From the Book - First edition.
I. The imperial concubine in stormy times (1835-1861)
Concubine to an emperor (1835-56)
From the Opium War to the burning of the old Summer Palace (1839-60)
Emperor Xianfeng dies (1860-61)
The coup that changed China
II. Reigning behind her sons' throne (1861-1875)
First step on the long road to modernity (1861-9)
Virgin journeys to the west (1861-71)
A vendetta against the west (1869-71)
Life and death of Emperor Tongzhi (1861-1875)
III. Ruling through an adopted son (1875-1889)
A three-year-old is made emperor
Modernisation accelerates (1875-89)
Defender of the empire (1875-89)
IV. Emperor Guangxu takes over (1889-1898)
The education of Emperor Guangxu (1875-94)
The Summer Palace (1886-94)
In retirement and in leisure (1889-94)
A peace that ruined China
The scramble for China (1895-8)
V. To the front of the stage (1898-1901)
A plot to kill Cixi (september 1898)
Desperate to dethrone her adopted son (1898-1900)
To war against the world powers: with the Boxers (1899-1900)
VI. The real revolution of modern China (1901-1908)
Return to Beijing (1901-2)
Making friends with westerners (1902-7)
Cixi's revolution (1902-8)
Coping with insurgencies, assassins and the Japanese (1902-8)
Epilogue: China after Empress Dowager Cixi.
