A Chinese Dream After Transmigrating into the Royal Family

Wang Shiyun, part of Binhai City’s seventh group of officials sent to assist Xinjiang, arrives in the ancient land of Hetian, Xinjiang, bringing with him experience in developing the building economy of the eastern coast. From his very first night there, he has a vivid dream every night: he transmigrates into members of the Wang clan from different periods of history, experiencing pivotal moments that changed the course of Chinese civilization.

By day, he surveys projects and visits farm households in the Gobi Desert beneath the Kunlun Mountains. By night, he becomes Prince Jin, Wang Zongjing, Wang Jian, Wang Xizhi, Wang Anshi, and other forebears who share his surname, living fragments of their lives. At first, he dismisses it all as the imaginings of a history enthusiast. Then he notices that whenever he wakes, a piece of smooth, warm broken jade has appeared in his palm, and the choices he made in his dreams seem strangely connected to the challenges he faces at work.

This is a spiritual journey spanning three thousand years. From a prince of the Zhou royal house to border guards, from reformers to masters of calligraphy, Wang Shiyun experiences in his dreams the changing meaning of “king”: from a symbol of power, to a bearer of cultural responsibility. At last, beneath the starry sky of Hetian, he realizes that the character for “king” is formed by three horizontal strokes and one vertical stroke: the vertical line is the backbone that connects heaven, earth, and humanity.

And when the seventh piece of broken jade is fitted into place, a mission that has waited a thousand years emerges: all these journeys through time were meant to bring him here, so that on the path of assisting Xinjiang in this new era, he can add the latest stroke to the character for “king.”

The central thread: The Wang clan’s ancestral memory connects the pivotal moments of Chinese civilization, while the development of Xinjiang serves as the backbone of the story, showing how the Chinese national community is built in the present day. The dreams are echoes of history, and reality is the continuation of those dreams.