I Acclaim: Asian and Proud

lü 。呂

A/N: Written for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month 2023! This story loosely fits into the Historical Fiction category. I'd like to mention that the events here do not exactly correlate with Ancient Chinese history, but there was a revolution during/after the Qin Dynasty, and the Han Dynasty followed, introducing rich cultures, innovations, and an eventful chapter in Chinese history. Lü Zhi and Liu Bang were real people who were the first Empress and Emperor of unified China. Hope you enjoy this made-up story, featuring the first Empress of China as the main character!

𝙰𝙰𝙿𝙸 𝙷𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝙼𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚑 𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚝: 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚊𝚛𝚔 𝚘𝚗 𝚊 𝚓𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚌𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚝𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚝𝚢. 𝙾𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚓𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚢, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚚𝚞𝚎 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚓𝚞𝚍𝚒𝚌𝚎𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚝𝚢, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚏𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚎 𝚘𝚋𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚕𝚎𝚜.

。

It's been three years since I left home to find myself.

So far, I haven't discovered a single thing.

I only have my tales and memories to accompany me, the last remembrance of home imprinted in my mind as fresh as if it only happened yesterday.

People say you should stop looking back at your past, but how can I survive in the present and work toward my future without a before? This wondering engulfs me as if the village gong rings incessantly in my head as it does every evening.

The golden sun of the early dawn casts an ethereal glow on the short trees surrounding a brook. The babbling water assures me that I am nearing the Wei River - I have to get there quickly, though. I hope I won't get caught in the battles of the revolution before I reach the city.

When I get there, I'm supposed to use my power to restore my crumbling country. I only have Nai Nai's story to guide me in making that a reality.

。。。。。。

"Have you heard of the lost tale of the legendary Qiang Dynasty?" Nai Nai whispered to me, her frail, bedridden frame bathed in the afternoon sunlight.

I shook my head slowly and gingerly.

"Of course, you haven't. It's lost." Nai Nai waved a hand. "Qin Shi Huang wanted to be remembered as the greatest emperor in history, so he had the scholars burn the records of the High King that reigned the Center Kingdom before him."

I gasped sharply.

"Hush! Don't make a sound - we don't want to be killed, do we?!" Nai Nai chuckled at my appalled face. "The Emperor has eyes and ears everywhere. He has an army of terra cotta warriors to protect him, even in death. After all, it's only been around two years since he passed. The warriors' spirits patrol the kingdom, cursing the people who speak ill of him to live fateful lives."

"Nai Nai, how will this be of use to me?" I sighed.

"I'm telling you this because you need to know the tale. The Qiang Dynasty must prevail and live on forever - nobody can take the story away from you if you keep it in your heart. We're counting on you young ones to revive our golden age."