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What Was It Like, Mr. Emperor?: Life in China's Forbidden City
Have you ever wondered what it was like to be the Emperor of China? In this book, readers will get the chance to ask the emperor all the questions they might have about life in the Forbidden City. How was the emperor chosen? What was school like? How did he celebrate his birthday? Who were his friends? What were his favorite foods? How hard did he have to work? Could he be punished?
Through fun and engaging stories reader will journey through the average life of an emperor and learn about the people who lived in the palace, including the prince who fought off a rebel invasion, the palace maids who lived in the Inner Court, the emperor who ruled twice, and the emperor who loved crickets. This book can be enjoyed by children and adults alike, with lively illustrations that encourage reader interaction.
Through fun and engaging stories reader will journey through the average life of an emperor and learn about the people who lived in the palace, including the prince who fought off a rebel invasion, the palace maids who lived in the Inner Court, the emperor who ruled twice, and the emperor who loved crickets. This book can be enjoyed by children and adults alike, with lively illustrations that encourage reader interaction.
- GenresHistory
108 pages, Hardcover
First published October 28, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 27, 2016
Judging for Foreword Books Indiefab Awards.
No coherent plot theme or thread; just a lot of random facts in no logical order. Good drawings, but if this book really wants to get someone's attention, it needs to help guide you through the book, rather than just piling more and more information on you haphazardly.
No coherent plot theme or thread; just a lot of random facts in no logical order. Good drawings, but if this book really wants to get someone's attention, it needs to help guide you through the book, rather than just piling more and more information on you haphazardly.
January 7, 2016
Children today will be amazed to read that heirs to the imperial throne of China were schooled from 5:00 am until 3:00 pm seven days a week with only five holidays each year! By comparison, this makes contemporary education appear super easy. "What Was It Like, Mr. Emperor?: Life in China’s Forbidden City" is an attractive one hundred and eight page hardcover book that answers the question asked in the title by showing aspects of the daily life of each ruler within the enormous Imperial Palace complex, of 980 buildings and nearly 10,000 rooms, called the Forbidden City.
The book shows that beginning in 206 BC Imperial Palace court officials recommended to the emperor that “studying is the only noble thing to do in life” and consequently there were always more scholars on the palace staff than military men. The emperor’s daily needs were well satisfied as shown by the list of foods cooked each day for him, although his meals were always tested first by an entourage of eunuchs. Poison and other risks to the emperor’s life needed to be guarded against. Thousands of eunuchs, female consorts, and others supplied the emperor’s every desire.
Traditionally the first born boy of the royal family would become the next emperor, so princesses were out of luck and would instead be married off young, some even at the age of ten, to suitors from faraway lands. However there was one female emperor, Wu Zetian, who reigned for a time during the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907). Accounts suggest that she was no sweetheart.
This carefully designed book employs a beautiful yellow color throughout, perhaps in honor of Qin Shi Huangdi, who more than 4,000 years ago unified the various tribes into the nation of Chinese people, becoming their first emperor. He was nicknamed the Yellow Emperor. The simple graphic novel style drawings with thick black outlines and the clean page layouts, along with easy to understand text, showcase a surprising amount of information in an accessible way. This may be a good resource for report writing at the younger grade levels and there are many basic facts of interest to the book's young audience.
Kids will be intrigued by the 12 personality symbols embroidered into every emperor’s imperial robe starting in the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 B.C.), brief bios of the Ming and Qing emperors (some wise and brave, others not), and accounts of uprisings and entertainments. There is one set of gatefolds to illustrate the ceremony at the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City where Emperor Shunzhi was crowned at the age of six and eventually began his reign when only fourteen, as was customary.
