When the Xianfeng Emperor died in Rehe on August 22, 1861, the empire seemed close to its demise because of the domestic revolution and of China's surrender to the foreign armies. Eight aristocratic Manchus, favorites of the emperor, formed a regency council for the emperor's only son, who succeeded to his father's throne at the age of five. Prince Gong, a brother of the deceased, helped the two empress dowagers Ci'an (the widow) and Cixi (the emperor's concubine and mother of the new ruler) to …