The World of Wu Zhao: Annotated Selections from Zhang Zhuo’s Chaoye qianzai

The World of Wu Zhao is an annotated translation of Zhang Zhuo’s collection of miscellany, Court and Country, that offers a lively, folksy and novel perspective on the empire of Wu Zhao, China’s first and only female emperor, that will amuse and shock readers, prompting them to recalibrate everything they think they know about medieval China. The book covers a number different themes and topics: Buddhist and Daoist monks, the female emperor’s male favorites, cruel officials, and includes sections on flora and fauna, the common folk, artisans and craftsmen, the military, spirits and the supernatural, the borderlands, and local officials.