Rating: 
Summary: Inspired work of fiction
Review: I have studied late Ch'ing dynasty in detail from Chinese sources and can safely say that I have never encountered a more distorted and fictional view of the period. Seagrave's thesis that the 'evil legend' of Tz'u-hsi was invented by Bland and Backhouse is false: apart from the material based on the Ching-shan diary, virtually everything in 'China under the Empress Dowager' is based on authentic Chinese sources. Seagrave creates an imaginary political scenario of a court dominated by a fictitious 'Ironhat' clique. Virtually every page in this book contains some sort of error, distortion, sweeping judgement based on minimal evidence, fabrication or even an ocasional barefaced lie. If you want a true picture of the late Ch'ing, read Marina Warner's biography of Tz'u-hsi. A comprehensive and accurate account can be found in the five-volume 'Ch'ing-tai t'ung-shih' by Hsiao I-shan. Seagrave's book is an entertaining novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Daring Debunker
Review: I read this with great interest while studying that period of history. I expected at first, a run-of-the-mill biography of one of history's most notorious women (I've read several, and a few on Cixi), but instead got a crsip, intelligent, highly entertaining and surprisingly sympathetic account of the last dowager. The authors (Sterling and Peggy Seagrave) have done a great job. Not only is this the most readable account by far, but it's also a daring new take at the myth that she was demonic, debuched, and depraved, showing her as a sad, lonely old woman, cut off by her status and encased in the fast-disintegrating world of the Forbidden City. Not since Cleopatra (though this is arguable) has anyone -a woman, particularly- been so vilified (and even now with more understanding at her story, Cleopatra is still regarded by many to be the epitome of of Oriental decadence, and that was two thousand years ago). The Seagraves' version is more spare in its tone, with rich historical fact and subtle humour. It brings one to mind of Evelyn B. McCune's book EMPRESS, on Wu Zitian (or Wu Jao, as she called her). They have the same narrative verve and refreshing outlook, though DRAGON LADY has the advantage of being a serious biography instead of a historical novel.
Rating: 
Summary: For those who wish to seek the truth..
Review: I treated this book as a prequel to The Soongs Dynasty. This book ended with the collapse of the Ching Dynasty (reigned by the Manchus) as China was gradually trying to gain its footing to become a Republic which is eventually replaced by the Communist rule. Dragon Lady dispelled the myth about the Empress Dowager Tsu Tzi of her been a conniving, manipulative power monger as she was depicted notoriously in many books but notably "Imperial Woman" by Pearl Buck, & also by many mini series, movies offering in Asian countries till these days. Whilst we readers might never know the whole truth, at least Sterling Seagrave attempted to substantiate what had been claimed with evidence. A very engaging book that expanded upon characters behind the scene such as Prince Kung, Robert Hart, Li Hung Chang, Yuan Shih Kai & so forth. Only when we have finished reading this that we start to appreciate the saying of how a pen is more lethal than a sword as the so-called sinologists of Backhouse, Bland, Morrison concoct fictitious stories to serve their interests & to minitiarise their supposed subservise Orients. Shouldn't we live & let live so that the world is a better place to be in?
