The Dowager and the Dynasty
An Online Talk and Discussion

Date: Tuesday, March 17th
Time: 8:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Cost: Free

Like a phoenix, she rose from the ashes of a palace demolished by foreign troops to become one of the most powerful women in the world.

The Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908) is one of the most notorious figures in Modern Chinese history. For nearly a half-century, she used her cunning and connections to rule China from behind the throne. Even today, many historians in China blame her for spending too much money building an elaborate pleasure garden at a time when the empire faced grave threats from without and within.

But the real story of the Empress Dowager Cixi — and the Summer Palace she built — is more complicated.

For those folks who have not had a chance to join Jeremiah on his walk at the Summer Palace, let’s gather online and discuss the life and times of this remarkable woman. We’ll be using the platform Zoom and all registrants will be sent the meeting information and link by email before the meeting.

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Jeremiah Jenne is a writer and history teacher based in Beijing since 2002. He taught Late Imperial and Modern Chinese History for over 13 years and has written extensively on China for The Economist, South China Morning Post, Journal of Asian Studies, Asia Society/China File, Los Angeles Review of BooksRadii China, The Beijinger, and the World of Chinese. His work can be found in the anthologies China in 2008: A Year of Great Significance, The Insider’s Guide to Beijing, and the 2015 collection While We’re Here: China Stories from a Writer’s Colony. Jeremiah is frequently asked to speak or lead workshops on Chinese history, culture, and cultural adaptation for students, embassies, organizations, and company groups from around the world and is the proprietor of Beijing by Foot, which organizes educational programs and historic walking tours of Beijing’s most famous sites and hidden by-ways. You can follow him on Twitter @jeremiahjenne or online at jeremiahjenne.com.