New CBB

In a conworld-based novel which I've currently placed on hold, I have been planning on putting in a subplot about one of the Emperor's concubines seizing power. The empire in question has elements of the imperial bureaucratic system of dynastic China, so I am curious as to whether anyone could help me find books on Wu Zetian, Cixi, or other similar figures in Chinese history, so that I can work out the character's motivations and the mechanics of how she comes to power (I understand that both figures I named initially put their young sons/relatives on the throne to assume the role of empress dowager, but I need to know more about court politics to make a good story out of it).

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George Corley
Producer and Moderating Host, Conlangery Podcast

Look into the Tang dynasty. Empress Wu ruled on her own, and did not put her son in a puppet emperorship while she did.

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Dotjen
Kotanese

I know that. I had thought that she initially came to power as an empress dowager, though -- declaring her own dynasty only after she had cemented her power.

In any case, I may go more for the route Cixi took than the Wu Zetian did. It takes someone very strong to go as far as to declare themself emperor, and I want this character to be not quite that strong (she's actually a bit of a puppet of the behind-the-scenes power).

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George Corley
Producer and Moderating Host, Conlangery Podcast

Seems she was a concubine to two Emperors first. After the second died she just declared herself the Empress. And apparently she was so powerful that the only way to oust her was to wait until she was 80 and ill before rebels could manage to get anywhere near her.

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Dotjen
Kotanese

Actually a lot of scheming concubines and such appear in Chinese history and fiction. You can probably find something for every couple of decades or so, true or not.

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