What do you think?
Rate this book
L'Impératrice de la soie #2
Die Färberin
Die große Seidenstraßen-Saga
Sinnlich und farbenprächtig: der faszinierendste Handelsweg der Welt – die Seidenstraße!
Um ihre Macht zu festigen, unterstützt Wu Zhao buddhistische Strömungen in ihrem Land. Da erfährt der Großzensor, dass sie in den illegalen Seidenhandel verwickelt ist …
Sinnlich und farbenprächtig: der faszinierendste Handelsweg der Welt – die Seidenstraße!
Um ihre Macht zu festigen, unterstützt Wu Zhao buddhistische Strömungen in ihrem Land. Da erfährt der Großzensor, dass sie in den illegalen Seidenhandel verwickelt ist …
512 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
2 people are currently reading
97 people want to read
About the author
José Frèches
82 books16 followersEducation (school): São Paolo, Rome, Lisbon, Aix-en-Provence, Paris
Education (university): Institut d’Etudes Politiques of Aix-en-Provence,
Degrees in History of Art and Chinese, Masters in History, former pupil of ENA.
Professional career: curator of the Guimet museum at 21 years of age and lecturer at the Ecole du Louvre, José Frèches has held various positions in the communications, audiovisual and culture sectors (setting up the Vidéothèque of Paris and becoming President of Midi Libre)
Today, he is a member of the Artistic Council of the National Museums Group (Réunion des musées nationaux), and among other activities he puts his energy into a Parisian Communications Agency and is also the director of an art and antiques gallery in the Gard.
He initiated in 2005 the International Biennial of Chinese Contemporary Art in Montpellier, an event testifying for the huge development of China and of its culture. His novelistic trilogies, The Legend of the Jade and The Silk Empress (XO, 2002 and 2004) were tremendously successful: they sold more than one million copies and were translated into 11 languages. His biographical novel about Buddha, I Buddha, appealed to the general reader (90.000 copies were sold in France, apart from paperback) and to nine foreign publishers.
His first trilogy The Jade Disk is a story, set during the Warring States Period in disunited China. It tells the story from the character of the rich merchant and eventual prime-minister Lü Buwei - real father of the first emperor of China Qin Shi Huang. It portrays the struggles between the other kingdoms and Kingdom of Qin, destined to unite China.
His second trilogy The Empress of Silk is set in Medieval China during the Tang Dynasty. It depicts the story of Emperor Gaozong, the third emperor of Tang and his prominent and ambitious wife Wu Zetian, who after his death, virtually became the ruler of the country and the first female emperor in the history of China.
His latest series The Empire of Tears is set in mid-19th Century China, during the Opium Wars, where the empire is struggling and slowly decaying.
Education (university): Institut d’Etudes Politiques of Aix-en-Provence,
Degrees in History of Art and Chinese, Masters in History, former pupil of ENA.
Professional career: curator of the Guimet museum at 21 years of age and lecturer at the Ecole du Louvre, José Frèches has held various positions in the communications, audiovisual and culture sectors (setting up the Vidéothèque of Paris and becoming President of Midi Libre)
Today, he is a member of the Artistic Council of the National Museums Group (Réunion des musées nationaux), and among other activities he puts his energy into a Parisian Communications Agency and is also the director of an art and antiques gallery in the Gard.
He initiated in 2005 the International Biennial of Chinese Contemporary Art in Montpellier, an event testifying for the huge development of China and of its culture. His novelistic trilogies, The Legend of the Jade and The Silk Empress (XO, 2002 and 2004) were tremendously successful: they sold more than one million copies and were translated into 11 languages. His biographical novel about Buddha, I Buddha, appealed to the general reader (90.000 copies were sold in France, apart from paperback) and to nine foreign publishers.
His first trilogy The Jade Disk is a story, set during the Warring States Period in disunited China. It tells the story from the character of the rich merchant and eventual prime-minister Lü Buwei - real father of the first emperor of China Qin Shi Huang. It portrays the struggles between the other kingdoms and Kingdom of Qin, destined to unite China.
His second trilogy The Empress of Silk is set in Medieval China during the Tang Dynasty. It depicts the story of Emperor Gaozong, the third emperor of Tang and his prominent and ambitious wife Wu Zetian, who after his death, virtually became the ruler of the country and the first female emperor in the history of China.
His latest series The Empire of Tears is set in mid-19th Century China, during the Opium Wars, where the empire is struggling and slowly decaying.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 19, 2023
Esta trilogia foi comprada por ser histórico, trilogia e porque estava em promoção, aquelas compras que eu faço de intuição, na fé...
Romance, traição, luta, História, aventura.
Eu sonhava com a trama. Enquanto não a devorei, literalmente, não descansei. Eu lia no autocarro, quando chegava à escola, antes de dormir. Eu lia sempre que podia. É uma Trilogia intensa, muito bem conseguida, cheia de coisas boas mas também um tanto ou quanto pesada. E foi na altura em que não largava estes livros, que uma das minhas colegas começou a ganhar interesse na leitura e a começar o seu caminho nos livros. Para mim, além do interesse que desperta e do fascinante que é, além de muito instrutiva, esta trilogia ficará sempre ligada ao meu amor pela leitura e pelos livros e pela passagem do testemunho a uma não leitora que rapidamente se transformou numa leitora ávida. Foi a primeira pessoa que influenciei a ler. E ainda hoje, qd falamos de longe em longe, ela me diz que a culpa de gostar de ler e ter descoberto os livros, é minha. Gosto muito desta culpa e tenho mt orgulho nela!
Romance, traição, luta, História, aventura.
Eu sonhava com a trama. Enquanto não a devorei, literalmente, não descansei. Eu lia no autocarro, quando chegava à escola, antes de dormir. Eu lia sempre que podia. É uma Trilogia intensa, muito bem conseguida, cheia de coisas boas mas também um tanto ou quanto pesada. E foi na altura em que não largava estes livros, que uma das minhas colegas começou a ganhar interesse na leitura e a começar o seu caminho nos livros. Para mim, além do interesse que desperta e do fascinante que é, além de muito instrutiva, esta trilogia ficará sempre ligada ao meu amor pela leitura e pelos livros e pela passagem do testemunho a uma não leitora que rapidamente se transformou numa leitora ávida. Foi a primeira pessoa que influenciei a ler. E ainda hoje, qd falamos de longe em longe, ela me diz que a culpa de gostar de ler e ter descoberto os livros, é minha. Gosto muito desta culpa e tenho mt orgulho nela!
Want to read
August 15, 2013Ho registrato un libro su BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12119810
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12119810
February 12, 2026
J’ai lu plus rapidement que le premier, j’ai bien aimé l’histoire, il y a quand même du suspens et des rebondissements.
Par contre je me serais vraiment passée des scènes de cul inutiles à quasi chaque chapitre.
J’allais mettre 4 étoiles jusqu’au dernier chapitre, vraiment la tromperie qui passe comme une erreur et le trompeur qui passe comme une victime m’a tellement soûlée. C’était franchement pas nécessaire, dommage.
Par contre je me serais vraiment passée des scènes de cul inutiles à quasi chaque chapitre.
J’allais mettre 4 étoiles jusqu’au dernier chapitre, vraiment la tromperie qui passe comme une erreur et le trompeur qui passe comme une victime m’a tellement soûlée. C’était franchement pas nécessaire, dommage.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 26, 2012
I didn't enjoy the book so much. The story was not overwhelming and the characters hadn't great personalities.
For all the book the story was fragmented and sometimes not so clear; also it was pretty boring in some parts because it was all about sex, religion and silk. I think that the author have done a fantastic work speaking of describing the Oriental culture and their tradition but, for the story itself, he could have done better. Maybe the problem is that there are lots of characters and you can not find a main character; Reading the synopsis you immediately think that Wuzhao, the empress, would have been the female protagonist and maybe, if the story would have been around her, the book would have been more interesting.
Nevertheless I think that the author is amazingly cultured: He has a huge knowledge about Oriental countries.
For all the book the story was fragmented and sometimes not so clear; also it was pretty boring in some parts because it was all about sex, religion and silk. I think that the author have done a fantastic work speaking of describing the Oriental culture and their tradition but, for the story itself, he could have done better. Maybe the problem is that there are lots of characters and you can not find a main character; Reading the synopsis you immediately think that Wuzhao, the empress, would have been the female protagonist and maybe, if the story would have been around her, the book would have been more interesting.
Nevertheless I think that the author is amazingly cultured: He has a huge knowledge about Oriental countries.
January 27, 2014
I could not finish this book, read in French, title: Le toit du monde (trilogie:L'impératrice de la soie).
The historical facts and especially the details about religion, the different branches of Buddhism and they rivalry are very interesting. But I just could not read 500 pages of that first book of the trilogy (I gave up around page 200, really tried...), too much is dislike about it: the writing style, the ridiculous love stories, the simplistic characters (and plot), the 20th century dialogues in the mouth of people living in the first one etc.
I gave 3 stars because of the obvious research the writer has done to document this book, and also because I don't want people to think I give zero stars when I just don't want to give a rating having not finished the book.
The historical facts and especially the details about religion, the different branches of Buddhism and they rivalry are very interesting. But I just could not read 500 pages of that first book of the trilogy (I gave up around page 200, really tried...), too much is dislike about it: the writing style, the ridiculous love stories, the simplistic characters (and plot), the 20th century dialogues in the mouth of people living in the first one etc.
I gave 3 stars because of the obvious research the writer has done to document this book, and also because I don't want people to think I give zero stars when I just don't want to give a rating having not finished the book.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews