Core theme: Using Chinese geography as the stage, we write a long historical scroll in which "geography determines destiny, and people also rewrite mountains and rivers." Through the survival, migration, conquest and integration of seven generations in different geographical units, it shows how Chinese civilization grew, collided and was reborn in a complex geographical pattern.
Time span: from the Huangchao Uprising in the late Tang Dynasty (875) to the Mianyuan Alliance in the Song and Liao Dynasties (1005), a total of 130 years. This period was chosen because it was a turning point in the dramatic changes in the geographical pattern in Chinese history - the conflict and integration between division and unification, farming and nomadic life, and the Central Plains and frontiers reached their peak.
Geographic map: Seven major geographical plates are used as the narrative stage - Guanzhong Basin, Hedong (Shanxi) Plateau, Central Plains hinterland, Jianghuai water network, Jiangnan hills, Sichuan Basin, Yanshan and Great Wall areas. The seven narrative lines finally converge on a geographical cross axis composed of the "Grand Canal" and the "Taihang Eighth Routes" running through the north and south.
