Remarkable Woman in Ancient China (28)- Empress Dou Miao

Who is she?

An Empress in the Eastern Han era, one of the six Empresses who reigned at Court during that era. 

Notable life events:

  • Born in approximately 149 AD, as the eldest daughter of the general Dou Wu, a descendant of Empress Dou’s brother. 
  • Chosen to join the Imperial Harem in 165 AD and later made the Empress in the same year but much neglected by the Emperor- she was actually the third Empress that he’s had now
  • Being jealous and cruel by nature, she killed the favoured Royal Concubine and wanted to kill all of them except she was persuaded against that by eunuchs. She installed the next Emperor into place and began her reign at Court as the Dowager Empress
  • During her reign, she installed capable officials into key positions that advanced the prosperity and military prowess of the country while leaning on enunches and palace maids such as Zhao Rao at the same time. 
  • She was eventually ‘deposed’ with power reverting back to the Emperor she installed due to betrayal from Zhao Rao and enunches. 
  • She passed away in 172 AD. 

Moonlake’s thoughts on her:

I just thought it interesting that she combines political acumen and jealousy (deemed a dismerit in women back in those days). Of course, it’s not that that combination doesn’t exist in history but certainly it’s rare that a Chinese historical woman was portrayed like that because back in those times, womanly virtue specifically included being non-jealous of the other wives and concubines of your husband such that one of the seven rules for disowning your wife was that she was a jealous woman. 

English reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dou_Miao

Small kindnesses

The jump-off line is from Small Kindnesses by Danusha Lameris

Small kindnesses: 

  • The rain that fell to disperse the heat
  • The free days that laid in your path
  • Those words that were just right for you today
  • The key piece of information that had fallen into your lap
  • That tiny advice you gave out because you could
  • That direction given that sent you on your way
  • That something you read which blew everything wide open
  • That hunch of yours that turned out to be true 
  • The lady that asked you whether you were all right after you had been accosted by some weird racist who verbally assaulted you
  • The Spanish lady on FB who stood up for you who you recounted this to and said she was sorry and it was not OK
  • The reception lady who became kind whenever you had a nose bleed or fell down that time and got a big cut on the knee and lower leg
  • Sponsoring a badge for a courageous child
  • Words offered that took you forwards
  • Waking up rather than already fading into the Great Oblivion
  • Able to enjoy a book
  • Finding a good drama to pass the time
  • Able to work from home
  • Able to control your own schedule, more or less
  • Having enough to wear
  • Knowing what to do every day
  • Having food prepared to your liking everyday

Broadening Horizons 2026 (1)- Religious romance 

I have decided on religious romance for the romance part of this year’s Broadening Horizon Read.  I was reading The Italian by Anne Radcliffe. But then I decided to abandon it- it was published in the late 1700s so had some archaic English that I don’t quite take to and plus the pace is really slow.

Instead, I am starting on the Lord I left by Scarlett Peckham. Also 4 chapters in currently and it’s okay. So I’m reading this instead. And my other pick for this year would still be Magic Bites. I read the blurb for it just now and it seems okay so expecting no more changes for this year. 

Chinese vs Western Fantasy: A comparison of Elements (1): Dragons

I am starting a new post series that compares elements of Chinese fantasy versus Western fantasy. For the very first post, I am going to focus on dragons. 

When we say “dragon”, we are often assuming a shared idea. But that assumption doesn’t really hold once you compare Chinese and Western contexts.

Broadly speaking, the Chinese dragon is not a monster. It is closer to a force of nature. The Western dragon, on the other hand, is typically framed as something to be fought.

The Chinese dragon: Regulator, Not Monster

In the Chinese context, dragons are tied to water—rainfall, rivers, seas, and seasonal cycles. This already places them in a very different role. They are not sitting on treasure; they are part of how the natural world functions.

Because of this, they are not inherently hostile. They can bring floods or drought, but that is less about malice and more about imbalance. There is an implicit idea that human behaviour, ritual, and cosmic order are connected, so the dragon becomes something to respond to, rather than something to defeat.

This also carries into political symbolism. The dragon is associated with the emperor, not because it is fearsome, but because it represents alignment with Heaven and the ability to maintain order.

So the same figure moves quite easily between nature and governance. It doesn’t change role; it stays as a kind of regulator.

The Western Dragon: The Enemy

The Western dragon is positioned very differently.

It is usually:

  • territorial
  • destructive
  • associated with treasure hoarding

More importantly, it exists as an obstacle. It sits outside the normal order of things and disrupts it.

So the narrative pattern becomes fairly straightforward: the hero encounters the dragon, defeats it, and restores order.

A Difference on Morality 

There is also a difference in how morality is framed.

Western dragons tend to symbolise greed or excess. They represent something that has gone wrong and needs to be removed.

Chinese dragons don’t really carry that same moral weight. If something goes wrong, it is more likely understood as imbalance rather than corruption.

So while both are called “dragons”, they operate on very different assumptions.

In one case, power is something to be brought back into balance. In the other, it is something to be overcome.

That difference is small on the surface, but it shapes how entire systems of mythology and fantasy are structured.

I have kept this fairly broad, but it should give a basic frame for how the same creature can function so differently across cultures. If you want to dig into any part of this further, feel free to comment.

Ideas: Recycling and Autobiography 

Open book titled 'My Autobiography' with floating torn pages forming a recycling symbol

I think I alluded to this topic of ideas generation before but I didn’t have enough material to actually blog about. But I think now I can start to talk about this in light of my recent experience of letting the WIP that I had been working on for about 10 years go and redevote my attention towards new projects. 

Firstly, the twin sister story came about when I merged elements from my last WIP- the search for a missing younger sister- and this other idea I had of being kidnapped after getting off at the wrong bus stop. Of course, the later element got overwritten entirely when I decided to set it into ancient times rather than writing an urban fantasy set in modern times. This is the recycling part of this post. The autobiography part for this story came from the fact that I perceive the twin sisters as myself at different times- childhood me versus adult me. 

As for the mage mother and daughter story, it turned out to be a strongly autobiographical story that surprised me. Basically, it somehow just felt like I had taken a personal experience and dumped it into a Chinese fantasy world. Also, I was working on both projects equally previously and this project at one time had overtaken the twin sister story as the project that came out ahead. But now, it seems stuck fast. So once again, my dominant project is now the twin sister story. 

What I don’t remember (aka Not…)

The jump-off line comes from What Belongs to Us by Marie Howe.

Not the birthday cakes that I once cherry picked for my birthdays. I remember them looking cute or pretty but no exact details. Not the stamp set of animals I once had. Not even my childhood closet- all the princessy dresses I used to have, not that I’m into looking princessy anymore. Not any bracelets- I never managed to hold onto any. I had two but one of them was lost down the drain during a shower and the other I took off and just forgot about, even though my first name was carved on it. It was a silver bracelet and it got too old and dirty even though I did have it cleaned thoroughly once. Not the ability to see shapes and make stories out of clouds when you saw them in the sky. Not the moon or the stars because even though they are not obscured by tall buildings you never really venture outside at night. It’s not safe to venture outside on foot. Not here. Not Sunkist and its fizziness. Not hair ties with cute parts to them. The last one you brought from Hong Kong is now on the double pony tails of your favourite doll, Lily. You still own her but you don’t play with her anymore. You just keep her for sentimentality’s sake but there are days you don’t even notice her at all even though you put her on the dresser table right besides your side of the bed. 

The Role of Etiquette in Chinese culture (5)- Subtlety

Besides a general cultural preference for subtlety, it plays an important role for etiquette. In particular, it features heavily in communications but also relates to the concept of humility, which is a virtue as deemed by Confucianism. 

In terms of communications, there are a lot of things left unsaid or implied. Double entendres are a more prominent component in Chinese compared to, say, English. Chinese people also devise ways to soften a “no” for whatever reasons that an English speaker isn’t restricted by. 

As for humility, Chinese tend to not react to a compliment with a “Thank you” but rather a type of “You must be mistaken” comment.

Of course, subtlety goes way deeper than this, such as me always being hitched up about subtlety when I write fiction. But in terms of subtlety and etiquette, I think I have provided the broad sketch. Let me know via comments if you want to discuss anything in further details. 

Moonlake’s Writing Updates- March 2026

I am currently co-outlining two novel projects and both feel a little autobiographical in nature to be honest (and from this, you can probably tell that I’ve put the thieving friends idea that came from ChatGPT on the back burner. Can’t say that it surprises me). 

The project currently coming out slightly ahead is actually the mage mother and daughter project rather than the twin sisters one. And I have finally named my mother and daughter duo (the daughter with help from GPT because I was just drawing a blank). 

Also, I realised that I haven’t actually talked about the premise for the mother & daughter story so here it is:

Set in a Chinese fantasy world, this story is about a mage daughter who wants to strike out in a new direction of magecraft coming into conflict with her protective traditionalist mother who is also a mage. 

After Yao announced her decision for her research at the Mage Academy, her mother and her had a big argument because her mother expected her to submit something in alignment with their family’s staked realm, benefiting from her mother’s expertise. Even when Yao fought hard enough to get a temporary conditional agreement from her mother to not interfere, she got thrust into deeper waters by the lack of progress on her research and an unexpected gradual revelation of the mysterious family taboo that she had been curious about.

Follow your own Voice

This jump-off line is from Start close in by David Whyte. 

Follow your own voice. It calls to you. Listen to it and follow it. But listen carefully. Make sure it’s your own. The mind is a tricky place. Things enter there and get scrambled. You might mistake something as your own, easily. So be careful. 

Follow your own voice. Follow your own pace. 

Follow your own voice. Make your own way. 

Follow your own voice. Sing your own tune. 

Follow your own voice. Make your own move. 

Follow your own voice. Wake up to the world of truth, that are carefully sifted and cultivated that you have arrived at. Keep sifting through the layers, keep trimming back what no longer apply, discard those splintered twigs. 

Follow your own voice. Be yourself. Reach out and grasp what is rightfully yours. 

Follow your own voice. Accept and explore all facets, then carefully sift and prune, then cultivate, shape it. Have a goal, work towards it slowly but steadily. Why? Because then you are more absorbed in the process. Go quickly, you might miss things. Go slow enough and you get to appreciate the smallness in things. Learn to celebrate the small victories. That’s what life is about. Not one big, whooping achievement but a string of small ones that add up. 

Moonlake’s Book Discoveries- March 2026

Mystery

The Perfect Alibi by Blake Pierce

I vaguely recalled that I had read this author before (of a different protagonist) and I was so-so about it. And the second read still makes me feel the same. It’s not really bad but I’m just not engaged with either the main character or the plot. For a psychological thriller, it’s also not doing much on the psychological front for me. 

What Remains by Tim Weaver

This story features a cold case with a compelling premise and the requisite twist at the end. Overall, a good mystery featuring two characters that work in the murder mystery genre. 

Historical fantasy 

The Judas Blossom by Stephen Aryan

This is counting towards my Oriental fantasy for this year and finally this is a book more to my liking, more historical fiction with just a touch of magic/fantasy. The only oddity to me is that one of the POVs was Temujin (son of Hulagu Khan), which doubles up with the name of Genghis Khan. As far as my research goes, this character seems to be the fictional part of the story and it doesn’t really affect anything in a substantial way, it just registers as an oddity to me, that’s all. Overall, well written. Thinking of reading the whole trilogy pending availability at my library. 

Memoir 

The Dressmaker’s Daughter by Kate Llewellyn

This is the first of my mini reading challenge this year but actually the book itself has nothing to do with water lily or waterlily. The author just previously wrote another memoir by the title of Waterlily. 

At any rate, this is actually a memoir that reads very fiction-like. So I’ve been enjoying it so far.