The literary era since 1979

Chapter 55: Rehabilitate Qin Shi Huang?

Northern Hebei, Beidaihe.

Fang Yan and others sat in the guesthouse arranged by the institute and put away their luggage. Gu Jianzhi, who was leading the team this time, immediately called everyone to a meeting.

In addition to explaining the precautions, it is to encourage everyone to:
"I hope everyone can have a good rest, have fun, and make use of this rare opportunity to have extensive contact and communication, enhance friendship, and further understand each other."

"For example, Qiao Dianyun can take a walk with Wang Anyi."

"Hahaha!"

In an instant, everyone burst into laughter.

Wang Anyi blushed with shyness. Tie Ning held her hand and said, "Stop teasing Anyi. While the weather is nice, let's change our clothes and go for a walk on the beach."

After that, the two went to the room hand in hand to change into swimsuits.

These days, although clothing is still conservative, basically in black, gray, green, blue and other colors, women's swimsuits are very avant-garde.

Tie Ning, Wang Anyi and others were each wearing a seersucker one-piece swimsuit, which was not cheap, at least three or five yuan.

The guesthouse faces the sea, only a few hundred meters away. Fangyan walked to the beach with Tiening, Jiang Zilong and others, braving the sea breeze.

Under the sunlight, the waves sparkled and the green sea turned into a golden sea.

Ah! The light! Ah! The water! Ah, the legs, ahem.

"If I am confident that I can live for two hundred years, I will be able to travel three thousand miles!"

Jiang Zilong showed off his little belly and put his hands on his hips.

"Strike the water in the middle of the stream, and the waves will stop the flying boat!"

Tie Ning started playing a poetry chain game and glanced at Mo Shen.

"No matter how strong the wind and waves are, it is better than strolling in the garden."

Mo Shen blurted out, "Yanzi, it's your turn."

"There is no ocean in sight, who knows where to go? Thousands of years have passed, and when Emperor Wu of Wei waved his whip, there was a poem left on the east side of Jieshi."

Fangyan looked at the rolling waves and smiled.

"Yanzi's song 'Lang Tao Sha Beidaihe' is probably the most appropriate for the occasion." Tie Ning said with a smile, "A few days ago, I saw you looking sad, but now that you're in Beidaihe, your mood has improved."

"That's right, I'm in high spirits when something good happens. The novel that has been bothering Yanzi is finally getting some results."

Jiang Zilong was quite proud.

"real?!"

All of a sudden, everyone's attention shifted from Beidaihe to dialect novels, and everyone was eager to know what he was going to write.

"Thanks to Zilong for pointing out the 'spirit of reform'."

Fangyan expressed his ideas in detail.

But surprisingly, the crowd did not show the joy he saw. Their faces varied, some solemn, some worried, some surprised...

"Yanzi, do you want to vindicate Qin Shi Huang?"

As a native of northern Shaanxi, Mo Shen was naturally surprised and delighted.

"What does this have to do with Qin Shi Huang? My focus is clearly on the reforms of Qin Xiaogong and Shang Yang's changes." Fang Yan couldn't help but wonder.

"I thought you were going to write about Qin Shi Huang. I was shocked."

Jiang Zilong exhaled lightly.

"Look how nervous you all were just now. Even if I were writing about Qin Shi Huang, I wouldn't be so nervous, right?" Fang Yan asked.

"Yanzi, you didn't know?"

Tie Ning blinked.

"what do you know?"

Fangyan glanced at everyone, becoming more and more curious.

"Qin Shihuang has a bad reputation in the literary and artistic circles and the historical circles." Jiang Zilong reminded that in mainstream thinking, Qin Shihuang was a tyrant, and the Qin State was also unpopular.

“The reputation is much better now.”

Mo Shen hurried to explain, saying that since the unearthed Terracotta Warriors of Qin Shihuang, many countries that visited China basically would take a look at them.

The eighth wonder of the world was called at this time. "I think we should distinguish the Qin State during the Warring States Period from the unified Qin Dynasty. The Qin Dynasty fell in the second generation, but the Qin State, one of the seven major powers during the Warring States Period, did not."

