History Did Me Wrong: Huang Chao Was No Cannibal

History calls me a “cannibal,” yet it never says a word about why I raised my blade.

They didn’t write about the humiliation of failing the imperial exams three times, then being trampled and crippled by the horses of noblemen’s sons. They didn’t write about how I sold my poems in hopes of a recommendation, only to be met with the scornful sneer, “A lowborn wretch like you thinks you can set foot in Chang'an?” When I set my poetry collection aflame, I ignited not only the dying light of the Tang Dynasty, but also the blood, tears, and fury of millions of starving people.

I stormed the imperial avenue, building it on the bones of 120,000 nobles. I did it not for that bloodstained crown, but to ask one question: “Are kings and nobles born to rule?”

If history is written by the victors, then I’ll use this blade to carve another truth for posterity!