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Su Shi (Su Dongpo)

2012-03-05T03:07:42Z

69.169.132.20:

[[File:0023ae9897010e0b915f53.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. China Daily]]

== Introduction ==

''To what can our life on earth be likened?''

''To a flock of geese,''
''alighting on the snow.''

''Sometimes leaving a trace of their passage.''

(Su Shi, Su Shi Poetry)

Enjoying a remarkable level of fame in my life, I am still often referred to as the greatest writer of the period. I was a man of many talents; I was a writer, poet of many forms, artist, calligrapher, pharmacologist, and statesman of the Song Dynasty. However, if you will listen to my story, you will see that I was an ordinary man whose greatest talent came from the desire to try what nobody else has attempted, without being tied down to the expectations of the time. I was born in 1037, to a family of scholars; my father and elder brother were both renowned literati, and my good mother instructed me herself for which I am very much indebted. The name given to me at birth was Su Shi, but I was also in possession of a courtesy name, Zizhan (子瞻), as well as a pseudonym, Dongpo Jushi (东坡居士 “Dongpo Householder”), but I was often referred to simply as Su Dongpo. At the age of 19, I passed the Jinshi exam with my elder brother with honors and got taken on as an apprentice by Ouyang Xiu. I acquired various political posts, but I did not advance far in my career for I could not keep my mouth shut when I saw a wrong being perpetrated, and I was demoted and exiled multiple times for my pains. I finally died in 1101, having been pardoned for the last time from my exiled and on my way to my newest post from which I am sure I would have been demoted from eventually if my old body had not given out beforehand. ("Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius")

== Writing Style ==

Perhaps it was due to my overly abundant ego, but I loved to write autobiographically; for who could be a more interesting subject then myself?
I did not only look introspectively, however, but I opened my mind to the outside world and gained inspiration from it '''(Source)'''.

My writings and calligraphy brought me much fame and wealth, but my outspoken manner and staunch beliefs led my pen to flow too freely with constructive criticisms of the current regime, and in particular of Wang Anshi and his "New Policies" which I saw as progress in the wrong direction(Egan 2010, p 410). After years of striving to improve China and the Chinese Government, I had gotten nowhere. Not in the literal sense, mind you, for my political commentaries had got me sent all around the country of China as a convicted criminal and I became quite the expert on the topographical features of China. What I mean is that the the leaders of China would rather send me hiking across the country or imprison me in a cell, then enforce any of the measures that I prescribed. No matter what I wrote, China would never change. I wrote sardonically of the matter once, when one of my wives gave birth to a son:

''Families, when a child is born''

''Want it to be intelligent.''

''I, through intelligence,''

''Having wrecked my whole life,''

''Only hope the baby will prove''

''Ignorant and stupid.''

''Then he will crown a tranquil life''

''By becoming a Cabinet Minister.''

(Su Shi, "On the Birth of His Son”)

Happiness does not require fortune or fame; I was not worried for my son's material comfort, but rather, I was worried about what mental pain and frustration my son would have to endure if he inherited his old man's rebellious spirit. What has China come to that the ignorant hold power and the enlightened must hide their pens in fear of reprisal?

== Finding Meaning in Even the Meanest Life ==

Please do not misunderstand my embittered words just now. I was no despairing poet, cursing my rotten luck and complaining to the world about my pitiful state '''(Source:)'''. No, I always found happiness wherever I was situated, just as the many inhabitants who dwelled their before me, content in their lives; simple folk, who understood the joys that even hard work and cold winter nights can bring. I even acquired my pseudonym, Dongpo (Eastern Slope), from the hill to which I was banished to for the first time for my overenthusiastic criticisms of Wang Anshi ("Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius"). I would build my house, wear simple clothes and work in the field with every other man, and take up my pen when I had time, to write of the many insights I had acquired through my new-found way of life '''(Source:)'''. Even when I was alone to return from exile, it was only at the price of being yet again torn away from a home in which I had experienced many periods of peace and pleasure, so that the closer I got to my home, the farther I moved from it. Twelve times I was exiled (Barnstone), and each time it got harder to leave my doorstep and start anew.

== No One Way ==

Believed that there was no one “right” way, but that everyone must find their own path. What was the point of sticking so rigidly to any one form that your thoughts got lost and your words distorted and strained in the process? The ideal of writing is constantly changing and time onwards, so why should one stick to an ideal which will surely become labeled by the "enlightened" scholars of the next age as flawed and obsolete? It is better far not to constrain yourself to expectations of the men around you who may very well be idiots.

[[File:Picture6.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa ]]

== Learning of My Follies ==

Due to my accomplishments with the pen and my unique philosophy, many would praise me as one of the wisest among men; the ideal scholar and author. But those close to me knew better. My dear friend Fo Yin, so much wiser than I by far, my beloved wife who I found that I could not function properly without; these people saw my follies and my flaws, and never failed to point them out to me one after the other. I will never forget one day when I was feeling particularly pleased with my accomplishments and sent a self-laudatory poem to Fo Yin in hopes of impressing him with my wisdom as well. The poem that I sent him went thus:

稽首天中天，

毫光照大千；

八风吹不动，

端坐紫金莲。

''I bow my head to the heaven within heaven,''

''Hairline rays illuminating the universe,''
''The eight winds cannot move me,''

''Sitting still upon the purple golden lotus.''

I hoped to show through my eloquent writing, that I had moved beyond the eight forces that usually controlled man: praise (称), ridicule (讥), honor (誉), disgrace (毁), gain (得), loss (失), pleasure (乐) and misery (苦), and that I had achieved a sort of state of enlightenment. My friend, a zen master himself, knew the meaning of my words better than I did and sent back a single word in reply: fart. Enraged at this uncaring insult from a long-time friend, I prepared a boat and sailed across the lake separating our houses, pounding on his door and demanding an audience. What I got was a letter written by Fo Yin and addressed to myself:

八风吹不动，

一屁弹过江。

''The eight winds cannot move me,''

''One fart blows me across the river''

I realized how foolish and arrogant I had been to think that I was unmovable by worldly thoughts. In two short lines, Fo Yin had shown me that I was just as susceptible to the blowing of the eight winds as any man was(History – Anecdotes).

[[File:Picture2.gif|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Great Wall Vacation]]

== My Family ==

I married my first wive, Wang Fu, when I was 19 years of age and she 16. She was kind and caring, but just as quick as my old friend Fo Yin at demolishing me on my idiocies. Wang Fu died at the age of 26 after giving birth to my first son, Su Mai. Ten years after her death, I dreamed of my dear wife and felt as if my heart was breaking anew ("Su Shi." Absoluteastronomy.com).

In my sorrow, I wrote this poem:

:《江城子•乙卯正月二十日夜記夢》

十年生死兩茫茫，

不思量，自難忘。

千里孤墳，無處話淒涼。

縱使相逢應不識，

塵滿面，鬢如霜。

夜來幽夢忽還鄉，

小軒窗，正梳妝。

相顧無言，惟有淚千行。

料得年年腸斷處，

明月夜，短松岡。

(Su Shi, “Dreaming”)

:'''"Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month"'''

''Ten years living and dead have drawn apart''

''I do nothing to remember''
''But I cannot forget''

''Your lonely grave a thousand miles away...''

''Nowhere can I talk of my sorrow -''

''Even if we met, how would you know me''

''My face full of dust''

''My hair like snow? In the dark of night, a dream: suddenly, I am home''

''You by the window''

''Doing your hair''

''I look at you and cannot speak''

''Your face is streaked by endless tears''

''Year after year must they break my heart''

''These moonlit nights?''

''That low pine grave?''

(History – Literature)

Two years after Wang Fu's death, I married the young cousin of my my deceased wife, Wang Runzhi, who resembled her very much. She followed me dutifully as I got myself expelled, welcomed back, and expelled in a never ending circle. In addition to raising Su Mai with tender care, She bore me two sons of her own, Su Dai and Su Guo. A fortunate man, I had the honor of being told off by my second wife as well. One day during my exile, I was feeling particularly put upon by the world, and had lost my temper with one of my sons who did not yet understand the cruelty of the world. I recorded the scolding I received from my wife in this little poem:

:《小兒》

小兒不識愁，

起坐牽我衣。

我欲嗔小兒，

老妻勸兒癡。

兒癡君更甚，

不樂復何為？

還坐愧此言，

洗盞當我前。

大勝劉伶婦，

區區為酒錢。

:'''"My Young Son"'''

''My young son knows no grief:''

''he tagged at my garment upon sitting upright.''

''I was just about to lose my temper''

''when my old wife chided the boy for being silly.''

''"But my husband's sillier than the son," she said.''

''"why not just be happy?"''

''I sat upright, embarrassed by her words;''

''she placed a washed wine cup before me.''

''She's far better than Liu Ling's wife''

''who got mad with her husband for spending on wine!''

("Su Shi." Absoluteastronomy.com)

My happiness was not to last yet again, as Wang Runzhi died at 46. I requested to be buried beside my second wife, and waited until the time when we would be reunited ("Su Shi." Absoluteastronomy.com).

My final companion was my concubine, Wang Zhaoyun, my former handmaiden and a singer who not only possessed the virtue of beauty, but was blessed with the infinitely superior virtue of a quick and eager mind, having taught herself how to read. She bore me a son, Su Dun, as well, but both were fated to die; Wang Zhaoyun of an illness at 33, and Su Dun while he was still still in infancy ("Su Shi." Absoluteastronomy.com).

Perhaps, through my own willful selfishness, I had put both of my wives through too much hardship, and the life got sucked out of them while I continued to live heartily until the age of 66.

== A Renaissance Man ==

[[File:Su Shi painting.jpg|300px|thumb|right| A painting by yours truly (Source: The Painting Scroll of a Withered Tree and a Queer Rock)]]

'''Painting'''

I took joy in many activities, not constraining myself simply to poetry as many were prone to doing at the time; I also loved to paint and contributed greatly to the painting style of the Song period (Min Xu). I would often paint the beauties of nature as I saw them around me; from the tiniest of flowers hiding in the shadow of an elm, to the bird which can fly perhaps a thousand li in the sky where my eyes can no longer discern it (Min Xu). Many youth saw what I was doing and copied my actions (Min Xu). Although I was happy that they were moving down a path of learning and excellence, I wished they could have acted more for themselves and not tried to become Su Shis in Miniature.

[[File:Dongpo Pork.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Delicious Dongpo pork. Doesn't looking at it make your mouth water? (Source: "Dongpo Pork")]]

'''Cooking'''

I also excelled in the delicious arts of cooking, wine making, and perhaps my favorite, tea tasting (Min Xu). If you could ever have tasted my recipes of "Dongpo Fish" or "Dongpo Pork," you would understand that I am not exaggerating when I say that my skills with herbs and meat equaled my skills with pen and ink. You may think it foolish of me, but I also had a curiosity concerning alchemy, and I would sometimes spend long hours concocting elixirs of immortality; none of which were successful, I am sad to admit (Min Xu).

[[File:Picture4.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Cultural China]]

'''Poetry'''

Within poetry and literature, I did not constrain myself to any one form or style, but amused myself with the perfection of every style. Within the realm of poetry, I perfected shi, ci, and fu. I wrote poems to accompany paintings, both my own and others. I even constructed my own form of Ci called "heroic abandon" (豪放詞), in which I ignored traditional themes such as moods and feelings as well as the stringent rules which regulate ci such as musical modes and harmonies. I simply did not find it necessary to contain myself with strict rules and regulations when writing my verses. There is much to be learned from past poets, but there is no reason not to take these lessons and then advance on with them, adding your own knowledge and experience along the way (Theobald 2000).

'''Travel Literature'''

My constant state of exile also allowed me the happy privilege of being able to contribute greatly to the genre of "travel literature" by writing a series of "daytrip essays"("The Life of Su Dongpo" 2010). Many other men of the time allowed themselves to become embittered and self-pitying when forced into exile, even when they had known full well of the consequences of the provocative actions they had themselves chosen to commit. I was not without my own periods of moping and complaining to be sure, but I did not allow myself to stay in this state indefinitely, always blaming others when it was my own foolish self who had gotten my bum shipped off to the middle of nowhere. I opened my eyes to the possibilities for enlightenment and joy that my new habitat offered, and found that there was as much room for artistic expression in a hovel as in the Forbidden Palace itself (Egan 2010).

My natural curiosity lead me down many paths that others would not look at twice. I recorded one such instance in my "Record of Stone Bell Mountain" in which I discovered for myself the truth of the legend of stone said to ring like bells at Stone Bell Mountain:

:The Waterway Classic says: "At the mouth of a Pengli [Lake] there is a Stone Bell Mountain." Li Daoyuan (d. 527) held that "below it, near a :deep pool, faint breezes drum up waves, and water and rocks striking one another toll like huge bells." Others have often doubted this claim. :Today, if one takes a bell or a lithophone and places it into the water, even if there is great wind and waves, you cannot make it ring. How :much the less, then, for [common] rocks? It was not until the time of Li Bo [9th century, not the famous Li Bo, or Li Bai] of the Tang that :someone searched for a surviving trace of this phenomenon. Upon finding a pair of rocks on the bank of a pool, he knocked them together and :listened. Their southern tone was mellow and muted; their northern timber was clear and shrill. When the clang ceased, its resonance mounted; :the remnant notes then gradually came to rest. Li Bo then held that he had found the 'stone bells'. However, I am especially doubtful of this :statement. The clanking sound made by rocks is the same everywhere. And yet, this place alone is named after a bell. Why, indeed, is that?

:On Dingchou day of the sixth lunar month in the seventh year of the Prime Abundance period (July 14, 1084), I was traveling by boat from :Qi'an (Huanggang, Hubei) to Linru (Linru, Henan). My oldest son [Su] Mai was just about to leave for Dexing in Rao to take up the post of :Pacificator. Since I accompanied him as far as Hukou (modern Hukou, Jiangxi), I was able to observe the so-called stone bells. A monk from a :[nearby] monastery dispatched an apprentice carrying an axe to select one or two among the scattered rocks and knock them [with an axe], upon :which they made a 'gong-gong'-like sound. I laughed just as I had done before and still did not believe the legend.

:That evening, the moon was bright. Alone with Mai I rode a little boat to the base of a steep precipice. The huge rocks on our flank stood :1000 feet high (304 m). They looked like fierce beasts and weird goblins, lurking in a ghastly manner and getting ready to attack us. When :the roosting falcons on the mountain heard our voices they too flew off in fright, cawing and crying in the cloudy empyrean. Further, there :was something [that sounded] like an old man coughing and laughing in a mountain ravine. Someone said: "That is a white stork." I was :shaking with fear and about to turn back, when a loud noise rang out from the surface of the water that gonged and bonged like bells and :drums unceasing in their clamor. The boatmen became greatly alarmed. I carefully investigated it, only to discover that everywhere below the :mountain there are rocky caves and fissures, who knows how deep. Gentle waves were pouring into them, and their shaking and seething, and :chopping and knocking were making this gonging and bonging. When our boat on its return reached a point between the two mountains and we :were about to enter the mouth of the inlet, [I saw that] there was a huge rock in the middle of the channel which could seat a hundred :people. It was hollow in the center with numerous apertures, which, as they swallowed and spat with the wind and water, made a bumping and :thumping and clashing and bashing that echoed with the earlier gonging and bonging. It seemed as if music was being played here. Thereupon, :I laughed and said to Mai: "Do you recognize it? The gonging and bonging is the Wuyi bell of King Jing of Zhou; the bumping and thumping and :clashing and bashing are the song-bells of Wei Zhuangzi [a.k.a. Wei Jiang; 6th century BC military advisor]. The ancients [i.e. Li Daoyuan :and Li Bo] have not cheated us!

:Is it acceptable for someone who has not personally seen or heard something to have decided views on whether it exists or not? Li Daoyuan :probably saw and heard the same things as I did, yet he decided not to describe them in detail. Gentlemen-officials have always been :unwilling to take a small boat and moor it beneath the steep precipice at night. Thus, none were able to find out [about the bells]. And, :although the fishermen and boatmen knew about them, they were unable to describe them [in writing]. This is why it has not been transmitted :through the generations. As it turns out, imbeciles sought the answer by taking axes and beating and striking rocks. Then they held that they :had found out the truth of the matter. Because of this I have made a record of these events, for the most part to sigh over Li Daoyuan's :superficiality, and to laugh at Li Bo's stupidity!

:("Su Shi." Absoluteastronomy.com)

[[File:Picture5.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi]]

=="Red Cliffs Rhapsody"==

My best known work is perhaps the "Red Cliffs Rhapsody" (Chibifu), which children in China are still made to read today. This tale chronicles the battle of the Red Cliffs that were staged between the southern generals Liu Bei and Su Quan and the northern general Cao Cao in AD 208-209 ("The Life of Su Dongpo" 2010). It is the sort of tale that everyone loves in which a a greatly outnumbered hero conquers its larger foe against all odds.

The "Red Cliff Rhapsody" also contained quiet philosophic moments. I recounted a quiet boat ride with a guest around the cite of the epic battle. My guest played a mournful tune on his flute. When I asked him why he played so, he answered me thus:

:"isn’t this the place where Cao was beseiged by Zhou Yu? Cao had just broken Jingzhou, and was going to Jiangling, sailing west with the flow :of the river. His boats prow to stern stretched for a thousand miles, and his flags and banners blocked the sky. Pouring wine, looking down :on the river, chanting poems with a spear across his knees, he was indeed a hero of his times; but today, where is he? And how about you and :I, fishermen and woodcutters on the islets in the river, taking the fish and shrimp and deer as our companions, and riding in a leaf of a :boat, raising gourds as our goblets and drinking to each other? Entrusted like flies to heaven and earth, as tiny as one grain in a vast :ocean. I grieve at my life’s shortness, and envy how the Great River is infinite. I want to fly with the immortals and roam the vastness, :embrace the moon and live forever. I know that I cannot quickly achieve this, and I entrusted these sounds to the sad wind.”

:“Have you really understood the water and the moon?” I said. “The one streams past so swiftly yet is never gone; the other for ever waxes and :wanes yet finally has never grown nor diminished. For if you look at the aspect which changes, heaven and earth cannot last for one blink; :but if you look at the aspect which is changeless, the worlds within and outside you are both inexhaustible, and what reasons have you to :envy anything?

:“Moreover, each thing between heaven and earth has its owner, and even one hair which is not mine I can never make part of me. Only the cool :wind on the river, or the full moon in the mountains, caught by the ear becomes a sound, or met by the eye changes to colour; no one forbids :me to make it mine, no limit is set to the use of it; this is the inexhaustible treasury of the creator of things, and you and I can share in :the joy of it.”

:The guest smiled, consoled. We washed the cups and poured more wine. After the nuts and savouries were finished, and the wine‑cups and dishes :lay scattered around, we leaned pillowed back to back in the middle of the boat, and did not notice when the sky turned white in the east.

:(Su Shi, "EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF”)

== Dreaming of the Moon ==

I wrote several other pieces with the moon as my subject, dreaming of a world forever outside my grasp but always visible in the night sky:

'''The Moon Festival'''

''When will the moon be clear and bright?''

''With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the blue sky.''

''I don't know what season it would be in the heavens on this night.''

''I'd like to ride the wind to fly home.''

''Yet I fear the crystal and jade mansions are much too high and cold for me.''

''Dancing with my moon-lit shadow,''

''It does not seem like the human world.''

''The moon rounds the red mansion stoops to silk-pad doors,''

''Shines upon the sleepless Bearing no grudge,''

''Why does the moon tend to be full when people are apart?''

''People may have sorrow or joy, be near or far apart,''

''The moon may be dim or bright, wax or wane,''

''This has been going on since the beginning of time.''

''May we all be blessed with longevity though far apart,''

''We are still able to share the beauty of the moon together.''

(Su Shi, "Poem about the Moon")

== Forward is Backward and Backward is Forward ==

Here are two poems which are actually a single poem that can be read either forwards or backwards, reversing the order of events and creating a whole new story. Every event can be looked at from another angle. the moment you think you have understood everything, is the moment that you understand nothing at all.

'''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (I)'''

''Tides follow hidden waves. The snow mountain tilts.''

''Distant fishing boats are hooking the moonlight.''

''A bridge faces the temple gate. The pine path is narrow.''

''By the doorsill is the fountain's eye where stone ripples transparently.''

''Far, far green trees the river sky is dawning.''

''Cloudy, cloudy scarlet afterglow. The sea is sun bright.''

''View of the distance: four horizons of clouds join the water.''

''Blue peaks are a thousand dots. A few weightless gulls.''

---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping (Barnstone)

'''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (II)'''

''Gulls are weightless, a few dots. A thousand peaks are blue.''

''Water joins the clouds' edges in four distant views.''

''Bright day. Sea glows with scarlet clouds on clouds.''

''Dawning sky and river trees are green, and far, far.''

''Transparent ripples from the stone eye: fountain by the doorsill.''

''A narrow path and pine gate where the temple faces the bridge.''

''A bright moon hooks boats. Fishing waters are distant.''

''A tilted mountain is a snow wave, secretly following tides.''

---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping (Barnstone)

== Conclusion ==

I have laid bear my whole life's story. You have seen my triumphs and my follies, my joys and my sorrows, and I hope that you have come to understand one very important fact that a few of my admirers may have forgotten to mention; I was simply a man. I was in possession of no extraordinary powers of perception or expression which no one else could acquire. My skills were earned through simple hard work and determination, which anyone can practice if they have the mind to set about it. My one happy virtue was my simple curiosity for everything new or old; I would investigate everything, looking at it from all angles for an aspect that everyone just happened to miss. The other distinguishing feature of my personality that has set me apart from many of the time, is not a virtue I am afraid, but a fault; my blatant stupidity. I was unable to keep my mouth closed, even at the most crucial of times, and so I was thrown into a variety of unique atmospheres to help with my writing. Once I was in those unique places, I was too stupid to realize my mistakes and learn from my misfortune, but I fancied myself happy. And finally, when I was recording all of my thoughts and experiences, I was too foolish and self-important to stick to the forms and subject matter prescribed by the ancient poets and philosophers, but like a simpleton, I deviated and wrote whatever popped into my head in whatever form it presented itself. No, I was no genius, I was a simple man who loved to write on a hill named Dongpo.

[[File:Picture1.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph 2. Cultural China]]

----

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"The Life of Su Dongpo." China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm>.

Theobald, Ulrich. "Chinese History - Song Dynasty 宋 (960-1279) Literature, Thought and Philosophy." Chinaknowledge.de. 2000. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. <http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Song/song-literature.html>.

The Painting Scroll of a Withered Tree and a Queer Rock. Photograph. Cultural-china.com. Shanghai News, Press Bureau, Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, and One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 3 Mar. 2012. <http://www.cultural-china.com/chinaWH/html/en/History147bye6243.html>.

Su Shi (Su Dongpo)

2012-03-04T23:26:56Z

69.169.132.20:

[[File:0023ae9897010e0b915f53.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. China Daily]]

== Introduction ==

''To what can our life on earth be likened?''

''To a flock of geese,''
''alighting on the snow.''

''Sometimes leaving a trace of their passage.''

(Su Shi, Su Shi Poetry)

Enjoying a remarkable level of fame in my life, I am still often referred to as the greatest writer of the period. I was a man of many talents; I was a writer, poet of many forms, artist, calligrapher, pharmacologist, and statesman of the Song Dynasty. However, if you will listen to my story, you will see that I was an ordinary man whose greatest talent came from the desire to try what nobody else has attempted, without being tied down to the expectations of the time. I was born in 1037, to a family of scholars; my father and elder brother were both renowned literati, and my good mother instructed me herself for which I am very much indebted. The name given to me at birth was Su Shi, but I was also in possession of a courtesy name, Zizhan (子瞻), as well as a pseudonym, Dongpo Jushi (东坡居士 “Dongpo Householder”), but I was often referred to simply as Su Dongpo. At the age of 19, I passed the Jinshi exam with my elder brother with honors and got taken on as an apprentice by Ouyang Xiu. I acquired various political posts, but I did not advance far in my career for I could not keep my mouth shut when I saw a wrong being perpetrated, and I was demoted and exiled multiple times for my pains. I finally died in 1101, having been pardoned for the last time from my exiled and on my way to my newest post from which I am sure I would have been demoted from eventually if my old body had not given out beforehand. ("Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius")

== Writing Style ==

Perhaps it was due to my overly abundant ego, but I loved to write autobiographically; for who could be a more interesting subject then myself?
I did not only look introspectively, however, but I opened my mind to the outside world and gained inspiration from it '''(Source)'''.

My writings and calligraphy brought me much fame and wealth, but my outspoken manner and staunch beliefs led my pen to flow too freely with constructive criticisms of the current regime, and in particular of Wang Anshi and his "New Policies" which I saw as progress in the wrong direction(Egan 2010, p 410). After years of striving to improve China and the Chinese Government, I had gotten nowhere. Not in the literal sense, mind you, for my political commentaries had got me sent all around the country of China as a convicted criminal and I became quite the expert on the topographical features of China. What I mean is that the the leaders of China would rather send me hiking across the country or imprison me in a cell, then enforce any of the measures that I prescribed. No matter what I wrote, China would never change. I wrote sardonically of the matter once, when one of my wives gave birth to a son:

''Families, when a child is born''

''Want it to be intelligent.''

''I, through intelligence,''

''Having wrecked my whole life,''

''Only hope the baby will prove''

''Ignorant and stupid.''

''Then he will crown a tranquil life''

''By becoming a Cabinet Minister.''

(Su Shi, "On the Birth of His Son”)

Happiness does not require fortune or fame; I was not worried for my son's material comfort, but rather, I was worried about what mental pain and frustration my son would have to endure if he inherited his old man's rebellious spirit. What has China come to that the ignorant hold power and the enlightened must hide their pens in fear of reprisal?

== Finding Meaning in Even the Meanest Life ==

Please do not misunderstand my embittered words just now. I was no despairing poet, cursing my rotten luck and complaining to the world about my pitiful state '''(Source:)'''. No, I always found happiness wherever I was situated, just as the many inhabitants who dwelled their before me, content in their lives; simple folk, who understood the joys that even hard work and cold winter nights can bring. I even acquired my pseudonym, Dongpo (Eastern Slope), from the hill to which I was banished to for the first time for my overenthusiastic criticisms of Wang Anshi ("Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius"). I would build my house, wear simple clothes and work in the field with every other man, and take up my pen when I had time, to write of the many insights I had acquired through my new-found way of life '''(Source:)'''. Even when I was alone to return from exile, it was only at the price of being yet again torn away from a home in which I had experienced many periods of peace and pleasure, so that the closer I got to my home, the farther I moved from it. Twelve times I was exiled (Barnstone), and each time it got harder to leave my doorstep and start anew.

== No One Way ==

Believed that there was no one “right” way, but that everyone must find their own path. What was the point of sticking so rigidly to any one form that your thoughts got lost and your words distorted and strained in the process? The ideal of writing is constantly changing and time onwards, so why should one stick to an ideal which will surely become labeled by the "enlightened" scholars of the next age as flawed and obsolete? It is better far not to constrain yourself to expectations of the men around you who may very well be idiots.

[[File:Picture6.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa ]]

== Learning of My Follies ==

Due to my accomplishments with the pen and my unique philosophy, many would praise me as one of the wisest among men; the ideal scholar and author. But those close to me knew better. My dear friend Fo Yin, so much wiser than I by far, my beloved wife who I found that I could not function properly without; these people saw my follies and my flaws, and never failed to point them out to me one after the other. I will never forget one day when I was feeling particularly pleased with my accomplishments and sent a self-laudatory poem to Fo Yin in hopes of impressing him with my wisdom as well. The poem that I sent him went thus:

稽首天中天，

毫光照大千；

八风吹不动，

端坐紫金莲。

''I bow my head to the heaven within heaven,''

''Hairline rays illuminating the universe,''
''The eight winds cannot move me,''

''Sitting still upon the purple golden lotus.''

I hoped to show through my eloquent writing, that I had moved beyond the eight forces that usually controlled man: praise (称), ridicule (讥), honor (誉), disgrace (毁), gain (得), loss (失), pleasure (乐) and misery (苦), and that I had achieved a sort of state of enlightenment. My friend, a zen master himself, knew the meaning of my words better than I did and sent back a single word in reply: fart. Enraged at this uncaring insult from a long-time friend, I prepared a boat and sailed across the lake separating our houses, pounding on his door and demanding an audience. What I got was a letter written by Fo Yin and addressed to myself:

八风吹不动，

一屁弹过江。

''The eight winds cannot move me,''

''One fart blows me across the river''

I realized how foolish and arrogant I had been to think that I was unmovable by worldly thoughts. In two short lines, Fo Yin had shown me that I was just as susceptible to the blowing of the eight winds as any man was(History – Anecdotes).

[[File:Picture2.gif|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Great Wall Vacation]]

== My Family ==

I married my first wive, Wang Fu, when I was 19 years of age and she 16. She was kind and caring, but just as quick as my old friend Fo Yin at demolishing me on my idiocies. Wang Fu died at the age of 26 after giving birth to my first son, Su Mai. Ten years after her death, I dreamed of my dear wife and felt as if my heart was breaking anew ("Su Shi." Absoluteastronomy.com).

In my sorrow, I wrote this poem:

:《江城子•乙卯正月二十日夜記夢》

十年生死兩茫茫，

不思量，自難忘。

千里孤墳，無處話淒涼。

縱使相逢應不識，

塵滿面，鬢如霜。

夜來幽夢忽還鄉，

小軒窗，正梳妝。

相顧無言，惟有淚千行。

料得年年腸斷處，

明月夜，短松岡。

(Su Shi, “Dreaming”)

:'''"Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month"'''

''Ten years living and dead have drawn apart''

''I do nothing to remember''
''But I cannot forget''

''Your lonely grave a thousand miles away...''

''Nowhere can I talk of my sorrow -''

''Even if we met, how would you know me''

''My face full of dust''

''My hair like snow? In the dark of night, a dream: suddenly, I am home''

''You by the window''

''Doing your hair''

''I look at you and cannot speak''

''Your face is streaked by endless tears''

''Year after year must they break my heart''

''These moonlit nights?''

''That low pine grave?''

(History – Literature)

Two years after Wang Fu's death, I married the young cousin of my my deceased wife, Wang Runzhi, who resembled her very much. She followed me dutifully as I got myself expelled, welcomed back, and expelled in a never ending circle. In addition to raising Su Mai with tender care, She bore me two sons of her own, Su Dai and Su Guo. A fortunate man, I had the honor of being told off by my second wife as well. One day during my exile, I was feeling particularly put upon by the world, and had lost my temper with one of my sons who did not yet understand the cruelty of the world. I recorded the scolding I received from my wife in this little poem:

:《小兒》

小兒不識愁，

起坐牽我衣。

我欲嗔小兒，

老妻勸兒癡。

兒癡君更甚，

不樂復何為？

還坐愧此言，

洗盞當我前。

大勝劉伶婦，

區區為酒錢。

:'''"My Young Son"'''

''My young son knows no grief:''

''he tagged at my garment upon sitting upright.''

''I was just about to lose my temper''

''when my old wife chided the boy for being silly.''

''"But my husband's sillier than the son," she said.''

''"why not just be happy?"''

''I sat upright, embarrassed by her words;''

''she placed a washed wine cup before me.''

''She's far better than Liu Ling's wife''

''who got mad with her husband for spending on wine!''

("Su Shi." Absoluteastronomy.com)

My happiness was not to last yet again, as Wang Runzhi died at 46. I requested to be buried beside my second wife, and waited until the time when we would be reunited ("Su Shi." Absoluteastronomy.com).

My final companion was my concubine, Wang Zhaoyun, my former handmaiden and a singer who not only possessed the virtue of beauty, but was blessed with the infinitely superior virtue of a quick and eager mind, having taught herself how to read. She bore me a son, Su Dun, as well, but both were fated to die; Wang Zhaoyun of an illness at 33, and Su Dun while he was still still in infancy ("Su Shi." Absoluteastronomy.com).

Perhaps, through my own willful selfishness, I had put both of my wives through too much hardship, and the life got sucked out of them while I continued to live heartily until the age of 66.

== A Renaissance Man ==

[[File:Su Shi painting.jpg|300px|thumb|right| A painting by yours truly (Source: The Painting Scroll of a Withered Tree and a Queer Rock)]]

'''Painting'''

I took joy in many activities, not constraining myself simply to poetry as many were prone to doing at the time; I also loved to paint and contributed greatly to the painting style of the Song period (Min Xu). I would often paint the beauties of nature as I saw them around me; from the tiniest of flowers hiding in the shadow of an elm, to the bird which can fly perhaps a thousand li in the sky where my eyes can no longer discern it (Min Xu). Many youth saw what I was doing and copied my actions (Min Xu). Although I was happy that they were moving down a path of learning and excellence, I wished they could have acted more for themselves and not tried to become Su Shis in Miniature.

[[File:Dongpo Pork.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Delicious Dongpo pork. Doesn't looking at it make your mouth water? (Source: "Dongpo Pork")]]

'''Cooking'''

I also excelled in the delicious arts of cooking, wine making, and perhaps my favorite, tea tasting (Min Xu). If you could ever have tasted my recipes of "Dongpo Fish" or "Dongpo Pork," you would understand that I am not exaggerating when I say that my skills with herbs and meat equaled my skills with pen and ink. You may think it foolish of me, but I also had a curiosity concerning alchemy, and I would sometimes spend long hours concocting elixirs of immortality; none of which were successful, I am sad to admit (Min Xu).

[[File:Picture4.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Cultural China]]

'''Poetry'''

Within poetry and literature, I did not constrain myself to any one form or style, but amused myself with the perfection of every style. Within the realm of poetry, I perfected shi, ci, and fu. I wrote poems to accompany paintings, both my own and others. I even constructed my own form of Ci called "heroic abandon" (豪放詞), in which I ignored traditional themes such as moods and feelings as well as the stringent rules which regulate ci such as musical modes and harmonies. I simply did not find it necessary to contain myself with strict rules and regulations when writing my verses. There is much to be learned from past poets, but there is no reason not to take these lessons and then advance on with them, adding your own knowledge and experience along the way (Theobald 2000).

'''Travel Literature'''

My constant state of exile also allowed me the happy privilege of being able to contribute greatly to the genre of "travel literature" by writing a series of "daytrip essays"("The Life of Su Dongpo" 2010). Many other men of the time allowed themselves to become embittered and self-pitying when forced into exile, even when they had known full well of the consequences of the provocative actions they had themselves chosen to commit. I was not without my own periods of moping and complaining to be sure, but I did not allow myself to stay in this state indefinitely, always blaming others when it was my own foolish self who had gotten my bum shipped off to the middle of nowhere. I opened my eyes to the possibilities for enlightenment and joy that my new habitat offered, and found that there was as much room for artistic expression in a hovel as in the Forbidden Palace itself (Egan 2010).

My natural curiosity lead me down many paths that others would not look at twice. I recorded one such instance in my "Record of Stone Bell Mountain" in which I discovered for myself the truth of the legend of stone said to ring like bells at Stone Bell Mountain:

:The Waterway Classic says: "At the mouth of a Pengli [Lake] there is a Stone Bell Mountain." Li Daoyuan (d. 527) held that "below it, near a :deep pool, faint breezes drum up waves, and water and rocks striking one another toll like huge bells." Others have often doubted this claim. :Today, if one takes a bell or a lithophone and places it into the water, even if there is great wind and waves, you cannot make it ring. How :much the less, then, for [common] rocks? It was not until the time of Li Bo [9th century, not the famous Li Bo, or Li Bai] of the Tang that :someone searched for a surviving trace of this phenomenon. Upon finding a pair of rocks on the bank of a pool, he knocked them together and :listened. Their southern tone was mellow and muted; their northern timber was clear and shrill. When the clang ceased, its resonance mounted; :the remnant notes then gradually came to rest. Li Bo then held that he had found the 'stone bells'. However, I am especially doubtful of this :statement. The clanking sound made by rocks is the same everywhere. And yet, this place alone is named after a bell. Why, indeed, is that?

:On Dingchou day of the sixth lunar month in the seventh year of the Prime Abundance period (July 14, 1084), I was traveling by boat from Qi'an :(Huanggang, Hubei) to Linru (Linru, Henan). My oldest son [Su] Mai was just about to leave for Dexing in Rao to take up the post of :Pacificator. Since I accompanied him as far as Hukou (modern Hukou, Jiangxi), I was able to observe the so-called stone bells. A monk from a :[nearby] monastery dispatched an apprentice carrying an axe to select one or two among the scattered rocks and knock them [with an axe], upon :which they made a 'gong-gong'-like sound. I laughed just as I had done before and still did not believe the legend.