Fangyan looked down and saw the sea water washing his feet.

"We should look at it from the perspective of unity of opposites, right?"

Jiang Zilong said half-jokingly.

"Yes, that's what it means."

The dialect said with certainty: "Without Duke Xiao of Qin's efforts to strengthen the country and reform, and without King Hui of Qin, King Wu of Qin, and King Zhao of Qin continuing Shang Yang's methods and consolidating the results of the reforms, and without King Xiaowen of Qin and King Zhuangxiang of Qin improving Shang Yang's methods, how could Qin Zheng have carried on the legacy of the six generations, swept away the six kingdoms, and unified the world?"

"Teacher Xiao Fang is right!"

Mo Shen shouted excitedly.

Fang Yan rolled his eyes, "Just now you called me 'Yan Zi', and when you talk about Qin, you call me 'Teacher Xiao Fang', Lao Mo, Lao Mo."

Instantly, everyone present burst into laughter.

"But Yanzi, I really didn't expect you to use Shang Yang's Reforms to discuss the 'spirit of reform'. It's beyond my expectation."

Jiang Zilong couldn't help but sigh.

“This is called using the past to discuss the present.”

Fang Yan smiled and said, "We Chinese can be said to be the only ancient civilization in the world that has never been interrupted. Our history is very long, about 5,000 years. Now, even in the future, many things we encounter can always be traced back to history. There is a saying that goes..."

After a pause, he said, "History will not repeat itself, but it will always be surprisingly similar. Wasn't Shang Yang's Reform also a kind of reform?"

"It's good, but it's a bit too bold."

Tie Ning swung his leg and kicked out a splash of water: "If I were you, I wouldn't dare to think about it in this way."

"I was hesitant all along, but when I came to Beidaihe, I thought of 'Wei Wu waved his whip, and there was a legacy on the east side of Jieshi', and I thought of the great man vindicating Cao Cao, and I became bolder."

Fangyan smiled calmly.

"I think there is nothing wrong with writing about Shang Yang's reforms. Great men have also written about Shang Yang, writing an article called 'On Shang Yang's Moving Trees to Establish Trust'."

There was encouragement in Mo Shen's tone.

"Don't be afraid of ten thousand, just be prepared for one. Yanzi, you'd better talk to your teacher about these ideas." Jiang Zilong reminded.

Fang Yan smiled and said, "I thought so too. When I get back, I will go and discuss it with the teacher to see if it can be done."

The tide rises and falls, and when it recedes, shells, starfish, and pebbles are left behind. Tie Ning, Wang Anyi, and others pick them up in handfuls, and when they see better ones, they throw them away and pick up better ones.

"Yanzi, An Yi and I have discussed treating you to a meal to thank you for helping us publish our novel."

Tie Ning pointed to a German western restaurant not far away.

It's called "Cheeselin", yes, the Cheeselin restaurant where "no one has ever eaten more than 5 pieces of Cheeselin bread". It has just reopened, with extremely luxurious decoration and shockingly high prices.

Just a scoop of ice cream costs three cents each.

If you pour chocolate sauce on it, you will be charged an extra cent. The fruit sundae is even more outrageous, it costs one piece.

It’s not that I can’t afford it, but the one-cent popsicles are more cost-effective, and there just happens to be someone selling popsicles near Beidaihe.

"Three parts big red fruit, five parts small red beans."

"One cent is for cream ice cream."

The old lady was wearing a white hat, white sleeves on her arms, a white apron around her waist, and in front of her was a box with the word "Popsicle" written on it.

On top, there was a thick quilt.

"Ma'am, give me three 1-cent ones."

Fang Yan smiled at Tie Ning and said, "It's agreed that you guys will treat me. I will order the most expensive ice cream. You pay for it."

"Yanzi, we..."

Wang Anyi held the ice cream with a red face. He originally wanted to repay Fangyan, but when he saw the prices on the menu, he made a big fool of himself.

"Since it's a treat, of course I'll decide what to eat."

Fangyan slurped the cream ice cream and felt a cool feeling on the tip of his tongue.

Sunshine, sea breeze, beach, popsicles, it feels like midsummer.

(End of this chapter)