Rating: 
Summary: The Greatest Concubine
Review: ...If you can get past the opening chapter and the extraordinarily long list of characters the rest isn't all that bad; in fact I'm sure you'll find many parts of this book extremely fascinating as well as easy to understand. Be aware that the Chinese names are spelled in the context of the Wade-Giles system of translating Chinese names into English. This method is no longer used, but much has been translated using this system; in fact, you may find it much easier to understand than the modern system invented by the Communist Chinese. Of course it would be much better if the original Chinese ideographs had been used; this, however, would have rendered the text useless to all but readers of the Chinese written language. If you have ever wondered about the Eunuchs and how they became Eunuchs skip ahead to page 121 where this is covered in more detail than you may want to know. There are also excerpts covering the sex lives of both Chinese as well as Europeans. If you think you are familiar with the Boxer Rebellion of 1900, I feel you will find this period, related in the book, quite different than you may have been accustomed to. Polly Condit Smith is quoted in the book, but not to the extent you will find in other references. Nevertheless, what she has to say is of interest. The burning of the great Hanlin Academy with its store of priceless, literary treasures can only be compared with the destruction of the Alexandrian Library for utter savagery. That this burning was conducted by the British speaks less than well of them. The one shining example to look forward to reading about is Sir Robert Hart. The many villainous characters in this book shame humanity endlessly. If you have an interest in mankind and, in particular Chinese mankind, you should find this book a must read.
Rating:
Summary: The "Myth" Shattered !
Review: A must read for anyone who has any remote interest in China. Seagrave shatters the myths that have plagued China for centuaries. The is a new genre of book, writing from the side of history, rather than the side of what the major players in history deemed history to be. Seagraves meticulous, but energetic style, brings to life the truth about an important part of history that has been distorted for many years.
Rating:
Summary: ragon Lady : The Life and Legend of the Last Empress of Chin
Review: histor
Rating: 
Summary: Not exactly a biography
Review: I find this book difficult to read. For readers who don't know much about the Chinese History will find this extremely difficult to digest. Besides that, I feel that the theme of this book is to discredit some of the myths surrounding Tsu Hsi. Calling it a biography is misleading as it doesn't focus entirely on her but more on the European biographers, their myths, and the other Emperors of China.
Rating: 
Summary: Inspired work of fiction
Review: I have studied late Ch'ing dynasty in detail from Chinese sources and can safely say that I have never encountered a more distorted and fictional view of the period. Seagrave's thesis that the 'evil legend' of Tz'u-hsi was invented by Bland and Backhouse is false: apart from the material based on the Ching-shan diary, virtually everything in 'China under the Empress Dowager' is based on authentic Chinese sources. Seagrave creates an imaginary political scenario of a court dominated by a fictitious 'Ironhat' clique. Virtually every page in this book contains some sort of error, distortion, sweeping judgement based on minimal evidence, fabrication or even an ocasional barefaced lie. If you want a true picture of the late Ch'ing, read Marina Warner's biography of Tz'u-hsi. A comprehensive and accurate account can be found in the five-volume 'Ch'ing-tai t'ung-shih' by Hsiao I-shan. Seagrave's book is an entertaining novel.
Rating:
Summary: Daring Debunker
Review: I read this with great interest while studying that period of history. I expected at first, a run-of-the-mill biography of one of history's most notorious women (I've read several, and a few on Cixi), but instead got a crsip, intelligent, highly entertaining and surprisingly sympathetic account of the last dowager. The authors (Sterling and Peggy Seagrave) have done a great job. Not only is this the most readable account by far, but it's also a daring new take at the myth that she was demonic, debuched, and depraved, showing her as a sad, lonely old woman, cut off by her status and encased in the fast-disintegrating world of the Forbidden City. Not since Cleopatra (though this is arguable) has anyone -a woman, particularly- been so vilified (and even now with more understanding at her story, Cleopatra is still regarded by many to be the epitome of of Oriental decadence, and that was two thousand years ago). The Seagraves' version is more spare in its tone, with rich historical fact and subtle humour. It brings one to mind of Evelyn B. McCune's book EMPRESS, on Wu Zitian (or Wu Jao, as she called her). They have the same narrative verve and refreshing outlook, though DRAGON LADY has the advantage of being a serious biography instead of a historical novel.
