Qin Shi Huang Is My Grandfather

Zhao Heng uses modern mathematics to help the Qin state improve its systems of weights and measures, but Emperor Qin Shi Huang grows suspicious of him because of his “unorthodox arts.” He tries to explain his modern interpretation of “The people are water, and the ruler is a boat” to Fusu, only for Fusu to see him as a heretic. During the burning of books and the burying of scholars, he risks hiding Confucian classics, only to become entangled in an even deeper palace intrigue.

In the end, Zhao Heng may come to realize that the charm of history lies precisely in the fact that it cannot be reversed. Perhaps an individual’s role is not to change history, but to understand it by living through it: to understand Qin Shi Huang’s extraordinary ambition and paranoia, Fusu’s ideals and helplessness, and his own insignificance and good fortune as an “outsider.” The ending could see Zhao Heng assume a new identity amid the chaos at the end of the Qin dynasty, watching history follow its destined course. Carrying a lifetime of stories, he becomes a silent observer, leaving readers to reflect on “history and the individual.”

It bears repeating that this kind of premise is purely fictional. We should always respect historical facts and learn about real historical figures and events from an objective perspective.