Richly imagined and recounted in vivid prose of extraordinary beauty, this book is a stunning illustration of Ransmayr's talent for imbuing a captivating tale with intense metaphorical, indeed metaphysical force. The world's most powerful man, Qi?nl?ng, emperor of China, invites the famous eighteenth-century clockmaker Alister Cox to his court in Beijing. There, in the heart of the Forbidden City, the Englishman and his assistants...