The Path of the Empress

November 23, 2015
Li and Krautwald draw on traditional Chinese medicine and the life of Wu Zhao (624â705), China's only female monarch, to create an unusual self-help book. The authors cast the reader in the empowering role of empress of her own life, then lead her through 10 major life stages, including the Prophecy (innate essence), the Monastic Years (the inward path), Strategy and Power (discovery of hidden desires), and Wisdom and Completion (connecting with the cosmos.) At the beginning of each chapter, the authors recount part of Wu Zhao's life story. They then offer meditations and herbal remedies (based on those of the empress's renowned physician, Sun Simiao) that are designed to cure women's ailments. The authors acknowledge that some of Wu Zhao's remediesâsuch as brewing cockroaches to treat migraines and menstrual crampsâare not for the modern reader. However, much of the advice they take from the emperor's life is quite sensible, such as taking time for one's self in the midst of burnout, treating others with respect, and living life to the fullest.