Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Empress: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Empress: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Empress: A Novel
    Ebook448 pages6 hours

    Empress: A Novel

    By Shan Sa

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Such is the voice of Shan Sa's unforgettable heroine in her latest literary masterpiece, Empress. Empress Wu, one of China's most controversial figures, was its first and only female emperor, who emerged in the seventh century during the great Tang Dynasty and ushered in a golden age. Throughout history, her name has been defamed and her story distorted by those taking vengeance on a woman who dared to become emperor. But now, for the first time in thirteen centuries, Empress Wu (or Heavenlight, as we come to know her) flings open the gates of the Forbidden City and tells her own astonishing tale—revealing a fascinating, complex figure who in many ways remains modern to this day.

    Writing with epic assurance, poetry, and vivid historic detail, Shan Sa plumbs the psychological and philosophical depths of what it means to be a striving mortal in a tumultuous, power-hungry world. Empress is a great literary feat and a revelation for the ages.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateOct 6, 2009
    ISBN9780061983139
    Unavailable
    Empress: A Novel
    Author

    Shan Sa

    Shan Sa was born in Beijing and had her first poems, essays, and stories published at the age of eight. In 2001 her novel The Girl Who Played Go won the Goncourt Prize. The author of Empress, she is also a celebrated artist who has had prominent exhibitions in Paris and New York.

    Related to Empress

    Related ebooks

    Literary Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Silencing Of A Princess

      Mar 12, 2021

      The Silencing Of A Princess
      4 min read

    • Article

      Defy The Night

      Sep 8, 2021

      RELEASED 14 SEPTEMBER 496 pages | Paperback/ebook Author Brigid Kemmerer Publisher Bloomsbury YA The path of true love may not run smoothly, but sometimes it really does run stupidly. In a kingdom riven by disease, young King Harristan and his brothe

      1 min read

    • Article

      Thoroughly Modern Miranda

      Oct 21, 2021

      Thoroughly Modern Miranda
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Imitation Game

      Jul 21, 2019

      The Imitation Game
      9 min read

    • Article

      The Way Back Home

      Apr 30, 2022

      Morning light in Sydney has a quality of powdered gold, spilt celestial talcum. It gets up the nose. The streets seem to have nothing to think about other than parking and shopping, violence a concept from another hemisphere. The calm seems deliberat

      6 min read

    • Article

      Two Poems by Phillip B. Williams

      Dec 15, 2017

      The masters are yet dead. Wanting to be human,I tried to rewrite The Waste Land. The canon’s reachcasts ruinous light. The masters’ pens breachthis page where, above, my own hand spectates. Babylonrisen, exorcism in reverse, whose nature upended now?

      6 min read

    • Article

      Fragrant

      Jan 18, 2022

      Fragrant
      5 min read

    • Article

      Six Poems

      Jul 1, 2018

      When I said, to my mother, What was a goodthing about me as a child?, my mother’sface seemed to unfurl from the center,hibiscus in fast motion, the anthersand flounces springing out with joy. Oh you wereenchanting, she breathed. What do you mean—craz

      5 min read

    • Article

      Four Poems

      Sep 1, 2022

      I whooshedthrough the party. I grewa set of invisible hands. I was flower girlto the Commonwealth where lovers danced a dancecalled the snowdrift. Sugar mapleshelicoptered samarasin my glass. The dogs slackenedin their webs of shade. A democracyof cl

      2 min read

    • Article

      Cricket League

      Jan 1, 2023

      Mythological Creature Ryan Coppa, age 9 Shaker Heights, OH The Day with Cerberus “But it’s unfair!” I protested. “For the last time, no World Series tickets,” Dad explained. I stomped to my room, not turning back. When I entered my room, I saw a m

      11 min read

    • Article

      An Open Palm

      Apr 14, 2022

      An Open Palm
      10 min read

    • Article

      The Epic Of Gilgamesh

      Jan 1, 2020

      My friends, who can reach heaven? The monster bellows like a river swollen with flood.Many are consumed in his fiery breath. My friends, who can reach heaven? Let us ask the mountain for a sign.Let us cut the spirits from the cedars. My friends, who

      3 min read

    • Article

      Berber Vodka

      Sep 10, 2021

      Berber Vodka
      3 min read

    • Article

      From Cantares Mexicanos

      Dec 1, 2023

      Last night I dreamt that I was employed as a suicide prevention specialist in ancient Mesoamerica. We had no phones then so no hotline to call or anything like that. I held these gatherings going place to place for people to tell me their stories and

      3 min read

    • Article

      What The Magpie Says

      Oct 16, 2022

      What The Magpie Says
      8 min read

    • Article

      The Healing Power

      Dec 12, 2020

      The Healing Power
      6 min read

    • Article

      Three Poems

      Nov 1, 2021

      That the semi-circular canal is part of my ear,not a style of Venetian waterway arch,I learned mid-air on a Huffy.That bicycles left long out in the rain split.That prepositions are tricky.That I was made part industrious,part lazy-assed. That descri

      3 min read

    • Article

      Queen Of Salt

      Feb 6, 2020

      Queen Of Salt
      10 min read

    • Article

      A Story Pilgrimage

      Jun 8, 2021

      A Story Pilgrimage
      3 min read

    • Article

      Summer: A Love Story

      Apr 20, 2021

      It is a squalid time. The body grows tired of being a body. Sweat. Always. A thin film of it on the skin. Do not say dewy. Do not say glisten. I dream of endless green. Of wet. Of rain hammering the Earth. Of buds sprouting. I want to insist on life

