Zhang Juzheng, Volume One: Song of the Mulan

The four-volume novel Zhang Juzheng vividly recreates the broad and complex historical landscape associated with the "Wanli Reforms," through a clear-eyed historical perspective and a passionate, lively realist style. It portrays Zhang Juzheng as a complex reformer in feudal society and reveals the inevitability of his tragic fate. The author's work is distinguished by an extensive grounding in history and literature, a grand and balanced artistic structure, and a contemporary interpretation of a particular historical era.