Sky Screen: My College Life Amazes the Dynasties

One day, a sky screen suddenly appeared across the nine heavens, hanging over every dynasty that had ever left its mark on history, from Qin, Han, Tang, Song, Yuan, and Ming to countless others, day and night alike.

As Emperor Qin Shi Huang, Ying Zheng, presided over court and discussed the law, he heard a commotion outside the palace. Looking up, he saw lights and images shifting across the sky screen. Before the command tent of Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, as his troops campaigned against the Xiongnu in the north, the soldiers stopped with their spears in hand, staring at the unfamiliar images in astonishment. In the Taiji Palace, Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, was discussing state affairs with his ministers when the “class dismissal bell” coming from the sky screen made him turn his head in surprise. At the banquet where Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin, was persuading his generals to surrender their military commands over drinks, the nobles in attendance were all captivated by the lively scene of people “scrambling for food in the cafeteria”...

From the dragon throne in Xianyang Palace to humble huts in the countryside; from ministers and generals in the imperial court to street vendors and common folk; from the lofty discussions of aristocratic clans to scholars studying by lamplight: all under heaven watched with rapt attention.

And at the other end of the sky screen was nothing more than an ordinary college student's daily life.

(Most of the earlier chapters have already been revised. Since the story involves many dynasties, progress is rather slow. The main goal is to show how people from different eras discuss the same events differently.)