The literary era since 1979

Chapter 54: The Split of the Qin Dynasty

Before going to Beidaihe, Fangyan went back home.

The alley at this time was bustling with people coming and going.

The children were running around happily, and the old people were playing chess together, carrying stools and fanning themselves with palm-leaf fans.

Others took out the wooden boards, bamboo beds and mats in their homes, used the roof as blankets and the ground as beds, and slept in the open air to enjoy the cool air.

But his own compound was eerily quiet.

When he entered the room and asked, Yang Xia poured him some water and said:
"The college entrance exam is coming up soon. Xiaoya, Jianjun, and all the kids in the alley are studying at home. This one is called, called..."

"It's called 'sprint', Mom."

Fang Hong put down the textbook in her hand.

"They are preparing for the college entrance exam. How are you doing?" Fang Yan put down her bag. "Which night university have you decided to apply to?"

Fang Hong answered straightforwardly: "I am going to take the entrance exam for the evening college of the Academy of Arts and Crafts to study fashion design."

"What is fashion design? Yaya, I think you should study something else, like accounting..."

Yang Xia said seriously.

"Mom, you don't understand this, I think clothing will have a bright future in the future." Fang Hong said seriously, "Do you still remember that last year a man named Cardin came to the street with a group of foreign women. The clothes they wore were so bright and beautiful. I heard that they even held a fashion appreciation meeting at the Cultural Palace."

"How could I not remember? It's all in the newspaper."

Yang Xia said angrily: "What are you talking about, what about corrupting morals and sugar-coated bullets? It's outrageous for a girl to dress like this!"

"Mom, this is a kind of liberation! In a small sense, it is the liberation of clothing. In a big sense, it is the liberation of beauty and the liberation of thought!"

Fang Hong's tone was full of affirmation.

"Yaya, you study this major, you don't want to design this kind of clothes in the future, right?" Yang Xia said anxiously, "Yanzi, don't just sit there drinking water and not talking, hurry up and say a few words to persuade your sister."

"Mom, I think there's nothing wrong with my sister's choice!"

Fangyan's mouth corners curled up, it really is fate.

My sister ran a clothing store and a stall in her previous life. In this life, she chose fashion design and is involved in clothing again. But to be honest, the future demand in the mainland clothing market is indeed huge.

"You two kids, really are..."

Yang Xia did not support it, but she did not oppose it either.

Fang Hong smiled and said, "Mom, when I learn it well, I will definitely design one for you myself and make it for you using a sewing machine."

"Don't design for me, I won't wear it!"

Watching the clash of new and old ideas between Fang Hong and Yang Xia, Fang Yan immediately thought of "reform", picked up his bag, and went back to the room.

Today's reform literature has a set of formulaic basic frameworks, which are the sharp clashes between bold pioneers and stubborn conservative forces, and finally overcoming all difficulties and achieving victory.

But it's easy to cross the line if you write like this.

What Fangyan needs to do is to talk only about the "spirit of reform".

And not to mention now, Shen Yanbing taught him a trick -

Discuss the past and present, and use history to guide the present.

For example, in the "Three Hundredth Anniversary of the Jiashen Incident", you cannot try to be like Li Zicheng.

Fangyan also intends to find examples of ancient reforms that conform to the "spirit of reform" from China's long history.

He picked up a pen and wrote on the paper:

Guan Zhong's Reform, Li Kui's Reform, Shang Yang's Reform, Wang Anshi's Reform, Zhang Juzheng's Reform, Yongzheng's Reform...

Among them, he first crossed out "Guan Zhong's Reform", "Li Kui's Reform", "Wang Anshi's Reform" and so on. Either there were no works to refer to these reforms, or the reforms were not successful.

Since we want to extol the spirit of reform, of course we have to be successful.

"Yongzheng's reforms, so we have to write "Yongzheng Dynasty"."

Fangyan thought about it for a while and put it aside for the time being.

Both the novel and the TV series are very exciting, and the stories of "Nine Princes Fighting for the Throne" and "Nine Princes Discussing Politics" appeared for the first time, but the power struggles in the beginning were too exciting, which overshadowed Yongzheng's reforms. The more you watch, the more frustrated you feel. The later Yongzheng was portrayed as a little weak and too lonely, with a feeling of one person fighting against the whole world.

