This collection of Qing court gossip is practically a trove of palace intrigue plots from a century ago. Its author, Xu Zhiyan, was a colleague of Lu Xun and was hailed in the early Republic of China as a master of anecdotal fiction. His stories are packed with strange tales and secret scandals from all ten Qing emperors.
The book contains 43 stories, ranging from Empress Dowager Cixi’s extravagant secrets and Li Lianying’s greed and cunning to the details of Prince Qing selling official posts. It dares to go further than television dramas. Things that official histories wouldn’t dare record and ordinary people wouldn’t dare repeat come alive on these pages. The lively storytelling feels like listening to a well-informed old Beijinger chatting about what really happened.
Curious what those plots that television dramas wouldn’t dare film actually look like? Pick up this bestselling book from a century ago and see for yourself. The hidden corners of history are even more fascinating than you’d imagine.
