Evaluation
In the 20th century, Yixin was vilified by the Chinese for a long time as the man responsible for "selling" the country to the western powers through his various reforms and talks with the foreigners. In recent times, perceptions of him have changed and he is recognised as an exemplary statesman of equal calibre as Li Hongzhang.
Some historians claim that Yixin took a more active role in the Xinyou Coup in 1861. Sterling Seagrave claimed in Dragon Lady: The Life and Legend of the Last Empress of China that Chinese historical records showed that the Xianfeng Emperor had appointed the two empress dowagers (Empress Dowager Cixi and Empress Dowager Ci'an) as the Tongzhi Emperor's regents in accordance with imperial tradition. The eight regents led by Sushun had appointed themselves as co-regents for the emperor and handed only one imperial seal to Ci'an and kept the other for themselves.
Yixin was aware that the xenophobic attitudes of the eight regents would lead to China's doom by adversely affecting China's relations with the western powers. Thus, he enlisted the assistance of the two empress dowagers to remove the eight regents from power.
Read more about this topic: Prince Gong (Qing Dynasty)
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—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
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