Wu : the Chinese empress who schemed, seduced and murdered her way to become a living god / Jonathan Clements.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Clements, Jonathan, 1971-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Wu hou, Empress of China, 624-705.

Wu hou.

Empresses--China--Biography.

Empresses.

China.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xiii, 239 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Stroud : Sutton, 2007.

Summary:

Acclaimed author and translator Jonathan Clements tells the exciting and dramatic true story of China's only reigning Empress Wu Zetian, known as the Treacherous Fox. Born in the 7th century AD, Wu was the daughter of a lumber merchant. Prophecies predicted that she would become emperor but these were seen as ridiculous when the baby turned out to be a girl. Yet Wu's steely determination to succeed combined with her fabulous beauty led to her auspicious selection as concubine to the 40-year-old Supreme Emperor Taizong. Wu systematically lied and murdered her way to the top, poisoning her own son and having the Empress of China executed so she could take the throne herself.

Contents:

Family Tree of the Tang Dynasty xiii

Family Tree of the Wu Family xiv

Introduction: Flowers in the Winter 1

1 The Gate of the Dark Warrior 13

2 The Favour of Rain and Mist 28

3 The Family Matter 39

4 The Treacherous Fox 59

5 The Supreme Sacrifice 71

6 The Poison Chalice 86

7 The Hen at Daybreak 103

8 The Hall of Illumination 120

9 The Brilliant Void 138

10 The Sage Mother of Mankind 151

11 The Office of the Crane 166

12 The Palace of Dawn 180

Appendix I Other Fictions of Wu 188.

ISBN:

0750939613

9780750939614

OCLC:

72149422