It's often said that the late Qing was incredibly corrupt at every level, funds were siphoned off for personal gains rather than given to the government as taxes, or money used for projects were siphoned off and so did nothing.

So exactly how much money was lost? Either an overall figure, or a relative, percentage of GDP or government spending.

It's also been said often that Cixi's summer palace took much needed funds away from the first Sino-Japanese war effort. How much did the summer palace actually cost, and how much was that was diverted from funds requested by the military?