:That evening, the moon was bright. Alone with Mai I rode a little boat to the base of a steep precipice. The huge rocks on our flank stood :1000 feet high (304 m). They looked like fierce beasts and weird goblins, lurking in a ghastly manner and getting ready to attack us. When the :roosting falcons on the mountain heard our voices they too flew off in fright, cawing and crying in the cloudy empyrean. Further, there was :something [that sounded] like an old man coughing and laughing in a mountain ravine. Someone said: "That is a white stork." I was shaking with :fear and about to turn back, when a loud noise rang out from the surface of the water that gonged and bonged like bells and drums unceasing in :their clamor. The boatmen became greatly alarmed. I carefully investigated it, only to discover that everywhere below the mountain there are :rocky caves and fissures, who knows how deep. Gentle waves were pouring into them, and their shaking and seething, and chopping and knocking :were making this gonging and bonging. When our boat on its return reached a point between the two mountains and we were about to enter the :mouth of the inlet, [I saw that] there was a huge rock in the middle of the channel which could seat a hundred people. It was hollow in the :center with numerous apertures, which, as they swallowed and spat with the wind and water, made a bumping and thumping and clashing and :bashing that echoed with the earlier gonging and bonging. It seemed as if music was being played here. Thereupon, I laughed and said to Mai: :"Do you recognize it? The gonging and bonging is the Wuyi bell of King Jing of Zhou; the bumping and thumping and clashing and bashing are the :song-bells of Wei Zhuangzi [a.k.a. Wei Jiang; 6th century BC military advisor]. The ancients [i.e. Li Daoyuan and Li Bo] have not cheated us!

:Is it acceptable for someone who has not personally seen or heard something to have decided views on whether it exists or not? Li Daoyuan :probably saw and heard the same things as I did, yet he decided not to describe them in detail. Gentlemen-officials have always been :unwilling to take a small boat and moor it beneath the steep precipice at night. Thus, none were able to find out [about the bells]. And, :although the fishermen and boatmen knew about them, they were unable to describe them [in writing]. This is why it has not been transmitted :through the generations. As it turns out, imbeciles sought the answer by taking axes and beating and striking rocks. Then they held that they :had found out the truth of the matter. Because of this I have made a record of these events, for the most part to sigh over Li Daoyuan's :superficiality, and to laugh at Li Bo's stupidity!

:("Su Shi." Absoluteastronomy.com)

[[File:Picture5.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi]]

=="Red Cliffs Rhapsody"==

My best known work is perhaps the "Red Cliffs Rhapsody" (Chibifu), which children in China are still made to read today. This tale chronicles the battle of the Red Cliffs that were staged between the southern generals Liu Bei and Su Quan and the northern general Cao Cao in AD 208-209 ("The Life of Su Dongpo" 2010). It is the sort of tale that everyone loves in which a a greatly outnumbered hero conquers its larger foe against all odds.

The "Red Cliff Rhapsody" also contained quiet philosophic moments. I recounted a quiet boat ride with a guest around the cite of the epic battle. My guest played a mournful tune on his flute. When I asked him why he played so, he answered me thus:

:"isn’t this the place where Cao was beseiged by Zhou Yu? Cao had just broken Jingzhou, and was going to Jiangling, sailing west with the flow :of the river. His boats prow to stern stretched for a thousand miles, and his flags and banners blocked the sky. Pouring wine, looking down :on the river, chanting poems with a spear across his knees, he was indeed a hero of his times; but today, where is he? And how about you and :I, fishermen and woodcutters on the islets in the river, taking the fish and shrimp and deer as our companions, and riding in a leaf of a :boat, raising gourds as our goblets and drinking to each other? Entrusted like flies to heaven and earth, as tiny as one grain in a vast :ocean. I grieve at my life’s shortness, and envy how the Great River is infinite. I want to fly with the immortals and roam the vastness, :embrace the moon and live forever. I know that I cannot quickly achieve this, and I entrusted these sounds to the sad wind.”

:“Have you really understood the water and the moon?” I said. “The one streams past so swiftly yet is never gone; the other for ever waxes and :wanes yet finally has never grown nor diminished. For if you look at the aspect which changes, heaven and earth cannot last for one blink; :but if you look at the aspect which is changeless, the worlds within and outside you are both inexhaustible, and what reasons have you to :envy anything?

:“Moreover, each thing between heaven and earth has its owner, and even one hair which is not mine I can never make part of me. Only the cool :wind on the river, or the full moon in the mountains, caught by the ear becomes a sound, or met by the eye changes to colour; no one forbids :me to make it mine, no limit is set to the use of it; this is the inexhaustible treasury of the creator of things, and you and I can share in :the joy of it.”

:The guest smiled, consoled. We washed the cups and poured more wine. After the nuts and savouries were finished, and the wine‑cups and dishes :lay scattered around, we leaned pillowed back to back in the middle of the boat, and did not notice when the sky turned white in the east.

:(Su Shi, "EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF”)

== Dreaming of the Moon ==

I wrote several other pieces with the moon as my subject, dreaming of a world forever outside my grasp but always visible in the night sky:

'''The Moon Festival'''

''When will the moon be clear and bright?''

''With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the blue sky.''

''I don't know what season it would be in the heavens on this night.''

''I'd like to ride the wind to fly home.''

''Yet I fear the crystal and jade mansions are much too high and cold for me.''

''Dancing with my moon-lit shadow,''

''It does not seem like the human world.''

''The moon rounds the red mansion stoops to silk-pad doors,''

''Shines upon the sleepless Bearing no grudge,''

''Why does the moon tend to be full when people are apart?''

''People may have sorrow or joy, be near or far apart,''

''The moon may be dim or bright, wax or wane,''

''This has been going on since the beginning of time.''

''May we all be blessed with longevity though far apart,''

''We are still able to share the beauty of the moon together.''

(Su Shi, "Poem about the Moon")

== Forward is Backward and Backward is Forward ==

Here are two poems which are actually a single poem that can be read either forwards or backwards, reversing the order of events and creating a whole new story. Every event can be looked at from another angle. the moment you think you have understood everything, is the moment that you understand nothing at all.

'''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (I)'''

''Tides follow hidden waves. The snow mountain tilts.''

''Distant fishing boats are hooking the moonlight.''

''A bridge faces the temple gate. The pine path is narrow.''

''By the doorsill is the fountain's eye where stone ripples transparently.''

''Far, far green trees the river sky is dawning.''

''Cloudy, cloudy scarlet afterglow. The sea is sun bright.''

''View of the distance: four horizons of clouds join the water.''

''Blue peaks are a thousand dots. A few weightless gulls.''

---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping (Barnstone)

'''Inscription for Gold Mountain Temple (II)'''

''Gulls are weightless, a few dots. A thousand peaks are blue.''

''Water joins the clouds' edges in four distant views.''

''Bright day. Sea glows with scarlet clouds on clouds.''

''Dawning sky and river trees are green, and far, far.''

''Transparent ripples from the stone eye: fountain by the doorsill.''

''A narrow path and pine gate where the temple faces the bridge.''

''A bright moon hooks boats. Fishing waters are distant.''

''A tilted mountain is a snow wave, secretly following tides.''

---Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping (Barnstone)

== Conclusion ==

I have laid bear my whole life's story. You have seen my triumphs and my follies, my joys and my sorrows, and I hope that you have come to understand one very important fact that a few of my admirers may have forgotten to mention; I was simply a man. I was in possession of no extraordinary powers of perception or expression which no one else could acquire. My skills were earned through simple hard work and determination, which anyone can practice if they have the mind to set about it. My one happy virtue was my simple curiosity for everything new or old; I would investigate everything, looking at it from all angles for an aspect that everyone just happened to miss. The other distinguishing feature of my personality that has set me apart from many of the time, is not a virtue I am afraid, but a fault; my blatant stupidity. I was unable to keep my mouth closed, even at the most crucial of times, and so I was thrown into a variety of unique atmospheres to help with my writing. Once I was in those unique places, I was too stupid to realize my mistakes and learn from my misfortune, but I fancied myself happy. And finally, when I was recording all of my thoughts and experiences, I was too foolish and self-important to stick to the forms and subject matter prescribed by the ancient poets and philosophers, but like a simpleton, I deviated and wrote whatever popped into my head in whatever form it presented itself. No, I was no genius, I was a simple man who loved to write on a hill named Dongpo.

[[File:Picture1.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph 2. Cultural China]]

----

'''Works Cited'''

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Dongpo Pork. Photograph. Cultural-china.com. Shanghai News, Press Bureau, Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, and One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 4 Mar. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59H147H580.html>.

Egan, Ronald. "The Northern Song (1020-1126)." The Cambridge Histroy of Chinese Literature. Ed. Kang-I Sun Chang and Ed. Stephen Owen. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. 381-464. Print.

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Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi. Photograph. Chinapage.com. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinapage.com/red-cliff.html>.

Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa: Fairy Tale Dolls, Handmade With Love. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://castleofcostamesa.com/chinese-culture/chinese-stories-for-children/biographies-of-famous-chinese-historical-figures-%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8/su-dongpo-%E8%98%87%E6%9D%B1%E5%9D%A1>.

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"Su Shi - One of Chinese Greatest Genius." Cultural-china.com. Web. 03 Mar. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59History147.html>.

Su Shi. "Poem about the Moon." Visitbeijing.com.cn. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. <http://english.visitbeijing.com.cn/play/thematic/n214662210.shtml>.

Su Shi. " Su Shi Poetry [Su DongPo]." Su Shi (Su Dongpo) Poetry. Chinapage.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinapage.com/poet-e/sushi2e.html>.

"The Life of Su Dongpo." China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm>.

Theobald, Ulrich. "Chinese History - Song Dynasty 宋 (960-1279) Literature, Thought and Philosophy." Chinaknowledge.de. 2000. Web. 04 Mar. 2012. <http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Song/song-literature.html>.

The Painting Scroll of a Withered Tree and a Queer Rock. Photograph. Cultural-china.com. Shanghai News, Press Bureau, Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, and One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 3 Mar. 2012. <http://www.cultural-china.com/chinaWH/html/en/History147bye6243.html>.

Su Shi (Su Dongpo)

2012-03-04T16:31:22Z

69.169.132.20:

Su Shi (Su Dongpo)

2012-03-02T06:47:58Z

69.169.132.20:

SU SHI (SU DONGPO)蘇東坡 (1037–1101)

[[File:0023ae9897010e0b915f53.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. China Daily]]

To what can our life on earth be likened?

To a flock of geese,

alighting on the snow.

Sometimes leaving a trace of their passage.

(Source: Su Shi, Su Shi Poetry)

Enjoying a remarkable level of fame in my life, I am often still referred to as the greatest writer of the period (Source: Egan 2010, p 410). I was a man of many talents; I was a writer, poet (shi, cu, fu, poems on paintings), artist (painter), calligrapher, pharmacologist, and statesman of the Song Dynasty. Around 2,700 of my poems and 800 letters have survived (source: Chinese Literature). I was born in 1037, to a family of scholars; my father and elder brother were both renowned literati, and my good mother instructed me herself for which I am very much indebted (Source: "History - Literature"). The name given to me at birth was Su Shi, but I was also in possession of a courtesy name, Zizhan (子瞻), as well as a pseudonym, Dongpo Jushi (东坡居士 “Dongpo Householder”), but I was often referred to simply as Su Dongpo (Source: "History - Literature").

My writings and calligraphy brought me much fame and wealth, but my outspoken manner and staunch beliefs led my pen to flow too freely with constructive criticisms of the current regime, and in particular of Wang Anshi and his "New Policies" which I saw as progress in the wrong direction(Source: Egan 2010, p 410). After years of striving to improve China and the Chinese Government, I had gotten nowhere. Not in the literal sense, mind you, for my political commentaries had got me sent all around the country of China as a convicted criminal and I became quite the expert on the topographical features of China. What I mean is that the the leaders of China would rather send me hiking across the country or imprison me in a cell, then enforce any of the measures that I prescribed. No matter what I wrote, China would never change. I wrote sardonically of the matter once, when one of my wives gave birth to a son:

Families, when a child is born

Want it to be intelligent.

I, through intelligence,

Having wrecked my whole life,

Only hope the baby will prove

Ignorant and stupid.

Then he will crown a tranquil life

By becoming a Cabinet Minister.

(Source: Su Shi, "On the Birth of His Son”)

Happiness does not require fortune or fame; I was not worried for my son's material comfort, but rather, I was worried about what pain and frustration my son would have to endure if he inherited his old man's rebellious spirit. What has China come to that the ignorant hold power and the enlightened must hide their pens in fear of reprisal?

Please do not misunderstand my embittered words just now. I was no despairing poet, cursing my rotten luck and complaining to the world about my pitiful state. No, I always found happiness wherever I was situated, just as the many inhabitants who dwelled their before me, content in their lives and never dreaming of anything better. I even acquired my pseudonym, Dongpo (Eastern Slope), from the hill to which I was banished to for the first time for my overenthusiastic criticisms of Wang Anshi (Source: "History - Literature"). I would build my house, work in the field with every other man, and take up my pen when I had time to write of the many insights I had acquired through my new-found way of life. Even when I was alone to return from exile, it was only at the price of being yet again torn away from a home in which I had experienced many periods of peace and pleasure, so that the closer I got to my home, the farther I moved from it. Twelve times I was exiled (Source: Barnstone), and each time it got harder to leave my doorstep and start anew.

Believed that there was no one “right” way, but that everyone must find their own path. What was the point of sticking so rigidly to any one form that your thoughts got lost and your words distorted and strained in the process? The ideal of writing is constantly changing and time onwards, so why should one stick to an ideal which will surely become labeled by the "enlightened" scholars of the next age as flawed and obsolete? It is better far not to constrain yourself to expectations of the men around you who may very well be idiots.

[[File:Picture6.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa ]]

Due to my accomplishments with the pen and my unique philosophy, many would praise me as the wisest among men; the ideal scholar and author. But those close to me knew better. My dear friend Fo Yin, so much wiser than I by far, my beloved wife who I found that I could not function properly without; these people saw my follies and my flaws, and never failed to point them out to me one after the other. I will never forget one day when I was feeling particularly pleased with my accomplishments and sent a self-laudatory poem to Fo Yin in hopes of impressing him with my wisdom as well. The poem that I sent him went thus:

稽首天中天，

毫光照大千；

八风吹不动，

端坐紫金莲。

I bow my head to the heaven within heaven,

Hairline rays illuminating the universe,

The eight winds cannot move me,

Sitting still upon the purple golden lotus.

I hoped to show through my eloquent writing, that I had moved beyond the eight forces that usually controlled man: praise (称), ridicule (讥), honor (誉), disgrace (毁), gain (得), loss (失), pleasure (乐) and misery (苦), and that I had achieved a sort of state of enlightenment. My friend, a zen master himself, knew the meaning of my words better than I did and sent back a single word in reply: fart. Enraged at this uncaring insult from a long-time friend, I prepared a boat and sailed across the lake separating our houses, pounding on his door and demanding an audience. What I got was a letter written by Fo Yin and addressed to myself:

八风吹不动，

一屁弹过江。

The eight winds cannot move me,

One fart blows me across the river

I realized how foolish and arrogant I had been to think that I was unmovable by worldly thoughts. In two short lines, Fo Yin had shown me that I was just as susceptible to the blowing of the eight winds as any man was.

(Source: History – Anecdotes)

[[File:Picture2.gif|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Great Wall Vacation]]

My first wife, Wang Fu, was also as wise as any Zen master.

江城子•乙卯正月二十日夜記夢

十年生死兩茫茫，

不思量，自難忘。

千里孤墳，無處話淒涼。

縱使相逢應不識，

塵滿面，鬢如霜。

夜來幽夢忽還鄉，

小軒窗，正梳妝。

相顧無言，惟有淚千行。

料得年年腸斷處，

明月夜，短松岡。

(source: Su Shi, “Dreaming”)

Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month

Ten years living and dead have drawn apart

I do nothing to remember

But I cannot forget

Your lonely grave a thousand miles away...

Nowhere can I talk of my sorrow -

Even if we met, how would you know me

My face full of dust

My hair like snow? In the dark of night, a dream: suddenly, I am home

You by the window

Doing your hair

I look at you and cannot speak

Your face is streaked by endless tears

Year after year must they break my heart

These moonlit nights?

That low pine grave?

(Source: History – Literature)

[File:Picture5.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi]]

“Have you really understood the water and the moon?” I said. “The one streams past so swiftly yet is never gone; the other for ever waxes and wanes yet finally has never grown nor diminished. For if you look at the aspect which changes, heaven and earth cannot last for one blink; but if you look at the aspect which is changeless, the worlds within and outside you are both inexhaustible, and what reasons have you to envy anything?

“Moreover, each thing between heaven and earth has its owner, and even one hair which is not mine I can never make part of me. Only the cool wind on the river, or the full moon in the mountains, caught by the ear becomes a sound, or met by the eye changes to colour; no one forbids me to make it mine, no limit is set to the use of it; this is the inexhaustible treasury of the creator of things, and you and I can share in the joy of it.”

The guest smiled, consoled. We washed the cups and poured more wine. After the nuts and savouries were finished, and the wine‑cups and dishes lay scattered around, we leaned pillowed back to back in the middle of the boat, and did not notice when the sky turned white in the east.

(Source: Su Shi, "EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF”)

[[File:Picture4.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Cultural China]]

[[File:Picture1.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph 2. Cultural China]]

----

'''Works Cited'''

Barnstone, Tony. "Sudongpo." Http://web.whittier.edu. Whitter College. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. <http://web.whittier.edu/academic/english/Chinese/Sudongpo.htm>.

"Chinese Literature - Chinese Culture - China Guide - Greatwallvacation.com." GreatWallVacation, Professional, efficient and Faithful China Tour Operator and Wholesaler. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.greatwallvacation.com/travel-destinations/Chinese-Culture/Chinese-Literature.html>.

Egan, Ronald. "The Northern Song (1020-1126)." The Cambridge Histroy of Chinese Literature. Ed. Kang-I Sun Chang and Ed. Stephen Owen. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. 381-464. Print.

"History - Anecdotes." Su Shi's Story: How Fart Can Make You Grow Spiritually? Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html>.

"History - Literature." Su Shi. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59History147.html>.

Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi. Photograph. Chinapage.com. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinapage.com/red-cliff.html>.
Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa: Fairy Tale Dolls, Handmade With Love. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://castleofcostamesa.com/chinese-culture/chinese-stories-for-children/biographies-of-famous-chinese-historical-figures-%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8/su-dongpo-%E8%98%87%E6%9D%B1%E5%9D%A1>.

Photograph. China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm>.

Photograph. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html>.

Photograph 2. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6024.html>.

Photograph. Great Wall Vacation. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.greatwallvacation.com/travel-destinations/Chinese-Culture/Chinese-Literature.html>.

Su Shi. "Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month." Chinese Poems. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinese-poems.com/s5.html>.

Su Shi. "EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF , PART I By Su Shi (Su Dongpo)." Asia for Educators. Asia for Educators | Columbia University. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://afe.easia.columbia.edu>.

Su Shi. "On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po • 6 Poems by Su Tung-poEdit." On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po Classic Famous Poet. Allpoetry.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://allpoetry.com/poem/8536825-On_the_birth_of_his_son-by-Su_Tung-po>.

Su Shi. " Su Shi Poetry [Su DongPo]." Su Shi (Su Dongpo) Poetry. Chinapage.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinapage.com/poet-e/sushi2e.html>.

"The Life of Su Dongpo." China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm>.

Su Shi (Su Dongpo)

2012-03-02T05:51:35Z

69.169.132.20:

SU SHI (SU DONGPO)蘇東坡 (1037–1101)

[[File:0023ae9897010e0b915f53.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. China Daily]]

To what can our life on earth be likened?

To a flock of geese,

alighting on the snow.

Sometimes leaving a trace of their passage.

(Source: Su Shi, Su Shi Poetry)

Enjoying a remarkable level of fame in my life, I am often still referred to as the greatest writer of the period (410). I was a man of many talents; I was a writer, poet (shi, cu, fu, poems on paintings), artist (painter), calligrapher, pharmacologist, and statesman of the Song Dynasty. Around 2,700 of my poems and 800 letters have survived (source: Chinese Literature).

My writings and calligraphy brought me much fame and wealth, but my outspoken manner and staunch beliefs led my pen to flow too freely with constructive criticisms of the current regime, and in particular of Wang Anshi and his "New Policies" which I saw as progress in the wrong direction(410). After myears of striving to improve China and the Chinese Government, I had gotten nowhere. Not in the literal sense, mind you, for my political commentaries had got me sent all around the country of China as a convicted criminal and I became quite the expert on the topographical features of China. What I mean is that the the leaders of China would rather send me hiking across the country, then enforce any of the measures that I prescribed. No matter what I wrote, China would never change. I wrote sardonically of the matter once, when one of my wives gave birth to a son:

Families, when a child is born

Want it to be intelligent.

I, through intelligence,

Having wrecked my whole life,

Only hope the baby will prove

Ignorant and stupid.

Then he will crown a tranquil life

By becoming a Cabinet Minister.

(Source: Su Shi, "On the Birth of His Son”)

Happiness does not require fortune or fame; I was not worried for my son's material comfort, but rather, I was worried about what pain and frustration my son would have to endure if he inherited his old man's rebellious spirit. What has China come to that the ignorant hold power and the enlightened must hide their pens in fear of reprisal?

Please do not misunderstand my embittered words just now. I was no despairing poet, cursing my rotten luck and complaining to the world about my pitiful state. No, I always found happiness wherever I was situated, just as the many inhabitants who dwelled their before me, content in their lives and never dreaming of anything better. I would build my house, work in the field with every other man, and take up my pen when I had time to write of the many insights I had acquired through my new-found way of life. Even when I was alone to return from exile, it was only at the price of being yet again torn away from a home in which I had experienced many periods of peace and pleasure, so that the closer I got to my home, the farther I moved from it.

Believed that there was no one “right” way, but that everyone must find their own path. What was the point of sticking so rigidly to any one form that your thoughts got lost and your words distorted and strained in the process? The ideal of writing is constantly changing and time onwards, so why should one stick to an ideal which will surely become labeled by the "enlightened" scholars of the next age as flawed and obsolete? It is better far not to constrain yourself to expectations of the men around you who may very well be idiots.

[[File:Picture6.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa ]]

Due to my accomplishments with the pen and my unique philosophy, many would praise me as the wisest among men; the ideal scholar and author. But those close to me knew better. My dear friend Fo Yin, so much wiser than I by far, my beloved wife who I found that I could not function properly without; these people saw my follies and my flaws, and never failed to point them out to me one after the other. I will never forget one day when I was feeling particularly pleased with my accomplishments and sent a self-laudatory poem to Fo Yin in hopes of impressing him with my wisdom as well. The poem that I sent him went thus:

稽首天中天，

毫光照大千；

八风吹不动，

端坐紫金莲。

I bow my head to the heaven within heaven,

Hairline rays illuminating the universe,

The eight winds cannot move me,

Sitting still upon the purple golden lotus.

I hoped to show through my eloquent writing, that I had moved beyond the eight forces that usually controlled man: praise (称), ridicule (讥), honor (誉), disgrace (毁), gain (得), loss (失), pleasure (乐) and misery (苦), and that I had achieved a sort of state of enlightenment. My friend, a zen master himself, knew the meaning of my words better than I did and sent back a single word in reply: fart. Enraged at this uncaring insult from a long-time friend, I prepared a boat and sailed across the lake seperating our houses, pounding on his door and demanding an audience. What I got was a letter written by Fo Yin and addressed to myself:

八风吹不动，

一屁弹过江。

The eight winds cannot move me,

One fart blows me across the river

I realized how foolish and arrogant I had been to think that I was unmovable by worldly thoughts. In two short lines, Fo Yin had shown me that I was just as susceptible to the blowing of the eight winds as any man was.

(Source: History – Anecdotes)

[[File:Picture2.gif|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Great Wall Vacation]]

江城子•乙卯正月二十日夜記夢

十年生死兩茫茫，

不思量，自難忘。

千里孤墳，無處話淒涼。

縱使相逢應不識，

塵滿面，鬢如霜。

夜來幽夢忽還鄉，

小軒窗，正梳妝。

相顧無言，惟有淚千行。

料得年年腸斷處，

明月夜，短松岡。

(source: Su Shi, “Dreaming”)

Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month

Ten years living and dead have drawn apart

I do nothing to remember

But I cannot forget

Your lonely grave a thousand miles away...

Nowhere can I talk of my sorrow -

Even if we met, how would you know me

My face full of dust

My hair like snow? In the dark of night, a dream: suddenly, I am home

You by the window

Doing your hair

I look at you and cannot speak

Your face is streaked by endless tears

Year after year must they break my heart

These moonlit nights?

That low pine grave?

(Source: History – Literature)

[File:Picture5.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi]]

“Have you really understood the water and the moon?” I said. “The one streams past so swiftly yet is never gone; the other for ever waxes and wanes yet finally has never grown nor diminished. For if you look at the aspect which changes, heaven and earth cannot last for one blink; but if you look at the aspect which is changeless, the worlds within and outside you are both inexhaustible, and what reasons have you to envy anything?

“Moreover, each thing between heaven and earth has its owner, and even one hair which is not mine I can never make part of me. Only the cool wind on the river, or the full moon in the mountains, caught by the ear becomes a sound, or met by the eye changes to colour; no one forbids me to make it mine, no limit is set to the use of it; this is the inexhaustible treasury of the creator of things, and you and I can share in the joy of it.”

The guest smiled, consoled. We washed the cups and poured more wine. After the nuts and savouries were finished, and the wine‑cups and dishes lay scattered around, we leaned pillowed back to back in the middle of the boat, and did not notice when the sky turned white in the east.

(Source: Su Shi, "EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF”)

[[File:Picture4.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Cultural China]]

[[File:Picture1.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph 2. Cultural China]]

----

'''Works Cited'''

"Chinese Literature - Chinese Culture - China Guide - Greatwallvacation.com." GreatWallVacation, Professional, efficient and Faithful China Tour Operator and Wholesaler. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.greatwallvacation.com/travel-destinations/Chinese-Culture/Chinese-Literature.html>.

"History - Anecdotes." Su Shi's Story: How Fart Can Make You Grow Spiritually? Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html>.

"History - Literature." Su Shi. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59History147.html>.

Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi. Photograph. Chinapage.com. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinapage.com/red-cliff.html>.
Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa: Fairy Tale Dolls, Handmade With Love. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://castleofcostamesa.com/chinese-culture/chinese-stories-for-children/biographies-of-famous-chinese-historical-figures-%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8/su-dongpo-%E8%98%87%E6%9D%B1%E5%9D%A1>.

Photograph. China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm>.

Photograph. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html>.

Photograph 2. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6024.html>.

Photograph. Great Wall Vacation. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.greatwallvacation.com/travel-destinations/Chinese-Culture/Chinese-Literature.html>.

Su Shi. "Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month." Chinese Poems. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinese-poems.com/s5.html>.

Su Shi. "EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF , PART I By Su Shi (Su Dongpo)." Asia for Educators. Asia for Educators | Columbia University. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://afe.easia.columbia.edu>.

Su Shi. "On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po • 6 Poems by Su Tung-poEdit." On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po Classic Famous Poet. Allpoetry.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://allpoetry.com/poem/8536825-On_the_birth_of_his_son-by-Su_Tung-po>.

Su Shi. " Su Shi Poetry [Su DongPo]." Su Shi (Su Dongpo) Poetry. Chinapage.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinapage.com/poet-e/sushi2e.html>.

"The Life of Su Dongpo." China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm>.

Su Shi (Su Dongpo)

2012-03-02T05:40:26Z

69.169.132.20:

SU SHI (SU DONGPO)蘇東坡 (1037–1101)

[[File:0023ae9897010e0b915f53.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. China Daily]]

To what can our life on earth be likened?

To a flock of geese,

alighting on the snow.

Sometimes leaving a trace of their passage.

(Source: Su Shi, Su Shi Poetry)

Enjoying a remarkable level of fame in my life, I am often still referred to as the greatest writer of the period (410). I was a man of many talents; I was a writer, poet (shi, cu, fu, poems on paintings), artist (painter), calligrapher, pharmacologist, and statesman of the Song Dynasty. Around 2,700 of my poems and 800 letters have survived (source: Chinese Literature).

My writings and calligraphy brought me much fame and wealth, but my outspoken manner and staunch beliefs led my pen to flow too freely with constructive criticisms of the current regime, and in particular of Wang Anshi and his "New Policies" which I saw as progress in the wrong direction(410). After myears of striving to improve China and the Chinese Government, I had gotten nowhere. Not in the literal sense, mind you, for my political commentaries had got me sent all around the country of China as a convicted criminal and I became quite the expert on the topographical features of China. What I mean is that the the leaders of China would rather send me hiking across the country, then enforce any of the measures that I prescribed. No matter what I wrote, China would never change. I wrote sardonically of the matter once, when one of my wives gave birth to a son:

Families, when a child is born

Want it to be intelligent.

I, through intelligence,

Having wrecked my whole life,

Only hope the baby will prove

Ignorant and stupid.

Then he will crown a tranquil life

By becoming a Cabinet Minister.

(Source: Su Shi, "On the Birth of His Son”)

Happiness does not require fortune or fame; I was not worried for my son's material comfort, but rather, I was worried about what pain and frustration my son would have to endure if he inherited his old man's rebellious spirit. What has China come to that the ignorant hold power and the enlightened must hide their pens in fear of reprisal?

Please do not misunderstand my embittered words just now. I was no despairing poet, cursing my rotten luck and complaining to the world about my pitiful state. No, I always found happiness wherever I was situated, just as the many inhabitants who dwelled their before me, content in their lives and never dreaming of anything better. I would build my house, work in the field with every other man, and take up my pen when I had time to write of the many insights I had acquired through my new-found way of life.

Believed that there was no one “right” way, but that everyone must find their own path. What was the point of sticking so rigidly to any one form that your thoughts got lost and your words distorted and strained in the process? The ideal of writing is constantly changing and time onwards, so why should one stick to an ideal which will surely become labeled by the "enlightened" scholars of the next age as flawed and obsolete? It is better far not to constrain yourself to expectations of the men around you who may very well be idiots.

[[File:Picture6.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa ]]

Due to my accomplishments with the pen and my unique philosophy, many would praise me as the wisest among men; the ideal scholar and author. But those close to me knew better. My dear friend Fo Yin, so much wiser than I by far, my beloved wife who I found that I could not function properly without; these people saw my follies and my flaws, and never failed to point them out to me one after the other. I will never forget one day when I was feeling particularly pleased with my accomplishments and sent a self-laudatory poem to Fo Yin in hopes of impressing him with my wisdom as well. The poem that I sent him went thus:

稽首天中天，

毫光照大千；

八风吹不动，

端坐紫金莲。

I bow my head to the heaven within heaven,

Hairline rays illuminating the universe,

The eight winds cannot move me,

Sitting still upon the purple golden lotus.

I hoped to show through my eloquent writing, that I had moved beyond the eight forces that usually controlled man: praise (称), ridicule (讥), honor (誉), disgrace (毁), gain (得), loss (失), pleasure (乐) and misery (苦), and that I had achieved a sort of state of enlightenment. My friend, a zen master himself, knew the meaning of my words better than I did and sent back a single word in reply: fart. Enraged at this uncaring insult from a long-time friend, I prepared a boat and sailed across the lake seperating our houses, pounding on his door and demanding an audience. What I got was a letter written by Fo Yin and addressed to myself:

八风吹不动，

一屁弹过江。

The eight winds cannot move me,

One fart blows me across the river

I realized how foolish and arrogant I had been to think that I was unmovable by worldly thoughts. In two short lines, Fo Yin had shown me that I was just as susceptible to the blowing of the eight winds as any man was.

(Source: History – Anecdotes)

[[File:Picture2.gif|200px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Great Wall Vacation]]

江城子•乙卯正月二十日夜記夢

十年生死兩茫茫，

不思量，自難忘。

千里孤墳，無處話淒涼。

縱使相逢應不識，

塵滿面，鬢如霜。

夜來幽夢忽還鄉，

小軒窗，正梳妝。

相顧無言，惟有淚千行。

料得年年腸斷處，

明月夜，短松岡。

(source: Su Shi, “Dreaming”)

Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month

Ten years living and dead have drawn apart

I do nothing to remember

But I cannot forget

Your lonely grave a thousand miles away...

Nowhere can I talk of my sorrow -

Even if we met, how would you know me

My face full of dust

My hair like snow? In the dark of night, a dream: suddenly, I am home

You by the window

Doing your hair

I look at you and cannot speak

Your face is streaked by endless tears

Year after year must they break my heart

These moonlit nights?

That low pine grave?

(Source: History – Literature)

[File:Picture5.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi]]

“Have you really understood the water and the moon?” I said. “The one streams past so swiftly yet is never gone; the other for ever waxes and wanes yet finally has never grown nor diminished. For if you look at the aspect which changes, heaven and earth cannot last for one blink; but if you look at the aspect which is changeless, the worlds within and outside you are both inexhaustible, and what reasons have you to envy anything?

“Moreover, each thing between heaven and earth has its owner, and even one hair which is not mine I can never make part of me. Only the cool wind on the river, or the full moon in the mountains, caught by the ear becomes a sound, or met by the eye changes to colour; no one forbids me to make it mine, no limit is set to the use of it; this is the inexhaustible treasury of the creator of things, and you and I can share in the joy of it.”

The guest smiled, consoled. We washed the cups and poured more wine. After the nuts and savouries were finished, and the wine‑cups and dishes lay scattered around, we leaned pillowed back to back in the middle of the boat, and did not notice when the sky turned white in the east.

(Source: Su Shi, "EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF”)

[[File:Picture4.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Cultural China]]

[[File:Picture1.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph 2. Cultural China]]

----

'''Works Cited'''

"Chinese Literature - Chinese Culture - China Guide - Greatwallvacation.com." GreatWallVacation, Professional, efficient and Faithful China Tour Operator and Wholesaler. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.greatwallvacation.com/travel-destinations/Chinese-Culture/Chinese-Literature.html>.

"History - Anecdotes." Su Shi's Story: How Fart Can Make You Grow Spiritually? Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html>.

"History - Literature." Su Shi. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59History147.html>.

Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi. Photograph. Chinapage.com. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinapage.com/red-cliff.html>.
Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa: Fairy Tale Dolls, Handmade With Love. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://castleofcostamesa.com/chinese-culture/chinese-stories-for-children/biographies-of-famous-chinese-historical-figures-%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8/su-dongpo-%E8%98%87%E6%9D%B1%E5%9D%A1>.

Photograph. China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm>.

Photograph. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html>.

Photograph 2. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6024.html>.

Photograph. Great Wall Vacation. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.greatwallvacation.com/travel-destinations/Chinese-Culture/Chinese-Literature.html>.

Su Shi. "Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month." Chinese Poems. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinese-poems.com/s5.html>.

Su Shi. "EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF , PART I By Su Shi (Su Dongpo)." Asia for Educators. Asia for Educators | Columbia University. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://afe.easia.columbia.edu>.

Su Shi. "On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po • 6 Poems by Su Tung-poEdit." On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po Classic Famous Poet. Allpoetry.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://allpoetry.com/poem/8536825-On_the_birth_of_his_son-by-Su_Tung-po>.

Su Shi. " Su Shi Poetry [Su DongPo]." Su Shi (Su Dongpo) Poetry. Chinapage.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinapage.com/poet-e/sushi2e.html>.

"The Life of Su Dongpo." China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm>.

Su Shi (Su Dongpo)

2012-03-02T05:04:41Z

69.169.132.20:

SU SHI (SU DONGPO)蘇東坡 (1037–1101)

[[File:0023ae9897010e0b915f53.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. China Daily]]

To what can our life on earth be likened?

To a flock of geese,

alighting on the snow.

Sometimes leaving a trace of their passage.

(Source: Su Shi, Su Shi Poetry)

Enjoying a remarkable level of fame in my life, I am often still referred to as the greatest writer of the period (410). I was a man of many talents; I was a writer, poet (shi, cu, fu, poems on paintings), artist (painter), calligrapher, pharmacologist, and statesman of the Song Dynasty. Around 2,700 of my poems and 800 letters have survived (source: Chinese Literature).

My writings and calligraphy brought me much fame and wealth, but my outspoken manner and staunch beliefs led my pen to flow too freely with constructive criticisms of the current regime, and in particular of Wang Anshi and his "New Policies" which I saw as progress in the wrong direction(410).

After years of striving to improve China and the Chinese Government, I had gotten nowhere. Not in the literal sense, mind you, for my political commentaries had got me sent all around the country of China as a convicted criminal and I became quite the expert on the topographical features of China. What I mean is that the the leaders of China would rather send me hiking across the country, then enforce any of the measures that I prescribed. No matter what I wrote, China would never change. I wrote laughingly of the matter once, when one of my wives gave birth to a son:

Families, when a child is born

Want it to be intelligent.

I, through intelligence,

Having wrecked my whole life,

Only hope the baby will prove

Ignorant and stupid.

