History Literature / UnderHeaven

* TheAtoner: ShenTai; he believes that the ghosts of those that died in a previous war will only settle if someone makes amends -- by burying those slain in battle, he hopes to earn forgiveness for his family's involvement.

* CozyCatastrophe: The real life An Shi rebellion led to the death of about 16 to 36 million people, lasted 8 years, and ended one of China's golden ages. Not that you'll notice this from the book looking at the experiences of Shen Tai, to whom the war appeared to be more of a nuisance than anything else. The fact was lampshaded in-story, noting that the Shen family were farsighted enough to prepare for dealing with the war and that they were fortunate in that family compound on the opposite side of the country from the front lines.

* DeathByOriginStory: The book sstarts off with a bunch of graves being dug; Shen Tai is where he is because of his family's involvement in a (previous) war.

* FatBastard / [[spoiler:LargeAndInCharge]]: Roshan--[[spoiler:who by the time of the story is too fat to move on his own and is dying of the Sugar Sickness (i.e. diabetes)]].

* IdiotBall: As later in-universe historians points out, first minister Wen Zhou ordering the army of Xu Bihai to march out of the safety of the impregnable Teng Pass fortresses to engage Roshan's forces (which, as has been pointed out earlier by the general, was already crumbling with the strain of maintaining the siege) in open battle was probably an [[UnderStatement unwise]] thing to do. Funnily enough, Roshan's forces are so blindsided by the stupidity of Xu's attack that Xu almost managed to win the battle from sheer RefugeInAudacity--unfortunately, that was not enough, the battle was lost and the capital was lost to the rebels by the end of the week. The incident was based on the real life Battle of Tongguan.

** Also Roshan, although he mostly does it because it amuses him--and because he can--in a land where bad manners can be a literal capital offense, a man who can be freely uncouth in the presence of the emperor is powerful indeed.

* DiseasByAnyOtherName: How long should it take to figure out that "the sugar sickness" is a form of diabetes?

''Under Heaven'' is a novel by Guy Gavriel Kay published in 2010. Set in a LowFantasy version of [[ImperialChina Tang China]], it is a fictionalized retelling of the events leading up to the An Lushan Rebellion.

* IdiotBall: As later in-universe historians points out, first minister Wen Zhou ordering the army of Xu Bihai to march out of the safety of the impregnable Teng Pass fortresses to engage Roshan's forces (which, as has been pointed out earlier by the general, was already crumbling with the strain of maintaining the siege) in open battle was probably an [[UnderStatement unwise]] thing to do. Funnily enough, Roshan's forces are so blindsided by the stupidity of Xu's attack that Xu almost managed to win the battle from sheer RefugeAudacity--unfortunately, that was not enough, the battle was lost and the capital was lost to the rebels by the end of the week. The incident was based on the real life Battle of Tongguan.

* NoPronunciationGuide: The novel does not bother to explain how the names rendered Mandarin Pinyin sounds (to be fair, you can probably go on the internet to check how pinyin works). Although Gay is generally good enough to name most of his characters something easily pronounceable for anglophones, avoiding some of the more exotic Chinese phonemes (like words with ''c, x,'' or ''q'').

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Several key characters are transparent alter egos of historical figures: Sima Zian ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Bai Li Bai]]), Roshan ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Lushan An Lushan]]), Emperor Taizu ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Xuanzong_of_Tang Emperor Xuanzong]]), Wen Jian ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yang_Guifei Yang Guifei]]), Wen Zhou ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yang_Guozhong Yang Guozhong]]), Empress Xue of Rygal([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Wencheng Li Wencheng]]).

** Also Roshan, although he mostly does it because it amuses him--and because he can--in a land where mad manners can be a capital offense, a man who can be uncouth in the presence of the emperor is powerful indeed.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Several key characters are transparent alter egos of historical figures: Sima Zian ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Bai Li Bai]]), Roshan ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Lushan An Lushan]]), Emperor Taizu ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Xuanzong_of_Tang Emperor Xuanzong]]), Wen Jian ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yang_Guifei Yang Guifei]]), Wen Zhou ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yang_Guozhong Yang Guozhong]]), Empress Xue of Rygal,([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Wencheng Li Wehcheng]]).

** Tagur: Tibet, the name of their capital, Gygyal, is Tibetan for "[city of] Kings".

* HookerWithAHeartOfGold: Spring Rain.

** Tagur: Tibet, the name of their capital, Gygyal, is Tibetan for [city of] Kings.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Several key characters are transparent alter egos of historical figures: Sima Zian ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Bai Li Bai]]), Roshan ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Lushan An Lushan]]), Emperor Taizu ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Xuanzong_of_Tang Emperor Xuanzong]]), Wen Jian ([[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yang_Guifei Yang Guifei]]), Wen Zhou ([[Yang Guozhong Yang Guozhong]]), Empress Xue of Rygal,([[Princess Wencheng Li Wehcheng]]).

* FantasyCounterpartCulture: As with all Guy Gavriel Gay novels, calling the cultures depicted therein "counterpart" considering they are ''almost'' exactly the same as the real world one.
** Kitai: China (Kitai is the Russian name for China); The Ninth Dynasty: The Tang Dynasty (which is the ninth dynasty after the Xia).

** The Koreini: Koreans
** Sardia: Persia
** Tagur: Tibet
* FatBastard: Roshan.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Several key characters are transparent alter egos of historical figures: Sima Zian (Li Bai), Roshan (An Lushan), Emperor Taizu (Emperor Xuanzong), Wen Jian (Yang Guifei)...

* WorldsMostBeautifulWoman: Wen Jian is universally acknowledged as the greatest beauty of the age.

Kitai is a huge empire and the cradle of an ancient, highly elaborate civilization. Now ruled by the Ninth Dynasty, it is at the height of its power and magnificence. Shen Tai, the second son of a famous general, has taken it upon himself to bury the thousands of dead bodies left on a battleground at the far western edge of the empire, as a form of mourning for his departed father. His only company are the howling ghosts of the fallen soldiers. And then, one day, an extravagant gift is thrown into his lap: two hundred and fifty Sardian mounts, the "heavenly horses" of unparalleled speed and stamina which the Kitan empire endlessly craves. He must now return from his self-imposed exile to the heart of the empire, the sprawling capital city of Xinan, and take sides in bitter factional struggles that threaten to tear the whole country apart.

His two companions on this journey are the martial artist Wei Song, a female member of the secretive Kanlin order, and the perennially inebriated Sima Zian, the most famous poet in Kitan. Awaiting him in Xinan, his lover Spring Rain, formerly a courtesan from the city's pleasure district and now the concubine of the new prime minister, and powerful, ruthless men of clashing interests.

''Under Heaven'' is a novel by Guy Gavriel Kay published in 2010. Set in a low-fantasy version of [[ImperialChina Tang China]], it is a fictionalized retelling of the events leading up to the An Lushan Rebellion.

Kitan is a huge empire and the cradle of an ancient, highly elaborate civilization. Now ruled by the Ninth Dynasty, it is at the height of its power and magnificence. Shen Tai, the second son of a famous general, has taken it upon himself to bury the thousands of dead bodies left on a battleground at the far western edge of the empire, as a form of mourning for his departed father. His only company are the howling ghosts of the fallen soldiers. And then, one day, an extravagant gift is thrown into his lap: two hundred and fifty Sardian mounts, the "heavenly horses" of unparalleled speed and stamina which the Kitan empire endlessly craves. He must now return from his self-imposed exile to the heart of the empire, the sprawling capital city of Xinan, and take sides in bitter factional struggles that threaten to tear the whole country apart.

''Under Heaven'' is a novel by Guy Gavriel Kay published in 2010. Set in a low-fantasy version of Tang China, it is a fictionalized retelling of the events leading up to the An Lushan Rebellion.

Kitan is a huge empire and the cradle of an ancient, highly elaborate civilization. Now ruled by the Ninth Dynasty, it is at the height of its power and magnificence. Shen Tai, the second son of a famous general, has taken it upon himself to bury the thousands of dead bodies left on a battleground at the far western edge of the empire, as a form of mourning for his departed father. His only company are the howling ghosts of the fallen soldiers. And then, one day, an extravagant gift is thrown into his lap: two hundred and fifty Sardian mounts, the "heavenly horses" of unparalleled speed and stamina which the Kitan empire endlessly craves. He must now return from his self-imposed exile to the heart of the empire, the sprawling capital city of Xinan, and take sides in ruthless factional struggles that threaten to tear the whole country apart.

Kitan is a huge empire and the cradle of an ancient, highly elaborate civilization. Now ruled by the Ninth Dynasty, it is at the height of its power and magnificence. Shen Tai, the second son of a famous general, has taken it upon himself to bury the thousands of dead bodies left on a battleground at the far weastern edge of the empire, as a form of mourning for his departed father. His only company are the howling ghosts of the fallen soldiers. And then, one day, an extravagant gift is thrown into his lap: two hundred and fifty Sardian mounts, the "heavenly horses" of unparalleled speed and stamina which the Kitan empire endlessly craves. He must now return from his self-imposed exile to the heart of the empire, the sprawling capital city of Xinan, and take sides in ruthless factional struggles that threaten to tear the whole country apart.

Kitan is a huge empire and the cradle of an ancient, highly elaborate civilization. Now ruled by the Ninth Dynasty, it is at the height of its power and magnificence. Shen Tai, the second son of a famous general, has taken it upon himself to bury the thousands of dead bodies left on a battleground at the far weastern edge of the empire, as a form of mourning for his departed father. His only company are the howling ghosts of the fallen soldiers. And then, one day, an extravagant gift is thrown into his lap: two hundred and fifty Sardian mounts, the "heavenly horses" of unparalleled speed and stamina which the Kitan empire endlessly craves. He must now return from his self-imposed exile to the heart of the empire, the sprawling capital city of Xinan, and take sides in ruthless factional struggles that threaten to tear the whole country apart.