This director is vindictive.

Chapter 519 Foreigners Learning Poetry: Why Does Water Come From the Sky? Because of Rain?

The activities during the first week of Welfare Week were quite successful.

After all, with the success of "The Empress's Wedding" in Chang'an, which sparked a Tang Dynasty craze and made the whole world follow the trend of reviving the Tang Dynasty.

As the ancient capital of six dynasties, Nanjing has fully unleashed its rich heritage through the participation of the entire internet.

If Chang'an was dominated by Tang-style Hanfu, then with the hashtag #StartingWithABowl# trending, the streets and alleys of Nanjing have been completely engulfed in a "Hongwu Carnival." The flowing sleeves of Ming-style Hanfu intertwine with the technological feel of AR effects, making the entire city seem as if it has traveled back to the prosperous Ming Dynasty six hundred years ago.

The Sacred Way of Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum has been transformed into an "Imperial Red Carpet," where tourists walk on a virtual vermilion imperial path. AR effects project the phantom of Zhu Yuanzhang next to the stone statues, posing a soul-searching question to passersby: "Did you all manage to beg for food today?"

An average of 12 questions and answers are triggered daily!

A parade of "Beggar Emperors" has appeared in the Confucius Temple commercial district: a group of college students wearing burlap sacks and carrying bamboo poles, shouting "Start with a bowl, end with a country," and begging for alms from merchants along the way. The merchants jokingly responded, "Give me a string of Hongwu Tongbao coins!" Of course, what they were actually handing out were vouchers for candied hawthorns.

At the foot of the old city wall in Laomendong, food delivery riders spontaneously organized a "Yellow Robe Relay Race"—hanging their bright yellow work uniforms embroidered with dragon patterns on the back of their electric bikes, and shouting "His Majesty's imperial edict has arrived!" for each delivery. When customers open the door to receive their food, they can also receive a handwritten "Imperial Edict of No Kneeling" receipt.

Merchants in Jinling City also followed the trend. A steamed bun shop changed its name to "Hongwu Steamed Bun Shop" and launched a "anti-corruption" three-ingredient bun with a chili egg inside. Those who bite into it will receive a "cleanliness medal" sticker. A milk tea shop changed its name to "Fengtian Chengyun Tea". The cup sleeve is printed with an excerpt from "Da Gao". Scanning the code allows you to hear an AI Zhu Yuanzhang angrily rebuking "excessive drinking will ruin the country"!
Even the square-dancing aunties started playing "The Lone Warrior" and dancing the "Hongwu Formation"; waving brooms as "imperial swords," changing formations like "the Northern Expedition against the Mongols," and the lead dancer wearing a cardboard crown.
During the welfare week, the subway voice announcements in Nanjing changed "Next stop Xinjiekou" to "Next stop Yingtianfu" and added a voiceover in Zhu Yuanzhang's dialect: "All officials (passengers) prepare to go to court!"

As the setting sun gilds the Ming city wall, the city's hustle and bustle transforms into a catchy slogan—"My empire (Nanjing), have you all had your fun?"

Books about the Ming Dynasty, such as "Those Things About the Ming Dynasty" and "The Great Proclamation," are selling like hotcakes online, while the number of views and clicks on TV series and movies about the Ming Dynasty has skyrocketed on video websites.

Of course, the other cities that were also in the planning stages had no time for envy or jealousy at this moment, and were instead focusing all their efforts on preparations.

They are about to enjoy their upcoming welfare week.

As the popularity of #StartingWithABowl# continues to grow, the second week of the benefits week has officially begun – “Kaifeng · Qingming Scroll Theme Week”!
The content is somewhat similar to the first week, but the difference is that Kaifeng was the capital of the Song Dynasty, and this time it's a time travel to the Song Dynasty for everyone.

Tourists dressed in Song Dynasty Hanfu participated, forming "caravans" and "ceremonial guards," and finally gathered at Qingming Riverside Park, where a drone performance formed the words "Great Song Dynasty Never Sleeps City."

The daily live Q&A topics have also changed to things like "Su Shi vs. Liu Yong Lyric Writing Competition" and "Bao Zheng's Quick Q&A for Solving Cases".

