Daughter of Heaven: The True Story of the Only Woman to Become Emperor of China

by Nigel Cawthorne

The enthralling story of the only woman to become Emperor of China...

In this sensational true story, bestselling author Nigel Cawthorne reveals the dark and dramatic story of the only female Emperor in Chinese history, Wu Chao: concubine, manipulator, politician, murderer, and living god.

At the age of 13, Wu Chao was made concubine to the Emperor, bringing great honour to her family.

Born the daughter of a merchant in seventh-century China, she skilfully used her beauty, wit, and powers of manipulation to seduce her way to the throne of the most powerful empire in the medieval world.

Beautiful, charming, and fiendishly clever, Wu plotted to eliminate all those she could not bewitch, executing her enemies without mercy, murdering her own children for political gain, and eventually proclaiming herself a living god.

Ruthlessly reigning for fifty years, she provoked scandal upon scandal by setting up her own imperial harem and giving her lovers positions of power.

From her instruction in the art of love by palace officials to her bloody downfall, this book throws open a window into the colourful world of T’ang Dynasty China, and to the woman whose infamous behaviour ushered in a golden age in history.

Praise for Nigel Cawthorne:

“A racy and absorbing read … [that] will certainly entertain and enthrall … [the story of] a life which must rank as one of the most colourful ever.” - Irish Independent

“Does full justice to the mixture of horror and farce that characterized Francisco’s tryranny.” - Financial Times

“An unforgiving and furious account of a fascinating true story.” - Belfast Telegraph

Nigel Cawthorne is the author of over 160 books including the bestselling Alan Johnson: Left Standing, Jeremy Clarkson: Motormouth, Harry: A Prince Among Men and A Little Bit of Stephen Fry. He has written numerous newspapers, as well as many TV and radio stations around the world. He lives in Bloomsbury, London's literary area.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, China, Historical, Biography Memoir, True Story

396 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2007

About the author

Nigel Cawthorne is an Anglo-American writer of fiction and non-fiction, and an editor. He has written more than 80 books on a wide range of subjects and has contributed to The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph Daily Mail and The New York Times. He has appeared on television and BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Many of Nigel Cawthorne's books are compilations of popular history, without footnotes, references or bibliographies. His own web site refers to a description of his home as a "book-writing factory" and says, "More than half my books were commissioned by publishers and packagers for a flat fee or for a for a reduced royalty".

One of his most notable works was Taking Back My Name, an autobiography of Ike Turner, with whom he spent a number of weeks working with him on, taking up residence in Turner's house. The book caused much controversy, resulting in court cases for three years following its release.

Cawthorne currently lives in Bloomsbury, London with his girlfriend and son, Colin (born 1982).

Reviews

[Care · Rating 2 out of 5]

Daughter of Heaven starts off with a confusing medley of names and titles in a huge rush of Chinese history. As a history student, I found the overall work jarring and that it seemed to take liberties in identifying what should and shouldn't be taken as historical fact.

The work intersperses the overarching tale of Wu ZeTian with lengthy and unappealing descriptions of architecture and geography. While sometimes helpful in history books, these felt unnecessarily detailed and were only tangentially related to the overall topic. Additionally, the variations in the transliteration of Chinese names, including the addition of accent marks not found in Chinese standard pinyin, make it confusing for readers who are at all familiar with Mandarin. The book is lengthy and convoluted by the constant introducing and immediate executing of multitudinous characters. Several long sections are dedicated to describing works surrounding sexual pleasure that don't particularly add to the tale beyond shock and awe value. Overall, I felt the topic was not presented well and that the author had an automatic bias concerning the Empress Wu from the very beginning - her as a historical character and Tang Dynasty China were not approached, in my opinion, with respect or appropriate historical rigor.

Thanks to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for a fair review.

[Pauline Destinugrainy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wu Chao masih berumur 13 tahun ketika dia terpilih menjadi selir Kaisar dan dibawa masuk ke harem milik Kaisar T'ang Tai Tsung. Dia hanya menjadi selir tingkat ke-5. Dia masuk ke sana atas rekomendasi sepupunya yang telah terlebih dahulu menjadi selir Kaisar.

Di antara para wanita milik Kaisar terdapat hirarki tersendiri. Yang tertinggi tentu saja seornag Permaisuri atau Maharani. Di bawahnya terdapat empat istri kerajaan tingkat satu, yang masing-masing mewakili Mulia, Murni, Berbudi Luhur dan Baik. Berikutnya ada sembilan istri kedua. Di tingkat keempat ada sembilan istri Cantik, dan di tingkat kelima ada sembilan istri Berbakat. Masih ada tiga tingkatan lagi di bawah tingkat kelima, yang masing-masing terdiri atas 27 istri.

Alasan memiliki istri yang banyak bukanlah untuk memuaskan hasrat Sang Kaisar, melainkan untuk meningkatkan kesehatan Kaisar. Ajaran yang dianut pada masa itu meyakini bahwa seorang Kaisar sebaiknya berhubungan seks dengan minimal 10 orang wanita dari kelas rendah dalam semalam. Tujuannya adalah untuk mereguk yin sebanyak-banyaknya dari para wanita itu, dan hanya mengeluarkan yang kepada wnaita di kelas tinggi, terutama untuk Permaisuri. Idealnya Kaisar (sang matahari) hanya perlu bertemu dengan Permasuri (sang bulan) sebulan sekali. Dengan demikian anak yang dilahirkan akan memiliki fisik yang sehat. Jika Kaisar hanya berhubungan dengan satu wanita saja, maka esensi penting wanita itu akan melemah. Untuk kepentingan kesehatan itu, maka seorang Kaisar dan istri-istrinya (termasuk para selir) perlu mengetahui panduan seni di kamar tidur.

Wu Chao jelas memanfaatkan pengetahuan itu sebaik-baiknya. Ketika Tai Tsung meninggal, semua selir harus mencukur habis rambutnya dan dikirim di biara. Ketika Kao Tsung terangkat menjadi Kaisar, Wu Chao kembali lagi ke istana kerajaan. Diduga jauh sebelumnya antara Wu Chao dan Kao Tsung sudah terjalin suatu hubungan. Permaisuri Wang (istri Kao-Tsung) ternyata mandul dan tidak bisa mempunyai anak. Karena persaingannya dengan Selir Hsiao, Permaisuri Wang memanggil kembali Wu Chao untuk masuk ke harem Kaisar. Wu Chao adalah seorang wanita yang cerdas. Dia memanfaatkan hubungannya dengan Kao Tsung dan kekurangan Permaisuri Wang untuk melancarkan jalannya menjadi seorang Permaisuri.

Wu Chao juga adalah seorang wanita yang sadis. Dia tidak segan membunuh putrinya sendiri untuk mencelakai Permaisuri Wang. Bahkan atas perintah Wu Chao, mantan permaisuri Wang dan Selir Hsiao dimutilasi agar tidak ada lagi saingan yang bisa menjatuhkannya. Wu Chao memang berhasil menjadi seorang Putri Langit. (Kaisar diberi gelar Putra Langit, namun karena Wu Chao seorang wanita, maka gelarnya adalah Putri Langit).

Sebenarnya kisah Wu Chao ini pernah juga diangkat dalam literatur lainnya, mengingat peristiwa seorang wanita menjadi Kaisar bukanlah hal yang lumrah. Saya sendiri pernag membaca serial Empress Orchid karya Anchee Min, dimana di situ Wu Chao dikenal dengan nama Putri Yehonala. Atau mungkin ada yang pernah membaca kisah Xi-Ci dalam Imperial Woman karya Pearl S. Buck? Itu juga adalah kisah Wu Chao. Bedanya karya Anchee Min dan Pearl S. Buck adalah sebuah fiksi, sementara tulisan Nigel Cawthorne ini adalah non fiksi.

Karena non fiksi, saya tidak menjumpai ada satupun dialog dalam buku ini. Tapi karena buku ini berisi sejarah yang penuh intrik, kekuasaan dan (panduan) seks di dalam Kekaisaran China, buku ini menjadi menarik untuk dibaca. Meski demikian saya perlu memberikan peringatan bahwa ada banyak sekali konten dewasa di dalam buku ini, khususnya di beberapa bab awal. Buat kamu yang sudah menikah dan ingin belajar soal Tongkat Giok dan Gerbang Permata boleh menyimak isi buku ini :)

[Judi Easley · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Review:
The mystery of the Orient hits an ultimate high when you talk about the Forbidden City of China. This whole book pretty much takes place there as you follow the narrator from birth to death and all the twisty turns in between of the only woman to become Emperor. There were many empresses over the years and dynasties, but only one female emperor.

