The word 'harem' often conjures up images of beautiful, half-dressed oriental women lounging in some stately pleasure dome, waiting for the opportunity to satisfy their masters. And in some ways this was not far from the truth. Tang Dynasty Emperor Xuanzong had 40,000 women in his harem, while the Qing emperors would fill their harem with the most eligible girls in the country for both pleasure and procreation. Some emperors were blessed with empresses who led their dynasties to prosperity and stability. Many emperors, however, found out that they had taken on more than they expected with the arrival of talented, ruthless and ambitious beauties. Wu Zetian was one such woman. Arriving in the harem of Tang Emperor Taizong as a sweet-faced 14-year-old, she went on, through treachery and murder, to become empress. This book tells the stories of the outstanding, the outrageous, the glorious as well as the tragic empresses and concubines of the Chinese palace.