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1 results

  • 12 - The Widow’s Curse

  • Franciscus Verellen, Ecole française d’Extrême-Orient
  • Book:
    The Fall of the Tang
    Published online:
    19 February 2026
    Print publication:
    05 March 2026, pp 217-236

  • Summary

    In Chapter 12, Gao Pian’s devotion to Daoism (“The Dao of Gao”) invites controversy. The section “White Marsh and Blue Bottle” recounts the writer Luo Yin’s visit to Yangzhou and his unsuccessful quest for employment at Gao’s headquarters. Subsequently, the embittered Luo would circulate a satirical pamphlet titled Bewitched in Guangling that depicts Gao as an aging despot manipulated by religious charlatans. “The Parting of Solitary Cloud” accompanies Ch’oe Ch’iwŏn on his return journey to Silla in late 884, documented in poems and letters exchanged with Gao Pian. Ch’oe’s departure brings the scribe’s blow-by-blow documentation of Gao Pian’s action in Huainan to an abrupt end, opening a floodgate for rumor, gossip, and recrimination. Huainan becomes embroiled in conspiracy and violence, reaching a pitch in 887, as Gao’s subordinates plot to seize power from each other. In “Maelstrom,” the scope of the plot deepens to supplanting the military governor as overlord in Huainan. Gao Pian and his family fall victim to an assassination conspiracy.