Empress Dowager Cixi
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A Manchu noblewoman from the late Qing Dynasty, Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908) acted as empress dowager and regent for almost 50 years, from 1861 until her death in 1908.
Initially selected as a concubine of the Xianfeng Emperor in her adolescence, she gave birth to a son, Zaichun, in 1856. After the Xianfeng Emperor's death in 1861, his five-year-old son became the Tongzhi Emperor, and Cixi assumed the role of co-empress dowager alongside Xianfeng's widow, Empress Dowager Ci'an.
Empress Dowager Cixi ousted a group of regents appointed by the late emperor and assumed the regency along with Empress Dowager Ci'an.
Since the early 8th century, Tibetans and Himalayan people have treasured "Namtars" as written or spoken narratives that demonstrate the realization of the Buddhist path by exceptional practitioners. These namtars, or spiritual biographies, serve as inspirational guides on the path to enlightenment.
Today, Namtars Foundation aims to record, preserve, and freely offer the world a written and electronic treasury of the oral wisdom of Tibetan and Himalayan Buddhism.
