Romantic Concubine

1. Story introduction The gold owner, Wanyan Liang, was originally King Hailing Yang and was the fourth emperor of the Jin Kingdom. He was deposed after his death and was also known as the "Deposed Emperor". He killed Xizong and became independent, and in an attempt to unify China, he launched a massive attack on the Song Dynasty, and was eventually stabbed to death by his subordinates. Historical evaluations of him vary. Some say he was violent and lewd. His three major crimes were: regicide, matricide, and incest. Some also say that he was an emperor with a spirit of reform. His two major achievements were: moving the capital to Yanjing (he was the first emperor to establish a capital in Beijing, and the Marco Polo Bridge was built when he was in power); and establishing the Zhenglong official system, which politically promoted the feudalization process of the Jurchens. This book excerpts one aspect of Wan Yanliang's life, describing his emotional entanglements with several women before and after he ascended the throne and the tragic fate of several women. The male protagonist of this book, Wan Yanliang, has always appeared as a "harlot" or an aggressor in previous works. In this book, he is both civilized and military, and suave. He is neither the "virtuous king" or "wise king" praised for his virtues, nor is he the "tyrant" who is the negative image. He was a king who had the feat of moving the capital to Yanjing and the ambition to unify China. He was also a hypocritical and jealous careerist who usurped the throne by killing the king. He was both obsessed with love and romantic. He is a brand-new emperor image that rarely appears in previous literary works. The heroines in this book, Brother Tang Kuoding and Brother Tang Kuo Shi, are twin sisters with completely different personalities. They both pursue love, but have to pay a heavy price for love. This book also describes Wanyan Liang, Xizong's queen Wanyandan, and several of their concubines, maids and other female figures. Although they have different personalities and although they all struggle for their own happiness, they all have tragic endings, and their fates are more tragic than those of the women in "Raise the Red Lantern". This book also describes the love entanglement between Tang Kuoding, her maid Gui'er, and her slave Yan Qi'er, reflecting the inequality in love between masters and servants in feudal society. Slaves have no personal freedom, and certainly no freedom of love. The theme of this book is neither to erect a monument to the emperor nor to show the intrigues in the palace. It is mainly to expose the darkness of the palace and the destruction of human nature. The noble concubines in the palace seem to be well-dressed and well-fed, but in fact their days are like years. They are young and beautiful, pursue love, and are unwilling to be lonely, but their endings are all the same tragic.