The Dragon Empress: Life and Times of Tz'U-Hsi, 1835-1908, Empress Dowager of China [Paperback]

Marina Warner (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 247 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum; 1st edition (September 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689707142
• ISBN-13: 978-0689707148
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,487,938 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Same old stereotypes and lies....., July 28, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dragon Empress: Life and Times of Tz'U-Hsi, 1835-1908, Empress Dowager of China (Paperback)

Any book which purports to use information having been supplied by the well known liar Sir Edmund Backhouse, is just the same old rehash of lying and deceit that so called "China scholars" have used for far too long. There is nothing new here to shed new light to an old mistake. Tzu Hsi was not the trerrible ogre that both Western and Eastern scholars to have been. Do we really need to keep up with the relentless stream of Tzu Shi bashing? If you want the same ill informed nonsense please read this book but if you want to learn something new you would do well to look elsewhere.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Superbly written, very perceptive., February 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Dragon Empress: Life and Times of Tz'U-Hsi, 1835-1908, Empress Dowager of China (Paperback)

The best-written and most accurate biography of the Empress-dowager Tz'u-hsi. Although Marina Warner never studied Chinese, her account almost always tallies with the vernacular sources. She offers a shrewd, plausible and perceptive analysis of Tz'u-hsi's character. Her appraisal of the period has more insight and balance than Sterling Seagrave's jaundiced politically correct approach. An excellent introduction to the late Ch'ing dynasty.

4.0 out of 5 stars Very informative, June 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Dragon Empress: Life and Times of Tz'U-Hsi, 1835-1908, Empress Dowager of China (Paperback)

I was doing my report my Tz'u Hsi and this book has a lot of information, probably more information than people need. Half of the time, it tells about war and China's situation at the time instead of Tz'u Hsi herself. For me I'm very interested in Chinese history and this book really satiated my thirst for it. This book can be a bit boring at times, but for the most part, it's interesting. It gives people an insight about chinese traditions and of course, the empress dowager herself. I recommend reading it!