A doctoral student specializing in the history of the Five Dynasties is writing a dissertation on “Changes in Social Structure from the Late Tang to the Early Song.” He is rational and empathetic, but has no firsthand understanding of the brutality of an age of chaos. After he transmigrates, he will transform from a “bystander” to a “witness” to someone who must “bear the burden” of history. Only by foreseeing everything can he change everything. But does changing everything mean betraying it all?
The protagonist’s greatest golden finger, and the source of his tragedy, both stem from his “foreknowledge” of history. The ultimate question he must face is not how to survive or dominate, but whether, after seeing how things end, he still has the courage to fight for uncertain hope. And as he creates an unknown history, how can he hold fast to the ethical boundaries of a modern person?
