Set against the historical backdrop of remnants of the Taiping Army drifting to South America in the nineteenth century and Chinese communities putting down roots in Iquique over the course of a century, this novel tells the story of Weng Derong and other Chinese people forced to cross the ocean amid turbulent times. They struggle to survive on the nitrate desert, reclaim the land, build towns, and pass on their cultural heritage. They carry with them the dying embers of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, as well as Chinese farming traditions, dialects, medical knowledge, and clan memories. Beneath the Andes, they gradually come to coexist and blend with Indigenous peoples and Chileans. From the Jintian Uprising to the autonomous town of Iquique, from Chinese-language associations to journeys across the ocean in search of their roots, from surviving in the wilderness to establishing a lasting civilization, the novel recounts an epic history of Chinese migration obscured by the dust of time. This is not simply a tale of war, but a sweeping historical novel about hardship, perseverance, integration, and the passing down of one’s roots.
