The fascinating Chinese history behind The Tale of Sybil Snake!
February 17, 2025 at 9:09 pm | Posted in Inspiration for my stories, The Tale of Sybil Snake, The Year of the Snake | Leave a commentTags: astrology, China, Chinese Zodiac, history, news, Stories about Chinese history for kids, Stories about Chinese Zodiac, Stories about snakes, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Sybil Snake, The Year of the Snake
In a recent post, I told you all about the famous Legend of Lady White Snake, in which a beautiful white snake transformed herself into a human being in order to marry the man she loved. When I first read about this legend, I spied a footnote at the bottom of the page which said that, in the past, many Chinese scholars believed that a famous Chinese Emperor called Wu Zetian was the reincarnation of Lady White Snake! So of course, I had to do some more research – and what I found out was fascinating! It also inspired some of the story in The Tale of Sybil Snake!
Wu Zetian was born into a minor noble family in 624AD, and was so renowned for her charm, beauty and intelligence that she became one of the concubines of the old Emperor, and after he died, the young Emperor Gao Zong. She gradually worked her way to the top, replacing even the young Emperor’s first wife. Then, when the Emperor suffered a stroke, she took over the administration of the court, removing anyone who opposed her. After the Emperor died, she refused to allow her two eldest sons to rule, moving her weakest third son into power so that she could control him. Finally, she forced him to resign, and declared herself Emperor of China – and if you called her Empress or anything other than Emperor, you were in big trouble!
In spite of her ruthless climb to power, she was an excellent ruler of China for forty years, replacing the military ruling class with scholars, elevating women in politics and society, lowering taxes on the peasants and improving public works. She also, famously, replaced the official state religion of Daoism with Buddhism (which regarded men and women as equal). But after she died, the Confucian scholars who had been sidelined by Wu Zetian returned to the court with a vengeance, and tarnished her record with tales of terrible cruelty…including, apparently, that she was the reincarnation of a Snake! Interestingly, the first story about Lady White Snake emerged in the Tang Dynasty, where the snake was described as an “evil demon”.
Whatever the truth of the matter, a woman who could rise to the very top of imperial China, at a time when women were universally regarded as inferior to men, must have been extraordinary!
And in The Tale of Sybil Snake, you will discover a mysterious woman who rules China long and well after her husband, the Emperor, and their little son disappears…I wonder whether she had anything to do with Sybil Snake? Shhhhhhhhhhhhh!
The Results are out in my Tale of a Rogue Rabbit writing competition!
May 10, 2023 at 7:08 pm | Posted in Clever Competitions | Leave a commentTags: Stories about Chinese history for kids, Stories about rabbits, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of a Rogue Rabbit Writing Competition, The Tale of Rhonda Rabbit, Writing Competitions for Kids
HOORAY! The results in my Tale of a Rogue Rabbit writing competition are out!!
Thank you all so much for your fabulous entries into my latest Clever Competition, The Tale of a Rogue Rabbit! I’ve had so much fun reading them, and chuckling at the antics of your cheeky bunnies and sometimes even naughtier Amur hedgehogs whilst sparing a thought for all your sad princesses! Not to mention singing along with those watermelons!!
There were two notable “firsts” in this competition!
- The first story written completely in rhyming verse!
- The first word I had to look up in the dictionary because I’d never heard of it before!
And there was a lot of humour, which is always fun to come across, especially when judging!
You can read all the wonderful winning entries on my Clever Competition page right away! Just click on this link!
Two fabulous World Book Day visits last Friday!
May 2, 2022 at 9:24 pm | Posted in Hong Kong Schools | Leave a commentTags: Genghis Khan for kids, Stories about Chinese history for kids, SWCS YMCA Hong Kong, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Temujin, World Book Day
Last Friday I celebrated World Book Day with two fun school visits in Hong Kong by Zoom!
My first visit was to San Wui Commercial Society YMCA of Hong Kong Christian School in Cheung Sha Wan. I introduced my Chinese Calendar Tale for the Year of the Tiger, The Tale of Temujin, to the students and told them the extraordinary real life history of Genghis Khan, who was the inspiration for my tiger! The kids had a terrific time roaring like tigers and screaming like spoiled princesses and the teachers had an equally fun time blocking and unblocking their ears :)! We had a lot of fun!
Many thanks to Sarah Cha, primary librarian, for inviting me! Sarah wrote me a beautiful testimonial for the visit which you can find on my Teacher Testimonial page!
Here are some more fun pics! Thank you Sarah for sending them!
Patience, my writer friends…
April 27, 2022 at 10:01 pm | Posted in Clever Competitions | Leave a commentTags: A Terrific Tiger Tale writing competition, Chinese Calendar Tales, Stories about Chinese history for kids, Stories about Chinese Zodiac characters, The Tale of Temujin, Writing competitions for primary school kids
If you’re one of the dedicated writers who entered my Terrific Tiger Tale writing competition, you’ll be wanting to know who won places! But I’m still reading and hugely enjoying your stories, so you’ll have to bear with me a little while longer! Hang in there, and if you get frustrated, just let out a little ROAR – it always helps :)!
Four fabulous sessions at Kennedy School!
