Daqin: When I return from sea, I will offer you a map of the world

Chapter 450 The First Emperor observes the moon

"Do you want to see what's on the moon?" The First Emperor muttered softly and looked at Zhao Si with strange eyes.

What will be on the moon?

The ancients had their own conjectures.

The Zhuxia civilization was one of the earliest civilizations to give birth to moon worship.

The Dawenkou cultural site excavated in the 20th century has proven this. This is the earliest cultural worship of the moon in the Xia Dynasty that has physical evidence so far, dating back more than 4,000 years.

Since Yao, Shun, Yu, Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, worship and legends about the moon have gradually increased.

Currently, the mainstream consensus is that the moon was born to Emperor Jun's wife Chang Xi, and the sun was born to Emperor Jun's other wife Xihe.

It is worth mentioning that the sun and moon at this time are actually anthropomorphic.

As the sons of Emperor Jun, the sun and moon respectively control the changes of day and night, and are responsible for illuminating the heaven and earth.

Sun Yang is driven to and from get off work every day by his mother, Xihe.

The sun is picked up and dropped off by a special car, so how can the moon not be there?

So people used their imagination and equipped the moon with a special car driver named "Wangshu" to facilitate her traveling in the sky.

The earliest visible allusion is "Chu Ci. Li Sao" written by Qu Yuan.

"Wangshu in the front will lead the way, and Feilian in the back will rush to his subordinates."

So Wangshu became the representative of the moon, and became the earliest person recognized to live on the moon. Because of Qu Yuan, later generations of literati often used Wangshu to refer to the moon, and his appearance rate is higher than that of Chang Xi, the mother of the moon. .

But in this era, Wangshu represents Yueyu, the driver of the moon, who also lives on the moon.

In addition, there are clouds in Lu's Spring and Autumn Period, and Shangyi is used to account for the moon.

Even though Shang Yi lives on the moon, Shang Yi is actually one of Chang Xi's aliases.

As for the well-known moon goddess Chang'e in later generations, she was first seen in "Huainanzi" written in the Han Dynasty. Chang'e flew to the moon, Wu Gang conquered Gui, the Jade Rabbit... etc. all evolved from the story of Huainanzi Chang'e flying to the moon. The moon god It also gradually evolved from Emperor Jun's wife and Yue Yu to Emperor Jun's wife of the god Yi.

Therefore, before answering this question, the First Emperor could have thought of Shang Yi, Yuegong, Chang Xi, Wangshu...

The myths and legends of the current era have not yet been unified into a final conclusion. Different stories still have conflicts and contradictions, so they cannot be confirmed at the first time.

Later generations deposed all schools of thought and only respected Confucianism, and after the academic unification, myths and legends gradually began to seek common ground while reserving differences, and gradually formed a complete concept of mythology...

Even after the Tang and Song Dynasties, every dynasty and every generation even had to reorganize the mythical history.

Therefore, it is really difficult to ask the First Emperor to say what is on the moon.

However, due to the long-term worship of the sun and the moon, the First Emperor naturally felt that the moon was the residence of the goddess.

The moon governs yin, so no matter Chang Xi, Shang Yi, Wang Shu, Chang'e, and other weird legends, most of the moon gods are played by goddesses.

It is a generally accepted fact that the goddess lives high in the heavenly palace.

However, people have been longing for the moon, the moon palace, and the goddess for a long time. The various stories are quite complicated, but most of them are passed down by word of mouth. Even in the brightest night sky, it is difficult to see, and only a few shadows on the moon can be seen.

How can people peek into the place where the goddess lives?

Even the First Emperor... didn't have this ability.

But just now, this kid asked himself if he wanted to watch it?

In other words, can this boy let himself see the place where the goddess lives?

The First Emperor looked at Zhao Si strangely, and felt an inexplicable suddenness in his heart.

He has not forgotten the miraculousness of his great saint grandson.

Can we increase grain production and make livestock prosperous, or can we go out to sea to find immortals and return...

Zhao Si is auspicious in human form, not to mention that everything in Da Qin has inexplicably developed for the better after Zhao Si arrived.

To be honest, if you are a bit superstitious, it is not an exaggeration to think that your great saint grandson is a deity who came down to earth specifically to help Da Qin and help you.

The First Emperor was in a feudal and superstitious era, so how could he not have random thoughts about such strange things?

But today, is this kid no longer covering up?

Show your cards, stop pretending?

Are you going to show yourself some fairy tricks?

The First Emperor felt a bit of hope rising in his heart for no reason.

"Is there any way to get a glimpse of the goddess's residence?"

