I Set the Record Straight for Emperors Throughout History

Lu Lingjue recently joined a chat group called “The Supreme Emperors Chat Group.” The members often discuss major historical events, and they're a pretty interesting bunch. Their names are all outrageously chuuni usernames, like “Emperor for the Ages,” “Zhenguan Shimin,” “Great Endeavors Doomed to Fail,” “Archmage,” “Wipe Out Your Entire Clan,” “Chancellor's Wife,” “Ming Dynasty Orthodoxy,” “Pool of Wine and Forest of Meat,” “The World of Wu Zhou,” and “Great Emperor Wu of Han.”

The Construction Maniac Daoist asked, “Mr. Lingjue, does Emperor Yang of Sui, Yang Guang, count as an emperor for the ages for building the Grand Canal, which benefited the Li Tang dynasty for more than a century?”

Lu Lingjue: “Emperor Yang of Sui? He's not worthy.”

“Building the Grand Canal benefited the Li Tang dynasty for over a century?”

“And that makes him an emperor for the ages?”

“Are you sure you understand what ‘emperor for the ages’ means?”

“Should Li Shimin thank him for leaving behind fewer than a third of the population? Or for the realm he left in pieces, the Turks he allowed to grow powerful, or the shoddy project that was already falling apart during the Zhenguan era? He achieved little of note, but he was first-rate at squandering everything.”

“What?!!”

“Was Li Shimin a puppet of the great clans, unable to touch their land because he had no great achievements of his own?”

“King Zhou left an indelible legacy in the hearts of the Chinese people: a spirit that would never bow. He also pioneered listening to women's opinions. Was he actually the Emperor of China?”

“Qin Shi Huang built the Great Wall at the cost of the nation's strength and the people's lives. Was he a tyrant?”

“Did Liu Bei act hypocritically when he ruthlessly eliminated Liu Feng to clear the way for A Dou?”

“Foundational Xia, Fierce Shang, Ritualistic Zhou, Brutal Qin, Powerful Han, Scholar-Gentry Jin, Heroic Sui, Prosperous Tang, Wealthy Song, Mighty Yuan, Unyielding Ming... Go learn your history.”