Lin Yue, a modern postgraduate student of history specializing in ancient China,
reads Romance of the Three Kingdoms up to its 120th chapter, “Du Yu, recommended, offers a new plan; Sun Hao surrenders, and the Three Kingdoms reunite.” The final chapter brings more than a century of warfare to a close. Sima Yan ascends the throne after receiving the abdication, unifying the realm, yet “the empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide.” Such is the will of Heaven. The Jin dynasty rises through Wei’s abdication, but its claim to the throne is illegitimate and its foundations unstable. Extravagance soon takes hold, a sign that turmoil is coming.
Moved by what he has read, Lin Yue picks up his brush and ink to continue the story. Let us see what new twists of fortune await the Jin dynasty, and how its rise and fall will unfold.
