Essay about Sterling Seagraves Dragon Lady - 608 Words

Empress Dowager Tzu His Exposed in Sterling Seagraves Dragon Lady China’s great ancient empire has been the source of stories, fables, and fascination throughout the world for generations. The Asian culture has a long history of powerful leaders and ruthless battles making it one of the longest standing powers that the world has ever known. Yet, what took centuries to create was destroyed during the reign of a single ruler, plunging the country into chaos and confusion. The one who often is believed to have generated this collapse is the Empress Dowager Tzu His, the last Empress of China. Until the end of her reign in the early 1900s, the life of the Empress was shrouded in mystery. Once people gained access to the court†¦show more content†¦Many took Blackhouse’s reports at face value and it was not until later that people began to question the truth about China’s last royal leader. The book Dragon Lady, by Sterling Seagrave, is more than just a biography of the Empress Dowager Tzu Hsi; it is a complex analysis of how the actions of royalty and politics played into China’s most trying times of modernization. Seagrave eliminates the myths and false stories about the Empress, using facts from multiple sources to provide a realistic story, which sets the stage for the reform period of China. Seagrave does an excellent job not only of writing about the life of the Empress Dowager, but also explaining the issues surrounding China at the time of the Empress’ reign. Detailed explanations about the turmoil amongst the other members of the royal court, Western invasion and the Boxer rebellion are carefully analyzed to distinguish truth from fiction in hopes of revealing the true story of Tzu Hsi and eliminating the myths that surround the ruler. John H. Boyle, of California State University, writes in The Library Journal a raving review of Dragon Lady saying: The Dowager Empress Tzu Hsi, ruling from behind the silk curtain, held extraordinary power during the last decades of Chinas tottering empire. Her name has always been linked with unflattering