Killing Monks

Does the era choose heroes, or do heroes create the era?

When Guangyuan sat on the old chair in front of the school and posed the question, the children were all stunned.

It's not that I don't understand, it's that I haven't thought about it.

They thought about what to eat tomorrow, whether they could avoid chopping wood the day after tomorrow, and whether they could eat a piece of meat during the New Year.

But they didn't think about the era, the heroes, or even the relationship between the two.

These problems are too far away from them, as far away as the stars in the sky. You can see them, but you can't touch them. You can stare at them for a long time until your neck aches and your eyes get tired, but they are still there, neither near nor far, untouchable.

Guangyuan wasn't in a hurry for an answer.

He knew that some questions weren't meant to be answered, but rather pondered. Think about them for a day, a month, a year, a lifetime. If you figure them out, you are you; if you don't, you are still you. But thinking about them and not thinking about them are different.

He began to tell a story.

"Long, long ago, there was a man named Huangdi. When he was alive, the world was in chaos, with wars raging everywhere and no one submitting to anyone else. Huangdi led his people to defeat Yandi and then Chiyou, unifying the world. People said that Huangdi was not only good at fighting, but he could also build carts, boats, clothes, and houses. He knew so many things that people thought he was not human, but a god."

"Later, there were Yao, Shun, and Yu. When Yao grew old, he passed the throne to Shun, and when Shun grew old, he passed the throne to Yu. People call this 'abdication.' If you are capable, you ascend; if you are not, you step down. The world belongs to all people, not just you. That's how people thought back then."

"Later, Yu grew old. He wanted to pass the throne to a man named Yi. But Yu's son Qi refused. Qi said, 'Why? Why should I give up the empire my father built?'"

"He drove Yi away and took the throne for himself. From that time on, the 'abdication' system disappeared, and it became 'rule by family.' The world no longer belonged to all the people, but to one family. That's how the Xia Dynasty began."

"Several hundred years after the Xia Dynasty, a king named Jie emerged. Jie was very powerful, but he did not use his talents for good. He built a large pool and filled it with wine, and he rowed boats in the wine pool."

"He also hung meat all over the edge of the pond, like a forest. He ate meat and drank wine, caring nothing for the lives of the people. The people hated him so much they gritted their teeth, pointing at the sun and cursing, saying, 'You sun, when will you set? We're willing to set with you!'"

"Later, Tang of Shang overthrew Jie. The Shang Dynasty began. Several hundred years later, a king named Zhou emerged. Zhou was also very powerful, with immense strength, capable of lifting roof beams and replacing pillars. However, he did not use his strength for righteous purposes."

"He built a Deer Terrace, which was filled with gold and silver treasures. He also invented a form of torture called 'branding with hot irons,' which involved making people walk on red-hot bronze pillars. After a few steps, they would fall off and be burned to death. The people hated him, the feudal lords hated him, and even his own uncle, Bigan, had his heart ripped out by him."

"Later, King Wu of Zhou overthrew King Zhou of Shang. The Zhou Dynasty began. The Zhou Dynasty was divided into two periods: the first period was called the Western Zhou, and the second period was called the Eastern Zhou."

"The Eastern Zhou Dynasty was divided into two periods: the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. During the Spring and Autumn Period, there were more than a hundred states. They fought each other constantly until the Warring States Period, when only seven remained: Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao, Wei, and Qin. These seven states sat at one table, each wanting to devour the others. In the end, Qin won."

"The king of Qin was named Ying Zheng. He spent ten years conquering the other six states one by one. After he finished, he felt that the word 'king' was not grand enough and did not match him. So he came up with a new word: 'emperor'."

"He was the first emperor, hence the name 'First Emperor'. He hoped that his descendants would be emperors for generations to come. But he did not expect that his Qin Dynasty would only last for fifteen years."

Guangyuan paused here and took a sip of water. The children listened intently, some with their mouths open, some with their eyes wide open, and some with their chins resting on the table, completely still.

Some of these stories they had heard before, some they hadn't, and some they had only heard half of and forgotten the rest. But Guangyuan's version was different from the others.

Others tell stories, but Guangyuan tells stories about people. The Yellow Emperor was a person, Jie of Xia was a person, Zhou of Shang was a person, and Qin Shi Huang was also a person. People do good and bad things, right and wrong things, some things you can understand, and some things you will never understand in your lifetime.

Whether you understand it or not, they did it. And once they did it, it became history.

History isn't written in books; it's the path people walk. You walk your path, he walks his, and with many paths, a great road is forged.

No one knows where the road leads when they set out. Only when they've finished and look back do they know.

"Alright," Guangyuan put down the bowl of water, "What are your thoughts?"

The classroom was quiet for a while. Then, little hands were raised one by one, like bamboo shoots sprouting from the soil in spring, one here, one there, scattered about, but all pointing towards the sky.

The first to stand up was the little girl with pigtails. She said, "The Yellow Emperor was amazing! He could fight battles, build chariots, and build ships. How could one person know so many things?"

Guangyuan said, "He's not alone. He has many people helping him. He thinks, and others do. He thinks about 'what to do,' and others do 'how to do it.' Neither can be missing."

The little girl thought for a moment, then asked, "Is he a hero?"

What do you think?

I think so.

"That's fine then." Guangyuan neither said it was right nor wrong.

He believes he is, and that's it. A hero isn't defined by others' opinions, but by one's own heart. If you believe he is, then he is. If you don't, even if others say he is a thousand times, you won't believe it.

The second one to stand up was the skinny boy. He said, "Why did Jie of Xia and Zhou of Shang do those things? Building a wine pool, hanging a meat forest, digging out people's hearts, and burning them alive. Didn't they know the people hated them?"

Guangyuan looked at that thin, pointed face and said, "Maybe you know. Maybe you don't. Maybe you know, but you don't care. When a person has been a king for too long and heard too many nice things, he will feel like he's not human anymore. If he's not human, he won't care about the lives of people. Would you care about the lives of ants?"

The skinny boy shook his head.

"But you are human. If you think you are not human, then you are not human. If you think you are a god, then you are a god. But you are not. You are still human. You just don't know it."

The skinny boy sat down, frowning. He was wondering if he was even human. He had never thought about this question before.