Superwoman: The Official History of Imperial Consorts in China

Author: Shangguan Ping
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: They can be called the [superwomen] among women. Their lives as consorts and empresses were extremely luxurious, but their destinies were often not in their own hands. This book explores the extraordinary lives and inner worlds of these extraordinary women in a classified interpretation format. As a companion to A Comprehensive History of Chinese Emperors, this book also adopts a classified discussion style. The book selects several consorts and empresses who are clearly recorded in historical books from the establishment of the Western Han Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty, focusing on these women at the pinnacle of feudal society, the supreme and special, to study the decline of feudal politics. In the long feudal society, consorts and empresses, as important figures in the ruling group, the actions and deeds of most of them in the palace had a significant impact on dynasties and even eras. Especially because of their pursuit of various personal goals, such as power struggles and competition for favor, the internal conflicts and wars they triggered can be seen in the palaces of almost all feudal dynasties. Therefore, taking consorts and empresses, including their emperors, as subjects, is also a method and form of understanding the shortcomings of the Chinese feudal system and feudal politics. The book adopts a classified discussion style in terms of style and format. The book selects several consorts and empresses who are clearly recorded in historical books from the establishment of the Western Han Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty, focusing on these women at the pinnacle of feudal society, the supreme and special, to study the decline of feudal politics. In the long feudal society, consorts and empresses, as important figures in the ruling group, the actions and deeds of most of them in the palace had a significant impact on dynasties and even eras. Especially because of their pursuit of various personal goals, such as power struggles and competition for favor, the internal conflicts and wars they triggered can be seen in the palaces of almost all feudal dynasties. Therefore, taking consorts and empresses, including their emperors, as subjects, is also a method and form of understanding the shortcomings of the Chinese feudal system and feudal politics. This is the purpose of writing this book. Of course, whether it can achieve this purpose depends on the further judgment of the readers.