What do you think?
Rate this book
My Life as Emperor
Book by Tong, Su
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
21 people are currently reading
781 people want to read
About the author
Su Tong
148 books160 followersSu Tong (simplified Chinese: 苏童; traditional Chinese: 蘇童; pinyin: Sū Tóng; born January 23, 1963) is the pen name of Chinese writer Tong Zhonggui (童忠贵 Tóng Zhōngguì). He was born in Suzhou and lives in Nanjing.
He entered the Department of Chinese at Beijing Normal University in 1980, and started to publish novels in 1983. He is now vice president of the Jiangsu Writers Association. Known for his controversial writing style, Su is one of the most acclaimed novelists in China.
(from Wikipedia)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Su_Tong
He entered the Department of Chinese at Beijing Normal University in 1980, and started to publish novels in 1983. He is now vice president of the Jiangsu Writers Association. Known for his controversial writing style, Su is one of the most acclaimed novelists in China.
(from Wikipedia)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Su_Tong
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
April 13, 2018
I think Su Tong's big success here is building, not a sympathetic monster (no), but instead an understandable one. Horrific, graphic, brutal and completely readable.
July 11, 2008
Su Tong made a quick name for himself when his novella _Raise the Red Lantern_ was made into a great film. One might think that such success could spoil an author to continue to write what has already been successful, but his next book, _Rice_, offered its own challenges when Su Tong took on a deeply disturbed and violent man as his protagonist. _Rice_ was a great book, because even through horrific events, Tong looked for the rationale of every character and allowed them to present themselves in honest ways. Now, with _My Life as Emperor_, Su Tong takes the other perspective--rather than focus on a poor crook, his focus is now a young man named emperor of the fictional Xie Empire.
Su Tong has fully confirmed his masterful ability to mix the harsh and cruel realities of social commentary with genuine pathos for the characters within those commentaries. It is a wise and splendid mix--Su Tong addresses the problems of the hierarchies of people while treating the people themselves with compassion and empathy. Duanbai, who ascends to the throne of the Xie Empire at the age of 14 even though he was not the first-born to the dead emperor, is a troublesome narrator, for he is spoiled and gets drunk on his own power quite easily, but still he is someone to sympathize for, for even with the power to have a person's tongue removed at his whim, he is still under the thumb of his grandmother, who will gladly strike out with her longevity cane. The implications of Duanbai's rash ruling are not as clear as they could be to convey the misery the new emperor is inciting in his own empire, but the growth of Duanbai in his friendship with a eunuch named Swallow and of course the problems people find with his claim on the throne, makes this a wise and wonderful book. Even if you find the book a little shallow at first, I would stay stay with it, for the ending is masterful.
Su Tong adds another successful work to his canon, possibly because he works on a very simple yet effective paradigm--even in the most awful situations, people will create their own happiness or misery.
Su Tong has fully confirmed his masterful ability to mix the harsh and cruel realities of social commentary with genuine pathos for the characters within those commentaries. It is a wise and splendid mix--Su Tong addresses the problems of the hierarchies of people while treating the people themselves with compassion and empathy. Duanbai, who ascends to the throne of the Xie Empire at the age of 14 even though he was not the first-born to the dead emperor, is a troublesome narrator, for he is spoiled and gets drunk on his own power quite easily, but still he is someone to sympathize for, for even with the power to have a person's tongue removed at his whim, he is still under the thumb of his grandmother, who will gladly strike out with her longevity cane. The implications of Duanbai's rash ruling are not as clear as they could be to convey the misery the new emperor is inciting in his own empire, but the growth of Duanbai in his friendship with a eunuch named Swallow and of course the problems people find with his claim on the throne, makes this a wise and wonderful book. Even if you find the book a little shallow at first, I would stay stay with it, for the ending is masterful.
Su Tong adds another successful work to his canon, possibly because he works on a very simple yet effective paradigm--even in the most awful situations, people will create their own happiness or misery.
January 12, 2023
My Life as Emperor by Su Tong
Hebrew review follows סקירה בעברית בהמשך
I read this book mainly because I'm fascinated by the foreign. Not knowing the author I had no real expectations, so also no disappointment. The book was an interesting tale of a fictional historic China, although I can't say I enjoyed it much.
The main obstacle in enjoying this book is that the main character is, intentionally, very hard to sympathize with. A cruel and half-crazy 14 year old who becomes the emperor, and for the first two thirds of the book, he is barely humane. This makes the last part of the book much less believable.
Putting this aside, the plot was interesting and the setting, both historical and geographical, was very well done. The book was also easy to read and the translation (to Hebrew) was transparent, which is the kind of translation I enjoy in such books. A nice tale, but not much more, three stars out of five.
קראתי את הספר הזה בעיקר משום שאני מוקסם מהזר. לא הכרתי את המחבר ולא היו לי ציפיות ולכן גם לא אכזבה. הספר היה סיפור מעניין ודי מרתק על סין היסטורית בדיונית, אם כי איני יכול לומר שהנאתי מהספר הייתה שלמה.
המכשול העיקרי בהנאה מהספר הזה הוא שהדמות העיקרית היא, במכוון, כזאת שכמעט בלתי אפשרי להזדהות איתה. בן 14 אכזרי ומשוגע למחצה נהפך לקיסר. בשני השלישים הראשונים של הספר הדמות מצוירת כמפלצת על גבול האנושיות. זה הופך את החלק האחרון של הספר שבו הדברים מעט משתנים להרבה פחות אמין.
