Pretending to Live in Ancient Times: a Guide to Immersive Historical Nonfiction

This book focuses on the daily life of people in the Song Dynasty. It selects elegant, interesting and modern aspects of people's life in the Song Dynasty, and presents them with vivid language, scene-based descriptions and unique details. It also selects more than 50 pictures of Song Dynasty paintings and Song Dynasty utensils as illustrations. The author opens a window to closely observe the life of Song people, allowing us to appreciate the daily beauty contained in history and tradition, and to feel the beauty of living a small life.

How did the ancients spend summer, go to the bathroom, and fall in love? One book to satisfy all your curiosity about the daily life of ancient people! Was going to the toilet a dangerous thing for ancient people? In ancient times, toilets were very simple. They were just digging a big pit in the open air. People used the toilet next to the pit. If they accidentally fell into the pit, they would drown if they didn't fall to death. Don't laugh, this kind of thing really happened in history... Were the ancients tired from work? In ancient times, "beating workers" mainly referred to officials and government servants. They work almost 6 days a week, from 6 am to 6 pm every day. Therefore, the ancient work system can be called the "666" work system. How did the ancients live at night? The night life of ancient civilians mainly consisted of chatting with their families by moonlight, telling neighborhood gossip or jokes, collectively referred to as "talking in the vernacular". As for "reading at night", that is the lifestyle of wealthy people. After all, lighting was too expensive in ancient times!

Compared with the Northern Song Dynasty, what changes have taken place in the lives of people in the Southern Song Dynasty? What is the difference between Lin'an City and Bianjing City? What was the name of the bathhouse in the Southern Song Dynasty? Was there toilet paper in the Southern Song Dynasty? How many kinds of schools were there in the Southern Song Dynasty? Is there a lot of homework? How did workers in the Southern Song Dynasty take holidays? Adjust rest or not? How much did people in the Southern Song Dynasty love West Lake? In the deep historical background of the transition between the two Song Dynasties, lively and delicate words are used to tear open a gap, and get a glimpse of the various aspects of people's livelihood that always shimmer. Set off again and arrive at the true Jiangnan a thousand years ago.

"Tokyo Menghua Lu" is a prose essay written by Meng Yuanlao in the Song Dynasty. It was written in the second year of Jingkang of Emperor Qinzong of the Song Dynasty (1127 AD). This book is definitely worth reading for readers who want to understand the life of citizens in the Song Dynasty and the social development at that time. This book traces the customs and customs of Kaifeng Prefecture in Tokyo, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty. Most of the records are about Kaifeng, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty from Chongning to Xuanhe (1102-1125 AD). It depicts the daily life of the princes, nobles, and common people living in Tokyo during this historical period. It is an important historical document for studying the social life, economy and culture of the cities of the Northern Song Dynasty. "Tokyo Menghualu" describes almost everything from the scope of the capital to the palace buildings, from the official offices to the neighborhoods in the city, from food and daily life to the seasons, from singing, dancing and music to wedding and funeral customs. Not only can you understand the folk customs and fashion at that time, but you can also feel the developed economy and prosperous urban life of the Song Dynasty. The book "Tokyo Menghua Lu" has detailed records and detailed discussions on the socio-economic and cultural life of the Han people in Bianjing during the Zhenghe and Xuanhe reigns of Huizong. It has left a large amount of valuable information for future generations to explore the life of residents of all walks of life in Bianjing during that era. Since it was published in Lin'an in the early Southern Song Dynasty, it has been valued by people. The literati in the feudal society all cited this book first when talking about Tokyo anecdotes in the late Northern Song Dynasty. Because the content it reflects has a high socio-economic and cultural historical value, the book has attracted great attention in modern times, especially from many scholars and experts at home and abroad who are engaged in various specialized historical research, and they have quoted and used the book. People often regard this book and "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" as sister works. Both are of great significance to the study of the history of urban economic development in the Northern Song Dynasty. "Tokyo Menghua Lu" created a new genre of using notes to describe Han people's urban customs, anecdotes and famous things. It was later used by similar books that reflected the Southern Song Dynasty's capital Lin'an, such as "Capital Chronicles", "Mengliang Lu", "Old Martial Arts", "Rumeng Lu", "Continuation of Tokyo Menghua Lu" and other similar works.

