by Ted Erskin (Author) This historical novel is about the Nanzhou Kingdom situated in the Himalayas. The Buddhist kings of Dali presided over the trade routes of the Southern Silk Road in the 1200s - until the world changed. Author Biography Ted Erskin is a Fulbright-Hayes Scholar specializing in the geography and history of Asia. In the rubble of ancient steles, left in the courtyard of the Nanzhao Kingdom by the Revolutionary Guards during China's Cultural Revolution, he found tantalizing details in Sanskrit and Chinese of a trading empire. Situated in the Himalayas, between the Moslem sultantes of India and the Asian empires of Tibet and the Song Empire, the Buddhist kings of Da Li enjoyed a geographic advantage and prospered. Further exploration of surrounding towns and roads led the author to conclude that the Bai and Naxi peoples possessed a compelling story, largely unknown in the western world. Number of Pages: 178 Dimensions: 0.38 x 9.02 x 5.98 IN Publication Date: July 09, 2012