History is not in books, it is in our lives
To be honest, ordinary people's understanding of history and experts' understanding of history are two different things.
Experts focus on the year, system and significance. What we are focusing on is - what is this person like? What should I do if this matter is left to me? Is this emperor a thing?
This set of books covers thousands of years of history, from the Emperor Zhou to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. You may want to ask: What does this have to do with me, a person who earns 8,000 a month, has a 30-year mortgage, and squeezes into the subway every day?
It's a big deal.
The words you use now are the rules set by Qin Shihuang. The grapes and pomegranates you are eating were brought back by Zhang Qian from the Western Regions. The "policy changes" you complained about were the same at the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty - one day they attacked the Huns, the next day they launched a monopoly, the day after tomorrow they immigrated to the border areas, and the people below followed suit.
There is nothing new under the sun. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was worried, and people today are also worried - not enough money, people around him are disobedient, and the boss next door always wants to take advantage. It's just that he is in charge of tens of millions of people, while we are in charge of three colleagues and a child.
Those people in the book - Wei Qing herded sheep, Huo Qubing was an illegitimate child, Li Guang never received a professional title in his life, Zhang Qian returned from a business trip of thirteen years and only two of more than a hundred people were left, and Bu Shi was a sheep herder. Today, it's just the couriers, taxi drivers, and people staying up late in the office building around you.
We watch them, not just to watch the fun. It depends on how well a person can live if he is forced into a corner.
The words in history books are cold, but the days people live in are hot. What this set of books wants to do is to warm up those words and make you feel that those people, like us, have cried, been afraid, been cowed, and been tough.
