HY2206: China's Imperial Past

Author(s)

My name is Xue Lian, Servant of Princess Heyang

[2022 C.E., 667 years after the death of Princess Heyang, in a high school]

My name is Xu Bingbing (徐冰冰), and this is my third reincarnation without drinking Meng Po’s soup.[1] I am looking for a person.

In this life, I was no longer living in a dynasty, but a Republic. Everything was new and modern, but some things always stayed the same: history classes. Education in this age was still as important as ever, if not more.

It is without doubt, the most hated class in all the lives I have been through. I sigh and draw my hoodie around myself as I prepare to hunker down and sleep through it.

Vaguely through my sleep, I hear the teacher drone on about Chen (晨) Dynasty’s decline.[2]

“Recently archaeologists have discovered the grave of the Minister of Justice during Emperor Chenying’s (晨英) reign. Buried with him are records that pointed to the involvement of the Emperor in the Emperor Emeritus’ death. The evidence is inconclusive, but it is possible that it was the Emperor instead of Princess Heyang (河阳) who had plotted to take down the Emperor Emeritus. There is also certain evidence that points to Empress Shangguan’s (上官) involvement in the matter. If it is true, then it will overturn previous written records and theories……”

I let the words fade into the background. Hardly did they ever get anything right in history classes these days.

“Bingbing! The teacher is coming your way, quick, wake up!” Lin Xinran, my tablemate, elbowed me in the side.

“Xu Bingbing. Sleeping in my class again?” The history teacher rapped my desk with a pen and I blinked up blearily at him. “It’s no wonder you’ve been failing my classes. If you can answer my questions, then I won’t punish you. I will give you an easy question to start with. What year did the Rebellion of Heyang take place?”

I could see Lin Xinran mouth the year behind the teacher. I appreciated her help, but I could never forget the year my Princess died.

“1355.” I answered without hesitation.

“Good. At least you know the year. How did Princess Heyang gather power and start her rebellion?”

Her Highness didn’t start a rebellion. I bit my lip, swallowing the words that I knew people would never believe. How could they believe me when everything they have read wrote that the instigator was Princess Heyang?

“She…She took in desperate scholars as male favourites, sending them into the key positions in the lower bureaucracy. She also had lovers in Hanlin Academy, and it was rumoured that the Secretariat of Finance Chu Yuan (楚渊) and General Wei Ziqi (魏子柒) were her lovers as well. After failing to poison her brother, Emperor Chenying, she staged a coup, killed off the opposing Emperor Emeritus but was eventually caught and killed for her crimes.” I spit out the answer that I had memorized from the teaching materials. I didn’t memorize it voluntarily—it was burned into my brain from how many times I had read and reread the section, hoping for a change that had come with the increase of women’s rights and standing in this world.

“Perfect answer! You haven’t been listening in class, but you know about the rebellion so well. Do you have a specific interest in this period of history?” The teacher beamed, thinking that he could finally use this interest to make his student develop a love for the subject. “It really is an interesting rebellion after all— Princess Heyang was the first woman in history to actually try overturning the order and take the throne for herself. It makes people wonder what might have happened if she really succeeded.”

I let my eyes fall to the ground. I was afraid if I looked at anyone now, I would burst with the indignance of it all. She never wanted the throne. She didn’t start a rebellion.

The teacher wasn’t about to give up now, “Are you interested in Princess Heyang? She has been quite the favourite for my female students in all the batches I have taught. The clever, cunning and sexually independent woman— but she’s not a very good role model with how she threatens innocent scholars into serving her. Don’t learn that from her, got it, class?”

“Yes, teacher,” the class chorused in reply.

My head snapped up and I zeroed in on the teacher. “But she should have been the emperor.” Even though she didn’t want to.

I didn’t voice out the latter half of the sentence, I had learnt that it was useless to do so after my two reincarnations. However, this era was open, liberal, and promoted equality of genders—they surely could understand the genius of Her Highness. “She invented colour printing, and she invented Zhaoge (昭歌) Millennial that is now acclaimed as the most sophisticated chess game in the world.”

I was terribly pleased when I found out that the hidden manual I wrote on Zhaoge Millennial in my previous reincarnation had been unearthed in this age and gained international popularity. My efforts had not been in vain.

“Wow, Bingbing! You really do like Princess Heyang don’t you? It is wonderful to see you taking more interest in history.” The teacher smiled and turned to the class. “Indeed, Princess Heyang was more than qualified to be an emperor. She was politically astute and well-versed in all the arts. It is a pity that people in the past did not appreciate talent when it was held by a woman.”

A smile crept onto my face. Finally, an era where I could hear someone singing praises about Her Royal Highness.

“Though of course, it was a pity that she had to practically sell her body like a prostitute to gain connections and power. Perhaps there was no other way for h—Xu Bingbing! Where are you going?”

“I’m going to the toilet,” I squeezed out a reply before I slammed the door shut and ran.

Why do they always focus on her negative sides? So what if she used her body? So what if she had over thirty male favourites and countless lovers in the imperial court? Was it so hard to acknowledge her merits without criticising her in the next sentence?!

 I ran without aim. I just needed to get to somewhere far away from the disgusting history classes. It has been 667 years and little had changed—yet I could hardly blame them.

It was written so in the records after all.

The usurper, the greedy woman who knew no bounds and manipulated men for her sexual pleasure and for power. She was the cause for the decline of the Chen dynasty by trying to take a position that was never, and could never be hers.

[1797 C.E., 442 years after the death of Princess Heyang, in a mid-ranked noble’s house]

My name is Qing Haiming (庆海溟), and this is my second reincarnation without drinking Meng Po’s soup. I am looking for a person.

But before I was allowed out of the house to search, I had to receive my history lessons. Education was of utmost importance as the male heir of this house. My mother would wail every time I skipped history lessons and bring my father in for a most torturous lecture.

“My young Lord, I can see that your eyeballs are painted. Did you forget that your eyelids are skin-coloured and not white?” The old man shook his head as he sighed, the hand not holding the ferule finding its way to his long beard.[3]

Three strikes with the ferule to the palms, shake his head, sigh, stroke beard. This sequence had become routine at some point. I was even holding out my hands to receive the ferule on autopilot now.

“Are you unsatisfied with me, is that so, Young Master?” The teacher took his seat in front of me.

I shook my head. He was a good teacher. Too good, in fact. He followed every word in the historical annals down to a tee, determined to make me be able to answer for every single policy every emperor had instituted in 4000 years.

The teacher barely managed to refrain from shaking his head again. “You were so obedient when we first started our lessons. What is making you act like such a rebel now?”

“…Can we skip the Chen dynasty? I don’t like the Chen dynasty,” I turned hopeful eyes onto the teacher.

“Absolutely not. Chen dynasty is one of the most important dynasties. It is a glorious age where all the greatest minds and greatest technologies were gathered!” He paused, then as if he realized something, asked, “Is there something you dislike about Emperor Chenying?”

I didn’t answer. My previous reincarnation had not been very happy when I voiced my displeasure at anyone who insulted my Princess.

“You have been quite restless especially after I started on Emperor Chenying and his reign.”

I let my head hang and kept silent.

“As you surely have heard, the Rebellion of Heyang during Emperor Chenying’s reign was a turning point in the dynasty, it was the direct cause for the decline of Chen. Princess Heyang’s greed and promiscuity turned society upside down, and after her futile rebellion it created a vacuum of power which allowed Empress Shangguan’s kinsmen to interfere in politics and create further disaster.[4] There is much to learn from the cause and impact of the rebellion, and the reigns and policies of the Emperors after the rebellion, so we must not skip it.”

