Following "Reading the Water Margin", Yashalong returns with a bold new work of historical writing!
Shang Yang, Jing Ke, Cao Cao, Li Bai, Pu Songling, Lu Xun... Human choices at history's crossroads!
In troubled times, the human heart is revealed.
Seventeen pivotal figures who helped redirect the course of Chinese history transmigrate through great eras of upheaval and transformation, tracing the shifting currents of the human heart to redraw the paths of historical change.
History, after all, is written by people. When individual destinies collide with turbulent times, right and wrong, black and white cease to exist. On one side are personal choices and beliefs; on the other, the relentless wheels of the age. Do people shape history, or does history shape people?
Looking at the present through the lens of history, and examining our own hearts through the hearts of others, this is more than a return to the past. It is also a question posed to the present: standing at the crossroads of changing times, how many people truly know their own hearts?
It turns out that every choice carries a difficulty that is hard to explain, and a resolve born of having no other choice.
This book seeks to find what remains constant, and what changes, in the recurring cycles of troubled times; within the idea that history always repeats itself in striking ways, it seeks our shared destiny and insights into how to live and how to treat others today.
The author has truly explored a wide range of topics. How did people in the past conduct themselves and view the world during chaotic times? I think the human heart cannot be looked at directly, and there's no need to strive for perfection. Kindness and composure are the keys to survival.