Xinyou Coup

Xinyou Coup (simplified Chinese: 辛酉政变; traditional Chinese: 辛酉政變; pinyin: Xīnyǒu zhèngbiàn) was a Chinese palace coup instigated by Empress Dowagers Cixi and Ci'an, and Prince Gong to seize power after the death of the Xianfeng Emperor in 1861. On his deathbed, the emperor had appointed a group of eight regents, led by Sushun, who were adjutant generals and grand councillors, to assist his infant son Zaichun, later to be known as the Tongzhi Emperor. The eight regents, Zaiyuan, Duanhua, Jingshou, Sushun, Muyin, Kuang Yuan, Du Han and Jiao Youying were stripped of official positions, later, several of them were executed or forced to commit suicide.^[1]