Records of Metal and Stone: The Biography of Li Qingzhao

Following Li Qingzhao and Zhao Mingcheng as they safeguard the Records of Metal and Stone together, this book recounts her whole life, from the carefree girl who “strayed into the depths of lotus blossoms” to the lonely old woman who “soars like a great roc through the skies of ninety thousand li.” This is not merely the biography of a gifted woman, but a lament for all that is protected, lost, and passed down. Every ink mark on an inscription rubbing and every game of poetry and spilled tea in the Hall of Returning Home become the final bulwark against time and a world torn by war. When all else has faded away, only words endure.