Wu Chao was not born to the palace. In fact, she was a commoner. Her father was a woodcutter. Her mother was of a noble family, however, and raised her as a lady. She was also extremely intelligent and inquisitive. So when she met Great General Li, she impressed him. He later mentioned her to the people at the palace and she was ordered to come to serve at the palace. Being smart, she took advantage of each and every opportunity as it came and created others. One emperor died and she married another before she was in a position to usurp the power of the throne. She literally became the power behind the throne initially. Her husband was not as adept at running the government as she was. She sat in a chair behind a curtain hung behind the throne and advised him. Eventually, they did away with the curtain and her chair was beside his. Finally, he just let her make all the decisions because she was so much better at it than he was. She was constantly outraging the traditions for women of the time.

This was a bloody time in history. Not only were countries fighting countries, but within China, families were fighting for position and power. Even within families, there were hostilities and power plays. They killed each other frequently or were ordered into exile or to commit suicide. Only the emperor could order someone to commit suicide, and they did. Everyone from high-ranking officials to members of their own family. Even their own children. There were rumors that when this emperor was a concubine, she may have even killed her own infant daughter to throw the empress into disrepute. As I said, it was a bloody time in history.

Mr. Cawthorne has researched extensively and included a lot of peripheral history and details. In some places, it seemed that he may actually have gotten sidetracked with the peripherals and lost the main line. With the accounting of a person's life, you would expect the story to stop with their death or shortly thereafter. Again, Mr. Cawthorne seemed to get a bit lost and rambled on for awhile until he seemed to run out of things to say. If you are a strict history buff, you may enjoy this tome. This is an accounting of her life, not a novel.

This eARC was provided to me by Endeavor Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I am not being compensated in any way. All opinions are fully my own.
~ Judi E. Easley for Blue Cat Review

