Word: empress
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Still, the official moralistic ethic-it might almost be called Puritan-prevails. China's leaders inveigh against the licentious life-style of the imperial past. When Mao's widow Chiang Ch'ing first came under attack, she was frequently portrayed as a latter-day Empress Wu Tse-t'ien, whose career began in the 7th century as a 13-year-old court concubine and ended in an orgy of sex and assassination. Another execrated royal personage is the 8th century Emperor Hsüan Tsung, who was hopelessly enamored of a shapely concubine, Yang Kuei...
...relative calm continued, a palace adviser confided, "The Shah's mood is much, much better." He was said to be putting in 15-hour days and even to be working on Friday, the Muslim day of rest. Neither he nor his wife, the Empress Farah, had made any public appearances for two weeks, although the Empress slipped away one day to go skiing in the nearby Elburz Mountains. The Shah was staying out of sight, according to a spokesman, both for security reasons and because he did not "want to resurrect the impression that he runs the country...
...Versailles look like a nouveau riche country mansion. In the hills northwest of the city is the Summer Palace, which was largely destroyed hi 1860 by Britain's Lord Elgin, son of the seigneur who took the marbles from the Parthenon. Rebuilt hi 1888 by the dotty Dowager Empress Tz'u Hsi, diverting funds allotted for naval construction, the imperial plaisanterie occupies 700 acres and attracts huge numbers of Chinese rubbernecks. And then there are the Ming Tombs and, a few hours away, the Great Wall. Otherwise the city is nondescript and marred by Stalinoid architecture...
Within three days of the quake, the Empress and the Shah visited Tabas to assess the destruction. Survivors thronged around their monarch to kiss his hand and assuage their grief by telling him about their suffering. One man who had lost his wife and six children had to be restrained by the Shah and bystanders, from tearing at his hair in the traditional demonstration of mourning. Councilman Bandegi estimated his loss in terms of his clan, the traditional Iranian family grouping. The clan, he said sadly, had lost 341 people, or 83%. Casualties ranged through all levels of Tabas' population...
...Shah and his wife, Empress Fara, appealed to Iranians to contribute to a relief fund. Tens of thousands of Iranians remain homeless after the earthquake, and government officials expressed concern that the severely cold nights and hot days would endanger the health of those remaining without shelter...