Tang Shi

Tang Shi is a long-form alternate-history novel by the Guangxi author Hong Xianbao (pen name Liren Wang Zuoyan). It was first serialized online, won the Most Promising Newcomer Award at the Web Literature League in 2015, and in 2017 was published in simplified Chinese print by Beijing United Publishing Company (three volumes); earlier, a traditional-character chapter edition was published by China Times Culture in Taipei. The story is set in the late Zhenguan era: the Zhenguan prosperity is ending while the Kaiyuan golden age is still far off. To the west, the Tuyuhun raid the borders and the Tibetans eye the realm; to the north, the Eastern and Western Turks are down but not dead; to the northeast, Goguryeo awaits conquest, while the Shiwei and Mohe stir. Under the backing of old ministers, Crown Prince Li Chengqian and the princes Li Tai and Li Zhi churn with undercurrents, and the old affair at Xuanwu Gate seems poised to repeat itself. Just then, Princess Jinyang, Li Shimin's most beloved daughter, dies suddenly and inexplicably, becoming the fuse that ignites storms at home and abroad. The protagonist Xu Zhen is a magician hailed as the "Oriental Houdini" who accidentally travels to Chang'an and becomes a trainee patrol officer (a minor city guard) without even a real blade. He plans to idle his way through life, but a Hindu illusion performance in the Eastern Market draws him into court conspiracies, and he must rely on illusion and streetwise cunning to maneuver among princes, powerful ministers, and foreign envoys—traveling to India, fighting on the frontier, and being drawn into the succession struggle. The work combines intrigue and martial-world storytelling in an elegant style, with magic revealed, battle scenes, and romance, making it a representative of "technical" time-travel historical fiction.