His Mandate Is Renewal

Henry Miller once said, "Whatever you are thinking now, put pen to paper and start writing!" As a boy, I always remembered listening with my grandfather to Mr. Yuan Kuocheng narrate Investiture of the Gods. The legends of those heroes would appear in my mind like fleeting dreams, but I always felt they belonged to the world of myth: magnificent, yet insubstantial. It was not until I was studying at university in Britain that I happened upon an article about King Wu's campaign against King Zhou. It suddenly made me realize that real history might be far more grand and stirring than fiction. So I began gathering materials here and there, reading articles in an attempt to find that epic age of heroes.

As I learned more, the names that had once existed only in history books gradually came to life. Their images grew more vivid, and their deeds more moving. I tried my best to bring them to life, so that these great heroes would no longer be alone. That, I suppose, was the original reason I began writing this book.

In the stories that took shape in my mind, all kinds of characters kept changing, but whatever choices they made, they shared one trait: they strove ceaselessly to improve themselves, transforming and renewing themselves for the sake of their country and the world. King Zhou fought for his dream of unifying all under heaven. King Wen sacrificed himself for his belief that "all under heaven belongs to the people of all under heaven." Countless others struggled tirelessly for their own convictions. Right or wrong, that quality never changed. That is why I titled this novel A New Mandate.