慈禧太后掌权前夕

在光绪年间，慈禧太后通过一系列手段确立了自己在朝政中的绝对统治。她的崛起可以追溯到咸丰年间，当时她作为道光帝的妃子，因其智慧和机敏，被任命为宫廷内的重要人物之一。在咸丰帝去世后，她顺利地成为文宗的皇后，并且很快就以其强大的政治能力和深厚的人脉影响力，控制了朝政大局。

文宗之死与慈安太后的介入

文宗早逝之后，由于他没有留下合法继承人，导致了一个空白期。这个空白期被视为是慈安太后介入朝政的一个契机。当时，她利用自己的地位和亲信网络，对外宣称要保护储君并维护国家稳定，而实际上则是在暗中推动自己的儿子载淳登基，这标志着她开始积极参与政治决策。

载淳之死与光绪之登基

然而，不幸的是，载淳即位仅一年多便因病去世，这给予了慈禧进一步巩固自身权力的机会。她迅速将自己的孙子，即清王朝第九代皇帝奕詝（即光绪）从福建调回北京，并宣布他为新皇帝。这一举措不仅加强了她的家族势力，还使得她能够继续掌控国家大事。

光绪初年的政策调整

随着光�roke throne, she began to adjust her policies in order to strengthen the Qing dynasty and maintain its power in the face of foreign threats and domestic challenges. One of her key strategies was to promote education and learning among the population, with a view to fostering a more informed citizenry that could contribute positively to society.

末年的权力转移与晚年的生活

As the years went by, however, it became increasingly clear that light would not be able to fully assert his authority over his grandmother's shadowy presence behind him. Despite this reality, he continued to work on his own initiatives - such as reforming government institutions and promoting modernization - even though these efforts were often thwarted by conservative forces within court circles.

In conclusion, during light's reign from 1875 until his death in 1908 under strange circumstances while still on the throne (a controversy which continues today), there was an ongoing struggle between those who sought change for China's future prosperity versus those who clung tenaciously onto old traditions and practices which had held sway for centuries but were now clearly outdated given changing global circumstances at home as well abroad