Superwoman The Official History of Imperial Concubines in China

Author: Shangguan Ping
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-10-26
Features: They can be called the [superwomen] among women, and their lives as imperial consorts were extremely luxurious. However, their destinies were often not in their own hands. This book explores their extraordinary lives and inner worlds in a categorized and interpretive manner. As a companion to A Comprehensive History of Chinese Emperors, it also adopts a classified discussion style. The book selects several imperial consorts with clear records in historical texts from the establishment of the Western Han Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty, focusing on these supreme yet unique women at the pinnacle of feudal society. It examines the decline of feudal politics through their lens. In the long feudal era, imperial consorts, as important figures in the ruling group, exerted significant influence on dynasties and even entire eras through their words and actions in the palace. Particularly, due to their pursuit of personal goals such as power struggles and rivalries for favor, they often triggered internal conflicts and turmoil, a phenomenon seen in the palaces of almost all feudal dynasties. Therefore, studying imperial consorts and their emperors can also serve as a method and approach to understanding the flaws of the Chinese feudal system and politics. The book adopts a classified discussion style, selecting several imperial consorts with clear historical records from the establishment of the Western Han Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty, focusing on these supreme yet unique women at the pinnacle of feudal society to study the decline of feudal politics. In the long feudal era, imperial consorts, as important figures in the ruling group, exerted significant influence on dynasties and even entire eras through their words and actions in the palace. Particularly, due to their pursuit of personal goals such as power struggles and rivalries for favor, they often triggered internal conflicts and turmoil, a phenomenon seen in the palaces of almost all feudal dynasties. Therefore, studying imperial consorts and their emperors can also serve as a method and approach to understanding the flaws of the Chinese feudal system and politics. This is the purpose of writing this book. Of course, whether it achieves this goal depends on the further judgment of the readers.