By the third week, the event expanded to include Nanjing, Kaifeng, and Chang'an, with the theme of "Elegance of Famous Scholars, a Millennial Poetry Feast for All!"
Jinling, as a scenic spot of six dynasties and an ancient capital of ten dynasties, is well-known for its many famous scholars of the Wei and Jin dynasties and many famous literati of the Ming dynasty. Similarly, Kaifeng, as the capital of the Song dynasty, was a place where the Song dynasty valued literature and suppressed military affairs. Although this was the root cause of the country's downfall, it also led to the flourishing of the Song dynasty's literary culture!
Chang'an, needless to say, was the heart of the Tang Dynasty.

The three cities of Jinling, Kaifeng, and Chang'an joined forces, and the culture of poetry swept across the country. On the streets and alleys, online and offline, everyone was reciting poems and composing couplets, as if they had traveled back to the prosperous era when "the whole city was full of scholars".

As the three-city collaboration reached its climax, the phenomenon of "literati everywhere" ignited a nationwide passion for poetry. From delivery drivers to square-dancing grandmas, everyone on the streets and in the alleys, from food delivery workers to square-dancing grandmas, could readily recite ancient verses and write exquisite essays. A nationwide awakening of the "poetry DNA" spanning millennia was sweeping across the country.

Of course, as a unique treasure of Chinese culture, it can be said that the Chinese people have a genuine and heartfelt love for poetry.

The saying goes, "Even if you can't compose three hundred poems, you can still recite them."

Therefore, the threshold for participation is practically zero. After all, even elementary school students in China can recite poems.

However, this grand feast of poetry spanning a thousand years is not so friendly to foreign tourists.

Domestic tourists were having a blast, but foreign tourists were completely bewildered—"This prosperous era is as you wished, but the translation is beyond my comprehension!"

A guy from Tokyo was pulled into a "Flying Flower Order Challenge" at a night market in Kaifeng. After an old man shouted "Bright moonlight before my bed," he confidently continued, "So bright! Next is 'I raise my head to gaze at the bright moon'?" He was immediately corrected by the older women: "You have to rhyme with 'light'! Try again!" The guy pulled out Google Translate on the spot, his hands trembling like a leaf: "Is the 'rhyme' in Chinese some kind of mystical art?"

London tourists scan a QR code on the Nanjing city wall, and an AR image of Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly pops up in dialect:

What should be done about corrupt officials?

Options: A. Peel off the skin and stuff it with straw B. Exile to the army.

A foreigner stared wide-eyed at the word "flay," quickly took a picture, and tweeted: "The hardcore nature of historical tourism in China suggests that those with weak psychological resilience should avoid it!"

A girl from Seoul wanted to cosplay Li Qingzhao, and the shop assistant enthusiastically recommended a "widowed literature set," which included a script of lines from "Sheng Sheng Man." When the girl recited "凄凄惨惨戚戚," the Korean tour guide whispered a reminder: "That word sounds like 'chicken chirping' in Korean, how about we switch to Su Shi?"

Seeing this, Chinese netizens enthusiastically demonstrated the demeanor of a great power.

They all offered suggestions, such as differentiating foreigners in the poetry challenge.

Tourism authorities in several cities have also begun to step in to help, since people come here to have fun and spend money, and they can't be left standing there dumbfounded, right?

Then something both laughable and absurd happened.

For example, in a poetry relay game, if you are a Chinese person, you not only have to be correct, but also have to rhyme. But for foreigners, the requirements are not so high. For example, a foreigner can simply reply "I know!" to "Spring sleep is not aware of dawn" (you pass).

What's outrageous is that the AR Q&A mode adds a "BabyBus Mode": Zhu Yuanzhang's question becomes "Corrupt official = bad guy? Yes/No".

Translation of the food delivery meme: The deliveryman in the yellow robe has "Emperor's takeout" written on his insulated box.

The 814 Welfare Festival is already world-renowned, so this year's Welfare Week event attracted many foreigners who came specifically to attend.

To help foreigners better understand Chinese poetry and culture, international students have taken the initiative to form a "cultural bridge"!
A Harvard Sinology PhD student started a live stream on Douyin called "A Crash Course in Poetry for Foreigners," teaching students to post on WeChat Moments in the style of Su Shi: "Moonlight, wine, and my ex—damn Mid-Autumn Festival! (When will the moon be clear and bright? I raise my cup to ask the blue sky, where is my ex-girlfriend?)" The post received millions of likes, and foreigners flooded the comments section with comments like, "Finally, there's a Chinese poem I can use to show off!"

