The Empress in the Pepper Chamber

Name: The Empress in the Pepper Chamber
ISBN: 9780295748764

Zhao Feiyan in History and Fiction

Olivia Milburn,

234 pages
English
ePUB (mobile friendly)
Available on iOS & Android

eBook - ePub

Available until 23 Dec |Learn more

The Empress in the Pepper Chamber

Zhao Feiyan in History and Fiction

Olivia Milburn,

About this book

An infamous Chinese femme fatale, in history and fiction Zhao Feiyan (45–1 BCE), the second empress appointed by Emperor Cheng of the Han dynasty (207 BCE–220 CE), was born in slavery and trained in the performing arts, a background that made her appointment as empress highly controversial. Subsequent persecution by her political enemies eventually led to her being forced to commit suicide. After her death, her reputation was marred by accusations of vicious scheming, murder of other consorts and their offspring, and relentless promiscuity, punctuated by bouts of extravagant shopping. This first book-length study of Zhao Feiyan and her literary legacy includes a complete translation of The Scandalous Tale of Zhao Feiyan (Zhao Feiyan waizhuan), a Tang dynasty (618–907 CE) erotic novella that describes in great detail the decadent lifestyle enjoyed by imperial favorites in the harem of Emperor Cheng. This landmark text was crucial for establishing writings about palace women as the accepted forum for discussing sexual matters, including fetishism, obsession, jealousy, incompatibility in marriage, and so on. Using historical documentation, Olivia Milburn reconstructs the evolution of Zhao Feiyan's story and illuminates the broader context of palace life for women and the novella's social influence.

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Yes, you can access The Empress in the Pepper Chamber by Olivia Milburn in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & Chinese History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.