Curtains Stir at Weiyang Tower

She was a great female stateswoman, ranked alongside Empress Lü, Wu Zetian, and Empress Dowager Cixi, and the last ruler of the Chinese Empire to uphold the philosophy of Huang-Lao. This remarkable woman rose from commoner to palace maid, then helped three emperors of the Wen, Jing, and Wu eras implement policies of allowing the people to recover and ruling through noninterference, bringing the Han dynasty to the height of its power. This book recounts her arduous journey from a poor girl of humble origins to the greatest empress dowager in the land, and from a low-ranking palace maid to a female stateswoman of extraordinary vision.

A historical novel faithful to the record, this is not simply a tale of harem rivalry, but the story of a woman of humble origins striving to make her way in the ancient world. Unlike ordinary biographies, it does not fictionalize history; every story is an imaginative retelling grounded in respect for the facts.