The first thing one has to say about TREASON BY THE BOOK by Jonathan Spence is this --- it will demand every bit of your time and will deserve every minute of it. Spence is a premier Sinologist whose previous titles (THE DEATH OF WOMAN WANG, THE QUESTION OF HU, just to name a few) have brought him the reputation of being a detailed historian and a remarkable storyteller. TREASON reaffirms his talents as both.

Spanning the years 1728-1736, it recounts the unique method through which Chinese Emperor Yongzheng discovers and refutes the treasonous writings of a Hunanese named Zeng Jing. Spence notes, "It is a book about a world most of us have lost, in which the arrival of every stranger in one's home village was an event, to be mulled over and reflected upon for years." The treason that Yongzheng and his officials root out is only possible in such a world. It allowed long-past events to be recalled as if they occurred yesterday. This world also allowed fiction to become fact and rumor to become truth.

While Zeng Jing's misconceptions about the Qing dynasty have their origins in overheard tales and lying wanderers, the affair begins simply. It begins with a letter.

In October 1728, a messenger delivers a letter to a general. The messenger is Zeng Jing's student, Zhang Xi, also a Hunanese from the same poor, country, mountainous region as his teacher. The general is governor-general Yue Zhonqui, a bureaucrat who is favored by the Emperor Yongzheng. As soon as General Yue opens the letter from Zeng Jing, he recognizes it as treason. In the letter, Zeng Jing claims that China has no "ruler under Heaven." He also exhorts General Yue to raise the true Chinese people to rebellion against the Manchu rulers. General Yue does what any loyal government official would do: He arrests Zhang Xi and alerts the Emperor.

The story unfolds as a detective novel with various officials questioning suspects and untangling memories. Slowly the interrogators map the conspiracy of rumors. Throughout all, Emperor Yongzheng meticulously ponders the mystery, looking for a solution to the invidious problem of rumors in a country as large as China and a time as remote as the 1700s.

With the conspirators and various treasonous writings in hand, Emperor Yongzheng begins his journey to dispel the false stories. He chooses a unique mixture of candor and Imperial edicts to confront Zeng Jing. He shares records and secret reports with Zeng Jing and orders him to comment on them. Zeng Jing's reactions to the facts are as passionate as his reactions to the rumors were. At once, he sees the error of his ways and is astonished that anyone dared spread such negative stories to him about Yongzheng and the Manchus.

Thus, the contrite and remorseful Zeng Jing is pardoned. But this story is only partly about the conspiracy of lies. TREASON is also about the world of 18th century Chinese scholarship, which was limited by constant bureaucratic examinations and imperial benevolence. Emperor Yongzheng publishes the written dialogue between himself and Zeng Jing along with certain edicts and Zeng Jing's new commentaries. This "Awakening from Delusion" is circulated to everyone in China and is added to the educational curriculum.

The resulting reaction among students and scholars is harsh. They are outraged that Zeng Jing went free, while a long-dead noted scholar, Lü Liuliang, whom Zeng Jing implicated, was branded a criminal of the worst sort. While Emperor Yongzheng tries to devise ways of involving these scholars in shaping the future of China, he fails to placate them. Then, in 1735, Emperor Yongzheng dies, and the affair ends as abruptly as it begins.

Spence has created a lesson in governing, compassion, and investigation procedures. The Yongzheng he reveals to us ruled with balance, neither punishing too quickly nor pardoning too lightly. In the retelling of the events surrounding Zeng Jing, Spence finds a scholar-Emperor, whose musings are lyrical and erudite. A thoroughly enthralling journey in the heart of a poor scholar and an imperial ruler, TREASON BY THE BOOK presents history as a fantastic narrative of intrigue and human frailties.