The Tang Dynasty Court Chronicler: Snark from the Xuanwu Gate Incident

I am the daily record keeper by Li Yuan's side, tasked with documenting every bit of royal family trivia. In my scrolls, Li Yuan launches his uprising after Pei Ji tricks him into a drinking party at Jinyang Palace; Li Shimin's hand shakes during the Xuanwu Gate Incident, sending his arrow astray; Wu Zetian uses makeup to calculate the imperial treasury's income and expenses; and Li Longji has more variations on his polo sticks than era names. From drunken talk at Jinyang Palace to dying candles in Daming Palace, from Wei Zheng's cutting one-liners to Li Bai's drunken translations of barbarian texts, official history is the backbone and humor the flesh. Drag over the dragon throne and use it as a recliner, then open this Daily Record and see how emperors and ministers turned ruling an empire into a string of jokes, and how the prosperous Tang laughed itself to tears amid the bustle of everyday life.