Tongzhi Emperor

The Tongzhi Emperor ruled Qing China from 1861 to 1875, ascending the throne as a child after the Second Opium War and the Taiping Rebellion. Real authority during much of his reign was exercised by Empress Dowager Cixi, Empress Dowager Ci’an and senior officials.

The period saw the Tongzhi Restoration, an effort to rebuild government and military strength through selective reform. The emperor died young without an heir, allowing Cixi to shape the next succession.

In Jung Chang’s Empress Dowager Cixi, after producing the emperor’s only surviving son, she helped overthrow the regents appointed at Xianfeng’s death and exercised power through the reigns of the Tongzhi and Guangxu emperors.