My expression darkened. No matter how many years had passed, I could never stop the burning resentment and anger from rising within me when I heard such slanderous comments.

My teacher frowned, sensing the displeasure leaking out of me despite my forbearance. “What exactly is wrong with you? I have been very patient with you, Young Master, but you must stop this immature act at once!” His tone grew sharp, and I could tell he was about to tell me to give him my palms for a good smacking.

“…Princess Heyang wasn’t the cause for Chen dynasty’s decline,” I started, trying to keep my voice as level as possible to not betray my urge to punch the old man in the face. “It was all because of her useless brother Emperor Chenying.”

The teacher’s eyes bulged in disbelief, “Y-You—!” He shook a finger in my face, “What kind of things have you been learning behind my back? Did you learn this from those filthy commoner stories that they have been telling? You know very well that those stories are full of nonsense! Ignoble storytellers distort the truth to create sensational stories and draw in the crowd!”

He was turning purple from anger, but all I was seeing was red. I threw the book of history down with a smack. “Scholars do the same! The historical annals are full of shit! Her Royal Highness was beautiful, smart and loved by the people! Where is it written in the books? Nowhere! All because the bastard Chenying had it all rewritten, and you insecure men who were afraid of her continued to spread such lies and alter the truth!”

The teacher clutched his chest, gasping for breath. “I cannot believe such blasphemy is coming out from a whippersnapper like you…. Absolutely ridiculous! Where did you learn such rubbish! Princess Heyang was a lascivious witch and the stain of Chen dynasty! She is the shame of all women and certainly the world is glad to be rid of such a shrew! Playing around with men and being unfaithful to her husband, is that what any respectable woman would do?!”

“You people said it yourself, she was using the men to gain power. Emperors do the same don’t they? There are only two types of concubines in an emperor’s harem—the peerless beauties, and the useful women from influential families!” I bristled, screaming back at him, “So what is wrong with my Highness doing the same?”

The ferule had dropped somewhere in the midst of the chaos, and the teacher was now clutching at his neck too. Servants were gathering outside the room, hesitating to enter and stop the fight, while some scrambled to call for the Lady of the house.

“That is sacrilegious! The world has a natural order—women do not have the capacity to be kings! Princess Heyang did not know her place and tried to imitate an emperor, and look where it got her! She died a well-deserved death!”

“Capacity?” I raised a mocking brow, “Who was the one at age twelve to put to rest the peasant uprisings that had been plaguing the borders for ten years, by coming up with a financial reform that emperors continued to implement even after the rebellion? Who was the one to invent the colour prints we enjoy and show off at every banquet, who was the one to invent the chess game Zhaoge Millennial that the Emperor Emeritus Chenxuan (晨宣) and the Imperial Court praised for its complex strategy and distributed across the land?”

The teacher was trembling with rage, his shaking finger pressing in closer to my defiant gaze. “You really think a mere woman could do all that? She surely had help from her brother and her father.[5] This Zhaoge Millennial chess—it’s been hundred of years since its been played! No one wants to play the chess of such a debauched, corrupted woman!”

Bitter tears welled up within my eyes, “You’re wrong! She—”

“Ming’er!” My mother appeared in the doorway, chest heaving with exertion. Upon hearing the report from the servants that her rebellious son was fighting with the teacher, she had forgone all propriety and ran to the classroom. “Apologize to your teacher this instant!”

“Mother!” I felt tears stream down my cheeks—how could they all do this Her Highness?

 “Apologize now!” Lady Huang rushed in, her dress and hair ornaments tinkling and tangling together. I had never seen her in such a dishevelled state.

“Ming’er! How did I teach you?! If you won’t apologize, your mother will!” Lady Huang glared at me, then bowed to the teacher who was huffing and puffing his eyes out. “My sincerest apologies, Mr Yang, please forgive my son. He is still young and is now at the rebellious age. His father and I will make sure he receives due punishment for this atrocious behaviour!”

“Hmph! This whippersnapper! I quit! I will not teach such an abominable child who thinks women should be emperors!” He fixed his clothes and hair and looked down upon my bowing mother. “Ma’am, you should really teach your children some manners. I have never seen such a rude child—and more importantly—you should really teach him some common sense! Did you know what he told me?”

My mother, still bowing, “I-I’m afraid I do not know what the situation is……”

Thinking about what I’ve said earlier, red crept up the teacher’s neck again. “He! Told me that Princess Heyang of the Chen dynasty is an exemplary woman! He thinks of letting women ride above men’s heads!”

My mother gasped. She threw me an incredulous look, then bowed deeper to the teacher, “Please Sir, I beg you to reconsider leaving your post. You see, he surely must have said those words to try to run from his lessons—”

“Not another word! I am not teaching this vile child! I will take my leave now, thank you for the time, Lady Huang!” The teacher stormed off immediately, his servant running after him.

“Ming’er!” My mother gave a slap up side my head, “How could you say that?!”

I choked back another sob, “But Mother…!”

This era was terrible. I was lucky to be born in a man’s body, but I could tell how much more restrictive it had gotten for women. I could hardly catch a glimpse of my half-sisters in the same household when they hardly left their own courtyard. Even when I met them to play, they never raised their heads in front of me, never met my eyes, and never spoke without my permission. It was stifling. There were even rumours that women at the capital had started this trend called feet binding.

“Mother,” I sniffed, “what do you think about Princess Heyang?”

Her answer was a pinch to my ear, pulling it as she dragged me out the room. “What I think? What I think? What I think is that I have been letting you off too easily these days! Did you learn something bad from the times you went out to the markets to play? Where did you learn this sort of thing from? Princess Heyang, a good person!” She scoffed, letting my ear go to give me a hard slap on the buttocks. “Looks like I need to beat some sense into you.”

I prepared to run but my mother was faster than me, catching me by the collar before I could take another step. “Listen, Ming’er. A good woman is a woman who practices the three obediences and four virtues, who will listen to you, care for you, and birth you many nice, healthy sons[6]. Princess Heyang was not a good woman…and person.

“Princess Heyang was unfilial, trying to poison her own brother and even killed her father. She threatened and kept the lives of hundreds of scholars in her hands, used them to relieve her sexual desires. Popular rumours say that she killed off the wife of a scholar who came to confront her for stealing her husband. What’s worse was her trying to lead the country—as a woman, she should be taking care of her household. Yet she went against the natural order.” My mother sighed and grabbed both of my shoulders, “If she was living in our times and tried to get you to marry her, Mother here would do anything to drive her away and protect you.”

Feeling sheepish from the eye contact, my eyes darted off to a spot on a tree behind her. Sorry Mother, but your son is actually a woman on the inside and does not have any intention of marrying a woman.

“Mother, I—”

My mother cut me off icily, “Ming’er. You still won’t give up on this topic? I know what you’re going to say next. If she really was as smart as you claim, she should have known to use her talents to serve her brother, father and take care of her husband and estate well. She should know to do her job as a woman and princess well!”

Heavens above, this is getting nowhere. I discreetly rolled my eyes. Nothing I say would change the minds of people. However, there was something I could do to preserve the memory and attempt to right the image of my Royal Highness for the future.

And I needed to start on it right away instead of wasting time here. A complete replica of the Zhaoge Millennial, a detailed manual with playing instructions and a record of its history would be my greatest project in this life.