March 17, 2022 at 12:04 am | Posted in Hong Kong Schools | Leave a commentTags: Kennedy School, Stories about Chinese history for kids, Stories about Chinese Zodiac characters, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Chester Choi, The Tale of Pin Yin Panda, The Tale of Temujin
Today and yesterday morning I Zoomed in to visit my old friends at Kennedy School in Hong Kong! We had four fabulous sessions with Years 1 to 4! The Year 1s enjoyed my show and tell story reading of The Tale of Pin Yin Panda, and were brilliant with their knowledge of the Chinese Zodiac Animals and the Legend of Lord Buddha’s Race! The Year 2s met my hungry Chester Choi and his friend Jimmy Lee, and the Year 3s and 4s roared like tigers and screamed like VERY spoiled princesses as they listened to me read The Tale of Temujin! We had a blast!! Huge thanks to Library Assistant Susan Mifsud for hosting me, and the PTA for inviting me in! It was lovely to see you all again! Here are some more photos below!
Hear me reading The Tale of Temujin for Asia Society Hong Kong!
March 9, 2022 at 4:36 pm | Posted in Video recordings | Leave a commentTags: Asia Society Hong Kong, Sarah Brennan Youtube, Stories about Chinese history for kids, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Tale of Temujin
A big thank you to Pauline Wong and all my friends at the fabulous Asia Society Hong Kong for making this fun Asia Society video available to all my fans! You can hear me reading The Tale of Temujin, with lots of fun details about the history behind the story and much more, while you roar like tigers and scream like spoiled princesses along with me! Have fun!!
That was a BUSY week!
March 6, 2022 at 12:43 am | Posted in Hong Kong Schools, mainland China schools | Leave a commentTags: A Terrific Tiger Tale writing competition, How to Write a Riveting Story, Stories about Chinese history for kids, Stories about Hong Kong history, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah, The Tale of Chester Choi, The Tale of Temujin, Writing Competitions for Kids, Writing workshops for kids
This week I had a fabulous time Zoom-visiting schools in Hong Kong and mainland China in the early hours of the morning from here in ***********!
On Tuesday, I visited the Year 4 students at Yew Chung International School in Chongqing with my writing workshop How to Write a Riveting Story! The kids used my story planner as I explained the importance of characters, setting and plot sequence, and by the end of the session had some fantastic story plans ready to go for their first draft! I can’t wait to see the results! Thanks to my lovely host, English co-ordinator Becca Roden for inviting me!
On Wednesday I visited the Kindies at Sias International School of Zhengdong New District, Zhengzhou to introduce them to my Chinese Calendar Tales with a fun reading of The Tale of Chester Choi, with my toy dragon Billy Boy looking on, then on Friday I visited the whole of primary school during assembly, where I talked all about How I became an Author and the crucial importance of reading books in the digital age, following which they roared like tigers and screamed like spoiled princesses while I read them this year’s Calendar Tale, The Tale of Temujin! Many thanks to librarian and media specialist Elizabeth Baker and tech wizard Tom Kerrigan for making the visit possible!
Meanwhile on Thursday, I finished my four sessions with my old friends at Stamford American School Hong Kong with a visit to 100 fabulous Year 5s in their homes, where I explained all the fabulous history and real-life mystery behind The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah (A Mystery in Hong Kong)! Thank you Aric Cherry for being such a fun host, and as ever, to Lisa Olinski for all the fantastic organisation!
And today, I slept in…for a long, long time :)!
It was a real pleasure to be working with such enthusiastic and focused students! I look forward to seeing lots of entries from you in my latest Clever Competition, A Terrific Tiger Tale!
I’m judging the Rascally Rat Tale Competition now – and having such fun!
May 1, 2020 at 5:13 pm | Posted in Challenges and activities, Clever Competitions | Leave a commentTags: Stories about Chinese history for kids, Stories about rats, The Rascally Rat Tale Competition, The Tale of Run Run Rat
Phew! The judging of the Great Year of the Rat Challenge 2020 is done and dusted, and now I’m judging my Rascally Rat Tale Competition!! And I’m having so much fun! Thanks to the fabulous writers from Hong Kong, Melbourne, Shanghai, Singapore and Sydney for sending in such terrific stories – and for their patience! The results will be out soon!
Ping Pong Pig bounces into Hutchins School in Hobart!
March 16, 2019 at 9:41 am | Posted in Hobart, Hobart Schools, Tasmania, The Hutchins School | Leave a commentTags: Beijing, Stories about Chinese history for kids, Stories about Chinese Zodiac characters, The Chinese Calendar Tales, The Forbidden City, The Tale of Ping Pong Pig
Wow! Look at that sky! It was what my Dad used to call a “blue and gold day” on Friday 8th March when Ping Pong Pig and I visited Hutchins Junior School at Sandy Bay in Hobart, Tasmania to visit our many friends there with my latest Chinese Calendar Tale in one packed session! Just about every kid and teacher in school was there, from the Pre-Kindies to the Grade 6s, and they all fell in love with my feisty little pig as she evaded the Minister of Most Important Things in her romp around the Forbidden City in Beijing! Huge thanks to my dear friend, Head of Library Kate Reid, for inviting me in! And I’m looking forward to some great Hutchins entries in my Clever Competition!
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