Then he will crown a tranquil life

By becoming a Cabinet Minister.

(Source: Su Shi, "On the Birth of His Son”)

Exiled several times for being outspoken.
Did not let the exile and poverty bother me and wrote contentedly of my new life.
Didn’t write depressing poems, but was dispassionate.
Believed that there was no one “right” way, but that everyone must find their own path.

Many would praise me as the wisest among men; the ideal scholar and author. But those close to me knew better. My dear friend Fo Yin, so much wiser than I by far, my beloved wife who I found that I could not function properly without; these people saw my follies and my flaws, and never failed to point them out to me one after the other. I will never forget one day when I was feeling particularly pleased with my accomplishments and sent a self-laudatory poem to Fo Yin in hopes of impressing him with my wisdom as well. The poem that I sent him went thus:

稽首天中天，

毫光照大千；

八风吹不动，

端坐紫金莲。

I bow my head to the heaven within heaven,

Hairline rays illuminating the universe,

The eight winds cannot move me,

Sitting still upon the purple golden lotus.

I hoped to show through my eloquent writing, that I had moved beyond the eight forces that usually controlled man: praise (称), ridicule (讥), honor (誉), disgrace (毁), gain (得), loss (失), pleasure (乐) and misery (苦), and that I had achieved a sort of state of enlightenment. My friend, a zen master himself, knew the meaning of my words better than I did and sent back a single word in reply: fart. Enraged at this uncaring insult from a long-time friend, I prepared a boat and sailed across the lake seperating our houses, pounding on his door and demanding an audience. What I got was a letter written by Fo Yin and addressed to myself:

八风吹不动，

一屁弹过江。

The eight winds cannot move me,

One fart blows me across the river

I realized how foolish and arrogant I had been to think that I was unmovable by worldly thoughts. In two short lines, Fo Yin had shown me that I was just as susceptible to the blowing of the eight winds as any man was.

(Source: History – Anecdotes)

[[File:Picture2.gif|200px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Great Wall Vacation]]

江城子•乙卯正月二十日夜記夢

十年生死兩茫茫，

不思量，自難忘。

千里孤墳，無處話淒涼。

縱使相逢應不識，

塵滿面，鬢如霜。

夜來幽夢忽還鄉，

小軒窗，正梳妝。

相顧無言，惟有淚千行。

料得年年腸斷處，

明月夜，短松岡。

(source: Su Shi, “Dreaming”)

Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month

Ten years living and dead have drawn apart

I do nothing to remember

But I cannot forget

Your lonely grave a thousand miles away...

Nowhere can I talk of my sorrow -

Even if we met, how would you know me

My face full of dust

My hair like snow? In the dark of night, a dream: suddenly, I am home

You by the window

Doing your hair

I look at you and cannot speak

Your face is streaked by endless tears

Year after year must they break my heart

These moonlit nights?

That low pine grave?

(Source: History – Literature)

[[File:Picture6.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa ]]

[File:Picture5.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi]]

“Have you really understood the water and the moon?” I said. “The one streams past so swiftly yet is never gone; the other for ever waxes and wanes yet finally has never grown nor diminished. For if you look at the aspect which changes, heaven and earth cannot last for one blink; but if you look at the aspect which is changeless, the worlds within and outside you are both inexhaustible, and what reasons have you to envy anything?

“Moreover, each thing between heaven and earth has its owner, and even one hair which is not mine I can never make part of me. Only the cool wind on the river, or the full moon in the mountains, caught by the ear becomes a sound, or met by the eye changes to colour; no one forbids me to make it mine, no limit is set to the use of it; this is the inexhaustible treasury of the creator of things, and you and I can share in the joy of it.”

The guest smiled, consoled. We washed the cups and poured more wine. After the nuts and savouries were finished, and the wine‑cups and dishes lay scattered around, we leaned pillowed back to back in the middle of the boat, and did not notice when the sky turned white in the east.

(Source: Su Shi, "EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF”)

[[File:Picture4.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Cultural China]]

[[File:Picture1.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph 2. Cultural China]]

----

'''Works Cited'''

"Chinese Literature - Chinese Culture - China Guide - Greatwallvacation.com." GreatWallVacation, Professional, efficient and Faithful China Tour Operator and Wholesaler. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.greatwallvacation.com/travel-destinations/Chinese-Culture/Chinese-Literature.html>.

"History - Anecdotes." Su Shi's Story: How Fart Can Make You Grow Spiritually? Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html>.

"History - Literature." Su Shi. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59History147.html>.

Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi. Photograph. Chinapage.com. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinapage.com/red-cliff.html>.
Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa: Fairy Tale Dolls, Handmade With Love. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://castleofcostamesa.com/chinese-culture/chinese-stories-for-children/biographies-of-famous-chinese-historical-figures-%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8/su-dongpo-%E8%98%87%E6%9D%B1%E5%9D%A1>.

Photograph. China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm>.

Photograph. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html>.

Photograph 2. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6024.html>.

Photograph. Great Wall Vacation. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.greatwallvacation.com/travel-destinations/Chinese-Culture/Chinese-Literature.html>.

Su Shi. "Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month." Chinese Poems. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinese-poems.com/s5.html>.

Su Shi. "EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF , PART I By Su Shi (Su Dongpo)." Asia for Educators. Asia for Educators | Columbia University. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://afe.easia.columbia.edu>.

Su Shi. "On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po • 6 Poems by Su Tung-poEdit." On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po Classic Famous Poet. Allpoetry.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://allpoetry.com/poem/8536825-On_the_birth_of_his_son-by-Su_Tung-po>.

Su Shi. " Su Shi Poetry [Su DongPo]." Su Shi (Su Dongpo) Poetry. Chinapage.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinapage.com/poet-e/sushi2e.html>.

"The Life of Su Dongpo." China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm>.

Su Shi (Su Dongpo)

2012-03-02T04:53:23Z

69.169.132.20:

SU SHI (SU DONGPO)蘇東坡 (1037–1101)

[[File:0023ae9897010e0b915f53.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. China Daily]]

To what can our life on earth be likened?

To a flock of geese,

alighting on the snow.

Sometimes leaving a trace of their passage.

(Source: Su Shi, Su Shi Poetry)

Many would praise me as the wisest among men; the ideal scholar and author. But those close to me knew better. My dear friend Fo Yin, so much wiser than I by far, my beloved wife who I found that I could not function properly without; these people saw my follies and my flaws, and never failed to point them out to me one after the other. I will never forget one day when I was feeling particularly pleased with my accomplishments and sent a self-laudatory poem to Fo Yin in hopes of impressing him with my wisdom as well. The poem that I sent him went thus:

稽首天中天，

毫光照大千；

八风吹不动，

端坐紫金莲。

I bow my head to the heaven within heaven,

Hairline rays illuminating the universe,

The eight winds cannot move me,

Sitting still upon the purple golden lotus.

I hoped to show through my eloquent writing, that I had moved beyond the eight forces that usually controlled man: praise (称), ridicule (讥), honor (誉), disgrace (毁), gain (得), loss (失), pleasure (乐) and misery (苦), and that I had achieved a sort of state of enlightenment. My friend, a zen master himself, knew the meaning of my words better than I did and sent back a single word in reply: fart. Enraged at this uncaring insult from a long-time friend, I prepared a boat and sailed across the lake seperating our houses, pounding on his door and demanding an audience. What I got was a letter written by Fo Yin and addressed to myself:

八风吹不动，

一屁弹过江。

The eight winds cannot move me,

One fart blows me across the river

I realized how foolish and arrogant I had been to think that I was unmovable by worldly thoughts. In two short lines, Fo Yin had shown me that I was just as susceptible to the blowing of the eight winds as any man was.

(Source: History – Anecdotes)

Greatest writer of the period (410)
Famous during my life
writer, poet (shi, cu, fu, poems on paintings), artist (painter), calligrapher, pharmacologist, and statesman of the Song Dynasty
Around 2,700 of my poems and 800 letters have survived (source: Chinese Literature).
Critic of Wang Anshi’s New Policies (410)

Exiled several times for being outspoken.
Did not let the exile and poverty bother me and wrote contentedly of my new life.
Didn’t write depressing poems, but was dispassionate.
Believed that there was no one “right” way, but that everyone must find their own path.

[[File:Picture2.gif|200px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Great Wall Vacation]]

江城子•乙卯正月二十日夜記夢

十年生死兩茫茫，

不思量，自難忘。

千里孤墳，無處話淒涼。

縱使相逢應不識，

塵滿面，鬢如霜。

夜來幽夢忽還鄉，

小軒窗，正梳妝。

相顧無言，惟有淚千行。

料得年年腸斷處，

明月夜，短松岡。

(source: Su Shi, “Dreaming”)

Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month

Ten years living and dead have drawn apart

I do nothing to remember

But I cannot forget

Your lonely grave a thousand miles away...

Nowhere can I talk of my sorrow -

Even if we met, how would you know me

My face full of dust

My hair like snow? In the dark of night, a dream: suddenly, I am home

You by the window

Doing your hair

I look at you and cannot speak

Your face is streaked by endless tears

Year after year must they break my heart

These moonlit nights?

That low pine grave?

(Source: History – Literature)

[[File:Picture6.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa ]]

After years of striving to improve China and the Chinese Government, I had gotten nowhere. Not in the literal sense, mind you, for my political commentaries had got me sent all around the country of China as a convicted criminal and I became quite the expert on the topographical features of China. What I mean is that the the leaders of China would rather send me hiking across the country, then enforce any of the measures that I prescribed. No matter what I wrote, China would never change. I wrote laughingly of the matter once, when one of my wives gave birth to a son:

Families, when a child is born

Want it to be intelligent.

I, through intelligence,

Having wrecked my whole life,

Only hope the baby will prove

Ignorant and stupid.

Then he will crown a tranquil life

By becoming a Cabinet Minister.

(Source: Su Shi, "On the Birth of His Son”)

[File:Picture5.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi]]

“Have you really understood the water and the moon?” I said. “The one streams past so swiftly yet is never gone; the other for ever waxes and wanes yet finally has never grown nor diminished. For if you look at the aspect which changes, heaven and earth cannot last for one blink; but if you look at the aspect which is changeless, the worlds within and outside you are both inexhaustible, and what reasons have you to envy anything?

“Moreover, each thing between heaven and earth has its owner, and even one hair which is not mine I can never make part of me. Only the cool wind on the river, or the full moon in the mountains, caught by the ear becomes a sound, or met by the eye changes to colour; no one forbids me to make it mine, no limit is set to the use of it; this is the inexhaustible treasury of the creator of things, and you and I can share in the joy of it.”

The guest smiled, consoled. We washed the cups and poured more wine. After the nuts and savouries were finished, and the wine‑cups and dishes lay scattered around, we leaned pillowed back to back in the middle of the boat, and did not notice when the sky turned white in the east.

(Source: Su Shi, "EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF”)

[[File:Picture4.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Cultural China]]

[[File:Picture1.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph 2. Cultural China]]

----

'''Works Cited'''

"Chinese Literature - Chinese Culture - China Guide - Greatwallvacation.com." GreatWallVacation, Professional, efficient and Faithful China Tour Operator and Wholesaler. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.greatwallvacation.com/travel-destinations/Chinese-Culture/Chinese-Literature.html>.

"History - Anecdotes." Su Shi's Story: How Fart Can Make You Grow Spiritually? Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html>.

"History - Literature." Su Shi. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59History147.html>.

Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi. Photograph. Chinapage.com. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinapage.com/red-cliff.html>.
Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa: Fairy Tale Dolls, Handmade With Love. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://castleofcostamesa.com/chinese-culture/chinese-stories-for-children/biographies-of-famous-chinese-historical-figures-%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8/su-dongpo-%E8%98%87%E6%9D%B1%E5%9D%A1>.

Photograph. China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm>.

Photograph. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html>.

Photograph 2. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6024.html>.

Photograph. Great Wall Vacation. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.greatwallvacation.com/travel-destinations/Chinese-Culture/Chinese-Literature.html>.

Su Shi. "Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month." Chinese Poems. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinese-poems.com/s5.html>.

Su Shi. "EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF , PART I By Su Shi (Su Dongpo)." Asia for Educators. Asia for Educators | Columbia University. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://afe.easia.columbia.edu>.

Su Shi. "On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po • 6 Poems by Su Tung-poEdit." On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po Classic Famous Poet. Allpoetry.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://allpoetry.com/poem/8536825-On_the_birth_of_his_son-by-Su_Tung-po>.

Su Shi. " Su Shi Poetry [Su DongPo]." Su Shi (Su Dongpo) Poetry. Chinapage.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinapage.com/poet-e/sushi2e.html>.

"The Life of Su Dongpo." China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm>.

Su Shi (Su Dongpo)

2012-03-02T04:51:53Z

69.169.132.20:

SU SHI (SU DONGPO)蘇東坡 (1037–1101)

[[File:0023ae9897010e0b915f53.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. China Daily]]

''
To what can our life on earth be likened?''

''To a flock of geese,''
''
alighting on the snow.''
''
Sometimes leaving a trace of their passage.''

(Source: Su Shi, Su Shi Poetry)

Many would praise me as the wisest among men; the ideal scholar and author. But those close to me knew better. My dear friend Fo Yin, so much wiser than I by far, my beloved wife who I found that I could not function properly without; these people saw my follies and my flaws, and never failed to point them out to me one after the other. I will never forget one day when I was feeling particularly pleased with my accomplishments and sent a self-laudatory poem to Fo Yin in hopes of impressing him with my wisdom as well. The poem that I sent him went thus:

稽首天中天，

毫光照大千；

八风吹不动，

端坐紫金莲。

''I bow my head to the heaven within heaven,

Hairline rays illuminating the universe,

The eight winds cannot move me,

Sitting still upon the purple golden lotus.''

I hoped to show through my eloquent writing, that I had moved beyond the eight forces that usually controlled man: praise (称), ridicule (讥), honor (誉), disgrace (毁), gain (得), loss (失), pleasure (乐) and misery (苦), and that I had achieved a sort of state of enlightenment. My friend, a zen master himself, knew the meaning of my words better than I did and sent back a single word in reply: fart. Enraged at this uncaring insult from a long-time friend, I prepared a boat and sailed across the lake seperating our houses, pounding on his door and demanding an audience. What I got was a letter written by Fo Yin and addressed to myself:

八风吹不动，

一屁弹过江。

''The eight winds cannot move me,

One fart blows me across the river''

I realized how foolish and arrogant I had been to think that I was unmovable by worldly thoughts. In two short lines, Fo Yin had shown me that I was just as susceptible to the blowing of the eight winds as any man was.

(Source: History – Anecdotes)

Greatest writer of the period (410)
Famous during my life
writer, poet (shi, cu, fu, poems on paintings), artist (painter), calligrapher, pharmacologist, and statesman of the Song Dynasty
Around 2,700 of my poems and 800 letters have survived (source: Chinese Literature).
Critic of Wang Anshi’s New Policies (410)

Exiled several times for being outspoken.
Did not let the exile and poverty bother me and wrote contentedly of my new life.
Didn’t write depressing poems, but was dispassionate.
Believed that there was no one “right” way, but that everyone must find their own path.

[[File:Picture2.gif|200px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Great Wall Vacation]]

江城子•乙卯正月二十日夜記夢

十年生死兩茫茫，

不思量，自難忘。

千里孤墳，無處話淒涼。

縱使相逢應不識，

塵滿面，鬢如霜。

夜來幽夢忽還鄉，

小軒窗，正梳妝。

相顧無言，惟有淚千行。

料得年年腸斷處，

明月夜，短松岡。

(source: Su Shi, “Dreaming”)

''Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month

Ten years living and dead have drawn apart

I do nothing to remember

But I cannot forget

Your lonely grave a thousand miles away...

Nowhere can I talk of my sorrow -

Even if we met, how would you know me

My face full of dust

My hair like snow? In the dark of night, a dream: suddenly, I am home

You by the window

Doing your hair

I look at you and cannot speak

Your face is streaked by endless tears

Year after year must they break my heart

These moonlit nights?

That low pine grave?''

(Source: History – Literature)

[[File:Picture6.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa ]]

After years of striving to improve China and the Chinese Government, I had gotten nowhere. Not in the literal sense, mind you, for my political commentaries had got me sent all around the country of China as a convicted criminal and I became quite the expert on the topographical features of China. What I mean is that the the leaders of China would rather send me hiking across the country, then enforce any of the measures that I prescribed. No matter what I wrote, China would never change. I wrote laughingly of the matter once, when one of my wives gave birth to a son:

''Families, when a child is born

Want it to be intelligent.

I, through intelligence,

Having wrecked my whole life,

Only hope the baby will prove

Ignorant and stupid.

Then he will crown a tranquil life

By becoming a Cabinet Minister.''

(Source: Su Shi, "On the Birth of His Son”)

[File:Picture5.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi]]

“Have you really understood the water and the moon?” I said. “The one streams past so swiftly yet is never gone; the other for ever waxes and wanes yet finally has never grown nor diminished. For if you look at the aspect which changes, heaven and earth cannot last for one blink; but if you look at the aspect which is changeless, the worlds within and outside you are both inexhaustible, and what reasons have you to envy anything?

“Moreover, each thing between heaven and earth has its owner, and even one hair which is not mine I can never make part of me. Only the cool wind on the river, or the full moon in the mountains, caught by the ear becomes a sound, or met by the eye changes to colour; no one forbids me to make it mine, no limit is set to the use of it; this is the inexhaustible treasury of the creator of things, and you and I can share in the joy of it.”

The guest smiled, consoled. We washed the cups and poured more wine. After the nuts and savouries were finished, and the wine‑cups and dishes lay scattered around, we leaned pillowed back to back in the middle of the boat, and did not notice when the sky turned white in the east.

(Source: Su Shi, "EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF”)

[[File:Picture4.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Cultural China]]

[[File:Picture1.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph 2. Cultural China]]

----

'''Works Cited'''

"Chinese Literature - Chinese Culture - China Guide - Greatwallvacation.com." GreatWallVacation, Professional, efficient and Faithful China Tour Operator and Wholesaler. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.greatwallvacation.com/travel-destinations/Chinese-Culture/Chinese-Literature.html>.

"History - Anecdotes." Su Shi's Story: How Fart Can Make You Grow Spiritually? Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html>.

"History - Literature." Su Shi. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59History147.html>.

Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi. Photograph. Chinapage.com. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinapage.com/red-cliff.html>.
Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa: Fairy Tale Dolls, Handmade With Love. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://castleofcostamesa.com/chinese-culture/chinese-stories-for-children/biographies-of-famous-chinese-historical-figures-%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8/su-dongpo-%E8%98%87%E6%9D%B1%E5%9D%A1>.

Photograph. China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm>.

Photograph. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html>.

Photograph 2. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6024.html>.

Photograph. Great Wall Vacation. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.greatwallvacation.com/travel-destinations/Chinese-Culture/Chinese-Literature.html>.

Su Shi. "Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month." Chinese Poems. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinese-poems.com/s5.html>.

Su Shi. "EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF , PART I By Su Shi (Su Dongpo)." Asia for Educators. Asia for Educators | Columbia University. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://afe.easia.columbia.edu>.

Su Shi. "On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po • 6 Poems by Su Tung-poEdit." On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po Classic Famous Poet. Allpoetry.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://allpoetry.com/poem/8536825-On_the_birth_of_his_son-by-Su_Tung-po>.

Su Shi. " Su Shi Poetry [Su DongPo]." Su Shi (Su Dongpo) Poetry. Chinapage.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinapage.com/poet-e/sushi2e.html>.

"The Life of Su Dongpo." China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm>.

Su Shi (Su Dongpo)

2012-03-02T04:50:35Z

69.169.132.20:

SU SHI (SU DONGPO)蘇東坡 (1037–1101)

[[File:0023ae9897010e0b915f53.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. China Daily]]

''To what can our life on earth be likened?

To a flock of geese,

alighting on the snow.

Sometimes leaving a trace of their passage.''

(Source: Su Shi, Su Shi Poetry)

Many would praise me as the wisest among men; the ideal scholar and author. But those close to me knew better. My dear friend Fo Yin, so much wiser than I by far, my beloved wife who I found that I could not function properly without; these people saw my follies and my flaws, and never failed to point them out to me one after the other. I will never forget one day when I was feeling particularly pleased with my accomplishments and sent a self-laudatory poem to Fo Yin in hopes of impressing him with my wisdom as well. The poem that I sent him went thus:

稽首天中天，

毫光照大千；

八风吹不动，

端坐紫金莲。

''I bow my head to the heaven within heaven,

Hairline rays illuminating the universe,

The eight winds cannot move me,

Sitting still upon the purple golden lotus.''

I hoped to show through my eloquent writing, that I had moved beyond the eight forces that usually controlled man: praise (称), ridicule (讥), honor (誉), disgrace (毁), gain (得), loss (失), pleasure (乐) and misery (苦), and that I had achieved a sort of state of enlightenment. My friend, a zen master himself, knew the meaning of my words better than I did and sent back a single word in reply: fart. Enraged at this uncaring insult from a long-time friend, I prepared a boat and sailed across the lake seperating our houses, pounding on his door and demanding an audience. What I got was a letter written by Fo Yin and addressed to myself:

八风吹不动，

一屁弹过江。

''The eight winds cannot move me,

One fart blows me across the river''

I realized how foolish and arrogant I had been to think that I was unmovable by worldly thoughts. In two short lines, Fo Yin had shown me that I was just as susceptible to the blowing of the eight winds as any man was.

(Source: History – Anecdotes)

Greatest writer of the period (410)
Famous during my life
writer, poet (shi, cu, fu, poems on paintings), artist (painter), calligrapher, pharmacologist, and statesman of the Song Dynasty
Around 2,700 of my poems and 800 letters have survived (source: Chinese Literature).
Critic of Wang Anshi’s New Policies (410)

Exiled several times for being outspoken.
Did not let the exile and poverty bother me and wrote contentedly of my new life.
Didn’t write depressing poems, but was dispassionate.
Believed that there was no one “right” way, but that everyone must find their own path.

[[File:Picture2.gif|200px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Great Wall Vacation]]

江城子•乙卯正月二十日夜記夢

十年生死兩茫茫，

不思量，自難忘。

千里孤墳，無處話淒涼。

縱使相逢應不識，

塵滿面，鬢如霜。

夜來幽夢忽還鄉，

小軒窗，正梳妝。

相顧無言，惟有淚千行。

料得年年腸斷處，

明月夜，短松岡。

(source: Su Shi, “Dreaming”)

''Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month

Ten years living and dead have drawn apart

I do nothing to remember

But I cannot forget

Your lonely grave a thousand miles away...

Nowhere can I talk of my sorrow -

Even if we met, how would you know me

My face full of dust

My hair like snow? In the dark of night, a dream: suddenly, I am home

You by the window

Doing your hair

I look at you and cannot speak

Your face is streaked by endless tears

Year after year must they break my heart

These moonlit nights?

That low pine grave?''

(Source: History – Literature)

[[File:Picture6.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa ]]

After years of striving to improve China and the Chinese Government, I had gotten nowhere. Not in the literal sense, mind you, for my political commentaries had got me sent all around the country of China as a convicted criminal and I became quite the expert on the topographical features of China. What I mean is that the the leaders of China would rather send me hiking across the country, then enforce any of the measures that I prescribed. No matter what I wrote, China would never change. I wrote laughingly of the matter once, when one of my wives gave birth to a son:

''Families, when a child is born

Want it to be intelligent.

I, through intelligence,

Having wrecked my whole life,

Only hope the baby will prove

Ignorant and stupid.

Then he will crown a tranquil life

By becoming a Cabinet Minister.''

(Source: Su Shi, "On the Birth of His Son”)

[File:Picture5.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi]]

“Have you really understood the water and the moon?” I said. “The one streams past so swiftly yet is never gone; the other for ever waxes and wanes yet finally has never grown nor diminished. For if you look at the aspect which changes, heaven and earth cannot last for one blink; but if you look at the aspect which is changeless, the worlds within and outside you are both inexhaustible, and what reasons have you to envy anything?

“Moreover, each thing between heaven and earth has its owner, and even one hair which is not mine I can never make part of me. Only the cool wind on the river, or the full moon in the mountains, caught by the ear becomes a sound, or met by the eye changes to colour; no one forbids me to make it mine, no limit is set to the use of it; this is the inexhaustible treasury of the creator of things, and you and I can share in the joy of it.”

The guest smiled, consoled. We washed the cups and poured more wine. After the nuts and savouries were finished, and the wine‑cups and dishes lay scattered around, we leaned pillowed back to back in the middle of the boat, and did not notice when the sky turned white in the east.

(Source: Su Shi, "EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF”)

[[File:Picture4.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Cultural China]]

[[File:Picture1.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph 2. Cultural China]]

----

'''Works Cited'''

"Chinese Literature - Chinese Culture - China Guide - Greatwallvacation.com." GreatWallVacation, Professional, efficient and Faithful China Tour Operator and Wholesaler. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.greatwallvacation.com/travel-destinations/Chinese-Culture/Chinese-Literature.html>.

"History - Anecdotes." Su Shi's Story: How Fart Can Make You Grow Spiritually? Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html>.

"History - Literature." Su Shi. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59History147.html>.

Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi. Photograph. Chinapage.com. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinapage.com/red-cliff.html>.
Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa: Fairy Tale Dolls, Handmade With Love. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://castleofcostamesa.com/chinese-culture/chinese-stories-for-children/biographies-of-famous-chinese-historical-figures-%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8/su-dongpo-%E8%98%87%E6%9D%B1%E5%9D%A1>.

Photograph. China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm>.

Photograph. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html>.

Photograph 2. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6024.html>.

Photograph. Great Wall Vacation. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.greatwallvacation.com/travel-destinations/Chinese-Culture/Chinese-Literature.html>.

Su Shi. "Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month." Chinese Poems. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinese-poems.com/s5.html>.

Su Shi. "EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF , PART I By Su Shi (Su Dongpo)." Asia for Educators. Asia for Educators | Columbia University. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://afe.easia.columbia.edu>.

Su Shi. "On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po • 6 Poems by Su Tung-poEdit." On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po Classic Famous Poet. Allpoetry.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://allpoetry.com/poem/8536825-On_the_birth_of_his_son-by-Su_Tung-po>.

Su Shi. " Su Shi Poetry [Su DongPo]." Su Shi (Su Dongpo) Poetry. Chinapage.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinapage.com/poet-e/sushi2e.html>.

"The Life of Su Dongpo." China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm>.

Su Shi (Su Dongpo)

2012-03-02T04:48:56Z

69.169.132.20:

SU SHI (SU DONGPO)蘇東坡 (1037–1101)

[[File:0023ae9897010e0b915f53.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. China Daily]]

''To what can our life on earth be likened?

To a flock of geese,

alighting on the snow.

Sometimes leaving a trace of their passage.''

(Source: Su Shi, Su Shi Poetry)

Many would praise me as the wisest among men; the ideal scholar and author. But those close to me knew better. My dear friend Fo Yin, so much wiser than I by far, my beloved wife who I found that I could not function properly without; these people saw my follies and my flaws, and never failed to point them out to me one after the other. I will never forget one day when I was feeling particularly pleased with my accomplishments and sent a self-laudatory poem to Fo Yin in hopes of impressing him with my wisdom as well. The poem that I sent him went thus:

稽首天中天，

毫光照大千；

八风吹不动，

端坐紫金莲。

I bow my head to the heaven within heaven,

Hairline rays illuminating the universe,

The eight winds cannot move me,

Sitting still upon the purple golden lotus.

I hoped to show through my eloquent writing, that I had moved beyond the eight forces that usually controlled man: praise (称), ridicule (讥), honor (誉), disgrace (毁), gain (得), loss (失), pleasure (乐) and misery (苦), and that I had achieved a sort of state of enlightenment. My friend, a zen master himself, knew the meaning of my words better than I did and sent back a single word in reply: fart. Enraged at this uncaring insult from a long-time friend, I prepared a boat and sailed across the lake seperating our houses, pounding on his door and demanding an audience. What I got was a letter written by Fo Yin and addressed to myself:

八风吹不动，

一屁弹过江。

The eight winds cannot move me,

One fart blows me across the river

I realized how foolish and arrogant I had been to think that I was unmovable by worldly thoughts. In two short lines, Fo Yin had shown me that I was just as susceptible to the blowing of the eight winds as any man was.

(Source: History – Anecdotes)

Greatest writer of the period (410)
Famous during my life
writer, poet (shi, cu, fu, poems on paintings), artist (painter), calligrapher, pharmacologist, and statesman of the Song Dynasty
Around 2,700 of my poems and 800 letters have survived (source: Chinese Literature).
Critic of Wang Anshi’s New Policies (410)

Exiled several times for being outspoken.
Did not let the exile and poverty bother me and wrote contentedly of my new life.
Didn’t write depressing poems, but was dispassionate.
Believed that there was no one “right” way, but that everyone must find their own path.

[[File:Picture2.gif|200px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Great Wall Vacation]]

江城子•乙卯正月二十日夜記夢

十年生死兩茫茫，

不思量，自難忘。

千里孤墳，無處話淒涼。

縱使相逢應不識，

塵滿面，鬢如霜。

夜來幽夢忽還鄉，

小軒窗，正梳妝。

相顧無言，惟有淚千行。

料得年年腸斷處，

明月夜，短松岡。

(source: Su Shi, “Dreaming”)

Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month

Ten years living and dead have drawn apart

I do nothing to remember

But I cannot forget

Your lonely grave a thousand miles away...

Nowhere can I talk of my sorrow -

Even if we met, how would you know me

My face full of dust

My hair like snow? In the dark of night, a dream: suddenly, I am home

You by the window

Doing your hair

I look at you and cannot speak

Your face is streaked by endless tears

Year after year must they break my heart

These moonlit nights?

That low pine grave?

(Source: History – Literature)

[[File:Picture6.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa ]]

After years of striving to improve China and the Chinese Government, I had gotten nowhere. Not in the literal sense, mind you, for my political commentaries had got me sent all around the country of China as a convicted criminal and I became quite the expert on the topographical features of China. What I mean is that the the leaders of China would rather send me hiking across the country, then enforce any of the measures that I prescribed. No matter what I wrote, China would never change. I wrote laughingly of the matter once, when one of my wives gave birth to a son:

Families, when a child is born

Want it to be intelligent.

I, through intelligence,

Having wrecked my whole life,

Only hope the baby will prove

Ignorant and stupid.

Then he will crown a tranquil life

By becoming a Cabinet Minister.

(Source: Su Shi, "On the Birth of His Son”)

[File:Picture5.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi]]

“Have you really understood the water and the moon?” I said. “The one streams past so swiftly yet is never gone; the other for ever waxes and wanes yet finally has never grown nor diminished. For if you look at the aspect which changes, heaven and earth cannot last for one blink; but if you look at the aspect which is changeless, the worlds within and outside you are both inexhaustible, and what reasons have you to envy anything?

“Moreover, each thing between heaven and earth has its owner, and even one hair which is not mine I can never make part of me. Only the cool wind on the river, or the full moon in the mountains, caught by the ear becomes a sound, or met by the eye changes to colour; no one forbids me to make it mine, no limit is set to the use of it; this is the inexhaustible treasury of the creator of things, and you and I can share in the joy of it.”

The guest smiled, consoled. We washed the cups and poured more wine. After the nuts and savouries were finished, and the wine‑cups and dishes lay scattered around, we leaned pillowed back to back in the middle of the boat, and did not notice when the sky turned white in the east.

(Source: Su Shi, "EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF”)

[[File:Picture4.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph. Cultural China]]

[[File:Picture1.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Source: Photograph 2. Cultural China]]

----

'''Works Cited'''

"Chinese Literature - Chinese Culture - China Guide - Greatwallvacation.com." GreatWallVacation, Professional, efficient and Faithful China Tour Operator and Wholesaler. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.greatwallvacation.com/travel-destinations/Chinese-Culture/Chinese-Literature.html>.

"History - Anecdotes." Su Shi's Story: How Fart Can Make You Grow Spiritually? Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html>.

"History - Literature." Su Shi. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/59History147.html>.

Ode of Red Cliff (partial) By Su Shi. Photograph. Chinapage.com. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinapage.com/red-cliff.html>.
Photograph. Castle of Costa Mesa: Fairy Tale Dolls, Handmade With Love. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://castleofcostamesa.com/chinese-culture/chinese-stories-for-children/biographies-of-famous-chinese-historical-figures-%E4%BA%BA%E7%89%A9%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8/su-dongpo-%E8%98%87%E6%9D%B1%E5%9D%A1>.

Photograph. China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm>.

Photograph. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6025.html>.

Photograph 2. Cultural China. Shanghai News, Press Bureau. Hongtu Real Estate Development Company, One Member of the Long River Foreign Exchange Foundation. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/38History6024.html>.

Photograph. Great Wall Vacation. Web. 23 Feb. 2012. <http://www.greatwallvacation.com/travel-destinations/Chinese-Culture/Chinese-Literature.html>.

Su Shi. "Dreaming of My Deceased Wife on the Night of the 20th Day of the First Month." Chinese Poems. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinese-poems.com/s5.html>.

Su Shi. "EXCERPTS FROM THE RED CLIFF , PART I By Su Shi (Su Dongpo)." Asia for Educators. Asia for Educators | Columbia University. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://afe.easia.columbia.edu>.

Su Shi. "On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po • 6 Poems by Su Tung-poEdit." On the Birth of His Son by Su Tung-po Classic Famous Poet. Allpoetry.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://allpoetry.com/poem/8536825-On_the_birth_of_his_son-by-Su_Tung-po>.

Su Shi. " Su Shi Poetry [Su DongPo]." Su Shi (Su Dongpo) Poetry. Chinapage.com. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinapage.com/poet-e/sushi2e.html>.

"The Life of Su Dongpo." China Daily. 28 Sept. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2012. <http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/regional/2010-09/28/content_11357593.htm>.

Writing with your own blood

2012-02-13T06:25:40Z

69.169.132.20:

PART 1: https://docs.google.com/present/embed?id=dc4f2tj3_2cprh46fk

PART 2: https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dc4f2tj3_34ds98bd7q

Writing with your own blood

2012-02-08T03:40:33Z

69.169.132.20:

https://docs.google.com/present/embed?id=dc4f2tj3_2cprh46fk

Writing with your own blood

2012-02-08T03:40:07Z

69.169.132.20:

https://docs.google.com/present/embed?id=dc4f2tj3_2cprh46fk" frameborder="0" width="410" height="342"></iframe>

Writing with your own blood

2012-02-08T03:39:23Z

69.169.132.20: Created page with '<iframe src="https://docs.google.com/present/embed?id=dc4f2tj3_2cprh46fk" frameborder="0" width="410" height="342"></iframe>'

Cixi

2011-12-12T01:30:41Z

69.169.132.20:

[[File:Cixi_3.PNG]]

(Picture: The Empress Dowager Cixi)

I have never thought of myself as a woman. As a child, I would often dream of what it would be like to ride to war and fight for twelve years in the guise of a man like Hua Mulan did so long ago. Certainly, I was clever enough to fool all of the men, and I would not do as Hua Mulan did and return quietly home to live as a woman once more, but I would continue my ascent to even greater heights. When my mother found me swinging my father's sword in the back garden one fateful day, she shrieked and dragged me angrily into the house so that I feared I would be beaten. She did not strike me however, but sat me in front of a mirror and began applying a rosy pink blush to my cheeks.
"A woman's greatest weapon is not a sword, my daughter," she told me as she dabbed gently at my cheeks. "A woman's greatest weapon is her looks, which can control any man, no matter how powerful."

I stared at the mirror, and a beautiful young woman stared back at me.

"You are beautiful my daughter. I will find you a good husband,and you will use every weapon in your arsenal to win the war against him."

The very next week I was told that I was to become one of Emperor Xianfeng's concubines, and I knew I was being given an opportunity to rewrite my fate; the chance to fight as a man like Hua Mulan. But first I must fight as a woman. I will tell you upfront that my mission succeeded. I followed my mother's advice and became adept at all the womanly arts of war. Once I had risen above all the men in the land, I completed the dream that neither my mother nor Hua Mulan dared to dream, and became a man myself. I had everyone address me as they would a man, and my subjects referred to me fondly as Lao Fo Ye (The Old Buddha) in my later years. I even required my adopted son Guanxu to call me "father", for that was what I was to him (Liu 151). I could not care for and tenderly nurture Guanxu as a mother should, I had to guide him with the hard hand of a father so he would understand that his place was beneath me. Would I had been born a man. You can have no idea how many times I have had this thought. I thought it the first night I was presented to the emperor Xianfeng, the day I was forced to rid China of Tongzhi, my worthless son, and again the day before my death when I ordered Guanxu poisoned so that he wouldn't further corrupt and erode my beautiful empire in my absence. If I had not been born a wretched woman, I would not have had to bloody my hands so. If I had been born to my rightful role as emperor, I would not have had to watch as one worthless fool after another wrought disaster upon China. If I had only been born a man, China would have joined together to successfully vanquish the Western threats and the emperors of China would now be ruling on high over the whole world as is our right, as would have been our destiny.

