which was being fought in southern China. Tsu Hsi lead the Chinese government through these problems. Then in 1875, the 18-year-old emperor (her son) died without an heir. Tsu Hsi chose her sister’s 4-year-old son, named Guangxu, to be the emperor and she continued to rule in his name.

In 1887, Guangxu took power as emperor, but he ruled under Tsu Hsi’s supervision. Guangxu wanted to reform (change) the Chinese government and modernize it. After China lost a war to Japan, Guangxu began to carry out his planned reforms. These reforms resulted in many government officials losing their jobs. These officials asked Tsu Hsi to help them to block the reforms so they could get their jobs back. In 1898, Tsu Hsi, with the support of these officials and the army, removed Guangxu from power, but kept him as emperor. Tsu Hsi again ruled China.

In 1900, the Chinese people rose in the Boxer Rebellion against the Europeans who had take control across many parts of China. The Boxers (rebels) attacked Europeans across China and any Chinese person who had become Christian. Tsu Hsi supported the rebellion when they attacked Europeans living in the capital of Beijing. In response to the rebellion, the Europeans invaded China with an army that captured Beijing. Tsu Hsi fled Beijing dressed as a peasant. However, she quickly made peace with the Europeans and returned to rule in Beijing in 1902. After this, she tried to start the process of reforming China, even though she had earlier opposed Guangxu's reforms. This was a case of too little too late. In 1908, Tsu Hsi died one day after Guangxu died and a two-year-old named Puyi became emperor.

Map and Graph of British Opium Imports to China