Rating:
Summary: Important, explosive account of how "history" was created
Review: Indeed, in this era of bizarre "true" tales, it is fascinating to read this well crafted and outstandingly researched account of the inner workings of the Forbidden City in the final years of the Chinese Empire. If you were tantilized by Bertolucci's The Last Emperor (movie), then I highly recommend you read this book. Seagrave has a way with the language, with a deft turn of phrase every page or two, that makes one want to take notes. Yet while his account is exhaustive in detail, it rarely drags, with interjections of the slanderous history by Backhouse, Bland and Morrison, contrasting the strange fiction with often even stranger fact. The fascinating backgrounds of each of the characters could easily have sprung from a James Clavell novel. Yet the exhaustive notes and documentation make it clear that it all is fact. Highly recommended reading for anyone contemplating a career in the corridors of power. But as a well crafted scholarly study that reads like an historical novel, highly recommended for anyone with an interest in things oriental.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating account
Review: Seagrave tells the story of Tzu Hsi, the celebrated Empress Dowager who dominated the Qing court for almost half a century. He goes entirely against the views of earlier biographers, who have labeled Tzu Hsi as an evil genius, to give a story of a fairly ordinary woman overwhelmed by the nearly impossible task of trying to reform a failing dynasty against intense opposition from the reactionary Manchu noblemen. Familiar events to students of Qing dynasty history, such as the Tung Chih era, the Hundred Days Reform, and the Boxer Rebellion are all here, but these events, especially the last, are treated quite differently by Seagrave, who tells a story entirely different from most accounts. Seagrave also goes into some detail regarding the lives and characters of George Morrison and Edmund Backhouse, China experts and correspondents for the London Times, who are the primary creators of the traditional accounts of Tzu Hsi's crimes. Backhouses's extravagantly pornographic accounts are particularly bizarre - it's incredible that he could have ever been taken seriously as a historical source. There are some problems with the book. Every source listed in the bibliography is in English, raising the question of how much Seagrave has studied the Chinese literature, even if he knows the language. Seagrave does make some statements of fact which are obviously speculation, such as "Tzu Hsi pushed for her nephew's selection as the new Emperor in part to rescue him from his mother's abuse." (p 161) And the endnotes are also occasionally off, referring to the wrong page in the text. These flaws are fairly minor, but they are troublesome in a book which revises traditional understandings so radically. One subject which Seagrave touches on briefly, but really could have expanded further, is the consistent demonization of women in traditional Chinese history. Women were blamed for the collapse of the three earliest dynasties. Empress Wu, in the Tang dynasty, was also described as a tyrant and nymphomaniac, often compared to Tzu Hsi, but it seems probable that this account also was exaggerated if not altogether false. Another imperial mistress was blamed for sparking a civil war that ended the Tang's glory days. Nor has this ended in the modern era - the attempt to blame the disasters of the Cultural Revolution on Mao's wife shows that Chinese tradition is still strong in the Communist age. Seagrave's account of this important era, and of how mythology and pornograph
y were turned into history is an amazing story, full of colorful incidents.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating account
Review: Seagrave tells the story of Tzu Hsi, the celebrated Empress Dowager who dominated the Qing court for almost half a century. He goes entirely against the views of earlier biographers, who have labeled Tzu Hsi as an evil genius, to give a story of a fairly ordinary woman overwhelmed by the nearly impossible task of trying to reform a failing dynasty against intense opposition from the reactionary Manchu noblemen. Familiar events to students of Qing dynasty history, such as the Tung Chih era, the Hundred Days Reform, and the Boxer Rebellion are all here, but these events, especially the last, are treated quite differently by Seagrave, who tells a story entirely different from most accounts. Seagrave also goes into some detail regarding the lives and characters of George Morrison and Edmund Backhouse, China experts and correspondents for the London Times, who are the primary creators of the traditional accounts of Tzu Hsi's crimes. Backhouses's extravagantly pornographic accounts are particularly bizarre - it's incredible that he could have ever been taken seriously as a historical source. There are some problems with the book. Every source listed in the bibliography is in English, raising the question of how much Seagrave has studied the Chinese literature, even if he knows the language. Seagrave does make some statements of fact which are obviously speculation, such as "Tzu Hsi pushed for her nephew's selection as the new Emperor in part to rescue him from his mother's abuse." (p 161) And the endnotes are also occasionally off, referring to the wrong page in the text. These flaws are fairly minor, but they are troublesome in a book which revises traditional understandings so radically. One subject which Seagrave touches on briefly, but really could have expanded further, is the consistent demonization of women in traditional Chinese history. Women were blamed for the collapse of the three earliest dynasties. Empress Wu, in the Tang dynasty, was also described as a tyrant and nymphomaniac, often compared to Tzu Hsi, but it seems probable that this account also was exaggerated if not altogether false. Another imperial mistress was blamed for sparking a civil war that ended the Tang's glory days. Nor has this ended in the modern era - the attempt to blame the disasters of the Cultural Revolution on Mao's wife shows that Chinese tradition is still strong in the Communist age. Seagrave's account of this important era, and of how mythology and pornograph
y were turned into history is an amazing story, full of colorful incidents.
