Still Waters Through the Ages: The Story of Jiang Wanli
This sweeping historical novel of the Southern Song Dynasty runs nearly 400,000 words. Centered on the life of Jiang Wanli, a great scholar and national hero of the late Southern Song, it follows the broad outline of official history while weaving in vivid fictional details, supporting characters, and tales of local life to recreate the turbulent years of a dynasty’s end and the undying spirit of its loyal souls.
The story begins in the fourth year of the Qingyuan era, in Lintang Village, Duchang, on the shores of Poyang Lake, where an auspicious phenomenon heralds the birth of a celebrated scholar. Born into a poor farming family that values education, Jiang Wanli is raised under the influence of his family’s learning and grows alongside his younger brothers, Jiang Wanzai and Jiang Wanqing. As a boy, he studies at Bailudong Academy, devoting himself to the teachings of Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi. In his youth, he travels to Lin’an, passes the imperial examinations, and enters government service. Posted to various places, he governs diligently and cares for the people. He also devotes himself to founding academies such as Bailuzhou, using education to cultivate society and nurture pillars of the age like Wen Tianxiang.
Through decades of political ups and downs, he serves as prime minister three times. As the Southern Song faces its final crisis, he confronts the powerful Jia Sidao, who abuses his authority and imperils the country, repeatedly speaking out against him. After Xiangyang and Fancheng fall and the gates of the realm lie open, Jiang Wanli, with no way to serve his country, retires to Mount Zhi in Raozhou and digs a still-water pond to declare his resolve to die for the nation. In the first year of the Deyou era, when the Yuan army breaches the city, he calmly takes more than a hundred members of his family and throws himself into the water. His third younger brother, Jiang Wanqing, also dies cursing the enemy. Their family’s loyalty shakes the whole Jiangnan region.
The novel weaves together family, hometown, court, and the turmoil of the times, depicting the customs of Jiangnan in the final years of the Song, the many faces of officialdom, and the suffering of ordinary people. It portrays the integrity of scholars, the bonds between teachers and students, and the unity of brothers, while illuminating the timeless meaning of “literary achievement and moral integrity.” A pond of still water becomes a monument to the spirit, remembered for generations.