However, it is understandable that the difficulties of making the fire consumption a public expense, distributing the tax based on the amount of land, and requiring officials and gentry to serve and pay taxes together were greater than each other.

The next one is Zhang Juzheng’s reform.

When writing about Zhang Juzheng, simply writing "Zhang Juzheng, the Prime Minister of the Wanli Dynasty" is obviously not enough. The mess left behind by the Jiajing Dynasty must also be clearly described. Otherwise, it will not be enough to highlight how Zhang Juzheng turned the tide and prolonged the life of the Ming Dynasty.

In my own conception, I must include "The Ming Dynasty 1566", which explains the political structure of the feudal dynasty, the logic of power operation, and the laws of rise and fall.

But we can't just write about "The Ming Dynasty 1566". After all, the reform in "The Ming Dynasty 1566" was to replace rice with mulberry.

And the length of this article must definitely exceed one million words.

There are no computers or typewriters now, and after writing, I have to copy it again. I can't finish it. I can't finish it at all...

Putting "Zhang Juzheng" aside, Fangyan finally turns his attention to Shang Yang's Reform, which conforms to the basic framework of reform literature.

Shang Yang's reforms shook the world, and the reformists led by Qin Xiaogong and Shang Yang fought against the conservatives led by Gan Long.

It was to establish new laws, eradicate the old traditions of the Qin State, and carry out a cleansing and blood transfusion, which was bound to shake the core interests of many nobles and old families, and the "spirit of reform" was implied in it.

Moreover, this is also in line with the current global situation.

The whole world was in a state of struggle for hegemony, and China's situation at this time was very similar to that faced by the Qin State at that time.

There is also a Russian bear like the Wei State on the side, attacking everywhere, fighting fiercely, eyeing China covetously, and wanting to bully people at any time.

As luck would have it, there was also a commercial state called Qi, which joined forces with the divided Chu state to constantly trip up the Wei state.

Why does it look a bit like Europe and America?
And Han, Zhao, Yan, Song, and even the self-proclaimed neutral Wei, were all in the same situation at this moment!
In an age of great contention, nations frequently fight against each other. The strong will become stronger, and the weak will perish!
The Qin State strives to become stronger, and China also strives to become stronger!

The Qin State longed to go east, and China also longed to go east!

The longer I thought about it, the more determined I became to write about dialects. I drew one circle after another on the "Shang Yang Reforms". The key point was that the place where I went to work in the countryside was northern Shaanxi, which is also known as the "Three Qins".

What a coincidence!
The TV trilogy of "Fission", "Zongheng", "Rise" and "The Great Qin Empire" suddenly appeared in my mind.

If we only talk about the spirit of reform, the first part must be written.

"This is a bit difficult to handle."

Fangyan smacked his lips.

Whether it is a novel or a TV series, there are many fictional, inconsistent with historical facts, and over-beautified parts.

For example, it is impossible for Shang Yang to go to the Jixia Academy to have a debate with Mencius.

But it is precisely because of imperfection that it is better.

I am still young, it is normal for young people to make some mistakes in historical knowledge.

Besides, we have teacher Shen Yanbing to guide us!
"Tattoo."

The pen tapped on the table again and again.

"Yanzi, it's getting late. Hurry up and wash your face and feet, turn off the lights and go to bed. Didn't you say you would be back at the training center tomorrow?"

Outside the house, Yang Xia's urging voice was heard.

"Mom, I still need to pack some things. The institute is organizing a swimming trip to Beidaihe. Where are my swimming trunks? Where did you put them?"

Fangyan jumped up from his chair with a start, and followed Yang Xia to rummage through the boxes and drawers, sorting out travel items such as swimming trunks.

As I carried the washbasin into the yard, I saw wooden boards with cool mats laid on them at the doors of the left and right wing rooms.

Su Ya fanned herself with a palm-leaf fan and swatted away mosquitoes:

"Yanzi, when are you going to Beidaihe?"

"The 27th, the day after tomorrow."

(ps: "The Yongzheng Dynasty" and "The Splitting of the Qin Empire" are both historical literature, not historiography.)
　Thanks to Pa Da Xing for the 100 Starting Coins.

　　The second update today will be a little later.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)