The Empress Dowager Cixi ruled China, mostly directly, from the death of her husband, Emperor Xianfeng, in 1861 to her own death in 1908, an era when foreign powers gnawed away at the Chinese empire.

Any way you look at it, royal life is hell. So here's yet another book to prove it. "Although I had every luxury and my duties were often rewarding, Imperial glory also meant loneliness and living ...

Wu Zetian was a fifth-grade concubine in the Chinese royal harem in the 7th century who rose to become China's only empress. This is how she used Buddhism and Nalanda-trained scholars to capture ...

BEIJING — She entered the world of an ancient empire as a teenage concubine, chosen by the emperor to share his bed for her good looks, immaculate comportment and, above all, her ability to sing.

Book of the Week - Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China - 'I thought perhaps the communists had done something to stop foot binding' - BBC Sounds ...