What Inspired Me to Write The Green Phoenix?

I have often been asked this question by interviewers: What inspired you to write The Green Phoenix: A Novel of the Woman Who Re-Made Asia, Empress Xiaozhuang? Invariably, my answer to that question is: the 2003 Chinese historical drama series entitled The Secret History of Xiaozhuang.

Here is an episode with English subtitles from the series:

https://youtu.be/Tk2eraRLOVk