Immediately I knelt to the floor and begged, “I was wrong Mother, I apologize. I was just trying to drive off the teacher so I said things that I knew would make him mad. I’m sorry, Mother, but I really didn’t want to study…” I pouted and grabbed her sleeve, “Forgive me, Mother, and please don’t tell Father…”

“You ingrateful son of mine! You think chasing away your teacher—Oh! My goodness, someone go fetch me the cane! And my smelling salts! I think I’m going to faint!”

[1572 C.E., 217 years after the death of Princess Heyang, on the streets of the capital]

My name is Zhao Xiuyue (赵琇月), and this is my first reincarnation without drinking Meng Po’s soup. I am searching for someone.

I sneaked out of my house today to continue my search. My maidservant was jittery as always, afraid that we would be caught in our disguises.

“C’mon, Wan’er (婉儿)! Stand up straighter! Have more confidence! If you keep wringing your hands together like that, people can immediately tell you are a girl!” I patted my maid on the back and tightened her falling belt. The male clothes were a little loose on her—perhaps I should give her more meat and fatten her up.

“My lady—uh, Young Master, there are lessons with Miss Zhang later—”

“Yes, yes, I know, we’ll be back an hour before the guqin lesson starts. Stop worrying!”

My maid hesitated but gave up trying to convince me. I chuckled at the little girl trailing after me dejectedly. I had never told my maid that we were actually searching for a person, so she had always assumed that I was a mischievous young lady that wanted to explore the outer world and its forbidden pleasures (for noble young ladies) like street food and street performances.

We were passing by a teahouse when a clear voice pierced through a gathering crowd in front of the teahouse. “Hear ye, hear ye! Gather round to hear Silver Tongue Li tell the fascinating story of the greatest villainess in history! Princess Heyang, the black sheep of the Chen dynasty, and the world’s most high-born vamp! Aye, but today is a story that will blow your minds! Princess Heyang, is actually not a traitorous temptress, but actually the Daughter of Destiny that had her pitiful life cut short by a cruel twist of fate! Gather round to hear how the Daughter of Heaven should have lived!”

The storyteller, clothed in bright blue, stood out amongst the crowd holding a large folded fan. People streamed into the teahouse, the wealthier getting a table for drinks while the poorer gathered at the foot of the storyteller’s stage. Grabbing my maidservant, we joined the crowd and took a seat on the benches set out near the stage.

Silver Tongue Li eventually opened his fan and a soft drumbeat sounded in the background. One big wave caught the murmuring crowd’s attention, and more experienced customers shushed the crowd, “It’s starting! Shush now everyone!”

Silver Tongue Li nodded a thanks to the customers who assisted him, “Today I will be telling a story passed down to me in my family—everyone knows Old Li here comes from a long line of storytellers—every word of the story I speak next is wholly true, with not a single word corrected by me!”

My maidservant sneered, “He always says that. Don’t pay him any mind, Young La—Master.”

I signalled her to keep her voice down lest she was heard by storyteller Li.

“This story is my family’s most well-kept secret! My ancestors set a 200-year ban on any of us telling the story in public. When the rebellion happened 200 years ago, authorities arrested any storytellers who dared the speak about the good of Princess Heyang. But 200 years have passed since then and it is time to reveal this story to the world!”

Cheers erupted from the audience. Such stories praising Princess Heyang was not unusual within the common people, but little had made its way down the generations especially after the ban. When I was Xue Lian, and when the Princess was alive, we would have commoners placing gifts on our doorstep. The Princess loved the people, and the people loved her back. No matter how little the gift was—a few potatoes, two stalks of flowers picked from the roadside—the Princess would always accept them. It was no wonder positive stories of her continued to pass down after her death.

“When Princess Heyang was conceived, a call of a dragon was heard in the direction of the Empress Liu Li’s (刘璃) palace, and eunuchs and maids claimed to have saw a dragon playing in the clouds above the Empress’ palace.[7] Emperor Chenxuan was ecstatic and called for a three-day banquet celebrating the auspicious sign.” The storyteller leaned in closer to the audience like he was sharing a secret, “Everyone at the time thought that a son who would take on the throne would be born, but imagine the surprise when what popped out of the Empress was a daughter!”

The rhythm of the soft drumbeats in the background grew faster, giving off the impression of raindrops on a window. Silver Tongue Li snapped his fan, “Nevertheless, when the Daughter of Heaven was born, the Empress’ palace above was full of auspicious dark clouds.” He paused dramatically, “I know everyone is thinking: ‘How could dark clouds be an auspicious sign?’ Indeed, it usually portents doom and gloom, but in this case, it was the most auspicious sign anyone could receive! The empire had been plagued with a drought for years—harvest was almost zero, the people and animals were suffering, but Princess Heyang’s birth brought the rain of salvation! Dark clouds spread across the empire and rain began falling; the dried-up rivers grew deep and broad with water, and people danced in the rain across the empire. Yet this was not the end of the miracle! As the rain poured, a small shaft of sunlight pierced through the clouds and shone right above the Empress’ palace! Emperor Chenxuan wept tears of joy and named the princess: Wang Tianjiao (王天娇). Tianjiao, tianjiao, tianzhijiaozi (天之骄子), Heaven’s favoured one! Her title was also conferred on the spot, Heyang (河阳), symbolizing the gushing rivers and the sunlight that shone on her.”

This time, it was my turn to scoff. What a bunch of baloney. Although the rain that ended the seven-year drought was real, it happened days after the princess was born. Empreror Chenxuan was giddy with joy though, and therefore rewarded anyone he saw that day, including the princess whom he conferred the title Heyang to commemorate the rain. There was no auspicious dragon calling or anything –but I would have loved to see it for myself too.

“As the Daughter of Heaven, Princess Heyang was Chen dynasty—no, China’s greatest beauty of all time! Skin as fair as snow, hair as black as obsidian, lips as small and red as the finest cherries! She possessed not only stunning beauty, but also the greatest wits! It is said that she could solve difficult arithmetic questions by the age of four, memorise three thousand poems by six, and by age twelve, solved another problem that had been giving Emperor Chenxuan headache for years. She eliminated the peasant uprisings in the east provinces by coming up with the famous financial reform of 1338. Amazing!”

Silver Tongue Li clapped and the audience followed. Though his story was quite exaggerated in some ways, Her Royal Highness was indeed a genius that deserved this applause. I was grinning from ear to ear at the praise for my princess.

“Emperor Chenxuan was an emperor with high libido and his number of concubines exceeded more than any other emperor in history. He wanted his daughter to enjoy the pleasures of life and thus granted her to take in two male favourites when she was of age. Upon the news, men across the empire rushed to recommend themselves for the task. There were so many beautiful and educated men across all ages and all strata that vied for the Princess’ affections that the Princess’ palace had to open a room specifically to fit in all the letters that had been sent to her.”

I cringed. Oh dear, Her Royal Highness was the one who requested for the two male favourites though……Like father, like daughter, I suppose. Both father and daughter had something for beautiful persons and merry-making in the bedroom. However, it was true that men had always been smitten with her and would try all sorts of ways to gain her affections. Her Highness welcomed the attention and enjoyed having flings with them.

Silver Tongue Li pointed his fan towards a male audience at the front row. “If you were the Princess, how would you choose?”

The chosen man was bewildered, he was just the shop assistant from the sweets shop next door, how would he know who to choose? “Well, I…I don’t know what the Princess would like, but if it were me, I would choose the richest man!”

The audience cackled and the man turned red with embarrassment. Someone called out from the crowd, “She’s the Princess! She has more money than anyone else! The richest man is like a beggar in her eyes! I say she should choose the most beautiful man to match her!”

