The Sky Screen Across the Dynasties: Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han Stay Up All Night Copying Homework

Lu Cheng, a modern vocational-school lecturer, uploads short educational videos about farming tools, water conservancy, smelting, and first aid to the internet as part of a rural development outreach project.

He has no idea that a mysterious sky screen is streaming his videos directly above the sleeping quarters of emperors across the dynasties!

And the sky screen comes with frame-by-frame breakdowns, translations into ancient languages, and transparent diagrams!

Qin Shi Huang Ying Zheng works through the night. “Summon the Chamberlain for the Palace Revenues! If the curved-shaft plow and chain pump shown above the sleeping quarters can’t be built in three days, bring me your head!”

Emperor Wu of Han Liu Che slams the table and rises. “With waterway dredging methods and steel-casting techniques like these, how could my cavalry in the northern deserts ever fail to break through the Gobi!”

Liu Bei weeps in his sleeping quarters. “My strategist! The celestial master on the sky screen has bestowed upon the Han dynasty alone these wondrous waterworks. Today is the day we reclaim the Central Plains!”

From the curved-shaft plow to the Dujiangyan irrigation system’s deep-channel dredging, from suturing wounds with medicinal salve to casting steel in blast furnaces, the emperors are driven to stay up all night copying the instructions.

Meanwhile, Lu Cheng stares at the sparse figures on his dashboard and frowns. “These viewers are so hard to please. They just watch for free without even liking the video!”