From Yu the Great taming the floods to the revival under King Wuding, from Xia Jie bringing down his dynasty to Pan Geng moving the capital to Yin, this is no embellished tale. The true history is more compelling than fiction.
The author seeks to make official history the bones and literature the flesh, focusing on the emperors of China's successive dynasties: their great ambitions and wanton cruelty, their loves and hatreds, and their life-and-death choices.
This is no dry chronology, but a narrative history centered on people.
The legends of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors; Yu the Great passing his own home three times without entering; the loss of the throne by Taikang and the "Five Sons' Song," declaring that "the people are the foundation of the state"; Shaokang's revival, rising from exile to become the ruler who restored his dynasty; Kong Jia's dragon-raising, with the last throes of the Xia Dynasty hidden in its absurdity; Tang of Shang's revolution, winning the people's hearts with his "net open on three sides"; Yi Yin deposing Taijia, a minister daring to dethrone his ruler and a ruler daring to admit his mistakes and change; Pan Geng moving the capital to Yin, single-handedly turning the tide; the golden age under Wuding, with Fu Hao taking up her battle axe and leading troops, and Fu Yue rising from slave to chancellor...
Each chapter focuses on one emperor, delving into his character, motives, and fate. It tells of their glory, but also their loneliness; their achievements, but also their remorse. The names sleeping in the history books will rise again to breathe, struggle, and burn.
The first volume, The Imperial Legacy, spans the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties through the revival under King Wuding. It takes you back to the Central Plains more than three thousand years ago, to see the first wisp of smoke rising from a hearth after the floods receded, and hear the first prayer as oracle bones were heated. Emperors are not gods by birth; they are people whom their era has placed upon the sacrificial altar.
Their stories are where we come from.
Theme: Organizing history
Project God-Making?
A Long Sleep, Then Recruiting Across Worlds
The Immortal of Dongting
Son of a Prostitute
Dream of the Red Chamber: Watch Party
A Breeze of Four Liang
Seeking Defeat, Yet Never Defeated
Cosmic Voyage
A Bright Future Ahead
Jade Bi Worth a City
The South Wind Rides North
The Quiet Evening Mountains