A poem from the middle of the Imperial period (AoR 2206) about the War of the Five Ways by the artist-martyr of the Shui, Fu He who lived during the second reign of the Shui Dynasts a period of near ceaseless continued conflict between the Five Houses of Xiang.

Fu He was tried for treason and summarily executed, this event sparked a series of riots that led to the second fall of the Shui Dynasts (AoR 2252)and the rise of the Mu Dynasts who themselves fell to the Huo in the Fiery revolutions at the beginning of the Mercantile Period (AoR 2700). The Huo’s rule was later brought to an end by an alliance of the Houses of Jin and Tu. The Tu Dynasts would rule for the early part of the Mercantile period before themselves succumbing to dynastic infighting which the Jin took advantage of to seize control of the Land of the Empty Hand. Yet even now the various dynasts plot their return to power and all these years after Fu He’s death, the war still goes.

Due to its enduring relevance the poem’s title has been popularised as a greeting amongst the various peoples of Xiang.

*Extract from A History of the Houses of Xiang and the War of the Five Ways by the exiled monk Jung Lo, courtesy of the Library of New Lud, originally published by the Floating Monastery (AoR 3290)