למרות זאת העלילה הייתה מעניינת, והמסגרת ההיסטורית והגאוגרפית מושכת ועשויה היטב. הספר היה גם קל לקריאה והתרגום לעברית היה שקוף, שהוא סוג התרגום שאני נהנה ממנו במקרים כאלו. לסיכום, אגדה נחמדה עם דמות בעייתית, שלושה כוכבים מתוך חמישה.
Hebrew review follows סקירה בעברית בהמשך
I read this book mainly because I'm fascinated by the foreign. Not knowing the author I had no real expectations, so also no disappointment. The book was an interesting tale of a fictional historic China, although I can't say I enjoyed it much.
The main obstacle in enjoying this book is that the main character is, intentionally, very hard to sympathize with. A cruel and half-crazy 14 year old who becomes the emperor, and for the first two thirds of the book, he is barely humane. This makes the last part of the book much less believable.
Putting this aside, the plot was interesting and the setting, both historical and geographical, was very well done. The book was also easy to read and the translation (to Hebrew) was transparent, which is the kind of translation I enjoy in such books. A nice tale, but not much more, three stars out of five.
קראתי את הספר הזה בעיקר משום שאני מוקסם מהזר. לא הכרתי את המחבר ולא היו לי ציפיות ולכן גם לא אכזבה. הספר היה סיפור מעניין ודי מרתק על סין היסטורית בדיונית, אם כי איני יכול לומר שהנאתי מהספר הייתה שלמה.
המכשול העיקרי בהנאה מהספר הזה הוא שהדמות העיקרית היא, במכוון, כזאת שכמעט בלתי אפשרי להזדהות איתה. בן 14 אכזרי ומשוגע למחצה נהפך לקיסר. בשני השלישים הראשונים של הספר הדמות מצוירת כמפלצת על גבול האנושיות. זה הופך את החלק האחרון של הספר שבו הדברים מעט משתנים להרבה פחות אמין.
למרות זאת העלילה הייתה מעניינת, והמסגרת ההיסטורית והגאוגרפית מושכת ועשויה היטב. הספר היה גם קל לקריאה והתרגום לעברית היה שקוף, שהוא סוג התרגום שאני נהנה ממנו במקרים כאלו. לסיכום, אגדה נחמדה עם דמות בעייתית, שלושה כוכבים מתוך חמישה.
Read
December 17, 2024From my personal experience of reading about Ancient Chinese history, the details and differences between dynasties tend to blend and blur together. There are too many names, too many characters, too many rituals and customs, certainly too many conflicts and wars (another added challenge is that with the succession of dynasties there is a cyclical element, whereby previous details and scenarios tend to repeat, or more precisely, are revived from history after a few hundred years), that without meticulous notetaking (which my brief summaries of readings certainly doesn't amount too), or repeated study of sources and events (which I've yet to undertake), or the type of memory specific to the subject of history (which more and more I doubt I possess), things quite inevitably blend into each other. The seeming impenetrability of Chinese history, at least to a lay-person who didn't grow up in a Chinese classroom or surrounded by Chinese literature and it's catalogue of idioms and proverbs derived from historical accounts, is also exacerbated by Ancient China's treatment and reverence of history, whereby political, ideological and artistic changes tend to sketch their project from the vestiges/traces of the past, selecting elements of past dynasties to uphold, to re-emphasize, or to re-interpret. Of course, it is not just that the details of over 2000 years of history seem inexhaustibly copious. There is also the fact that the historical record, even for a civilization as preoccupied with the recording of events, is always just as interesting for the gaps left out, either deliberately or due simply to lack of access to people, places and encounters. How much can we know about the Emperor, simultaneously both the most famous person in the land and the most able to conceal, hide and invent themselves (their ambitions, their doubts, their loves etc.). All of that to say, My Life as Emperor, as a fictional, imaginative project from the first person perspective, is an apt companion and counterpoint to the side of myself that wishes to grasp history foremost as an exercise in memory storage and retrieval.
When reading My Life as Emperor, I first wondered which details were potentially drawn from or referenced historical records or earlier literature (which, when dealing with earlier/ancient history, tends to double as a supplementary historical record). I soon shed this stubborn, overly investigative attitude, although I think it does speak to a tendency, however much one wants to suppress it, to want fiction, particularly those set in the past, to correspond to reality - that is, I want to both be entertained and learn at the same time, to satiate the departure from reality that is fiction whilst keeping souvenirs that I can report and display later on in a serious, "factual" conversation about Chinese history. It soon becomes apparent that My Life is more concerned with developing that Shakespearean dictum, "uneasy lies the head that wears a crown". And like Shakespeare, My Life as Emperor explores what most historical records cannot access and what subjects can only endlessly conjecture about, that is, the reflections and melancholy of those who rule or seek to rule.
Beginning the book as Emperor, as ultimate sovereign, at least in de jure, Duanbai's authority over his fate is cut down chapter by chapter. As sovereign, he is, theoretically speaking, the one with the greatest degree of control over his fate. An emperor enjoys the greatest material luxuries and exercise dominion over the material fate of others, whether others are royals, officials or commoners (which he exercises drunkenly). However, from the very beginning, he is a de facto subject of his grandmother, and then he becomes subject to the intricate interpersonal politics of the concubines and official class, and then he is dethroned by a half-brother. He then lives the life of a commoner, a subject of both the power that he once wielded and also the chaos that he, even as emperor, could not control. This chaos, and the futility of the human subject confronted/immersed/surrounded by it, is I think what My Life as Emperor most successfully dreams up, and whether we find that that chaos corresponds to reality probably just depends on when you ask someone that question.
