In historical records, there are three main distinct events which reflected their jealousy and plots to kill Li Shimin. First, after accepting an invitation to Li Jianchen’s banquet, Li shimin felt sick and nearly died from being poisoned. I do believe that there lacks truth in this since
a)     He clearly did not get along with his brother so why would he attend his banquet in the first place?
b)     If his brother hates him so much, how come Li Shimin wasn’t poisoned and killed on the spot? What’s all this later coughing up blood business about?
c)     Coughing up blood and being saved from poison…hmmm..not very convincing
Secondly, they tried to assassinate him by causing accidents ( Incident with the horse) and thirdly, continuously cause trouble for Li Shimin by spreading rumours.
Anywhos, after many failed attempts, they pressured Li Shimin to strike as well. So in that famous event called XUANWU GATE, Li Shimin killed his own brothers and was then crowned Emperor. Yes, killing own siblings for the sake of powers….this is history.
Amongst all this bloodshed and uncertainty, there is one person who could offer Li Shiming ( a tough guy/general) comfort and warmth. That person is one of my favourite and most respected female Chinese historical character.…Empress ZHANGSUN. She is the opposite of Li Shiming. Caring, kind and gentle, she provided endless comfort for a tough general who is always exposed to bloodshed and violence.
In the next chapter, I will go into more detail about each of them with a particular focus on Empress ZhangSun.


Her father was a general, well-known for his archery skills. Her mother is one of her father’s concubines and is herself from a wealthy and well-known family. She lived a relatively carefree and happy for several years along with her brother who is 4 years her senior. 

囧，才看到是全英文的。。牛叉= =

小心翼翼地说：
翻译成英语很厉害。
不过，已经是封建社会，应该是皇后吧。
佩服楼主的英文底子

请某些人自重，麻烦开骂前先看看置顶帖，先搞搞清楚贴吧的规矩再开尊口，更不要跑到不相关的帖子里展示自己的“口才”= =
PS，全英文看的我头晕，不过LZ还真是有心人，啵一个~~~

我很崇拜楼主……虽然让我看英文太累了，而且不全看得懂~佩服你的用心……

回复：7楼
Empress
Queen
两个都是皇后的意识
但是，古代中国历史往往使用 Emperor皇帝 Empress皇后
献丑了
谢谢

回复：5楼
我是个唐代迷，超级敬佩伟大的帝王和女性
想利用语言功底把美丽的故事呈现给外国友人
非常感谢cool penguin
让我跟其他热爱古代历史/长孙皇后的网友在一起聊聊我们的偶像。

回复：9楼
很喜欢你的图片
印度电影 Devdas 那段Maar Dala 是我的最爱
谢谢

Then, when she was 8 years old, tragedy struck. She along with her brother ZHANGSUN WUJI was thrown out of the family by their older brother (the son of the first wife).

In order to find a home and survive, Zhangsun and her brother, 8 and 12 at the time, went to seek for help from their uncle (the brother of their mother). After arriving there, their uncle welcomed them with open arms and accepted and treated them as his own children. So a pretty happy ending but such experiences will surely leave behind a scar. In fact, the hardship endured by Zhangsun left an everlasting impact on her and to a small degree has affected her thoughts on what life is, what is power and in the future how to be a real mother under the heaven ( this term is a direct translation of the Chinese母仪天下 which means a mother for all) or Empress. Caring towards servants and treating all with respect and equality, it was recorded that she is thrifty and always think about others , in particular her country- The Tang Dynasty. She treated all the other concubines with equal respect as well, took in other children as her own and nursed sick servants and concubines back to health. Good Empress like her are rare in Chinese history since most are splattered with nasty events made by those who are ruthless female rulers such as the cruel Wu Zhe Tian and Dowager CIXI.

佩服楼主的英语功底~

回复：12楼
呼……我这张图片挂了那麼久，终於找到知音了~感动，抱抱

楼主好厉害