I was born on November 29, 1835, to a distinguished Manchu lineage, the Nehonala clan, though my father was only a minor official (Perkins 93). Even as a child, I had been discontent with my position in life, so when I was named a consort of the Emperor Xianfeng in 1851 at the age of 16 (Perkins 93), I gladly accepted the role to escape from the drudgery of my life. I ascended through the ranks of Kianfeng’s consorts until I became a favorite in 1856 for having born him his only living son, Tongzhi (Perkins 93). However, ascending to the rank of empress Dowager was no easy task, as I soon discovered. I did not find palace life as exciting as I had expected. I enjoyed the luxuries the the palace had to offer, but the life was decidedly dull. I was kept even more out of sight than I had been in family's household. The emperor didn't take much notice of his newest concubine for a long time. I decided that it was best to use my long hours of boredom to their best advantage and I studied diligently the arts of calligraphy and painting until I became remarkably adept at them (Pakula 40). When the emperor finally noticed my beauty and talents, I worked doubly hard to be pleasing to him, and my efforts paid off almost immediately. I love the theater exceedingly, and have always prided myself that I was able to act as well as anyone I saw on the stage; “I can make people hate me worse than poison, and I can also make them love me. I have the power” (Perkins 18). All of China was my stage, and it was simple work to act my way into the emperor's good graces, for he had a simple mind and was an exceptionally easy audience to read. Seeing that I showed great interest in his affairs, the emperor readily allowed me to read official documents and discussed his most important policy matters with me. It was thus that I became highly literate and knowledgeable about the ways of government, and thus that I became even more unsatisfied with my meager role. I began to take a more active part in state affairs and realized how much more suitable I was to rule than so many of the inept officials that the emperor kept by his side. China had been steadily falling into a state of disarray. I could not understand why officials were allowing Westerners to cross into our empire with their foreign religions and tainted ideas to corrupt our people. This is not to say that I was not interested in the many wonders that the West had to offer. At some point, right under the sleeping noses of the Manchu officials, countries such as Britain and the United States had surpassed us in technology. I saw the opportunity to utilize Western technology and to surpass it.

After constant visits to the emperor's chambers, my efforts finally came to fruition. When I felt the baby in my womb, I began to hatch a scheme around that small life. I prayed to my ancestors every day that it might be a son so that it would be heir to the throne. I prayed that this infant would be the means through which I could unify China once more. With grand visions forming in my mind, I waited patiently through the troubles and annoyances of pregnancy. When the baby was finally born and pronounced a boy, I cried for joy: I was to be free from my frustration at last. Or so I thought; life is never that simple and many hurdles would arise before I could assume the throne. I was promoted to the rank of Imperial Consort Yi immediately after the birth of my son,who was named Tongzhi, and before long was further promoted to Noble Consort Yi , second only to the empress (West 498), though I was prized by the emperor more than the empress Cian because I had done what she could not. I was finally able to convince the emperor to name my son the legal successor to the throne when Tongzhi was six years of age (Pakula 41).

China was crumbling pitiably under Xianfeng's rule.He could not even quell the Taiping Rebellion which was led by a madman who claimed to be some sort of Western God, and the rebellion stretched on from 1850-1864 (Paludan 209). In 1860, during the Second Opium War, I was even forced to flee with my emperor from our Summer Palace in Beijing to our summer resort in Jehol because of an attack from British and French troops (Paludan 209). The humiliation from the capture of Beijing, coupled with his cowardly flight, left Xianfeng too embarrassed to return to the capital or even speak with his own officials (Paludan 209). In shame, the emperor died in 1861(Perkins 93), and I prepared for the new role that I was to play without an emperor to rule over me. Before Xianfeng died, he made his eight most conservative advisers joint regents over my son, Tongzhi, and I was given the rank of the empress dowager (Perkins 93). I conspired to gain power with Prince Gong, and successfully arrested the eight regents standing in my way, executing three of them (Perkins 93). I became co-regent with the legitimate wife of Xianfeng, the empress consort Cian (Perkins 93). Cian was ignorant about anything concerning politics and could neither read nor write, and so was only too happy to leave state affairs to me (Pakula 41).

[[File:Emperor Xianfeng.PNG]] [[File:Emperor Tongzhi.jpg]]

(Pictures: The Emperor Xianfeng on the left. The Emperor Tongzhi on the right.)

After I began my rule as the Dowager Empress, I found how few friends I truly possessed in court when I found myself the constant recipient of blame and criticism whenever something went awry. There was one instance for which I was unjustly blamed that I simply cannot forget, it was so embarrassing and unjust an accusation. I was blamed for the use of navy funds in the rebuilding of the Summer Palace which had been destroyed after Emperor Xianfeng and I had fled in 1860, and for the restoration of a fantastic marble barge which had suffered the same fate (Seagrave 181). However, I had not known, that funds were appropriated from anywhere because the project had been entirely in the hands of Prince Chun and Viceroy Li HongZhang who had hoped to gain my favor through this extravagant gift (Seagrave 181, 500-501). Due to Prince Chun's and Vieceroy Li's foolishly timed and ill carried out attempt at recommending themselves, we suffered a ridiculous and humiliating defeat at the hands of the Japanese because our navy was in such disarray (Seagrave 181). So distressed was I over this blunder, that I cancelled my 60th birthday celebration, for I had no desire to spend lavishly when my navy had no ships to sail in (Seagrave 501).

[[File:Cixi 8.jpg]][[File:Cixi 7.jpg]]

(Pictures: The Summer Palace on the Left. The Marble barge for lake-viewing on the right)

Despite my many critics, I was not completely alone and wanting for allies. I still had many by my side who supported and admired me. I was very fond, for instance, of many of my eunuchs who made it their business to amuse and pamper me. My head eunuch, Li Lianying, in particular, was a special friend to me who I could never consider as a mere servant. Li Lianying came at a time when I was in deep distress because none of my eunuchs could comb and style my hair properly. Like a gift from heaven, Li offered, in his ever pleasing and humble manner, to try his hand at styling my hair. When I doubtfully acquiesced, he began to deftly comb and twist my hair until, when I looked in the mirror, not a hair was out of place ("history.cultural-china.com"). As I admired my reflection from various angles, I heard Li Lianying inquire how I liked it. From the mirror, I could see a small smile that showed that he knew I approved. Turning sharply, I asked him if he thought it became me. With a small bow, he replied that it became me beautifully, but he was afraid that his clumsy fingers could never do my beauty justice. I ordered the eunuch to raise his head, and when he did, I saw his pert little smile accompanied by a wry twinkle in his dark eyes. I considered for a second if I should get angry at his insolence, but this eunuch intrigued me. He was not afraid of me like so many others. And he did not look down on me and mock me. He simply complimented me with that subtle smile that told me that he understood me and that I intrigued him too. It would not be so bad having such a man by my side, I thought, and smiled back at Li Lianying. "No doubt your fingers can never do me justice, but they will have to try," I told him and his eyes twinkled all the brighter, "for from this day out, you are to fix my hair. Come, show me another style." Some said that Li Lianying's words were simply empty flattery, but he was one man who treated me well. So many looked at me with scorn and said that I was acting above my station as a woman; that I was only a consort. Even if it was only flattery, who cares as long as he did it well? Li Lianying treated me with kindness and compassion, and I, in turn, rewarded him by giving him much power over the operations of my court ("history.cultural-china.com").

[[File:Eunuch.jpg]]

(Picture: The Head Eunuch Li Lianying)

Tongzhi turned out to be a natural hedonist, a trait that I fear he inherited from me. He would amuse himself with the eunuchs and would often visit various brothels in a clumsily made disguise (paludan 212). I admit to encouraging my son a little in his childish outings. As long as Tongzhi was happily occupied within the confines of the palace with his drink and playthings, I was free to enact my policies without an undo amount of interference. The time came when it was expected that Tongzhi should wed and produce an heir, so in 1872, I chose from the most suitable Manchu lineages, a young bride by the name of Alute (Perkins 93). I knew that my regency would end when my son married, so I had hoped to find Alute a malleable figure, but to my dismay, she began to have an increasingly powerful influence over Tongzhi's mind and he proceeded to defy me. Tongzhi contracted smallpox, and knowing that he was already in ill health from his interminable drinking of alcohol and from a venereal disease which he had contracted from his frequent visits to the brothels as well as from his many eunuch friends (Paludan 212), I began to search for an heir in the event that Tongzhi's weak constitution led him to fall prey to a disease that killed so many.It wasn't long before my eyes rested on my nephew, Guanxu, who was the son of my sister and Xianfeng's brother(Paludan 213). Guanxu was not even 4 years old (Paludan 213), so if he were installed on the throne, I would regain my position. I had already constructed a China with me as regent, so it disturbed me when I heard that, despite the odds, my son was beginning to recover (Paludan 213). This was just like Tongzhi; pretending to bend to my will, then stabbing me in the back. Having tasted the sweet juice of imperial power once, I could not allow the second cup to be wrenched from my grasp having only sniffed its sweet spice. I had Tongzhi poisoned (Paludan 213). It was written in the records that Tongzhi had perished tragically of smallpox in 1875, at the age of 19, and I didn't mind when the rumor circulated that the real cause of his premature death was exhaustion from a life of overindulgence, for it was in no small way true(Perkins 93).

My selection of Guanxu as heir didn't pass without opposition because my daughter-in-law happened to be with child at the time (Paludan 213). I was met with further opposition on the grounds that because Guanxu was of the same generation as Tongzhi, he wouldn't be able to perform the various duties of ancestor worship that were necessary to bring Tongzhi's soul to rest (Perkins 93). I was able to convince the officials to accept Guanxu as heir by assuring them that Guanxu's eventual son would be named true heir to the throne and he would perform the filial duties due to Tongzhi (Courtauld & Holdsworth 125). I could not let any child of Alute ascend the throne, so I had to rid myself of the possible rival resting in her stomach: I persuaded the girl to commit suicide by eating gold dust two month after Tongzhi's death (Pakula 41). I knew that her death, such a short period after Tongzhi's, would incite suspicion, but she was a cunning and spiteful girl and I could not risk her bearing a son and usurping my power.

[[File:Guangxu.jpg]]

(Picture: The Emperor Guanxu)

Guanxu came of age in 1866 but I did not give up my regency until he married in 1889 (Perkins 93), and I was forced by propriety to declare my regency ended and retire to the Summer Palace ("Cixi"). Even then, I was able to maintain some degree of control, due more to the fact that Guanxu dared not defy me than to any real claim I had to the power. I made decisions and appointments which my nephew couldn’t veto and I read all of his official documents (Perkins 93). You must understand that neither Guanxu nor Tongzhi was as fit to rule as I. Guanxu especially, was afraid of me. It was my intention that my adopted son live in proper awe of my presence, but it was quite amusing at times how much he quaked in fear as a child and how he hid behind the skirts of his nursemaids whenever he was in my presence as if I were some ravenous animal come to tear him to shreds (Paludan 213-214). I wonder if I really had such a hungered look on my face as I looked down on him, envying his birthright and planning how to best claim it for my own. Guanxu grew no better as he aged. He was a chronically ill wisp of a man with a voice that was ‘light and thin like a mosquito,’and I believe that he never quite got over his dread of me (Paludan 213-214). Guanxu had not the temperament, nor the talents to rule a great nation under constant threat. Being faced with such a pathetic excuse for an emperor, I could not give up my power willingly. I had studied law for much longer and had amassed more experience than Quanxu or Tongzhi, and I was doing only what I saw as necessary in order to protect the empire I held so dear.

More and more, foreign forces were threatening my great empire, especially the states that traditionally brought tribute to China. France took control of the vassal state of Vietnam, and an ever advancing Japan took over Burma and the Ryukyu Islands, and then proceeded to threaten Korea, and conquer Port Arthur, Taiwan, and the Pescadore Islands (Perkins 94). As if these travesties were not enough, in 1898, Guanxu issued a foolish set of progressive edicts spurred on by the poisonous words of Kang Youwei and his ever faithful fanboy, Liang Qichao, in what was called the Hundred Day Reform ("Hundred Days of Reform"). I had been waiting quietly in the Summer Palace, pretending to support the emperor in his many reforms, but his progressive actions began to greatly alarm me as to the degree in which they would weaken the Qing government(Perkins18-20). Guanxu, ever anxious about my interference, ordered me arrested and imprisoned (Perkins 20). Unfortunately for my nephew, he trusted the wrong man. General Yuan Shikai, the agent whom he entrusted with the order for my arrest, was in fact a loyal pawn of mine (Perkins 20). I reversed Guanxu's thwarted plan on him; eunuchs captured the emperor in his chambers and escorted him to the Ocean Terrace, an island in a lake near the Forbidden City (Perkins 20). I quickly and decisively proceeded to arrest and execute the officials responsible for the corruption of the emperor's mind, and within five days, I had revoked all of the edicts that Guanxu had tried to put in place (Schoppa 44). I rewarded Yuan Shikai for his usefulness in this affair by giving him governorship of the province of Shandong (Perkins 94). To my great disappointment,Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao escaped my grasp by fleeing to their beloved Japan ("Kang").

I had an edict sent out an declaring that I would resume my regency do to the emperors ill health (Perkins 20). This edict and knowledge of the coup d'état caused many rumors to circulate in China and abroad that the emperor had been executed (Perkins 20). Some Western governments threatened that they would act against us if the emperor were executed, going so far as to insist that a doctor be allowed to see Guanxu so as to ascertain his state of health. I acquiesced to this request, but the Chinese people were outraged at the audacity of the foreigners' demands and so several anti-foreign riots broke out (Perkins 20). Here I will admit that my mind had begun to process the idea that Guanxu had become more of a nuisance than an asset. I had perhaps been too sluggish in reaching this conclusion, no doubt do to some foolish attachment I felt towards Guanxu because he was my own flesh and blood and my adopted son. Having at last reached the decision to terminate the barrier to China's restoration, I could not let anyone deter me from my path. I had the windows in Guanxu's chambers walled off (Paludan 214), and waited patiently for the foreign states to forget about his existence and move on with their own affairs.

China was growing weaker because of rapidly expanding European influences. Foreign missionaries came in great numbers to convert my people so that even the emperor himself began to be corrupted. Word began to spread of a secret society known as the Yihequan (Righteous and Harmonious Fists) that practiced martial arts and claimed to have super natural powers that would make them resistant even to the strike of a bullet ("Boxer Rebellion"). The Yihequan were determined to restore China to its former glory, free of foreign taint, and hearing that the voices of my people were behind them, I gave my consent in 1898 to what is now called the Boxer Rebellion (Paludan 214). Unfortunately, China had fallen too far already, and I was forced to flee from the western troops with Guanxu to a temporary capital in Xi’an (Paludan 214). Guanxu resisted my orders for him to flee disguised as a peasant. When I discovered that his defiance was brought about by the urging of his favored lover the Pear Concubine, I had the girl thrown into a well (Paludan 214). I understood my nephew; he always needed someone to rely on, and with the source of his borrowed power gone, he quickly gave in to his long held fear of me, and reverted to his malleable self. When I saw that the battles were not going in our favor, although I was greatly ashamed, I decided it was best to live to fight another day and signed the Boxer Protocol which forced China to pay a great indemnity of 200 Million ounces of silver, placed a ban on the making of armaments, punished many for war crimes, stopped the imperial examinations, and forced the lease of land for mines and railways, among other demands (Perkins 95, Pakula 43). I was then able to return to the capital and continue my reign in 1902, although I had to reenact many reforms that I had abolished (Perkins 95). I had to watch quietly as many of my citizens went to study in America and as many western-style schools were built (Perkins 95).

I was disappointed with the state of the empire, which I had inherited on the verge of its death. I wished that I could have been born in one of the many thousands of years of prosperity that China had enjoyed. Yet, In spite of everything, I pushed on. I have always been adaptable, not like Xianfeng or either of my sons who allowed themselves to lose to their despair. So it was that I began to play the foreigners' game, confident that I could still somehow manage to come out on top. Unfortunately, my body was beginning to fail me. The body that had once been so young, so beautiful, so full of life, was now old, lined, and feeble. Oh how I wished to turn back the clock. I knew that this was one scheme that no matter how hard I planned, could not succeed. But even if I could not be victorious, I could at least make it so that I was not the only one defeated. I could never stand losing, so I turned my thoughts to my final enemy, and hatched my final scheme. Guanxu must die. Guanxu, who had pushed China past its breaking point, Guanxu, who was waiting for my death to be restored to power: it was my duty to remove this evil which I myself had placed on the throne so many years ago. Guanxu's death didn't need any planning, it was as simple as waving one of my faithful servants over to my bedside and telling him to poison the emperor,and it was done. Guanxu died of arsenic poisoning at the age of 36 in November 1908 (Arsenic). Game set and match.

[[File:Pu Yi.jpg]] [[File:Puyi.jpg]]

(Pictures: Emperor Puyi as a child on the left. Emperoro Puyi as an adult on the right.)

I died of a stroke at the age of 73, one day after my nephew’s death (Paludan 216). Before I died, I selected my grand-nephew, the 3 year old Puyi as the successor to the throne (Perkins 95). When I chose Puyi as heir, I was neither thinking of China, nor her future. No, I was dreaming one last dream of what it would be like if I could only live another 10 years, or even five. If the God that the Westerners held so dear was to grant me just five more years, I am sure I would have made China great again. I did not want China to continue on without me. If I, Lao Fo Ye, should fall, then China should fall with me. I am Cixi, the last empress of China.

[[File:Cixi 4.jpg]]

(Picture: The Empress Dowager Cixi)

----

'''Works Cited'''

''"Arsenic Killed Chinese Emperor, Reports Say."''CNN WORLD. 4 Nov. 2008. 2 Oct. 2011. <http://articles.cnn.com/2008-11-04/world/china.emperor_1_arsenic-poisoning-arsenic-levels-china-central-television?_s=PM:WORLD>.

"Boxer Rebellion." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 14 Oct. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/76364/Boxer-Rebellion>.

"Cixi." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/612105/Cixi>.

Courtauld, Caroline , & May Holdsworth. ''The Forbidden City: The Great Within''. London: Frances Lincoln Ltd, 2008.

"How did the eunuch Li Lianying gain Empress Dowager Cixi's favor?." history.cultural-china.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct 2011. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/47H6581H12220.html>.

"Hundred Days of Reform." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 14 Oct. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/276504/Hundred-Days-of-Reform>.

"Kang Youwei." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 14 Oct. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/311026/Kang-Youwei>.

Liu, Lydia. ''The Clash of Empires: The Invention of China in Modern World Making''. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2004.

Pakula Hannah. ''The last empress: Madame Chiang Kai-Shek and the birth of modern China''. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2009.

Paludan, Ann. ''Chronicle of the Chinese Emerors''. New York: Thames &Hudson Inc., 1998.

Perkins, Dorothy. ''Encyclopedia of China: The Essential Reference to China, Its History and Culture''. New York: Round Table Press Inc., 1999.

Schoppa, R. Keith. ''The Columbia Guide to Modern Chinese History''. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000.

Seagrave, Sterling. ''Dragon Lady: The Life and Legend of the Last Epress of China''. New York: Alfred A. Knofp, Inc., 1992.

West, Barbara. ''Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania''. 1. New York: Facts on File, Inc, 2009. 498. eBook. <http://books.google.com/books?id=pCiNqFj3MQsC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0

Cixi

2011-12-11T16:03:24Z

69.169.132.20:

[[File:Cixi_3.PNG]]

(Picture: The Empress Dowager Cixi)

I have never thought of myself as a woman. As a child, I would often dream of what it would be like to ride to war and fight for twelve years in the guise of a man like Hua Mulan did so long ago. Certainly, I was clever enough to fool all of the men, and I would not do as Hua Mulan did and return quietly home to live as a woman once more, but I would continue my ascent to even greater heights. When my mother found me swinging my father's sword in the back garden one fateful day, she shrieked and dragged me angrily into the house so that I feared I would be beaten. She did not strike me however, but sat me in front of a mirror and began applying a rosy pink blush to my cheeks.
"A woman's greatest weapon is not a sword, my daughter," she told me as she dabbed gently at my cheeks. "A woman's greatest weapon is her looks, which can control any man, no matter how powerful."

I stared at the mirror, and a beautiful young woman stared back at me.

"You are beautiful my daughter. I will find you a good husband,and you will use every weapon in your arsenal to win the war against him."

The very next week I was told that I was to become one of Emperor Xianfeng's concubines, and I knew I was being given an opportunity to rewrite my fate; the chance to fight as a man like Hua Mulan. But first I must fight as a woman. I will tell you upfront that my mission succeeded. I followed my mother's advice and became adept at all the womanly arts of war. Once I had risen above all the men in the land, I completed the dream that neither my mother nor Hua Mulan dared to dream, and became a man myself. I had everyone address me as they would a man, and my subjects referred to me fondly as Lao Fo Ye (The Old Buddha) in my later years. I even required my adopted son Guanxu to call me "father", for that was what I was to him (Liu 151). I could not care for and tenderly nurture Guanxu as a mother should, I had to guide him with the hard hand of a father so he would understand that his place was beneath me. Would I had been born a man. You can have no idea how many times I have had this thought. I thought it the first night I was presented to the emperor Xianfeng, the day I was forced to rid China of Tongzhi, my worthless son, and again the day before my death when I ordered Guanxu poisoned so that he wouldn't further corrupt and erode my beautiful empire in my absence. If I had not been born a wretched woman, I would not have had to bloody my hands so. If I had been born to my rightful role as emperor, I would not have had to watch as one worthless fool after another wrought disaster upon China. If I had only been born a man, China would have joined together to successfully vanquish the Western threats and the emperors of China would now be ruling on high over the whole world as is our right, as would have been our destiny.

I was born on November 29, 1835, to a distinguished Manchu lineage, the Nehonala clan, though my father was only a minor official (Perkins 93). Even as a child, I had been discontent with my position in life, so when I was named a consort of the Emperor Xianfeng in 1851 at the age of 16 (Perkins 93), I gladly accepted the role to escape from the drudgery of my life. I ascended through the ranks of Kianfeng’s consorts until I became a favorite in 1856 for having born him his only living son, Tongzhi (Perkins 93). However, ascending to the rank of empress Dowager was no easy task, as I soon discovered. I did not find palace life as exciting as I had expected. I enjoyed the luxuries the the palace had to offer, but the life was decidedly dull. I was kept even more out of sight than I had been in family's household. The emperor didn't take much notice of his newest concubine for a long time. I decided that it was best to use my long hours of boredom to their best advantage and I studied diligently the arts of calligraphy and painting until I became remarkably adept at them (Pakula 40). When the emperor finally noticed my beauty and talents, I worked doubly hard to be pleasing to him, and my efforts paid off almost immediately. I love the theater exceedingly, and have always prided myself that I was able to act as well as anyone I saw on the stage; “I can make people hate me worse than poison, and I can also make them love me. I have the power” (Perkins 18). All of China was my stage, and it was simple work to act my way into the emperor's good graces for he had a simple mind and was an exceptionally easy audience to read. Seeing that I showed great interest in his affairs, the emperor readily allowed me to read official documents and discussed his most important policy matters with me. It was thus that I became highly literate and knowledgeable about the ways of government, and thus that I became even more unsatisfied with my meager role. I began to take a more active part in state affairs and realized how much more suitable I was to rule than so many of the inept officials that the emperor kept by his side. China had been steadily falling into a state of disarray. I could not understand why officials were allowing Westerners to cross into our empire with their foreign religions and tainted ideas to corrupt our people. This is not to say that I was not interested in the many wonders that the West had to offer. At some point, right under the sleeping noses of the Manchu officials, countries such as Britain and the United States had surpassed us in technology. I saw the opportunity to utilize Western technology and to surpass it.

After constant visits to the emperor's chambers, my efforts finally came to fruition. When I felt the baby in my womb, I began to hatch a scheme around that small life. I prayed to my ancestors every day that it might be a son so that it would be heir to the throne. I prayed that this infant would be the means through which I could unify China once more. With grand visions forming in my mind, I waited patiently through the troubles and annoyances of pregnancy. When the baby was finally born and pronounced a boy, I cried for joy: I was to be free from my frustration at last. Or so I thought; life is never that simple and many hurdles would arise before I could assume the throne. I was promoted to the rank of Imperial Consort Yi immediately after the birth of my son,who was named Tongzhi, and before long was further promoted to Noble Consort Yi , second only to the empress (West 498), though I was prized by the emperor more than the empress Cian because I had done what she could not. I was finally able to convince the emperor to name my son the legal successor to the throne when Tongzhi was six years of age (Pakula 41).

China was crumbling pitiably under Xianfeng's rule.He could not even quell the Taiping Rebellion which was led by a madman who claimed to be some sort of Western God, and the rebellion stretched on from 1850-1864 (Paludan 209). In 1860, during the Second Opium War, I was even forced to flee with my emperor from our Summer Palace in Beijing to our summer resort in Jehol because of an attack from British and French troops (Paludan 209). The humiliation from the capture of Beijing, coupled with his cowardly flight, left Xianfeng too embarrassed to return to the capital or even speak with his own officials (Paludan 209). In shame, the emperor died in 1861(Perkins 93), and I prepared for the new role that I was to play without an emperor to rule over me. Before Xianfeng died, he made his eight most conservative advisers joint regents over my son, Tongzhi, and I was given the rank of the empress dowager (Perkins 93). I conspired to gain power with Prince Gong, and successfully arrested the eight regents standing in my way, executing three of them (Perkins 93). I became co-regent with the legitimate wife of Xianfeng, the empress consort Cian (Perkins 93). Cian was ignorant about anything concerning politics and could neither read nor write, and so was only too happy to leave state affairs to me (Pakula 41).

[[File:Emperor Xianfeng.PNG]] [[File:Emperor Tongzhi.jpg]]

(Pictures: The Emperor Xianfeng on the left. The Emperor Tongzhi on the right.)

After I began my rule as the Dowager Empress, I found how few friends I truly possessed in court when I found myself the constant recipient of blame and criticism whenever something went awry. There was one instance for which I was unjustly blamed that I simply cannot forget, it was so embarrassing and unjust an accusation. I was blamed for the use of navy funds in the rebuilding of the Summer Palace which had been destroyed after Emperor Xianfeng and I had fled in 1860, and for the restoration of a fantastic marble barge which had suffered the same fate (Seagrave 181). However, I had not known, that funds were appropriated from anywhere because the project had been entirely in the hands of Prince Chun and Viceroy Li HongZhang who had hoped to gain my favor through this extravagant gift (Seagrave 181, 500-501). Due to Prince Chun's and Vieceroy Li's foolishly timed and ill carried out attempt at recommending themselves, we suffered a ridiculous and humiliating defeat at the hands of the Japanese because our navy was in such disarray (Seagrave 181). So distressed was I over this blunder, that I cancelled my 60th birthday celebration, for I had no desire to spend lavishly when my navy had no ships to sail in (Seagrave 501).

[[File:Cixi 8.jpg]][[File:Cixi 7.jpg]]

(Pictures: The Summer Palace on the Left. The Marble barge for lake-viewing on the right)

Despite my many critics, I was not completely alone and wanting for allies. I still had many by my side who supported and admired me. I was very fond, for instance, of many of my eunuchs who made it their business to amuse and pamper me. My head eunuch, Li Lianying, in particular, was a special friend to me who I could never consider as a mere servant. Li Lianying came at a time when I was in deep distress because none of my eunuchs could comb and style my hair properly. Like a gift from heaven, Li offered, in his ever pleasing and humble manner, to try his hand at styling my hair. When I doubtfully acquiesced, he began to deftly comb and twist my hair until, when I looked in the mirror, not a hair was out of place ("history.cultural-china.com"). As I admired my reflection from various angles, I heard Li Lianying inquire how I liked it. From the mirror, I could see a small smile that showed that he knew I approved. Turning sharply, I asked him if he thought it became me. With a small bow, he replied that it became me beautifully, but he was afraid that his clumsy fingers could never do my beauty justice. I ordered the eunuch to raise his head, and when he did, I saw his pert little smile accompanied by a wry twinkle in his dark eyes. I considered for a second if I should get angry at his insolence, but this eunuch intrigued me. He was not afraid of me like so many others. And he did not look down on me and mock me. He simply complimented me with that subtle smile that told me that he understood me and that I intrigued him too. It would not be so bad having such a man by my side, I thought, and smiled back at Li Lianying. "No doubt your fingers can never do me justice, but they will have to try," I told him and his eyes twinkled all the brighter, "for from this day out, you are to fix my hair. Come, show me another style." Some said that Li Lianying's words were simply empty flattery, but he was one man who treated me well. So many looked at me with scorn and said that I was acting above my station as a woman; that I was only a consort. Even if it was only flattery, who cares as long as he did it well? Li Lianying treated me with kindness and compassion, and I, in turn, rewarded him by giving him much power over the operations of my court ("history.cultural-china.com").

[[File:Eunuch.jpg]]

(Picture: The Head Eunuch Li Lianying)

Tongzhi turned out to be a natural hedonist, a trait that I fear he inherited from me. He would amuse himself with the eunuchs and would often visit various brothels in a clumsily made disguise (paludan 212). I admit to encouraging my son a little in his childish outings. As long as Tongzhi was happily occupied within the confines of the palace with his drink and playthings, I was free to enact my policies without an undo amount of interference. The time came when it was expected that Tongzhi should wed and produce an heir, so in 1872, I chose from the most suitable Manchu lineages, a young bride by the name of Alute (Perkins 93). I knew that my regency would end when my son married, so I had hoped to find Alute a malleable figure, but to my dismay, she began to have an increasingly powerful influence over Tongzhi's mind and he proceeded to defy me. Tongzhi contracted smallpox, and knowing that he was already in ill health from his interminable drinking of alcohol and from a venereal disease which he had contracted from his frequent visits to the brothels as well as from his many eunuch friends (Paludan 212), I began to search for an heir in the event that Tongzhi's weak constitution led him to fall prey to a disease that killed so many.It wasn't long before my eyes rested on my nephew, Guanxu, who was the son of my sister and Xianfeng's brother(Paludan 213). Guanxu was not even 4 years old (Paludan 213), so if he were installed on the throne, I would regain my position. I had already constructed a China with me as regent, so it disturbed me when I heard that, despite the odds, my son was beginning to recover (Paludan 213). This was just like Tongzhi; pretending to bend to my will, then stabbing me in the back. Having tasted the sweet juice of imperial power once, I could not allow the second cup to be wrenched from my grasp having only sniffed its sweet spice. I had Tongzhi poisoned (Paludan 213). It was written in the records that Tongzhi had perished tragically of smallpox in 1875, at the age of 19, and I didn't mind when the rumor circulated that the real cause of his premature death was exhaustion from a life of overindulgence, for it was in no small way true(Perkins 93).

My selection of Guanxu as heir didn't pass without opposition because my daughter-in-law happened to be with child at the time (Paludan 213). I was met with further opposition on the grounds that because Guanxu was of the same generation as Tongzhi, he wouldn't be able to perform the various duties of ancestor worship that were necessary to bring Tongzhi's soul to rest (Perkins 93). I was able to convince the officials to accept Guanxu as heir by assuring them that Guanxu's eventual son would be named true heir to the throne and he would perform the filial duties due to Tongzhi (Courtauld & Holdsworth 125). I could not let any child of Alute ascend the throne, so I had to rid myself of the possible rival resting in her stomach: I persuaded the girl to commit suicide by eating gold dust two month after Tongzhi's death (Pakula 41). I knew that her death, such a short period after Tongzhi's, would incite suspicion, but she was a cunning and spiteful girl and I could not risk her bearing a son and usurping my power.

[[File:Guangxu.jpg]]

(Picture: The Emperor Guanxu)

Guanxu came of age in 1866 but I did not give up my regency until he married in 1889 (Perkins 93), and I was forced by propriety to declare my regency ended and retire to the Summer Palace ("Cixi"). Even then, I was able to maintain some degree of control, due more to the fact that Guanxu dared not defy me than to any real claim I had to the power. I made decisions and appointments which my nephew couldn’t veto and I read all of his official documents (Perkins 93). You must understand that neither Guanxu nor Tongzhi was as fit to rule as I. Guanxu especially, was afraid of me. It was my intention that my adopted son live in proper awe of my presence, but it was quite amusing at times how much he quaked in fear as a child and how he hid behind the skirts of his nursemaids whenever he was in my presence as if I were some ravenous animal come to tear him to shreds (Paludan 213-214). I wonder if I really had such a hungered look on my face as I looked down on him, envying his birthright and planning how to best claim it for my own. Guanxu grew no better as he aged. He was a chronically ill wisp of a man with a voice that was ‘light and thin like a mosquito,’and I believe that he never quite got over his dread of me (Paludan 213-214). Guanxu had not the temperament, nor the talents to rule a great nation under constant threat. Being faced with such a pathetic excuse for an emperor, I could not give up my power willingly. I had studied law for much longer and had amassed more experience than Quanxu or Tongzhi, and I was doing only what I saw as necessary in order to protect the empire I held so dear.

More and more, foreign forces were threatening my great empire, especially the states that traditionally brought tribute to China. France took control of the vassal state of Vietnam, and an ever advancing Japan took over Burma and the Ryukyu Islands, and then proceeded to threaten Korea, and conquer Port Arthur, Taiwan, and the Pescadore Islands (Perkins 94). As if these travesties were not enough, in 1898, Guanxu issued a foolish set of progressive edicts spurred on by the poisonous words of Kang Youwei and his ever faithful fanboy, Liang Qichao, in what was called the Hundred Day Reform ("Hundred Days of Reform"). I had been waiting quietly in the Summer Palace, pretending to support the emperor in his many reforms, but his progressive actions began to greatly alarm me as to the degree in which they would weaken the Qing government(Perkins18-20). Guanxu, ever anxious about my interference, ordered me arrested and imprisoned (Perkins 20). Unfortunately for my nephew, he trusted the wrong man. General Yuan Shikai, the agent whom he entrusted with the order for my arrest, was in fact a loyal pawn of mine (Perkins 20). I reversed Guanxu's thwarted plan on him; eunuchs captured the emperor in his chambers and escorted him to the Ocean Terrace, an island in a lake near the Forbidden City (Perkins 20). I quickly and decisively proceeded to arrest and execute the officials responsible for the corruption of the emperor's mind, and within five days, I had revoked all of the edicts that Guanxu had tried to put in place (Schoppa 44). I rewarded Yuan Shikai for his usefulness in this affair by giving him governorship of the province of Shandong (Perkins 94). To my great disappointment,Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao escaped my grasp by fleeing to their beloved Japan ("Kang").

I had an edict sent out an declaring that I would resume my regency do to the emperors ill health (Perkins 20). This edict and knowledge of the coup d'état caused many rumors to circulate in China and abroad that the emperor had been executed (Perkins 20). Some Western governments threatened that they would act against us if the emperor were executed, going so far as to insist that a doctor be allowed to see Guanxu so as to ascertain his state of health. I acquiesced to this request, but the Chinese people were outraged at the audacity of the foreigners' demands and so several anti-foreign riots broke out (Perkins 20). Here I will admit that my mind had begun to process the idea that Guanxu had become more of a nuisance than an asset. I had perhaps been too sluggish in reaching this conclusion, no doubt do to some foolish attachment I felt towards Guanxu because he was my own flesh and blood and my adopted son. Having at last reached the decision to terminate the barrier to China's restoration, I could not let anyone deter me from my path. I had the windows in Guanxu's chambers walled off (Paludan 214), and waited patiently for the foreign states to forget about his existence and move on with their own affairs.

China was growing weaker because of rapidly expanding European influences. Foreign missionaries came in great numbers to convert my people so that even the emperor himself began to be corrupted. Word began to spread of a secret society known as the Yihequan (Righteous and Harmonious Fists) that practiced martial arts and claimed to have super natural powers that would make them resistant even to the strike of a bullet ("Boxer Rebellion"). The Yihequan were determined to restore China to its former glory, free of foreign taint, and hearing that the voices of my people were behind them, I gave my consent in 1898 to what is now called the Boxer Rebellion (Paludan 214). Unfortunately, China had fallen too far already, and I was forced to flee from the western troops with Guanxu to a temporary capital in Xi’an (Paludan 214). Guanxu resisted my orders for him to flee disguised as a peasant. When I discovered that his defiance was brought about by the urging of his favored lover the Pear Concubine, I had the girl thrown into a well (Paludan 214). I understood my nephew; he always needed someone to rely on, and with the source of his borrowed power gone, he quickly gave in to his long held fear of me, and reverted to his malleable self. When I saw that the battles were not going in our favor, although I was greatly ashamed, I decided it was best to live to fight another day and signed the Boxer Protocol which forced China to pay a great indemnity of 200 Million ounces of silver, placed a ban on the making of armaments, punished many for war crimes, stopped the imperial examinations, and forced the lease of land for mines and railways, among other demands (Perkins 95, Pakula 43). I was then able to return to the capital and continue my reign in 1902, although I had to reenact many reforms that I had abolished (Perkins 95). I had to watch quietly as many of my citizens went to study in America and as many western-style schools were built (Perkins 95).