[Katherine 黄爱芬 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wu Zhao baru berusia 13 thn ketika menjadi selir tingkat ke-5 dari Kaisar Tang Tai Tsung. Mungkin karena sifatnya blak-blakan, dia tidak pernah naik tingkatan selir lagi hingga kematian Tai Tsung memaksanya harus ke biara Budha menjadi biksuni. Sewaktu Tai Tsung sakit-sakitan, Kao Tsung (anak Tai Tsung) kerap mengunjungi ayahnya sehingga sering bertemu dengan Wu Zhao (dan ada kemungkinan mereka sudah "main belakang"). Dan saat Wu Zhao menjadi biksuni, dia tetap tidak melupakan ambisinya untuk kembali ke istana.
Nasib baik menyertainya ketika Kaisar Kao Tsung mengunjungi biara Budha dimana Wu Zhao berada dan mereka bertangisan bersamaan mengenang masa lalu. Kebetulan, Permaisuri Wang (istri Kao Tsung) berkompetisi dengan Selir Hsiao, selir kesayangan Kao Tsung saat itu dimana Permaisuri Wang tidak memiliki anak alias mandul sedangkan Selir Hsiao sudah melahirkan putra untuk Kao Tsung. Takut dirinya disingkirkan oleh Selir Hsiao, maka Permaisuri Wang memerintahkan Wu Zhao untuk memanjangkan kembali rambutnya dan kembali ke istana (yang merupakan keputusan yang amat salah besar) dan langsung Kao Tsung terlena dan melupakan Selir Hsiao demi Wu Zhao. Dengan lihai nya, Wu Zhao mulai membuat pendukungnya di istana sehingga waktu Permaisuri Wang dan Selir Hsiao baru menyadari kekuatan Wu Zhao, mereka sudah terlambat dan tidak memiliki pendukung sama sekali. Wu Zhao mulai melancarkan strategi-strateginya supaya Selir Hsiao dan terutama Permaisuri Wang digeser dari kedudukannya. Walau Wu Zhao sudah mengorbankan anak perempuannya yang dicekik mati olehnya dan menimpakan kepada Permaisuri, Wu Zhao tidak puas jika blm menjadi Permaisuri (Wu Zhao sendiri masih menjadi selir tingkat dua, masih dibawah Selir Hsiao), dan perjuangannya tidak mudah karena Permaisuri Wang walaupun mandul, memiliki pendukung seperti Chang-sun Wu Chi yang mendukung kenaikan Kao Tsung menjadi Putra Mahkota juga. Tapi Wu Zhao juga tidak kalah pendukungnya sehingga akhirnya dia mendapatkan tujuannya untuk menjadi Permaisuri.
Kao Tsung yang lemah dan sakit-sakitan otomatis menyerahkan kendali kerajaan kepada Wu Zhao dan menuruti semua keputusannya (termasuk pindah ibukota negara). Walaupun banyak penentangnya, Wu Zhao terbukti cakap dan mampu menangani kerajaan Tang yang sangat luas ini dan ditambah keberhasilannya dalam invasi Korea membuat namanya makin populer. Kao Tsung yang lemah pada akhirnya meninggal juga di usia 55 tahun. Wu Zhao menjadi wali dari Kaisar Chung Tsung (anak tengahnya yang peragu) namun dia tidak puas dan mengganti Chung Tsung dengan Jui Tsung (anak bungsunya) yang sama saja seperti kakaknya hanya menjadi boneka dari ibunya.
Wu Zhao tidak puas hanya menjadi wali dan dalang dibalik layar. Dia mau menjadi kaisar wanita tapi dia memiliki banyak penentang terutama penganut Kong Hucu yang menentang wanita berkuasa di garis kepemimpinan yang diperuntukkan untuk wanita. Tapi berkat kecerdasan, kecerdikan dan kesabarannya serta dukungan dari para menteri2 nya yang cakap, akhirnya dia bisa menjadi Putri Langit (sebutan untuk Kaisar Wanita, dia pertama dan satu-satunya Kaisar Wanita yang berkuasa atas namanya sendiri dan berkuasa cukup lama selama 20 tahun). Dia berhasil menyatukan penganut Budha, Tao dan Kong Hucu sehingga tidak pernah perang satu sama lain dalam periode pemerintahnya.
Untuk mencegah para oposisinya dia membentuk polisi rahasia yang kejam dan senang menyiksa dan meneror. Wu Zhao tidak pandang bulu dalam berbuat kejam. Anaknya, cucunya sendiri pun dilibas juga yang melawan dirinya. Walau punya sikap kejam, tapi dia sangat terbuka pada pemikiran moderen dan masuk akal dan bisa menerima kritikan kecuali kritikan tentang kehidupan seksual dan haremnya. Gara-gara salah seorang haremnya ini yang bernama Hsueh Huai-I (mantan pedagang obat dan menyamar menjadi biksu Budha padahal menjadi kekasih gelap Wu Zhao), Wu Zhao sering ketiban masalah karena kekasihnya sering melakukan korupsi dan menggunakan uang negara seperti air. Karena Wu Zhao tidak mau kehilangan muka di depan pejabat dan masyarakat akhirnya dia mengorbankan Hsueh Huai-I. Wu Zhao sering melakukan hal ini, beberapa orang yang berjasa kepadanya, namun karena sikap mereka yang keterlaluan dan banyak menimbulkan skandal terutama skandal seks dan korupsi, dia tidak segan-segan untuk membunuh mereka demi popularitas dirinya di mata masyarakat.
Menjelang usia tuanya di penghujung umur 70-an, Wu Zhao makin terlena dan bersenang-senang terus dengan 2 harem kesayangannya, Chang bersaudara, yang keluarganya tidak segan-segan menggunakan kedekatan dan akses saudara mereka kepada Kaisar, untuk kepentingan pribadi. Malah Chang bersaudara ini walaupun tidak ikut berpolitik tapi bisa menyingkirkan pejabat-pejabat istana teras atas sekalipun. Akhirnya karena muak dengan Chang bersaudara, konspirasi antara berbagai pejabat dilakukan dan pada suatu malam Wu Zhao disergap ketika berada di istana bersama Chang bersaudara. Wu Zhao dipaksa menyerahkan tahtanya dan Chang bersaudara digantung dan dimutilasi.
Wu Zhao tak lama setelah turun tahta, akhirnya meninggal dunia dalam damai. Sepertinya dia sengaja membiarkan prasastinya kosong dan membiarkan kita menilai sendiri atas pencapaian dan prestasinya. Memang tidak bersih tapi memang begitulah politik apalagi pada masa lampau seperti zamannya. Seperti yang dikatakan salah seorang pendukungnya, dia diperbandingkan dengan Permaisuri Lu yg kejam pada Dinasti Han. Permaisuri Lu itu kacau namun tidak cabul, sedangkan Wu Zhao itu cabul namun tidak kacau.
Setelah kematiannya, banyak wanita di istana kerajaan Tang yang berambisi dapat mencapai prestasi seperti dia dan menjadi orang berkuasa di negeri China seperti Permaisuri Wei, Putri An Lo, Putri Tai Ping (anak perempuan bungsu Wu Zetian sendiri) tidak ada yang bisa menandingi seperti Wu Zetian. Menurut analisa saya, hal ini dikarenakan Wu Zhao lebih tergembleng di istana walau bukan lahir di istana. Dia masuk sebagai orang luar dan bekerja di istana sejak usia relatif sangat muda. Dia menggunakan kecantikan, kecerdasan dan bakat seksualnya yang menyebabkan 2 kaisar takhluk terhadapnya. Dan setelah dia memerintah dan berkuasa, dia kejam sekali tapi diimbangi dengan meningkatkan semua sektor ekonomi dan terutama sastra yang berkembang amat pesat pada masa Dinasti Tang.

