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I am in words, in protests, in tears
I am the steep path leading pilgrims to the gates of heaven
I am the peony blushing red, the swaying tree, the whispering wind
I am a burn which purifies, a pain with the power to transform
I am a man's melancholy smile
I travel through the seasons, i shine like a star
I am the mountain's indulgent smile
I am the enigmatic smile of he who turns the wheel of eternity
The sharp wind and the swift dagger
The only blessings from my ancestors
--Shan Sa
'' Compelling.'' -- Kirkus Review
Empress A Novel
-- By: Shan Sa
bodies . . . . To other women the choice of clothes was a form of
muscle. I was like a challenge to those pale faces and concealed
'' My skin was tanned by the sun ; my figure was slim with bronze
--- from Empress
like a breastplate that I put on to set off to war against this life''.
ingenious exhibition , a shameless seduction . To me, dresses were
opaque and reminded me of the jade disc that hung over my cradle .
I wanted her . I grew agitated waiting . She would appear from time
Mother was cold, delicate, soothing . Her gentleness was cutting and
aquiver. The ground kissed by her sippered feet whispered with
train and her endless muslin shawl set the curtains to my room
to time after several days' absence . when she arrived, her long silk
She never took me in her arms, happy to contemplate me from a
the East Wind, flowers laden with happiness.
pleasure. Her perfume went before her. It smelled of sunlight, snow,
petals . Her face was as perfectly smooth as a mirror. Beneath her
distance. My eyes consumed her hungrily . Her lips were two scarlet
cicada wings, her eyes betrayed her disappointment. She had desired a boy.
eyebrows, which had been shaved and redrawn in the shape of
-- Alan Cheuse, NPR
a lavish portrayal of life in early civilized China.''
'' Luxurious and intelligent . . . part pageant. part politics as ballet ;
world's most powerful , capable , and overlooked women .''
'' Brilliant . . . illuminates the life and times of one of the ancient
-- Booklist
'' Best book i have ever read in a long time''.
-- HeartsDmise
Shan Sa was born in Beijing. At the age of 8, she created a sensation in China when her first poems were published in Chinese magazines. She was acclaimed as a phenomenon of Chinese modern literature. Sa published four collections of her poetry in Chinese and became the youngest member of the Beijing Writers' Association before she was 16. At age 17, she moved to Paris and studied French. At 21, she published her first novel in French that received the famous French literary award Bourse Goncourt du Premier Roman. She has published six novels in French and three in English—Empress, Alexander and Alestria, and The Girl Who Played Go. Sa has received Kiriyama Prize in the United States and the Student Goncourt Prize in France, and her works have been translated into 30 languages. Sa once worked for the painter Balthus. She is also a painter with prominent exhibitions in New York, Paris, Tokyo, and Shanghai. Her abstract paintings depict cavalry charges, tribesmen, exotic plants, wild animals, and volcanic explosions. Inspired by Chinese traditional art and European old masters' works, Sa uses luminous colors from aqua blue to pale rose, seeking to portray light and life through the fusion of Eastern and Western colors. Her publications in the United States include: The Girl Who Played Go (Knopf, 2003), Empress (HarperCollins, 2006), and Alexander and Alestria (HarperCollins, 2008). Sa's publications in China include: The Poems of Yan Ni (People of Guang Dong Publishers, 1983), a collection of poetry; The Red Dragonfly (New Buds Publishers, 1988), a collection of poetry; Snow (The Children of Shanghai Publishers, 1989), a collection of poetry; and May the Spring Return (The Children of Si Chuan Publishers, 1990), a collection of essays. Her publications in France include: Gate of Celestial Peace (Les Editions du Rocher, 1997), a novel; The Four Lives of the Willow (Les Editions Grasset, 1999), a novel; The Sharp Wind and the Swift Dagger (Les Editions William Blake & Co., 2000), a collection of poetry; The Girl Who Played Go (Les Editions Grasset, 2001), a novel; The Mirror of the Calligrapher (Les Editions Albin Michel, 2002), a collection of poetry and paintings; Empress (Les Editions Albin Michel, 2003), a novel; The Conspirators (Les Editions Albin Michel, 2005), a novel; Alexandre et Alestria [Les Editions Albin Michel, 2006 ], a novel.
