The attractiveness of ancient China

by Jeannie Lin, author of Butterfly Swords from Harlequin Historical (October 2010)

I struggled with the question of historical romance versus historical fantasy many times while writing Butterfly Swords and the rest of the books in the series,. I had cut my teeth on the historical romances of Johanna Lindsey who would often create a fictional country somewhere in the middle of Europe if it served the story. So I thought the perfect solution was to make up a fictional empire based on China. The culture could be similar, but with a separate history and different names and places. I would be free from the confines of historical fact. I wouldn’t have to kill myself researching every detail.

West Lake in Hangzhou, China

When I started writing, I knew this initial plan wasn’t going to work. Tang Dynasty China was a world much grander and more complex than I could ever create on my own. The further I got along, the more I felt I was hiding behind these fake names. I wasn’t getting to the heart and soul of what inspired me. So I made a decision: The fictional land would be the western one, a Dark Age kingdom in the middle of Europe. The “real” place would be the Tang Empire, the Middle Kingdom. The place we now call China.

From the moment I committed to this, I found a new clarity. I wanted to capture not only the historical detail, but the feel of the stories that had inspired me as a child. I knew I was taking some liberties with facts and events for the sake of the story, but I wanted readers to call me out if I couldn’t convince them they were in 8th century China. I never wanted to use the excuse that I made this land up. I made the choice and took the empowerment that came with it—I very well should take the slings and arrows for getting it wrong.

Garden in Chinese Home

Every historical romance writer faces the challenge of weaving a believable romantic fantasy around their setting. We are always conscious that the past was often a harsher place than the one we live in now. Sickness and poverty were more prevalent. Women were often subjugated and standards of bathing and hygiene were very different then.

I wanted to explore the China that inspired my imagination, but I didn’t want the stories to be sugar-coated and one-sided. The Tang Dynasty was a place where many crossroads converged. There was a cosmopolitan mix of ethnicities interacting within the cities, much like the Roman empire. The era featured art and high culture, opportunity for advancement through the civil exams, and diplomacy with surrounding nations.

At the same time, there was warfare and strife at the borders. The empire even had its own “Wild West”. Women enjoyed a greater degree of independence, yet the commoditizing of beauty and entertainment resulted in women being bought and sold. In later generations, the culture of courtesans and concubines in the Tang Dynasty would lead to harsher subjugation of women.

In the end, ancient China appealed to me because of its complexity. So many aspects of the era resonated with me as a modern reader: the cosmopolitan cities, the early stirrings of a meritocracy where one could rise above their birth, the feeling that the empire was connected to so many other lands. Most importantly, I could believe that people defied the odds to fall in love in the Tang Dynasty, and that there was a hidden cache of romantic stories in this era, waiting to be told.

Purchase The Taming of Mei Lin, a Harlequin Historical Undone prequel to Jeannie’s debut Harlequin Historical Butterfly Swords wherever ebooks are sold. Butterfly Swords is available for pre-sale right now in print and ebooks!