Empress Dowager CixiA New York Times Notable BookAn NPR Best Book of the YearIn 1852, at age sixteen, Cixi was chosen as one of Emperor Xianfengs numerous concubines. When he died in 1861, their five year old son succeeded to the throne. Cixi at once launched a coup against her sons regents and placed herself as the true source of powergoverning through a silk screen that separated her from her male officials. Drawing on newly available sources, Jung Chang