12 Emperors of Dynasty Qing XI

12th Emperor: Guāngxù 光緒 (Dézōng 德宗) 1875 - 1908

Although his official ruling as an emperor of Dynasty Qing lasted for 33 years, but the man who is the real ruler was Empress Dowager Cixi. As a so called ruler, GuangXu actually was a pity man, he just a puppet ruler controlled by CiXi.

He was an ambitious ruler. In June 1898, he began a reform though only short life, which later known as "Hundred Days' Reform". His reform was an idea from Meiji Restoration, Japan which transformed Japan from a Samurai country to one of the influential nation that could stand aside with other powers such as Britain, France, Austria during late 19th century. However, his ambition did not materialized because of the interference from CiXi who afraid the reform would challenged her power.



He also became a ruler who gave up his palace, Forbidden City and ran away to Xi'an together with CiXi when Eight-Nation Alliance (八國聯軍) marched into the city in 1901. The alliance consists of United Kingdom, France, Austria-Hungary, Italy, Russia, Germany, United States and Japan.

"People who deny history do not have his story."

12 Emperors of Dynasty Qing X

10th Emperor: Tóngzhì 同治(Mùzōng 穆宗) 1861 - 1875

He became an emperor of Qing at age of five when his father, XianFeng passed away. Although his title was an emperor of Qing, but the person who really ruled the empire was his mother, Empress Dowager Cixi 慈禧太后. The traditional Chinese political phrase "attending audiences behind a drawn curtain" (垂簾聽政), which had already been used earlier in Chinese history, was used to describe Cixi's rule through her son the Tongzhi Emperor. This was due to the fact that ladies could not interfere with the governmental ruling during Dynasty Qing.

"People who deny history do not have his story."