My Secluded Courtyard's Guests Are All Ancient Emperors

Liu Xing’s secluded courtyard is his refuge from the world, until his first guest knocks on the wooden gate: Qin Shi Huang, dressed in black ceremonial robes, who opens with the question, “How far along is my Great Wall?”

After that, the courtyard becomes an “Emperors’ Teahouse” spanning a thousand years. Liu Xing shucks corn with Liu Bang as they talk about the Chu-Han Contention, listens to Liu Che sigh over the Huns while standing beside a grapevine, and watches Li Shimin review the reforms of the Zhenguan era over a game of chess. He has also handed Zhao Kuangyin a clay pot of warmed wine, listened to Kublai Khan talk about the winds of the grasslands, heard Zhu Yuanzhang complain about corrupt officials, listened to Kangxi fret over the struggle among his nine sons, and even kept Puyi company as he counted the glazed tiles of the Forbidden City.

These men once ruled the land, but stripped of their imperial majesty, they are just ordinary guests reminiscing about the old days. Yet when emperors from different dynasties cross paths in the courtyard, and their casual conversations conceal ideas that could change history, I realize that this courtyard is no ordinary place of seclusion...

Join Liu Xing for conversations across the ages with the emperors.