Bullet Review:So bittersweet at the end. The biggest problem with this though was how hurried and rushed it felt in places. When Min was given the time to flesh out a scene and spend time in it, THAT was pure gold.Full Review:Empress Orchid (Empress Dowager Cixi) has lost her beloved husband, the Emperor Hsien Feng. Together with Empress Nuharoo, she raises their son, Tung Chih to be Emperor. But there are trials and struggles, internal and external, not to mention a media and Western world that loves to portray her as a tyrant and despot. Who is the real Empress Orchid? Maybe this book shows a side that traditional historical writers have omitted.Nearly two years ago, I had the great opportunity to read "Empress Orchid", a fascinating look at Orchid from her childhood to when she became Empress. This book picks up almost immediately after it - but instead of focusing on a tighter timeline, it goes from 1861 to the time of her death in 1908.And right there, that's the number one complaint I have about this book. In trying to cover nearly 50 years, Anchee Min has to pick and choose what to focus on in her book, to summarize big events and sail over dozens of years to make sure she can fit everything into 308 pages. I think that's a shame because truly Min is best when she is letting the characters talk and move through this magnificent world without a time constraint. It is my wish that instead of a duology, this had been a trilogy.The first 20 or so pages were pretty rough as a LOT of summarizing and "time warping" occurred to get Tung Chih from a boring age 5 to a more interesting teenager and actual Emperor. A part of me wanted to give up, even as I was telling myself, "But 'Empress Orchid' was so good! Where is that?!" Fortunately, Anchee Min then pulled the reigns on the speed and FINALLY we got some really good in-depth moments with Nuharoo, Yung Lu, Orchid, Tung Chih and more.This sort of pattern - summarizing, then slowing down to get into a scene - pretty much takes place the entire book, though the beginning and the ends are the worst offenders. It might be annoying but when Anchee Min stops to tell her story - WOWEE, it is awesome!Min knows how to paint a scene and make her vibrant characters jump to life on the page. She also knows how to communicate this very different culture to a Western audience. Throughout the entire story, I grew to empathize with Empress Orchid and the troubling case of China - how all these Western countries were wolves, waiting to feast on China's corpse. It makes me really sad at these moments to be an American and to know my ancestors helped to tear apart another country, all in the name of Imperialism or capitalism or what-have-you.I had no knowledge of Empress Orchid before these novels, so I wasn't aware that she was considered a tyrant and a despot. But after reading them, I can't see how a person could consider her that way. I'm sure that there is probably some truth in the middle (isn't there always?), but with very few cases (Stalin, Hitler, etc.) I have a hard time buying the "evil tyrant" stereotype.The very end was so very sad and bittersweet, I wanted to bawl on an airplane (and I never cry). To see her work so many years to hold together the country she loved, to work in an man's world, her words against men, when everyone said horrible things about her, seeing so many of her loved ones die before her, and then to die without being able to be with the one she loved, having to love him from afar and in secret - it's a very sad story. A good, sad story, but a sad one nonetheless."The Last Empress" isn't perfect, but it's damn near close to it. Anchee Min does such a delightful job with this story, giving nuance to history, and it was a joy to be able to read it.Thank you, to my Book Buddy Iset, who gave this to me!!
I regret not being able to read Empress Orchid by Anchee Min before reading The Last Empress. I assume Empress Orchid reveals Orchid's childhood and rise to the throne. Reading the books in sequence would have filled in some of the gaps, nevertheless, Min supplies the necessary information to understand the Empress's life.In my youth, I gobbled up books about English and some French aristocracy. Whether it was romances, historical fiction or biographies made little difference. However, the heavy diet of reading about such dampened my desire to read more of royal subjects. I mention this, because I enjoyed The Last Empress. The court structure, problems and culture varied enough from the European model to garner my interest. I appreciated the delicacy required by the Empress (and Emperors Tung Chih and Guang-hsu) to just keep the status quo amongst all the political factions in China. With that in mind, I found comparing the Chinese view of history with the English view of the same time period revealing. The plundering of Chinese resources and usurpation of Chinese ports and territories is seen in a different light offering a much-needed balance to the Anglo version of history. No wonder the Boxer Rebellion occurred! Granted the atrocities toward innocent "foreign devils" was reprehensible, but the responsibility should be shared by the Boxers and foreign business interests equally.In spite of this story being a fictionalized account, Min did an admirable job of bringing to life the loneliness of being the Empress. The Chinese royalty were virtually prisoners within the Forbidden City. They had few true friends and those they had were trusted with governmental responsibilities away from the Forbidden City. Recognizing this, left me with the thought, be careful what you wish for. I wondered if Orchid would be so eager to be Empress if she could do it over again.
