Cixi Becomes Co-Regent

November 11, 1861

After the young Xianfeng Emperor died of illness in exile at Chengde, his concubine Cixi - mother of the new five-year-old emperor - joined with the senior dowager in a palace coup that removed the regent princes. For the next forty-seven years, Cixi would be the effective ruler of Qing China, charming, cunning, and increasingly outmaneuvered by the world.