Research

Picture this: you’re transported 600 years back to 15th-century China. The emperor, hearing of your unparalleled skill as a builder, summons you to build his new palace. The emperor’s top priority? How soon he can move in. The scope of the palace is quite ambitious: it covers 8,700 halls and rooms of all sizes. The footprint of the buildings alone, excluding gardens and plazas, is equivalent to 15 soccer fields.

Prologue I stand before a painting. Around me are countless visitors to the exhibition, but for a moment they all seem to vanish, leaving me alone with the artwork. It depicts an utterly ordinary riverside meadow, with a few small trees growing haphazardly. Through the branches, glimpses of clean river surface and a stone arch bridge in the distance emerge; there appears to be a figure on the bridge. Wildflowers carpet the ground, and leaves tinged with yellow amid the green speak of a fresh spring day.