Wild imagination + sky screen + tragedy
Chen Zhao, a top scholar from a humble family, stands alone in the flourishing Great Qian Dynasty, devoted to integrity. During the palace examination, he denounces the powerful minister Zhao Wuji, spills blood on the jade steps, and would rather die than kneel. The sky screen suddenly opens, displaying the words “The Literary Soul Manifests,” and the entire court is thrown into an uproar.
Barbarian tribes threaten from beyond the borders, while powerful ministers dominate the court and the emperor’s authority wanes. Demoted to the northwest, Chen Zhao heads alone into dangerous territory to spread his teachings. Riots among disaster victims, fires of war at the frontier, and assassins sent by scheming factions follow one after another.
He writes books and burns drafts, educating the masses. The people rally behind him, and the mountains and rivers respond. The sky screen repeatedly reveals his deeds, rewriting a century of future history.
He is no god or Buddha, yet he astonishes every people; he never claims the throne, yet all under Heaven chant his name. The Way of Letters manifests not in the halls of power, but in the hearts of the people.
