The Great Song Literary Giant

In the first year of Jiayou (1056 AD), the wars between the Song dynasty and Western Xia are gradually drawing to a close, and the Qingli Reforms have become a thing of the past. Lu Beigu, a professor of Chinese language and literature, awakens by the banks of the Anle Creek—only to find himself transported to an age of dazzling cultural brilliance, a constellation of literary giants. This is the year when Su Shi, brimming with youthful vigor, leaves Sichuan for the capital with stirring verses on his lips; when Zeng Gong, repeatedly failing the imperial examinations, sinks into dejection; and when Zhang Heng, confident and composed, awaits his moment of glory. It is also the year before Zhang Zai's famed "Four Aims of the Scholar" resound across the realm, when the Cheng brothers' Neo-Confucian thought still stirs beneath the surface, and Ouyang Xiu's classical prose revival is just gaining momentum. A poor scholar at a county academy, Lu Beigu has no choice but to take up his brush and strive to rewrite his fate. Yet before he realizes it, he has added his own indelible mark to the legendary "Millennium Dragon-Tiger List"—a roll of genius that crowns the ages. With the audacity of youth and the elegance of a bygone era, he rides through the pleasures of the capital, a man bearing the spirit of the Tang and the grace of the Song.