Tongzhi Emperor

The Tongzhi Emperor (27 April 1856 – 12 January 1875), also known by his temple name Emperor Muzong of Qing, personal name Zaichun, was the ninth emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the eighth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign, which effectively lasted through his adolescence, was largely overshadowed by the rule of Empress Dowager Cixi. Although he had little influence over state affairs, the events of his reign gave rise to what historians call the "Tongzhi Restoration", an unsuccessful modernization program.

The only surviving son of the Xianfeng Emperor, he ascended the throne at the age of five under a regency headed by his biological mother Empress Dowager Cixi and his legal mother Empress Dowager Ci'an. The Self-Strengthening Movement, in which Qing officials pursued radical institutional reforms following the disasters of the Opium Wars and the Taiping Rebellion, began during his reign. The Tongzhi Emperor assumed personal rule over the Qing government in 1873, but he had no interest in affairs of state and immediately came into conflict with his ministers. He was outmaneuvered by the dowager empresses.

He died of smallpox at the age of 18 in 1875, following unsuccessful medical treatments; his death without a male heir created a succession crisis. In contravention to Qing's dynastic custom, his double first cousin assumed the throne as the Guangxu Emperor.