Whilst this seems like a linear descent from sovereignty (not just in a political sense, but also over oneself) to subjection, there is also a paradox at play. Duanwen's sovereignty as Emperor does not protect him from chaos nor does it eliminate all restrictions and afford complete freedom. For reasons of palace politics, he is unable to pursue and attain the ideal romantic love he yearns for with Lady Hui - to roam innocently together alongside an autumnal river bank. This ideal is further shattered by the realities of commoner life when he reunites with Lady Hui, when the economic realities of life outside palace privilege imposes itself. In both realms of life, some ideals must remain painfully as ideals only. However, as a commoner, he attains another type of ideal or dream, that of entertaining a crowd atop a tightrope. This turn of events may be a bit too rosy affirmation of "the emperor yearns for the simplicity and freedom of the common person" but the devastation that surrounds this arc - the overthrow of Duanwen's successor, the death of not only his old enemies but his companions and swarths of other common people, the feeling of perpetual instability at the top and lack underneath - punctuate the story with a sufficient sense of "reality". That chaos seems inevitable and fate appears cyclical does not render mute the passion to carve out one's own path in the midst of the storm.
When reading My Life as Emperor, I first wondered which details were potentially drawn from or referenced historical records or earlier literature (which, when dealing with earlier/ancient history, tends to double as a supplementary historical record). I soon shed this stubborn, overly investigative attitude, although I think it does speak to a tendency, however much one wants to suppress it, to want fiction, particularly those set in the past, to correspond to reality - that is, I want to both be entertained and learn at the same time, to satiate the departure from reality that is fiction whilst keeping souvenirs that I can report and display later on in a serious, "factual" conversation about Chinese history. It soon becomes apparent that My Life is more concerned with developing that Shakespearean dictum, "uneasy lies the head that wears a crown". And like Shakespeare, My Life as Emperor explores what most historical records cannot access and what subjects can only endlessly conjecture about, that is, the reflections and melancholy of those who rule or seek to rule.
Beginning the book as Emperor, as ultimate sovereign, at least in de jure, Duanbai's authority over his fate is cut down chapter by chapter. As sovereign, he is, theoretically speaking, the one with the greatest degree of control over his fate. An emperor enjoys the greatest material luxuries and exercise dominion over the material fate of others, whether others are royals, officials or commoners (which he exercises drunkenly). However, from the very beginning, he is a de facto subject of his grandmother, and then he becomes subject to the intricate interpersonal politics of the concubines and official class, and then he is dethroned by a half-brother. He then lives the life of a commoner, a subject of both the power that he once wielded and also the chaos that he, even as emperor, could not control. This chaos, and the futility of the human subject confronted/immersed/surrounded by it, is I think what My Life as Emperor most successfully dreams up, and whether we find that that chaos corresponds to reality probably just depends on when you ask someone that question.
Whilst this seems like a linear descent from sovereignty (not just in a political sense, but also over oneself) to subjection, there is also a paradox at play. Duanwen's sovereignty as Emperor does not protect him from chaos nor does it eliminate all restrictions and afford complete freedom. For reasons of palace politics, he is unable to pursue and attain the ideal romantic love he yearns for with Lady Hui - to roam innocently together alongside an autumnal river bank. This ideal is further shattered by the realities of commoner life when he reunites with Lady Hui, when the economic realities of life outside palace privilege imposes itself. In both realms of life, some ideals must remain painfully as ideals only. However, as a commoner, he attains another type of ideal or dream, that of entertaining a crowd atop a tightrope. This turn of events may be a bit too rosy affirmation of "the emperor yearns for the simplicity and freedom of the common person" but the devastation that surrounds this arc - the overthrow of Duanwen's successor, the death of not only his old enemies but his companions and swarths of other common people, the feeling of perpetual instability at the top and lack underneath - punctuate the story with a sufficient sense of "reality". That chaos seems inevitable and fate appears cyclical does not render mute the passion to carve out one's own path in the midst of the storm.
February 15, 2023
Duanbai diventa imperatore di Xie. A soli quattordici anni, si ritrova a ricoprire un ruolo per il quale non è e non si sente adeguato, stretto tra una madre che vuole rafforzare la sua influenza a corte e una nonna ingombrante che manovra i fili del potere, un fratellastro deciso a riprendersi il trono che gli spetta, un fedele eunuco pronto a tutto per lui e una concubina che non gli è permesso amare. La storia corre su due binari: da una parte la parabola di Duanbai, giovane imperatore che si trova a ricoprire un ruolo decisamente più grande di lui, incapace di gestire responsabilità e potere; dall’altra la parabola di una dinastia e di un regno ormai in decadenza, in balia di divisioni e brame di potere.
In "Quando ero imperatore", è possibile rintracciare tratti distintivi dello stile di Su Tong. La sua scrittura è come sempre molto lineare e la storia è ambientata in un luogo e in un tempo indefiniti, un passato lontano ma non specificato, tratto tipico della narrativa d’avanguardia neorealista, sviluppatasi in Cina negli anni Ottanta e di cui Su Tong è un esponente di primo piano. Una modalità che ben si adatta al racconto di tradimenti e conflitti, invidie tra concubine ed eunuchi, lotte di potere e complotti ai danni dell’imperatore, che sono in effetti dinamiche senza tempo, ripetutesi sempre uguali a se stesse nel corso dei secoli della Cina imperiale. Su Tong, quindi, attraverso la storia di Duanbai e del regno di Xie ci porta dentro queste dinamiche e, pur senza connotarle nel tempo e nello spazio, non intacca minimamente l’efficacia del suo racconto.
