Four Tales of the Golden Branch: A Record of Princesses in the Qianlong Era

In the prosperous reign of Qianlong, behind the red walls of the Forbidden City, four imperial princesses lead four utterly different lives. The eldest legitimate daughter, Princess Gurun Hejing, is the only child of Empress Xiaoxian. She enjoys the emperor’s boundless favor, is exceptionally allowed to remain in the capital, and lives a life of honor and security. Princess Heshuo Hejia, born beneath the auspicious sign of the Buddha’s Hand, is gentle as jade, yet dies young in the prime of her life. Princess Gurun Hejing, the eldest daughter of Consort Ling, is married off to the grasslands, spending her life preserving peace between the realm and the court. Princess Gurun Heshiao, Qianlong’s cherished daughter in his later years, loves arms over finery and receives the utmost affection, yet endures the rise and fall of her family. They are princesses of the Great Qing, symbols of imperial power, pawns in political marriages, and women with lives of their own. From the glory of legitimate birth to the rise of a concubine-born daughter, from the security of the inner palace to marriage far away amid the windswept sands, from unparalleled favor to bleak old age, see how four imperial daughters write their own stories amid the fates imposed by a feudal dynasty. An ensemble biography of the princesses of the Qianlong era, recreating the true lives of Qing imperial daughters as recorded in official history and uncovering the historical figures behind My Fair Princess.