Romance of Ryukyu

On the vast Pacific Ocean, there once was a shining pearl called Ryukyu. It was once the trade hub of the "Ten Thousand Kingdoms" on the East Asian sea, and it was also the most loyal vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. However, in the turmoil of the great power game in modern times, this pearl was forcibly swallowed up and became a "double colony" caught between the great powers. "The Romance of Ryukyu" is an epic masterpiece with history as its root and humanities as its soul. The book has a total of 150 chapters, spanning more than 500 years of vicissitudes. It completely abandons drama and fiction, and uses extremely detailed historical materials and pyrotechnic microscopic life details to panoramically reproduce the tragic journey of Ryukyu from prosperity to humiliation, and from subjugation to awakening. The novel begins with the prosperity of "All Nations", and details the awarding of the "Datong Calendar", the shipbuilding mortise and tenon joints of the thirty-six surnames of the Fujian people, and the three kneels and nine knocks in the Shuri Castle canonization ceremony. The iron-clad evidence restores the deep connection between Ryukyu and Chinese civilization in politics, culture, and beliefs since ancient times. With the turning point of history, the writing turns to the gap between the "two belongings" and the blood and tears of "abolition of Liuzhou and establishment of counties". From the prison car in which King Shangning was taken captive, to the poem manuscript in Chinese characters hidden under the rice vat, to Lin Shigong's bloody suicide in front of the Prime Minister's Office, to the despair of the last piece of sweet potato in the air-raid shelter during the Battle of Okinawa in World War II, every word is a strong indictment of the crimes of Japanese militarism's aggression and assimilation. This is a monument that vindicates the history of Ryukyu. It tells the world with an unyielding echo that spans a hundred years: Ryukyu's history has never been cut off. As long as the cultural roots remain, Ryukyu's soul will always belong to the blue sea and the embrace of Chinese civilization.