In "Quando ero imperatore", è possibile rintracciare tratti distintivi dello stile di Su Tong. La sua scrittura è come sempre molto lineare e la storia è ambientata in un luogo e in un tempo indefiniti, un passato lontano ma non specificato, tratto tipico della narrativa d’avanguardia neorealista, sviluppatasi in Cina negli anni Ottanta e di cui Su Tong è un esponente di primo piano. Una modalità che ben si adatta al racconto di tradimenti e conflitti, invidie tra concubine ed eunuchi, lotte di potere e complotti ai danni dell’imperatore, che sono in effetti dinamiche senza tempo, ripetutesi sempre uguali a se stesse nel corso dei secoli della Cina imperiale. Su Tong, quindi, attraverso la storia di Duanbai e del regno di Xie ci porta dentro queste dinamiche e, pur senza connotarle nel tempo e nello spazio, non intacca minimamente l’efficacia del suo racconto.
September 3, 2021
I read this book once before learning about Emperor PuYi and then afterwards. It gained a lot once I understood who inspired it and his place in China's history. I recommend people have some kind of understanding of what went on in China in the 1900s before reading this, because otherwise you'll miss a lot of the subtle references and it will just seem like an aimless diary. But to the appropriate audience I think it's really a sort of sympathetic telling of what the whole country went through between 1917 and about 1968, like a way of saying "yes, we all suffered this together."
December 8, 2025
Super solid, interestingly written book. There's a lot of craziness that would make for a difficult character to empathise with, but Su Tong does a fantastic job of depicting this hodgepodge ancient Chinese world that somehow makes our emperor deeply human.
Definitely a book with a lot of references to ancient Chinese stories and cultures, but one that doesn't require deep knowledge to still be enjoyable. Lots of modern writers could take note of how to write about cultures like this.
Definitely a book with a lot of references to ancient Chinese stories and cultures, but one that doesn't require deep knowledge to still be enjoyable. Lots of modern writers could take note of how to write about cultures like this.
April 15, 2025
Fængslende fortælling, jeg læste den på en aften da jeg simpelthen ikke kunne lægge den fra mig. Historisk, grusom og smuk med et meget interessant perspektiv.
August 29, 2010
The author rejects the idea that "My Life as an Emperor" is a historical novel even as he admits that he attempts "to penetrate the millenia of Chinese history" (author's preface). The narrator is a deposed emperor of a mythical kingdom who as a child inherits the throne, somewhat surprisingly and unwillingly, at the death of his father. The palace in which he is something of a prisoner swirls with intrigue and violence, and he is completely dominated by his grandmother and mother, who are bitter rivals with one another. So many of the tensions that dominate the palace will be familiar to any student of Chinese history and present considerable fodder for a discussion of the Chinese past. But, reader be warned: Su Tong paints a cruel picture that will raise uncomfortable questions about the relationship between modern China and its imperial past. One easily comes to identify with the young emperor's wish to escape it all . . . to become a tight-rope walker, who strides high above a world that is just too terrible to want close at hand.
June 15, 2017
This Emperor...he crazy.
This is a fast read, almost like reading someone's diary.
The Emperor is such a spoiled rich brat that he kills and maims on a whim. It's pretty gory but I like that ( don't judge me ! ) and the Emperor is in no way likeable. He starts ordering torture and deaths for such crazy stupid reasons it seemed like a parody of itself...crazy. Crazy good.
This is a fast read, almost like reading someone's diary.
The Emperor is such a spoiled rich brat that he kills and maims on a whim. It's pretty gory but I like that ( don't judge me ! ) and the Emperor is in no way likeable. He starts ordering torture and deaths for such crazy stupid reasons it seemed like a parody of itself...crazy. Crazy good.
February 2, 2021
I love this story. It revolves around an incompetent emperor who witnessed the decline of his empire and his second lofe as a travelling circus performer. Su Tong made it clear that he wanted to write only a tale without any societal or philosophical impact. A purely vanity tale, so to speak. Nonetheless, the book ended up being very compelling.
.
The Emperor rose to the throne at 14 years old. He really did not know what to do save for bullying his servants and frolicking with his concubines. The ones who ran the government were his mom and grandma. Slowly yet surely, everyone left his side but his loyal eunuch, Swallow. His brother launched a coup d'etat and the Emperor, now deposes, lived life as a commoner. His second life was also equally dramatic and bloody. He never had total control over his life, which led him to accept that perhaps he was meant to be alone after all.
.
4/5 if you love reading a good Chinese tale that is not overly complicated. It is fictional. Imagine reading the scenes of a Chinese costume film made in the modern era. Our main character is a layered person, neither too evil nor too kind. A spineless soul who should have never been made a ruler. And Su Tong is my favourite writer from China. Amazing stories, great writing style.
.
The Emperor rose to the throne at 14 years old. He really did not know what to do save for bullying his servants and frolicking with his concubines. The ones who ran the government were his mom and grandma. Slowly yet surely, everyone left his side but his loyal eunuch, Swallow. His brother launched a coup d'etat and the Emperor, now deposes, lived life as a commoner. His second life was also equally dramatic and bloody. He never had total control over his life, which led him to accept that perhaps he was meant to be alone after all.
.
4/5 if you love reading a good Chinese tale that is not overly complicated. It is fictional. Imagine reading the scenes of a Chinese costume film made in the modern era. Our main character is a layered person, neither too evil nor too kind. A spineless soul who should have never been made a ruler. And Su Tong is my favourite writer from China. Amazing stories, great writing style.
