Gender Issues and the Distorted Narrative in Women Leadership in China: The Case of Empress Dowager Cixi (1861-1908)

Abstract

Throughout history, the controversial Empress Dowager Cixi has been portrayed as a cruel and ineffective leader, despite contradicting evidences. This study assesses the narratives that vilified her via library and historical research methods, and analysed using critical discourse analysis. The Qing’s social system became an instrument of prejudice and discrimination which fostered a gender-biased mindset and disparity that was used against Qing women like Cixi. This scenario paved the way for prejudiced and fabricated narratives about Cixi written by scholars and foes, and were accepted and cited in the vast majority of subsequent English historical and scholarly works, which are still regarded as accurate today. The study discovers that Cixi’s contribution can be traced through China’s political, development, and social sectors, such as in the empowerment of Qing women. This article examines Cixi under the theme of gender, and accentuated how gender has become a crucial key in creating a massive impact on her life and how Qing’s societal system itself becomes a tool of suppression, bias and discrimination towards Qing women, specifically Cixi. This article bridges a major research gap in gender and political studies by filling in the studies on historical women’s leadership. Cixi broke down gender barriers to reform China, and she should be honoured for her contributions to society.