{"product_id":"9780889229457","title":"Tales of the Emperor","description":"\u003ci\u003eTales of the Emperor\u003c\/i\u003e is based on the life of Qin Shi Huang (circa 260–210 BCE), the “First Emperor” – he who unified China, gave it his name, built the Great Wall, entombed an army of terra cotta soldiers, authored legalism, erased history, insinuated governance, and established paranoia as a national characteristic. His dynasty did not outlive him but his influence permeates the present and, there is ample indication, will dominate the future.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe literary method of \u003ci\u003eTales of the Emperor\u003c\/i\u003e is derived from the first Chinese attempt at “writing history” – the famous Historical Records of Ssu-Ma Ch’ien. Like that Chinese classic, \u003ci\u003eTales of the Emperor\u003c\/i\u003e is motivated by the desire to understand the past by entering it, mixing testimony with anecdote, interpretation with invention, biography with characterization, objective analysis with passionate self-interest.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBirth to death, \u003ci\u003eTales of the Emperor\u003c\/i\u003e tells the story of its central figure in a thematic rather than a chronologic narrative. In a mosaic of separate tales – some no more than fragments, others chapter-length – intersecting characters are presented, entwined, relinquished, among them a failed assassin, a wily adviser, an ironic architect, a castrated historian, an entire tribe of grave builders, and, of course, the wry, conflicted, everyday tyrant himself. The Emperor’s accomplishments are documented, his strivings are examined, and intimate tittle-tattle about him is indulged.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere’s only one principal theme: you find the antiquity you look for, or, in the language of the book: “history is the study of the paintings of great events.”","brand":"Talonbooks, Limited","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47073523237104,"sku":"9780889229457","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780889229457_p0.jpg?v=1763855594","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780889229457","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}