Also known as: The Legendary Life of the Handsome Emperor Li Liangzuo.
In China, from 221 BCE to 1912 CE, was being an “emperor” a good job? Most people would probably answer, “Of course!” But the truth is, there were far too many unfortunate souls among them, and most of those unfortunate souls were only children. When you focus only on the grand ambitions of Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han, the great visions of Tang Taizong and Song Taizu, and the unity of the prosperous Kangxi and Qianlong eras, don’t forget: Cao Mao was killed in the palace at nineteen, Sima Ye was humiliated and murdered at eighteen, Yuan Ziyou was powerless to turn the tide at twenty-three, Li Zhu was left with nothing but sorrow at sixteen, and Liu Chengyou found fate against him at nineteen...
Yet among the young emperors whose reigns began from the start under terrible circumstances, some were lucky. One such emperor came from Western Xia, a separatist dynasty seldom mentioned. The historical record says he died at twenty-one after an old arrow wound reopened. But in fact, by then he had left the palace and Western Xia behind, and gone into seclusion in Guangnan West Circuit of the Song Empire with the girl he loved, Lan Xinqinrou. Northern Song literati of the time were deeply prejudiced against him, but once you really get to know him, you’ll find he was handsome, exceptional, devoted, and carefree!
Li Liangzuo found true love and lived a long life despite the perils of the struggle for power and his country’s poverty and weakness. Perhaps the Buddha was moved by the Cheng Tian Temple his mother built to pray for him, and blessed him in return. If you ever visit Yinchuan in Ningxia, don’t forget to stop by and see the pagoda at Cheng Tian Temple!
Let this story introduce you to the customs and culture of Western Xia!
