Previous
Mai’rinnen Tearza (The Woman)
Empress Su Daji is the empress of Nikan. She’s also the Vipress, the last known surviving member of the Trifecta, the group of three (implied) shamans who united the Warlords at the end of the Second Poppy War. While she’s generally considered a beloved leader, the novel suggests that she actively conspires with the Federation of Mugen to bring Nikan down—and she’s also interested in bringing as many aspects of government under her control as she can. Descriptions of her suggest that while she isn’t conventionally beautiful, she has hypnotic powers of some sort that allow her to make people think she’s the most gorgeous woman they’ve ever seen and inspire them to pledge their loyalty to her.
Empress Su Daji (The Vipress) Quotes in The Poppy War
The The Poppy War quotes below are all either spoken by Empress Su Daji (The Vipress) or refer to Empress Su Daji (The Vipress). For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 5
Quotes
She adored praise—craved it, needed it, and realized she found relief only when she finally had it.
She realized, too, that she felt about praise the way that addicts felt about opium. Each time she received a fresh infusion of flattery, she could think only about how to get more of it. Achievement was a high. Failure was worse than withdrawal. Good test scores brought only momentary relief and temporary pride—she basked in her grace period of several hours before she began to panic about her next test.
She craved praise so deeply that she felt it in her bones. And just like an addict, she did whatever she could to get it.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6
Quotes
“Sinegard likes to collect the Warlords’ broods as much as it can. Keeps them under the Empire’s careful watch.”
“What for?” she asked.
“Leverage. Indoctrination. This generation of Warlords hate each other too much to coordinate on anything of national importance, and the imperial bureaucracy has too little local authority to force them. Just look at the state of the Imperial Navy.”
“We have a navy?” Rin asked.
“Exactly.” Jiang snorted. “We used to. Anyhow, Daji’s hoping that Sinegard will forge a generation of leaders who like each other—and better, who will obey the throne.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 7
Quotes
“I asked Jima to let me train him. But the Empress intervened. She knew the military value of a Speerly warrior, she was so excited...in the end, national interests superseded the sanity of one boy. They put him under Irjah’s tutelage, and honed his rage like a weapon instead of teaching him to control it. You’ve seen him in the ring. You know what he’s like.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 18
Quotes
“Altan is perhaps the most powerful martial artist in Nikan right now. Maybe the world,” said Chaghan. “But for all that, most of his life he was just good at following orders. Tyr’s death was a shock to us. Altan wasn’t ready to take over. Command is difficult for him. He doesn’t know how to make peace with the Warlords. He’s overextended. He’s trying to fight an entire war with a squad of ten. And he’s going to lose.”
“You don’t think we can hold Khurdalain?”
“I think we were never meant to hold Khurdalain,” said Chaghan. “I think Khurdalain was a sacrifice for time paid in blood. Altan is going to lose because Khurdalain is not winnable, and when he does, it’s going to break him.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Poppy War LitChart as a printable PDF.
Empress Su Daji (The Vipress) Character Timeline in The Poppy War
The timeline below shows where the character Empress Su Daji (The Vipress) appears in The Poppy War. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...of Mugen during the two Poppy Wars. Since the end of the Second Poppy War, Empress Su Daji has been in charge, and the country is very unstable.
(full context)
Chapter 3
...boy named Han suggests that the Trifecta were responsible. The Trifecta were three soldiers, the Vipress (who’s the current Empress), the Dragon Emperor, and the Gatekeeper, whose martial arts abilities have...
(full context)
...out of Nikan with Hesperia’s help. Today, Speer and its fighting force is gone, the Empress is the only member of the Trifecta still alive, Hesperia is unreliable, and the Mugenese...
(full context)
Chapter 4
In History one day, Kitay interrupts Yim’s lecture on how the Empress (unsuccessfully) banned drugs to ask if they can talk about Speer. Exasperated—Yim gathers the students...
(full context)
Chapter 6
...the students and create a new ruling class that will work together and obey the Empress. Jiang turns into the meatpacking district and knocks on a door. A woman, Widow Maung,...
(full context)
Chapter 7
...Altan, but Jiang reveals that he actually insisted he get to train Altan. But the Empress got involved and insisted Altan apprentice to Irjah, as he’d then be a better military...
(full context)
Chapter 8
...the defense minister, who’s working around the clock until after the parade to keep the Empress safe. Rin is overwhelmed by the luxurious estate and how many powerful connections Kitay and...
(full context)
...and Kitay attend a shadow puppet show. The story describes how the Trifecta—the Warrior, the Vipress, and the Gatekeeper—saved Nikan about 40 years ago. It describes the Trifecta, as children, coming...
(full context)
...Kitay is exasperated and insists all the stories are just exaggerated and only help the Empress (the Vipress in the story) hold on to power. Rin doesn’t argue, but she does...
(full context)
...marvels at the Vermilion Phoenix. The country’s “illustrious houses” are next, and they’re boring. The Empress herself comes last. She’s not conventionally beautiful, but Rin finds herself overcome by the woman’s...
(full context)
Chapter 10
The schooner’s passenger boards the Ryohai: it’s Empress Su Daji herself. Tyr is shocked. The Empress calls to him, but her eyes turn...
(full context)
Chapter 11
...tell her the truth: she’s hot because she’s channeling a god. To Rin’s confusion, the Empress herself appears and asks Rin to look at her. Rin is entranced by the Empress’s...
(full context)
Chapter 12
...hold fights. She’s so tired that she doesn’t find this odd. Once, she hears the Empress, Irjah, and Jun arguing: the Empress and Irjah argue that it’s not right to imprison...
(full context)
...He tells her how the battle ended soon after Rin killed the Federation general; the Empress and the Third Division arrived at the same time. He shares that everyone thinks she’s...
(full context)
Chapter 21
...could see. The Ninth and Eleventh divisions surrendered—but the Federation general beheaded them all. The Empress fled early on, which Chaghan deems “pathetic.” Rin thinks again of the Talwu saying that...
(full context)
Chapter 22
...again—and there’s nobody left in Nikan to praise Altan for winning the war. Even the Empress is gone. Chaghan forbids Altan from trying to control “those people in the mountain” and...
(full context)
Chapter 23
...what’s happening when Jiang asks if “Irjah knew,” but Altan looks terrified. Jiang continues that “Daji would have made sure Irjah knew how to keep you tame.” He apologizes for not...
(full context)
Chapter 24
...Altan cooperate, they’ll be spared. Rin, though, stands and says she’ll be loyal to the Empress till the end. Dr. Shiro, though, reveals that the Empress sold Rin and Altan out...
(full context)
Chapter 26
...her alone. Mugen is gone now, but she wants to start a war with the Empress and make her suffer. Kitay is incredulous, and he says this isn’t Rin.
(full context)
...in the Chuluu Korikh—and she realizes she belongs there—but she can’t give up until the Empress and Feylen are dead or contained. She knows now that Altan was weak, because he...
(full context)
...knows that this fight isn’t over. There are still Federation troops in Nikan, and the Empress is still sitting on a throne somewhere. The Cike are now free agents.
(full context)
...Chaghan sit together far away from the group, and Rin shares with him that the Empress betrayed Altan. Chaghan says that based on Rin’s Hexagram, that makes sense. Rin knows she’s...
(full context)
