The Moon in the Palace
Show Notes
The Rakes discuss The Moon in the Palace by Weina Dai Randall. In response to the question what inspires or interests Dai Randall about a time period, she said: “To me, the period of time is not as important as the historical figure or the event itself.” This focus is evident in her the book that imagines the early years of Empress Wu. Known as Mei, she enters the palace as a teenager in 639 and becomes a concubine to Emperor Taizong. She falls in love with one of his son’s Li Zhi. As their lives are dictated by the emperor, they hide their relationship. Join our discussion about how we characterize historical figures, how we define romance, political violence, and happy endings.
Books Mentioned
The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
Stormfire by Christine Monson
Works Cited
“Women can be bad Kings too. Cuz Feminism” TikTok by Viola Swamp
2016 Elizabeth Storrs Interview “On Inspiration: Interview with Weina Dai Randel”
2016 Brandi Megan Granett Interview “The Empress: An Interview with Weina Dai Randel”
2016 Jocelyn Eikenburg Interview ““The Moon in the Palace” by Weina Dai Randel – An Interview”
Empress Wu Zetian in Fiction and in History: Female Defiance in Confucian China by Dora Shu-Fang Dien
Transcript
Coming soon!
