A Scholar of the Great Ming

Three thousand words of policy at the palace steps, and a name on the golden list in the springtime glow. The emperor rejoices at welcoming new scholars; the people, in turn, gain a worthy official. ~ On the day of the palace examination, the Daoist Emperor merely glanced down and decided that Zhang Dai was the worthy minister from his prophetic dream. He had no idea that this man, destined to fulfill his dream, had at first only been unable to bear the hardships of farming. He wanted to afford braised pork and a home sheltered from wind and rain, so he had crouched outside his clan's school to eavesdrop on lessons, hoping to change his fate by studying for the scholar's examination. Yet he never expected that the wisdom of the sages would lead him forward, one step at a time, until he finally took the Grand Preceptor's seat, a position powerful enough to shape the fate of the Ming dynasty...