The Women of the Qing Imperial Palace

Throughout Chinese history, empresses and consorts wielding power was nothing unusual. They plunged the court into darkness and left the country in constant turmoil, as with Empress Lü of the Han dynasty, Empress Dugu of the Sui dynasty, and Empress Dowager Xiao of the Liao dynasty. In the Qing dynasty, although strict rules governed the inner palace and the ancestral injunction against consorts interfering in state affairs was largely observed, some consorts still refused to stay in the background. Under particular historical circumstances, they stepped forward and became masters at seizing power and manipulating events.