Trade publishers today and organizations such as WeNeedDiverseBooks insist that books for children about the world’s cultures and ethnicities should be written and illustrated by members of that group. Diverse literature for kids doesn’t get more authentic than this non-fiction book about life in China’s Forbidden City. It was written by Chiu Kwong-chui and Eileen Ng, translated by Ben Wang, and illustrated by the Design and Cultural Studies Workshop, which Mr. Kwong-chiu founded in Hong Kong. What Was It Like Mr. Emperor was written and illustrated by acknowledged experts from Hong Kong and printed in China as well. It is a simple distillation of a complex and long history and an appropriate introduction for young audiences. The Qing and Ming Dynasties' Forbidden City in Beijing, originally built under orders of Zhu Di, the Emperor Yongle, who reigned from 1403-1424, is now a museum and World Heritage site.
The online description of "What Was It Like, Mr. Emperor?: Life in China’s Forbidden City" states that it is intended for children grades 3 and up. "In the Forbidden City," a companion book in this series, received the Parents’ Choice Gold Award for 2015.
"What Was it Like, Mr. Emperor?: Life in the Forbidden City" is an authentic introduction to the daily life of typical Chinese emperors, well-presented for today’s children.
The book shows that beginning in 206 BC Imperial Palace court officials recommended to the emperor that “studying is the only noble thing to do in life” and consequently there were always more scholars on the palace staff than military men. The emperor’s daily needs were well satisfied as shown by the list of foods cooked each day for him, although his meals were always tested first by an entourage of eunuchs. Poison and other risks to the emperor’s life needed to be guarded against. Thousands of eunuchs, female consorts, and others supplied the emperor’s every desire.
Traditionally the first born boy of the royal family would become the next emperor, so princesses were out of luck and would instead be married off young, some even at the age of ten, to suitors from faraway lands. However there was one female emperor, Wu Zetian, who reigned for a time during the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907). Accounts suggest that she was no sweetheart.
This carefully designed book employs a beautiful yellow color throughout, perhaps in honor of Qin Shi Huangdi, who more than 4,000 years ago unified the various tribes into the nation of Chinese people, becoming their first emperor. He was nicknamed the Yellow Emperor. The simple graphic novel style drawings with thick black outlines and the clean page layouts, along with easy to understand text, showcase a surprising amount of information in an accessible way. This may be a good resource for report writing at the younger grade levels and there are many basic facts of interest to the book's young audience.
Kids will be intrigued by the 12 personality symbols embroidered into every emperor’s imperial robe starting in the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 B.C.), brief bios of the Ming and Qing emperors (some wise and brave, others not), and accounts of uprisings and entertainments. There is one set of gatefolds to illustrate the ceremony at the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City where Emperor Shunzhi was crowned at the age of six and eventually began his reign when only fourteen, as was customary.
Trade publishers today and organizations such as WeNeedDiverseBooks insist that books for children about the world’s cultures and ethnicities should be written and illustrated by members of that group. Diverse literature for kids doesn’t get more authentic than this non-fiction book about life in China’s Forbidden City. It was written by Chiu Kwong-chui and Eileen Ng, translated by Ben Wang, and illustrated by the Design and Cultural Studies Workshop, which Mr. Kwong-chiu founded in Hong Kong. What Was It Like Mr. Emperor was written and illustrated by acknowledged experts from Hong Kong and printed in China as well. It is a simple distillation of a complex and long history and an appropriate introduction for young audiences. The Qing and Ming Dynasties' Forbidden City in Beijing, originally built under orders of Zhu Di, the Emperor Yongle, who reigned from 1403-1424, is now a museum and World Heritage site.
The online description of "What Was It Like, Mr. Emperor?: Life in China’s Forbidden City" states that it is intended for children grades 3 and up. "In the Forbidden City," a companion book in this series, received the Parents’ Choice Gold Award for 2015.
"What Was it Like, Mr. Emperor?: Life in the Forbidden City" is an authentic introduction to the daily life of typical Chinese emperors, well-presented for today’s children.
December 13, 2015
Illustrated with strong colors and bold black lines, the history of China's emperors is show in brief descriptions of each emperor from about 4,000 BC until the demise of the line of emperors. Some were liked and some were not. Some were successful and some were not. They were considered to be endowed with power bestowed by Heaven and revered. They were the highest. I feel that from this treatise of emperors leadership in China there is very little take away information from which the reader will profit. There is satirical humor. Bubble captions. Mentions of eunuchs and concubines. And then of concubines racing to see who could provide an heir first.
