Suídài Gōngwéi Shǐ 隋代宮闈史
History of the Sui Dynasty Inner Palace by 張恂子 (撰)
About the work
Suídài Gōngwéi Shǐ 隋代宮闈史 is a Republican-era historical novel by 張恂子 (Zhāng Xúnzǐ) covering the Suí dynasty (581–618 CE). The narrative opens with the decadent last rulers of the Nán Qí 南齊 and Qí-to-Suí transition period, then shifts to the founding of the Suí by Suí Wén Dì 隋文帝 (r. 581–604) and the famous romantic-political intrigue surrounding the succession crisis — the overthrow of Crown Prince Yǒng 勇 by the future Yáng Dì 煬帝, aided by the Empress Dúgū Jiā 獨孤伽 (“妖妃” in the text). The eight chapter titles visible in the table of contents cover: the debauched late-Nán Qí court, the Suí founding and succession intrigue, the murder of Wén Dì by his son Yáng Dì, and the early disasters of Yáng Dì’s reign (the annihilation of the shāmén 沙門 Buddhism order, the construction of the Luòyáng palace, and the beginning of his tyranny).
Tiyao
No tiyao found in source.
Abstract
The Suí dynasty was a paradigmatic “short dynasty” (duǎnmìng wángcháo 短命王朝) in Chinese historiography — lasting only three reigns (or effectively two, as the third reign lasted only two months) before collapsing under Yáng Dì’s megalomania, the Grand Canal project, and three disastrous campaigns against Koguryeo. The narrative of Yáng Dì’s usurpation of the throne (achieved through a forged edict about the illness of Wén Dì, then his murder), his destruction of his brother Crown Prince Yǒng, and his tyrannical reign was one of the canonical “evil last emperor” (mó wáng 末王) stories in Chinese popular history. 張恂子 exploits this rich material in gōngwéi shǐ format, with the “妖妃” (bewitching consort) figure — Empress Dúgū and later Yáng Dì’s own preferred women — as the structural center of the court intrigue narrative.
張恂子 is otherwise unidentified. No biographical data has been located.
Translations and research
- Wright, Arthur F. 1978. The Sui Dynasty: The Unification of China, AD 581–617. Knopf. Standard Western scholarly account of the Suí.
Links
- Suí Yáng Dì: Wikipedia