Empress

by Shan Sa

Man is woman’s enemy! Fathers barter and haggle to marry us off. Husbands lie and exploit us. Children betray us and kill us! Noblewomen, townswomen, peasant women—all of them are like beasts of burden pulling the cart of a pointless existence. Never think that living out that sort of existence will set you free for your future life.

The ephemeral is a reflection of the eternal.

But I myself had found the best remedy against old age: never stop working, continue to invent.