Cixi passed away in 1908, one day after her nephew, the Guangxu Emperor. Suspicions linger over whether foul play was involved. She was buried in an elaborate mausoleum among other Qing tombs, which she had spent nearly 8 million silver taels preparing. She had held China together for nearly 50 years, and had overseen sweeping systemic changes late in her life, but had left China no better off than she found it. While she certainly pushed for reform throughout her reign, Cixi ultimately proved unable to spur any meaningful progress. She remains best known for corruption, chaos and humiliations suffered at the hands of foreigners.

Nevertheless, Empress Dowager Cixi was, in the words of a contemporary missionary, Isaac Taylor Headland, “the only woman that ever ruled over one-third of the human race.”