For Emperor and Country, or Love and Family?

Zimei (子美) is faced with a bleak future. Despite his great potential and hailing from an illustrious lineage, he serves his Emperor as a lowly Tang Dynasty official, having failed the Imperial Examinations twice.

He sets out on a lifelong journey, seeking out first hermits and sages, then peace and home while documenting in verse the sufferings unleashed by civil war, sealing a friendship with the infamous Li Bai that will leave a remarkable legacy to Chinese literature.

Zimei's story is the life of Du Fu (杜甫, 712-770), China’s first poet-historian and the nation’s greatest poet, reimagined in this epic debut novel by multi-award-winning author Boey Kim Cheng.