Ep. 24 | Cixi: a villain that destroyed China or a scapegoat? with Angela Lin on the Empress Dowager

Empress Dowager Cixi was largely the de facto leader of the Qing Dynasty China between the years 1861 to 1908. She has been vilified in modern Chinese discourse as being primarily responsible for the downfall of Qing China, which resulted in China being carved up and humiliated by the West.  

However, was Cixi as bad as she was perceived? Or was she a mere scapegoat of China’s downfall during that period because of her status as the de facto leader?

We bring onto the show today Angela Lin, a history lover from Singapore who holds a BA (Hons) in History from the National University of Singapore and currently works as a copywriter.

Angela wrote an article which has been published on the media platform, The Collector, titled: “Empress Dowager Cixi: Rightly Condemned or Wrongly Discredited?” where she presents a fresh perspective on Cixi’s rule of China, including her positive contributions to China and how she has been unjustly labelled as being purely a villain.

We will also discuss how Cixi’s rule highlights the vilification of historical female Chinese leaders by historians and what her portrayal can teach us on how to approach and judge historical events and characters with a more impartial lens.

What are you waiting for? Tune in!

Many thanks to Angela for giving an informative and insightful interview and thank you also to The Collector for giving me the opportunity to interview Angela.  

You can check out more great articles on history, philosophy, and the arts on The Collector’s website at: thecollector.com  

Angela’s article is here: https://www.thecollector.com/empress-dowager-cixi-condemned/ 

 

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