November 13, 2016
An exciting page turner
Hated Duanbai's character for obvious reasons, however, once I reached the end I realized that his personality is the way it is for a reason, and I thought that reason was compelling.
It's not an amazing book, but its entertaining enough to sit through
**SPOILER ALERT**
I liked that the story continued on even after Duanwen took over the palace and forced Duanbai to be a commoner. We get to see Duanbai finally see the consequences of his irresponsibility as an emperor and how the peasants felt all those years.
One of my biggest complaints with the book was the fact he never truly reunited with Lady Hui and that Jade Locket had to die with Swallow. I couldn't really see a good reasoning for either of the two.
Hated Duanbai's character for obvious reasons, however, once I reached the end I realized that his personality is the way it is for a reason, and I thought that reason was compelling.
It's not an amazing book, but its entertaining enough to sit through
**SPOILER ALERT**
I liked that the story continued on even after Duanwen took over the palace and forced Duanbai to be a commoner. We get to see Duanbai finally see the consequences of his irresponsibility as an emperor and how the peasants felt all those years.
One of my biggest complaints with the book was the fact he never truly reunited with Lady Hui and that Jade Locket had to die with Swallow. I couldn't really see a good reasoning for either of the two.
December 15, 2023
Finished this book in a single day. Really engaging and loved the palace intrigues. The only thing I disliked about the book was the ex-emperor himself, who is an incompetent, shallow, spoiled brat. But then again it makes sense given the way he was raised (and how he ascended the throne). Wasn't too interested in his life as a commoner, to be honest, that was probably the most boring part, with the exception of Lady Hui. But overall a fun book. Felt nice to be inside the mind of a powerful monarch for a day.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 7, 2020
Interesting.
I liked reading about the rise and fall of an empire; even a fictional one. I’m always a fan of historical fiction; especially stories that centre around Asian characters. The writing was wonderful and very mystical. I can’t lie though, it got a little boring sometimes just reading about the petulance of an emperor.
Overall, a good story. Just not the most exciting.
I liked reading about the rise and fall of an empire; even a fictional one. I’m always a fan of historical fiction; especially stories that centre around Asian characters. The writing was wonderful and very mystical. I can’t lie though, it got a little boring sometimes just reading about the petulance of an emperor.
Overall, a good story. Just not the most exciting.
September 2, 2019
I got really into this book quickly. A 14 yr old emperor, who is cruel and simply immature, constantly is told what and how to do things by his grandmother. Towards the end of the book it got a little long winded, but all in all I really enjoyed the book. The imagery was really nice as well.
September 19, 2022
This book was a rather quick read for me. I myself don't know much about Chinese history but I feel like it has some nods to it with the book titles referenced throughout the story. As it goes on you feel many things for the awful little emperor and I found it quite an interesting read.
August 26, 2024
Strange, remote prose. Violent, cruel and and evil acts and feelings amidst being lost in absolute power and fear of retribution, the inability of the soul to have peace. Believable though still a hint of magic realism so typical of Chinese literature.
September 4, 2024
This book is pure comedy - from a dystopian view. What a fantastic story! I am so impressed by the writers ability to capture such unpleasant human behaviours related to power distances and social hierarchies.
Extremely entertaining!
Extremely entertaining!
June 8, 2019
I have always enjoyed really Su Tong's special language in storytelling. Read in Chinese and been one of my favorite fictions of all times.
January 5, 2020
C’est l’histoire d’un empereur mis sur le trône à la place de son frère, sa rencontre avec son ami eunuque, les fluctuations de son règne,ses erreurs, sa vocation.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 5, 2021
It was an interesting book, from which you have something to learn, but there were also boring parts. It wasn't my type..
April 23, 2022
有些部分很喜欢，有那种古诗词的意境。有些部分又很不喜欢，过于变态。有点像“百年孤独”的风格。
May 20, 2023
A nice read but a little too fast paced, it could have been more poetic.
Read
March 28, 2025补
June 29, 2025
Something about the cyclical and transient nature of events. And the importance maybe of reading the Analects.
December 4, 2025
C 2
A 6
W 7
P 7
I 9
L 8
E 8
6,7
A 6
W 7
P 7
I 9
L 8
E 8
6,7
March 22, 2017
My enjoyment with Chinese authors is based upon their approach to a story, wholly different from western thought. Su Tong's novel deals with a 14 year old prince who suddenly becomes emperor.
September 16, 2021
"Absolute Career Change"
Review of *My Life as Emperor: A Novel*.
By Su Tong. Translated by Howard Goldblatt.
Sabina Knight
for PRI's *The World* from BBC, PRI and WGBH
published online June 4, 2008
https://www.academia.edu/7941629/_Abs...#
To anyone who has ever felt trapped in a false existence, *My Life as Emperor* is an inspiring yet cautionary tale. This novel, perhaps the most profound of Su’s Tong’s six novels and more than a dozen volumes of short stories and novellas, presents a parable of a banished emperor who finds his soul through an unlikely avocation. His journey is also a variation on the stories of Siddhartha and Voltaire’s Candide, with picaresque elements reminiscent of the sixteenth-century Chinese satirical novel *Journey to the West* (a.k.a. *The Monkey King*).
Still, for with its skillful interweaving of Confucian loyalty and self-cultivation, Daoist simplicity, and Buddhist mercy, *My Life as an Emperor* tells, above all, the story of a life-saving career change. (Though less poetic than expert translator Howard Goldblatt’s choice, the title might be translated as *My Career as Emperor*.)