      2 min read

    • Article

      Five Poems

      Feb 28, 2023

      For Sudeep Sen I know how grateful you were for myconfession. I, too, had been trusted, I, too,desired, and felt the other mess of need,the clumsy psychology of powerand uselessness. I, too, had betrayed,had confessed, had faced her wailrushing down

      3 min read

    Reviews for Empress

    3.5/5

    156 ratings14 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      Enjoyable read.
    • 3/5
      awesome
    • 3/5
      This novel is difficult to describe - narrated by the Empress herself (the only female Emperor of China ever), it covers her entire life from before birth to after death. The imperial court of China, centuries ago, was a place filled with intrigue, constant plots to usurp the ruler, extreme violence and sexual activity, and excesses of just about everything. Family, servants, concubines, and friends who happened to be on the wrong side of the coup would be banished, ordered to hang themselves, or be murdered. It's a fascinating look, but the style of writing by the author is somewhat odd and not totally engaging. Still, I finished the book and would recommend it to anyone interested in that time period.
    • 3/5
      All in all a good book, very descriptive which I normally enjoy...but this was a bit extreme. I did enjoy learning about the culture though. Fascinating.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Very intriguing style of writing. This is the first book I've read that feels like a direct, however beautiful, translation of Chinese into English. I was amazed to learn that it wasn't first issued in Chinese. The story is also inspiring. I enjoyed the matter of fact ups and downs--isn't that after all how life goes?

      1 person found this helpful

    • 2/5
      I'm giving up on this one 100 pages in. I have an old ARC of this book (obviously old - the book was published in 2003) and so I expect some typos and the like. But there have been a noticeable number of times the wrong word was used ("peel of laughter," for example) and it's just driven me crazy. The writing is not nearly good enough to make up for the editing problems. Repetition of words in a sentence ("all of them are all like beasts of burden....") and other mistakes just pull me right out of the story.It's a shame because I'm sure the story is very interesting, but the way its told here (even aside from the mistakes) just isn't compelling enough to keep me reading.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 1/5
      one of those books I bought for the cover. I did Not appreciate the writing style at all. I didn't finish it. a friend is reading it now and I will be interested to hear her comments.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      I don't really know how to describe this book. Its good in a sense that you really get a feeling of the imperial court of China, probably an inside look that few get.

      However with all the descriptions it is easy to get lost. The titles go on forever and ever, Empress this, Emperor that, Royal this Royal that...um ok I get it they love long titles and everything.

      Oh well, I don't really know what else to say.
    • 3/5
      drawn by the exotic magic of the East, faszinated by the daily and forced traditions at the court in China 600-700A.D. Almost a family drama, a soap opera, an epic tale. This book had everything in it. However, the last third became a bit redundant. Still, I like it because this time in China was unknown to me and I liked reading about the court affairs. Yes, everbody with everybody. no regards of the gender, but then again, it made an interesting read. Will look for the author's other book.
    • 4/5
      Grand story telling.
    • 5/5
      This novel was unlike anything I have ever read. I was not too surprised to find out that this author is also a successful painter. She has a very visual way of writing. It seems a bit difficult to find her other books, at least, they do not seem to be as mainstream, but I will continue to search for them. I really look forward to reading more from her.I could imagine that I was actually experiencing the world of Empress Wu. The characterization never felt false despite her many transformations and the vastly different culture. I feel as though I was immersed not only into a different time and place, but into many different social strata, just as she had, and all that went with this.I found the immersion complete. I believe that is the intention of the author as she begins the story before birth and ends it after her death - it is written from the Empress' viewpoint. Needless to say, her voice is strong throughout.
    • 5/5
      First Novel I read about Empress Wu. Prior to that it was only her History. I was very impressed with Shan Sa 's handling of the young womens childhood since very little is known in the hisotrical literature. Excellent -- Recommend it highly to any interested in this genre of Literature.
    • 4/5
      This book chronicles the life of Empress Wu Zetian from the time of her birth to her death at age 80. Shan Sa has certainly done her research, which certainly adds to the story. The Empress tells of the great poverty after her father's death, her service as a "Talented One", a monk, wife to the Emperor, and finally, as the Empress. The story is fairly interesting, but seems very heavily focused on the Empress's many personal and sexual relationships, both male and female, which I was not expecting when I picked this up. The story also can drag a bit when talking about events and what was taken to each event - like the horses, carriages, servants, etc. As long as one can overlook and trudge through these parts of the story, the rest can be somewhat fulfilling. However, be forewarned that this book can hinge on being very depressing as the Empress has a roller coaster of emotions throughout the book and one can at the same time sympathize with her and be appalled at her. Despite her being seen as a Goddess and a link to the divine, she realizes she is human and the reader gets to view this as wellShan Sa has a good use of language and articulates the life of the Empress very well.
    • 4/5
      Empress is an historical fiction of the first and only woman empress in China's history. It tells of her rise from wealth, to poverty, to concubine-in-waiting, to nunnery, to an emperor's wife, to running thing behind the scenes to running the country. Along the way, suspicion, greed, hate, sex, plots and a lot of ordered deaths are written in the same frankness of first voice by the author. Shan Sa writes a very moving, and unforgettable story. She choses her words well, conveying image and creating full characters.