"The Banquet" is set in ancient China during the Period of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907-960 AD), when dynasties succeed each other rapidly in the north and a dozen of independent states vie with one another in the south. Meanwhile, the neighboring Khitan Empire is on the prowl in Manchuria, ready to conquer China when the moment arises. Against this background of internal turmoil and external threat lives a legendary queen. As beautiful as she is young, and as limber as she is smart ...