NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A complex period tapestry inscribed with the age-old tragedy of love and death.”—The New York Times Book Review

“I finally understand what the poets have written. In spring, moved to passion; in autumn only regret.”

In seventeenth-century China, in an elaborate villa on the shores of Hangzhou’s West Lake, Peony lives a sheltered...

On March 8, 1421, the largest fleet the world had ever seen set sail from China. Its mission was "to proceed all the way to the ends of the earth to collect tribute from the barbarians beyond the seas" and unite the whole world in Confucian harmony. When it returned in October 1423, the emperor had fallen, leaving China in political and economic chaos. The great ships were left to rot at their moorings and the records of their journeys were destroyed....

"Zhu Yuanzhang, the Radiant King, is riding high after her victory that tore southern China from its Mongol masters. Now she burns with a new desire: to seize the throne and crown herself emperor. But Zhu isn't the only one with imperial ambitions. Her neighbor in the south, the courtesan Madam Zhang, wants the throne for her husband--and she's strong enough to wipe Zhu off the map. To stay in the game, Zhu will have to gamble everything on a risky...

Did a daring Chinese admiral sailing the world's largest wooden armada reach America 71 years before Columbus? This program examines the mystery surrounding the sailing exploits of the legendary Admiral Zheng He and his 30-year command of a Ming fleet.