Core theme: Set against the backdrop of Chinese geography, this is a sweeping historical epic about how “geography determines fate, yet people can reshape mountains and rivers.” Through the survival, migration, warfare, and integration of seven generations across different geographical regions, it shows how Chinese civilization grew, clashed, and was reborn amid a complex geographical landscape.
Time span: From the late Tang Huang Chao Rebellion in 875 to the Treaty of Chanyuan between the Song and Liao in 1005, a total of 130 years. This period was chosen because it marked a turning point when China’s geographical order underwent dramatic change, as division and unity, farming and nomadism, and the Central Plains and the frontier clashed and converged with unprecedented intensity.
Geographical setting: The story unfolds across seven major regions: the Guanzhong Basin, the Hedong Plateau of Shanxi, the heartland of the Central Plains, the Jianghuai river network, the Jiangnan hills, the Sichuan Basin, and the Yanshan Mountains and Great Wall region. The seven narrative threads eventually converge along a north-south geographical axis formed by the Grand Canal and the Taihang Mountains’ Eight Passes.
