Ming Dynasty and New Rome and Infinite Magic Machine

Chapter 1535 The Ultramodern Researcher

Everyone was completely stunned.

This was exactly what Zhang San had expected: "Are you all confused by what I'm saying?"

At this point, all the people could do was nod.

"Alright. Then let me tell you why I said that—what I just told you is a research method: criticizing Buddha. You have to look at everything with a critical eye and dialectically. Even things written in books, you have to think about whether they are true or false. You have to break free from prejudice and not be confined by your own subjective consciousness."

"Huh? Oh?" ​​Everyone kept nodding. Their confusion only increased.

This sense of confusion was exactly what Zhang San had anticipated.

"Shangluo".

"Ah? You called me?" Shang Luo stood up. "Yes. Did the master want to see me?"

"I'm asking you, what are you thinking right now? Tell the truth, just say it."

"I'm wondering if your next statement will be: 'Scolding Buddha is also utter nonsense. If we can't investigate ourselves no matter what, then questioning won't help you solve the problem; it will only trap you in a vortex of self-doubt.'"

"Very good, very good." Zhang San nodded. "Are you doubting yourself now?"

Shangluo nodded.

"Okay. Then, I'll tell you how you should fight for it."

He snapped his fingers, and the projector screen behind him came down.

Everyone watched silently as the curtain fell, obscuring the blackboard.

Turn on the projector, and a high-definition satellite image appears on the screen, right above the Kura Circle Economic Zone in the western Pacific Ocean.

The image zooms in, zooms in, and zooms in again. A South Island native sits in front of his house, applying makeup with pigments, with grass skirts drying nearby. There are also many iconic kula decorations. The visitor center is not far away; he'll be performing there soon. In the square, there's a statue of Lao Tzu riding an ox, and a large banner with the Tao Te Ching. Tourists, led by their guides, disembark from the cruise ship and take their seats to watch the performance.

This is what the area looks like now. Because it was used as a typical model of Lao-Zhuang society, it has been developed into a famous tourist resort. The residents still engage in Kula exchange, but it has become a performance art, with them supporting themselves through these shows.

[Is this satellite imagery? But the Lianshan satellite isn't over there right now, so how was this taken?]

No one knows, only Mr. Zhang San himself knows how this perspective came about.

"This is what I want to tell you all," Zhang San put down his lecture notes. "The anthropological issues I've emphasized to you above are things that ordinary people have to consider. Criticism, criticism of criticism, criticism of criticism of criticism—these are all discussions about facts and truth. Ultimately, it's because no one can truly understand the essence of things, because humans communicate with each other through language and writing. Any information, when transformed into language and writing, will be worn down and distorted in the process."

"People cannot understand the facts on their own, so they need history to help them return to the scene of events. And any historical account inevitably involves historical perspectives. The saying 'Confucius wrote the Spring and Autumn Annals, with profound meaning in concise words' refers to this point. Every article is an expression of the author's own viewpoint, without exception, because the text itself is not an objective product. How can you obtain absolutely objective information? The answer is, close the book and read it yourself." He pointed to the video behind him: "Why do you need ethnologists? Because you yourself cannot go to the scene. If everyone could see these videos at any time and had unlimited time and energy to watch them bit by bit, then ethnography would be unnecessary. Each of you would become a witness and participant in these cultures."

“But sir,” someone below asked, “these are just spatial transformations; we can only see the current image, and only one shot. To see the whole picture, we would have to watch the cause and effect repeatedly. That’s simply impossible.”

“No, you can do it.” He pointed to the bottom of the screen—there was a timeline there.

Mr. Zhang pressed the remote control in his hand, and the timeline was reversed slightly, going back to a month ago.

The South Island natives who were just wearing grass skirts are now sitting in front of their houses in beach shirts, drinking cola and listening to music.

Wait... could it be...?

"No way!" Shang Luo was stunned. Because that timeline seemed to be extremely long, longer than life itself.

[Shangluo, could that progress bar, at this rate, actually be able to go back hundreds of years?]

"Could this be...?"

Yes. This allows you to see in all directions, from top to bottom, from ancient times to the present. It directly accesses the Akashic Records—this is the history book of time!

A series of exclamations rang out in the classroom. Clearly, Shangluo wasn't the only one to realize this.

"Would you like to take another look ahead?" Zhang San smiled. "Would you like to see?"

"Mmm-hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm." Everyone nodded vigorously.

"If you want to see it, just open your phone. I've already pushed a notification. Take a look yourself. Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed, so you can look at it as you please without revealing them. But remember, don't tell anyone else; just keep it to yourself. That's what immortals are like. In the not-too-distant future, all of you will have unlimited time, so you won't need a scholar to analyze and summarize this information for you. If you want to know, you can take your time to look at it slowly and find out the truth for yourselves."

Everyone was stunned.

Everyone's nerves were simultaneously challenged—when did this lesson enter the realm of the extraordinary? Is it okay to talk about cell phones? Does everyone present have a cell phone?

“Yes, everyone here has a cell phone,” Zhang San said. “Perhaps you haven’t realized it yet, but the reach of knowledge in the supernatural realm is far beyond your imagination. Today, 100% of the people here own cell phones, and you all possess these supernatural powers that can be considered taboo. Surprised? Don’t you feel like you’re hiding something, like you’re keeping something amazing from your classmates? It seems you need to get used to this lifestyle.”

When all of history is laid bare before us, everyone clearly realizes that historiography no longer exists.

"Therefore, once you have seen it for yourselves, you will naturally understand what it means to not hoard valuable goods."

(End of this chapter)