The Chronicle of Mountains and Rivers: Tracing the Thousand-Year Roads is a tale of cultural heritage, told through the mountains and rivers of China and written across a thousand years of history. In the third year of the Taiping era under the Great Jing, Shen Yanzhi, a scholar from a family that has served for generations as custodians of historical and geographical records, makes an unexpected discovery in an old palace text: half of a bronze Mountains and Rivers tally. Seeking his missing grandfather and the secret text, The Record of Mountains and Rivers and the Founding of the Realm, he sets out alone along the ancient Baoxie Road through the Qinling Mountains.
Along the way, he unexpectedly meets Xiao Jinghan, commander of the Imperial Censorate’s mounted guards, who is searching for the truth about his father. One studies the geography and historical remains with brush in hand; the other guards the land and its cultural legacy with sword in hand. From the treacherous Qinling passes and the rushing Yellow River to the misty rain of Jiangnan and the thousand-mile Grand Canal, they visit frontier passes, cities, and ancient road sites, gathering all four bronze Mountains and Rivers tallies.
Among weathered stone inscriptions and broken steles, they investigate the rise and fall of dynasties; at old post roads and ferry crossings, they piece together the truth of history. They also clash time and again with hidden forces coveting the secret text. Grounded in rigorous research into historical geography and driven by the tumultuous conflicts of the martial world and imperial court, the novel journeys across the land to express devotion to country and home, and to safeguard the enduring cultural roots of China.
Character Introductions
1. Shen Yanzhi
One of the male leads, twenty-two years old, a descendant of the Shen family of Wuxing in Jiangnan and an archivist at the Directorate of the Imperial Treasury. His family has served as historians for generations. Skilled in researching historical geography, he sets out on a journey to find his grandfather and The Record of Mountains and Rivers and the Founding of the Realm.
2. Xiao Jinghan
The second male lead, twenty-five years old, commander of the Imperial Censorate’s mounted guards and the son of a military family. A formidable martial artist, he joins Shen Yanzhi on his journey to search for his missing father.