“That’s funny! Since she was an incomparable beauty, I say no beautiful man would ever satisfy her when she herself looks more beautiful than anyone else! She should choose the most educated man so she can write poems together with him or whatever it is those nobles do!” Another man piped up, earning the approving hums of the people around him.

Sliver Tongue Li grinned, spinning his fan with a flourish. “See? When someone is too outstanding, it is hard for them to match with someone of satisfactory standards. Seeing that the Princess was having a hard time choosing, Emperor Chenxuan thought: ‘My beloved daughter is blessed by the heavens. Why is there a need to limit her to two?’ And so, he picked the cream of the crop, a hundred men all top in their own expertise, from the thousands of men that offered themselves up for the position. There were men who were unmatched in playing the guqin, men who were unrivalled in writing poems, men who were unmatched in making sweets—”

The sweet shop assistant at the front row blushed.

“—You name it, she had it!” Silver Tongue Li threw his arms open, “She had everything, except for one!” He stopped, holding the audience in suspense.

Then he jabbed a finger at the sky.

Everyone knew what the gesture meant. It meant ‘the person up there’, the ‘Son of Heaven’—the Emperor.

A chorus of ‘ooh’s and ‘ah’s swept across the teahouse.

“Remember the dragon that appeared at her birth? It was the sign of a wise ruler, but Emperor Chenxuan was torn. He didn’t know what to do! He had another son, Wang Hua (王桦), which the Empress gave birth to after Princess Heyang was born. By tradition, the throne had to go to the first son…but the son couldn’t compare in all areas to the Princess!”

The drumbeat became dark and restless. The audience unconsciously leaned in to catch the next words of the storyteller.

“The Daughter of Heaven, blessed in all, was beautiful inside and out. Although she knew she deserved the throne, she also knew the people and the courtiers would object to it. The Heavens had never chosen a woman to sit on the throne before, and she did not want her father and brother to torment themselves over who should be emperor. More importantly, she did not want the country to be in turmoil. So the beautiful and wise princess decided to give up on the throne.”

The crowd murmured in pity. An audience member couldn’t take it anymore and yelled across the teahouse floor, “The people wouldn’t object! Who wouldn’t want a beautiful and clever princess as our ruler!”

A woman carrying a large basket of vegetables on her head at the entrance of the teahouse called out, “That’s right, that’s right!” She was about to return home after groceries when the swelling crowd caught her interest, and she joined in the session.

“The courtiers who objected to it has worse eyes than the old dog at my farm!”

I smiled at the indignation of the audience. Her Highness would be smiling too if she could hear the love people had for her even 200 years later. It wasn’t as if the common people didn’t understand that the natural order had the yin, submissive women placed inferiorly to the yang, dominant men, but when raising your children required the effort of everyone to work in the fields together, one hardly cared about whatever that uppity Confucius said. Compared to the elites, commoners had a looser version of patriarchy that they practice. [8] Man or woman didn’t matter when it came to who was ruling them. As long as they did a good job, the people would support them.[9] I, as a servant who came from a commoners’ family knew it best.

Another audience member watching from the second floor of the teahouse hollered, “Stop interrupting Old Li! I want to hear the rest of the story!”

“Right, right, ladies and gentlemen, settle down! Where was I again? Oh yes, Emperor Chenxuan was getting old in age. He wanted to spend more time cavorting around with his concubines and Empress, so he retired and handed the throne to Wang Hua, who became Emperor Chenying. Princess Heyang married a beautiful and kind man whom she fell in love with during one of her excursions, and they lived together at an estate not far from the palace. She let all her male favourites go free since she was going to live with her husband. Many of the men who were madly in love with the Princess refused, but they had no choice but to go as the Princess’ new estate could never fit all of them.[10]

The drummer struck the drum fiercely, two ominous thuds that immediately brought the dark atmosphere back. The storyteller bent down, his voice low and gravelly, “The loving couple was living their married life happily. Yet the story does not end in a happy ending for the two – this was only the start of Princess Heyang’s misfortune!

“Emperor Chenying was jealous! He was the emperor, but the people only talked about Princess Heyang and not about him! He wanted to prove himself as the true candidate for the throne—he didn’t want to be second to his sister, a woman! He wanted to earn the throne—not to get it like a piece of candy that his sister gave away to him! So he called for Princess Heyang to the palace one night, and poisoned her tea!”

The crowd gasped in horror.

A discordant voice cut in, “What complete and utter nonsense! I see this is why commoners remain commoners! Only can the ignorant come up with such a depraved and distasteful story!”

Everyone in the teahouse turned to look at the uninvited newcomer. Dressed in embroidered silk, an expensive-looking jade-embellished headband, and holding an ornate fan—anyone could tell at first glance he was a rich young nobleman.

“Who are you, pipsqueak?!” Feeling insulted, a large man stood up from his seat, thumping his teacup onto the table. People from the neighbouring table hurried to pull the man back from his death.

“C’mon, Daquan! Don’t pick a fight with him! He’s obviously a nobleman! You can’t win!”

At the sight of the large man, guards appeared by the side of the nobleman, their hands on the hilts of their swords, ready to cut down anyone looking to hurt their young master.

The young man snorted in disbelief, “Look at that. How uncouth.” He then pointed his fan at Silver Tongue Li on the stage. “You! You should be ashamed to be spreading such lies! I have been listening to your story from the start, but I can no longer sit back and do nothing about this morally degenerate gathering!

“What do you mean by Princess Heyang giving the throne away to Emperor Chenying? It is totally untrue! The throne belonged to Emperor Chenying by common sense, by morals and by nature! If she really was destined to be the emperor, she would have been born in a man’s body. Having brains is not the only criteria to rulership. Hens should not announce the dawn! And what do you mean by Princess Heyang choosing only two male favourites and letting them go when she married? The corrupt Princess was sexually voracious—she kept many men in her palace, and even after she married, she never stopped cheating on her husband!

“She was clever and a genius of the century, yes, but she was a greedy woman! Playing around with men like a courtesan wasn’t enough for her—she wanted to snatch the throne from her brother too! She used the men she seduced to wrest power away from the rightful owner of the throne! You illiterate peasants, only knowing to spout whatever nonsense you find invigorating! Go read the historical annals written by the great men of our empire before you spread such rubbish to the world!”[11]

I shot up, fists curled at my sides, “You’re wrong! She didn’t want the throne at all!”

“My lady!” Wan’er whispered anxiously, grabbing me by the hand to prevent me from doing something stupid. Her eyes darted around, trying to search for the nearest exit. “What are you doing my lady! You’ll be in danger!”

I ignored the tugging on my hand, fixing a searing glare on the obnoxious nobleman. “You twat! You’re the one who should not speak when you obviously don’t know a single thing! How could you liken the Princess to a courtesan? Courtesans are forced to serve men, but the Princess was different! She had men flocking to her, begging her to let them serve her instead! You’re just jealous she could get more men than you can get women! Before you insult anyone, you should take a look at yourself first!”

Someone on the upper floor began to clap, but they faltered when the young nobleman glowered at them.

The guards pulled their swords slightly from the sheathes, the cold metal catching the glint of the sunlight through the windows. People around the guards scurried for safety, far from the reach of the swords, but still close enough to watch the drama unfolding before them. The air was charged with electricity.

 The young nobleman’s face scrunched in anger and he bellowed, shaking a finger at me, “Say that again! I dare you!”

“My lady!” Wan’er was about to cry, sniffling hard as she tried to drag me towards the exit before I got my identity and hers exposed. “Please, let’s just go!”

