As the Tang Dynasty crumbled, dragons and serpents rose across the land. Wang Jian, a ruthless warlord who rose from the ranks, used his cunning and iron fist to carve out a realm in the Land of Abundance and proclaim himself emperor, founding Former Shu.
Eighteen years of rule, a final ballad from the dying age.
Wang Jian, the founding emperor, won his empire on horseback, only to sink into suspicion and indulgence upon the throne. His successor, Wang Yan, saw his extraordinary talent swallowed by wine, women, poetry, and painting, and handed a splendid realm over to actors and eunuchs.
Within the imperial palace, the ambitions of the Xu sisters grew like vines, twining around the throne and the succession. At court, the line between loyal and treacherous officials blurred beneath the weight of power and desire. In Shu's literary world, elegant verse and the gathering currents of a fallen kingdom beat in unison to the music at Xuanhua Garden.
This is an epic tragedy of power, desire, and civilization. Witness how heroes build their fortunes in troubled times, and how a prosperous age rots from within. See peerless beauties compete for imperial favor, and scholars and poets strive to preserve the spark of civilization in the twilight of an era. From the wilderness to the imperial palace, from prosperity to ruin, a sweeping portrait of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms unfolds, blending bloody campaigns, palace intrigues, and a final cultural requiem.
