Marina Warners The Dragon Empress Essay -- Marina Warner The Dragon E

Marina Warners The potassium hydrogen tartrate Empress At the age of sixteen, the beautiful and elegant Tzu-hsi entered the Forbidden City in Peking. The daunting walls, enormous buildings and huge pillars loomed around her as she walked deeper and deeper into its confines. She entered the palace as a timid puppyish girl, but it was from within these walls that she would keep her claws around all of mainland chinaware. Marina Warner describes the life of this unmerciful enchantress in The Dragon Empress, an essential read for understanding Chinese culture during the 18th and early 19th centuries. Tzu-hsi, also known as the empress dowager, control all of mainland China from 1861 to 1908. It is amazing that a cleaning lady ruled over 400 million people during this time. She began as a doxy in the emperors court, but after bearing a male heir she quickly gained power. After the expiration of the emperor and the death of her son, Tzu-hsi appointed h er nephew to the throne. She quickly became dissatisfied with him, however, and took all the power for herself. Tzu-hsi hated the external powers who were carving up China for themselves, so she encouraged the Boxer Rebellion. The knickers attacked foreigners in an attempt to get them to leave. Tzu-hsi also tried to keep China traditional and hated modernization. She was a very powerful and cunning woman who manipulated those around her. The book begins with the birth of Tzu-hsi in 1835 and goes on to explain her family situation. It describes her bridle-path to power and how she manipulated the eunuchs in the palace to act as her spies and personal confidants. From the band of her birth to her fatal fight with dysentery, Tzu-hsis life is described in great detail within the... ...cited, so it is a great legal instrument in understanding Tzu-hsi. However, I would have believed Marina more if she cited personal accounts of Chinese people who lived during Tzu- hsis time. I would like to know how the people of China really felt, and if it is how Marina describes it. Despite any inherent weaknesses in the book, Marina Warner has done an undreamt job bringing the story of Tzu-hsi and a vivid image of China to the world. The photographs that she placed in this book depict court life and compliment the book well. Marinas mastery of words allows her to paint the scenes of Tzu-hsis life. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in discovering the intimate expound of Tzu-hsis life, her road to power, and China at the turn of the century. Works CitedWarner, Marina. The Dragon Empress. New York Atheneum, 1986.