The Woman Who Rocked the Empire

Tang Dynasty Times and the Tale of Genji

Neither Klimt’s ravishing Judith nor the infamous femme fatale Lucrezia Borgia ever had anything over Yang Guifei 楊貴妃—a Tang dynasty woman so desirable that she was considered capable of causing the destruction of the nation: 傾国の美女

She was only 37 when she was strangled in the year 756—as her lover the emperor looked on, mad with grief —over the loss of his empire …Or was it really over the loss of his beloved lady Yang? But either way, his general insisted she must die, for the trouble she started had turned China upside down.

The poem that Bai Juyi wrote about their love, the Song of Everlasting Sorrow 長恨歌became the model for the “Kiritsubo” chapter of the Tale of Genji. And so, I suppose, it was no surprise that in the drama last week, we saw the young Murasaki, copying the poem out by hand. But what was she thinking?

There is a famous painting in the Met called, Emperor Xuanzong's Flight to Shu. Painted by an anonymous 12th century artist, it depicts Yang Guifei’s sad end as she and the emperor flee for their life just one step ahead of the rebel army.

In the picture we see a line of horses slowly making their way along the mountain path. The soldiers are carrying imperial banners and weapons (swords and bows and arrows)-- except for one lone rider. Dressed in crimson robes, this is the Emperor. The man, who should have been ruling the land but instead had become so besotted with his favorite lady that he stood idle as she empowered An Lushan, a general of foreign descent, who would rise up and ignite a rebellion. This was in 755. And things would grow so precarious that the court had to flee the capital to take refuge in the kingdom of Shu, in today’s Sichuan province.

That is where we see them in the painting, on the long arduous road to Shu, where the generals insisted that the woman to blame must be strangled on the spot. The emperor really had no choice by that point and so we see him in the picture on his horse, body turned slightly to look back for one last look at the love of his life.

蜀江水碧蜀山青,
聖主朝朝暮暮情。
行宮見月傷心色，
夜雨聞鈴腸斷聲。

As Shu waters flow green, Shu mountains show blue,
His majesty's love persists night and day, day and night
In exile he gazes up at the moon, his heart broken
As Bell chimes in the evening rain sound his sorrow

Notes:

1.

I think it is safe to say that Bai Juyi is the favorite Chinese poet of the Heian period Japanese. He is known in Japanese Haku Rakuten 白楽天

2.

I love the expression 傾国の美女.

From the opening line of Bai Juyi’s poem: 漢皇重色思傾國 of a Han emperors desire for a woman who rocked an empire…

A Castle-Toppler is how poet Sally Wen Mao describes her:

A charming beauty who makes men fall and leads to disasters (such as a loss of wealth or reputation, or a toppled nation); dangerous woman; femme fatale

红颜祸水
red face, troubled water
a dangerous beauty who rains ruin upon the nation

Have you ever heard of that expression?

In Japanese:

紅顏禍水

2.

Yang Guifei in Japan 日本に渡った楊貴妃