The Heart of Time

The Heart of Time is a long-form alternate-history novel by the web novelist Gezilidedeyewan (real name Liu Jiajun, early pen name absolut). Serialized on Qidian from 2007 and completed in 2010, it runs about 2.02 million Chinese characters across more than 580 chapters. The protagonist, Ye Tao, is an industrial designer with "quality of life" and "design philosophy" etched into his bones. After transmigrating into an era where many previously unimaginable things can be made, his dream is modest: to live a little better himself, to make life a little better for those around him, and on that foundation, to make this era a little more like the one he came from. So he spreads out his blueprints and "reproduces" the everyday objects, crafts, machines, and institutions he remembers, one by one, mixing in his own improvements: from food, shops, and banquet etiquette to workshops, armaments, and shipping, he gradually builds up his own technological thread and industrial map. The book is one of the earlier large-scale examples of "tech-stream farming" fiction: it does not chase the thrill of relentless domination, but lays out a wealth of detail about objects, crafts, and institutions, with a leisurely pace and a relaxed tone. It also employs a double-transmigration structure, with both male and female leads being transmigrators who land in the other world together; the story moves from daily trivialities to cities, armies, and affairs of state, forming a layered progression of "daily life—management—grand history." For readers who favor a sense of historical research and construction, it is more a long exploration than a fast-food adventure.