Contents

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents v
3. Acknowledgments vii
4. Chronology of Chinese Dynasties ix
5. Introduction 1
6. 1. The Empress in the Pepper Chamber 12
7. 2. The Scandalous Tale of Zhao Feiyan 33
8. 3. Zhao Feiyan’s Biography in Historical Sources 54
9. 4. Interpreting The Scandalous Tale 85
10. 5. Gendering Empress Zhao 109
11. Concluding Remarks 131
12. Appendix One. Offices in the Han Dynasty Rear Palace 133
13. Appendix Two. Chinese Text of The Scandalous Tale of Zhao Feiyan 135
14. Glossary of Chinese Characters 141
15. Notes 151
16. Bibliography 189
17. Index 211