“I don’t need you to ‘dare’ me, I would have continued even if you didn’t! Princess Heyang never used any men, she never wanted the throne, she never plotted any scheme! So what if she had more than a few men by her side even while married? Emperor Emeritus Chenxuan allowed it, so what excuses do you have? Who are you to judge her?” I shook off my maid’s hand, and spit on the floor in his direction.

“Catch that man! How dare he insult a noble of the Ding family!” The nobleman waved his guards forward, blubbering with anger. “I want him in jail by the next hour!”

“My lady!” Wan’er almost screamed our identities out as the guards barrelled towards us. I grabbed her hand and ran for the exit.

Unfortunately, we were caught three shops down the street—the Ding Young Master had called all his guards to surround the street, and we two were lacking in exercise to outrun the military-trained men. When we were sent to the magistrate, our identities were exposed and soon rumours that the third lady of the Zhao family was a lunatic spread throughout the capital. My family, ashamed that I had run out of my boudoir and defended the evil Princess Heyang in public, disowned me and sent me to a monastery.

I could only leave the monastery on rare occasions, but I never gave up on searching for the Princess.

[1354 C.E., 10 months before the death of Princess Heyang, at the capital of Zhaoge]

 My name is Xue Lian, and I am the first maidservant of Princess Heyang.

The Princess had taken in another new male favourite. This time, it was a dashing young juren (举人), who had come to the capital for the jinshi (进士) exam. The Princess was enjoying tea with the man in her chambers, and I had the important duty of checking his background.

I took a few steps from the door, ensuring that the scholar inside wouldn’t be able to hear what I was going to do. “Report,” I ordered.

A person dressed in all black appeared from the shadows, bowed then handed me a small scroll. “He is from the province of Yadong. His grandfather once held a low-level official position, and his father had failed the civil service examination at the juren level. Now they have been pinning their hopes on their current son, Zeng Wencheng (曾文诚). They were once a low-level noble as well, but they spent almost all of their assets on the studies of the father and Zeng Wencheng, and now they are in heavy debt. They had been hoping for Zeng Wencheng to pass the metropolitan exam last spring, but Zeng Wencheng failed.”[12]

“Do you have his answer scroll?”

“Yes.” The shadow guard pulled out a thick stack of papers rolled and bundled tightly from his clothes.

“Well done. I will call for you in two days. Remember to keep tracking Zeng Wencheng’s movements for the next month.”

“Understood. This subordinate will take his leave now.” I nodded my permission, and the darkly dressed man melded into the night.

I looked towards my colleague and best friend, “Xue Lan (雪兰), watch over the Princess’ chambers. I will be back soon.”

“Don’t worry, just go.” She grinned and waved a hand.

I was making my way to the Princess’ study to drop off the papers when I bumped into the Prince Consort. “Master Su,” I curtsied.

“Is the Princess busy?” He glanced at the papers in my arms.

“Yes, Her Highness is having tea with the scholar that came to our estate not long ago.”

The spring night was cool and breezy, the wind bringing a hint of rain from afar. The Prince Consort turned his eyes to the full moon hanging bright above us.

“I see.”

Having tea at this time of the day only meant one thing. Every person on the estate knew what “having tea” actually implied.

Even though Prince Consort Su was the husband of Princess Heyang, he had another name in the gossip circles of the nobility: main husband Su. There were a bunch of other nicknames for the multiple male favourites the Princess had too—like second husband Ye, the Four Consorts and the Lord of Refined Countenance.

“Is that the new material on Scholar Zeng?” Prince Consort Su held his hand out for the papers, “Let me have a look.”

“Yes, Master Su.”

Like father like daughter, Emperor Chenxuan had the greatest count of concubines in history, and the daughter was a famous philanderer. To ensure none of her male favourites or exes became jealous of each other, she set strict rules for the men that wanted to have a relationship with her. If a male favourite did not follow the rules, the relationship would be broken immediately with effect. For a male favourite that was kicked out from the Princess’ inner circle this way, he had no chance of re-entering. Only exes that had an amicable break up with the Princess was allowed to restart a relationship with the Princess. The ‘main husband’, Prince Consort Su, was not exempted from the rules as well. It was something he had chose to undertake when he was proposed to by the Princess.

As such, every male favourite did not have petty jealous fights with each other, nor did they try to frame each other like the concubines in Emperor Chenxuan’s harem did. The nobles always shamed the Princess for having a “messy private life”, but I daresay Her Highness has the most peaceful inner courtyard than any other men in the empire.

The Prince Consort flipped through Scholar Zeng’s answer sheet under the bright moonlight, smiling a little as he read a particular section. “I can see why the Princess took a liking to him now. He has piqued my interest as well. What about his family?”

I repeated the information from the shadow guard to the Prince Consort. He hummed, looking through the scroll of information on Scholar Zeng. “Competition within the juren has ramped up lately.[13] So he’s here to get a sponsorship from the Princess. Or maybe a direct access to a low-level official position in the capital?”

“I am afraid we do not know yet,” I replied. The scholar recommended himself to the Princess only a week ago, and it was too early for the scholar to ask for favours from the Princess.

“You are right,” Prince Consort Su smiled, passing the papers to his servant to tidy back into neat scrolls. “Thank you, Xue Lian. I will take the papers to the Princess’ study. I have some important documents from the palace to pass to her as well. Good night.”

“Take care and good night, Master Su.”

[1354 C.E., 7 months before the death of Princess Heyang, at the palace of Zhaoge]

There was one thing Princess Heyang cherished more than her estate full of men—her family. It was rare for an imperial family to have feelings for one another, or even act like a true family, but Princess Heyang was the glue to the family of four. Perhaps it was because the Emperor Emeritus truly loved his daughter and spoiled her very much, that the Princess grew up with lots of love and a certain air of dominance. If she wanted something, she would get it.

Hence, by her incessant request, the Emperor Emeritus, Empress Dowager, Emperor Chenying and Princess herself was to have a family dinner on the fourth week of every month.

Many praises of the imperial family being the perfect model family was always sung by the people and courtiers, and it cannot be denied that they were close knit. Emperor Emeritus always held a certain respect and love for the Empress Dowager—mainly because she was open-minded and actively held concubine selections for the Emperor. People praised her for her virtuosity in not being jealous and bringing in new concubines for the Emperor while keeping his inner palace in order, but many also criticised her for allowing too many concubines in. They placed the fault on the Empress Dowager for causing Emperor Emeritus to retire early to enjoy the rest of his life with his concubines, and it was her fault for not teaching Princess Heyang well that she ended up learning such bad habits from her father.[14]

The Empress Dowager meanwhile, doted on her two children equally, and Princess Heyang since young had spoiled her little brother Emperor Chenying. Although timid, less outspoken than the Princess and average at his studies compared to Princess Heyang, Emperor Chenying always stuck like glue to his sister’s side. They played together, ate together, studied together and even tried to sleep together—but were always forced back to their own bedrooms by a haggle of eunuchs and maids.

They only grew more distant after Princess Heyang married Prince Consort Su and moved out of the palace, and after Emperor Chenying married Empress Shangguan.

Princess Heyang had the unique authorization to enter and leave the Palace as she liked, which was granted by the then-Emperor Chenxuan, and continued by Emperor Chenying. However, she never abused the authorization and kept an appropriate distance. The Princess was not stupid—she knew many were waiting to catch any mistakes she was making. After all, even if she had declared no interest in the imperial throne, she was still the greatest threat to her little brother. She was the genius Princess of a millennium with a list of accomplishments, held extremely high reputation within the commoners, and had special privileges granted to her like her harem of men and her unobstructed entry and exit to the Palace. If she had been a prince, any single thing on the list would have been enough to lop her head off to prevent competition.