There are also many bizarre and outlandish products. Merchants are racking their brains to make money off foreigners. For example, a merchant in Kaifeng launched a "Bao Zheng Black Face Mask," and the advertising slogan even included the English phrase: "Dark for justice!"
A wine jug model reminiscent of Li Bai's style is being sold in Chang'an, with a warning label: "Drunk poetry: yes. Drunk texting: no." (You can write poetry, but don't send random messages.)

There's also the "Dongpo Pork" emoji: a piece of fatty pork with the words "Fat but happy".

During this period, some foreign livestreamers even broadcast while traveling.

The camera shakily pans as the blond, blue-eyed blogger "Mike Sui," wearing a DIY cardboard crown and holding a broken bowl, slurs in broken Chinese at the camera: "Fellow fans! I, no, I just successfully 'begged' in Nanjing—unlocked the Zhu Yuanzhang-style skin!"

Background sound effects: AI Zhu Yuanzhang roars: "Where are the corrupt officials? Drag them out and skin them alive!"

The barrage exploded:

"Hilarious! This foreigner's accent is even more pronounced than Zhu Yuanzhang's!"

"I suggest we go to Kaifeng next and have Bao Zheng execute him (doge emoji)."

We soon arrived at the Confucius Temple in Nanjing.

"Hey guys, I've heard the 'Emperor's Set Meal' here is really good, I'm going to try it out!"

Mike, munching on an "Anti-Corruption Spicy Strip Bun," was so spicy it brought tears to his eyes, yet he stubbornly held up the bowl: "This... ugh... is even fiercer than jalapenos! But for the 'Hongwu Secret Files' medal... ha... I'll endure it!"

This guy, who's only half-Chinese and speaks broken Mandarin, still manages to create a great show.

He also created many memorable moments, making him a celebrity in the live streaming world overnight, watched not only by domestic netizens but also by foreign netizens.

For example, he accidentally triggered an AR effect, and a virtual Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly appeared: "Foreign envoys? Where are the tributes?"

Mike immediately backed down and handed over the spicy snack: "Your Majesty, this is the North American spicy snack tax."

The most interesting thing was the poetry relay on the street. When he heard AR Li Bai jump out and recite a poem: "Have you not seen the Yellow River's waters come from the sky—"

Although Mike also claims to be somewhat knowledgeable about Chinese culture, it is clear that his understanding of Chinese poetry and culture is still too superficial.

He was completely bewildered: "Yellow Riverwatersky? Wait, why is water falling from the sky?"

The live stream chat burst into laughter instantly.

However, it must be said that foreigners are quite adept at having fun. This person even went to experience setting up a stall to sell "Su Shi's Dongpo Pork". Since it is quite rare for foreigners to set up stalls, quite a few people actually went to buy it.

However, he ended up being stared at because he didn't know how to use a weight.

"I know, it's the lever principle!" At first, he seriously showed off his knowledge.

No problem, it's based on the lever principle.

But apart from that, he doesn't understand anything at all.

As a result, a local aunt from Bianjing, who was watching, made a witty remark: "This foreign merchant is no good at math, not even as good as my son Shen Kuo!"

In Chang'an, Mike was encouraged by netizens to play an escape room themed around Empress Wu Zetian. Mike dressed up as the empress in a wig and women's clothing, but got stuck on the "Wordless Stele" puzzle.

AI Detective Di Renjie suggests: "Please adopt the mindset of an emperor!"

He snapped, "I've never been an emperor! That doesn't make sense, and I'm from Texan! I only have a cowboy mentality!"

This immediately caused the AI ​​detective Di Renjie to crash!
The live stream chat was filled with laughter!
The most interesting part was at the end of the trip, when the mountain city team took a group photo: Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhao Kuangyin, and Li Shimin appeared virtually together, asking MIKE in unison: "Among the foreign envoys, who was the strongest among the three dynasties?"

If a Chinese netizen were to answer this question, they could come up with many different answers.

After all, these three dynasties each had their own unique characteristics.

But to my surprise, this foreigner was actually quite sensible.

He pulled out a world map, spread it out, and shouted, "Your Majesties, stop arguing! Why don't we all fight the Huns (referring to Europe) together?"

Special effects: The three emperors' eyes lit up, and they simultaneously raised their swords: "Excellent!"

It has to be said that this American otaku is quite adept at pleasing Chinese netizens.

His answer caused a flood of gifts to appear in the live stream!

(End of this chapter)