This Day in History Entry #336
July 15th, 2015 by Wordsman
When it seemed that things couldn’t get worse
Fate had one final trick to disburse
Xuanzong’d get clean away
But without Yang Guifei
Now his sorrow lives on in Bai’s verse
Event: While fleeing the capital, Emperor Xuanzong is forced to order the death of his beloved consort Yang Guifei in order to prevent his troops from mutinying. Later, their love affair is made the subject of the legendary work The Song of Everlasting Sorrow by the poet Bai Juyi.
Year: 756
Learn more: Yang Guifei
An Lushan Rebellion
Posted in This Day in History | 
2 Comments »
July 15th, 2015 at 1:04 pm
So THAT’S where they got the idea for “Tales of Genji.”
July 19th, 2015 at 1:34 pm
Certainly where they got the idea for the first chapter, at least (which some scholars believe may have been added later).