So we are 400 years later, yet remains whole Empire shaped by the catastrophic rebellion of the 9th Dynasty. I must say that when your capital noccupe quune fraction of the ruins of the ancient capital, it is impossible to escape from the idea of decline.
And impossible to turn the corner, so deep is the idea that military quon are dangerous and should give them no discretion. In the course of the novel we are thus witnessing annihilation dune huge army sent to conquer a barbarian people of the second rank. Nobody navait indeed thought to bring siege engines
As for women, the disaster of the past was associated with them too much freedom when we witness the beginnings of foot binding intended to make them totally dependent women men.
Surprisingly, the main hero of the novel completely go down from the surrounding culture, the limit of many novels, especially in a civilization in which the usually consistent with the social norm nest not negotiable!
So you will encounter the poet Lin Shan, only child, motherless and amounted to ignore the social constraints on women. You'll also meet Ren Daiyan, son of a provincial official who dream since childhood to get to Kitai its past grandeur, by force of arms.
Otherwise, little has changed from the heavenly horses, Lempereur is still disconnected from the real, to the point that its landscape fads manage to capture a non-negligible portion of the wealth of Kitai!
And thats's the problem, an almost identical universe, not of history but a strong combination of little stories that sentremêlent, characters who are not very "inhabited" and who are much too monolithic. The very fact of the novel Kay a strong way that I recommend as fans of his writing.