As with other royals, the emperors had food tasters because they feared being poisoned. They were well taken care of by the court physicians. Some lived and ruled long and some very short periods. I learned that the original five emperors ruled over five areas (like chiefs) and then there was a unifying to become China.
There was some interesting information about palace life and the love of beauty. The concubines or women must have specific types of beauty, wear certain attire and jewelry, etc. Life in the palace for the emperor and all those who serve him was certainly different from life today - even "royal" life.
DISCLOSURE: I was provided a complimentary copy to facilitate this review.
As with other royals, the emperors had food tasters because they feared being poisoned. They were well taken care of by the court physicians. Some lived and ruled long and some very short periods. I learned that the original five emperors ruled over five areas (like chiefs) and then there was a unifying to become China.
There was some interesting information about palace life and the love of beauty. The concubines or women must have specific types of beauty, wear certain attire and jewelry, etc. Life in the palace for the emperor and all those who serve him was certainly different from life today - even "royal" life.
DISCLOSURE: I was provided a complimentary copy to facilitate this review.
May 28, 2016
I've never had much interest on the dynastic history of China, particularly because the modern China (i.e. the Nationalist and Communist era) are more interesting and relevant to today's geopolitical affairs.
However, this book changed my mind. To call it a children's book would be an understatement: sure, it is aimed at children with its simplistic language and cute illustrations, but it is packed with a wealth of interesting trivia that always piques you for to read more. For example, do you know that the chosen heir of the Emperor would need to attend school seven days a week, and gets only FIVE days off in a whole year? The huge amount of knowledge that need to be imparted to the Emperor-to-be, ranging from Math, Military skills, archery, Chinese, and Manchu language et al would take most of his childhood, so that he would be well-prepared to lead the Empire when his time comes.
This is the first book on Chinese dynasties (particularly Ming and Qing ones) that really sucked me in. Once I opened the pages, I just can't stop reading about how fascinating life was under the different Emperors that once ruled.
Kudos to Chiu Kwong-chiu and Eileen Ng for such a great oeuvre!
However, this book changed my mind. To call it a children's book would be an understatement: sure, it is aimed at children with its simplistic language and cute illustrations, but it is packed with a wealth of interesting trivia that always piques you for to read more. For example, do you know that the chosen heir of the Emperor would need to attend school seven days a week, and gets only FIVE days off in a whole year? The huge amount of knowledge that need to be imparted to the Emperor-to-be, ranging from Math, Military skills, archery, Chinese, and Manchu language et al would take most of his childhood, so that he would be well-prepared to lead the Empire when his time comes.
This is the first book on Chinese dynasties (particularly Ming and Qing ones) that really sucked me in. Once I opened the pages, I just can't stop reading about how fascinating life was under the different Emperors that once ruled.
Kudos to Chiu Kwong-chiu and Eileen Ng for such a great oeuvre!
August 18, 2015
Review: There has been 210 emperors in China and among them was one woman emperor named Wu Zetian of the Tang dynasty. These emperors did their best to convince the people of China that, they were the true descendants of Heaven. They lived in the most grandest and most luxurious buildings.
Questions are asked through out the book about their way of life. About education, family tree, and being an emperor. It was interesting to read that the Princes started schooling at the age of six, and that they have to get up before dawn everyday. How many days do they get off in a year? 5 days, while kids these days get up to two months off a year.
Do you know that the Emperor’s Imperial Court Robe has 12 emblems embroidered on his robe representing 12 virtues? This book is not only educational history wise but fun to read.
FTC Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from Stephanie Ridge in exchange for a fair and honest review. I was not monetarily compensated for my opinion in any way.
Questions are asked through out the book about their way of life. About education, family tree, and being an emperor. It was interesting to read that the Princes started schooling at the age of six, and that they have to get up before dawn everyday. How many days do they get off in a year? 5 days, while kids these days get up to two months off a year.
Do you know that the Emperor’s Imperial Court Robe has 12 emblems embroidered on his robe representing 12 virtues? This book is not only educational history wise but fun to read.
FTC Disclosure: I received a review copy of this book from Stephanie Ridge in exchange for a fair and honest review. I was not monetarily compensated for my opinion in any way.
January 24, 2016
We received this awhile back in exchange for an honest review and it took us awhile to get through it – not because it isn’t brilliant, but because it is long, especially for a kids’ picture book.
The information is fantastic, the pictures fun. But What Was It Like, Mr. Emperor? should have been serialized.
It wouldn’t be hard to do as there are already mini chapter-like breaks. Kids like my own five year old would respond better to it being shorter titles that they could collect like a series as opposed to reading bits of the same book each night. Ultimately, it’s the same amount of reading for the same amount of time, but kids see it differently for some reason, and they tend to like to collect things anyway.
We loved all the tidbits about Life in China’s Forbidden City, but as a customer, reader, mother, author, bookseller, reviewer, and someone who possesses a BBA in Marketing, I think there could be a lot more money into turning this title into a series of smaller books.
https://anakalianwhims.wordpress.com/...
The information is fantastic, the pictures fun. But What Was It Like, Mr. Emperor? should have been serialized.
It wouldn’t be hard to do as there are already mini chapter-like breaks. Kids like my own five year old would respond better to it being shorter titles that they could collect like a series as opposed to reading bits of the same book each night. Ultimately, it’s the same amount of reading for the same amount of time, but kids see it differently for some reason, and they tend to like to collect things anyway.
We loved all the tidbits about Life in China’s Forbidden City, but as a customer, reader, mother, author, bookseller, reviewer, and someone who possesses a BBA in Marketing, I think there could be a lot more money into turning this title into a series of smaller books.
https://anakalianwhims.wordpress.com/...
February 7, 2016
This is a great book for kids interested in Chinese history and culture, and a wonderful companion book to Chiu Kwong-chin's earlier book In the Forbidden City. Illustrated with whimsical, engaging digitally produced images, young readers will learn all about who the emperors were and what they meant in Chinese society. Of course, you can't be an emperor without some help and they were surrounded by a variety of people who served different purposes in daily life within the Forbidden City. These are also explained, right down to the food tasters whose job it was to make sure the emperor wasn't poisoned by an enemy. This is also a well-made, beautifully produced book as well as timely, since more and more kids are learning about China these days.
January 27, 2016
What Was it Like, Mr. Emperor gives the reader a fast history lesson in Chinese customs and life with an Emperor. Teachers looking for a fun way to celebrate Multicultural Day will find this book perfect for a lesson on life in the Chinese Forbidden City. What Was it Like, Mr. Emperor is one of the most fascinating children’s books I’ve read about China. Nothing seems left out. The importance of the birth order is explained, along with the training and tutoring of the first born son—heir to the Emperor’s throne.
To Continue Reading, Go To: http://bit.ly/MrEmperor
To Continue Reading, Go To: http://bit.ly/MrEmperor
January 4, 2016
I received this book free through the Goodreads giveaway. This book was engaging, fun, and light-hearted. I think it's aimed for older children, but really anyone would enjoy it if they're interested in the day-to-day life of China's rulers and emperors. The illustrations were cute and plentiful. It managed to be both educational and entertaining, which is difficult to achieve especially in historical topics. I'm keeping this for my daughter when she gets a little older.
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June 20, 2016The layout of the book is awkward. It's not really a story book to read to children. It's more informational like something you would purchase at a gift shop if you wanted to study China's emperors or something. They crammed alot of information into this tiny book which is a great way to teach.
January 21, 2016
Have given this book to my 10 year old grandson. He is enjoying it.
I received this book free from Goodreads First Reads.
I received this book free from Goodreads First Reads.
Read
April 24, 2017This is a really fun, informative, and interesting account of dynastic China. Illustrations are cute, and I learned a lot of fascinating details about the lives of emperors. A lot of text, would recommend for 5th-7th grade
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews