Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix Quotes

“All my life, I've thought myself weaker than others. But everyone has to work at being brave, don't they? Day after day, in their own way.”
― Julie C. Dao, Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix

“But then again, we all have dreams within reach, Jade thought. We have only to shape them to fit ourselves.”
― Julie C. Dao, Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix

“Bravery isn't just about being strong and handy with a sword. Sometimes it's about resolve...or deciding whether to face a past you'd rather forgot.”
― Julie C. Dao, Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix

“She was thought too gentle to rule, but perhaps they were all wrong,” Fu said. “Perhaps gentleness is necessary to temper a ruler’s ruthlessness, and not weakness at all.”
― Julie C. Dao, Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix

“Sometimes I think Xifeng’s the only one who knows what women are capable of, and that’s why she’s on that throne. I don’t agree with anything she’s done, but she believed in herself, and that’s what’s missing in me. If I don’t believe in myself, why should you? Why should my people?”
― Julie C. Dao, Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix

“We learn about ourselves when we learn about others,” Jade said. “We respect different ways of life as food, traditions, and storytelling are shared across borders.”
― Julie C. Dao, Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix

“Though Jade had never seen or heard the ocean, she thought Xifeng's voice might sound like the sea - gentle beneath the wind, but hiding wild, untamed depths below the surface.”
― Julie C. Dao, Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix

“All over the gold silk lining of the brocade cloak, Amah had embroidered a secret; a map of Feng Lu, rendered in rich jewel tones and surrounded by a border of pearl-white lanterns. The five kingdoms nestled in a sea of turquoise thread representing the oceans. Symbols and images had been stitched all around the border: moon-colored cranes taking flight, red roses burning in the desert sand, a phoenix rampant in tree branches, a silvery fish, a shining sword of steel.”
― Julie C. Dao, Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix

“The power of storytelling lies in the passing on of messages, histories, and secrets . Empress Lihua and I worked on this cloak for you before she was even pregnant with you. She knew you would come. She knew you would face a challenge of this magnitude, as the tengaru had long foretold you would.”
― Julie C. Dao, Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix

“ The lion knows not to doubt the mouse, for size does not betray strength. ”
― Julie C. Dao, Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix

“ For what is the gleam of the sun on bright metal...without the strength of its sting? ”
― Julie C. Dao, Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix