My Life as Emperor could be considered a pleasure cruise through my inner world. It has long been my wish to penetrate the millennia of China's history, to transform myself into an old customer at some teahouse on an ancient street in the midst of a kaleidoscopic world with its teeming masses, and soak up the passage of time with my eyes. I am fascinated by classical times; fascinated by palaces, concubines, and traditional music; fasci-nated by the lives of popular entertainers who roamed all over the landscape to perform for the people; fascinated by the inter-mingling of suffering and pleasure.

With the mesmerizing, cinematic prose that won him acclaim for Rice and Raise the Red Lantern, Su Tong depicts the world of Duanbai, a fourteen-year-old prince who, after the sudden death of his father, finds himself lord and ruler over an entire nation. A boy of few talents and limited inter-ests, he grows drunk on his own power and delights in tor-menting his courtiers and subjects. Narrated in retrospect by the ex-sovereign, My Life as Emperor is a mesmerizing tale of cruelty and decadence, concubines and eunuchs,lethal rivalries and thrilling intrigues. It is not only a fasci-nating glimpse into the soul of China but a lyrical, timeless meditation on power and corruption.