ABSTRACT
The imperial regime in Peking had for many years maintained control over the vast empire with an iron hand. Various rebellions had been suppressed, but the demand for political reforms had become more and more marked. A rising number of young Chinese had studied abroad, particularly in Japan, where recent developments had clearly demonstrated that it was possible to gain a knowledge of Western culture and democratic ideals without jeopardizing the country's own culture. Powerful revolutionary forces were lurking just under the surface all over the Chinese empire. The Dowager Empress Cixi (1835-1908) ruled China with an iron hand from 1861 to 1908. Opposing the growing foreign influence in China, she supported the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. At her death the Dowager Empress handed over the power to the Manchu prince, Puyi, only 3 years old at the time. He remained on the throne until the Revolution of 1911. The life of Puyi was made into a motion picture in Bertolucci's The Last Emperor. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781315028637/9576ae74-a4b5-4497-b28c-fb9fe2dfdca6/content/fig45_B.jpg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/>
