Today in History: A Coup in Imperial China

On this day (September 21) in 1898 Dowager Empress Cixi seized control of China from her nephew and ended the reform movement called The Hundred Days pretty ending Imperial China’s efforts to modernize along western models and putting many of the final nails into the imperial coffin. Cixi held on to power for 47 years (1861-1908) and basically opposed any reform which she felt might eventually threaten her powerbase. She cancelled efforts to modernize the Chinese navy and diverted imperial funds to projects like the building of a marble ship for her amusement. Generally she has been considered to be a cruel tyrant whose actions were ultimately responsible for the death of imperial China, but revisionist historians have pointed out that China’s problems started long before she came to the throne.