Twelve Hours in the Dragon Palace

Grounded in official history and brought to life through literature, this book turns its gaze to the rulers at the heart of the “Purple Palace” and its vortex of power:

See Emperor Wu of Han, whose iron cavalry trampled the Xiongnu, yet who fell prey to suspicions of witchcraft in his later years;

Witness Emperor Taizong of Tang establish the prosperous Zhenguan era, and ask how the bloodshed at Xuanwu Gate could ever be washed away;

Marvel at Wu Zetian, who claimed the supreme throne as a woman, and wonder who will judge her merits and failings beneath her blank stele;

Mourn Emperor Chongzhen, who governed diligently for seventeen years but could not turn the tide and ultimately hanged himself at Coal Hill;

Reflect on Emperor Kangxi, whose civil and military achievements ushered in a golden age, only for his descendants to plunge into the abyss while dreaming of the Celestial Empire...

Power and responsibility, ideals and reality, ambition and desire, fate and human agency... They collide fiercely with every change of dynasty, every palace intrigue, every age of prosperity, and every lament of a dying realm. The dragon throne is more than the seat of supreme authority. It is a proving ground for human nature under the absolute power.