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Brief: This article traces Empress Dowager Cixi’s rise. During the Second Opium War, Anglo‑French forces burned the Old Summer Palace. After Emperor Xianfeng died, Cixi allied with Prince Gong in the 1861 Xinyou Coup to overthrow the eight regents. She then began her nearly 50‑year rule behind the curtain, dominating the late Qing Dynasty.