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 garden-
ers 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 palace is full of won-
ders, but beyond the palace garden and gates, in the forest above
the sea, is a nightingale who sings the sun into the sky each
morning. His song is the greatest wonder in all of China.”
The empress frowned, and Xin Ji began to quake in his
shoes, fearing that he would be imprisoned for bringing dis-
pleasure to his empress. But she laid down the scroll and said,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.
by Alissa King
Illustrated by Aurelia Fronty
text © 2019 by Alissa King, art © 2019 by Aurelia FrontyThe Nightingale
Based on a Tale from Hans Christian Andersen
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