Still, even if they did not meet frequently anymore, Princess Heyang had utmost faith in her little brother. She trusted that her brother was not so insecure in his position as to go exiling her to the borders. After all, if her brother held any distrust towards her, he would not have given her the permission to freely enter the palace. It was also why she openly dated some of his court officials, although she was careful to not go too high up the ladder. Rarely did any of her brother’s court officials meet her eye, and even those who did meet her eye, she had rules that the men might never accept, so all in all, she had few former lovers in court.

“Princess Heyang greets Your Majesty and Empress—”

“Sister! Just skip the formalities!” Emperor Chenying lifted Princess Heyang’s arm. Empress Shangguan smiled and gave a small nod to Princess Heyang.

“Alright,” the Princess straightened immediately with a cheeky smile, and pinched the Emperor on the cheeks. “How has my little Majesty been doing? Did you miss big sister? Hmm?”

“…Sister!”

“Hurry up and take your seats, Empress, Emperor and Princess. Where are your manners?” The Empress Dowager sent them a stern look from the table.

After greeting their parents, the family took their seats. Dinner was served and everything was going well at the table.

I was serving Her Highness a spoonful of egg tofu when she suddenly perked up, ornaments in her hair tinkling in response.

The other four people at the table shot her quizzical looks.

Her Highness dabbed at her mouth with a napkin before speaking, “It’s nothing, a solution for the river dam problem at Linzhou Province suddenly popped into my head. It’s been giving you quite a hard time, isn’t it, Your Majesty?” Seeing the Emperor nod, the princess smiled and continued, “It’s alright, sister will explain later. Let us continue our dinner. We should not speak while eating.”

The table of people agreed in silence. Something like this was not uncommon. Princess Heyang always experienced moments of epiphany seemingly out of nowhere, and many in the family had already gotten used to it.

I caught Empress Shangguan observing the smiling Princess for a moment before turning back to her meal. For some reason, I had never liked the Empress. She was not rude, nor was she overly friendly, and she always held others at the perfect distance of an Empress. Exemplary of her indeed, but it nevertheless rubbed me off the wrong way.

It was after dinner when the talking took place.

Princess Heyang took a sip of her tea, “How did Your Majesty find the paper I showed you last month? I took extra care in crafting a difficult question, but my darl—Scholar Zeng had such a perfect answer I was taken aback. It is a wonder why he did not pass the metropolitan exam.”

Emperor Chengying frowned, recalling on the paper Princess Heyang had passed to him a month ago, telling him that his civil examination had failed to select such a talent. “It was very well-written indeed. There must be some fault within the system. I investigated his answer sheet from the metropolitan exam last spring, and it held amazing answers as well. I have already sent my men on it.

“I had wanted to clean out the system years ago according to your suggestions, and have been investigating since then. Now I actually do have an excuse to start somewhere—all thanks to big sister,” Emperor Chengying’s frown was replaced by a smile. He turned to Empress Shangguan and patted her hand. “Big sister is always helping me solve the problems that keep me up at night.”

Emperor Emeritus Chenxuan shook his head, “You rely too much on your sister, Chenying. You’re not little anymore. It’s time to wise up. Don’t make me regr—”

The atmosphere dipped to a chilling cold and something flashed past the Emperor’s eyes. It was too quick for me to discern what it was, but it certainly did not make me feel good.

A quick pinch from the Empress Dowager and a quick interjection from the princess forced the rest of Emperor Emeritus’ words to fade away. “Don’t worry, it is my duty as your big sister after all! If my little Majesty finds something hard to solve, you can consult me! Sister has been very lonely…Your Majesty has been growing bigger and being able to solve more things on his own, but big sister just wants her little brother to depend on her……” Princess Heyang pouted, bringing a handkerchief to her eyes to dab at non-existent tears.

“Sister… It is as Father says, I’m not little anymore!”

“Alright, alright, Your Majesty, please do not be angry. Your Majesty is clever and strong! Oh yes, about the Linzhou Province……”

[1355 C.E., 3 weeks before the death of Princess Heyang, at the palace of Zhaoge]

It was another family gathering day. The imperial family had finished their meal and was enjoying a rare outing to the outer palace, where the newest gazebo by the water was built. I had stepped away to order some jellies for them to enjoy when the Minister of Justice blocked my path.

“…Sir,” I curtsied, the row of eunuchs and maids behind me followed.

This was the outer palace, and ministers were allowed to enter. But it was late at night and there was no reason for the minister to stay. Unless……

I turned to the curious maids and eunuchs behind me. “Send the jellies to the gazebo. If anyone asks for me, tell them I am still at the kitchen. If I find out that any of you dare to say anything other than what I have just told you, I will—” I mimed cutting a head off. “And this good Sir here will make sure there will be nothing left of you to even feed to dogs.”

The Minister of Justice maintained his coldest stare to the eunuchs and maids who scuttered back to the gazebo with their fastest speed.

The Minister of Justice dragged me to a discreet corner, and looked around to make sure no one was within earshot. “Xue Lian, there is something going on with Empress Shangguan.”

“Will my Lord please explain it with haste and clarity? We do not have much time.”

“Cold as ever, Xue Lian. But I digress. There has been some movements in court with personnel. There was nothing suspicious about it when they began the changes months ago, but I recently chanced upon a clue which linked many of the personnel movement to distant relatives of Empress Shangguan, or to people who have connections to Empress Shangguan. I fear Empress Shangguan may be planning something—no—Emperor Chenying may be planning something. With his Empress.” The Minister’s tone was very grave, “And I suspect it may be something to do with Her Highness.”

“What do you mean, my Lord?” I steadied my shaking hand. The candlelight in the lantern flickered.

“There were also people investigating the exes and past lovers of Her Highness in court. The timing is too coincidental to ignore. I couldn’t tell if they were under the Empress’ command, or that a separate group has started investigating too. They haven’t discovered me, but well—I mean it has been almost 20 years since we last broke up, and we were ten—“ The Minister of Justice cleared his throat awkwardly.  “I am trying to keep tabs on the situation. They are extremely good at covering their tracks and I have only been able to uncover this much. Please, do relay the message to the Princess. She must keep her guard up.”

“Understood, my Lord.”

When we returned to the estate, I spoke of my encounter with the Minister of Justice to the Princess. The Princess had already known about the personnel changes months ago, but she saw no harm in allowing Emperor Chenying stabilise his power through his Empress.

“The court’s power is split between Father and His Majesty—Father may be retired, but he still holds quite an influence over the old officials that used to work for him. My little brother probably wants to take some of the power, but he can’t touch the old officials, so he has to do it through Empress Shangguan.” Princess Heyang reassured me, patting my hand, “Don’t look so worried, Xue Lian. Everything is fine! The people investigating my past lovers…hmph! Many people have always tried to investigate my lovers for blackmail material or to try to get to know my tastes, it’s all too common. It’s just a coincidence, Xue Lian.”

The Princess’ cheery smile that night was forever burned into my brain.

Because at the next family gathering, my Princess would never smile at like that again.

[1355 C.E., the day of the death of Princess Heyang, at the palace of Zhaoge]

It had been out of the norm for the Emperor to call us for a gathering in the afternoon instead of the usual dinner.

But I see what the reason was now.

“What do you mean, I started a rebellion?” Her Highness’ voice was shaking, clutching at the table before her. “EXPLAIN!”

“I apologize, your Highness. I—”

Princess Heyang grabbed the eunuch by the collar, “TELL ME!”

“I’m really sorry, your Highness! But—”

A few slaps across the eunuch’s face had him spilling the situation outside the room Princess Heyang was confined to.

General Murong Bai had called a rebellion in the name of the Princess. Murong Bai claimed to be the lover of Princess Heyang, and they had worked together to slowly strip the Emperor of his power. Official Zheng Wencheng, the renowned scholar that had rose quickly in position after the corruption reform and deep cleanse of the civil examination board by the Emperor, had joined the rebellion and was claiming that he was doing this under the threat of the Princess who was holding his family hostage.

Even though we had checked his background thoroughly, Zheng Wencheng had turned out to be Emperor Chengying’s man.

The Emperor Emeritus had been slain by the rebels, and the Empress Dowager was locked up in her palace.

“Your Highness…Your Highness!” I rushed forward to catch the fainting princess. All blood had drained from her face and I was sure mine did not look better. I couldn’t tell if it was her that was shaking, or me that was shaking. Tears blurred my vision, but I held my princess’ hand and wiped hers. “It’s okay…Your Highness…everything will be fine…we will find a way out…”

“I-I forgot something, Xue Lian…” The princess hiccupped, tears streaming even harder down her face, she was crying so hard I had a hard time making out her next words. “…I…I forgot to count myself in…I forgot…that I was part of…Xue Lian…!”

My poor little princess wailed silently in my arms. She trusted her brother so much that she had confidently counted herself out of the power equation. The actual power situation in court was a triangle, made up of Emperor Chenying, Emperor Emeritus Chenxuan, and the Princess herself.

Emperor Chenying never came to visit his sister. But he sent two bowls of poison, and a long letter addressed to Her Highness.

In the letter, he wrote the long years of humiliation he suffered under the shadow of his elite sister, always being compared to his sister and insulted for being inferior to a woman. Even in the eyes of Emperor Emeritus Chenxuan, he was second to his sister. The Emperor Emeritus would always criticise him when he made a misstep in his policies, and lament about how Princess Heyang was not born a boy. Emperor Chenying had quietly accepted the situation, but His Empress helped him open his eyes to the unfairness of it all.

Princess Heyang cried and cried, her body wracked with sobs as she apologised to her brother, clutching the letter to her chest. Her tears had never dried since we were locked in this room.

My Princess was so kind, she blamed herself for not understanding her brother’s feelings earlier. I didn’t. I blamed the Empress, and I blamed the weak Emperor the most.

It was deep in the night when we received news that everyone at the Princess’ estate had been executed. The “rebellion” had been put down as well.

They were just waiting for us to go as well.

Her Highness and I were embracing each other, but not even our shared body heat could warm the coldness in our limbs, nor the coldness in our hearts.

“Xue Lian…” Her Highness croaked, her voice gone from the sobbing. “…Xue Lian…”

“Yes, Your Highness? I’m here. What do you need?” I stroked her hair, curling my arms tighter around her.

“…Are you…thirsty…? I’m thirsty…Xue Lian…”

My heart dropped. I knew what the princess wanted us to do. I felt my throat tighten and my lips tremble, but no tears came. We had nothing left to give anymore.

“I will bring you something to drink, Your Highness.” I looked to the table, where the two bowls of poison still sat.

She sent me a small smile, and I left her embrace to bring the two bowls.

“Xue Lian…if I tell you I’m scared…will you accompany me…?” Her Highness dragged one of the bowls closer to her.

“I will go anywhere with you, Your Highness.”

“But what if we get separated? It’s very big down there, and there are so many people there…”

“I will find you no matter what, Your Highness. You don’t have to be afraid.”

“Promise?”

I linked hands with the princess, downing the bowls together.

“Promise.”

[2022 C.E., 667 years after the death of Princess Heyang, in a high school]

I was curled up in the corner of a staircase when someone tapped on my shoulder.

“Excuse me, are you okay?”

I blinked through tears to see a familiar face before me. The same beauty mark under her left eye, the nose, the mouth…

“Hello? Are you okay?” She waved a hand in front of the frozen me. “I’m Wang Jiaojiao (王娇娇), from the class two doors down. I saw you running here and I thought you might need some help.”

She gave me a few tissues and opened her arms wide. “Do you need a hug? My mother says I give very warm hugs. You might—oof! Oh dear, you really needed one did you?”

My princess had come to find me instead.

THE END

Explanation of Project

I decided to write a fictional story deconstructing the historiography of women rulers and how they were portrayed by historians in imperial China. There are certain methods that the ancient historians apply to vilify the women ruler. After understanding the story, the reader can come to discern the plausible exaggerations and untruths in historical sources regarding women rulers.

 First, the woman ruler is always wanton and sexually licentious.[15] As these women broke the order of harmony, they had to be vilified and portrayed as morally bankrupt. Historical writers in Song dynasty and especially the Ming and Qing, would even make the truth up in official historical annals. A real-life example was Wu Zetian and her male favourites. In the Old Tang History, there was no suggestion of a sexual relationship between Wu Zetian and her male favourites, but the New Tang History which was written in Song dynasty, wrote that the favourites “gained her favour”.[16] In the short story, you can see how Princess Heyang’s number of male favourites was written to an enormous size as time passed and the men became the victims of her sexual promiscuity. The historians would reduce the image of the woman ruler to a simple carnal beast, thus justifying the rule against female dominance. [17]

 Secondly, the image of women as jealous shrews, unscrupulous villains and promiscuous women in historical records is due to male ancient historians judging them “as a woman in a private space”, rather than judging them according to the standard of what an emperor should be.[18] For male emperors, they are judged first on their political achievements, their ability to rule and then lastly his lasciviousness, number of people killed and his concubines. For female rulers like Empress Lu, Emperor Wu, they are judged first by their nepotism (interpersonal relationships), lasciviousness, number of people killed, her male favourites, and then lastly her political achievements.[19] Their negative sides are therefore amplified in historical annals and in later dynasties, turn out to be completely fabricated to suit the narrative the government wants to promulgate. A real-life example is how most people in contemporary society imagine Wu Zetian to be a cruel shrew. There are two famous examples that people use: killing her own child then blaming it on the Empress, and the barbaric execution of Empress Wang and Pure Consort Xiao by cutting off their limbs and fermenting it into wine. These two examples are embellished and twisted in historical books in Song and Ming dynasty. The child-killing version only appears after the Song dynasty. Similarly for the execution of Empress Wang and Pure Consort Xiao, neither Wu Zetian’s involvement nor the brutal execution method was recorded in the Tang Huiyao (Old Tang History gave a contradictory, vague account). Only in the works of later dynasties like the New Tang History and Zizhi Tongjian, were the brutal details copied from a Tang novel Da Tang Xinyu written as the truth into the historical annals.[20] Similarly in the short novel, you can see how the cruelty of Princess Heyang is made up when there in actuality she treats everyone kindly.

 Starting from the Song dynasty, women were increasingly sequestered in domestic space, and their rights restricted. In the ontological, cosmological and social sense, female are yin, and therefore should be soft, gentle and submissive to the male yang, which is dominant, hard and strong.[21] In Ming dynasty, prevention of female regents was institutionalized.[22] There was a need to emphasize the violation of order of society and nature by female rulers, thus they demonized them by portraying them as ruthless and wanton. Even in contemporary times, the stories of women rulers continue to be manipulated according to the needs to the government.[23]

 Third, I also wanted to show the difference in popular imagination of the people in ancient times. It is almost always a complete opposite from the official narratives. Official narratives portray the woman ruler as evil because they have a didactic purpose and duty to protect the natural order, thus vilifying the woman ruler would be an easy warning to others.[24] The commoners, however, loved stories that was relatable, diverse and they didn’t care about whatever Confucian ethics the elites conformed to.[25] Many people in modern society only study the official books, thus we have the erroneous assumption that people in the past did not accept or love women rulers (at least regarding Wu Zetian).