Zhao Si chuckled when he heard this, then saw the First Emperor looking at him with a somewhat strange look and shook his head and said: "It is not difficult for the eldest father to see what is on the moon, but if the eldest father wants to see the residence of the goddess, I am afraid he will be disappointed. .”

"Oh?" The First Emperor's eyes looked a little strange.

Meeting the First Emperor's gaze, Zhao Si felt a sudden thought.

I'm afraid the First Emperor just had a different idea and thought that he wanted to perform magic for him.

But if you think about it carefully, in this era, the first thing people think of is magic.

"My eldest father, please don't think too much. It is not a strange alchemist's technique, but a tool made by human power."

I looked up at the sky, which was gradually shrouded in night, and the moon was just round.

The stars are also connected in a line, one, two, three, and four...

Zhao Si looked at the First Emperor: "Father, let's go to the star observatory!"

Star observatories were of great significance in ancient times, involving the comparison of divination, time, and calendar. During the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, astronomical officials had even more say than court officials.

Although the actual power of astronomical officials in the Qin Dynasty was greatly reduced, they were still equipped with official positions and office space. One of them was the Taishi Ling, an agency under Feng Chang, who was mainly responsible for observing astronomical phenomena, calculating solar terms, and formulating calendars.

Taishi Ling needed to observe the celestial phenomena, so he naturally needed a star observatory. The star observatory is located within the imperial city, not very far away.

The Taishi Ling before the Qin State was naturally Zou Feng. As for now, it is Zou Feng's son Zouping. There are also clansmen and disciples of Zou Feng's family who hold other official positions.

In most cases, in astronomy departments like this, positions are inherited from ancestors...

But this is not surprising. During the Spring and Autumn Period, even the various official positions of the Sangong and Jiuqing were inherited from ancestors. The Qin State completely broke the system of Shiqing and Shilu, but Fengchang among the Jiuqing was probably no longer among them. In fact Even in the later Tang and Song Dynasties, most official positions in the astronomical department could still be passed down from ancestors.

"I've met His Majesty, I've met the Young Master!"

Zouping did not expect that the First Emperor would come in such a grand manner, and led his subordinates to bow to the First Emperor and Zhao Si.

The First Emperor unified the world. Because of his character and national policy, he adopted the Five Elements Theory of the Yin Yang School, but he strictly suppressed the restoration of divine power and transformed divine power into the power of the king.

But the First Emperor himself was very independent and did not believe in destiny.

Well, no, the First Emperor believed that destiny was in my hands.

In short, due to the system and the personal character of the First Emperor, the Taishi Ling's voice gradually weakened. The First Emperor rarely summoned officials under the Taishi Ling, and he rarely went to the star observatory...

For Zouping and others, today is really a time of drought.

"No need to be formal. I came here today just to watch the moon. Where is the place with a wide view?" Zhao Si looked at Zouping and asked.

Zou Feng considered Zhao Si half a teacher, so Zhao Si was quite close to Zouping.

"Your Majesty, your Majesty, please accompany me." Zouping saluted upon hearing this, and then bowed to lead the way.

After a while, I went up to the pavilion. When I reached the open part of the pavilion, there was a terrace-like space specially protruding from the building. It had a wide view, ventilation on three sides, lights on both sides, and a cool breeze blowing in. “This is the place to observe the sky.” Zouping said from the side.

The First Emperor heard the sound and looked towards Zhao Si, waiting for Zhao Si's performance.

"Father, please wait a moment. I have ordered the palace servants to go get it."

The First Emperor nodded and waited silently.

Zouping was wondering on the side. The moon in the sky was round and bright. He thought it was strange to admire the moon but not raise his head to look at it.

After waiting for a while, someone from the palace came holding an astronomical telescope.

Astronomical telescopes are somewhat difficult to produce, and mass production is definitely impossible. Even light lenses cannot be made.

But there are alternatives, such as flawless crystal polishing. Although flawless crystals are relatively rare in this era, they are not unavailable. And objectively speaking, crystals that are completely transparent are actually not as valuable as crystals with special colors. It can be regarded as an affordable item among luxury goods, rather than a priceless rarity.

It was mainly an aesthetic issue. Therefore, although the technology of firing colored glaze was mastered later on, for aesthetic reasons, everyone was studying how to make glaze firing to make it sparkling and colorful, and no one was studying how to burn transparent colored glaze.

This thing is not difficult, at least it is not difficult for the Mohist disciples in the Craftsman Bureau under Zhao Si.

The little knowledge that Zhao Si mastered was completely open to the disciples of Jiangzuo Bureau, and he mostly relied on this group of Mohist disciples to classify and organize this disorganized knowledge into a system.