Rating: 
Summary: Glimpses of Tzu-Hsi
Review: This book is less a biogrogaphy of "the dragon empress" Tzu-Hsi of China than a revison of 19th century Chinese history. This work is important because the author has rechecked the validity of the usual sources on 19th cent history and found them very wanting - and very biased to boot. It shows the worth of double checking your sources when doing research and questioning 'experts'. Mind you, this could also apply to this book to some extent as it could have been improved with more chinese sources. Where this book fails is as a biography of Tzu-Hsi, she only takes up a small section of the book, the rest is all explanation of various plots and "foreign devil" attrocities in china. Nobody comes out of it well. For an interesting (and probably mostly correct) overview of 19th century China this book is invaluable - as a biography of Tzu-Hsi it does not accomplish a great deal and you feel you know very little about the subject at the end of the book.
Rating:
Summary: Justice for the Empress!
Review: This history flies in the face of the popular conception of Tzu Hsi, propagated by a cabal of British reporters & writers in China at the turn of the 20th century & seemingly swallowed hook, line & sinker by historians & the popular press for the next hundred years. Not having read these authors accounts of the supposed excesses in the behaviour of Empress Tzu Hsi, I can only comment on Seagrave's version of events. The life story of the Empress is a fascinating one, worthy of the telling, & the sources of Seagrave's research stand up to fairly close examination. It is a detailed history spreading through the eight decades of her life, so if you pick up this book because you enjoyed the movie "55 days at Peking" (as I did) then you are in for a disappointment. The Seige of the Legations was apparantly something of a sham with the principle Chinese general, charged with the of taking the Legations, spending a fair amount of his afforts giving assistance & succour to the defenders rather than bringing about their downfall. I was left with a somewhat pitiable final impression of Tzu Hsi that I feel has a significant parallel with the fate of her country during her lifetime. Never a prime mover of events she, like China, was much more a victim of Manchu intrigue & obsolescence & European duplicity & greed. This book however, is extremely well written & not at all dry. The content, presentation & opinion is first class & I really enjoyed the read.
Rating:
Summary: Justice for the Empress!
Review: This history flies in the face of the popular conception of Tzu Hsi, propagated by a cabal of British reporters & writers in China at the turn of the 20th century & seemingly swallowed hook, line & sinker by historians & the popular press for the next hundred years. Not having read these authors accounts of the supposed excesses in the behaviour of Empress Tzu Hsi, I can only comment on Seagrave's version of events. The life story of the Empress is a fascinating one, worthy of the telling, & the sources of Seagrave's research stand up to fairly close examination. It is a detailed history spreading through the eight decades of her life, so if you pick up this book because you enjoyed the movie "55 days at Peking" (as I did) then you are in for a disappointment. The Seige of the Legations was apparantly something of a sham with the principle Chinese general, charged with the of taking the Legations, spending a fair amount of his afforts giving assistance & succour to the defenders rather than bringing about their downfall. I was left with a somewhat pitiable final impression of Tzu Hsi that I feel has a significant parallel with the fate of her country during her lifetime. Never a prime mover of events she, like China, was much more a victim of Manchu intrigue & obsolescence & European duplicity & greed. This book however, is extremely well written & not at all dry. The content, presentation & opinion is first class & I really enjoyed the read.
Rating:
Summary: History
Review: This is a worthy biography of Tzu Hsi, the Last Empress of China. While some people criticize the history, the distortion over the events and character of Tzu Hsi still rage today. I have read the Backhouse account that Seagrave attributes to besmirching the Empress's reputation and I agree, it's imaginative, inflammatory rot. The Backhouse bio attributes some sexual exploits of the author so is completely suspect. But it was taken as gospel for years. This biography is more balanced, and shows the various sides of the despotic but venerated ruler who tried to stem the tide of modernism in Old China, and failed. The onslaught of the Western culture broke down centuries of stable peasant culture, making way for the Revolution. An interesting look into the last remnants of Imperial China.
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