Saya memberikan 4 bintang, bukan 5 bintang, kenapa? Karena buku ini terutama di awal-awal cerita terlalu banyak tetek-bengek detil-detil yang tidak perlu seperti demografi, geografi rumah kediaman Wu Zhao, istana, hubungan seksual istana dll. Kalau menceritakannya lebih ringkas, mungkin bisa lebih nyaman bacanya.
Dan kalau soal complain banyak nama yang mirip-mirip, tidak heran orang zaman dahulu kasih nama mirip-mirip. Sama saja seperti di Barat, nama raja Henry saja sudah tak terhitung banyaknya di Inggris, blm lagi di Perancis dan berbagai negara dan pelosok lainnya. Kalau kurang mengerti, baca saja Wikipedia, penjelasannya komplit koq.

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 1 out of 5]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

Wow is this book a mess and incredibly difficult to plod through. Reading like a tabloid version of a historical biography, it's all sex, more sex, some random facts, a LOT of tangents, more sex, and then some cannibalism and horror. Those who have read David Jennings will likely feel right at home here: Cawthorne has gone to great lengths to find every gory or sex-related detail, from mating positions, how people were cooked/boiled/prepared, how toilet paper was constructed, dildos, to architecture. I felt like I was reading switching between pornography, horror , and then the driest historical text. And that would all be on the same page!

The book is loosely written in Wu Chen's life's chronological order but you can't really tell because every paragraph goes off on a wild tangent that has little if nothing to do with Wu Chen. Each tangent is punctuated by something sexual in nature - there's even whole chapters of nothing but graphic and detailed descriptions of how the concubines were prepared for the emperor. It got to be too much - I felt like I was given only salacious details meant to titillate rather than a grounded and informative historical biography.

When the description says this book is sensational, they don't mean in a superlative sense. This is sensational for the point of shocking/titilating rather than educating; almost a throw back to the more graphic fiction of the 1970s. And that's only if you can slog through random tangents of how a city was laid out, the entire antecedents of the latest emperor, what cities were built at the time and why, and how lavatories worked in the era. Talk about confusing, my eyes started to cross from all the random fairly unrelated facts. And I still never got a feel for the woman herself.

Not recommended for anyone. There has to be a better biography than this. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

[Jifu · Rating 1 out of 5]

(I was able to receive an advance copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley)

As an Asian studies major and avid devourer of all things related to imperial Chinese history in particular, I was eager to tackle a book on the life of Empress Wu. Unfortunately, I did not get the new and deep insight into this particular era of the Tang Dynasty that I wanted. What I found instead was a book with too many flaws that I found myself unable to finish it.

