Empress Dowager Cixi

"Perhaps their magic is not to be relied upon; but can we not rely on the hearts and minds of the people? Today China is extremely weak. We have only the people's hearts and minds to depend upon. If we…"

"Now they have started the aggression, and the extinction of our nation is imminent. If we just fold our arms and yield to them, I would have no face to see our ancestors after death. If we must perish…"

"Had the foreign legations being subjected to the full force of bombardment, would those buildings still be intact today?"

"I have often thought that i am the most clever woman that ever lived, and others cannot compare with me.... Although I have heard much about Queen Victoria...I don't think her life was half so interes…"

"Your tail, is becoming too heavy to wag."