The telescope was built a long time ago. Relying on the inspiration from Zhao Si's mixed knowledge and real objects, this group of Mohist disciples have completed the theorem on their own.

If you can see far, some people want to look at the sky.

Therefore, even if Zhao Si did not ask them to get an astronomical telescope, it would not be long before this group of craftsmen would knock out the astronomical telescope out of their inner curiosity.

However, it is best if Zhao Si has needs. After all, Zhao Si is the leader and can provide funds. They can also receive rewards and credits, and it is more legitimate for them to concentrate their efforts on doing things.

A qualified leader cannot ask his subordinates to create something out of nothing, but he can greatly speed up the process and progress of something that has sprouts.

The astronomical telescopes produced today are not accidental. The craftsmanship bureau has sorted out the manufacturing process as well as the data and theoretical support for why the astronomical telescope can see the stars and the moon in the sky.

These things are stored in the archives of the Craftsmanship Bureau, which is Zhao Si's request.

It is necessary to record not only the production process, but also the production principles and data.

After placing the astronomical telescope, Zhao Si squatted down and began to adjust it.

After the debugging was completed, a clearly visible large pit came into view. Zhao Si stepped aside with interest and said, "Father, let's take a look!"

Hearing the sound, the First Emperor bowed and looked at the moon with his butt raised...

After looking at it for a long time, there was a long silence after getting up.

There is no Shang Yi, no Chang Xi, no Wang Shu...

There was only a big hole in the ground. After seeing the true face of the moon clearly, all the good expectations in the past were shattered.

This was a big impact on the world view of the First Emperor.

Although the elixir of longevity was not found, it is undeniable that the First Emperor spent the first half of his life working on these things.

Even now, in the eyes of the First Emperor, if the elixir of immortality cannot be found and the immortal cannot be found, it is not because it does not exist in the world, but because Xu Fu maliciously disobeys his orders and deliberately deceives himself, and the god is deliberately avoiding himself. Or maybe he doesn’t want to meet himself…

These things are unknown.

But above the moon, where so many stories have been passed down by word of mouth, you can see clearly.

Nothing...just some pitfalls.

"How can you see the moon with this instrument of yours?" asked the First Emperor.

"There is a lot of knowledge involved in this, and I won't be able to explain it for a while, but the craftsmanship bureau has it on record. If the eldest father is interested, the grandson will bring it back to the eldest father to have a look." Zhao Si said. .

The First Emperor immediately wanted to falsify the astronomical telescope.

But when I heard my dear saint grandson say this, I was shocked, but I knew that I was afraid that what I saw with my own eyes was not a lie, it was indeed the true face of the moon.

There is no goddess, even if there is a goddess, it is impossible to live in such a cold place.

"Father, do you want to see other stars?" Zhao Si asked.

Strictly speaking, this astronomical telescope does not have the ability to observe stars.

After all, the stars are much further away than the moon...

But with the magnification here, you can definitely see it more realistically.

"No need..." The First Emperor waved his hand, feeling a little annoyed.

"Leave this telescope in Taishi Ling for stargazing purposes..."

After the First Emperor finished speaking, he was a little reluctant to see this broken astronomical telescope again.

Zhao Si knew that it might take some time for the First Emperor to recover from his broken Taoist heart.

The First Emperor paced out, followed closely by Zhao Si.

On the side, Zouping and other Taishi Ling ministers were preparing to bid farewell but were rejected by the First Emperor. They all looked at each other in shock.

"What did your Majesty see?" someone asked.

Zouping didn't ask, he had already started to take action.

After sticking his butt out and looking at it for a while, Zouping stood up and stepped back with a sigh.

"What did Taishi see?" one of his subordinates asked.

"Everyone, please take a look at yourselves..."

After saying that, Zouping rubbed his eyebrows and looked up at the sky.

Now he was not surprised at all why the First Emperor behaved like this.

but……

Because of the emergence of astronomical telescopes, the trouble is even greater.

He might have to ask his father if some theoretical revisions need to be made regarding the celestial calendar.

By the way, the young master just said that the Craftsmanship Bureau has registered...

He also had to trouble his father to go to the craftsmanship bureau and get the theoretical literature.

Knowledge seems to be updated again...

Compared to having his fantasy shattered, this seems to be what Zouping needs to worry about.

With just one glance, he knew that countless schools of thought had to revise their own knowledge and theories overnight.

On the way back, the First Emperor remained silent, and Zhao Si followed behind him. The First Emperor was silent for a long time, then looked at Zhao Si beside him, and felt that there was nothing wrong with being so alive.

But the disillusionment was real after all. The First Emperor looked at the playful Zhao Si and sighed and said: "If there is no hope, can the Queen Mother of the West call me?"

(End of this chapter)