Guangxu Emperor

Guangxu Emperor 光緒帝
Emperor of the Qing dynasty
Reign	25 February 1875 – 14 November 1908
Predecessor	Tongzhi Emperor
Successor	Xuantong Emperor
Regents	Empress Dowager Ci'an (1875–1881) Empress Dowager Cixi (1875–1889; 1898–1908)
Born	(1871-08-14)14 August 1871 Prince Chun's Mansion, Beijing
Died	14 November 1908(1908-11-14) (aged 37) Hanyuan Temple, Yingtai Island, Zhongnan Lakes, Beijing
Burial	Chong Mausoleum, Western Qing tombs
Consort	Empress Xiaodingjing ​ ​ (m. 1889)​
Names Aisin-Gioro Zaitian (愛新覺羅·載湉) Manchu: Dzai tiyan (ᡯᠠᡳ ᡨᡳᠶᠠᠨ) Era dates Guangxu (光緒): 6 February 1875 – 21 January 1909 Manchu: Badarangga doro (ᠪᠠᡩᠠᡵᠠᠩᡤᠠ ᡩᠣᡵᠣ) Mongolian: Бадаргуулт төр (ᠪᠠᠳᠠᠷᠠᠭᠤᠯᠲᠤ ᠲᠥᠷᠥ) Posthumous name Emperor Tongtian Chongyun Dazhong Zhizheng Jingwen Weiwu Renxiao Ruizhi Duanjian Kuanqin Jing (同天崇運大中至正經文緯武仁孝睿智端儉寬勤景皇帝) Manchu: Ambalinggū hūwangdi (ᠠᠮᠪᠠᠯᡳᠩᡤᡡ ᡥᡡᠸᠠᠩᡩᡳ) Temple name Dezong (德宗) Manchu: Dedzung (ᡩᡝᡯᡠᠩ)
House	Aisin-Gioro
Dynasty	Qing
Father	Yixuan, Prince Chunxian of the First Rank
Mother	Yehe-Nara Wanzhen

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The Guangxu Emperor (14 August 1871 – 14 November 1908), also known by his temple name Emperor Dezong of Qing, personal name Zaitian, was the eleventh emperor of the Qing dynasty,^[1] and the ninth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, from 1875 to 1908. His succession was endorsed by dowager empresses Ci'an and Cixi for political reasons after Emperor Tongzhi died without an heir. Cixi held political power for much of Guangxu's reign as regent, except for the period between his assumption of ruling powers in 1889 and the Hundred Days' Reform in 1898.

The Qing Empire's prestige and sovereignty continued to erode during Guangxu's reign with defeats in the Sino-French War, the First Sino-Japanese War, and the Boxer Rebellion. Guangxu engaged intellectuals like Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao to develop the Hundred Days' Reform program of 1898 to reverse the decline. Among the goals was removing Cixi from power. The program was too radical for the conservative ruling elite, and it failed to secure the support of the army. Cixi rallied the program's opponents to launch a coup in late 1898 that suppressed the reforms and secured her power. Guangxu lost ruling powers and was placed under virtual house arrest at the Yingtai Pavilion of Zhongnanhai until his death.

Guangxu died without children in 1908 of arsenic poisoning. He was buried in the Chongling at the Western Qing tombs.