Articles by Lauralee Swann

About Lauralee Swann

I am a former elementary teacher in Tennessee. I have a bachelor’s degree in Liberal and Civic Studies from St. Mary’s College of California, a master’s in Elementary Education from the University of Phoenix, and a doctorate in Educational Leadership from the College of Saint Mary. Because my family are from East Asia, I have a passion for historical Chinese and Korean television shows. I always wanted to separate fact from fiction in dramas. Writing articles from History of Royal Women gives me a chance to dig deeper and explore these royal women as they might have been in real life. Also, it gives me a chance to look at the history and culture of where my family originated. I love researching East Asian royalty because they rarely get enough attention in the West often being overshadowed by European royalty. I find these royal women to be just as fascinating and their stories deserve to be told. Thus, I am excited to write for History of Royal Women!

Queen Zhuang Fanji – A Virtuous Lady of Ability

Friday, 24 July 2020, 6:00 Lauralee Swann 0

Queen Zhuang Fanji lived during the Spring and Autumn period, an era in which the states of Jin, Qin, Qi, and Chu were breaking away from the ruling Zhou dynasty and forming their own dynasties.[1] She was known to be a virtuous and capable stateswoman.[2] Many historians attributed Fanji with turning her weak kingdom of Chu into [read more]

Queen Dowager Zhao – The scandalous mother of the first Qin Emperor

Tuesday, 30 June 2020, 6:00 Lauralee Swann 0

Queen Dowager Zhao’s life was full of turbulence and scandal. She lived during the Warring States period. The Warring States period was a time when the seven states of China–Qin, Chu, Zhao, Wei, Han, Yan, and Qi–declared independence from the ruling Zhou dynasty and warred with each other.[1] Zhao Ji was a dancer and singer [read more]

Princess Liji – A vicious Beauty

Monday, 13 January 2020, 6:00 Lauralee Swann 0

Princess Liji was considered to be one of the most beautiful women in ancient China. However, she used her beauty for ruthless actions. She is best known for turning “the Jin succession from a worthy heir-apparent to her own son.”[1] The disruption of the succession led to the suicide of her step-son Prince Shensheng, who [read more]

The Dugu Sisters – Three Sisters, Three Empresses, Three Successive Chinese Dynasties

Thursday, 13 June 2019, 7:00 Lauralee Swann 0

In the sixth century, there lived a general named Dugu Xin. He came from a non-Chinese clan that was said to have a vast network of connections and influences throughout the various kingdoms of China.[1] Dugu Xin was a military general who had served both the Northern Wei and Western Wei dynasties.[2] He eventually became Duke of [read more]

Asma bint Shihab – The eclipsed Queen

Saturday, 26 January 2019, 7:00 Lauralee Swann 0

Asma bint Shihab has been regarded as one of Yemen’s greatest queens. While deeply respected by her contemporaries, historians often tend to overlook her story in favour of her more famous daughter-in-law, Queen Arwa. She ruled alongside her husband, her son, and his wife in shaping state politics and handling vast sums of money for [read more]

Empress Ulanara – Did she cut her hair?

Thursday, 17 January 2019, 7:00 Lauralee Swann 0

Empress Ulanara was one of Emperor Qianlong’s three empresses. She was originally a concubine and was eventually promoted to empress. She initially maintained a respectful relationship with the emperor. However, she suddenly fell out of favour. Many historians believe that the reason for this unexpected breach is because she cut her hair. It was forbidden [read more]