All too often wandered off into various areas to overload me with with excessive details about Tang China that did little to help me understand the woman who is supposed to be at the book's focus. Besides that, there was also quite an uncomfortably strong focus on matters of sex, murder, and other such things that made this feel much less like a decent historical novel of any sort. Instead, it feels like it just carries on the centuries-long tradition of painting high-powered women in imperial China as all being part of the same basic mold as nothing fierce, conniving power-hungry souls with a large deviant streak.

Certain sensational details may make this book interesting to some. But as a quality source on the life of a genuinely fascinating woman, I found this to be a very, very heavy disappointment.

[Caroline · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book received from Netgalley and Endeavour Press in exchange for an honest review, thank you.


I wanted to like this book more than I did. The subject is fascinating: Wu Chao was a commoner in 7th century China and became the only female emperor China has ever had. This time in history was bloody with not only countries, but families were fighting for power and positions. Within the families there were power plays and hostilities; some committing suicide while others were sent into exile. With all of this being such an important and tumultuous time in history, I was excited where the author would take this.

In truth, I had a difficult time getting through. There is a lack of organization throughout the book as it wanders from one topic to another, seemingly unaware of the main focus of the narrative for awhile before coming back to its senses and getting back on track. There are many tangents, and the author seems to have the need to follow every one of them. That being said however, it is quite obvious that the research for this book is extensive and includes a lot of outer history and is very detailed. The amount of outer history may be the reason the author became so sidetracked, and he could have very easily done without it. I feel as though the author relied too much on other people's sources (meaning I feel as that he took exactly what they said in a cut and paste fashion), so the story does not feel as though it is his own work.

For being such a captivating topic, I feel the author could have done much better. This biography does not do the historical figure justice. I would not recommend this book, unless you are a history student that is in need of sources for a paper about Wu Chao.

Visit my blog: http://bookwrx.blogspot.com/

[Simona Dreca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book boring. The initial set of names is difficult to remember, expecially because it is only mentioned and not clearly explicated, and this fact hasn't prompted me to try to understand better or more. Every now and then a line looks promising, but then the pedantry resumes. I'm very sorry. The argument seemed to me very interesting, but the book could not involve me.

Ho trovato questo libro noioso. La serie iniziale di nomi difficili da ricordare in quanto solo nominati, non mi hanno stimolato a cercare di capire meglio o di più. Ogni tanto qualche riga sembra promettere bene, ma poi riprende la pedanteria. Sono veramente dispiaciuta. L'argomento mi sembrava veramente interessante, ma il libro non è riuscito a coinvolgermi.

[Maria Beltrami · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story of Wu Chao, the only woman who became emperor of China, is highly unusual. We speak of a time when, due to Confucian beliefs, women were little more than objects. Instruments of pleasure, given the incredible sexualisation of society, which increased the higher one went on the social scale. From this point of view, the biography of this woman is of great interest, however, the writing is decidedly heavy and the organisation of the material is confusing. Furthermore, there are parts (such as the long list with descriptions of the positions involved in coitus) that could have been collected in an appendix, so as not to interrupt a narrative that is already difficult to follow. A pity.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too fact full. Not enough zingy story to it.

[Xiao Keren · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a fantasy of China for curious foreigners.

[Beatriz · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was very disappointed with this book. I didn't expect a scholarly work, with full foot notes. I did expect some sources to be properly identified and some critical reasoning applied to the material the author gathered. For example, accusing an enemy not only of cannibalism but also of enjoying it is just about the oldest way to slander a foe there is. If the author wishes to level this accusation, he needs to show more proof.

I was also disappointed with the lack of organization. The book meanders from one topic to another, forgetting the main focus of the narrative for several chapters before snapping back. The author has never found a tangent he didn't wish to follow.

Finally, a word of warning to any thinking of purchasing this book for younger readers. There are two chapters of detailed descriptions of Chinese sexual philosophy and practices, with such "scholarly" language as "come" for male ejaculation (yes, formally written out), which I didn't expect outside of internet comment sections or porn.

I received a free copy of this book for my obviously unbiased review.

[KB · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've had this sitting on my shelf for probably over six years now. I tried to read it twice and never got through it. It's just not that good of a book. But this time I wanted to force myself through to finally say I've at least read it. Even if I didn't enjoy it.

The problem with this book, in my opinion, is that there's just so much irrelevant, or at least extra, information. And this information takes up far too much space. By the time you get to the fifth chapter, you realize you've learned pretty much next to nothing about Wu Zetian. The book progresses chronologically for the most part - save for those awful tangents Cawthorne gets into - so that's a plus. But it's just names and facts and more names and information all over the place, making the story hard to follow.

It's not that this information (the details of a city, sex practices in ancient China, the history of whatever dynasty) is uninteresting, it's that it's just way overdone. Having context and creating a visual for readers is certainly important, but Cawthorne could have pulled it way back. I think a lot of it too is difficult for people going into this knowing very little about ancient China, such as myself, so names and places can be confusing and this is only made worse by everything Cawthorne chose to include, which doesn't add much to the story and takes the focus away from the actual subject.

There's really not much that's impressive about this book. Even a peek at his bibliography only reveals secondary sources, meaning he's just putting together other people's information. When he does reference primary sources and documents, I can only assume that these translations or the info they provide are just jacked from someone else's work. And he frequently talks about Turkish people, which I can only imagine he means Turkic people. He also uses the Wade-Giles romanization method which I absolutely hate. It's so messy looking. Just use pinyin.

Is the book completely terrible? No. There's a lot of interesting information (even if it's overdone) and interesting characters (if you can keep track of them) sprinkled throughout the story. And even if the book is only secondary source research, I imagine this would still have been quite a lot to put together - although this is still something to fault the book on.

Wu Zetian is an interesting woman but this biography doesn't exactly do her justice. It's also something of a chore to read. I don't recommend it and I'd probably never read anything else by this author.

[The Idle Woman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I couldn’t resist this biography of Wu Chao, a remarkable woman in the 7th century who clawed her way up from the status of a lowly concubine to become Emperor of China in her own right. She was, predictably, a fascinating character and her court, in its intrigues, corruption and eventual dissipation, makes the worst excesses of Westeros look like a village fete. Her rise and fall are worthy of a Greek tragedy but, alas, this book isn’t the best way for a newcomer to encounter her story...

To find out why, and for the rest of the review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2017/02/11/d...

[Jeff Lanter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm probably being generous with my score and I'll explain why. This book is about an interesting person, however, it is not edited or written really well. There are way too many typos in this book and all of them could have been so easily fixed. Some of them make the story that much more confusing, but perhaps the biggest problem is that the author spends too much time telling the reader about every Chinese monarch and court member, but without helping us remember who is who. Some of the people simply could be taken out of the story. Others need a little bit more background information, this Li Chung did this while the other Li Kao-tsung did that. It isn't that Chinese names are hard to distinguish but when you talk about 5 different Li's or Wu's in one page, it gets pretty hard to keep track.

In spite of all these problems, Wu Chao, was a remarkable woman who is not even close to being moral or upstanding, but was a halfway decent emperor. While sometimes this book seems more like the Chinese Kama Sutra with pages and pages about sexual positions and practices than a book on history, the rest of the book is reasonably entertaining. The cover of this book drew me in and created pretty high expectations. While the book didn't come close to delivering on those, it was still a pretty decent read and worth my time.

[David Latham · Rating 3 out of 5]

For such a short book it felt long. But, saying that I did enjoy it. The historical and cultural descriptions were fantastic I really got the sense of the time and culture but it was so long winded. I think the book would have benefited from a better edit since some of the information felt like it was thrown in t fill pages. Also and I know this isn't the authors fault but I got confused with the Chinese names. As a westerner reading very similar names was confusing and hard - meaning that I had to go back several times and read the same information to get it straight in my head. Also the constant lists to illustrate the same point became tiring. The appendix would have benefited from a family tree. perhaps a few pictures to help illustrate people. Still the subject matter was fantastic. A powerful historical female character is always interesting and has and always will split public opinion. If her actions were performed by a male ruler there wouldn't be a need for a book and we'd accept it was events fit for the time. I hope to learn more about her in the future.

[Polly Krize · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of this book is intriguing, I give it that. I had a difficult time with it though. Unfortunately, the writing style is not well done, editing is bad, and it is way too heavy on the history. Only my opinion.

[R-Qie R-Qie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Halaman awal pembaca disuguhi daftar nama tokoh yang terlibat dalam kisah nyata Kaisar wanita satu-satunya di China. Ampun, deh, banyaknya! Mirip-mirip pula. Sepanjang membaca saya hanya bisa mengidentifikasi segelintir nama saja. Selebihnya, yang puluhan itu, sama sekali tak bisa dikenali. Tak bisa dibedakan antara musuh dan sekutu sang tokoh utama.

Intrik dalam perebutan kekuasaan dan seks menjadi tema utama dalam buku ini. Seni di tempat tidur dijelaskan secara gamblang dan blak-blakan. Perselingkuhan, inses, dan bertukar/memberikan pasangan sendiri kepada orang lain menjadi hal yang biasa. Nyawa begitu mudah melayang bahkan untuk hal sepele. Keluarga bisa menjadi musuh, musuh bisa jadi sekutu, demi merebut atau mempertahankan kekuasaan. Betapa hidup di China pada masa itu membuat miris.

[Pera · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kadang aku berfikir, otakku ini ada kesulitan membaca novel dengan banyak tokoh cina nya. Aku sulit mengingat nama tokohnya :D. Apalagi dengan banyak tokoh. Pusing sendiri.Nonton film cina pun begitu. lhaa...ini siapa tadi namanya yaaa?. parah.

Karena penasaran dan sedikit maksa memang...akhirnya kuselesaikan membacanya. Mana tahu daya otakku bisa berubah. mungkin bergeserlah sedikit.

Bukunya cukup vulgar di beberapa bagian. Baru tau filosofi seks bangsa cina dari buku ini. Kenapa raja-raja di cina mempunyai istri banyak?. Untuk apa?. Selain novel berlatar sejarah...buku ini juga cocok buku kesehatan reproduksi.Hati-hati, jangan dikasih ke anak-anak. Ntar pusing menjelaskannya :D

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt this was a little hard to follow, what with all the various similar-sounding names of individuals being mentioned. I'm sure it would make sense if you could read it in one sitting. By the time I got around to picking it back up again, I couldn't remember who was who, or what dynasty it was.

[Truly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hemmmmm
Hemmmmm
Waduhhhhh!

Buku yang menarik hanya sepertinya perlu dikasih tulisan 17 tahun ++ mengingat isinya yang cukup
Terus Terang mengenai urusan "Tongkat Giok" dan "Gerbang Permata" serta kekejaman yang diuraikan dengan santainya

Reviewnya nanti ahhhhh

------------->
Done!
Review ada di

http://trulyrudiono.blogspot.com/2013...

[Lia 張勵靄 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ada beberapa kesalahan sepele namun fatal di buku ini. Jadi, berhati-hatilah saat membaca dan pelajari sumber lain. Contoh yang paling mencolok adalah Wu Chao dikatakan sebagai nama pemberian ayah padahal sejarah mencatat nama kandung Maharani Wu ini adalah Wu Ze Tian. Wu Chao, dilafalkan menurut ejaan pinyin sebagai Wu Zhao, adalah nama ciptaannya sendiri.

[Nurlely · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the Indonesian version of the book. I wonder if I could finish reading it if it is in English version. I surely felt like reading a history book rather than a novel.

The beginning shocked me and made me laughed a bit with the terms used. The bedroom activities are written 'outloud the book should be classified as mature reading.

[Kathy Chung · Rating 1 out of 5]

interesting topic. but just too much irrelevant information which side tracked from the main focus.

[Jennifer Caldwell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Never did I think I could be bored reading a true history about fucking, betrayal, torture, and murder.

[Nanny SA]

Hampir nyerah...Aku pusing bacanya 😩

[Addin Negara · Rating 1 out of 5]

kirain narasinya kayak novel. sayangnya nggak. narasinya kayak baca buku nonfiksi. sejarah banget

[Kirsten Lost 2022 · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a difficult read.

There is a lot of really interesting information here (I will never forget about Jade Stems and Jade Gates as long as I will live), but it's sprinkled amongst SO MUCH INFORMATION. I was really interested in learning about this little-covered era of history but after a full detailed chapter about Li Ching-yeh's rebellion I was more than flagging.

I just wanted to learn about the rule of the only woman Emperor, but instead I got a book to rival Water Margin. At least Water Margin has focus!

Thanks to Netgalley for the read.