History Literature / SheWhoBecameTheSun

* EnemyMine: When Youliang becomes too much for them to take on, [[spoiler: Ouyang and Zhu join forces and create a plan that will destroy him]].

* GambitPileup: ''She Who Became The Sun'' is a story in which almost every character is TheChessmaster, all of whom have individual goals and plans, whether reaching for power or revenge. Ouyang's goals clash with Esen's and Baoxiang's, Zhu clashes with Chen Youliang and the other rivals in the court, all the while Liu Futong believes he's playing all of them into his own hands. Everyone has a plan, but only the truly cunning survive, much less win.
* GodzillaThreshold: Zhu and Ouyang agree that Youliang's brilliance is enough of a threat to the both of them that both will [[spoiler: [[EnemyMine ally together]] to destroy him]].

* KlingonScientistsGetNoRespect: Wang Baoxiang is a scholar and bureaucrat adopted into a ProudWarriorRace family, and is constantly demeaned and abused for it. It drives him up a wall that his logistical work is directly responsible for the Temur fiefdom's day-to-day functioning, yet no one cares at all about it or him.
* LoopholeAbuse: Wang Baoxiang is the adoptive son of the Temur bloodline, mistreated and rejected by them and entirely willing to plot against them. As such, when [[spoiler: Ouyang performs his coup]], Baoxiang is more than willing to stand with a dagger to his throat and [[spoiler: declare that since he is not a Temur, Ouyang ought to spare him]]. Ouyang, surprising even himself, does as he asks.
* MercyKill: Zhu rationalizes her murder of [[spoiler: the next successor to the throne]] as this. Since his mere existence would cause further bloodshed, she justifies it to herself in the belief that killing him is merciful.

* QuestionableConsent: One of the central elements of Ouyang and Esen's relationship is the complicated issue of whether they are truly romantic, or if Esen's power over Ouyang completely halts any true love between the two. In particular, Ouyang acknowledges himself that he's never said no to Esen's advances, but also admits he doesn't know if he ''could'' say no, and if Esen would respect his wishes in that regard.

* MysticalPlague: To keep her troups and herself out of the crossfire of the internal fight for the Red Turbans' leadership, Zhu orchestrates one: At her wedding, she prepares several tables worth of offerings to the ghosts while not telling anyone about the purpose of the food. Predictably, soldiers eat from it and later fall mysteriously ill, which leads to her army's section of the camp getting cordoned of during the worst if the infighting.

* {{Revenge}}: A major part in Oujang's story, who plots vengeance against his family's killers out of filial duty.

* FamilyExtermination: All of Ouyang's family were killed for opposing the Yuan, and Ouyang was only spared the same fate as a CruelMercy. [[spoiler:He gains {{Revenge}} by killing Esen and his father, ending the Temur bloodline.]]

* DeathByDespair: Witnessing heir father's death sinks Zhu's brother into a stupor from which he does not awaken. Zhu, who's been fighting tooth and nail for life, thinks poorly of him for giving up his own life at the first challenge.

** At the end of the novel, Zhu [[spoiler: resolves to eliminate the successor to her throne, a young boy, and kills him to secure her own ascent]].

* MercyKill: Zhu rationalizes her murder of [[spoiler: the next successor to the throne]] as this. Since his mere existence would cause further bloodshed, she justifies it to herself in the belief that [[spoiler: killing him is merciful]].

* XanatosGambit: Chen Youliang manages to successfully pull one on Zhu by offering her troops that she needs to take a city. If Zhu takes the city, he gets credit because his troops did it. If Zhu fails? It's her failure and not his.

* AnimalMotifs: Zhu's lean, triangular face is often compared to insects like a cicada, cricket, or mantis. It's doubly appropriate because those insects symbolize rebirth, good fortune, and strength, and Zhu is a {{Determinator}} who took on a new identity to achieve greatness.

* VengeanceIsEmpty: Everything Ouyang does to avenge his family makes him feel even more miserable, especially [[spoiler:killing Esen, the only person he loves]]. He rationalizes it as a combination of filial obligation and destiny but hates every moment of it.

* MoralityChain: Zhu recruits Ma in part because Ma is a moral, optimistic person and will hold Zhu to a higher standard. {{Downplayed|Trope}} since Zhu is still prepared to do fairly dreadful things and apologize to Ma afterwards.
* PhosphorEssence: People with the Mandate of Heaven can manifest an aura of light around them. Rumor holds that the Yuan Emperor's has dimmed to almost nothing due to his misrule. Conversely, [[spoiler:Zhu Chongba]] can shine like the sun.

* VengeanceIsEmpty: Everything Ouyang does to avenge his family makes him feel even more miserable, especially [[spoiler:killing Esen, the only person he loves]]. He rationalizes it as a combination of filial obligation and YouCantFightFate but hates every moment of it.

* {{Determinator}}: Zhu carries herself forward as if any other possibility would be unthinkable, starting in childhood when she survives a famine, trekking alone to the monastery, and waiting outside the gate for four days. It's redoubled when she [[spoiler:loses a hand and realizes it's not her dead brother's destiny that she's following, but her own.]]

''She Who Became The Sun'', the first book of the ''Radiant Emperor'' series, is a HistoricalFantasy novel written by Shelley Parker-Chan and released July 20, 2021.

* BlackAndGrayMorality: On the "black" side is people like Esen's father or Chen Youliang, who are heartless in nature and draw no lines, even sometimes reveling in the bloodshed they create. On the "gray" end is Zhu herself and Ouyang, who are unscrupulous and quick to resort to violence, but are happy to achieve their ends via deception and diplomacy if possible and have genuine loved ones and moral boundaries.

* FlayingAlive: The punishment for treason in the court, and Chen Youliang's preferred fate for his enemies, is being skinned alive.

--> ''Oh, no, brother. This isn't'' my ''plot against you''.

* EvilVersusEvil: The central war is between the Yuan Mongols and the ruling dynasty of China, neither of which is depicted charitably. Each one is a teeming hotbed of ambition and schemes, their armies often barbaric. Where Ouyang and Zhu stand out is in their willingness to show charity and humanity where their loved ones need it most.