 I always had an interest in female rulers of imperial China and knew I wanted to write about them. I chose to write a fictional story because it is the medium where many vernacular writers throughout history have given their own spin on constructing the image of a female ruler. Some choose to demonize the female ruler, yet there are also literati that give her a positive image.[26]

[1] Meng Po is the goddess of forgetfulness in Chinese mythology. She serves a soup, Meng Po soup, that wipes the memory of the reincarnating soul so they can live without the burden of their past lives.

[2] This is a fictional dynasty. All characters within this story are fictitious. The years do not correspond to the real-life dynasties.

[3] A ruler-shaped instrument used to slap children on the palms or the buttocks.

[4] Chinese historians would blame the fall of a dynasty on women, for example, the fall of Western Han. They would sum it up to because Empress Wang Zhengjun allowed her clansman Wang Mang to gain power, it eventually led to the fall of the dynasty. 范若兰, “古代女政治家研究中的道德和政治标准,” 妇女研究论丛 4 (1992): 54, https://chn-oversea-cnki-net.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/KCMS/detail/detail.aspx?dbcode=CJFD&dbname=CJFD9093&filename=FNYJ199204010&uniplatform=OVERSEA&v=YsOXni42SWfr_gcopSItN-9MFku9gmMl1ja5chP_cA6yWBl_SNQhNHIgUpBKGq3-.

[5] From the Ming dynasty onwards, popular fiction increasingly depicted loyal officials being relied on for governance by Wu Zetian as she was incapable in political affairs. 韩林, “武则天故事的文本演变与文化内涵,” (dissertation, 南开大学,  2012), 75,  https://chn-oversea-cnki-net.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/KCMS/detail/detail.aspx?dbcode=CDFD&dbname=CDFD1214&filename=1013175121.nh&uniplatform=OVERSEA&v=LgNWwyS5GZnSZWA7Sa3AL-NGNA5C7UcqV7ujfEGqU7Ag2dldalU0RB_OOphfAkNV.

[6] ‘Three Obediences and Four Virtues’ means obeyance to the father, husband and son; the virtues consisted of moral discipline, proper speech manner, modest appearance and diligence. Wong Lee, “Women’s Education in Traditional and Modern China,” Women’s History Review 4, no. 3 (January 1995): 347, https://doi.org/10.1080/09612029500200092.

[7] Auspicious signs are often used to justify an emperor’s rule. During the Tang dynasty, there were legends that the auspicious sign of a jiao (蛟) with thunder and lightning appeared when Wu Zetian was conceived. Throughout Wu Zetian’s reign and even after the Ming dynasty, the common people continued to hold a positive image of Wu, seeing her as wise emperor and deifying her in their stories. 刘健, “武则天形象演变研究 ,” (dissertation, 陕西理工学院, 2013), 7-8, https://chn-oversea-cnki-net.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/KCMS/detail/detail.aspx?dbcode=CMFD&dbname=CMFD201402&filename=1014211402.nh&uniplatform=OVERSEA&v=EquRwypYP1PkI31lV0xLHEFlxqiXiYtObDyT3SXSjbZvMxz_E-O6K8Lu09QMFMmH; 韩林, “武则天故事的文本演变与文化内涵,” 145-163.

[8] 韩林, “武则天故事的文本演变与文化内涵,” 163-164.

[9] 韩林, “武则天故事的文本演变与文化内涵,” 215-216.

[10] Popular stories tend to over-beautify Wu Zetian and remove all negative presentations in their stories or tweak negative events to present a positive image. For example, Wu Zetian and her male favourites were removed entirely from popular stories. 韩林, “武则天故事的文本演变与文化内涵,” 214-217.

[11] Where popular stories often built a positive image of Wu Zetian, official records always went in the opposite direction. For example, in the official record about the haunting of dead souls of Empress Wang and Consort Xiao in the palace, Wu Zetian was portrayed as feeling guilty, timid and afraid. However, in the popular folk version, Wu Zetian was unafraid, dignified and solved the haunting problem immediately.  韩林, “武则天故事的文本演变与文化内涵,” 215.

[12] The metropolitan exam was the next exam that scholars of the provincial level (juren) must take to enter the palace examination and get a position at the Hanlin Academy. Qin Jiang and James Kai-sing Kung, “Social Mobility in Late Imperial China: Reconsidering the ‘Ladder of Success’ Hypothesis,” Modern China 47, no. 5 (April 2020): 632-633, https://doi.org/10.1177/0097700420914529.

[13] There was intense competition in the civil examination during the Ming dynasty—only 5% would see to enter officialdom, and most of the 5% would remain at the lower echelons of officialdom. Many people who failed the exams would take on alternative careers like teachers, notaries, priests and such. Benjamin A. Elman, “Unintended Consequences of Classical Literacies for the Early Modern Chinese Civil Examinations,” in Rethinking East Asian Languages, Vernaculars, and Literacies, 1000–1919, ed. Benjamin A. Elman, vol. 115 (Leiden: Brill, 2014), 204-216, https://brill-com.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/display/title/26299.

[14] A real example is Empress Zhangsun who is lauded as the model virtuous wife, but is also criticised by some historians as being too virtuous and taking in too many concubines for Emperor Tangzong, causing Emperor Tangzong to become more debauched. 范若兰, “古代女政治家研究中的道德和政治标准,” 53-54.

[15] Keith McMahon, “The Polyandrous Empress: Imperial Women and Their Male Favorites,” in Wanton Women in Late-Imperial Chinese Literature: Models, Genres, Subversions and Traditions, ed. Mark J. Stevenson and Cuncun Wu (Leiden: Brill, 2017), 35.

[16] McMahon, “The Polyandrous Empress”, 38-39.

[17] McMahon, “The Polyandrous Empress”, 48.

[18] 范若兰, “古代女政治家研究中的道德和政治标准,” 54; Xianlin Song, “Re-Gendering Chinese History: Zhao Mei’s Emperor Wu Zetian,” East Asia 27, no. 4 (2010): 366, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12140-010-9122-z.

[19] 范若兰, “古代女政治家研究中的道德和政治标准,” 55.

[20] 盛景艳, “武则天‘奸人妒妇’形象考辩,” 乾陵文化研究, 2016, 50-53, https://chn-oversea-cnki-net.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/KCMS/detail/detail.aspx?dbcode=CCJD&dbname=CCJDLAST2&filename=QLYJ201600007&uniplatform=OVERSEA&v=Hevo_tSSnhnFkVCtJLh1AUMjKwu4zB98p3lMQoQ-PS86zKZn8jGjCBk6Pc8DDYl5.

[21] Song, “Re-Gendering Chinese History”, 365.

[22] Keith McMahon, “Women Rulers in Imperial China,” Nan Nü 15, no. 2 (2013): 212, https://doi.org/10.1163/15685268-0152p0001.

[23] See Guo Nan, “Analysis of the Image of Wu Zetian in Junior Middle School Teaching Materials,” Chinese Education & Society 36, no. 3 (2003): pp. 34-42, https://doi.org/10.2753/ced1061-1932360334.

[24] 韩林, “武则天故事的文本演变与文化内涵,” 215.

[25] 韩林, “武则天故事的文本演变与文化内涵,” 163-217.

[26] 韩林, “武则天故事的文本演变与文化内涵,” abstract, I-II; 刘健, “武则天形象演变研究 ,” abstract, I.