Lonely City in the Desert: People of the Tang Dynasty Born in Troubled Times

Xu Changan and Chen Qingning are first-year students in Dunhuang No. 2 Middle School. One morning, the two of them suddenly encountered a sandstorm on their way to school and were swept into the ruins of the ancient Shazhou City, traveling to Shazhou City in the Tang Dynasty. They became the children of Sogdian businessman An Xinggui and Qiuci singer Yueniang, and entered the free school founded by Zhang Fengzhong, a minor official in Chang'an. At this time, Shazhou had been besieged by Tibet for eighteen years and was isolated from the Central Plains. Under the leadership of Zhang Fengzhong, the two of them were reading and literacy while participating in the defense of the city. They got acquainted with the Uighur Han son Agou, the stonemason's son Shi Er, the sister A'zhu Aqing, and Suo Jing who was born into a wealthy family but experienced family changes. During the 19-year siege of the city, Zhang Fengzhong adhered to his righteousness and taught 137 children to write the word "China". When food and aid were running out, the governor Yan Chao surrendered to Kaicheng in order to save the people. Zhang Fengzhong committed suicide by hanging from a beam. On his deathbed, he pointed out the "gap" for the two of them through time and space. Xu Changan and Chen Qingning returned to modern times and discovered that Chinese teacher Zhang Li was actually a descendant of Zhang Fengzhong, and handed them the family heirloom. Thousands of years have passed, but the fire of civilization has never been extinguished.