Cixi grew up in Beijing, in a family of Manchurian bureaucrats. She entered the political scene in 1861, when, as a young concubine to the Xianfeng Emperor, she gave birth to a son. When Xianfeng died after the ravaging of the Summer Palace, Cixi’s four-year-old son stood next in line to the throne. The 26-year-old Cixi displayed considerable political smarts, lining up alliances among court officials and maneuvering herself into the position of co-regent with the Emperor’s principal wife.

This period of joint rule came to be called the Tongzhi Restoration, as Cixi pressed forward the reform-minded agenda of Li Hongzhang, introducing railroads, steamships, telegraphs and coal mines to China.