So begins a fascinating biography of a controversial woman, a former concubine who seized power in a (mostly) bloodless coup after the death of Emperor Xianfeng. During Cixi's rule, China outlawed foot-binding, introduced modern industry, redesigned its educational system, and granted new freedoms to the press. But Cixi has long been vilified for the means by which she achieved these ends, some of which biographer Jung Chang acknowledges; others, Chang argues, are lies woven by Cixi's modern successors. Complex, astonishing, and sometimes mysterious, Cixi's story is an engrossing one!