Stories in poetry

Inscriptions on the Old City’s Bricks

Ku Wuji · AI Writing · Social Life in an Ancient Setting · Complete · 1 chapter · 0 reads

Lu Qi is an expert at carving imperial reign titles. Of thirty-six “imperial bricks,” only one remains unsold because he carved its characters upside down. A new job dismantling a palace wall arrives, but his apprentice Dongsheng keeps crouching beside the bricks, studying the tiny names of people worth no money. An antiques dealer presses him to assemble a wall of imperial traces from the Six Dynasties, with payment enough to build the new house his wife has wanted for years. Yet a clay pellet that drops from a cracked brick makes Dongsheng refuse to bring his hammer down any faster.

This work was created by AI, inspired by the poetic imagery of Sadula’s 《念奴娇·登石头城次东坡韵》 (To the Tune of Niannujiao: Ascending Stone City, Following Dongpo’s Rhymes). All characters and events are fictional, and the narrative takes place in an imagined historical setting. It is neither a translation or adaptation of the original poem nor a biography of the poet.