Although in principle, she had precedence over Cixi, Ci'an was in fact a self-effacing person and seldom intervened in politics, but she was the decision-maker in most family affairs.

[1] The future empress' great-grandfather, Fukejing'a (福克精阿), served as a management official in Xining and held the title of a baron.

The future Empress Xiaozhenxian was born on the 12th day of the seventh lunar month in the 17th year of the reign of the Daoguang Emperor, which translates to 12 August 1837 in the Gregorian calendar.

However, some sources claimed that Lady Niohuru entered the Forbidden City in the late 1840s and became a concubine of the Xianfeng Emperor, who was still known as the Fourth Prince then.

Some sources claim that Lady Niohuru was already designated as the Xianfeng Emperor's primary spouse after the death of her predecessor, Empress Xiaodexian.

Some biographers mentioned that the Empress gave birth to the Xianfeng Emperor's only daughter, Princess Rong'an of the First Rank, who was actually born to Concubine Li.

"[10] On 22 August 1861, in the wake of the Second Opium War, the Xianfeng Emperor died at the Rehe Traveling Palace (熱河行宮), 230 km (140 mi) northeast of Beijing, where he and his imperial court had fled to when the Anglo-French forces closed in on the Forbidden City.

The Empress initially agreed to cooperate with Sushun and his seven co-regents, but changed her mind after being persuaded by Noble Consort Yi.

[11] In November 1861, with aid from Yixin, Prince Gong, the Xianfeng Emperor's sixth brother, and, Yixuan, Prince Chun, the Xianfeng's seventh brother, and husband of Noble Consort Yi's younger sister, Yehenara Wanzhen, the Empress and Noble Consort Yi staged a coup – historically known as the Xinyou Coup – against the eight regents and ousted them from power, thereby securing control of the regency.

According to Tony Teng, Noble Consort Yi and Sushun had a quarrel over the granting of honours after the Xianfeng Emperor's death.

It is believed that the Empress, as the primary wife of the recently deceased emperor, had supported Noble Consort Yi, thus forcing Sushun to yield.

Empress Dowager Ci'an received news about it and drafted an imperial decree[18] as follows: Ding Baozhen reports that a eunuch has been creating disturbance in Shandong Province.

According to the magistrate of Dezhou, a eunuch surnamed An and his followers passed through that place by the way of the imperial canal, in two dragon barges, with much display of pomp and pageantry.

His barges flew a black banner, bearing in its centre the triple imperial emblems of the sun, and there were also dragon and phoenix flags flying on both side, of his vessels.

The 21st day of the last month happened to be this eunuch's birthday, so he arrayed himself in dragon robes and stood on the foredeck of his barge, to receive the homage of his suite.

How can we ever hope to uphold moral standards within the palace and frighten evildoers unless we make an example of this insolent eunuch, who was dared to leave Beijing without permission and commit these lawless deeds?

The governors of these three provinces of Shandong, Henan and Jiangsu are ordered to seek out and arrest the eunuch An whom we had formerly honored with the rank of the sixth grade and the decoration of the crow's feather.

Our dynasty's house law is most strict in regard to the proper discipline of eunuchs, and provides severe punishment for any offences to which they may commit.

On 8 April 1881, while attending an imperial court session, Empress Dowager Ci'an became ill and was escorted to her private quarters, where she died within a few hours.

Although she was in good health, Ci'an had fallen seriously ill at least three times according to Weng Tonghe, who tutored the Guangxu Emperor.

In his diary, Weng Tonghe recorded the first stroke in March 1863, when Ci'an suddenly fainted and lost her ability to speak for nearly a month.

Furthermore, Cixi herself had been ill to the point of being unable to serve her functions at court, making her involvement in Ci'an's death highly unlikely.

The imperial edict reads as follows: Since Our entrance upon the inheritance of the great dynastic line, looking upward, We have been the recipient of fostering care and unbounded maternal affection from the departed Empress, T'zu-an Twan-Yu-K'ang-Ching-Chao-Ho-Chwang-Ching.

The robust health which we seemed to recognize in Her appearance and movements, and Her zeal for state affairs at all times, were a source of great joy and comfort to our mind, and we hoped that Her life would be prolonged a hundred years, that She might long continue in the enjoyment of happiness.

On the 7th instant the benign body was suddenly taken ill. A decoction of medicine was immediately given to dissipate the ailment and restore health, but unexpectedly on the following day the sickness rapidly grew dangerous, respiration was hindered by copious generation of phlegm, and the case became urgent and desperate.

The departed Empress having also admonished us to endeavor to control our sorrow and give due regard to the importance of state affairs so as to console the Empress Dowager, "T'zu-hsi Twan-Yü-Kang-Yi-Chao-Yü-Chwang-Ch'eng," in return for Her care in educating and nurturing us, we dare not disregard this advice, and, in respectful obedience to the bequaethed command, we shall endeavor to check and restrain our sorrow.

Let the Prince of T'un, Yi Tsung; the Prince of Kung, Yi Hsin; the Beile, Yi-Kwang; the minister of the presence, Ching Shou; the grand secretary, Pao-Chun; the assistant great secretary and president, Ling-Kuei; and the presidents, Ngen-Ch'eng and Ong-Fung-Ho, with respectful care attend to the rites and ceremonies to be observed in the present mourning.

This is still the popular view in China, the image of a quiet Empress Dowager Ci'an perhaps stemming from the meaning of her honorific name.

Empress Dowager Cixi, on the other hand, was a shrewd and intelligent woman who was ready to make sacrifices and work hard in order to obtain supreme power, and who faced the complex problems that were besetting China at the time.

The popular view of Ci'an being a nice simple girl was exaggerated by the reformer Kang Youwei and biographers John Bland and Edmund Backhouse, to build up the contrast between her and Cixi.