What do You think about The Last Empress (2007)?
Cerita yg detil. digambarkan pengarangnya sedemikian rupa sehingga kita seolah2 melihat suasana kolosal,kemewahan,kerusuhan,kesedihan bahkan fashion yang dikenakan...Terlepas Apakah cerita ini memang kisah nyata atau tdk,Anggrek adalah penguasa yg luarbiasa..dari hanya seorang selir menjelma menjd maharani yg sesungguhnya...keberanian, kecerdasan dan keuletannya luarbiasa...Percintaan Anggrek dan Yung Lu sangat mengharukan...Cinta yg terpisah oleh status, keberlangsungan kekuasaan, dan martabat kerajaan, pasangan cinta yg hanya dapat berpasangan sebagai penyelenggara negara.. Willow istri Yung Lu memberitahu saat kondisi Yung Lu memburuk, terserang stroke dan tak lg dpt bicara,Anggrek mengabaikan etika dan pergi kerumahnya. Aku duduk disisi Yung Lu...Aku mendekat dan menyentuh wajahnya..."Kau akan pergi dalam perjalanan berburu dan aku akan bergabung denganmu.Aku akan menyiapkan busurnya dan kau akan menembak...Aku akan membuat api unggun dan membakar hasil buruanmu..Kita akan minum anggur ubi manis dan kt akan berbincang..."Aku akan mengatakan padamu betapa rindunya aku saat kau pergi ke Sinkiang..Kau berutang tujuh tahun yg manis padaku..Kau sudah tau ini, tetapi aku akan tetap mengatakannya padamu:Aku perempuan yg bahagia saat bersamamu....Air mata perlahan turun dari ujung matanya. [ :]
—Imas
Banyak yang mengatakan bahwa Tzu Hsi adalah biangnya kejahatan (Naskah Cina, dicetak pada 1949 -1991). Namun, entahlah. Penggambaran Anchee Min terasa lebih nyata dibandingkan Sir Edmund Backhouse, yang belakangan baru diketahui telah menyebarkan manuskrip-manuskrip penuh kebohongan tentang latarbelakang kehancuran kekaisaran China dibawah kuasa sang Budha Tua, Putri Yehonala, atau lebih dikenal sebagai Tzu Hsi. Ada banyak kehilangan sebagai kompensasinya memilih datang sebagai salah satu diantara sekian ribu calon selir Hsien Feng. Yehonala, yang datang dari latarbelakang keluarga bangsawan miskin, tidak pernah membayangkan bahwa usahanya dengan membayar kasim istana untuk bisa mendapatkan 1 malam bersama Kaisar Hsien Feng akan menjadikannya ibu dari putra mahkota yang pada akhirnya tidak mampu mempertahankan dinastinya dan menjadi awal keruntuhan China dibawah invasi Jepang dan Inggris. Yehonala adalah potret seorang pemimpin perempuan tangguh di jamannya.
—Lita Hidayati
" ... a powerful revisionist portrait [fictionalized account of a real historical person] of Tsu Hsi, Lady Yehonala, or Empress Orchid, who ruled China for more than 40 years in the late 1800's / early 1900's.""The Dragon Lady" was portrayed in the Western press as a manipulative, blood-thirsty, ruthless woman who held on to power at all costs."The woman Anchee Min portrays gives us a compelling, very human leader who assumed power reluctantly and sacrificed all she had to protect those she loved and an empire -- the Ch'ing Dynasty -- that was doomed to die."Regardless of which version of Empress Orchid is true, this is an engrossing, fascinating look into Chinese history and culture, and world history as well. I learned so much!Anchee Min's "Empress Orchid" covers the ruler's early life up until the events in this book. I'll be reading that book very soon.
—Ladiibbug
