Gull Between Heaven and Earth

For Emperor and Country, or Love and Family?

Zimei (子美) is faced with a bleak future. Despite his great potential and hailing from an illustrious lineage, he serves his Emperor as a lowly Tang Dynasty official, having failed the Imperial Examinations twice.

He sets out on a lifelong journey, seeking out first hermits and sages, then peace and home while documenting in verse the sufferings unleashed by civil war, sealing a friendship with the infamous Li Bai that will leave a remarkable legacy to Chinese literature.

Zimei's story is the life of Du Fu (杜甫, 712-770), China’s first poet-historian and the nation’s greatest poet, reimagined in this epic debut novel by multi-award-winning author Boey Kim Cheng.

“Subdued and sensitive. The triumphs and sorrows of one of China’s greatest poets are narrated with grace and autumnal beauty.” —Tan Twan Eng, Man Asian Literary Prize-winning author of The Garden of Evening Mists