# The Strike: Chapter Five Summary and Study Guide
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
The chapter opens with Shangguan Wan'er, the young maidservant who cared for Wu Zetian during her coma, bringing a meal to the bedchamber where she is confined. Wu Zetian learns that Wan'er is twenty-four years old and that Qin Zheng personally selected her from newly hired servants after questioning them about laborism—the belief that workers should benefit from their own labor rather than having it exploited by others.
Wan'er challenges Wu Zetian's assumptions about land ownership, pointing out that her family's landlords contribute nothing to the tilling yet receive a large portion of the harvest. She argues that the state enforces ownership and that Wu Zetian, having seized the state alongside Qin Zheng, could dismantle this system. Wan'er also reveals that Qin Zheng is a staunch laborist, though she criticizes his flawed analysis of the countryside.
Rather than engage with this political discussion, Wu Zetian shoves away the tray and declares a hunger strike, demanding her spirit armor and access to council meetings. She recognizes the risk of trusting Wan'er, understanding that the servant is another set of eyes and ears for Qin Zheng.
Time passes slowly in confinement. Wu Zetian allows Wan'er to change her bandages and help her wash, but refuses food. She reflects on memories of Yizhi from her first visit to Chang'an—intimate moments in the washing pool, shampooing each other's hair, laughing together. She wonders if taking Yizhi's offer to go to Chang'an would have saved Shimin's life, and whether she could have made different choices. The tangled thoughts drive her to attempt drowning herself in the bathtub, but her survival instinct overrides the attempt.
When Qin Zheng visits, they argue. He refuses to return her armor, citing the danger she faces. She counters that breaking his promise to make her empress would damage his credibility with both officials and the masses. He threatens Yizhi's life, and she responds by warning that she would consider Yizhi lost rather than be controlled through him—the same way she must now think of Shimin as gone. Qin Zheng offers to let her roam once the frenzy dies down, but she refuses to eat.
Wu Zetian escalates by stopping water as well. As her body weakens, she hallucinates Shimin kneeling at her bedside, telling her to be strong. The vision is interrupted by sounds of attack—shouts, gunshots, metallic clanging. Liu Che has broken into the estate, killing her guards.
Wu Zetian hides in the bathroom, pouring soap on the floor and using a towel to defend herself. Liu Che melts the lock with Fire qì and breaks in, but she manages to trip him and flee. He pursues her through the hallway, where she sees the bodies of her guards. Qin Zheng arrives with an entourage, including Yizhi, now dressed in the purple robes of a top-ranking official.
Liu Che claims he acted on rumors that Wu Zetian had deceived the emperor. Qin Zheng rebukes him for killing good soldiers, then seizes Liu Che's hand and snaps off his finger when Liu Che insults Wu Zetian. He declares Wu Zetian empress of Huaxia, with a coronation ceremony on the first day of the fourth month. He carries her back to the bedchamber and agrees to return her armor.
Key Events
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Wan'er reveals Qin Zheng's laborist ideology and questions Wu Zetian about land exploitation
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Wu Zetian begins a hunger strike demanding her armor and council access
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She attempts suicide by drowning but fails
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Qin Zheng threatens Yizhi's life; Wu Zetian counters with her own threats
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Wu Zetian stops drinking water and hallucinates Shimin
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Liu Che attacks the estate, killing guards
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Wu Zetian defends herself and escapes the bathroom
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Qin Zheng breaks Liu Che's finger and declares Wu Zetian empress
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Qin Zheng agrees to return her armor
Character Development
Wu Zetian demonstrates her political acumen by using the hunger strike as leverage, understanding that Qin Zheng's public promise to make her empress is a vulnerability she can exploit. Her refusal to eat is both a protest and a negotiation tactic. Her grief over Shimin manifests in the hallucination, and her decision to think of him as gone—comparing herself to Kuafu chasing the sun—shows a painful acceptance of loss. Her survival instinct, which prevents her from drowning, reveals a fundamental will to live despite her despair.
Qin Zheng shows his controlling nature, having selected Wan'er specifically to monitor Wu Zetian. His threat against Yizhi reveals his willingness to use those close to her as leverage. Yet his reaction to Liu Che's attack—breaking the captain's finger and declaring Wu Zetian empress—suggests he values her as a political asset and is willing to enforce his authority violently.
Wan'er emerges as a politically aware figure who challenges Wu Zetian's thinking about class and land ownership. Her willingness to criticize Qin Zheng suggests either genuine conviction or a test orchestrated by the emperor.
Liu Che acts on rumors and personal animosity, killing guards in his attempt to assassinate Wu Zetian. His punishment—losing a finger—demonstrates the brutal consequences of defying imperial authority.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
Laborism and class struggle: Wan'er's discussion of land ownership frames the chapter's political backdrop. The idea that the state enforces property relations and that seizing the state could transform them connects Wu Zetian's personal imprisonment to broader questions of systemic exploitation.
Hunger strike as protest: Wu Zetian's refusal to eat is a political act, using her body as a site of resistance. It also functions as a bargaining tool, forcing Qin Zheng to negotiate.
Grief and letting go: Wu Zetian's decision to think of Shimin as gone, comparing herself to Kuafu chasing the sun, marks a turning point in her processing of loss. The hallucination of Shimin suggests both her longing and her need to release him.
Imprisonment and control: The bedchamber is a gilded prison, and Wu Zetian's hunger strike is a response to being controlled. Qin Zheng's surveillance through Wan'er reinforces the theme of mistrust.
Brutality of imperial power: Qin Zheng's breaking of Liu Che's finger demonstrates the violent enforcement of authority, contrasting with his earlier rhetoric about freeing the masses.
Why This Chapter Matters
This chapter establishes the central power dynamic between Wu Zetian and Qin Zheng. Her hunger strike forces him to publicly commit to making her empress, setting up the coronation that will define the rest of the narrative. The introduction of Wan'er and the laborism discussion expands the political landscape, suggesting that Wu Zetian's role may extend beyond piloting to actual governance. The assassination attempt by Liu Che raises the stakes, showing that Wu Zetian faces enemies beyond Qin Zheng. Her hallucination of Shimin and her decision to let him go marks an emotional turning point, allowing her to move forward without being paralyzed by grief.
Study Questions
1. Why does Wu Zetian refuse to eat, and what does she hope to achieve?
Wu Zetian's hunger strike is a calculated political move. She demands her spirit armor and access to council meetings, using her status as the promised empress as leverage. She understands that Qin Zheng's public commitment to making her empress makes her valuable, and that his credibility depends on keeping that promise. By refusing food, she forces him to either concede to her demands or face the political consequences of breaking his word.
2. How does Wan'er's discussion of laborism challenge Wu Zetian's thinking?
Wan'er points out that Wu Zetian's family pays a portion of their harvest to landlords who contribute nothing to the labor. She argues that the state enforces this ownership and that Wu Zetian, having seized the state, could dismantle it. This challenges Wu Zetian's assumption that the system is immutable, suggesting that political power could be used to transform class relations.
3. What does Wu Zetian's hallucination of Shimin reveal about her emotional state?
The hallucination occurs during her hunger strike, when her body is weakened and her mind is drifting. Shimin's appearance—telling her to be strong and that he will always be with her—reveals her deep grief and her need for reassurance. Her decision afterward to think of him as gone, comparing herself to Kuafu chasing the sun, shows her recognizing that holding onto hope of his return would destroy her.
Navigation
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