‘there is light somewhere. it may not be much light but it beats the darkness.’ –Charles Bukowski
During the Tang dynasty, a golden age for poets, Empress Wu Chao forced every male dignitary who had an audience with her to wash his mouth with rose water and practice cunnilingus on her. Diplomats and courtiers had to do their best so that their requests were met, and even then it was not a guarantee, since Chinese politics have always been cunning and inscrutable, with oscillations between the sun and the shadow of yin and yang.
related { Wu was the only empress regnant (or female emperor) in the history of China. }
