The Secret History of Empress Xiaozhuang

Author: Yang Haiwei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: Known as the "Empress Mother who brought prosperity to the Qing Dynasty," Empress Xiaozhuang (Dai Yuer) experienced three reigns—Tianzhu, Shizhu, and Shengzu—during her lifetime. From a charming Mongolian princess, she was thrust to the pinnacle of ruthless power by fate, and the rise or fall of the Great Qing lay in her hands. She was always at the center of a whirlwind of love, family, and power, enduring humiliation and hardship, holding up a precarious situation, and turning the tide with extraordinary wisdom and perseverance. In the end, she established the young Xuanye as emperor, whose reign was known as Kangxi, laying the foundation for the prosperous era of the Great Qing Dynasty. Empress Xiaozhuang was not only a great woman celebrated through the ages but also an ordinary woman filled with pain and misfortune. Behind her wise and decisive decisions lay a frail and sorrowful face. Her beloved husband, lover, and beloved son—all succumbed to the madness and death brought by love. This book vividly and authentically recreates the legendary life of Empress Xiaozhuang.