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Name of the eBook you are reviewing: The Last Empress by Anchee Min
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eBook Download - The Last Empress by Anchee Min
The Last Empress continues telling the story of Yehonala Orchid, also known as the last Empress Dowager of China Cixi, in her later years after the death of her husband, Emperor Xianfeng. Set in the midst of the political turmoil at the end of the Qing Dynasty, Orchid fights to uphold the both the Dynasty and China in the eyes of the world.
Review:
Mild spoilers in the review -but if you are familiar with the history of the Qing Dynasty Empress Cixi, nothing is really spoiled here.
Orchid's voice continues to resonate strongly with Min's lyrical writing. The book opens with Orchid attending to the funeral of her mother, and gives a brief overview of all that had happened in the first book.
While the first book mostly focuses on Orchid's life as a concubine, and revolves around her relationship with Emperor Xianfeng, Nuharoo (Empress Cian) and the rest of the concubines in the politics of the harem, the second book revolves around the politics of the Imperial Court and the foreign policy of China.
Various important historical happenings such as The Boxer Rebellion are intertwined into the story in Orchid's perspective, and to me these are the highlights of the book. Min gives a really interesting insight into how Orchid would have felt in her dealings with the Imperial Court and with the foreign powers in her battle to uphold China. Her turmoil and wisdom in balancing the conservative Manchu Bannermen and the more progressive Han Chinese in the Imperial Court, and China with the foreign powers are written wonderfully. I love the history within this book. Whether you are familiar or foreign to the history of China, I feel that these parts of the book are really engaging and interesting.
Min also continues detailing the personal relationships of Orchid. Her turmoil and angst as an absent mother are written wonderfully. Orchid's pain in wanting to spend every moment with her son, and yet couldn't because she had to run the country is very real in Min's words. She and Nuharoo continue to clash over the upbringing of Tongzhi - Orchid believes in strictness and order in enabling Tongzhi to become a good Emperor, while Nuharoo prefers to spoil Tongzhi. But underneath it all, both women really love Tongzhi, and his untimely death is devastating to both of them. This relationship remains one of my favourites.
But the one new relationship in the book that I really like would be the one between Orchid and Prince Gong (Yixin, the sixth Prince). Orchid and Prince Gong share similar ideas about progression and modernity, and believe that Tongzhi and China should be exposed to the open world, and often fought against the conservatives in the Imperial Court in this regard. At the same time, they also clashed frequently in the other matters of ruling. I really like the way Min writes the relationship, being that it is complex yet simple in so many ways. They are highly dependent on each other for survival and in the efforts to uphold the dynasty. The camaraderie and conflict between Orchid and Prince Gong is written very well.
Would you recommend this to other users? An absolute yes. This is a beautifully written book with strong elements of China's tumultuous history on how the dynasty fell, with the sympathetic account of the Dragon Lady, Empress Cixi, and that she may not have been the one to fell the empire, rather, she was the one who tried to uphold it. Truth or not, no one would ever know for sure, but this is a fantastic account of the alternative, historical narrative.
Rating(1-5):
Link to the content you're reviewing on our site (optional):
eBook Download - The Last Empress by Anchee MinThe Last Empress continues telling the story of Yehonala Orchid, also known as the last Empress Dowager of China Cixi, in her later years after the death of her husband, Emperor Xianfeng. Set in the midst of the political turmoil at the end of the Qing Dynasty, Orchid fights to uphold the both the Dynasty and China in the eyes of the world.
Review:
Mild spoilers in the review -but if you are familiar with the history of the Qing Dynasty Empress Cixi, nothing is really spoiled here.
Orchid's voice continues to resonate strongly with Min's lyrical writing. The book opens with Orchid attending to the funeral of her mother, and gives a brief overview of all that had happened in the first book.
While the first book mostly focuses on Orchid's life as a concubine, and revolves around her relationship with Emperor Xianfeng, Nuharoo (Empress Cian) and the rest of the concubines in the politics of the harem, the second book revolves around the politics of the Imperial Court and the foreign policy of China.
Various important historical happenings such as The Boxer Rebellion are intertwined into the story in Orchid's perspective, and to me these are the highlights of the book. Min gives a really interesting insight into how Orchid would have felt in her dealings with the Imperial Court and with the foreign powers in her battle to uphold China. Her turmoil and wisdom in balancing the conservative Manchu Bannermen and the more progressive Han Chinese in the Imperial Court, and China with the foreign powers are written wonderfully. I love the history within this book. Whether you are familiar or foreign to the history of China, I feel that these parts of the book are really engaging and interesting.
Min also continues detailing the personal relationships of Orchid. Her turmoil and angst as an absent mother are written wonderfully. Orchid's pain in wanting to spend every moment with her son, and yet couldn't because she had to run the country is very real in Min's words. She and Nuharoo continue to clash over the upbringing of Tongzhi - Orchid believes in strictness and order in enabling Tongzhi to become a good Emperor, while Nuharoo prefers to spoil Tongzhi. But underneath it all, both women really love Tongzhi, and his untimely death is devastating to both of them. This relationship remains one of my favourites.
But the one new relationship in the book that I really like would be the one between Orchid and Prince Gong (Yixin, the sixth Prince). Orchid and Prince Gong share similar ideas about progression and modernity, and believe that Tongzhi and China should be exposed to the open world, and often fought against the conservatives in the Imperial Court in this regard. At the same time, they also clashed frequently in the other matters of ruling. I really like the way Min writes the relationship, being that it is complex yet simple in so many ways. They are highly dependent on each other for survival and in the efforts to uphold the dynasty. The camaraderie and conflict between Orchid and Prince Gong is written very well.
Would you recommend this to other users? An absolute yes. This is a beautifully written book with strong elements of China's tumultuous history on how the dynasty fell, with the sympathetic account of the Dragon Lady, Empress Cixi, and that she may not have been the one to fell the empire, rather, she was the one who tried to uphold it. Truth or not, no one would ever know for sure, but this is a fantastic account of the alternative, historical narrative.
Rating(1-5):
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