The Soul of the Tang Dynasty in the Vast Sea: A Century-Long Journey Home for an Orphan of the Western Frontier

He is a lord in a territory under the jurisdiction of the Anxi Protectorate of the Tang Dynasty. But an irreconcilable personal feud with his superior drives him into a desperate corner. For the sake of survival and dignity, he is forced to abandon his homeland and venture alone onto the boundless grasslands.

In this foreign land where the strong prey on the weak, his extraordinary courage, wisdom, and deeply ingrained Tang identity help him rise against all odds to become a khagan ruling over a vast territory. Yet beneath the golden dome of his tent, he never once forgets his roots. He and all his descendants have always considered themselves “loyal subjects and wayward sons of the Tang Dynasty.”

“Idikut” is a prestigious title of the khagans. It symbolizes not only power, but also silently records their unshakable sense of belonging to the Anxi Protectorate, deep in their hearts. No matter how far the yellow sands stretch or how vast the gulf between their status and that of others, the moon over Chang’an and the rites, music, and attire of the Han people remain sacred to them.

“The Tang Dynasty has collapsed, and the heartland has fallen.” When the news arrives, the vast sea of sand seems to weep. Amid immeasurable grief, the successive khagans of the Idikut family are also consumed by a blazing sense of duty. They govern diligently and prepare their armies for war, forging the grasslands’ mighty strength together with the seeds of civilization inherited from the Tang. Their goal is no longer to carve out a corner for themselves. Instead, they are determined to “make the grasslands their foundation, build their strength, and restore the Tang Dynasty!” They dream of one day marching east to reclaim their homeland and restore its lost glory, with the Tang banners once again flying over their ancestral lands.

This is a legend of exile and rise, an epic spanning centuries about a family’s unwavering return.