The Other Side of Chinese History: How Rulers Lived

Author: Wang Changhua
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-02-01
Features: The basic structure of the ancient Chinese political center; the emperor sits at the top, with empresses and concubines on the left and eunuchs on the right, facing the prime minister. The emperor acts whimsically, while empresses and concubines report on matters in bed, eunuchs move about and connect, and the main ones capable of doing serious business are the prime minister. Using tactics to control subordinates, the court officials consistently target the common people—this is the common stance of the four key figures in the ancient political center. However, within the imperial palace, the struggle for power and profit revolves around the emperor and the imperial clan, the imperial clan and the foreign relatives, the foreign relatives and the eunuchs, and the eunuchs and the prime minister. Their duels are full of twists and turns, bloodshed, and often one wave subsides before another rises. The methods these prominent figures use to defeat their opponents can all be summarized as "tactics"—conspiracy. The fact that some emperors lack learning but possess tactics is a reality in the ancient Chinese political center, akin to the emperor's new clothes. This book breaks through the high walls of academic historical research, escapes the rolling tide of history, measures the past with the scale of cultural studies, and seeks another interpretation of historical mysteries.