Yang Guifei

Author: Nan Gong Bo
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: "The Empress Yang" and her story have been a common theme in Chinese literary creation for over a thousand years. I have written about this story five times in my twenty years, each with a different perspective and form. This book, however, is comprehensive, covering the entire life of "The Empress Yang." In this book, the author strives to verify facts and events, aiming for authenticity. Within the bounds of what is possible, the author uses the techniques of fiction to organize and weave these elements together. The main developments of people and events in The Empress Yang largely align with the historical context of the time, and the accuracy of its portrayal exceeds that of existing official historical records. Writing a novel is not necessarily required for such precision, but the author chose to do so in the hope of creating a new path for historical fiction. Whether this path is suitable or correct is something the author cannot determine alone. I have attempted to blend the style of European historical fiction with Chinese sentiment in The Empress Yang, and the author believes he has succeeded. Empress Yang, one of the most outstanding women in Chinese history. Chinese history, dating back to the least-documented Xia Dynasty, has seen outstanding women in nearly every dynasty. "Outstanding" refers to their physical beauty and their connection to politics; any beautiful woman from any dynasty would not gain fame or be remembered by posterity without strong political backing.