Hu Shanshan Transmigrates to the Tang Dynasty and Meets Pei Yanzhi

Hu Shanshan is a rising young calligrapher in modern times, particularly skilled at copying the works of Chu Suiliang and Zhang Xu. Her brushstrokes blend strength with graceful ease. One rainy night, as she tried to save authentic ancient calligraphy in her studio from water leaking through the ceiling, she accidentally touched a bronze clasp bearing a hidden pattern on a scroll. In an instant, thunder crashed, and the scent of ink mingled with the damp air, forming a vortex that swept her onto Zhuque Avenue in Chang’an during the height of the Tang Dynasty.

When she first arrived in Chang’an, her clothes were ragged, and her modern vernacular made everyone think she was insane. The only thing that set her apart was her extraordinary calligraphy, which was accidentally discovered by Pei Yanzhi, Vice Minister of Personnel. Born into a family of calligraphers, Pei Yanzhi excelled at regular script. He was cool and reserved, yet possessed an almost obsessive passion for calligraphy. When he first saw Hu Shanshan’s work, with its grounding in ancient traditions and an uninhibited liveliness he had never seen before, he was astounded. He was also intrigued by her talk of “Yan’s sinew and Liu’s bone” and the “Four Masters of the Song Dynasty,” ideas he had never heard of.

One is a modern soul carrying a thousand years of calligraphic history; the other is a young nobleman from a family of calligraphers, living in an age when the art has reached its peak. From their initial suspicion and probing to the growing understanding between them as they grind inkstones together, Hu Shanshan must not only fight for women’s calligraphy to earn a place in an era ruled by men, but also gradually come to understand her fate in traveling through time under Pei Yanzhi’s gentle yet steadfast gaze. Perhaps their meeting was always destined to be a heartfelt conversation across a thousand years of calligraphic history. As the wind of Chang’an drifts over the still-damp ink on the rice paper, and he takes her hand to teach her the most authentic Tang-style regular script, love and calligraphy have already blended through time into an inseparable bond.