"Ah, so much for character. When your very survival depends on whether you are breathing or exhaling in accordance with your master's dictates, where can your true character alight?" The sage smiled, "Agreed! In these mad times, truth passes only between those deemed fools. Shall we be such fools, wielding our sabers of swamp straw? Let the wrongdoers lie, steal, and torment. We will defy them. Truth takes root in patience, which the arrogant lack. All will have their day, even the mad. And when chaos clears, what endures? Patience, compassion, dharma-and fearlessness. Ill-doers will gnash their teeth as their fleeting power crumbles, crushed beneath the very deceptions they once unleashed."
Our story begins with the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE), a civilization that flourished for nearly six centuries. During their reign, they made remarkable strides in mathematics, astronomy, and the arts. They developed a working lunar calendar and later refined a solar one much like our own. Their mastery of bronze weaponry and the composite bow made them a formidable force, while their craftsmanship in pottery, jade carvings, and funerary art left an enduring legacy. At the heart of their society lay a deep reverence for Shangdi, the supreme deity, with the king serving as his earthly intermediary.
For centuries, the Shang maintained dominance, repelling external threats and internal rivals through relentless military vigilance. Their survival depended on the unyielding might of their armies, but such strength came at a cost. As war and expansion consumed their focus, hardship spread among the people.
At the height of their power, corruption and excess took hold. A succession of rulers governed with tyranny, sealing the Shang's fate. These vices came to define the reign of Emperor Di Xin, a once-brilliant leader whose rule descended into decadence and cruelty. His fateful union with Daji, believed by many to be a fox spirit in human form, marked a turning point. Together, they sought to reshape the world in their own image-one ruled by unchecked power and ruthless domination.
But history spins like a wheel, whirring through cycles of cause and consequence. Tyranny breeds resistance, an inevitable reckoning. Di Xin's reign set forces into motion, unleashing a chain of events that shook the very foundations of Shang rule.
Our story follows these events and the rise of King Wen, leader of the Zhou-a once-isolated frontier people. A ruler of vision and wisdom, Wen lays the foundation for a new order-one he hopes will restore balance, peace, and prosperity to the Middle Kingdom. From humble beginnings, the Zhou ascend, poised to reshape history and usher in a new era.
We all wonder whether our actions cast long shadows, birthing counterparts in the scales of merit, reward, justice, and retribution. The teachings of the ancients, some of whom you'll meet within, struggle to answer this. But who's to say what they truly know? Belief itself can be a reward-becoming its own reality. I have learned not to judge them.
But one thing I know as fact: when someone wrongs you and leaves you to simmer in loss and injustice, unseen forces begin to stir. Out in the deep shadows where Karma's ripples spread their endless vibrations, a great wheel slowly begins its turn. Upon it rests the fates of both the aggrieved and the oppressor, bound by past actions to the unfathomable rule of Tao.