Rating:
Summary: Daring Debunker
Review: I read this with great interest while studying that period of history. I expected at first, a run-of-the-mill biography of one of history's most notorious women (I've read several, and a few on Cixi), but instead got a crsip, intelligent, highly entertaining and surprisingly sympathetic account of the last dowager. The authors (Sterling and Peggy Seagrave) have done a great job. Not only is this the most readable account by far, but it's also a daring new take at the myth that she was demonic, debuched, and depraved, showing her as a sad, lonely old woman, cut off by her status and encased in the fast-disintegrating world of the Forbidden City. Not since Cleopatra (though this is arguable) has anyone -a woman, particularly- been so vilified (and even now with more understanding at her story, Cleopatra is still regarded by many to be the epitome of of Oriental decadence, and that was two thousand years ago). The Seagraves' version is more spare in its tone, with rich historical fact and subtle humour. It brings one to mind of Evelyn B. McCune's book EMPRESS, on Wu Zitian (or Wu Jao, as she called her). They have the same narrative verve and refreshing outlook, though DRAGON LADY has the advantage of being a serious biography instead of a historical novel.
Rating: 
Summary: For those who wish to seek the truth..
Review: I treated this book as a prequel to The Soongs Dynasty. This book ended with the collapse of the Ching Dynasty (reigned by the Manchus) as China was gradually trying to gain its footing to become a Republic which is eventually replaced by the Communist rule. Dragon Lady dispelled the myth about the Empress Dowager Tsu Tzi of her been a conniving, manipulative power monger as she was depicted notoriously in many books but notably "Imperial Woman" by Pearl Buck, & also by many mini series, movies offering in Asian countries till these days. Whilst we readers might never know the whole truth, at least Sterling Seagrave attempted to substantiate what had been claimed with evidence. A very engaging book that expanded upon characters behind the scene such as Prince Kung, Robert Hart, Li Hung Chang, Yuan Shih Kai & so forth. Only when we have finished reading this that we start to appreciate the saying of how a pen is more lethal than a sword as the so-called sinologists of Backhouse, Bland, Morrison concoct fictitious stories to serve their interests & to minitiarise their supposed subservise Orients. Shouldn't we live & let live so that the world is a better place to be in?
Rating:
Summary: Truth is Stranger than Fiction!
Review: Indeed, in this era of bizarre "true" tales, it is fascinating to read this well crafted and outstandingly researched account of the inner workings of the Forbidden City in the final years of the Chinese Empire. If you were tantilized by Bertolucci's The Last Emperor (movie), then I highly recommend you read this book. Seagrave has a way with the language, with a deft turn of phrase every page or two, that makes one want to take notes. Yet while his account is exhaustive in detail, it rarely drags, with interjections of the slanderous history by Backhouse, Bland and Morrison, contrasting the strange fiction with often even stranger fact. The fascinating backgrounds of each of the characters could easily have sprung from a James Clavell novel. Yet the exhaustive notes and documentation make it clear that it all is fact. Highly recommended reading for anyone contemplating a career in the corridors of power. But as a well crafted scholarly study that reads like an historical novel, highly recommended for anyone with an interest in things oriental.
Rating:
Summary: Truth is Stranger than Fiction!
Review: Indeed, in this era of bizarre "true" tales, it is fascinating to read this well crafted and outstandingly researched account of the inner workings of the Forbidden City in the final years of the Chinese Empire. If you were tantilized by Bertolucci's The Last Emperor (movie), then I highly recommend you read this book. Seagrave has a way with the language, with a deft turn of phrase every page or two, that makes one want to take notes. Yet while his account is exhaustive in detail, it rarely drags, with interjections of the slanderous history by Backhouse, Bland and Morrison, contrasting the strange fiction with often even stranger fact. The fascinating backgrounds of each of the characters could easily have sprung from a James Clavell novel. Yet the exhaustive notes and documentation make it clear that it all is fact. Highly recommended reading for anyone contemplating a career in the corridors of power. But as a well crafted scholarly study that reads like an historical novel, highly recommended for anyone with an interest in things oriental.
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