Books with title Imperial Woman.

Imperial Woman: The Story of the Last Empress of China. Classic book from Pearl S. Buck. Publ. by John Day Co. 1956, 356 pp. Imperial Woman is the fictionalized biography of the last Empress in China, Ci-xi, who began as a concubine of the Xianfeng Emperor and on his death became the de facto head of the Qing Dynasty until her death in 1908.Buck recreates the life of one of the most intriguing rulers during a time of intense turbulence.Tzu Hsi was born into one of the lowly ranks of the Imperial dynasty. According to custom, she moved to the Forbidden City at the age of seventeen to become one of hundreds of concubines. But her singular beauty and powers of manipulation quickly moved her into the position of Second Consort.Tzu Hsi was feared and hated by many in the court, but adored by the people. The Empress's rise to power (even during her husband's life) parallels the story of China's transition from the ancient to the modern way.

The story of Tzu Hsi is the story of the last Empress in China. In this audio book, Pearl S. Buck recreates the life of one of the most intriguing rules during a time of intense turbulence. Tzu Hsi was born into one of the lowly ranks of the Imperial dynasty. According to custom, she moved to the Forbidden City at the age of seventeen to become one of hundreds of concubines. But her singular beauty and powers of manipulation quickly moved her into the position of Second Consort. Tzu Hsi was feared and hated by many in the court, but adored by the people. The Empress’s rise to power (even during her husband’s life) parallels the story of China’s transition from the ancient to the modern way. Pearl S. Buck’s knowledge of and fascination with the Empress’s life are contagious. She reveals the essence of this self-involved and infamous last Empress, at the same time she takes the listener through China’s struggle for freedom and democracy.

The story of Tzu Hsi is the story of the last Empress in China. In this audio book, Pearl S. Buck recreates the life of one of the most intriguing rules during a time of intense turbulence. Tzu Hsi was born into one of the lowly ranks of the Imperial dynasty. According to custom, she moved to the Forbidden City at the age of seventeen to become one of hundreds of concubines. But her singular beauty and powers of manipulation quickly moved her into the position of Second Consort. Tzu Hsi was feared and hated by many in the court, but adored by the people. The Empress’s rise to power (even during her husband’s life) parallels the story of China’s transition from the ancient to the modern way. Pearl S. Buck’s knowledge of and fascination with the Empress’s life are contagious. She reveals the essence of this self-involved and infamous last Empress, at the same time she takes the listener through China’s struggle for freedom and democracy.

Imperial Woman tells the story of Tzu-Hsi, the last Empress of China. It is well known that she was a formidable, fierce and cruelly efficient leader, but this story begins when she is a beautiful young teenager, vibrant, full of life, and deeply in love with her cousin, a handsome and stalwart guard at the Imperial Palace. As was the custom in the day (as I learned from this book), the Emperor yearly picked a new crop of concubines from the daughters of the wealthy of China. It was considered a great honor to send one's daughter into whoredom at the palace, and the shocking details of how they were chosen and used make up the first part of the book. Our heroine, who is still known by her childhood name, Yehonala, is sent, along with her cousin Sakota--both are picked. On one inevitable night, Yehonala is sent to the Emperor's bedroom, and there loses her innocence forever, in more ways than one. Swiftly becoming the Emperor's favorite, our heroine learns the intrigues of the palace, learning to trust nobody but to rely on only those closest to her. She consolidates her position by giving birth to the Emperor's only son, thus receiving the new name of "fortunate mother"--and a place of power higher than any woman in the palace. But was the Emperor's son really his son? Can the formerly innocent concubine, fast becoming a political player worthy of anybody in today's world, stay alive to see her son crowned? Or will she be murdered in the truly baroque but terribly dangerous palace in-wars? All is told in this fascinating book, written in Buck's simple but elegant style. This is one of her best, and well worth finding and reading.

A accurate portrayal of Tzu Hsi from available resources and the memory of how Chinese women felt about her. She was the Imperial woman. Good and evil mangled in her, but always in her rook dimensioned. She resisted modern change is long as she could, for she believed that the old was better than the new. When she saw change was Arab inevitable, she accepted it with grace but an unchanged heart.