Xuantong Emperor follows Cixi's death, continuing her legacy within the Qing dynasty.
On November 16, 1908, the day after Cixi's death, the Qing court announced Puyi, the Xuantong Emperor, as her successor. This transition conveyed the continuity of Cixi's legacy, filtered through an emerging modernity fostered in her later reforms. Although Cixi's passing concluded her personal regency, it underscored her pivotal role in preparing the dynasty for its final years, as well as her complicated but significant efforts toward modernizing the traditional Chinese state during the waning period of imperial rule.