03/10/2013 Meet the Author


03/10/2013

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the Royal Australian fleet into Sydney. Fantastic. —— centenary

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anniversary of the first entry of the Royal Australian fleet into

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Sydney. 20 years ago Yun Chang's Wild Swans became a worldwide best

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seller. She followed it up with Wild Swans became a worldwide best

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devastating 900 biography of the man she believes was a tyrant. Now she

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towering figure in Chinese figure she believes was a tyrant. Now she

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towering figure in Chinese figure Was she, as popular legend had it a

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and a moderniser? Your central Was she, as popular legend had it a

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and a moderniser? Your central character was a remarkable woman,

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emperor's lovers and her son became character was a remarkable woman,

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emperor's lovers and her son became emperor in name, but she engineered

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a coup against the rulers and took control herself. She was a natural

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politician, yes? She was. She was a politician in a rather modern way.

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Her call was a popular one, because she got eight regions appointed

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Her call was a popular one, because her husband and she made her say the

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de facto ruler. The regions were going to carry on with her husband's

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policies and the previous emperor's policies to keep the laws of China

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closed. These had been zraS rust because western powers are invaded

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in the opium wars and China was because western powers are invaded

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doing well under this policy? It was disastrous. Under her husband,

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because of the policies, the old palace was burnt down. Because she

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was a woman she could not take power openly and she was literally behind

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the throne, because her son would sit in the throne and she would

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the throne, because her son would meetings of the council from behind

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a yellow screen? They didn't see. Well, yes, there is a picture in my

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book, which shows the audience hall. At the time China had strict male

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and female segregation. She couldn't At the time China had strict male

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officials were all male, so she would have to sit behind a silk

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prosecution trait themselves in would have to sit behind a silk

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prosecution trait themselves in five—year—old son would occasionally

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be put on the throne, but it was a crippling position, but she launched

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point of the book and perhaps the a modern China. This is the key

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point of the book and perhaps the most controversial, because the

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the end of her life perhaps is a most controversial, because the

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the end of her life perhaps is a project of modernisation. You say

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beginning? Yeah, because it started in 1861, when she seized power.

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beginning? Yeah, because it started acknowledged. They were common

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knowledge, but they were always detractors do have something to

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knowledge, but they were always In 1900 there was a rebellion and a

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lot of Chinese peasants effectively very anti—western formed gangs which

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rampaged around killing foreigners. As a result of that, western powers,

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America, Britain, Germany and Japan all invaded. It was a disastrous

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war. Beijing was badly knocked destruction and she herself had

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war. Beijing was badly knocked flee with the court and didn't get

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back for 18 months to Beijing. She backed the Boxers and that doesn't

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sound like the move of a pro—western moderniser. She didn't back the

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Boxers for a very, very long time. Until western powers gave her an

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pronounce a legal —— illegal this organisation, which was xenophobic.

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She couldn't and wouldn't be seen as somebody who just did what western

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powers told her to do. She was facing the prospect of the invasion.

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Then she realised at this point facing the prospect of the invasion.

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something that happened right at the misguidedly thought she could use

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something that happened right at the very end of her life. It turns out

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Machiavellian to the most extreme very end of her life. It turns out

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degree, isn't it? Well, the thing is this — that the day before she died,

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when she few she was going to die, this — that the day before she died,

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when she few she was going to die, she poisoned her adopted son, who

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was the emperor. But who was her she poisoned her adopted son, who

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was the emperor. But who was her involved in the plot to assassinate

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her before. She knew that if she had died and he was alive China would

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land in the lap of Japan. The reason is the Japanese had been trying

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land in the lap of Japan. The reason turn her adopted son into a puppet

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of theirs. They had been trying turn her adopted son into a puppet

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kidnap him. Why was it that her successors as rulers of China in the

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20th century were so keen to blacken her name? Well, I mean, after she

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died, three years later, China became a republic. The leaders — the

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subsequent political forces in nationalists, then the communists,

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wanted to say how they rescued China from her. She had made a mess of

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China. She was a despot. She kept China in a Medieval misery and it

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was they who had started the mod eRpisation and opened the doors

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was they who had started the mod modernisation and opened the doors

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for China. It's not true. Compared to their rule, Mao caused the death

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of well over 70 million Chinese to their rule, Mao caused the death

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rule was incredible. I have been peacetime and compared to that,

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rule was incredible. I have been looking at the Chinese regime and

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it's trying to go back to Mao's days, because the Chinese regime

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faced in the last years of her life, days, because the Chinese regime

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faced in the last years of her life, development, prosperity and the

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faced in the last years of her life, rising expectations and they had to

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decide where to go next. The current regime in Beijing decides to go

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decide where to go next. The current to Mao's time and she decides to

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push ahead, not wind the clock back, but to push for political reforms.

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wanted to introduce the vote. That but to push for political reforms.

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wanted to introduce the vote. That constitutional monarchy like ——

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monarchy, but unfortunately she constitutional monarchy like ——

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project, but in her will she said this is what she really wanted to

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do, that China belonged to the Chinese people. Thank you very much.

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