The book "The Last Empress" — Анчи МинThe Last Empress. The story here is pretty riveting: In 1852, a delicate-looking young woman from southern China joined a select new crop of imperial concubines in Peking. Known as Orchid, she was thrust forward by her parents, who were willing to gamble their 17-year-old daughters well-being for a chance to get her inside the palace, known as the Forbidden City for its restrictive rules and clandestine manners. "It was not a good time to enter the Forbidden City," writes Anchee Min in "The Last Empress," evoking the intrigue and opulence of 19th century China while telling the story of its improbably dominant ruler. "[T]he consequences of a misstep were often deadly." Orchid did not misstep. Starting at a low rank among the hundreds of concubines, she gradually befriended the eunuchs who ran the palace, then bribed her way into a tryst with the young emperor. They had one nocturnal encounter. She became pregnant and gave birth to a boy -- the first male heir to the throne. For Orchid, it was the equivalent of hitting the jackpot.
Китайская императрица Цыси, став до совершеннолетия сына соправительницей императрицы Нюгуру, еще не знала, что ее ждет долгое, насыщенное событиями правление, которое затянется вплоть до следующего столетия. | 
