The Missing Golden Urn: All Four Volumes (Complete Collection of Mao Dun Literature Prize-Winning Works: Collector's Edition)

During the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song, the Song, Liao, and Jin each held sway over their own territory. The Jin was powerful, while the Liao was plagued by deep-rooted problems. Meanwhile, ever since the Northern Song made peace with the Liao in the Chanyuan Treaty, the dynasty believed the realm was at peace and let down its guard. Centered on the military officer Ma Kuo, this book traces the fortunes and achievements of his family as it recounts the history from the Song-Jin maritime alliance to jointly attack the Liao, through the Jin's breach of the pact and invasion south, the fall of the Northern Song, and Emperor Gaozong of Song's retreat to a corner of the south. Dynasties rise and fall, fortunes shift, blades flash, and people flee in panic. Patriots give their lives and spill their blood, singing laments with fervor, while eunuchs and sycophants seize power and slander the loyal... With sweeping prose, elegant language, a materialist view of history, and profound historical insight, the author paints a grand yet minutely detailed picture of a tumultuous age, at times making the blood race and the breath catch, at others bringing tears to the eyes.