Placed on the throne as a spoiled adolescent, the young emperor Duanbai abruptly loses his tutor before his Confucian education is complete. Woefully ill-prepared for the realpolitik of court intrigue, Duanbai arbitrarily wields power as might a petulant child. Annoyed by the wailing of neglected concubines, he orders their tongues sliced out. Bewildered when presented with 300 prostrate eunuchs, he kicks their backsides. Disheartened by his people’s poverty and the rout of his troops, he murders a loyal general, then shudders upon seeing the flayed skin of the general’s beheaded brother, killed after attempting to assassinate Duanbai in revenge.
All his privileges and prerogatives cannot save the cloistered emperor from discovering that he is a mere puppet, living in a realm of powerlessness. When he realizes the extent of his impotence and the degree to which he has been manipulated, Duanbai breaks down and wails. Yet his developing understanding of the foibles of power allows him to dream of loftier pursuits. After he is deposed, he embarks as a commoner on a journey to find the traveling circus that first enthralled him as a youth.
For all its graphic violence and abrupt losses, *My Life as Emperor* also depicts moments of passionate spiritual epiphany. The most vivid passages describe the young Duanbai’s fascination with tightrope walking, the novel’s metaphor for hard-earned self-liberation and the precariousness of life. Though as a pampered dandy, his feet blister on his first tour, Duanbai finds on the highwire a practice of physical and spiritual discipline and a path to redemption through self-cultivation and service.
On the tightrope, Duanbai also finds freedom from the nightmares that plagued his youth, nightmares populated by "white demons . . . raising a sad wail." As he comes of age, those dreams pervade his days as well, becoming "one daylight nightmare after another" as assassins pursue him in his "semiconscious state." Only after realizing that “the long search for a dream can become tragic,” does he end his drifting, embrace his authentic calling, and find peace. "[O]nly then was I the master of my own fate, filled with the knowledge that balancing on the rope allowed me to cling to life's ultimate dream."
Full of foreboding and impending calamity, the novel alludes both to China’s past, particularly the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), and to the nation’s uncertain future. Of the many avant-garde Chinese writers who debuted in the 1980s, Su Tong stands out for his works’ nuanced confrontation of collective trauma through historic or symbolic allegories. A Chinese readership might, for example, catch echoes of Red Guard atrocities in the novel’s descriptions of the cutting out of tongues to silence dissent, the severing of a musician’s ten fingers, or the details of eleven gory tortures inflicted on a peasant leader.
But the novel’s ominous vision of power and powerlessness has a wider application. Whether capitalist or communist, economic or political systems that too often foster ill will, greed and delusion may turn their subjects, as Duanbai understands, into “walking corpses doomed to spend eternity stuck to the mud of the mundane world.” *My Life As Emperor*, by contrast, ends with a serene image: Duanbai, now an eccentric monk on a tightrope, "walking rapidly or striking a one-legged crane pose," in retreat at a monastery. Perhaps Su Tong, who sets his novel in “no particular time” and cautions against reading it as historical fiction, hopes to bring solace to readers suffering the worries and fears of “people in all worlds.”
Review of *My Life as Emperor: A Novel*.
By Su Tong. Translated by Howard Goldblatt.
Sabina Knight
for PRI's *The World* from BBC, PRI and WGBH
published online June 4, 2008
https://www.academia.edu/7941629/_Abs...#
To anyone who has ever felt trapped in a false existence, *My Life as Emperor* is an inspiring yet cautionary tale. This novel, perhaps the most profound of Su’s Tong’s six novels and more than a dozen volumes of short stories and novellas, presents a parable of a banished emperor who finds his soul through an unlikely avocation. His journey is also a variation on the stories of Siddhartha and Voltaire’s Candide, with picaresque elements reminiscent of the sixteenth-century Chinese satirical novel *Journey to the West* (a.k.a. *The Monkey King*).
Still, for with its skillful interweaving of Confucian loyalty and self-cultivation, Daoist simplicity, and Buddhist mercy, *My Life as an Emperor* tells, above all, the story of a life-saving career change. (Though less poetic than expert translator Howard Goldblatt’s choice, the title might be translated as *My Career as Emperor*.)
Placed on the throne as a spoiled adolescent, the young emperor Duanbai abruptly loses his tutor before his Confucian education is complete. Woefully ill-prepared for the realpolitik of court intrigue, Duanbai arbitrarily wields power as might a petulant child. Annoyed by the wailing of neglected concubines, he orders their tongues sliced out. Bewildered when presented with 300 prostrate eunuchs, he kicks their backsides. Disheartened by his people’s poverty and the rout of his troops, he murders a loyal general, then shudders upon seeing the flayed skin of the general’s beheaded brother, killed after attempting to assassinate Duanbai in revenge.
All his privileges and prerogatives cannot save the cloistered emperor from discovering that he is a mere puppet, living in a realm of powerlessness. When he realizes the extent of his impotence and the degree to which he has been manipulated, Duanbai breaks down and wails. Yet his developing understanding of the foibles of power allows him to dream of loftier pursuits. After he is deposed, he embarks as a commoner on a journey to find the traveling circus that first enthralled him as a youth.
For all its graphic violence and abrupt losses, *My Life as Emperor* also depicts moments of passionate spiritual epiphany. The most vivid passages describe the young Duanbai’s fascination with tightrope walking, the novel’s metaphor for hard-earned self-liberation and the precariousness of life. Though as a pampered dandy, his feet blister on his first tour, Duanbai finds on the highwire a practice of physical and spiritual discipline and a path to redemption through self-cultivation and service.
