Professor Kenneth Baum had a series called "The Fall and Rise of China" in which he portrayed Cixi as a hardline reactionary. I stopped listening when he assigned to her that most classic of disruptable acts, the poisoning of close family members. It seemed too connected t tropes.

However, another professor I had the pleasure of working with gave a relatively similar opinion of Cixi, indicating that she was indeed opposed to many reforms on principle and political issue.

A brief perusal of the Wikipedia article on Cixi gives a somewhat more revisionist take.

I'm interested in hearing what the respected folks of AskHistorions have to say on Cixi and her motivations during the waning days of the Qing. If you do not have adequate information, I'm willing to accept sources that I can do further reading on (send me a PM.)