The Last Emperor: An Account of the Imperial Line of Rosuto-Shima

Scholar Quan Hong, Chengti

Introduction
The calling of Heaven must not be denied, and though I am but a humble scholar, whose deeds pale when found in the company of such philosophers as Lao Tzu, the recorder of the mountains who explained the mysteries of the natural world, or Han Zi, a mind so great that every subject has at least one writing of his that defines it. And so dear reader, allow this humble one to follow Heaven's will, and to present your discerning eyes with an account, as inadequate as it may be, of the history of Rosuto-Shima and the family that once governed it.

Quan Hong*
Writing from the Pool of Illumination

*Editor's Note: Though Quan Hong's The Last Emperor: An Account of the Imperial Line of Rosuto-Shima was published less than five years before his death, it had already the dominant and definitive text of the history of Rosuto-Shima by the time the scholar went to the spirits. A shrine to Quan Hong in the city of Chengti overlooks the Pool of Illumination, and many visitors to that city burn incense, hoping that the spirit of the accomplished scholar will grant them wisdom.