On the tightrope, Duanbai also finds freedom from the nightmares that plagued his youth, nightmares populated by "white demons . . . raising a sad wail." As he comes of age, those dreams pervade his days as well, becoming "one daylight nightmare after another" as assassins pursue him in his "semiconscious state." Only after realizing that “the long search for a dream can become tragic,” does he end his drifting, embrace his authentic calling, and find peace. "[O]nly then was I the master of my own fate, filled with the knowledge that balancing on the rope allowed me to cling to life's ultimate dream."
Full of foreboding and impending calamity, the novel alludes both to China’s past, particularly the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), and to the nation’s uncertain future. Of the many avant-garde Chinese writers who debuted in the 1980s, Su Tong stands out for his works’ nuanced confrontation of collective trauma through historic or symbolic allegories. A Chinese readership might, for example, catch echoes of Red Guard atrocities in the novel’s descriptions of the cutting out of tongues to silence dissent, the severing of a musician’s ten fingers, or the details of eleven gory tortures inflicted on a peasant leader.
But the novel’s ominous vision of power and powerlessness has a wider application. Whether capitalist or communist, economic or political systems that too often foster ill will, greed and delusion may turn their subjects, as Duanbai understands, into “walking corpses doomed to spend eternity stuck to the mud of the mundane world.” *My Life As Emperor*, by contrast, ends with a serene image: Duanbai, now an eccentric monk on a tightrope, "walking rapidly or striking a one-legged crane pose," in retreat at a monastery. Perhaps Su Tong, who sets his novel in “no particular time” and cautions against reading it as historical fiction, hopes to bring solace to readers suffering the worries and fears of “people in all worlds.”
May 13, 2024
Su Tong este un scriitor chinez contemporan cu o multitudine de opere, unele dintre ele ecranizate: "Raise the red lantern", "Blush" sau "Rice".
"My life as an emperor" a aparut in 1992 si este o fictiune istorica, insa nu stim ce perioada doreste sa infatiseze pentru ca autorul dinadins nu a dorit sa precizeze. Un lucru este sigur, in mod cert apartine perioadei clasice.
Naratiunea se face la persoana intai avand acces la gandurile si sentimentele proaspatului imparat instalat pe tron dupa moartea tatalui sau.
Duanbai accede la putere ca imparat al imperiului Xie la 14 ani si atunci i se releva lumea dura de la palatul imperial. Acolo toti din jurul sau incearca sa-i intre in gratie, sa-l atraga in jocuri politice, sa-l seduca sau sa-l detroneze asasinandu-l. Imparatul numeste toate aceste personaje "creaturi lipicioase". Pana la urma, fiind prea tanar, manipulat excesiv de altii, manios si rasfatat, nu este de mirare ca va da gres. Iar domnia sa va insemna un dezastru pentru tara.
Avem de-a face cu o poveste cu iz de crizanteme, dragoni si pasari phoenix, dar si moarte, tradare si suferinta.
Jocul pentru putere este necrutator: imparateasa, concubinele, ministrii, eunucii, curtenii, cu totii il practica cu multa gratie dar fara mila, necontand pentru ei pe cine calca in picioare.
Trebuie sa mentionez ca povestea mi-a placut doar pana la un anumit punct, atunci cand Duanbai este inlaturat de la tron de catre fratele sau care are sprijinul armatei. Atunci concubinele si imparateasa mama se sinucid cu esarfe de matase, insa el, absolut surprinzator si de necrezut, este lasat in viata si trimis inafara zidurilor cetatii sa pribegeasca. Asta e greu de crezut chiar si pentru fictiune, in mod normal trebuia sa i se taie capul. Iar continuarea este si mai prosteasca: Duanbai cocheteaza cu acrobatia in cadrul Circului Ambulant.
Coperta insa mi s-a parut superba, de un galben canar, infatisandu-l pe imparat in hainele de ceremonie, cu detaliile si accesoriile specifice. "Fiul cerului" are intr-adevar o vestimentatie spectaculoasa.
As incheia cu cateva citate ale cartii inspirate din intelepciunea chineza:
"Faptele care nu sunt pe masura vorbelor arata natura vicioasa a oamenilor."
"Imbraca-te cu hainele galbene ale unui eunuc si esti eunuc. Imbraca-te cu roba imperiala a imparatului si esti imparat."
"Majestatea Sa are de-abia 14 ani, spuse el. Incet, dar sigur, va deveni si Majestatea Sa un prost. Daca va impotriviti acestei tendinte, veti avea greutati in a va pastra tronul."
"My life as an emperor" a aparut in 1992 si este o fictiune istorica, insa nu stim ce perioada doreste sa infatiseze pentru ca autorul dinadins nu a dorit sa precizeze. Un lucru este sigur, in mod cert apartine perioadei clasice.
Naratiunea se face la persoana intai avand acces la gandurile si sentimentele proaspatului imparat instalat pe tron dupa moartea tatalui sau.
Duanbai accede la putere ca imparat al imperiului Xie la 14 ani si atunci i se releva lumea dura de la palatul imperial. Acolo toti din jurul sau incearca sa-i intre in gratie, sa-l atraga in jocuri politice, sa-l seduca sau sa-l detroneze asasinandu-l. Imparatul numeste toate aceste personaje "creaturi lipicioase". Pana la urma, fiind prea tanar, manipulat excesiv de altii, manios si rasfatat, nu este de mirare ca va da gres. Iar domnia sa va insemna un dezastru pentru tara.
Avem de-a face cu o poveste cu iz de crizanteme, dragoni si pasari phoenix, dar si moarte, tradare si suferinta.