I was disappointed with the state of the empire, which I had inherited on the verge of its death. I wished that I could have been born in one of the many thousands of years of prosperity that China had enjoyed. Yet, In spite of everything, I pushed on. I have always been adaptable, not like Xianfeng or either of my sons who allowed themselves to lose to their despair. So it was that I began to play the foreigners' game, confident that I could still somehow manage to come out on top. Unfortunately, my body was beginning to fail me. The body that had once been so young, so beautiful, so full of life, was now old, lined, and feeble. Oh how I wished to turn back the clock. I knew that this was one scheme that no matter how hard I planned, could not succeed. But even if I could not be victorious, I could at least make it so that I was not the only one defeated. I could never stand losing, so I turned my thoughts to my final enemy, and hatched my final scheme. Guanxu must die. Guanxu, who had pushed China past its breaking point, Guanxu, who was waiting for my death to be restored to power: it was my duty to remove this evil which I myself had placed on the throne so many years ago. Guanxu's death didn't need any planning, it was as simple as waving one of my faithful servants over to my bedside and telling him to poison the emperor,and it was done. Guanxu died of arsenic poisoning at the age of 36 in November 1908 (Arsenic). Game set and match.

[[File:Pu Yi.jpg]] [[File:Puyi.jpg]]

(Pictures: Emperor Puyi as a child on the left. Emperoro Puyi as an adult on the right.)

I died of a stroke at the age of 73, one day after my nephew’s death (Paludan 216). Before I died, I selected my grand-nephew, the 3 year old Puyi as the successor to the throne (Perkins 95). When I chose Puyi as heir, I was neither thinking of China, nor her future. No, I was dreaming one last dream of what it would be like if I could only live another 10 years, or even five. If the God that the Westerners held so dear was to grant me just five more years, I am sure I would have made China great again. I did not want China to continue on without me. If I, Lao Fo Ye, should fall, then China should fall with me. I am Cixi, the last empress of China.

[[File:Cixi 4.jpg]]

(Picture: The Empress Dowager Cixi)

----

'''Works Cited'''

''"Arsenic Killed Chinese Emperor, Reports Say."''CNN WORLD. 4 Nov. 2008. 2 Oct. 2011. <http://articles.cnn.com/2008-11-04/world/china.emperor_1_arsenic-poisoning-arsenic-levels-china-central-television?_s=PM:WORLD>.

"Boxer Rebellion." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 14 Oct. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/76364/Boxer-Rebellion>.

"Cixi." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/612105/Cixi>.

Courtauld, Caroline , & May Holdsworth. ''The Forbidden City: The Great Within''. London: Frances Lincoln Ltd, 2008.

"How did the eunuch Li Lianying gain Empress Dowager Cixi's favor?." history.cultural-china.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct 2011. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/47H6581H12220.html>.

"Hundred Days of Reform." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 14 Oct. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/276504/Hundred-Days-of-Reform>.

"Kang Youwei." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 14 Oct. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/311026/Kang-Youwei>.

Liu, Lydia. ''The Clash of Empires: The Invention of China in Modern World Making''. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2004.

Pakula Hannah. ''The last empress: Madame Chiang Kai-Shek and the birth of modern China''. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2009.

Paludan, Ann. ''Chronicle of the Chinese Emerors''. New York: Thames &Hudson Inc., 1998.

Perkins, Dorothy. ''Encyclopedia of China: The Essential Reference to China, Its History and Culture''. New York: Round Table Press Inc., 1999.

Schoppa, R. Keith. ''The Columbia Guide to Modern Chinese History''. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000.

Seagrave, Sterling. ''Dragon Lady: The Life and Legend of the Last Epress of China''. New York: Alfred A. Knofp, Inc., 1992.

West, Barbara. ''Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania''. 1. New York: Facts on File, Inc, 2009. 498. eBook. <http://books.google.com/books?id=pCiNqFj3MQsC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0

Cixi

2011-12-11T16:02:36Z

69.169.132.20:

[[File:Cixi_3.PNG]]

(Picture: The Empress Dowager Cixi)

I have never thought of myself as a woman. As a child, I would often dream of what it would be like to ride to war and fight for twelve years in the guise of a man like Hua Mulan did so long ago. Certainly, I was clever enough to fool all of the men, and I would not do as Hua Mulan did and return quietly home to live as a woman once more, but I would continue my ascent to even greater heights. When my mother found me swinging my father's sword in the back garden one fateful day, she shrieked and dragged me angrily into the house so that I feared I would be beaten. She did not strike me however, but sat me in front of a mirror and began applying a rosy pink blush to my cheeks.
"A woman's greatest weapon is not a sword, my daughter," she told me as she dabbed gently at my cheeks. "A woman's greatest weapon is her looks, which can control any man, no matter how powerful."

I stared at the mirror, and a beautiful young woman stared back at me.

"You are beautiful my daughter. I will find you a good husband,and you will use every weapon in your arsenal to win the war against him."

The very next week I was told that I was to become one of Emperor Xianfeng's concubines, and I knew I was being given an opportunity to rewrite my fate; the chance to fight as a man like Hua Mulan. But first I must fight as a woman. I will tell you upfront that my mission succeeded. I followed my mother's advice and became adept at all the womanly arts of war. Once I had risen above all the men in the land, I completed the dream that neither my mother nor Hua Mulan dared to dream, and became a man myself. I had everyone address me as they would a man, and my subjects referred to me fondly as Lao Fo Ye (The Old Buddha) in my later years. I even required my adopted son Guanxu to call me "father" for that was what I was to him (Liu 151). I could not care for and tenderly nurture Guanxu as a mother should, I had to guide him with the hard hand of a father so he would understand that his place was beneath me. Would I had been born a man. You can have no idea how many times I have had this thought. I thought it the first night I was presented to the emperor Xianfeng, the day I was forced to rid China of Tongzhi, my worthless son, and again the day before my death when I ordered Guanxu poisoned so that he wouldn't further corrupt and erode my beautiful empire in my absence. If I had not been born a wretched woman, I would not have had to bloody my hands so. If I had been born to my rightful role as emperor, I would not have had to watch as one worthless fool after another wrought disaster upon China. If I had only been born a man, China would have joined together to successfully vanquish the Western threats and the emperors of China would now be ruling on high over the whole world as is our right, as would have been our destiny.

I was born on November 29, 1835, to a distinguished Manchu lineage, the Nehonala clan, though my father was only a minor official (Perkins 93). Even as a child, I had been discontent with my position in life, so when I was named a consort of the Emperor Xianfeng in 1851 at the age of 16 (Perkins 93), I gladly accepted the role to escape from the drudgery of my life. I ascended through the ranks of Kianfeng’s consorts until I became a favorite in 1856 for having born him his only living son, Tongzhi (Perkins 93). However, ascending to the rank of empress Dowager was no easy task, as I soon discovered. I did not find palace life as exciting as I had expected. I enjoyed the luxuries the the palace had to offer, but the life was decidedly dull. I was kept even more out of sight than I had been in family's household. The emperor didn't take much notice of his newest concubine for a long time. I decided that it was best to use my long hours of boredom to their best advantage and I studied diligently the arts of calligraphy and painting until I became remarkably adept at them (Pakula 40). When the emperor finally noticed my beauty and talents, I worked doubly hard to be pleasing to him, and my efforts paid off almost immediately. I love the theater exceedingly, and have always prided myself that I was able to act as well as anyone I saw on the stage; “I can make people hate me worse than poison, and I can also make them love me. I have the power” (Perkins 18). All of China was my stage, and it was simple work to act my way into the emperor's good graces for he had a simple mind and was an exceptionally easy audience to read. Seeing that I showed great interest in his affairs, the emperor readily allowed me to read official documents and discussed his most important policy matters with me. It was thus that I became highly literate and knowledgeable about the ways of government, and thus that I became even more unsatisfied with my meager role. I began to take a more active part in state affairs and realized how much more suitable I was to rule than so many of the inept officials that the emperor kept by his side. China had been steadily falling into a state of disarray. I could not understand why officials were allowing Westerners to cross into our empire with their foreign religions and tainted ideas to corrupt our people. This is not to say that I was not interested in the many wonders that the West had to offer. At some point, right under the sleeping noses of the Manchu officials, countries such as Britain and the United States had surpassed us in technology. I saw the opportunity to utilize Western technology and to surpass it.

After constant visits to the emperor's chambers, my efforts finally came to fruition. When I felt the baby in my womb, I began to hatch a scheme around that small life. I prayed to my ancestors every day that it might be a son so that it would be heir to the throne. I prayed that this infant would be the means through which I could unify China once more. With grand visions forming in my mind, I waited patiently through the troubles and annoyances of pregnancy. When the baby was finally born and pronounced a boy, I cried for joy: I was to be free from my frustration at last. Or so I thought; life is never that simple and many hurdles would arise before I could assume the throne. I was promoted to the rank of Imperial Consort Yi immediately after the birth of my son,who was named Tongzhi, and before long was further promoted to Noble Consort Yi , second only to the empress (West 498), though I was prized by the emperor more than the empress Cian because I had done what she could not. I was finally able to convince the emperor to name my son the legal successor to the throne when Tongzhi was six years of age (Pakula 41).

China was crumbling pitiably under Xianfeng's rule.He could not even quell the Taiping Rebellion which was led by a madman who claimed to be some sort of Western God, and the rebellion stretched on from 1850-1864 (Paludan 209). In 1860, during the Second Opium War, I was even forced to flee with my emperor from our Summer Palace in Beijing to our summer resort in Jehol because of an attack from British and French troops (Paludan 209). The humiliation from the capture of Beijing, coupled with his cowardly flight, left Xianfeng too embarrassed to return to the capital or even speak with his own officials (Paludan 209). In shame, the emperor died in 1861(Perkins 93), and I prepared for the new role that I was to play without an emperor to rule over me. Before Xianfeng died, he made his eight most conservative advisers joint regents over my son, Tongzhi, and I was given the rank of the empress dowager (Perkins 93). I conspired to gain power with Prince Gong, and successfully arrested the eight regents standing in my way, executing three of them (Perkins 93). I became co-regent with the legitimate wife of Xianfeng, the empress consort Cian (Perkins 93). Cian was ignorant about anything concerning politics and could neither read nor write, and so was only too happy to leave state affairs to me (Pakula 41).

[[File:Emperor Xianfeng.PNG]] [[File:Emperor Tongzhi.jpg]]

(Pictures: The Emperor Xianfeng on the left. The Emperor Tongzhi on the right.)

After I began my rule as the Dowager Empress, I found how few friends I truly possessed in court when I found myself the constant recipient of blame and criticism whenever something went awry. There was one instance for which I was unjustly blamed that I simply cannot forget, it was so embarrassing and unjust an accusation. I was blamed for the use of navy funds in the rebuilding of the Summer Palace which had been destroyed after Emperor Xianfeng and I had fled in 1860, and for the restoration of a fantastic marble barge which had suffered the same fate (Seagrave 181). However, I had not known, that funds were appropriated from anywhere because the project had been entirely in the hands of Prince Chun and Viceroy Li HongZhang who had hoped to gain my favor through this extravagant gift (Seagrave 181, 500-501). Due to Prince Chun's and Vieceroy Li's foolishly timed and ill carried out attempt at recommending themselves, we suffered a ridiculous and humiliating defeat at the hands of the Japanese because our navy was in such disarray (Seagrave 181). So distressed was I over this blunder, that I cancelled my 60th birthday celebration, for I had no desire to spend lavishly when my navy had no ships to sail in (Seagrave 501).

[[File:Cixi 8.jpg]][[File:Cixi 7.jpg]]

(Pictures: The Summer Palace on the Left. The Marble barge for lake-viewing on the right)

Despite my many critics, I was not completely alone and wanting for allies. I still had many by my side who supported and admired me. I was very fond, for instance, of many of my eunuchs who made it their business to amuse and pamper me. My head eunuch, Li Lianying, in particular, was a special friend to me who I could never consider as a mere servant. Li Lianying came at a time when I was in deep distress because none of my eunuchs could comb and style my hair properly. Like a gift from heaven, Li offered, in his ever pleasing and humble manner, to try his hand at styling my hair. When I doubtfully acquiesced, he began to deftly comb and twist my hair until, when I looked in the mirror, not a hair was out of place ("history.cultural-china.com"). As I admired my reflection from various angles, I heard Li Lianying inquire how I liked it. From the mirror, I could see a small smile that showed that he knew I approved. Turning sharply, I asked him if he thought it became me. With a small bow, he replied that it became me beautifully, but he was afraid that his clumsy fingers could never do my beauty justice. I ordered the eunuch to raise his head, and when he did, I saw his pert little smile accompanied by a wry twinkle in his dark eyes. I considered for a second if I should get angry at his insolence, but this eunuch intrigued me. He was not afraid of me like so many others. And he did not look down on me and mock me. He simply complimented me with that subtle smile that told me that he understood me and that I intrigued him too. It would not be so bad having such a man by my side, I thought, and smiled back at Li Lianying. "No doubt your fingers can never do me justice, but they will have to try," I told him and his eyes twinkled all the brighter, "for from this day out, you are to fix my hair. Come, show me another style." Some said that Li Lianying's words were simply empty flattery, but he was one man who treated me well. So many looked at me with scorn and said that I was acting above my station as a woman; that I was only a consort. Even if it was only flattery, who cares as long as he did it well? Li Lianying treated me with kindness and compassion, and I, in turn, rewarded him by giving him much power over the operations of my court ("history.cultural-china.com").

[[File:Eunuch.jpg]]

(Picture: The Head Eunuch Li Lianying)

Tongzhi turned out to be a natural hedonist, a trait that I fear he inherited from me. He would amuse himself with the eunuchs and would often visit various brothels in a clumsily made disguise (paludan 212). I admit to encouraging my son a little in his childish outings. As long as Tongzhi was happily occupied within the confines of the palace with his drink and playthings, I was free to enact my policies without an undo amount of interference. The time came when it was expected that Tongzhi should wed and produce an heir, so in 1872, I chose from the most suitable Manchu lineages, a young bride by the name of Alute (Perkins 93). I knew that my regency would end when my son married, so I had hoped to find Alute a malleable figure, but to my dismay, she began to have an increasingly powerful influence over Tongzhi's mind and he proceeded to defy me. Tongzhi contracted smallpox, and knowing that he was already in ill health from his interminable drinking of alcohol and from a venereal disease which he had contracted from his frequent visits to the brothels as well as from his many eunuch friends (Paludan 212), I began to search for an heir in the event that Tongzhi's weak constitution led him to fall prey to a disease that killed so many.It wasn't long before my eyes rested on my nephew, Guanxu, who was the son of my sister and Xianfeng's brother(Paludan 213). Guanxu was not even 4 years old (Paludan 213), so if he were installed on the throne, I would regain my position. I had already constructed a China with me as regent, so it disturbed me when I heard that, despite the odds, my son was beginning to recover (Paludan 213). This was just like Tongzhi; pretending to bend to my will, then stabbing me in the back. Having tasted the sweet juice of imperial power once, I could not allow the second cup to be wrenched from my grasp having only sniffed its sweet spice. I had Tongzhi poisoned (Paludan 213). It was written in the records that Tongzhi had perished tragically of smallpox in 1875, at the age of 19, and I didn't mind when the rumor circulated that the real cause of his premature death was exhaustion from a life of overindulgence, for it was in no small way true(Perkins 93).

My selection of Guanxu as heir didn't pass without opposition because my daughter-in-law happened to be with child at the time (Paludan 213). I was met with further opposition on the grounds that because Guanxu was of the same generation as Tongzhi, he wouldn't be able to perform the various duties of ancestor worship that were necessary to bring Tongzhi's soul to rest (Perkins 93). I was able to convince the officials to accept Guanxu as heir by assuring them that Guanxu's eventual son would be named true heir to the throne and he would perform the filial duties due to Tongzhi (Courtauld & Holdsworth 125). I could not let any child of Alute ascend the throne, so I had to rid myself of the possible rival resting in her stomach: I persuaded the girl to commit suicide by eating gold dust two month after Tongzhi's death (Pakula 41). I knew that her death, such a short period after Tongzhi's, would incite suspicion, but she was a cunning and spiteful girl and I could not risk her bearing a son and usurping my power.

[[File:Guangxu.jpg]]

(Picture: The Emperor Guanxu)

Guanxu came of age in 1866 but I did not give up my regency until he married in 1889 (Perkins 93), and I was forced by propriety to declare my regency ended and retire to the Summer Palace ("Cixi"). Even then, I was able to maintain some degree of control, due more to the fact that Guanxu dared not defy me than to any real claim I had to the power. I made decisions and appointments which my nephew couldn’t veto and I read all of his official documents (Perkins 93). You must understand that neither Guanxu nor Tongzhi was as fit to rule as I. Guanxu especially, was afraid of me. It was my intention that my adopted son live in proper awe of my presence, but it was quite amusing at times how much he quaked in fear as a child and how he hid behind the skirts of his nursemaids whenever he was in my presence as if I were some ravenous animal come to tear him to shreds (Paludan 213-214). I wonder if I really had such a hungered look on my face as I looked down on him, envying his birthright and planning how to best claim it for my own. Guanxu grew no better as he aged. He was a chronically ill wisp of a man with a voice that was ‘light and thin like a mosquito,’and I believe that he never quite got over his dread of me (Paludan 213-214). Guanxu had not the temperament, nor the talents to rule a great nation under constant threat. Being faced with such a pathetic excuse for an emperor, I could not give up my power willingly. I had studied law for much longer and had amassed more experience than Quanxu or Tongzhi, and I was doing only what I saw as necessary in order to protect the empire I held so dear.

More and more, foreign forces were threatening my great empire, especially the states that traditionally brought tribute to China. France took control of the vassal state of Vietnam, and an ever advancing Japan took over Burma and the Ryukyu Islands, and then proceeded to threaten Korea, and conquer Port Arthur, Taiwan, and the Pescadore Islands (Perkins 94). As if these travesties were not enough, in 1898, Guanxu issued a foolish set of progressive edicts spurred on by the poisonous words of Kang Youwei and his ever faithful fanboy, Liang Qichao, in what was called the Hundred Day Reform ("Hundred Days of Reform"). I had been waiting quietly in the Summer Palace, pretending to support the emperor in his many reforms, but his progressive actions began to greatly alarm me as to the degree in which they would weaken the Qing government(Perkins18-20). Guanxu, ever anxious about my interference, ordered me arrested and imprisoned (Perkins 20). Unfortunately for my nephew, he trusted the wrong man. General Yuan Shikai, the agent whom he entrusted with the order for my arrest, was in fact a loyal pawn of mine (Perkins 20). I reversed Guanxu's thwarted plan on him; eunuchs captured the emperor in his chambers and escorted him to the Ocean Terrace, an island in a lake near the Forbidden City (Perkins 20). I quickly and decisively proceeded to arrest and execute the officials responsible for the corruption of the emperor's mind, and within five days, I had revoked all of the edicts that Guanxu had tried to put in place (Schoppa 44). I rewarded Yuan Shikai for his usefulness in this affair by giving him governorship of the province of Shandong (Perkins 94). To my great disappointment,Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao escaped my grasp by fleeing to their beloved Japan ("Kang").

I had an edict sent out an declaring that I would resume my regency do to the emperors ill health (Perkins 20). This edict and knowledge of the coup d'état caused many rumors to circulate in China and abroad that the emperor had been executed (Perkins 20). Some Western governments threatened that they would act against us if the emperor were executed, going so far as to insist that a doctor be allowed to see Guanxu so as to ascertain his state of health. I acquiesced to this request, but the Chinese people were outraged at the audacity of the foreigners' demands and so several anti-foreign riots broke out (Perkins 20). Here I will admit that my mind had begun to process the idea that Guanxu had become more of a nuisance than an asset. I had perhaps been too sluggish in reaching this conclusion, no doubt do to some foolish attachment I felt towards Guanxu because he was my own flesh and blood and my adopted son. Having at last reached the decision to terminate the barrier to China's restoration, I could not let anyone deter me from my path. I had the windows in Guanxu's chambers walled off (Paludan 214), and waited patiently for the foreign states to forget about his existence and move on with their own affairs.

China was growing weaker because of rapidly expanding European influences. Foreign missionaries came in great numbers to convert my people so that even the emperor himself began to be corrupted. Word began to spread of a secret society known as the Yihequan (Righteous and Harmonious Fists) that practiced martial arts and claimed to have super natural powers that would make them resistant even to the strike of a bullet ("Boxer Rebellion"). The Yihequan were determined to restore China to its former glory, free of foreign taint, and hearing that the voices of my people were behind them, I gave my consent in 1898 to what is now called the Boxer Rebellion (Paludan 214). Unfortunately, China had fallen too far already, and I was forced to flee from the western troops with Guanxu to a temporary capital in Xi’an (Paludan 214). Guanxu resisted my orders for him to flee disguised as a peasant. When I discovered that his defiance was brought about by the urging of his favored lover the Pear Concubine, I had the girl thrown into a well (Paludan 214). I understood my nephew; he always needed someone to rely on, and with the source of his borrowed power gone, he quickly gave in to his long held fear of me, and reverted to his malleable self. When I saw that the battles were not going in our favor, although I was greatly ashamed, I decided it was best to live to fight another day and signed the Boxer Protocol which forced China to pay a great indemnity of 200 Million ounces of silver, placed a ban on the making of armaments, punished many for war crimes, stopped the imperial examinations, and forced the lease of land for mines and railways, among other demands (Perkins 95, Pakula 43). I was then able to return to the capital and continue my reign in 1902, although I had to reenact many reforms that I had abolished (Perkins 95). I had to watch quietly as many of my citizens went to study in America and as many western-style schools were built (Perkins 95).

I was disappointed with the state of the empire, which I had inherited on the verge of its death. I wished that I could have been born in one of the many thousands of years of prosperity that China had enjoyed. Yet, In spite of everything, I pushed on. I have always been adaptable, not like Xianfeng or either of my sons who allowed themselves to lose to their despair. So it was that I began to play the foreigners' game, confident that I could still somehow manage to come out on top. Unfortunately, my body was beginning to fail me. The body that had once been so young, so beautiful, so full of life, was now old, lined, and feeble. Oh how I wished to turn back the clock. I knew that this was one scheme that no matter how hard I planned, could not succeed. But even if I could not be victorious, I could at least make it so that I was not the only one defeated. I could never stand losing, so I turned my thoughts to my final enemy, and hatched my final scheme. Guanxu must die. Guanxu, who had pushed China past its breaking point, Guanxu, who was waiting for my death to be restored to power: it was my duty to remove this evil which I myself had placed on the throne so many years ago. Guanxu's death didn't need any planning, it was as simple as waving one of my faithful servants over to my bedside and telling him to poison the emperor,and it was done. Guanxu died of arsenic poisoning at the age of 36 in November 1908 (Arsenic). Game set and match.

[[File:Pu Yi.jpg]] [[File:Puyi.jpg]]

(Pictures: Emperor Puyi as a child on the left. Emperoro Puyi as an adult on the right.)

I died of a stroke at the age of 73, one day after my nephew’s death (Paludan 216). Before I died, I selected my grand-nephew, the 3 year old Puyi as the successor to the throne (Perkins 95). When I chose Puyi as heir, I was neither thinking of China, nor her future. No, I was dreaming one last dream of what it would be like if I could only live another 10 years, or even five. If the God that the Westerners held so dear was to grant me just five more years, I am sure I would have made China great again. I did not want China to continue on without me. If I, Lao Fo Ye, should fall, then China should fall with me. I am Cixi, the last empress of China.

[[File:Cixi 4.jpg]]

(Picture: The Empress Dowager Cixi)

----

'''Works Cited'''

''"Arsenic Killed Chinese Emperor, Reports Say."''CNN WORLD. 4 Nov. 2008. 2 Oct. 2011. <http://articles.cnn.com/2008-11-04/world/china.emperor_1_arsenic-poisoning-arsenic-levels-china-central-television?_s=PM:WORLD>.

"Boxer Rebellion." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 14 Oct. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/76364/Boxer-Rebellion>.

"Cixi." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/612105/Cixi>.

Courtauld, Caroline , & May Holdsworth. ''The Forbidden City: The Great Within''. London: Frances Lincoln Ltd, 2008.

"How did the eunuch Li Lianying gain Empress Dowager Cixi's favor?." history.cultural-china.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct 2011. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/47H6581H12220.html>.

"Hundred Days of Reform." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 14 Oct. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/276504/Hundred-Days-of-Reform>.

"Kang Youwei." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 14 Oct. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/311026/Kang-Youwei>.

Liu, Lydia. ''The Clash of Empires: The Invention of China in Modern World Making''. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2004.

Pakula Hannah. ''The last empress: Madame Chiang Kai-Shek and the birth of modern China''. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2009.

Paludan, Ann. ''Chronicle of the Chinese Emerors''. New York: Thames &Hudson Inc., 1998.

Perkins, Dorothy. ''Encyclopedia of China: The Essential Reference to China, Its History and Culture''. New York: Round Table Press Inc., 1999.

Schoppa, R. Keith. ''The Columbia Guide to Modern Chinese History''. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000.

Seagrave, Sterling. ''Dragon Lady: The Life and Legend of the Last Epress of China''. New York: Alfred A. Knofp, Inc., 1992.

West, Barbara. ''Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania''. 1. New York: Facts on File, Inc, 2009. 498. eBook. <http://books.google.com/books?id=pCiNqFj3MQsC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0

Cixi

2011-12-11T15:59:50Z

69.169.132.20:

[[File:Cixi_3.PNG]]

(Picture: The Empress Dowager Cixi)

I have never thought of myself as a woman. As a child, I would often dream of what it would be like to ride to war and fight for twelve years in the guise of a man like Hua Mulan did so long ago. Certainly, I was clever enough to fool all of the men, and I would not do as Hua Mulan did and return quietly home to live as a woman once more, but I would continue my ascent to even greater heights. When my mother found me swinging my father's sword in the back garden one fateful day, she shrieked and dragged me angrily into the house so that I feared I would be beaten. She did not strike me however, but sat me in front of a mirror and began applying a rosy pink blush to my cheeks.
"A woman's greatest weapon is not a sword, my daughter," she told me as she dabbed gently at my cheeks. "A woman's greatest weapon is her looks, which can control any man, no matter how powerful."

I stared at the mirror, and a beautiful young woman stared back at me.

"You are beautiful my daughter. I will find you a good husband,and you will use every weapon in your arsenal to win the war against him."

The very next week I was told that I was to become one of Emperor Xianfeng's concubines, and I knew I was being given an opportunity to rewrite my fate; the chance to fight as a man like Hua Mulan. But first I must fight as a woman. I will tell you upfront that my mission succeeded. I followed my mother's advice and became adept at all the womanly arts of war. Once I had risen above all the men in the land, I completed the dream that neither my mother nor Hua Mulan dared to dream, and became a man myself. I had everyone address me as if I was a man, and my subjects referred to me fondly as Lao Fo Ye (The Old Buddha) in my later years. I even required my adopted son Guanxu to call me "father" for that was what I was to him (Liu 151). I could not care for and tenderly nurture Guanxu as a mother should, I had to guide him with the hard hand of a father so he would understand that his place was beneath me. Would I had been born a man. You can have no idea how many times I have had this thought. I thought it the first night I was presented to the emperor Xianfeng, the day I was forced to rid China of Tongzhi, my worthless son, and again the day before my death when I ordered Guanxu poisoned so that he wouldn't further corrupt and erode my beautiful empire in my absence. If I had not been born a wretched woman, I would not have had to bloody my hands so. If I had been born to my rightful role as emperor, I would not have had to watch as one worthless fool after another wrought disaster upon China. If I had only been born a man, China would have joined together to successfully vanquish the Western threats and the emperors of China would now be ruling on high over the whole world as is our right, as would have been our destiny.

I was born on November 29, 1835, to a distinguished Manchu lineage, the Nehonala clan, though my father was only a minor official (Perkins 93). Even as a child, I had been discontent with my position in life, so when I was named a consort of the Emperor Xianfeng in 1851 at the age of 16 (Perkins 93), I gladly accepted the role to escape from the drudgery of my life. I ascended through the ranks of Kianfeng’s consorts until I became a favorite in 1856 for having born him his only living son, Tongzhi (Perkins 93). However, ascending to the rank of empress Dowager was no easy task, as I soon discovered. I did not find palace life as exciting as I had expected. I enjoyed the luxuries the the palace had to offer, but the life was decidedly dull. I was kept even more out of sight than I had been in family's household. The emperor didn't take much notice of his newest concubine for a long time. I decided that it was best to use my long hours of boredom to their best advantage and I studied diligently the arts of calligraphy and painting until I became remarkably adept at them (Pakula 40). When the emperor finally noticed my beauty and talents, I worked doubly hard to be pleasing to him, and my efforts paid off almost immediately. I love the theater exceedingly, and have always prided myself that I was able to act as well as anyone I saw on the stage; “I can make people hate me worse than poison, and I can also make them love me. I have the power” (Perkins 18). All of China was my stage, and it was simple work to act my way into the emperor's good graces for he had a simple mind and was an exceptionally easy audience to read. Seeing that I showed great interest in his affairs, the emperor readily allowed me to read official documents and discussed his most important policy matters with me. It was thus that I became highly literate and knowledgeable about the ways of government, and thus that I became even more unsatisfied with my meager role. I began to take a more active part in state affairs and realized how much more suitable I was to rule than so many of the inept officials that the emperor kept by his side. China had been steadily falling into a state of disarray. I could not understand why officials were allowing Westerners to cross into our empire with their foreign religions and tainted ideas to corrupt our people. This is not to say that I was not interested in the many wonders that the West had to offer. At some point, right under the sleeping noses of the Manchu officials, countries such as Britain and the United States had surpassed us in technology. I saw the opportunity to utilize Western technology and to surpass it.

After constant visits to the emperor's chambers, my efforts finally came to fruition. When I felt the baby in my womb, I began to hatch a scheme around that small life. I prayed to my ancestors every day that it might be a son so that it would be heir to the throne. I prayed that this infant would be the means through which I could unify China once more. With grand visions forming in my mind, I waited patiently through the troubles and annoyances of pregnancy. When the baby was finally born and pronounced a boy, I cried for joy: I was to be free from my frustration at last. Or so I thought; life is never that simple and many hurdles would arise before I could assume the throne. I was promoted to the rank of Imperial Consort Yi immediately after the birth of my son,who was named Tongzhi, and before long was further promoted to Noble Consort Yi , second only to the empress (West 498), though I was prized by the emperor more than the empress Cian because I had done what she could not. I was finally able to convince the emperor to name my son the legal successor to the throne when Tongzhi was six years of age (Pakula 41).

China was crumbling pitiably under Xianfeng's rule.He could not even quell the Taiping Rebellion which was led by a madman who claimed to be some sort of Western God, and the rebellion stretched on from 1850-1864 (Paludan 209). In 1860, during the Second Opium War, I was even forced to flee with my emperor from our Summer Palace in Beijing to our summer resort in Jehol because of an attack from British and French troops (Paludan 209). The humiliation from the capture of Beijing, coupled with his cowardly flight, left Xianfeng too embarrassed to return to the capital or even speak with his own officials (Paludan 209). In shame, the emperor died in 1861(Perkins 93), and I prepared for the new role that I was to play without an emperor to rule over me. Before Xianfeng died, he made his eight most conservative advisers joint regents over my son, Tongzhi, and I was given the rank of the empress dowager (Perkins 93). I conspired to gain power with Prince Gong, and successfully arrested the eight regents standing in my way, executing three of them (Perkins 93). I became co-regent with the legitimate wife of Xianfeng, the empress consort Cian (Perkins 93). Cian was ignorant about anything concerning politics and could neither read nor write, and so was only too happy to leave state affairs to me (Pakula 41).

[[File:Emperor Xianfeng.PNG]] [[File:Emperor Tongzhi.jpg]]

(Pictures: The Emperor Xianfeng on the left. The Emperor Tongzhi on the right.)

After I began my rule as the Dowager Empress, I found how few friends I truly possessed in court when I found myself the constant recipient of blame and criticism whenever something went awry. There was one instance for which I was unjustly blamed that I simply cannot forget, it was so embarrassing and unjust an accusation. I was blamed for the use of navy funds in the rebuilding of the Summer Palace which had been destroyed after Emperor Xianfeng and I had fled in 1860, and for the restoration of a fantastic marble barge which had suffered the same fate (Seagrave 181). However, I had not known, that funds were appropriated from anywhere because the project had been entirely in the hands of Prince Chun and Viceroy Li HongZhang who had hoped to gain my favor through this extravagant gift (Seagrave 181, 500-501). Due to Prince Chun's and Vieceroy Li's foolishly timed and ill carried out attempt at recommending themselves, we suffered a ridiculous and humiliating defeat at the hands of the Japanese because our navy was in such disarray (Seagrave 181). So distressed was I over this blunder, that I cancelled my 60th birthday celebration, for I had no desire to spend lavishly when my navy had no ships to sail in (Seagrave 501).

[[File:Cixi 8.jpg]][[File:Cixi 7.jpg]]

(Pictures: The Summer Palace on the Left. The Marble barge for lake-viewing on the right)

Despite my many critics, I was not completely alone and wanting for allies. I still had many by my side who supported and admired me. I was very fond, for instance, of many of my eunuchs who made it their business to amuse and pamper me. My head eunuch, Li Lianying, in particular, was a special friend to me who I could never consider as a mere servant. Li Lianying came at a time when I was in deep distress because none of my eunuchs could comb and style my hair properly. Like a gift from heaven, Li offered, in his ever pleasing and humble manner, to try his hand at styling my hair. When I doubtfully acquiesced, he began to deftly comb and twist my hair until, when I looked in the mirror, not a hair was out of place ("history.cultural-china.com"). As I admired my reflection from various angles, I heard Li Lianying inquire how I liked it. From the mirror, I could see a small smile that showed that he knew I approved. Turning sharply, I asked him if he thought it became me. With a small bow, he replied that it became me beautifully, but he was afraid that his clumsy fingers could never do my beauty justice. I ordered the eunuch to raise his head, and when he did, I saw his pert little smile accompanied by a wry twinkle in his dark eyes. I considered for a second if I should get angry at his insolence, but this eunuch intrigued me. He was not afraid of me like so many others. And he did not look down on me and mock me. He simply complimented me with that subtle smile that told me that he understood me and that I intrigued him too. It would not be so bad having such a man by my side, I thought, and smiled back at Li Lianying. "No doubt your fingers can never do me justice, but they will have to try," I told him and his eyes twinkled all the brighter, "for from this day out, you are to fix my hair. Come, show me another style." Some said that Li Lianying's words were simply empty flattery, but he was one man who treated me well. So many looked at me with scorn and said that I was acting above my station as a woman; that I was only a consort. Even if it was only flattery, who cares as long as he did it well? Li Lianying treated me with kindness and compassion, and I, in turn, rewarded him by giving him much power over the operations of my court ("history.cultural-china.com").

[[File:Eunuch.jpg]]

(Picture: The Head Eunuch Li Lianying)

Tongzhi turned out to be a natural hedonist, a trait that I fear he inherited from me. He would amuse himself with the eunuchs and would often visit various brothels in a clumsily made disguise (paludan 212). I admit to encouraging my son a little in his childish outings. As long as Tongzhi was happily occupied within the confines of the palace with his drink and playthings, I was free to enact my policies without an undo amount of interference. The time came when it was expected that Tongzhi should wed and produce an heir, so in 1872, I chose from the most suitable Manchu lineages, a young bride by the name of Alute (Perkins 93). I knew that my regency would end when my son married, so I had hoped to find Alute a malleable figure, but to my dismay, she began to have an increasingly powerful influence over Tongzhi's mind and he proceeded to defy me. Tongzhi contracted smallpox, and knowing that he was already in ill health from his interminable drinking of alcohol and from a venereal disease which he had contracted from his frequent visits to the brothels as well as from his many eunuch friends (Paludan 212), I began to search for an heir in the event that Tongzhi's weak constitution led him to fall prey to a disease that killed so many.It wasn't long before my eyes rested on my nephew, Guanxu, who was the son of my sister and Xianfeng's brother(Paludan 213). Guanxu was not even 4 years old (Paludan 213), so if he were installed on the throne, I would regain my position. I had already constructed a China with me as regent, so it disturbed me when I heard that, despite the odds, my son was beginning to recover (Paludan 213). This was just like Tongzhi; pretending to bend to my will, then stabbing me in the back. Having tasted the sweet juice of imperial power once, I could not allow the second cup to be wrenched from my grasp having only sniffed its sweet spice. I had Tongzhi poisoned (Paludan 213). It was written in the records that Tongzhi had perished tragically of smallpox in 1875, at the age of 19, and I didn't mind when the rumor circulated that the real cause of his premature death was exhaustion from a life of overindulgence, for it was in no small way true(Perkins 93).

My selection of Guanxu as heir didn't pass without opposition because my daughter-in-law happened to be with child at the time (Paludan 213). I was met with further opposition on the grounds that because Guanxu was of the same generation as Tongzhi, he wouldn't be able to perform the various duties of ancestor worship that were necessary to bring Tongzhi's soul to rest (Perkins 93). I was able to convince the officials to accept Guanxu as heir by assuring them that Guanxu's eventual son would be named true heir to the throne and he would perform the filial duties due to Tongzhi (Courtauld & Holdsworth 125). I could not let any child of Alute ascend the throne, so I had to rid myself of the possible rival resting in her stomach: I persuaded the girl to commit suicide by eating gold dust two month after Tongzhi's death (Pakula 41). I knew that her death, such a short period after Tongzhi's, would incite suspicion, but she was a cunning and spiteful girl and I could not risk her bearing a son and usurping my power.

[[File:Guangxu.jpg]]

(Picture: The Emperor Guanxu)

Guanxu came of age in 1866 but I did not give up my regency until he married in 1889 (Perkins 93), and I was forced by propriety to declare my regency ended and retire to the Summer Palace ("Cixi"). Even then, I was able to maintain some degree of control, due more to the fact that Guanxu dared not defy me than to any real claim I had to the power. I made decisions and appointments which my nephew couldn’t veto and I read all of his official documents (Perkins 93). You must understand that neither Guanxu nor Tongzhi was as fit to rule as I. Guanxu especially, was afraid of me. It was my intention that my adopted son live in proper awe of my presence, but it was quite amusing at times how much he quaked in fear as a child and how he hid behind the skirts of his nursemaids whenever he was in my presence as if I were some ravenous animal come to tear him to shreds (Paludan 213-214). I wonder if I really had such a hungered look on my face as I looked down on him, envying his birthright and planning how to best claim it for my own. Guanxu grew no better as he aged. He was a chronically ill wisp of a man with a voice that was ‘light and thin like a mosquito,’and I believe that he never quite got over his dread of me (Paludan 213-214). Guanxu had not the temperament, nor the talents to rule a great nation under constant threat. Being faced with such a pathetic excuse for an emperor, I could not give up my power willingly. I had studied law for much longer and had amassed more experience than Quanxu or Tongzhi, and I was doing only what I saw as necessary in order to protect the empire I held so dear.

More and more, foreign forces were threatening my great empire, especially the states that traditionally brought tribute to China. France took control of the vassal state of Vietnam, and an ever advancing Japan took over Burma and the Ryukyu Islands, and then proceeded to threaten Korea, and conquer Port Arthur, Taiwan, and the Pescadore Islands (Perkins 94). As if these travesties were not enough, in 1898, Guanxu issued a foolish set of progressive edicts spurred on by the poisonous words of Kang Youwei and his ever faithful fanboy, Liang Qichao, in what was called the Hundred Day Reform ("Hundred Days of Reform"). I had been waiting quietly in the Summer Palace, pretending to support the emperor in his many reforms, but his progressive actions began to greatly alarm me as to the degree in which they would weaken the Qing government(Perkins18-20). Guanxu, ever anxious about my interference, ordered me arrested and imprisoned (Perkins 20). Unfortunately for my nephew, he trusted the wrong man. General Yuan Shikai, the agent whom he entrusted with the order for my arrest, was in fact a loyal pawn of mine (Perkins 20). I reversed Guanxu's thwarted plan on him; eunuchs captured the emperor in his chambers and escorted him to the Ocean Terrace, an island in a lake near the Forbidden City (Perkins 20). I quickly and decisively proceeded to arrest and execute the officials responsible for the corruption of the emperor's mind, and within five days, I had revoked all of the edicts that Guanxu had tried to put in place (Schoppa 44). I rewarded Yuan Shikai for his usefulness in this affair by giving him governorship of the province of Shandong (Perkins 94). To my great disappointment,Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao escaped my grasp by fleeing to their beloved Japan ("Kang").

I had an edict sent out an declaring that I would resume my regency do to the emperors ill health (Perkins 20). This edict and knowledge of the coup d'état caused many rumors to circulate in China and abroad that the emperor had been executed (Perkins 20). Some Western governments threatened that they would act against us if the emperor were executed, going so far as to insist that a doctor be allowed to see Guanxu so as to ascertain his state of health. I acquiesced to this request, but the Chinese people were outraged at the audacity of the foreigners' demands and so several anti-foreign riots broke out (Perkins 20). Here I will admit that my mind had begun to process the idea that Guanxu had become more of a nuisance than an asset. I had perhaps been too sluggish in reaching this conclusion, no doubt do to some foolish attachment I felt towards Guanxu because he was my own flesh and blood and my adopted son. Having at last reached the decision to terminate the barrier to China's restoration, I could not let anyone deter me from my path. I had the windows in Guanxu's chambers walled off (Paludan 214), and waited patiently for the foreign states to forget about his existence and move on with their own affairs.

China was growing weaker because of rapidly expanding European influences. Foreign missionaries came in great numbers to convert my people so that even the emperor himself began to be corrupted. Word began to spread of a secret society known as the Yihequan (Righteous and Harmonious Fists) that practiced martial arts and claimed to have super natural powers that would make them resistant even to the strike of a bullet ("Boxer Rebellion"). The Yihequan were determined to restore China to its former glory, free of foreign taint, and hearing that the voices of my people were behind them, I gave my consent in 1898 to what is now called the Boxer Rebellion (Paludan 214). Unfortunately, China had fallen too far already, and I was forced to flee from the western troops with Guanxu to a temporary capital in Xi’an (Paludan 214). Guanxu resisted my orders for him to flee disguised as a peasant. When I discovered that his defiance was brought about by the urging of his favored lover the Pear Concubine, I had the girl thrown into a well (Paludan 214). I understood my nephew; he always needed someone to rely on, and with the source of his borrowed power gone, he quickly gave in to his long held fear of me, and reverted to his malleable self. When I saw that the battles were not going in our favor, although I was greatly ashamed, I decided it was best to live to fight another day and signed the Boxer Protocol which forced China to pay a great indemnity of 200 Million ounces of silver, placed a ban on the making of armaments, punished many for war crimes, stopped the imperial examinations, and forced the lease of land for mines and railways, among other demands (Perkins 95, Pakula 43). I was then able to return to the capital and continue my reign in 1902, although I had to reenact many reforms that I had abolished (Perkins 95). I had to watch quietly as many of my citizens went to study in America and as many western-style schools were built (Perkins 95).

I was disappointed with the state of the empire, which I had inherited on the verge of its death. I wished that I could have been born in one of the many thousands of years of prosperity that China had enjoyed. Yet, In spite of everything, I pushed on. I have always been adaptable, not like Xianfeng or either of my sons who allowed themselves to lose to their despair. So it was that I began to play the foreigners' game, confident that I could still somehow manage to come out on top. Unfortunately, my body was beginning to fail me. The body that had once been so young, so beautiful, so full of life, was now old, lined, and feeble. Oh how I wished to turn back the clock. I knew that this was one scheme that no matter how hard I planned, could not succeed. But even if I could not be victorious, I could at least make it so that I was not the only one defeated. I could never stand losing, so I turned my thoughts to my final enemy, and hatched my final scheme. Guanxu must die. Guanxu, who had pushed China past its breaking point, Guanxu, who was waiting for my death to be restored to power: it was my duty to remove this evil which I myself had placed on the throne so many years ago. Guanxu's death didn't need any planning, it was as simple as waving one of my faithful servants over to my bedside and telling him to poison the emperor,and it was done. Guanxu died of arsenic poisoning at the age of 36 in November 1908 (Arsenic). Game set and match.

[[File:Pu Yi.jpg]] [[File:Puyi.jpg]]

(Pictures: Emperor Puyi as a child on the left. Emperoro Puyi as an adult on the right.)

I died of a stroke at the age of 73, one day after my nephew’s death (Paludan 216). Before I died, I selected my grand-nephew, the 3 year old Puyi as the successor to the throne (Perkins 95). When I chose Puyi as heir, I was neither thinking of China, nor her future. No, I was dreaming one last dream of what it would be like if I could only live another 10 years, or even five. If the God that the Westerners held so dear was to grant me just five more years, I am sure I would have made China great again. I did not want China to continue on without me. If I, Lao Fo Ye, should fall, then China should fall with me. I am Cixi, the last empress of China.

[[File:Cixi 4.jpg]]

(Picture: The Empress Dowager Cixi)

----

'''Works Cited'''

''"Arsenic Killed Chinese Emperor, Reports Say."''CNN WORLD. 4 Nov. 2008. 2 Oct. 2011. <http://articles.cnn.com/2008-11-04/world/china.emperor_1_arsenic-poisoning-arsenic-levels-china-central-television?_s=PM:WORLD>.

"Boxer Rebellion." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 14 Oct. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/76364/Boxer-Rebellion>.

"Cixi." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/612105/Cixi>.

Courtauld, Caroline , & May Holdsworth. ''The Forbidden City: The Great Within''. London: Frances Lincoln Ltd, 2008.

"How did the eunuch Li Lianying gain Empress Dowager Cixi's favor?." history.cultural-china.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct 2011. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/47H6581H12220.html>.

"Hundred Days of Reform." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 14 Oct. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/276504/Hundred-Days-of-Reform>.

"Kang Youwei." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 14 Oct. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/311026/Kang-Youwei>.

Liu, Lydia. ''The Clash of Empires: The Invention of China in Modern World Making''. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2004.

Pakula Hannah. ''The last empress: Madame Chiang Kai-Shek and the birth of modern China''. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2009.

Paludan, Ann. ''Chronicle of the Chinese Emerors''. New York: Thames &Hudson Inc., 1998.

Perkins, Dorothy. ''Encyclopedia of China: The Essential Reference to China, Its History and Culture''. New York: Round Table Press Inc., 1999.

Schoppa, R. Keith. ''The Columbia Guide to Modern Chinese History''. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000.

Seagrave, Sterling. ''Dragon Lady: The Life and Legend of the Last Epress of China''. New York: Alfred A. Knofp, Inc., 1992.

West, Barbara. ''Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania''. 1. New York: Facts on File, Inc, 2009. 498. eBook. <http://books.google.com/books?id=pCiNqFj3MQsC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0

Cixi

2011-12-11T15:58:45Z

69.169.132.20:

[[File:Cixi_3.PNG]]

(Picture: The Empress Dowager Cixi)

I have never thought of myself as a woman. As a child, I would often dream of what it would be like to ride to war and fight for twelve years in the guise of a man like Hua Mulan did so long ago. Certainly, I was clever enough to fool all of the men, and I would not do as Hua Mulan did and return quietly home to live as a woman once more, but I would continue my ascent to even greater heights. When my mother found me swinging with my father's sword in the back garden one fateful day, she shrieked and dragged me angrily into the house so that I feared I would be beaten. She did not strike me however, but sat me in front of a mirror and began applying a rosy pink blush to my cheeks.
"A woman's greatest weapon is not a sword, my daughter," she told me as she dabbed gently at my cheeks. "A woman's greatest weapon is her looks, which can control any man, no matter how powerful."

I stared at the mirror, and a beautiful young woman stared back at me.

"You are beautiful my daughter. I will find you a good husband,and you will use every weapon in your arsenal to win the war against him."

The very next week I was told that I was to become one of Emperor Xianfeng's concubines, and I knew I was being given an opportunity to rewrite my fate; the chance to fight as a man like Hua Mulan. But first I must fight as a woman. I will tell you upfront that my mission succeeded. I followed my mother's advice and became adept at all the womanly arts of war. Once I had risen above all the men in the land, I completed the dream that neither my mother nor Hua Mulan dared to dream, and became a man myself. I had everyone address me as if I was a man, and my subjects referred to me fondly as Lao Fo Ye (The Old Buddha) in my later years. I even required my adopted son Guanxu to call me "father" for that was what I was to him (Liu 151). I could not care for and tenderly nurture Guanxu as a mother should, I had to guide him with the hard hand of a father so he would understand that his place was beneath me. Would I had been born a man. You can have no idea how many times I have had this thought. I thought it the first night I was presented to the emperor Xianfeng, the day I was forced to rid China of Tongzhi, my worthless son, and again the day before my death when I ordered Guanxu poisoned so that he wouldn't further corrupt and erode my beautiful empire in my absence. If I had not been born a wretched woman, I would not have had to bloody my hands so. If I had been born to my rightful role as emperor, I would not have had to watch as one worthless fool after another wrought disaster upon China. If I had only been born a man, China would have joined together to successfully vanquish the Western threats and the emperors of China would now be ruling on high over the whole world as is our right, as would have been our destiny.

I was born on November 29, 1835, to a distinguished Manchu lineage, the Nehonala clan, though my father was only a minor official (Perkins 93). Even as a child, I had been discontent with my position in life, so when I was named a consort of the Emperor Xianfeng in 1851 at the age of 16 (Perkins 93), I gladly accepted the role to escape from the drudgery of my life. I ascended through the ranks of Kianfeng’s consorts until I became a favorite in 1856 for having born him his only living son, Tongzhi (Perkins 93). However, ascending to the rank of empress Dowager was no easy task, as I soon discovered. I did not find palace life as exciting as I had expected. I enjoyed the luxuries the the palace had to offer, but the life was decidedly dull. I was kept even more out of sight than I had been in family's household. The emperor didn't take much notice of his newest concubine for a long time. I decided that it was best to use my long hours of boredom to their best advantage and I studied diligently the arts of calligraphy and painting until I became remarkably adept at them (Pakula 40). When the emperor finally noticed my beauty and talents, I worked doubly hard to be pleasing to him, and my efforts paid off almost immediately. I love the theater exceedingly, and have always prided myself that I was able to act as well as anyone I saw on the stage; “I can make people hate me worse than poison, and I can also make them love me. I have the power” (Perkins 18). All of China was my stage, and it was simple work to act my way into the emperor's good graces for he had a simple mind and was an exceptionally easy audience to read. Seeing that I showed great interest in his affairs, the emperor readily allowed me to read official documents and discussed his most important policy matters with me. It was thus that I became highly literate and knowledgeable about the ways of government, and thus that I became even more unsatisfied with my meager role. I began to take a more active part in state affairs and realized how much more suitable I was to rule than so many of the inept officials that the emperor kept by his side. China had been steadily falling into a state of disarray. I could not understand why officials were allowing Westerners to cross into our empire with their foreign religions and tainted ideas to corrupt our people. This is not to say that I was not interested in the many wonders that the West had to offer. At some point, right under the sleeping noses of the Manchu officials, countries such as Britain and the United States had surpassed us in technology. I saw the opportunity to utilize Western technology and to surpass it.

After constant visits to the emperor's chambers, my efforts finally came to fruition. When I felt the baby in my womb, I began to hatch a scheme around that small life. I prayed to my ancestors every day that it might be a son so that it would be heir to the throne. I prayed that this infant would be the means through which I could unify China once more. With grand visions forming in my mind, I waited patiently through the troubles and annoyances of pregnancy. When the baby was finally born and pronounced a boy, I cried for joy: I was to be free from my frustration at last. Or so I thought; life is never that simple and many hurdles would arise before I could assume the throne. I was promoted to the rank of Imperial Consort Yi immediately after the birth of my son,who was named Tongzhi, and before long was further promoted to Noble Consort Yi , second only to the empress (West 498), though I was prized by the emperor more than the empress Cian because I had done what she could not. I was finally able to convince the emperor to name my son the legal successor to the throne when Tongzhi was six years of age (Pakula 41).

China was crumbling pitiably under Xianfeng's rule.He could not even quell the Taiping Rebellion which was led by a madman who claimed to be some sort of Western God, and the rebellion stretched on from 1850-1864 (Paludan 209). In 1860, during the Second Opium War, I was even forced to flee with my emperor from our Summer Palace in Beijing to our summer resort in Jehol because of an attack from British and French troops (Paludan 209). The humiliation from the capture of Beijing, coupled with his cowardly flight, left Xianfeng too embarrassed to return to the capital or even speak with his own officials (Paludan 209). In shame, the emperor died in 1861(Perkins 93), and I prepared for the new role that I was to play without an emperor to rule over me. Before Xianfeng died, he made his eight most conservative advisers joint regents over my son, Tongzhi, and I was given the rank of the empress dowager (Perkins 93). I conspired to gain power with Prince Gong, and successfully arrested the eight regents standing in my way, executing three of them (Perkins 93). I became co-regent with the legitimate wife of Xianfeng, the empress consort Cian (Perkins 93). Cian was ignorant about anything concerning politics and could neither read nor write, and so was only too happy to leave state affairs to me (Pakula 41).

[[File:Emperor Xianfeng.PNG]] [[File:Emperor Tongzhi.jpg]]

(Pictures: The Emperor Xianfeng on the left. The Emperor Tongzhi on the right.)

After I began my rule as the Dowager Empress, I found how few friends I truly possessed in court when I found myself the constant recipient of blame and criticism whenever something went awry. There was one instance for which I was unjustly blamed that I simply cannot forget, it was so embarrassing and unjust an accusation. I was blamed for the use of navy funds in the rebuilding of the Summer Palace which had been destroyed after Emperor Xianfeng and I had fled in 1860, and for the restoration of a fantastic marble barge which had suffered the same fate (Seagrave 181). However, I had not known, that funds were appropriated from anywhere because the project had been entirely in the hands of Prince Chun and Viceroy Li HongZhang who had hoped to gain my favor through this extravagant gift (Seagrave 181, 500-501). Due to Prince Chun's and Vieceroy Li's foolishly timed and ill carried out attempt at recommending themselves, we suffered a ridiculous and humiliating defeat at the hands of the Japanese because our navy was in such disarray (Seagrave 181). So distressed was I over this blunder, that I cancelled my 60th birthday celebration, for I had no desire to spend lavishly when my navy had no ships to sail in (Seagrave 501).

[[File:Cixi 8.jpg]][[File:Cixi 7.jpg]]

(Pictures: The Summer Palace on the Left. The Marble barge for lake-viewing on the right)

Despite my many critics, I was not completely alone and wanting for allies. I still had many by my side who supported and admired me. I was very fond, for instance, of many of my eunuchs who made it their business to amuse and pamper me. My head eunuch, Li Lianying, in particular, was a special friend to me who I could never consider as a mere servant. Li Lianying came at a time when I was in deep distress because none of my eunuchs could comb and style my hair properly. Like a gift from heaven, Li offered, in his ever pleasing and humble manner, to try his hand at styling my hair. When I doubtfully acquiesced, he began to deftly comb and twist my hair until, when I looked in the mirror, not a hair was out of place ("history.cultural-china.com"). As I admired my reflection from various angles, I heard Li Lianying inquire how I liked it. From the mirror, I could see a small smile that showed that he knew I approved. Turning sharply, I asked him if he thought it became me. With a small bow, he replied that it became me beautifully, but he was afraid that his clumsy fingers could never do my beauty justice. I ordered the eunuch to raise his head, and when he did, I saw his pert little smile accompanied by a wry twinkle in his dark eyes. I considered for a second if I should get angry at his insolence, but this eunuch intrigued me. He was not afraid of me like so many others. And he did not look down on me and mock me. He simply complimented me with that subtle smile that told me that he understood me and that I intrigued him too. It would not be so bad having such a man by my side, I thought, and smiled back at Li Lianying. "No doubt your fingers can never do me justice, but they will have to try," I told him and his eyes twinkled all the brighter, "for from this day out, you are to fix my hair. Come, show me another style." Some said that Li Lianying's words were simply empty flattery, but he was one man who treated me well. So many looked at me with scorn and said that I was acting above my station as a woman; that I was only a consort. Even if it was only flattery, who cares as long as he did it well? Li Lianying treated me with kindness and compassion, and I, in turn, rewarded him by giving him much power over the operations of my court ("history.cultural-china.com").

[[File:Eunuch.jpg]]

(Picture: The Head Eunuch Li Lianying)

Tongzhi turned out to be a natural hedonist, a trait that I fear he inherited from me. He would amuse himself with the eunuchs and would often visit various brothels in a clumsily made disguise (paludan 212). I admit to encouraging my son a little in his childish outings. As long as Tongzhi was happily occupied within the confines of the palace with his drink and playthings, I was free to enact my policies without an undo amount of interference. The time came when it was expected that Tongzhi should wed and produce an heir, so in 1872, I chose from the most suitable Manchu lineages, a young bride by the name of Alute (Perkins 93). I knew that my regency would end when my son married, so I had hoped to find Alute a malleable figure, but to my dismay, she began to have an increasingly powerful influence over Tongzhi's mind and he proceeded to defy me. Tongzhi contracted smallpox, and knowing that he was already in ill health from his interminable drinking of alcohol and from a venereal disease which he had contracted from his frequent visits to the brothels as well as from his many eunuch friends (Paludan 212), I began to search for an heir in the event that Tongzhi's weak constitution led him to fall prey to a disease that killed so many.It wasn't long before my eyes rested on my nephew, Guanxu, who was the son of my sister and Xianfeng's brother(Paludan 213). Guanxu was not even 4 years old (Paludan 213), so if he were installed on the throne, I would regain my position. I had already constructed a China with me as regent, so it disturbed me when I heard that, despite the odds, my son was beginning to recover (Paludan 213). This was just like Tongzhi; pretending to bend to my will, then stabbing me in the back. Having tasted the sweet juice of imperial power once, I could not allow the second cup to be wrenched from my grasp having only sniffed its sweet spice. I had Tongzhi poisoned (Paludan 213). It was written in the records that Tongzhi had perished tragically of smallpox in 1875, at the age of 19, and I didn't mind when the rumor circulated that the real cause of his premature death was exhaustion from a life of overindulgence, for it was in no small way true(Perkins 93).

My selection of Guanxu as heir didn't pass without opposition because my daughter-in-law happened to be with child at the time (Paludan 213). I was met with further opposition on the grounds that because Guanxu was of the same generation as Tongzhi, he wouldn't be able to perform the various duties of ancestor worship that were necessary to bring Tongzhi's soul to rest (Perkins 93). I was able to convince the officials to accept Guanxu as heir by assuring them that Guanxu's eventual son would be named true heir to the throne and he would perform the filial duties due to Tongzhi (Courtauld & Holdsworth 125). I could not let any child of Alute ascend the throne, so I had to rid myself of the possible rival resting in her stomach: I persuaded the girl to commit suicide by eating gold dust two month after Tongzhi's death (Pakula 41). I knew that her death, such a short period after Tongzhi's, would incite suspicion, but she was a cunning and spiteful girl and I could not risk her bearing a son and usurping my power.

[[File:Guangxu.jpg]]

(Picture: The Emperor Guanxu)

Guanxu came of age in 1866 but I did not give up my regency until he married in 1889 (Perkins 93), and I was forced by propriety to declare my regency ended and retire to the Summer Palace ("Cixi"). Even then, I was able to maintain some degree of control, due more to the fact that Guanxu dared not defy me than to any real claim I had to the power. I made decisions and appointments which my nephew couldn’t veto and I read all of his official documents (Perkins 93). You must understand that neither Guanxu nor Tongzhi was as fit to rule as I. Guanxu especially, was afraid of me. It was my intention that my adopted son live in proper awe of my presence, but it was quite amusing at times how much he quaked in fear as a child and how he hid behind the skirts of his nursemaids whenever he was in my presence as if I were some ravenous animal come to tear him to shreds (Paludan 213-214). I wonder if I really had such a hungered look on my face as I looked down on him, envying his birthright and planning how to best claim it for my own. Guanxu grew no better as he aged. He was a chronically ill wisp of a man with a voice that was ‘light and thin like a mosquito,’and I believe that he never quite got over his dread of me (Paludan 213-214). Guanxu had not the temperament, nor the talents to rule a great nation under constant threat. Being faced with such a pathetic excuse for an emperor, I could not give up my power willingly. I had studied law for much longer and had amassed more experience than Quanxu or Tongzhi, and I was doing only what I saw as necessary in order to protect the empire I held so dear.

More and more, foreign forces were threatening my great empire, especially the states that traditionally brought tribute to China. France took control of the vassal state of Vietnam, and an ever advancing Japan took over Burma and the Ryukyu Islands, and then proceeded to threaten Korea, and conquer Port Arthur, Taiwan, and the Pescadore Islands (Perkins 94). As if these travesties were not enough, in 1898, Guanxu issued a foolish set of progressive edicts spurred on by the poisonous words of Kang Youwei and his ever faithful fanboy, Liang Qichao, in what was called the Hundred Day Reform ("Hundred Days of Reform"). I had been waiting quietly in the Summer Palace, pretending to support the emperor in his many reforms, but his progressive actions began to greatly alarm me as to the degree in which they would weaken the Qing government(Perkins18-20). Guanxu, ever anxious about my interference, ordered me arrested and imprisoned (Perkins 20). Unfortunately for my nephew, he trusted the wrong man. General Yuan Shikai, the agent whom he entrusted with the order for my arrest, was in fact a loyal pawn of mine (Perkins 20). I reversed Guanxu's thwarted plan on him; eunuchs captured the emperor in his chambers and escorted him to the Ocean Terrace, an island in a lake near the Forbidden City (Perkins 20). I quickly and decisively proceeded to arrest and execute the officials responsible for the corruption of the emperor's mind, and within five days, I had revoked all of the edicts that Guanxu had tried to put in place (Schoppa 44). I rewarded Yuan Shikai for his usefulness in this affair by giving him governorship of the province of Shandong (Perkins 94). To my great disappointment,Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao escaped my grasp by fleeing to their beloved Japan ("Kang").

I had an edict sent out an declaring that I would resume my regency do to the emperors ill health (Perkins 20). This edict and knowledge of the coup d'état caused many rumors to circulate in China and abroad that the emperor had been executed (Perkins 20). Some Western governments threatened that they would act against us if the emperor were executed, going so far as to insist that a doctor be allowed to see Guanxu so as to ascertain his state of health. I acquiesced to this request, but the Chinese people were outraged at the audacity of the foreigners' demands and so several anti-foreign riots broke out (Perkins 20). Here I will admit that my mind had begun to process the idea that Guanxu had become more of a nuisance than an asset. I had perhaps been too sluggish in reaching this conclusion, no doubt do to some foolish attachment I felt towards Guanxu because he was my own flesh and blood and my adopted son. Having at last reached the decision to terminate the barrier to China's restoration, I could not let anyone deter me from my path. I had the windows in Guanxu's chambers walled off (Paludan 214), and waited patiently for the foreign states to forget about his existence and move on with their own affairs.

China was growing weaker because of rapidly expanding European influences. Foreign missionaries came in great numbers to convert my people so that even the emperor himself began to be corrupted. Word began to spread of a secret society known as the Yihequan (Righteous and Harmonious Fists) that practiced martial arts and claimed to have super natural powers that would make them resistant even to the strike of a bullet ("Boxer Rebellion"). The Yihequan were determined to restore China to its former glory, free of foreign taint, and hearing that the voices of my people were behind them, I gave my consent in 1898 to what is now called the Boxer Rebellion (Paludan 214). Unfortunately, China had fallen too far already, and I was forced to flee from the western troops with Guanxu to a temporary capital in Xi’an (Paludan 214). Guanxu resisted my orders for him to flee disguised as a peasant. When I discovered that his defiance was brought about by the urging of his favored lover the Pear Concubine, I had the girl thrown into a well (Paludan 214). I understood my nephew; he always needed someone to rely on, and with the source of his borrowed power gone, he quickly gave in to his long held fear of me, and reverted to his malleable self. When I saw that the battles were not going in our favor, although I was greatly ashamed, I decided it was best to live to fight another day and signed the Boxer Protocol which forced China to pay a great indemnity of 200 Million ounces of silver, placed a ban on the making of armaments, punished many for war crimes, stopped the imperial examinations, and forced the lease of land for mines and railways, among other demands (Perkins 95, Pakula 43). I was then able to return to the capital and continue my reign in 1902, although I had to reenact many reforms that I had abolished (Perkins 95). I had to watch quietly as many of my citizens went to study in America and as many western-style schools were built (Perkins 95).

I was disappointed with the state of the empire, which I had inherited on the verge of its death. I wished that I could have been born in one of the many thousands of years of prosperity that China had enjoyed. Yet, In spite of everything, I pushed on. I have always been adaptable, not like Xianfeng or either of my sons who allowed themselves to lose to their despair. So it was that I began to play the foreigners' game, confident that I could still somehow manage to come out on top. Unfortunately, my body was beginning to fail me. The body that had once been so young, so beautiful, so full of life, was now old, lined, and feeble. Oh how I wished to turn back the clock. I knew that this was one scheme that no matter how hard I planned, could not succeed. But even if I could not be victorious, I could at least make it so that I was not the only one defeated. I could never stand losing, so I turned my thoughts to my final enemy, and hatched my final scheme. Guanxu must die. Guanxu, who had pushed China past its breaking point, Guanxu, who was waiting for my death to be restored to power: it was my duty to remove this evil which I myself had placed on the throne so many years ago. Guanxu's death didn't need any planning, it was as simple as waving one of my faithful servants over to my bedside and telling him to poison the emperor,and it was done. Guanxu died of arsenic poisoning at the age of 36 in November 1908 (Arsenic). Game set and match.

[[File:Pu Yi.jpg]] [[File:Puyi.jpg]]

(Pictures: Emperor Puyi as a child on the left. Emperoro Puyi as an adult on the right.)

I died of a stroke at the age of 73, one day after my nephew’s death (Paludan 216). Before I died, I selected my grand-nephew, the 3 year old Puyi as the successor to the throne (Perkins 95). When I chose Puyi as heir, I was neither thinking of China, nor her future. No, I was dreaming one last dream of what it would be like if I could only live another 10 years, or even five. If the God that the Westerners held so dear was to grant me just five more years, I am sure I would have made China great again. I did not want China to continue on without me. If I, Lao Fo Ye, should fall, then China should fall with me. I am Cixi, the last empress of China.

[[File:Cixi 4.jpg]]

(Picture: The Empress Dowager Cixi)

----

'''Works Cited'''

''"Arsenic Killed Chinese Emperor, Reports Say."''CNN WORLD. 4 Nov. 2008. 2 Oct. 2011. <http://articles.cnn.com/2008-11-04/world/china.emperor_1_arsenic-poisoning-arsenic-levels-china-central-television?_s=PM:WORLD>.

"Boxer Rebellion." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 14 Oct. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/76364/Boxer-Rebellion>.

"Cixi." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/612105/Cixi>.

Courtauld, Caroline , & May Holdsworth. ''The Forbidden City: The Great Within''. London: Frances Lincoln Ltd, 2008.

"How did the eunuch Li Lianying gain Empress Dowager Cixi's favor?." history.cultural-china.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct 2011. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/47H6581H12220.html>.

"Hundred Days of Reform." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 14 Oct. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/276504/Hundred-Days-of-Reform>.

"Kang Youwei." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 14 Oct. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/311026/Kang-Youwei>.

Liu, Lydia. ''The Clash of Empires: The Invention of China in Modern World Making''. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2004.

Pakula Hannah. ''The last empress: Madame Chiang Kai-Shek and the birth of modern China''. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2009.

Paludan, Ann. ''Chronicle of the Chinese Emerors''. New York: Thames &Hudson Inc., 1998.

Perkins, Dorothy. ''Encyclopedia of China: The Essential Reference to China, Its History and Culture''. New York: Round Table Press Inc., 1999.

Schoppa, R. Keith. ''The Columbia Guide to Modern Chinese History''. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000.

Seagrave, Sterling. ''Dragon Lady: The Life and Legend of the Last Epress of China''. New York: Alfred A. Knofp, Inc., 1992.

West, Barbara. ''Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania''. 1. New York: Facts on File, Inc, 2009. 498. eBook. <http://books.google.com/books?id=pCiNqFj3MQsC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0

Cixi

2011-12-11T15:55:43Z

69.169.132.20:

[[File:Cixi_3.PNG]]

(Picture: The Empress Dowager Cixi)

I have never thought of myself as a woman. As a child、 I would often dream of what it would be like to ride to war and fight for twelve years in the guise of a man like Hua Mulan did so long ago. Certainly, I was clever enough to fool all of the men, and I would not do as Hua Mulan did and return quietly home to live as a woman once more, but I would continue my ascent to even greater heights. When my mother found me swinging with my father's sword in the back garden one fateful day, she shrieked and dragged me angrily into the house so that I feared I would be beaten. She did not strike me however, but sat me in front of a mirror and began applying a rosy pink blush to my cheeks.
"A woman's greatest weapon is not a sword, my daughter," she told me as she dabbed gently at my cheeks. "A woman's greatest weapon is her looks, which can control any man, no matter how powerful."

I stared at the mirror, and a beautiful young woman stared back at me.

"You are beautiful my daughter. I will find you a good husband,and you will use every weapon in your arsenal to win the war against him."

The very next week I was told that I was to become one of Emperor Xianfeng's concubines, and I knew I was being given an opportunity to rewrite my fate; the chance to fight as a man like Hua Mulan. But first I must fight as a woman. I will tell you upfront that my mission succeeded. I followed my mother's advice and became adept at all the womanly arts of war. Once I had risen above all the men in the land, I completed the dream that neither my mother nor Hua Mulan dared to dream, and became a man myself. I had everyone address me as if I was a man, and my subjects referred to me fondly as Lao Fo Ye (The Old Buddha) in my later years. I even required my adopted son Guanxu to call me "father" for that was what I was to him (Liu 151). I could not care for and tenderly nurture Guanxu as a mother should, I had to guide him with the hard hand of a father so he would understand that his place was beneath me. Would I had been born a man. You can have no idea how many times I have had this thought. I thought it the first night I was presented to the emperor Xianfeng, the day I was forced to rid China of Tongzhi, my worthless son, and again the day before my death when I ordered Guanxu poisoned so that he wouldn't further corrupt and erode my beautiful empire in my absence. If I had not been born a wretched woman, I would not have had to bloody my hands so. If I had been born to my rightful role as emperor, I would not have had to watch as one worthless fool after another wrought disaster upon China. If I had only been born a man, China would have joined together to successfully vanquish the Western threats and the emperors of China would now be ruling on high over the whole world as is our right, as would have been our destiny.

I was born on November 29, 1835, to a distinguished Manchu lineage, the Nehonala clan, though my father was only a minor official (Perkins 93). Even as a child, I had been discontent with my position in life, so when I was named a consort of the Emperor Xianfeng in 1851 at the age of 16 (Perkins 93), I gladly accepted the role to escape from the drudgery of my life. I ascended through the ranks of Kianfeng’s consorts until I became a favorite in 1856 for having born him his only living son, Tongzhi (Perkins 93). However, ascending to the rank of empress Dowager was no easy task, as I soon discovered. I did not find palace life as exciting as I had expected. I enjoyed the luxuries the the palace had to offer, but the life was decidedly dull. I was kept even more out of sight than I had been in family's household. The emperor didn't take much notice of his newest concubine for a long time. I decided that it was best to use my long hours of boredom to their best advantage and I studied diligently the arts of calligraphy and painting until I became remarkably adept at them (Pakula 40). When the emperor finally noticed my beauty and talents, I worked doubly hard to be pleasing to him, and my efforts paid off almost immediately. I love the theater exceedingly, and have always prided myself that I was able to act as well as anyone I saw on the stage; “I can make people hate me worse than poison, and I can also make them love me. I have the power” (Perkins 18). All of China was my stage, and it was simple work to act my way into the emperor's good graces for he had a simple mind and was an exceptionally easy audience to read. Seeing that I showed great interest in his affairs, the emperor readily allowed me to read official documents and discussed his most important policy matters with me. It was thus that I became highly literate and knowledgeable about the ways of government, and thus that I became even more unsatisfied with my meager role. I began to take a more active part in state affairs and realized how much more suitable I was to rule than so many of the inept officials that the emperor kept by his side. China had been steadily falling into a state of disarray. I could not understand why officials were allowing Westerners to cross into our empire with their foreign religions and tainted ideas to corrupt our people. This is not to say that I was not interested in the many wonders that the West had to offer. At some point, right under the sleeping noses of the Manchu officials, countries such as Britain and the United States had surpassed us in technology. I saw the opportunity to utilize Western technology and to surpass it.

After constant visits to the emperor's chambers, my efforts finally came to fruition. When I felt the baby in my womb, I began to hatch a scheme around that small life. I prayed to my ancestors every day that it might be a son so that it would be heir to the throne. I prayed that this infant would be the means through which I could unify China once more. With grand visions forming in my mind, I waited patiently through the troubles and annoyances of pregnancy. When the baby was finally born and pronounced a boy, I cried for joy: I was to be free from my frustration at last. Or so I thought; life is never that simple and many hurdles would arise before I could assume the throne. I was promoted to the rank of Imperial Consort Yi immediately after the birth of my son,who was named Tongzhi, and before long was further promoted to Noble Consort Yi , second only to the empress (West 498), though I was prized by the emperor more than the empress Cian because I had done what she could not. I was finally able to convince the emperor to name my son the legal successor to the throne when Tongzhi was six years of age (Pakula 41).

China was crumbling pitiably under Xianfeng's rule.He could not even quell the Taiping Rebellion which was led by a madman who claimed to be some sort of Western God, and the rebellion stretched on from 1850-1864 (Paludan 209). In 1860, during the Second Opium War, I was even forced to flee with my emperor from our Summer Palace in Beijing to our summer resort in Jehol because of an attack from British and French troops (Paludan 209). The humiliation from the capture of Beijing, coupled with his cowardly flight, left Xianfeng too embarrassed to return to the capital or even speak with his own officials (Paludan 209). In shame, the emperor died in 1861(Perkins 93), and I prepared for the new role that I was to play without an emperor to rule over me. Before Xianfeng died, he made his eight most conservative advisers joint regents over my son, Tongzhi, and I was given the rank of the empress dowager (Perkins 93). I conspired to gain power with Prince Gong, and successfully arrested the eight regents standing in my way, executing three of them (Perkins 93). I became co-regent with the legitimate wife of Xianfeng, the empress consort Cian (Perkins 93). Cian was ignorant about anything concerning politics and could neither read nor write, and so was only too happy to leave state affairs to me (Pakula 41).

[[File:Emperor Xianfeng.PNG]] [[File:Emperor Tongzhi.jpg]]

(Pictures: The Emperor Xianfeng on the left. The Emperor Tongzhi on the right.)

After I began my rule as the Dowager Empress, I found how few friends I truly possessed in court when I found myself the constant recipient of blame and criticism whenever something went awry. There was one instance for which I was unjustly blamed that I simply cannot forget, it was so embarrassing and unjust an accusation. I was blamed for the use of navy funds in the rebuilding of the Summer Palace which had been destroyed after Emperor Xianfeng and I had fled in 1860, and for the restoration of a fantastic marble barge which had suffered the same fate (Seagrave 181). However, I had not known, that funds were appropriated from anywhere because the project had been entirely in the hands of Prince Chun and Viceroy Li HongZhang who had hoped to gain my favor through this extravagant gift (Seagrave 181, 500-501). Due to Prince Chun's and Vieceroy Li's foolishly timed and ill carried out attempt at recommending themselves, we suffered a ridiculous and humiliating defeat at the hands of the Japanese because our navy was in such disarray (Seagrave 181). So distressed was I over this blunder, that I cancelled my 60th birthday celebration, for I had no desire to spend lavishly when my navy had no ships to sail in (Seagrave 501).

[[File:Cixi 8.jpg]][[File:Cixi 7.jpg]]

(Pictures: The Summer Palace on the Left. The Marble barge for lake-viewing on the right)

Despite my many critics, I was not completely alone and wanting for allies. I still had many by my side who supported and admired me. I was very fond, for instance, of many of my eunuchs who made it their business to amuse and pamper me. My head eunuch, Li Lianying, in particular, was a special friend to me who I could never consider as a mere servant. Li Lianying came at a time when I was in deep distress because none of my eunuchs could comb and style my hair properly. Like a gift from heaven, Li offered, in his ever pleasing and humble manner, to try his hand at styling my hair. When I doubtfully acquiesced, he began to deftly comb and twist my hair until, when I looked in the mirror, not a hair was out of place ("history.cultural-china.com"). As I admired my reflection from various angles, I heard Li Lianying inquire how I liked it. From the mirror, I could see a small smile that showed that he knew I approved. Turning sharply, I asked him if he thought it became me. With a small bow, he replied that it became me beautifully, but he was afraid that his clumsy fingers could never do my beauty justice. I ordered the eunuch to raise his head, and when he did, I saw his pert little smile accompanied by a wry twinkle in his dark eyes. I considered for a second if I should get angry at his insolence, but this eunuch intrigued me. He was not afraid of me like so many others. And he did not look down on me and mock me. He simply complimented me with that subtle smile that told me that he understood me and that I intrigued him too. It would not be so bad having such a man by my side, I thought, and smiled back at Li Lianying. "No doubt your fingers can never do me justice, but they will have to try," I told him and his eyes twinkled all the brighter, "for from this day out, you are to fix my hair. Come, show me another style." Some said that Li Lianying's words were simply empty flattery, but he was one man who treated me well. So many looked at me with scorn and said that I was acting above my station as a woman; that I was only a consort. Even if it was only flattery, who cares as long as he did it well? Li Lianying treated me with kindness and compassion, and I, in turn, rewarded him by giving him much power over the operations of my court ("history.cultural-china.com").

[[File:Eunuch.jpg]]

(Picture: The Head Eunuch Li Lianying)

Tongzhi turned out to be a natural hedonist, a trait that I fear he inherited from me. He would amuse himself with the eunuchs and would often visit various brothels in a clumsily made disguise (paludan 212). I admit to encouraging my son a little in his childish outings. As long as Tongzhi was happily occupied within the confines of the palace with his drink and playthings, I was free to enact my policies without an undo amount of interference. The time came when it was expected that Tongzhi should wed and produce an heir, so in 1872, I chose from the most suitable Manchu lineages, a young bride by the name of Alute (Perkins 93). I knew that my regency would end when my son married, so I had hoped to find Alute a malleable figure, but to my dismay, she began to have an increasingly powerful influence over Tongzhi's mind and he proceeded to defy me. Tongzhi contracted smallpox, and knowing that he was already in ill health from his interminable drinking of alcohol and from a venereal disease which he had contracted from his frequent visits to the brothels as well as from his many eunuch friends (Paludan 212), I began to search for an heir in the event that Tongzhi's weak constitution led him to fall prey to a disease that killed so many.It wasn't long before my eyes rested on my nephew, Guanxu, who was the son of my sister and Xianfeng's brother(Paludan 213). Guanxu was not even 4 years old (Paludan 213), so if he were installed on the throne, I would regain my position. I had already constructed a China with me as regent, so it disturbed me when I heard that, despite the odds, my son was beginning to recover (Paludan 213). This was just like Tongzhi; pretending to bend to my will, then stabbing me in the back. Having tasted the sweet juice of imperial power once, I could not allow the second cup to be wrenched from my grasp having only sniffed its sweet spice. I had Tongzhi poisoned (Paludan 213). It was written in the records that Tongzhi had perished tragically of smallpox in 1875, at the age of 19, and I didn't mind when the rumor circulated that the real cause of his premature death was exhaustion from a life of overindulgence, for it was in no small way true(Perkins 93).

My selection of Guanxu as heir didn't pass without opposition because my daughter-in-law happened to be with child at the time (Paludan 213). I was met with further opposition on the grounds that because Guanxu was of the same generation as Tongzhi, he wouldn't be able to perform the various duties of ancestor worship that were necessary to bring Tongzhi's soul to rest (Perkins 93). I was able to convince the officials to accept Guanxu as heir by assuring them that Guanxu's eventual son would be named true heir to the throne and he would perform the filial duties due to Tongzhi (Courtauld & Holdsworth 125). I could not let any child of Alute ascend the throne, so I had to rid myself of the possible rival resting in her stomach: I persuaded the girl to commit suicide by eating gold dust two month after Tongzhi's death (Pakula 41). I knew that her death, such a short period after Tongzhi's, would incite suspicion, but she was a cunning and spiteful girl and I could not risk her bearing a son and usurping my power.

[[File:Guangxu.jpg]]

(Picture: The Emperor Guanxu)

Guanxu came of age in 1866 but I did not give up my regency until he married in 1889 (Perkins 93), and I was forced by propriety to declare my regency ended and retire to the Summer Palace ("Cixi"). Even then, I was able to maintain some degree of control, due more to the fact that Guanxu dared not defy me than to any real claim I had to the power. I made decisions and appointments which my nephew couldn’t veto and I read all of his official documents (Perkins 93). You must understand that neither Guanxu nor Tongzhi was as fit to rule as I. Guanxu especially, was afraid of me. It was my intention that my adopted son live in proper awe of my presence, but it was quite amusing at times how much he quaked in fear as a child and how he hid behind the skirts of his nursemaids whenever he was in my presence as if I were some ravenous animal come to tear him to shreds (Paludan 213-214). I wonder if I really had such a hungered look on my face as I looked down on him, envying his birthright and planning how to best claim it for my own. Guanxu grew no better as he aged. He was a chronically ill wisp of a man with a voice that was ‘light and thin like a mosquito,’and I believe that he never quite got over his dread of me (Paludan 213-214). Guanxu had not the temperament, nor the talents to rule a great nation under constant threat. Being faced with such a pathetic excuse for an emperor, I could not give up my power willingly. I had studied law for much longer and had amassed more experience than Quanxu or Tongzhi, and I was doing only what I saw as necessary in order to protect the empire I held so dear.

More and more, foreign forces were threatening my great empire, especially the states that traditionally brought tribute to China. France took control of the vassal state of Vietnam, and an ever advancing Japan took over Burma and the Ryukyu Islands, and then proceeded to threaten Korea, and conquer Port Arthur, Taiwan, and the Pescadore Islands (Perkins 94). As if these travesties were not enough, in 1898, Guanxu issued a foolish set of progressive edicts spurred on by the poisonous words of Kang Youwei and his ever faithful fanboy, Liang Qichao, in what was called the Hundred Day Reform ("Hundred Days of Reform"). I had been waiting quietly in the Summer Palace, pretending to support the emperor in his many reforms, but his progressive actions began to greatly alarm me as to the degree in which they would weaken the Qing government(Perkins18-20). Guanxu, ever anxious about my interference, ordered me arrested and imprisoned (Perkins 20). Unfortunately for my nephew, he trusted the wrong man. General Yuan Shikai, the agent whom he entrusted with the order for my arrest, was in fact a loyal pawn of mine (Perkins 20). I reversed Guanxu's thwarted plan on him; eunuchs captured the emperor in his chambers and escorted him to the Ocean Terrace, an island in a lake near the Forbidden City (Perkins 20). I quickly and decisively proceeded to arrest and execute the officials responsible for the corruption of the emperor's mind, and within five days, I had revoked all of the edicts that Guanxu had tried to put in place (Schoppa 44). I rewarded Yuan Shikai for his usefulness in this affair by giving him governorship of the province of Shandong (Perkins 94). To my great disappointment,Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao escaped my grasp by fleeing to their beloved Japan ("Kang").

I had an edict sent out an declaring that I would resume my regency do to the emperors ill health (Perkins 20). This edict and knowledge of the coup d'état caused many rumors to circulate in China and abroad that the emperor had been executed (Perkins 20). Some Western governments threatened that they would act against us if the emperor were executed, going so far as to insist that a doctor be allowed to see Guanxu so as to ascertain his state of health. I acquiesced to this request, but the Chinese people were outraged at the audacity of the foreigners' demands and so several anti-foreign riots broke out (Perkins 20). Here I will admit that my mind had begun to process the idea that Guanxu had become more of a nuisance than an asset. I had perhaps been too sluggish in reaching this conclusion, no doubt do to some foolish attachment I felt towards Guanxu because he was my own flesh and blood and my adopted son. Having at last reached the decision to terminate the barrier to China's restoration, I could not let anyone deter me from my path. I had the windows in Guanxu's chambers walled off (Paludan 214), and waited patiently for the foreign states to forget about his existence and move on with their own affairs.

China was growing weaker because of rapidly expanding European influences. Foreign missionaries came in great numbers to convert my people so that even the emperor himself began to be corrupted. Word began to spread of a secret society known as the Yihequan (Righteous and Harmonious Fists) that practiced martial arts and claimed to have super natural powers that would make them resistant even to the strike of a bullet ("Boxer Rebellion"). The Yihequan were determined to restore China to its former glory, free of foreign taint, and hearing that the voices of my people were behind them, I gave my consent in 1898 to what is now called the Boxer Rebellion (Paludan 214). Unfortunately, China had fallen too far already, and I was forced to flee from the western troops with Guanxu to a temporary capital in Xi’an (Paludan 214). Guanxu resisted my orders for him to flee disguised as a peasant. When I discovered that his defiance was brought about by the urging of his favored lover the Pear Concubine, I had the girl thrown into a well (Paludan 214). I understood my nephew; he always needed someone to rely on, and with the source of his borrowed power gone, he quickly gave in to his long held fear of me, and reverted to his malleable self. When I saw that the battles were not going in our favor, although I was greatly ashamed, I decided it was best to live to fight another day and signed the Boxer Protocol which forced China to pay a great indemnity of 200 Million ounces of silver, placed a ban on the making of armaments, punished many for war crimes, stopped the imperial examinations, and forced the lease of land for mines and railways, among other demands (Perkins 95, Pakula 43). I was then able to return to the capital and continue my reign in 1902, although I had to reenact many reforms that I had abolished (Perkins 95). I had to watch quietly as many of my citizens went to study in America and as many western-style schools were built (Perkins 95).

I was disappointed with the state of the empire, which I had inherited on the verge of its death. I wished that I could have been born in one of the many thousands of years of prosperity that China had enjoyed. Yet, In spite of everything, I pushed on. I have always been adaptable, not like Xianfeng or either of my sons who allowed themselves to lose to their despair. So it was that I began to play the foreigners' game, confident that I could still somehow manage to come out on top. Unfortunately, my body was beginning to fail me. The body that had once been so young, so beautiful, so full of life, was now old, lined, and feeble. Oh how I wished to turn back the clock. I knew that this was one scheme that no matter how hard I planned, could not succeed. But even if I could not be victorious, I could at least make it so that I was not the only one defeated. I could never stand losing, so I turned my thoughts to my final enemy, and hatched my final scheme. Guanxu must die. Guanxu, who had pushed China past its breaking point, Guanxu, who was waiting for my death to be restored to power: it was my duty to remove this evil which I myself had placed on the throne so many years ago. Guanxu's death didn't need any planning, it was as simple as waving one of my faithful servants over to my bedside and telling him to poison the emperor,and it was done. Guanxu died of arsenic poisoning at the age of 36 in November 1908 (Arsenic). Game set and match.

[[File:Pu Yi.jpg]] [[File:Puyi.jpg]]

(Pictures: Emperor Puyi as a child on the left. Emperoro Puyi as an adult on the right.)

I died of a stroke at the age of 73, one day after my nephew’s death (Paludan 216). Before I died, I selected my grand-nephew, the 3 year old Puyi as the successor to the throne (Perkins 95). When I chose Puyi as heir, I was neither thinking of China, nor her future. No, I was dreaming one last dream of what it would be like if I could only live another 10 years, or even five. If the God that the Westerners held so dear was to grant me just five more years, I am sure I would have made China great again. I did not want China to continue on without me. If I, Lao Fo Ye, should fall, then China should fall with me. I am Cixi, the last empress of China.

[[File:Cixi 4.jpg]]

(Picture: The Empress Dowager Cixi)

----

'''Works Cited'''

''"Arsenic Killed Chinese Emperor, Reports Say."''CNN WORLD. 4 Nov. 2008. 2 Oct. 2011. <http://articles.cnn.com/2008-11-04/world/china.emperor_1_arsenic-poisoning-arsenic-levels-china-central-television?_s=PM:WORLD>.

"Boxer Rebellion." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 14 Oct. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/76364/Boxer-Rebellion>.

"Cixi." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/612105/Cixi>.

Courtauld, Caroline , & May Holdsworth. ''The Forbidden City: The Great Within''. London: Frances Lincoln Ltd, 2008.

"How did the eunuch Li Lianying gain Empress Dowager Cixi's favor?." history.cultural-china.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct 2011. <http://history.cultural-china.com/en/47H6581H12220.html>.

"Hundred Days of Reform." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 14 Oct. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/276504/Hundred-Days-of-Reform>.

"Kang Youwei." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 14 Oct. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/311026/Kang-Youwei>.

Liu, Lydia. ''The Clash of Empires: The Invention of China in Modern World Making''. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2004.

Pakula Hannah. ''The last empress: Madame Chiang Kai-Shek and the birth of modern China''. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2009.

Paludan, Ann. ''Chronicle of the Chinese Emerors''. New York: Thames &Hudson Inc., 1998.

Perkins, Dorothy. ''Encyclopedia of China: The Essential Reference to China, Its History and Culture''. New York: Round Table Press Inc., 1999.

Schoppa, R. Keith. ''The Columbia Guide to Modern Chinese History''. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000.

Seagrave, Sterling. ''Dragon Lady: The Life and Legend of the Last Epress of China''. New York: Alfred A. Knofp, Inc., 1992.

West, Barbara. ''Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania''. 1. New York: Facts on File, Inc, 2009. 498. eBook. <http://books.google.com/books?id=pCiNqFj3MQsC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0

Imperialism: Reality or Myth?, Discovering History in China

2011-12-10T17:35:49Z

69.169.132.20:

'''"Imperialism: Reality or Myth?", Discovering History in China by Paul Cohen'''

In the chapter, Paul Cohen critiques the writings of various theorists on the subject of the economic effects of Western Imperialism in China and why China failed to modernize while other countries that experienced imperialism, such as Japan, succeeded. Some say that imperialism is at the root of all of China’s problems while others believe that imperialism’s role was limited especially in the political realm. However, Modernization Theory, which says that all countries will eventually become democracies, is very important for each of these viewpoints.

In the 1960s, tragedies like Vietnam began getting many young people in America angry and doubtful about American policies in Asia. James Peck, a young graduate student, wrote a paper in 1969 and shocked the elders of the field with its criticisms. Peck’s main argument was that modernization theory was being used to justify America’s brutal actions in in the postwar era, patronize the Chinese revolution and disguise imperialism’s affects.

The Traditional China specialists that Peck was criticizing said that external forces were identical in Japan and China, so we should look at the internal cultural aspects to understand why China failed to adapt while Japan succeeded. China was too self-sufficient and self-confident and so failed to modernize. Imperialism was a myth the Chinese invented to sooth their hurt egos.

Peck said that external factors, namely imperialism, were at fault. China had to bear much stronger imperialism than Japan, and so no revolution could possibly take place. Peck thought that Western economic power in China wasn’t beneficial as previously argued because the West used exportation and control of markets to impede modernization.

John K. Fairbank, the chief target of Peck's attack, published a reply in 1970. One of the points that Fairbank argued against Peck on was that just because American imperialism had bad points, didn’t mean that Marxism didn’t have bed points as well, so criticism of one shouldn’t necessarily lead to the idealization of the other.

Cohen says that Peck’s view actually had a lot in common with the approaches that he criticizes except in labeling aspects as good or bad. Peck argued that throughout its history China has been incapable of fundamental change despite many revolts. In the early 19th century Western capitalism started change in China, but then stopped the changes that were not in their interests. The Chinese fought imperialism with communism. Peck says that without Western intrusion, the revolution would never have been able to take place and China would never have changed.

Cohen thinks that Peck boxed himself in because his argument seemed to suggest that because of China's stagnate state, it wouldn’t have been better off without Imperialism. Cohen also argued that internal changes in China were already underway by the time of the Opium War, including urbanization, growing literacy rates, and expansion of the gentry class, but that Peck refused to see such changes because he didn’t want to let America off the hook.

The author then evaluates a book published in 1977 by Frances Moulder which argued that Japan's development was because of its relative autonomy within the world economy, and China's underdevelopment was because it was incorporated into the world system as a dependent satellite. She says that traditional society theorist exaggerate differences between Japan and China which had a similar agrarian society, political process, and pattern of economic transformation. Moulder also argues that the manner of incorporation was different; China was more incorporated than Japan and so found it hard to liberate themselves. Finally, Japanese industrialization occurred because of the establishment of a centralized national state and state support of industrialization which were possible because of autonomy that China didn’t possess. Cohen said that Moulder ignored the differences in values, beliefs and world view, and that saying China and Japan were similar is like saying a bird and fish are alike because they are not a monkey.

Today, many economists believe that Chinese economy was too large, self-sufficient, and poor to be affected by Imperialism. Some argue that China saw no economic downturn during that time while others argue that economic downturn happened but for reasons unrelated to imperialism. Some even say that Imperialism had positive affects but the Chinese Government limited the affects. Rhodes Murphey argued that China was too large and its citizens too spread out to be affected like Japan which was smaller and had most of its citizens living in small accessible areas, that China retained its sovereignty except in small areas like their Ports, and that the Chinese economy was too strong to lose go foreign economies. Cohen agreed with Murphey that the fact that China experienced semi-colonialism instead of full colonialism like in India was important.

Cohen says that theorists have to explore whether the Western powers wanted to establish full colonial control over all or part of China but were unable to because of internal factors, or whether the powers were not motivated or were unable to establish complete control, irrespective of the internal Chinese context. Murphey assumes that the former is true but Cohen argues that the Great Powers didn’t want to colonize China, not only because of China’s size, but because of their own circumstances such as the fact that Great Britain already had its hands full with India.

Cohen listed faults with the way research has been conducted. First, researchers use national averages and fail to look at regional differences which can have profound effects on the economy. Second, scholars are using the definition of imperialism as full colonization of one country over another. This was not the case in China which suffered from partial colonization in the form of multiple-colonialism where many countries were partially colonizing it. This situation was further complicated by the fact that China was colonized by the Manchu at the same time. This faulty definition leads to many irrelevant questions being asked and relevant questions being left out. Third, researchers are encumbered with political aims such as the desire to blame the West instead of understanding China. Fourth, most theories or the definitions they use are too vague and imprecise to be of much use. Finally, theorists ethnocentrically assume that economic development is a good thing and that China “failed” to industrialize.

In conclusion, Cohen states that Imperialism as the master key to Chinese history is a myth because it was just one of many factors, but we really have to find a proper definition for imperialism before we can decide whether imperialism as a whole is a myth.

[[User:Cixi|Cixi]]

Chinese Communism and the Rise of Mao

2011-10-26T05:53:33Z

69.169.132.20: Created page with 'Chinese Communism and the Rise of Mao by Benjamin Schwartz The Author says that before the Russian revolution, the Chinese were not at all interested in Marxism. Even though Chin…'

Chinese Communism and the Rise of Mao by Benjamin Schwartz
The Author says that before the Russian revolution, the Chinese were not at all interested in Marxism. Even though China sent scholars out to other countries to study the philosophies of Tolstoy, John Stuart Mill, and Adam Smith at great length, Marxism failed to enter the discussion. The author argues that this omission wasn’t because of the extremism of the Marxist ideal, but because Marx himself argued that a Marxist revolution should only take place in a highly developed country with a strong proletariat class already in place, and so a backwards country like China had no place in the Marxist conversation. The Chinese origins of Marxism can be traced to the founders of the communist party, Ch’en Tu-hsiu and Li Ta-chao.
Ch’en Tu-hsiu rejected everything to do with China’s traditional culture such as Buddhism and Taoism which he saw as paralyzing because of their rejection of worldly things, and Confucianism because it suppressed the individual. He held to a philosophy of democracy and science which he believed were the two things that made the West had which China lacked. Ch’en’s version of democracy was simply allowing the individual complete freedom from tradition so he can pursue his own interests, with the idea that he would use his energies to better society. He saw science as a way to annihilate the follies of superstition and religion through the use of reason and concrete evidence.
Li Ta-chao took more of a philosophical view. He believed that reality is one, and humans are just a transient part of that reality, although their ego, as part of the reality, is eternal. He though that “the ego is the universe and the universe is the ego (qtd. in 10).” Li’s theory at first seems very traditional, but instead of deciding that life is futile like traditional theorists, he made the optimistic argument that "The universe is eternal, hence youth is eternal, hence I am eternal (qtd. in 11)." Further, Li didn’t focus on the past or future, but on the present as the most important because “the past finds its final resting place in the present while the present is the origin of the future (qtd. in 11)."
After the fall of the Kuomintang, Lenin rose to power in Russia. Li Ta-chao applauded the Russian revolution, although didn’t consider the doctrine behind it as important. Ch’en Tu-hsiu wasn’t quite as inspired and simply called for China to adhere to republicanism, atheism, and science. The Chinese became interested in Marxism as a Western attack on its own capitalist system, and Marxism began to be studied at Pecking University with Ch’en’s support but without his active participation. Li began to study about Marxism, but renounced it because he thought that change in economic structure wasn’t enough to force a change in human spirit which would be needed for a successful transformation. The other scholars studying Marxism also wrote about it in a fairly dispassionate and scientific manner in a way that wasn’t indicative of revolutionary vigor.
Thus it can be seen at in 1919-1920, neither Ch’en Tu-hsiu nor Li Ta-chao were creators of the May Fourth Movement because they didn’t think that imperialism was China’s main problem. The students of 1919 were completely different from Ch’en and Li generation because the students did not have a traditional education to conflict with their Western learning, and so were more eager to join the nationalistic movement. Although Ch’en became a leader for the May Fourth Movement, it was more because he wished to support his students than because he wished to promote Marxism himself. In fact, when John Dewey presented his views on democracy in China, Ch’en became converted. Dewey argued that in order for democracy to survive, it must come from the minds and attitudes of the people, not from laws forced on the people from above. Despite the pull of Dewey’s theory, Ch’en and his students didn’t want to take the slow pace and modest role that it would give them; rather, they preferred the Leninist idea of dramatic revolution which the educated would lead. By 1920 Ch’en chose Lenin’s worldview over Dewey’s.
At this time, Li Ta-chao was trying to reconcile his beliefs in human consciousness and his new belief in Marxism which argues that ideology is only a mask which hides a country’s true nature. Li finally solved his inner dispute by arguing that everyone has a sense of morality but that this sense evolved from human instinct, and that everyone felt a sense of duty but that this sense is different depending on the economic system in which the individual lives. Despite the fact that true Marxists believed social phenomena could only be explained in social and not biological terms, Li was satisfied and proclaiming himself a Marxist, he began publishing passionate articles on Marxism. He accepted all of the Marxist doctrines and made no further mention of his old beliefs on the subject.
The author says that despite what many would argue, the rise of the proletariat did not play a significant role in converting Ch’en and Li to Marxism-Leninism but that “it would be more correct to say that Leninism turned their attention to the proletariat rather than that the proletariat turned their attention to Leninism (25).”
Finally, despite Ch’en Tu-hsiu’s and Li Ta-chao’s initial doubts about Marxism, and the various directions that their students such as Mao Tse-tung took it, "There can be no doubt… that these two were indeed the spiritual fathers of Marxism-Leninism in China, and the first founders of the Chinese Communist Party (26)”.

Main Page

2011-09-30T01:30:55Z

69.169.132.20:

'''Welcome to our course wiki.'''
Thank you for your registration. Please register with at least 2 names, one should be your historical figure (if you know it yet) and the other an anonymous alias which allows you to peer review your fellow students' articles without making them angry.

'''Contents'''
[[Oboi Regency]], [[Cixi]], [[Rebels and Revolutionaries in North China 1845-1945 by Elizabeth Perry]]

'''How to write an article?'''
Just type in your new article title into the search field. You will get a response side stating that your article does not yet exist. Then you click on "create this article" and start to write. You may post your notes. Don't forget to click on "save". You may post your "reading in turn" notes with a 3rd name as long as you do not know your historical figure.

Use MLA style when citing your wiki articles.

'''What is my historical figure'''
I post the names both in our chatroom and here:
Licia = Qianlong, Alexis = Cixi, Kendra = Kang Youwei,
Talya = Liang Qichao, Thomas = Sun Yat-sen, Juan = Mao Zedong, Gavin = Deng Xiaoping.

Regarding the others,

- Jessica Breedlove

- Trevor Ireland

- Katheryn Kriek

- Glorydawn Vahai

Please choose from the remaining historical figures:

M 10/24/2011 (7) Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石, 1887-1975)

W 10/26/2011 (11) Chen Duxiu (陳獨秀, 1879-1942)

M 11/21/2011 Panel discussion (4) Zhao Ziyang (赵紫阳, 1919-2005)

M 11/21/2011 Panel discussion (10) Wei Jingsheng (魏京生, 1950-)

W 11/30/2011 Panel discussion (12) Hu Jintao (胡锦涛, 1942-)

W 11/30/2011 Panel discussion (9) Wen Jiabao (温家宝, 1942-)

W 11/30/2011 Panel discussion (13) Xi Jinping (习近平, 1953-)

Main Page

2011-09-30T01:30:27Z

69.169.132.20:

'''Welcome to our course wiki.'''
Thank you for your registration. Please register with at least 2 names, one should be your historical figure (if you know it yet) and the other an anonymous alias which allows you to peer review your fellow students' articles without making them angry.

'''Contents'''
[[Oboi Regency]], [[Cixi]][[Rebels and Revolutionaries in North China 1845-1945 by Elizabeth Perry]]

'''How to write an article?'''
Just type in your new article title into the search field. You will get a response side stating that your article does not yet exist. Then you click on "create this article" and start to write. You may post your notes. Don't forget to click on "save". You may post your "reading in turn" notes with a 3rd name as long as you do not know your historical figure.

Use MLA style when citing your wiki articles.

'''What is my historical figure'''
I post the names both in our chatroom and here:
Licia = Qianlong, Alexis = Cixi, Kendra = Kang Youwei,
Talya = Liang Qichao, Thomas = Sun Yat-sen, Juan = Mao Zedong, Gavin = Deng Xiaoping.

Regarding the others,

- Jessica Breedlove

- Trevor Ireland

- Katheryn Kriek

- Glorydawn Vahai

Please choose from the remaining historical figures:

M 10/24/2011 (7) Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石, 1887-1975)

W 10/26/2011 (11) Chen Duxiu (陳獨秀, 1879-1942)

M 11/21/2011 Panel discussion (4) Zhao Ziyang (赵紫阳, 1919-2005)

M 11/21/2011 Panel discussion (10) Wei Jingsheng (魏京生, 1950-)

W 11/30/2011 Panel discussion (12) Hu Jintao (胡锦涛, 1942-)

W 11/30/2011 Panel discussion (9) Wen Jiabao (温家宝, 1942-)

W 11/30/2011 Panel discussion (13) Xi Jinping (习近平, 1953-)

Cixi

2011-09-30T01:27:16Z

69.169.132.20:

I have never thought of myself as a woman. When I was first presented to the emperor as a concubine, I knew I was being given an opportunity to rewrite my fate; the chance to ascend to my proper place as the only power under heaven. I had everyone address me as if I was a man, and even required my adopted son Guanxu to call me "father" for that was what I was to him (Liu 151). I could not care for and tenderly nurture Guanxu as a mother should,I had to guide him with the hard hand of a father so he would understand that his place was beneath me.Would I had been born a man. You can have no idea how many times I have had this thought. I thought it the first night I was presented to the emperor Xianfeng, the day I was forced to rid China of my worthless son, and one day before my death when I ordered my adoptive son poisoned so that he wouldn't further corrupt and erode my beautiful empire in my absence. If I had not been born a wretched woman, I would not have had to bloody my hands so. If I had been born to my rightful role as emperor, I would not have had to watch as one impeccable fool after another wrought disaster upon China. If I had only been born a man, China would have joined together to successfully vanquished the Western threats and the emperors of China would now be ruling on high over the whole world as is our right, as would have been our destiny.

I was born on Nov. 29, 1835 to a distinguished Manchu lineage, the Nehonala clan, though my father was only a minor official (Perkins 93). Even as I child, I had been discontent with my position in life, so when I was named a consort of the emperor Xianfeng in 1851 at the age of 16 (Perkins 93), I gladly accepted it as an escape from the drudgery of my current life. I ascended through the ranks of Kianfeng’s consorts until I became a favorite in 1856 for having born him his only living son, Tongzhi (Perkins 93). I did not find palace fife as exciting as I had expected. I enjoyed the luxuries that the palace had to offer ('''I have to research about luxuries'''), but the life was decidedly dull. I was kept even more out of sight than I had been at my family's household. I worked hard to be pleasing to the emperor and my efforts payed off almost immediately for the emperor had a simple mind and was exceedingly easy to read. Seeing that I showed great interest in in his affairs, the emperor readily allowed me to read official documents and discussed his most important policy matters with me. It was thus that I became highly literate and knowledgeable about the ways of government, and thus that I became even more unsatisfied with my meager role. I began to take a more active role in state affairs and realized how much more suitable I was to rule than so many of the inept officials that the emperor kept by his side. China had been steadily falling into a state of dispensary. '''(List wars and revolts)''' I could not understand why officials were allowing Westerners to cross into our empire with their foreign religions and taint filled ideas to corrupt our people. This is not to say that I was not interested in the many wonders that the West had to offer. At some point right under the sleeping noses of the Manchu officials, countries such as Britain and the United States had surpassed us in technology. I saw the opportunity to utilize Western technology and to surpass it. After constant visits to the emperor's chambers, my efforts finally came into fruition. When I felt the baby in my womb, I began to hatch a scheme around that small life. I prayed to my ancestors every day that it might be a son so that it will be heir to the throne. I prayed that this infant would be the means through which I could unify China once more.With grand visions forming in my mind, I waited patiently through the troubles and annoyances of pregnancy. When the baby was finally born and pronounced a boy, I cried for joy: I was to be free from my frustration at last. Or so I thought; life is never that simple and many hurdles would arise before I could assume the throne. My son was called Tongzhi and I was able to convince the emperor to name him the legal successor to the throne at the age of six (Pakula 41). I was promoted to the rank of Noble Consort Yi , second only to the empress '''(Citation)''', though I was prized by the emperor more than the empress Cian because I had done what she could not.

In 1860, during the Second Opium War, I was forced to flee with my Emperor from our Summer Palace in Beijing because of an attack from British and French troops '''(Citation)'''. The poor emperor never had a strong constitution, and this attack sent him into a depression so deep that even I couldn’t draw him from it'''(Citation)'''. He began to take drugs and drink alcohol in excess'''(Citation)'''. The emperor died in 1861 (Perkins 93). Before died, he made his 8 most conservative advisors joint regents over my son and I was given the rank of the empress dowager'''(Citation)'''. I conspired to gain power with Prince Gong, and successfully arrested the 8 regents standing in my way, executing 3 of them'''(Citation)'''. I became co-regent with the empress consort, Cian'''(Citation)'''. Cian was ignorant about anything concerning the state and could neither read nor write, so she was only to happy to leave state affairs to me (Pakula 41). I left the state affairs to Prince Gong and Li Hongzhang'''(Citation)'''. Li was trustworthy but I was forced to dismiss Prince Gong in 1884'''(Citation)'''.

I had few friends in courts, but I was very fond of my head eunuch, Li Yianying, who was a special friend'''(Citation)'''. Li Yianying came at a time when I was in deep distress because none of my eunuchs could comb and style my hair properly. Like a gift from heaven, Li offered to style my hair and when I looked in the mirror, not a hair was out of place. I never had a bad hair day while Li was by my side. I once set caged birds free in the Summer Palace, but they flew back to their cage. I asked Li Lianying why they returned and he replied, "Of course, it is due to your benevolence." I thought that Li was joking so he told me to set fish free in Kunming Lake, saying, "If the fish declined to leave, it will prove this." I did as he said and to my surprise, the all the fish returned. I later discovered that Li put aromatic food in the water and didn’t feed the fish for several days'''(Citation)'''. Some say that Li Lianying was simply flattering me, but he was one man who treated me well. So many looked at me with scorn and said that I was acting above my station as a woman; that I was only a consort. Even if it was only flattery, who cares as long as he did it well? Li treated me well, so I rewarded him with much power over my court. Li Lianying cared so much for my wellbeing that he encouraged me to reconstruct the Summer Palace and grand marble boat for lake-viewing'''(Citation)'''. The other men at court would have had me go without simply because the money was supposed to be used in military endeavors'''(Citation)'''. Why couldn’t they realize as Li did that the troubles in my empire distressed me far more than it did them and the palace was a great comfort to me.

My regency ended for a time when my son married but unfortunately Tongzhi died in 1875 of smallpox (though some said it was from exhaustion and overindulgence)'''(Citation)'''. Naturally, as a mother, I mourned the death of my son, but I had control my emotions and think about the future. China needed an heir and I was determined to put the right person on the throne. China still needed me as a regent, so I needed a young emperor who would follow my guidance. There was some doubt as to who should become the next ruler for my daughter-in-law was pregnant, but it happened that my daughter-in-law committed suicide before she was able to give birth to a possible heir. It was said soon after that I had forced my daughter-in-law to commit suicide in order to gain power for myself'''(Citation)'''.

