The entire city is adorned with golden armor, Gold-Trimmed Version

Author: Zhang Chang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-11-28
Features: This is a story of bloodshed in battle; it is also a tale of power and ambition in history; it is also a poignant love story. During the late Tang Dynasty, disasters struck, people lived in hardship, regional lords seized power, and bandits roamed freely. Meanwhile, a legend of a "golden armor that promised the world to its bearer" stirred everyone's pursuit of power. Whether it was circumstances that shaped heroes or heroes who shaped circumstances, both heroes and non-heroes pinned all their hopes and desires on the legendary golden armor. "He who possesses it rules the world," and the world meant everything. Who could refuse all of this? Thus, various factions scrambled to find the golden armor, though none knew what it truly was. To find it might depend on fate. Don't think only heroes emerge in chaos; it is precisely because of chaos that the love forged in such times becomes all the more precious. Wang Xianzhi, Zi Fu, and Zhu Wen grew up together in childhood. Wang Xianzhi once stumbled upon a golden chrysanthemum, one that was neither gold nor bronze, resembling crystal in its beauty. He gave it to Zi Fu as a token of their love. Zhu Wen also loved Zi Fu, but hindered by his friendship with Wang Xianzhi and Zi Fu's true affection for Wang Xianzhi, he kept his feelings hidden deep within. Wang Xianzhi was originally a strong and upright man, but to give Zi Fu a better life, even a salt merchant rose in rebellion. Yet in the pursuit of power, he gradually lost himself and began to neglect Zi Fu. His ally Huang Chao, clad in armor widely believed to be the golden armor, became the target of all. Under the temptation of the golden armor, emotions and desires intertwined in complex ways: the weak emperor, the powerful minister, and the rising bandits—all faced the prospect of kingship and glory. Before this, love, family, and friendship, the finest things in the world, seemed fragile, crumbling at the slightest touch. The faces revealed by desire began to resemble Peking opera masks—vibrant yet terrifying. What were once pure faces, when adorned with masks, performed with such realism, so true to life. Then, tragedy unfolded. The desire-blinded Wang Xianzhi died in battle. At his tomb, Zi Fu retrieved the golden chrysanthemum they had once exchanged as a token, intending to take her own life, only to accidentally uncover the mystery of the golden armor. It turned out that the golden armor that commanded the world was, in fact, a golden chrysanthemum. Thus, Zhu Wen, who accompanied her, gained the true golden armor—a twist of fate. Raised by scholars, Zhu Wen had no ambition for the world, yet the world encompassed everything, including the woman he deeply loved, Zi Fu. But in the end, Zhu Wen became emperor, overthrew the Tang Dynasty, and, as the legend foretold, ruled the world. Yet Zi Fu, not only remained indifferent to him but also left him behind. His grief was profound, but who was truly the tragic figure, whose tragedy it was? The only one who survived became a hero. He had no desire for the throne but inherited it; the woman he admired, he could never possess, either in body or in spirit. He could only find solace in the golden chrysanthemum, ordering his soldiers to wear bronze armor adorned with chrysanthemums. Huang Chao, another tragic figure, foresaw the outcome but not the process. Thus, "When autumn comes in September, on the eighth day, my flowers bloom, and all others wither. A fragrant fragrance fills Chang'an, and the city is covered in golden armor."