I started writing this novel because I was inspired when I was looking through old books - the fragments of civilization scattered in historical volumes, the wind of the Mongolian grasslands, the gilded saddles of the Khitan, and the bronze drums of the southwestern chieftains, always failed to form a complete picture in my mind. I don't want these stories to just lie in academic books, but I want to use the warmth of novels to string them together into chapters that ordinary people can read.
What I want to share is never the boring era names and systems, but the vivid details of the collision of civilizations: the blending of different faiths under the hooves of the Mongolian cavalry, the unexpected encounter between Zheng He's fleet in the Ming Dynasty and the southwestern tribes, the different interpretations of Korea and Japan when the Buddhist scriptures were spread eastward, and even how a small American country far away from the ocean had a secret connection with the East in an unknown time and space. This knowledge should not be isolated points, but an intertwined network.
In the novel, you will see the debate about Buddhist scriptures in the Mongolian Khan's tent, and how the utensils made by Khitan craftsmen were transferred to the south of the Yangtze River; you can follow the Ming Dynasty envoys into the dense forests of the southwest, and you can also touch the Japanese tea ceremony with the diary of a Korean monk; and finally, through an ancient letter, you will get a glimpse of the strange customs of a small American country. What I want to do is to gently open a door and let more people see that history has not only grand narratives, but also these vivid "people" and "things" hidden in the corners.
Purpose: To let more people learn history