The Nightingale

LONG AGO, IN ancient China, there was an empress of many names, but we shall call her Empress Wu. In her lifetime Empress Wu had done many things to attain power, and some of those things she did not like to think about, so she set her royal architects to work making her palace beautiful and filling it with expensive curiosities to delight her. She brought people to her court who had strange skills or exciting stories to tell. And she always had a circle of courtiers around her to keep her entertained and amused, so that she would not dwell on difficult things.

Empress Wu would not tolerate criticism of any kind, and people suspected of speaking badly of her found themselves in grave danger. However, the empress enjoyed tales exalting the splendors of her court, especially her magnificent gardens, which were the most wondrous in all of China. She had rare trees and flowers imported from faraway countries, and her elite gardeners were expected to nurture these exotic beauties, for their lives depended on it.

You could win the favor of Empress Wu by bringing her reports that praised her kingdom’s beauty and glory. One day Xin Ji, a favorite royal advisor, brought a beautifully scrolled account of the imperial palace from the kingdom of Kamarupa. He presented this with a low bow to the empress. She smiled and proudly began to read aloud the description, but paused as she neared the end, for it read, “The empress’s