My 3-year old nephew, Guanxu was selected as the next ruler with me as his regent'''(Citation)'''. Some objected to choosing a successor from the same generation as the last ruler because he cannot perform the filial rights but I did not let such trivial objections deter his inauguration and convinced the officials to name him emperor'''(Citation)'''. Guanxu came of age in 1866 but I did not give up my regency until he married in 1889'''(Citation)'''. Even then, I maintained some control, making decisions and appointments which my nephew couldn’t veto and I read all of his official documents'''(Citation)'''. You must understand that neither Guanxu, nor Tongzhi was as fit to rule as I. They had not the temperament, nor the talents to rule a great nation under constant threat. I had studied law for much longer than they, and I was doing only what I saw as necessary in order to protect the empire I held so dear. More and more, foreign forces were threatening my great empire. France took control of Vietnam, formally a vassal state. We were defeated by the Japanese who then took control of Korea in what is called the Sino-Japanese War'''(Citation)'''. In 1898, Guanxu issued a foolish set of progressive edicts based on the Japanese model of modernization in what is called the 100 day reform'''(Citation)'''. I had been waiting quietly in the Summer Palace, pretending to support the emperor in his many reforms, but his extreme and progressive actions began to greatly alarm me at the degree to which they would weaken the Qing government(Perkins18-20). Guanxu, ever anxious about my interference, ordered me arrested and imprisoned (Perkins 20). However, he trusted the wrong man. General Yuan Shikai, the agent whom he entrusted with the order was in fact a loyal pawn of mine (Perkins 20). I reversed Guanxu's thwarted plan on him; eunuchs captured the emperor in his chambers and escorted him to the Ocean Terrace, and island in a lake near the Forbidden City (Perkins 20). I quickly and decisively proceeded to arrest and execute the officials responsible for the corruption of the emperors mind, and within five days, I had revoked all of the edicts that Guanxu had tried to put in place (Schoppa 44). I rewarded Yuan Shikai for his usefulness in this affair by giving him governorship of the province of Shandong (Perkins 94).

I had an edict sent out an declaring that I would resume my regency do to the emperors ill health. This edict and knowledge of the coup caused many rumors to circulate in China and abroad that the emperor had been executed. Some Western governments threatened that they would act against us if the emperor were executed, going so far as to insist that a doctor be allowed to see Guanxu so as to ascertain his state of health. I acquiesed to this request nut the people were outraged at the audacity of the foreigners and so several anti-foreign riots broke out. (Perkins 20) I admit that my mind had begun to process the idea that Guanxu had become more of a nuisance than an asset. I had perhaps been too sluggish in reaching this conclusion, no doubt do to some foolish attachment I felt towards Guanxu because he was my own flesh and blood and my adopted son. At last having reached the decision to terminate the barrier to China's restoration, I could not let anyone deter me from my path. I waited patiently for the foreign states to forget about Guanxu's existence and move on with their own affairs.

China was growing weaker because of rapidly expanding European influences. Foreign missionaries came in great numbers to convert my people so that even the emperor himself began to be corrupted'''(Citation)'''. My love for my people and our traditions lead me to take a step that I had been hesitant in taking: I lent my support to a secret society called the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists or the Boxers'''(Citation)'''. This society practiced martial arts and claimed to have super natural powers that would make them resistant even to guns and cannons. They were determined to restore China to its former glory, free of foreign taint, and hearing that the voices of my people were behind them, I gave my consent in 1898 to what is now called the Boxer Rebellion'''(Citation)'''. Unfortunately, China had fallen too far already and I was forced to flee from the western troops with Guanxu to a temporary capital in Xi’an, and when I saw that the battles were not going in our favor, I decided it was best to live to fight another day and signed the Boxer Protocol which forced China to pay a great indemnity, placed a ban on the making of armaments, and accused many, including myself, of war crimes'''(Citation)'''. I was then able to return to the capital and continue my reign in 1902'''(Citation)'''. I reenacted many reforms that I had abolished'''(Citation)'''. With the examination system gone, many western-stlye schools were built'''(Citation)'''.

I died in 1908, one day after my nephew’s death'''(Citation)'''. Before I died, I selected my grand-nephew, the 2 years and 10 month old Puyi as the successor to the throne'''(Citation)'''. In 2008, some so called scientists discovered that Guanxu died of arsenic poisoning and accused me of having murdered him; knowing of my imminent death and fearing that he would continue his progressive reforms when I was no longer there to interfere'''(Citation)'''.

'''Sources Cited'''

Liu, Lydia. ''The Clash of Empires: The Invention of China in Modern World Making''. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2004.

Pakula Hannah. ''The last empress: Madame Chiang Kai-Shek and the birth of modern China''. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2009.

Paludan, Ann. ''Chronicle of the Chinese Emerors''. New York: Thames &Hudson Inc., 1998.

Perkins, Dorothy. ''Encyclopedia of China: The Essential Reference to China, Its History and Culture''. New York: Round Table Press Inc., 1999.

Schoppa, R. Keith. ''The Columbia Guide to Modern Chinese History''. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000.

Cixi

2011-09-30T01:26:54Z

69.169.132.20:

I have never thought of myself as a woman. When I was first presented to the emperor as a concubine, I knew I was being given an opportunity to rewrite my fate; the chance to ascend to my proper place as the only power under heaven. I had everyone address me as if I was a man, and even required my adopted son Guanxu to call me "father" for that was what I was to him (Liu 151). I could not care for and tenderly nurture Guanxu as a mother should,I had to guide him with the hard hand of a father so he would understand that his place was beneath me.Would I had been born a man. You can have no idea how many times I have had this thought. I thought it the first night I was presented to the emperor Xianfeng, the day I was forced to rid China of my worthless son, and one day before my death when I ordered my adoptive son poisoned so that he wouldn't further corrupt and erode my beautiful empire in my absence. If I had not been born a wretched woman, I would not have had to bloody my hands so. If I had been born to my rightful role as emperor, I would not have had to watch as one impeccable fool after another wrought disaster upon China. If I had only been born a man, China would have joined together to successfully vanquished the Western threats and the emperors of China would now be ruling on high over the whole world as is our right, as would have been our destiny.

I was born on Nov. 29, 1835 to a distinguished Manchu lineage, the Nehonala clan, though my father was only a minor official (Perkins 93). Even as I child, I had been discontent with my position in life, so when I was named a consort of the emperor Xianfeng in 1851 at the age of 16 (Perkins 93), I gladly accepted it as an escape from the drudgery of my current life. I ascended through the ranks of Kianfeng’s consorts until I became a favorite in 1856 for having born him his only living son, Tongzhi (Perkins 93). I did not find palace fife as exciting as I had expected. I enjoyed the luxuries that the palace had to offer ('''I have to research about luxuries'''), but the life was decidedly dull. I was kept even more out of sight than I had been at my family's household. I worked hard to be pleasing to the emperor and my efforts payed off almost immediately for the emperor had a simple mind and was exceedingly easy to read. Seeing that I showed great interest in in his affairs, the emperor readily allowed me to read official documents and discussed his most important policy matters with me. It was thus that I became highly literate and knowledgeable about the ways of government, and thus that I became even more unsatisfied with my meager role. I began to take a more active role in state affairs and realized how much more suitable I was to rule than so many of the inept officials that the emperor kept by his side. China had been steadily falling into a state of dispensary. '''(List wars and revolts)''' I could not understand why officials were allowing Westerners to cross into our empire with their foreign religions and taint filled ideas to corrupt our people. This is not to say that I was not interested in the many wonders that the West had to offer. At some point right under the sleeping noses of the Manchu officials, countries such as Britain and the United States had surpassed us in technology. I saw the opportunity to utilize Western technology and to surpass it. After constant visits to the emperor's chambers, my efforts finally came into fruition. When I felt the baby in my womb, I began to hatch a scheme around that small life. I prayed to my ancestors every day that it might be a son so that it will be heir to the throne. I prayed that this infant would be the means through which I could unify China once more.With grand visions forming in my mind, I waited patiently through the troubles and annoyances of pregnancy. When the baby was finally born and pronounced a boy, I cried for joy: I was to be free from my frustration at last. Or so I thought; life is never that simple and many hurdles would arise before I could assume the throne. My son was called Tongzhi and I was able to convince the emperor to name him the legal successor to the throne at the age of six (Pakula 41). I was promoted to the rank of Noble Consort Yi , second only to the empress '''(Citation)''', though I was prized by the emperor more than the empress Cian because I had done what she could not.

In 1860, during the Second Opium War, I was forced to flee with my Emperor from our Summer Palace in Beijing because of an attack from British and French troops '''(Citation)'''. The poor emperor never had a strong constitution, and this attack sent him into a depression so deep that even I couldn’t draw him from it'''(Citation)'''. He began to take drugs and drink alcohol in excess'''(Citation)'''. The emperor died in 1861 (Perkins 93). Before died, he made his 8 most conservative advisors joint regents over my son and I was given the rank of the empress dowager'''(Citation)'''. I conspired to gain power with Prince Gong, and successfully arrested the 8 regents standing in my way, executing 3 of them'''(Citation)'''. I became co-regent with the empress consort, Cian'''(Citation)'''. Cian was ignorant about anything concerning the state and could neither read nor write, so she was only to happy to leave state affairs to me (Pakula 41). I left the state affairs to Prince Gong and Li Hongzhang'''(Citation)'''. Li was trustworthy but I was forced to dismiss Prince Gong in 1884'''(Citation)'''.

I had few friends in courts, but I was very fond of my head eunuch, Li Yianying, who was a special friend'''(Citation)'''. Li Yianying came at a time when I was in deep distress because none of my eunuchs could comb and style my hair properly. Like a gift from heaven, Li offered to style my hair and when I looked in the mirror, not a hair was out of place. I never had a bad hair day while Li was by my side. I once set caged birds free in the Summer Palace, but they flew back to their cage. I asked Li Lianying why they returned and he replied, "Of course, it is due to your benevolence." I thought that Li was joking so he told me to set fish free in Kunming Lake, saying, "If the fish declined to leave, it will prove this." I did as he said and to my surprise, the all the fish returned. I later discovered that Li put aromatic food in the water and didn’t feed the fish for several days'''(Citation)'''. Some say that Li Lianying was simply flattering me, but he was one man who treated me well. So many looked at me with scorn and said that I was acting above my station as a woman; that I was only a consort. Even if it was only flattery, who cares as long as he did it well? Li treated me well, so I rewarded him with much power over my court. Li Lianying cared so much for my wellbeing that he encouraged me to reconstruct the Summer Palace and grand marble boat for lake-viewing'''(Citation)'''. The other men at court would have had me go without simply because the money was supposed to be used in military endeavors'''(Citation)'''. Why couldn’t they realize as Li did that the troubles in my empire distressed me far more than it did them and the palace was a great comfort to me.

My regency ended for a time when my son married but unfortunately Tongzhi died in 1875 of smallpox (though some said it was from exhaustion and overindulgence)'''(Citation)'''. Naturally, as a mother, I mourned the death of my son, but I had control my emotions and think about the future. China needed an heir and I was determined to put the right person on the throne. China still needed me as a regent, so I needed a young emperor who would follow my guidance. There was some doubt as to who should become the next ruler for my daughter-in-law was pregnant, but it happened that my daughter-in-law committed suicide before she was able to give birth to a possible heir. It was said soon after that I had forced my daughter-in-law to commit suicide in order to gain power for myself'''(Citation)'''.

My 3-year old nephew, Guanxu was selected as the next ruler with me as his regent'''(Citation)'''. Some objected to choosing a successor from the same generation as the last ruler because he cannot perform the filial rights but I did not let such trivial objections deter his inauguration and convinced the officials to name him emperor'''(Citation)'''. Guanxu came of age in 1866 but I did not give up my regency until he married in 1889'''(Citation)'''. Even then, I maintained some control, making decisions and appointments which my nephew couldn’t veto and I read all of his official documents'''(Citation)'''. You must understand that neither Guanxu, nor Tongzhi was as fit to rule as I. They had not the temperament, nor the talents to rule a great nation under constant threat. I had studied law for much longer than they, and I was doing only what I saw as necessary in order to protect the empire I held so dear. More and more, foreign forces were threatening my great empire. France took control of Vietnam, formally a vassal state. We were defeated by the Japanese who then took control of Korea in what is called the Sino-Japanese War'''(Citation)'''. In 1898, Guanxu issued a foolish set of progressive edicts based on the Japanese model of modernization in what is called the 100 day reform'''(Citation)'''. I had been waiting quietly in the Summer Palace, pretending to support the emperor in his many reforms, but his extreme and progressive actions began to greatly alarm me at the degree to which they would weaken the Qing government(Perkins18-20). Guanxu, ever anxious about my interference, ordered me arrested and imprisoned (Perkins 20). However, he trusted the wrong man. General Yuan Shikai, the agent whom he entrusted with the order was in fact a loyal pawn of mine (Perkins 20). I reversed Guanxu's thwarted plan on him; eunuchs captured the emperor in his chambers and escorted him to the Ocean Terrace, and island in a lake near the Forbidden City (Perkins 20). I quickly and decisively proceeded to arrest and execute the officials responsible for the corruption of the emperors mind, and within five days, I had revoked all of the edicts that Guanxu had tried to put in place (Schoppa 44). I rewarded Yuan Shikai for his usefulness in this affair by giving him governorship of the province of Shandong (Perkins 94).

I had an edict sent out an declaring that I would resume my regency do to the emperors ill health. This edict and knowledge of the coup caused many rumors to circulate in China and abroad that the emperor had been executed. Some Western governments threatened that they would act against us if the emperor were executed, going so far as to insist that a doctor be allowed to see Guanxu so as to ascertain his state of health. I acquiesed to this request nut the people were outraged at the audacity of the foreigners and so several anti-foreign riots broke out. (Perkins 20) I admit that my mind had begun to process the idea that Guanxu had become more of a nuisance than an asset. I had perhaps been too sluggish in reaching this conclusion, no doubt do to some foolish attachment I felt towards Guanxu because he was my own flesh and blood and my adopted son. At last having reached the decision to terminate the barrier to China's restoration, I could not let anyone deter me from my path. I waited patiently for the foreign states to forget about Guanxu's existence and move on with their own affairs.

China was growing weaker because of rapidly expanding European influences. Foreign missionaries came in great numbers to convert my people so that even the emperor himself began to be corrupted'''(Citation)'''. My love for my people and our traditions lead me to take a step that I had been hesitant in taking: I lent my support to a secret society called the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists or the Boxers'''(Citation)'''. This society practiced martial arts and claimed to have super natural powers that would make them resistant even to guns and cannons. They were determined to restore China to its former glory, free of foreign taint, and hearing that the voices of my people were behind them, I gave my consent in 1898 to what is now called the Boxer Rebellion'''(Citation)'''. Unfortunately, China had fallen too far already and I was forced to flee from the western troops with Guanxu to a temporary capital in Xi’an, and when I saw that the battles were not going in our favor, I decided it was best to live to fight another day and signed the Boxer Protocol which forced China to pay a great indemnity, placed a ban on the making of armaments, and accused many, including myself, of war crimes'''(Citation)'''. I was then able to return to the capital and continue my reign in 1902'''(Citation)'''. I reenacted many reforms that I had abolished'''(Citation)'''. With the examination system gone, many western-stlye schools were built'''(Citation)'''.

I died in 1908, one day after my nephew’s death'''(Citation)'''. Before I died, I selected my grand-nephew, the 2 years and 10 month old Puyi as the successor to the throne'''(Citation)'''. In 2008, some so called scientists discovered that Guanxu died of arsenic poisoning and accused me of having murdered him; knowing of my imminent death and fearing that he would continue his progressive reforms when I was no longer there to interfere'''(Citation)'''.

'''Sources Cited'''

Liu, Lydia. ''The Clash of Empires: The Invention of China in Modern World Making''. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2004.

Pakula Hannah. ''The last empress: Madame Chiang Kai-Shek and the birth of modern China''. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2009.

Paludan, Ann. ''Chronicle of the Chinese Emerors''. New York: Thames &Hudson Inc., 1998.

Perkins, Dorothy. ''Encyclopedia of China: The Essential Reference to China, Its History and Culture''. New York: Round Table Press Inc., 1999.

Schoppa, R. Keith. The Columbia Guide to Modern Chinese History. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000.

Cixi

2011-09-30T01:01:20Z

69.169.132.20:

I have never thought of myself as a woman. When I was first presented to the emperor as a concubine, I knew I was being given an opportunity to rewrite my fate; the chance to ascend to my proper place as the only power under heaven. I had everyone address me as if I was a man, and even required my adopted son Guanxu to call me "father" for that was what I was to him (Liu 151). I could not care for and tenderly nurture Guanxu as a mother should,I had to guide him with the hard hand of a father so he would understand that his place was beneath me.Would I had been born a man. You can have no idea how many times I have had this thought. I thought it the first night I was presented to the emperor Xianfeng, the day I was forced to rid China of my worthless son, and one day before my death when I ordered my adoptive son poisoned so that he wouldn't further corrupt and erode my beautiful empire in my absence. If I had not been born a wretched woman, I would not have had to bloody my hands so. If I had been born to my rightful role as emperor, I would not have had to watch as one impeccable fool after another wrought disaster upon China. If I had only been born a man, China would have joined together to successfully vanquished the Western threats and the emperors of China would now be ruling on high over the whole world as is our right, as would have been our destiny.

I was born on Nov. 29, 1835 to a distinguished Manchu lineage, the Nehonala clan, though my father was only a minor official (Perkins 93). Even as I child, I had been discontent with my position in life, so when I was named a consort of the emperor Xianfeng in 1851 at the age of 16 (Perkins 93), I gladly accepted it as an escape from the drudgery of my current life. I ascended through the ranks of Kianfeng’s consorts until I became a favorite in 1856 for having born him his only living son, Tongzhi (Perkins 93). I did not find palace fife as exciting as I had expected. I enjoyed the luxuries that the palace had to offer ('''I have to research about luxuries'''), but the life was decidedly dull. I was kept even more out of sight than I had been at my family's household. I worked hard to be pleasing to the emperor and my efforts payed off almost immediately for the emperor had a simple mind and was exceedingly easy to read. Seeing that I showed great interest in in his affairs, the emperor readily allowed me to read official documents and discussed his most important policy matters with me. It was thus that I became highly literate and knowledgeable about the ways of government, and thus that I became even more unsatisfied with my meager role. I began to take a more active role in state affairs and realized how much more suitable I was to rule than so many of the inept officials that the emperor kept by his side. China had been steadily falling into a state of dispensary. '''(List wars and revolts)''' I could not understand why officials were allowing Westerners to cross into our empire with their foreign religions and taint filled ideas to corrupt our people. This is not to say that I was not interested in the many wonders that the West had to offer. At some point right under the sleeping noses of the Manchu officials, countries such as Britain and the United States had surpassed us in technology. I saw the opportunity to utilize Western technology and to surpass it. After constant visits to the emperor's chambers, my efforts finally came into fruition. When I felt the baby in my womb, I began to hatch a scheme around that small life. I prayed to my ancestors every day that it might be a son so that it will be heir to the throne. I prayed that this infant would be the means through which I could unify China once more.With grand visions forming in my mind, I waited patiently through the troubles and annoyances of pregnancy. When the baby was finally born and pronounced a boy, I cried for joy: I was to be free from my frustration at last. Or so I thought; life is never that simple and many hurdles would arise before I could assume the throne. My son was called Tongzhi and I was able to convince the emperor to name him the legal successor to the throne at the age of six (Pakula 41). I was promoted to the rank of Noble Consort Yi , second only to the empress '''(Citation)''', though I was prized by the emperor more than the empress Cian because I had done what she could not.

In 1860, during the Second Opium War, I was forced to flee with my Emperor from our Summer Palace in Beijing because of an attack from British and French troops '''(Citation)'''. The poor emperor never had a strong constitution, and this attack sent him into a depression so deep that even I couldn’t draw him from it'''(Citation)'''. He began to take drugs and drink alcohol in excess'''(Citation)'''. The emperor died in 1861 (Perkins 93). Before died, he made his 8 most conservative advisors joint regents over my son and I was given the rank of the empress dowager'''(Citation)'''. I conspired to gain power with Prince Gong, and successfully arrested the 8 regents standing in my way, executing 3 of them'''(Citation)'''. I became co-regent with the empress consort, Cian'''(Citation)'''. Cian was ignorant about anything concerning the state and could neither read nor write, so she was only to happy to leave state affairs to me (Pakula 41). I left the state affairs to Prince Gong and Li Hongzhang'''(Citation)'''. Li was trustworthy but I was forced to dismiss Prince Gong in 1884'''(Citation)'''.

I had few friends in courts, but I was very fond of my head eunuch, Li Yianying, who was a special friend'''(Citation)'''. Li Yianying came at a time when I was in deep distress because none of my eunuchs could comb and style my hair properly. Like a gift from heaven, Li offered to style my hair and when I looked in the mirror, not a hair was out of place. I never had a bad hair day while Li was by my side. I once set caged birds free in the Summer Palace, but they flew back to their cage. I asked Li Lianying why they returned and he replied, "Of course, it is due to your benevolence." I thought that Li was joking so he told me to set fish free in Kunming Lake, saying, "If the fish declined to leave, it will prove this." I did as he said and to my surprise, the all the fish returned. I later discovered that Li put aromatic food in the water and didn’t feed the fish for several days'''(Citation)'''. Some say that Li Lianying was simply flattering me, but he was one man who treated me well. So many looked at me with scorn and said that I was acting above my station as a woman; that I was only a consort. Even if it was only flattery, who cares as long as he did it well? Li treated me well, so I rewarded him with much power over my court. Li Lianying cared so much for my wellbeing that he encouraged me to reconstruct the Summer Palace and grand marble boat for lake-viewing'''(Citation)'''. The other men at court would have had me go without simply because the money was supposed to be used in military endeavors'''(Citation)'''. Why couldn’t they realize as Li did that the troubles in my empire distressed me far more than it did them and the palace was a great comfort to me.

My regency ended for a time when my son married but unfortunately Tongzhi died in 1875 of smallpox (though some said it was from exhaustion and overindulgence)'''(Citation)'''. Naturally, as a mother, I mourned the death of my son, but I had control my emotions and think about the future. China needed an heir and I was determined to put the right person on the throne. China still needed me as a regent, so I needed a young emperor who would follow my guidance. There was some doubt as to who should become the next ruler for my daughter-in-law was pregnant, but it happened that my daughter-in-law committed suicide before she was able to give birth to a possible heir. It was said soon after that I had forced my daughter-in-law to commit suicide in order to gain power for myself'''(Citation)'''.

My 3-year old nephew, Guanxu was selected as the next ruler with me as his regent'''(Citation)'''. Some objected to choosing a successor from the same generation as the last ruler because he cannot perform the filial rights but I did not let such trivial objections deter his inauguration and convinced the officials to name him emperor'''(Citation)'''. Guanxu came of age in 1866 but I did not give up my regency until he married in 1889'''(Citation)'''. Even then, I maintained some control, making decisions and appointments which my nephew couldn’t veto and I read all of his official documents'''(Citation)'''. You must understand that neither Guanxu, nor Tongzhi was as fit to rule as I. They had not the temperament, nor the talents to rule a great nation under constant threat. I had studied law for much longer than they, and I was doing only what I saw as necessary in order to protect the empire I held so dear. More and more, foreign forces were threatening my great empire. France took control of Vietnam, formally a vassal state. We were defeated by the Japanese who then took control of Korea in what is called the Sino-Japanese War'''(Citation)'''. In 1898, Guanxu issued a foolish set of progressive edicts based on the Japanese model of modernization in what is called the 100 day reform'''(Citation)'''. I had been waiting quietly in the Summer Palace, pretending to support the emperor in his many reforms, but his extreme and progressive actions began to greatly alarm me at the degree to which they would weaken the Qing government(Perkins18-20). Guanxu, ever anxious about my interference, ordered me arrested and imprisoned (Perkins 20). However, he trusted the wrong man. General Yuan Shikai, the agent whom he entrusted with the order was in fact a loyal pawn of mine (Perkins 20). I reversed Guanxu's thwarted plan on him; eunuchs captured the emperor in his chambers and escorted him to the Ocean Terrace, and island in a lake near the Forbidden City (Perkins 20). I quickly proceeded to dismiss and arrest the officials responsible for the corruption of the emperors mind, although I showed my mercy by sparing many of the lives although their actions did little to deserve my pity '''(Citation)'''. I rewarded Yuan Shikai for his usefulness in this affair by giving him governorship of the province of Shandong (Perkins 94).

I had an edict sent out an declaring that I would resume my regency do to the emperors ill health. This edict and knowledge of the coup caused many rumors to circulate in China and abroad that the emperor had been executed. Some Western governments threatened that they would act against us if the emperor were executed, going so far as to insist that a doctor be allowed to see Guanxu so as to ascertain his state of health. I acquiesed to this request nut the people were outraged at the audacity of the foreigners and so several anti-foreign riots broke out. (Perkins 20)

China was growing weaker because of rapidly expanding European influences. Foreign missionaries came in great numbers to convert my people so that even the emperor himself began to be corrupted'''(Citation)'''. My love for my people and our traditions lead me to take a step that I had been hesitant in taking: I lent my support to a secret society called the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists or the Boxers'''(Citation)'''. This society practiced martial arts and claimed to have super natural powers that would make them resistant even to guns and cannons. They were determined to restore China to its former glory, free of foreign taint, and hearing that the voices of my people were behind them, I gave my consent in 1898 to what is now called the Boxer Rebellion'''(Citation)'''. Unfortunately, China had fallen too far already and I was forced to flee from the western troops with Guanxu to a temporary capital in Xi’an, and when I saw that the battles were not going in our favor, I decided it was best to live to fight another day and signed the Boxer Protocol which forced China to pay a great indemnity, placed a ban on the making of armaments, and accused many, including myself, of war crimes'''(Citation)'''. I was then able to return to the capital and continue my reign in 1902'''(Citation)'''. I reenacted many reforms that I had abolished'''(Citation)'''. With the examination system gone, many western-stlye schools were built'''(Citation)'''.

I died in 1908, one day after my nephew’s death'''(Citation)'''. Before I died, I selected my grand-nephew, the 2 years and 10 month old Puyi as the successor to the throne'''(Citation)'''. In 2008, some so called scientists discovered that Guanxu died of arsenic poisoning and accused me of having murdered him; knowing of my imminent death and fearing that he would continue his progressive reforms when I was no longer there to interfere'''(Citation)'''.

'''Sources Cited'''

Liu, Lydia. ''The Clash of Empires: The Invention of China in Modern World Making''. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2004.

Pakula Hannah. ''The last empress: Madame Chiang Kai-Shek and the birth of modern China''. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2009.

Paludan, Ann. ''Chronicle of the Chinese Emerors''. New York: Thames &Hudson Inc., 1998.

Perkins, Dorothy. ''Encyclopedia of China: The Essential Reference to China, Its History and Culture''. New York: Round Table Press Inc., 1999.

Cixi

2011-09-30T00:32:42Z

69.169.132.20:

I have never thought of myself as a woman. When I was first presented to the emperor as a concubine, I knew I was being given an opportunity to rewrite my fate; the chance to ascend to my proper place as the only power under heaven. I had everyone address me as if I was a man, and even required my adopted son Guanxu to call me "father" for that was what I was to him (Liu 151). I could not care for and tenderly nurture Guanxu as a mother should,I had to guide him with the hard hand of a father so he would understand that his place was beneath me.Would I had been born a man. You can have no idea how many times I have had this thought. I thought it the first night I was presented to the emperor Xianfeng, the day I was forced to rid China of my worthless son, and one day before my death when I ordered my adoptive son poisoned so that he wouldn't further corrupt and erode my beautiful empire in my absence. If I had not been born a wretched woman, I would not have had to bloody my hands so. If I had been born to my rightful role as emperor, I would not have had to watch as one impeccable fool after another wrought disaster upon China. If I had only been born a man, China would have joined together to successfully vanquished the Western threats and the emperors of China would now be ruling on high over the whole world as is our right, as would have been our destiny.

I was born on Nov. 29, 1835 to a distinguished Manchu lineage, the Nehonala clan, though my father was only a minor official (Perkins 93). Even as I child, I had been discontent with my position in life, so when I was named a consort of the emperor Xianfeng in 1851 at the age of 16 (Perkins 93), I gladly accepted it as an escape from the drudgery of my current life. I ascended through the ranks of Kianfeng’s consorts until I became a favorite in 1856 for having born him his only living son, Tongzhi (Perkins 93). I did not find palace fife as exciting as I had expected. I enjoyed the luxuries that the palace had to offer ('''I have to research about luxuries'''), but the life was decidedly dull. I was kept even more out of sight than I had been at my family's household. I worked hard to be pleasing to the emperor and my efforts payed off almost immediately for the emperor had a simple mind and was exceedingly easy to read. Seeing that I showed great interest in in his affairs, the emperor readily allowed me to read official documents and discussed his most important policy matters with me. It was thus that I became highly literate and knowledgeable about the ways of government, and thus that I became even more unsatisfied with my meager role. I began to take a more active role in state affairs and realized how much more suitable I was to rule than so many of the inept officials that the emperor kept by his side. China had been steadily falling into a state of dispensary. '''(List wars and revolts)''' I could not understand why officials were allowing Westerners to cross into our empire with their foreign religions and taint filled ideas to corrupt our people. This is not to say that I was not interested in the many wonders that the West had to offer. At some point right under the sleeping noses of the Manchu officials, countries such as Britain and the United States had surpassed us in technology. I saw the opportunity to utilize Western technology and to surpass it. After constant visits to the emperor's chambers, my efforts finally came into fruition. When I felt the baby in my womb, I began to hatch a scheme around that small life. I prayed to my ancestors every day that it might be a son so that it will be heir to the throne. I prayed that this infant would be the means through which I could unify China once more.With grand visions forming in my mind, I waited patiently through the troubles and annoyances of pregnancy. When the baby was finally born and pronounced a boy, I cried for joy: I was to be free from my frustration at last. Or so I thought; life is never that simple and many hurdles would arise before I could assume the throne. My son was called Tongzhi and I was able to convince the emperor to name him the legal successor to the throne at the age of six (Pakula 41). I was promoted to the rank of Noble Consort Yi , second only to the empress '''(Citation)''', though I was prized by the emperor more than the empress Cian because I had done what she could not.

In 1860, during the Second Opium War, I was forced to flee with my Emperor from our Summer Palace in Beijing because of an attack from British and French troops '''(Citation)'''. The poor emperor never had a strong constitution, and this attack sent him into a depression so deep that even I couldn’t draw him from it'''(Citation)'''. He began to take drugs and drink alcohol in excess'''(Citation)'''. The emperor died in 1861 (Perkins 93). Before died, he made his 8 most conservative advisors joint regents over my son and I was given the rank of the empress dowager'''(Citation)'''. I conspired to gain power with Prince Gong, and successfully arrested the 8 regents standing in my way, executing 3 of them'''(Citation)'''. I became co-regent with the empress consort, Cian'''(Citation)'''. Cian was ignorant about anything concerning the state and could neither read nor write, so she was only to happy to leave state affairs to me (Pakula 41). I left the state affairs to Prince Gong and Li Hongzhang'''(Citation)'''. Li was trustworthy but I was forced to dismiss Prince Gong in 1884'''(Citation)'''.

I had few friends in courts, but I was very fond of my head eunuch, Li Yianying, who was a special friend'''(Citation)'''. Li Yianying came at a time when I was in deep distress because none of my eunuchs could comb and style my hair properly. Like a gift from heaven, Li offered to style my hair and when I looked in the mirror, not a hair was out of place. I never had a bad hair day while Li was by my side. I once set caged birds free in the Summer Palace, but they flew back to their cage. I asked Li Lianying why they returned and he replied, "Of course, it is due to your benevolence." I thought that Li was joking so he told me to set fish free in Kunming Lake, saying, "If the fish declined to leave, it will prove this." I did as he said and to my surprise, the all the fish returned. I later discovered that Li put aromatic food in the water and didn’t feed the fish for several days'''(Citation)'''. Some say that Li Lianying was simply flattering me, but he was one man who treated me well. So many looked at me with scorn and said that I was acting above my station as a woman; that I was only a consort. Even if it was only flattery, who cares as long as he did it well? Li treated me well, so I rewarded him with much power over my court. Li Lianying cared so much for my wellbeing that he encouraged me to reconstruct the Summer Palace and grand marble boat for lake-viewing'''(Citation)'''. The other men at court would have had me go without simply because the money was supposed to be used in military endeavors'''(Citation)'''. Why couldn’t they realize as Li did that the troubles in my empire distressed me far more than it did them and the palace was a great comfort to me.

My regency ended for a time when my son married but unfortunately Tongzhi died in 1875 of smallpox (though some said it was from exhaustion and overindulgence)'''(Citation)'''. Naturally, as a mother, I mourned the death of my son, but I had control my emotions and think about the future. China needed an heir and I was determined to put the right person on the throne. China still needed me as a regent, so I needed a young emperor who would follow my guidance. There was some doubt as to who should become the next ruler for my daughter-in-law was pregnant, but it happened that my daughter-in-law committed suicide before she was able to give birth to a possible heir. It was said soon after that I had forced my daughter-in-law to commit suicide in order to gain power for myself'''(Citation)'''.

My 3-year old nephew, Guanxu was selected as the next ruler with me as his regent'''(Citation)'''. Some objected to choosing a successor from the same generation as the last ruler because he cannot perform the filial rights but I did not let such trivial objections deter his inauguration and convinced the officials to name him emperor'''(Citation)'''. Guanxu came of age in 1866 but I did not give up my regency until he married in 1889'''(Citation)'''. Even then, I maintained some control, making decisions and appointments which my nephew couldn’t veto and I read all of his official documents'''(Citation)'''. You must understand that neither Guanxu, nor Tongzhi was as fit to rule as I. They had not the temperament, nor the talents to rule a great nation under constant threat. I had studied law for much longer than they, and I was doing only what I saw as necessary in order to protect the empire I held so dear. More and more, foreign forces were threatening my great empire. France took control of Vietnam, formally a vassal state. We were defeated by the Japanese who then took control of Korea in what is called the Sino-Japanese War'''(Citation)'''. In 1898, Guanxu issued a foolish set of progressive edicts based on the Japanese model of modernization in what is called the 100 day reform'''(Citation)'''. Being greatly alarmed at the weakening of the Qing government and hearing news of plans for my capture, I placed Guanxu under palace arrest, sent out an edict declaring that Guanxu had asked me to assume power, quickly executed the officials responsible for the tainting of the young emperor’s mind, and reversed all of Guanxu’s edicts'''(Citation)'''.

I had an edict sent out an declaring that I would resume my regency do to the emperors ill health. This edict and knowledge of the coup caused many rumors to circulate in China and abroad that the emperor had been executed. Some Western governments threatened that they would act against us if the emperor were executed, going so far as to insist that a doctor be allowed to see Guanxu so as to ascertain his state of health. I acquiesed to this request nut the people were outraged at the audacity of the foreigners and so several anti-foreign riots broke out. (Perkins 20)

China was growing weaker because of rapidly expanding European influences. Foreign missionaries came in great numbers to convert my people so that even the emperor himself began to be corrupted'''(Citation)'''. My love for my people and our traditions lead me to take a step that I had been hesitant in taking: I lent my support to a secret society called the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists or the Boxers'''(Citation)'''. This society practiced martial arts and claimed to have super natural powers that would make them resistant even to guns and cannons. They were determined to restore China to its former glory, free of foreign taint, and hearing that the voices of my people were behind them, I gave my consent in 1898 to what is now called the Boxer Rebellion'''(Citation)'''. Unfortunately, China had fallen too far already and I was forced to flee from the western troops with Guanxu to a temporary capital in Xi’an, and when I saw that the battles were not going in our favor, I decided it was best to live to fight another day and signed the Boxer Protocol which forced China to pay a great indemnity, placed a ban on the making of armaments, and accused many, including myself, of war crimes'''(Citation)'''. I was then able to return to the capital and continue my reign in 1902'''(Citation)'''. I reenacted many reforms that I had abolished'''(Citation)'''. With the examination system gone, many western-stlye schools were built'''(Citation)'''.

I died in 1908, one day after my nephew’s death'''(Citation)'''. Before I died, I selected my grand-nephew, the 2 years and 10 month old Puyi as the successor to the throne'''(Citation)'''. In 2008, some so called scientists discovered that Guanxu died of arsenic poisoning and accused me of having murdered him; knowing of my imminent death and fearing that he would continue his progressive reforms when I was no longer there to interfere'''(Citation)'''.

'''Sources Cited'''

Liu, Lydia. ''The Clash of Empires: The Invention of China in Modern World Making''. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2004.

Paludan, Ann. ''Chronicle of the Chinese Emerors''. New York: Thames &Hudson Inc., 1998.

Perkins, Dorothy. ''Encyclopedia of China: The Essential Reference to China, Its History and Culture''. New York: Round Table Press Inc., 1999.

Cixi

2011-09-28T23:53:03Z

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