Jocul pentru putere este necrutator: imparateasa, concubinele, ministrii, eunucii, curtenii, cu totii il practica cu multa gratie dar fara mila, necontand pentru ei pe cine calca in picioare.
Trebuie sa mentionez ca povestea mi-a placut doar pana la un anumit punct, atunci cand Duanbai este inlaturat de la tron de catre fratele sau care are sprijinul armatei. Atunci concubinele si imparateasa mama se sinucid cu esarfe de matase, insa el, absolut surprinzator si de necrezut, este lasat in viata si trimis inafara zidurilor cetatii sa pribegeasca. Asta e greu de crezut chiar si pentru fictiune, in mod normal trebuia sa i se taie capul. Iar continuarea este si mai prosteasca: Duanbai cocheteaza cu acrobatia in cadrul Circului Ambulant.
Coperta insa mi s-a parut superba, de un galben canar, infatisandu-l pe imparat in hainele de ceremonie, cu detaliile si accesoriile specifice. "Fiul cerului" are intr-adevar o vestimentatie spectaculoasa.
As incheia cu cateva citate ale cartii inspirate din intelepciunea chineza:
"Faptele care nu sunt pe masura vorbelor arata natura vicioasa a oamenilor."
"Imbraca-te cu hainele galbene ale unui eunuc si esti eunuc. Imbraca-te cu roba imperiala a imparatului si esti imparat."
"Majestatea Sa are de-abia 14 ani, spuse el. Incet, dar sigur, va deveni si Majestatea Sa un prost. Daca va impotriviti acestei tendinte, veti avea greutati in a va pastra tronul."
April 20, 2012
With most of his novels taking places against the background of specific periods in Chinese history, “My Life as Emperor” stands out in Su Tong’s oeuvre as an entirely fictitious work. There are no references to the Great Leap Forward, the Great Famine that followed it, or periods in time before that, like the 1920’s in which Su Tong’s most well known work, “Wives and Concubines” – or “Raise the Red Lantern” – took place.
Instead, “My Life as Emperor” takes place in the imaginary Empire of Xie, where a young prince is unexpectedly crowned as the new Emperor after the death of the last one.
Where “My Life” is similar to other work of Su Tong, is the cold-heartedness of the lead protagonist, Duanbai. Tong has always intrigued by putting utterly unlikeable characters at the center of his story, yet creating very likeable fiction. In that way, this novel is just as satisfying.
Duanbai, drunk on power as the new Emperor of Xie, does whatever he wants and acts without any remorse or compassion. Orders for the execution of failed officers or, indeed, family members are given without any doubt or regret. With his grandmother making most of the decisions during any matters of state, Duanbai lives a shallow life, filled with cruel games and foul fights with his rivaling brothers. It is only until he starts to discover the deceit and corruption that is happening around him within the palace walls, that he starts to rethink his own actions and responsibilities, and how much power he can truly wield.
As the story progresses – especially by the third and final act – it becomes clear that the story has developed into some sort of parable. As Duanbai is forced to shake off the shackles that have held him down into his position as Emperor, and has to start deciding things for himself, the time and place in which this story takes place don’t really matter anymore. Whether an empire like Xie has ever existed is of no importance. By this point, it’s Su Tong who starts to express his meaning regarding power by decree versus the freeing power to life the life one deeply wishes to life.
But that only takes place during the last 50-odd pages. Although the author manages to bring “My Life as Emperor” to a surprising and satisfying conclusion, one can’t escape the feeling that for the most part, the book feels like a series of situations, missing a common thread that pulls this plot together. There are the usual metaphors that the author handles deftly and his writing style is as elegant as always. But to see Su Tong at his strongest, one has to look beyond this novel and read the far more powerful “Rice” or “The Boat to Redemption”.
Instead, “My Life as Emperor” takes place in the imaginary Empire of Xie, where a young prince is unexpectedly crowned as the new Emperor after the death of the last one.
Where “My Life” is similar to other work of Su Tong, is the cold-heartedness of the lead protagonist, Duanbai. Tong has always intrigued by putting utterly unlikeable characters at the center of his story, yet creating very likeable fiction. In that way, this novel is just as satisfying.
Duanbai, drunk on power as the new Emperor of Xie, does whatever he wants and acts without any remorse or compassion. Orders for the execution of failed officers or, indeed, family members are given without any doubt or regret. With his grandmother making most of the decisions during any matters of state, Duanbai lives a shallow life, filled with cruel games and foul fights with his rivaling brothers. It is only until he starts to discover the deceit and corruption that is happening around him within the palace walls, that he starts to rethink his own actions and responsibilities, and how much power he can truly wield.
As the story progresses – especially by the third and final act – it becomes clear that the story has developed into some sort of parable. As Duanbai is forced to shake off the shackles that have held him down into his position as Emperor, and has to start deciding things for himself, the time and place in which this story takes place don’t really matter anymore. Whether an empire like Xie has ever existed is of no importance. By this point, it’s Su Tong who starts to express his meaning regarding power by decree versus the freeing power to life the life one deeply wishes to life.
But that only takes place during the last 50-odd pages. Although the author manages to bring “My Life as Emperor” to a surprising and satisfying conclusion, one can’t escape the feeling that for the most part, the book feels like a series of situations, missing a common thread that pulls this plot together. There are the usual metaphors that the author handles deftly and his writing style is as elegant as always. But to see Su Tong at his strongest, one has to look beyond this novel and read the far more powerful “Rice” or “The Boat to Redemption”.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews