Turmoil on the Grand Canal

A thousand years on the great river, one corner of the Canal Liang.

Set in the mid-Ming dynasty, this sweeping historical epic unfolds in Linqing, a major town on the Grand Canal. It tells of the rise and fall of grain transport, the shifting tides of power, and the tangled fates of families. Song Qinian, the protagonist, descends from artisans who helped excavate the Tongji Canal. With nothing but his craft and ingenuity, he enters the canal trade. Through years of hardship, he builds the Song family into Linqing’s foremost merchant and political clan. But a waterway that can carry ships can also be cut off, and power once gained can turn against its wielder. Caught in a web woven by imperial inspectors, local gentry, and salt gangs, generations of the Song family are swept into the storm. They must protect their family and preserve their lineage, while navigating the dangerous worlds of both court and underworld.

The Tongji Canal may run dry, but its lifeblood never ends. Every vessel that sails its waters reflects the rise and fall of human fortunes. Beneath a thousand sails, dark currents swirl, threatening to build an empire or bring it to ruin.