Imperial Zen

点盏长明Sep 2026

3.5

Word count: 394K words
Chapters: 110

Summary

She was the Great Subduer of Kalinga, ruler of the mortal world for nearly a century—brutal, bloodthirsty, and irreverent toward gods and Buddhas. In her past life she abducted the Shaolin monk Shi Yannang into her palace and forced him to love her; he hated and resented her, cursed her to hell everlasting, and died on the battlefield, head and body sundered, eyes unclosed in death. She lived to eighty-one; he had been gone sixty years. On her deathbed she knelt at the foot of Mount Song and asked him, “Have you attained Buddhahood?” Then she opened her eyes and was back at the time he first entered the palace. In the past life she had beheaded a minister before his eyes, splashing blood across half the monk's body—that was her greeting to him, and it set the tone for their entire lives. This time, Li Zhaowen resolves to change. Yet even with power to overturn heaven, a heart of stone is hard to move. He belongs to the Buddha; she is the one who gives even the Buddha a headache.

“The one I long for is separated from me by two worlds; we meet only in dreams. You rest in eternal sleep, and I remember always.” This is a contest between an emperor and a monk, and a fight to the death between power and faith. As the precepts against killing, against lust, and against the heart are broken one by one, as the obsessions of two lifetimes entangle ever deeper—what she wants has never been his submission, but for him to walk toward her of his own will.

Editor's review

The premise of *Imperial Zen* is sharp by design: Li Zhaowen, the cruel and bloodthirsty Emperor Jialing who has ruled the mortal realm for nearly a century, and Shi Yannan, the Shaolin monk she abducted into the palace, who hates and curses her—in their past life they parted in death, and in this life she returns to the moment he first enters the palace, determined to change things. The work pits "world-toppling power" against "a heart of bedrock"; the breaking of the precepts against killing, against lust, and of the heart, one by one, is both a contest between empress and monk and a fight to the death between power and faith. The narrative uses a rebirth framework to unfold the obsessions of two lifetimes; emotional intensity is high, and the tension between religion and imperial power runs throughout. Readers who like strong premises, heavy emotion, and long novels with a sense of fate will be drawn in quickly; but the depictions of violence, abduction, and religious conflict are fairly direct, so readers who prefer light, sweet, satisfying fare should proceed with caution. It is best to first accept the "imperial perspective" of the narrative stance, then appreciate the author's inquiry into obsession and redemption.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who love rebirth, fate-driven, high-concept historical romance epics
Readers drawn to conflicts between emperor and monk, power and faith
Veteran romance readers who can handle intense emotion and two-lifetime entanglement
Readers who enjoy the arc of a brutal ruler transformed and mutual obsession

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer light, sweet romance without violence
Readers sensitive to romantic entanglements involving religious figures
Readers unaccustomed to rebirth frameworks and two-lifetime narrative jumps

Reading tips

Accept the "emperor's perspective" narrative stance first, then judge the characters' logic, rather than rushing to moral judgment.
Mark the past-life and present-life threads separately to clarify the shifts in Li Zhaowen's motives.
Slow down at the scenes involving the precepts against killing, lust, and the heart, and feel the pull between power and faith.
The emotional intensity is high; read in sections and allow time to digest after each.

版权信息
第一章得见天颜，是贫僧的福分。
第二章这是她的来世
第三章满朝文武痛斥她强掳僧人、亵渎神佛
第四章恐扰禅心
第五章是李昭闻为他而断
第六章是皇权对一个僧人的定义和覆盖！
第七章 “殿下天人之姿，当择良配。”
第八章无缘、无份
第九章三千武僧，唯有此子堪入天颜。
第十章她连皇帝都做腻，岂会还管这些？！
第十一章明黄裙裾与僧袍在枯叶间死死纠缠
第十二章他竟咒她永堕无间地狱
第十三章孤，还是我？
第十四章 “法师哪日得空，替孤掌掌眼？”
第十五章释延戁，你安敢如此对我？！
第十六章再梦前世
第十七章延戁，你可曾破戒。
第十八章唯独不曾算计他
第十九章纵有倾天之权，难动磐石之心。
第二十章竟要他折膝下跪，执妾礼
第二十一章 “京师有人，等您归来。”
第二十二章 “奉吾王之命，恭候大潜法师多时了。”
第二十三章 “——殿下！”
第二十四章你将他当作消遣，朕便容他存在。
第二十五章若非方外之人，合该是她的夫婿。
第二十六章 “愿献国。”
第二十七章难道真如他所诬，是兄妹悖伦所出？！
第二十八章佛怜我……你，亦怜我？
第二十九章几乎不愿再说她有多为延戁着迷
第三十章释延戁，你在恶心我。
第三十一章困在两世执念里，熬成了枯槁的老鬼
第三十二章该有些床帏之事，熄这无名邪火
第三十三章 “原来……贫僧竟让殿下痛苦至此。”
第三十四章法师，是要孤那样爱你吗？
第三十五章 “若殿下有意，本王子愿入赘大潜！”
第三十六章你愿不愿意穿一次那婚服，给我看？
第三十七章与马拜堂？！
第三十八章纵以“武”为谥，亦无半分不妥
第三十九章她竟不惜自损，以身为炉
第四十章此身已献佛陀
第四十一章孤所喜之物，顷刻间便能变为所恶之物
第四十二章一口殷红的鲜血自延戁唇间呕出
第四十三章难道修佛在她看来是灭人欲的行为
第四十四章 “再敢乱睡，我剁了你。”
第四十五章世上竟有如此不解风情之人
第四十六章渡不了前世之侣
第四十七章一入大潜，即刻鸠杀。
第四十八章 “就说孤身中蛊毒，重伤不起。”
第四十九章我要他破戒。去办。
第五十章引渡延戁，踏足她身边杀孽的桥。
第五十一章杀人不过弹指，如此轻易
第五十二章痛她这般轻慢的玩弄
第五十三章甚至妒忌他身在福中不知福，愚不可及
第五十四章在朕归天之前，要赐死那个武僧，令他陪葬。
第五十五章这便是大潜迦陵帝，留在世间的最后一句话。
第五十六章 “父皇说得对，女儿确实多情。”
第五十七章她前世的皇夫
第五十八章敦圣帝，李昭闻的父皇，驾崩了。
第五十九章龙纛前压，御驾亲征。
第六十章 “法师！——救救陛下！”
第六十一章渡不过迦陵鸟彻夜啼鸣的那轮红尘月
第六十二章 “陛下凯旋——！”
第六十三章永堕杀业而甘之如饴
第六十四章仿佛她的性命也随之悬于一线
第六十五章一记清脆响亮的掌掴声骤然炸裂
第六十六章 “法师。”
第六十七章 “还请……法师让陛下在此安睡吧。”
第六十八章一次次承着她的吻
第六十九章 “陛下若不回銮，恐有倾覆之危——”
第七十章不灭不休
第七十一章 “老师，欺君该当何罪？”
第七十二章在少年身后拖出两道蜿蜒的血痕
第七十三章敦陵
第七十四章她以为那已是人世间最痛的结局
第七十五章前世囚禁，竟延缓了他死去的时间
第七十六章他何德何能，能得她爱他。
第七十七章法师想要什么许诺，朕都可以给。
第七十八章难道你不想要我么？
第七十九章 “贫僧……须为师父守孝三年。”
第八十章不如上我的榻，与我同眠。
第八十一章永不凋零
第八十二章 “法师……你的禅心好像在发抖。”
第八十三章 “替我簪发。”
第八十四章此生从未如此圆满
第八十五章同心蛊发作，这次是真的
第八十六章把年少气盛的自己摔了出来
第八十七章竟敢要求帝王一生一世一双人
第八十八章天造地设的一对
第八十九章即使这是弑父之举
第九十章竟同时堕入前世梦魇
第九十一章她的法师也是带着前世记忆的
第九十二章若只是寻常香客，她也能得到他？
第九十三章联通……过去、现在、未来之能？
第九十四章我会等你。
第九十五章 “迦陵，我这是为了你的母亲啊。”
第九十六章竟然是她前世的男妃！
第九十七章程思远……死了？
第九十八章 “朕、要、填、海。”
第九十九章陪葬
第一百章他立志还俗
第一百零一章 “法师……”
第一百零二章我心甘情愿为你还俗。
第一百零三章身负两世魂灵，前世今生俱在
第一百零四章我爱你。
第一百零五章珩
番外一：头骨
番外二：重返二十岁
番外三：重返四十岁
番外四：重返八十岁

FAQ

Is this a rebirth story? How do the past and present lives connect?

It uses a rebirth framework. After kneeling at Mount Song at the end of her life, Li Zhaowen opens her eyes back at the time Shi Yannang first enters the palace; her past-life memories become the premise for her changed strategy, and the obsessions of the two lives entangle and drive the story forward.

Will not knowing Buddhist background affect my reading?

It won't affect understanding of the main plot. Settings such as the precepts against killing, lust, and the heart serve character conflict and thematic expression, and the work explains them as the plot unfolds; no prior religious knowledge is required.

Is the relationship between the emperor and the monk love or a power struggle?

Both. Abduction and coercion form the backdrop of a power struggle, while "wanting him to walk toward her of his own will" points to emotional obsession; the work unfolds precisely in this tension.

Are there many violent descriptions in the book?

The material indicates past-life scenes such as beheading a minister on the spot and splashing blood across half the monk's body; violence and abduction are described rather directly. Readers sensitive to such content should choose carefully.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

点盏长明 Author · Chinese

Dianzhan Changming is a Chinese web-fiction author. Public information about this author is limited, and their real name, life story, and writing chronology cannot currently be confirmed. According to available records, Dianzhan Changming has only one work, Emperor Zen (Diwang Chan), which is classified as alternate-history time travel, suggesting a writing focus on time-travel narratives set against fictionalized historical backgrounds. From the existing material, the author builds stories around emperors, political intrigue, and alternate worlds, showing clear genre features of web fiction; however, there is not enough material to make a detailed judgment about their prose style, character development, or narrative pacing. As the only confirmed representative work, Emperor Zen is the main entry point for understanding this author's creative profile. Given the small number of works and the lack of public information, the full picture of Dianzhan Changming's writing remains to be filled in by further material, and readers and researchers should avoid over-inferring the author's credentials or influence, instead evaluating their position as a writer objectively on the basis of the work itself.