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Daughter of Heaven: The True Story of The Only Woman to Become Emperor of China ReviewAlthough I have never been what you could call a raging feminist, I was offended by the sexism apparent in this novel. In some places, Wu Chao appeared to commit sins in the eyes of the author simply due to her gender, which is what the official Chinese history vilifies her for; after all, she dared to do things no woman had done before. Once, after describing the huge bureaucracy in the Forbidden City, the author then stated that it "would all fall into the hands of just one woman, Wu Chao." As opposed to the hands of just one man, her husband? Furthermore, is any bureaucracy ever really under the control of just one person?
I was also disappointed in that the author in several places, in describing an event, would describe likely alternative reasons or scenarios, and then invariably conclude by laying the most evil and sensational reason at Wu Chao's door. In one place, where he is describing the system of new characters she invents, he says that "chillingly, the character for 'moon' was a swastika." Why was this chilling? This was 660 A.D.! A swastika was used for centuries before the Nazis vilified it forever as the symbol of the Holocaust. It was perfectly innocent in Wu Chao's time. The author does not seem to be able to resist throwing in these sensationalistic touches.
However, when he stays away from Wu Chao's personal character (and a surprising amount of the time he does and it's not actually irritating), his scholarship on ancient China is remarkable. I have never encountered anywhere such detailed information on how the Forbidden City was laid out, how concubines were prepared for the Emperor, and how the Emperor interacted with them. For a scholar of ancient China, this is a worthy read in that right. But I have read other books on Wu Chao, or "Heavenlight", as her given name translates, and I intend to read more. I don't think this book tells the whole story, despite its title. Try "Empress", by Sa Shan.
At the time I wrote this review, I had not read the other books I mentioned. "Empress" by Sa Shan is just as biased as this book, just in the other way. Read "Wu: The Woman Who Schemed, Seduced, and Murdered Her Way to Become a Living God" by Jonathan Clements for a truly balanced view. It is the best of the bunch.
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