The role of the Empress Dowager Cixi in China's modernization during the late Qing dynasty (1861-1908)

The Empress Dowager Cixi, who lived during the Late Qing Dynasty, has an important position in China's history. Following the Xinyou coup in 1861, she held the power of administration three times for 48 years, until 1908. If we use the analogy, The era when Empress Cixi was in the administration is regarded as the period when Cixi was the captain of the ship which was starting to receive water. After the Opium Wars, China became aware that the modernization process was imperative. So, called the Self- Strengthening Movement, The Hundred Days' Reform and New Deal in Late Qing Dynasty, it took three opportunities on the road to modernization. The Empress Dowager Cixi played a significant role in Chinese modernization as the person with the greatest administrative power in this modernization process. Although Cixi was known not to be opposed to reform, she slowed down the modernization process by trying to reform in the tradition with its conservative mindset. As a result, he accelerated the collapse of the Qing Empire. In this study, the role of Empress Cixi in the reform movements that began in the last half-century of the late Qing period and the process of early modernizing China has been studied.