"Pretending to Live in the Song Dynasty: A Guide to Life in Bianliang, Kyoto and Other Places" selects the Song Dynasty, the richest economy, the most politically enlightened, and the "happiest" dynasty in Chinese history, as the text object, forming a brand new life guide for "drifting" in the Song Dynasty, and a complete strategy for starting a journey through the Song Dynasty. The author relies on nearly one million words of historical data reading and verification, and presents the entire social scene of the Song Dynasty to readers in a popular and humorous way. Clothing, food, housing and transportation, birth, old age, illness and death, struggle in the workplace, elite culture, marriage and family, fashion and entertainment... Every historical fact has its source and is absolutely not fabricated. After opening the book, the reader is the protagonist of "Pretending to Live in the Song Dynasty: A Guide to Life in Kyoto, Bianliang and Other Places". As a person from the Song Dynasty, he can authentically experience the folk customs and social life of the Song Dynasty. While being nourished by historical knowledge, he can deeply feel the long-standing charm of Chinese culture.

The Tang Dynasty was a country of poetry, and the life of the Tang people and poetry naturally formed an indissoluble bond. I write poems when I am proud, and even more poems when I am frustrated; I write poems when we are apart, and when we get together, and sometimes I even use poems as letters, invitations, and passes. Poems are indispensable for reading in the mountains and forests, wandering around, expressing feelings about the mountains and rivers, jumping on horses at the frontier fortress, holding academic papers, ups and downs in officialdom, being demoted and exiled, traveling in the forest, singing and dancing at banquets, drinking and drinking, and celebrating weddings and love festivals. Although the poems written by poets in different periods and under different circumstances have different styles, most of them have the power to express their feelings, appreciate things and entertain their emotions, feel the times and save the world, and lift people's hearts. It can be said that poetry became an indispensable companion for the Tang people, and the life of the Tang people also had a strong artistic sentiment due to poetry. This book takes poetry and life as the main thread. Through vivid and nuanced narratives, it focuses on showing the scenes in history that are romantic, leisurely, sad or joyful. It not only accompanies readers to return to the Tang Dynasty to see how the people of the Tang Dynasty created a world of poetry in their lives, but also enriches the taste of our lives with the help of classic readings and nourishes the modern mind that is gradually drifting away from poetry.

If one day, you open your eyes and find that you have traveled to the Tang Dynasty - don't panic, come and pick up this "Guide to Traveling to the Tang Dynasty: A Handbook of People's Life in Chang'an and Other Places": first pass the language barrier, learn a few sentences of medieval Chinese and the national curses of the Tang Dynasty; then sneak into the government canteen to open a small stove, taste tea and drink. Remember, walking carelessly on the street like in time-travel novels and casually taking out a few taels of tattooed silver will be tragic, and you must have a household registration book and a temporary residence permit. You can join a tour group to visit the five most popular attractions in Chang'an City, visit a brothel, watch polo, and go hunting with leopards outdoors. You can also do as the locals do and celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival, Spring Festival, Chinese Valentine's Day and Chinese Valentine's Day like people from the Tang Dynasty. It's okay to be a little foreign, Christmas was already there in the Tang Dynasty! If you are lucky, you can be invited to someone else's home, sing karaoke, dance, have fun, and finally buy a house with a limited price covering an area of ​​ten acres. If you are a woman, this guide will enable you to master Chang'an's most fashionable clothing. If you take root and marry someone from the Tang Dynasty, you can also learn about the details of the wedding and various secrets about mistress fighting after marriage. If you are interested in getting involved in politics, this book also provides the salary, legal and political systems of civil servants in the Tang Dynasty for reference; whether you want to be a civil servant, a military general, or a student from a foreign country through time travel, the guide is ready for you. It's infinitely better to travel through time and live happily in the Tang Dynasty.

Just through the form of hand-drawn comics and jokes, Chen Lei (pseudonym: Brother Hunzi) and the half-hour comic team clearly outlined the historical context from ancient times to the Qing Dynasty: It would be easier to understand if the Eastern Zhou Dynasty were regarded as a class; the Qin Empire would die if it was too much; the 300 years of the Tang Dynasty were simply a parabola; the Song Dynasty often suffered losses in wars, but it always The economy prospered and recovered quickly; the Yuan Dynasty was as chaotic as headphones, with 9 emperors changed in 38 years; the Qing Dynasty was like Plants vs. Zombies: from the Celestial Empire to self-rescue and resistance, it still could not stop the waves of aggression from batches of foreign powers... It uncovers the complicated historical surface, omitting the irrelevant details, and there are historical jokes on every page, which will make you laugh every three seconds. Open this book and unknowingly memorize historical knowledge while laughing.