【故国神游】Pre-Qin Twitter 先秦时代的推特

In terms of public discourse, the pre-Qin period was all about letting a hundred schools of thought contend. It generated light, big time. But it generated heat, big time too. Does it sound like today's social media? You bet. Pre-Qin social media was as much a debate hall as a popularity-contest arena. Debaters could be rational to a fault. They could also be irrational to a tee. They targeted the powers that be. They never quite forgot the mass, though. How did they get their messages across? They tweeted. What they tweeted on were bamboo slips 薄竹简. They didn't have to worry about Big Tech censorship.


A bamboo slip carried words, elegantly written. It made a point, designed to be remembered and recited. It was slim in shape and light in weight, being conveniently passed around for messaging. In every town square, bamboo slip messengers would likely attract people's attention. A marketplace could easily turn into a media outlet broadcasting news and comments. Literate or illiterate, folks could have their share of what the hundred schools of thought had to say, until everyone was silenced by the First Emperor.


Speaking of the First Emperor, Qin's book-burning business was NOT a spectacular success. For one thing, a book made of bamboo slips could often be put together or put apart at short notice. This flexibility gave the banned books a new lease on life. 


Author: renqiulan 

 

Google Image

所有跟帖： 

• Enjoy reading your prose, especially its flow and rhythm -颤音- ♂ (0 bytes) () 06/12/2023 postreply 20:34:58

• Thank you so much! Yes, I am a prose person. -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 06/12/2023 postreply 20:41:17

• When it comes to English, I am not a poetry person. -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 06/12/2023 postreply 20:54:38

• so rare a person can focus and excel on different forms -颤音- ♂ (100 bytes) () 06/12/2023 postreply 21:07:53

• I just happen to be bilingual. -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 06/12/2023 postreply 21:15:17

• +100 -shuier- ♀ (0 bytes) () 06/12/2023 postreply 21:06:28

• Advising you not to blame Qin Emperior the First, -王武- ♂ (127 bytes) () 06/12/2023 postreply 20:46:10

• Please bring him up here and let me debate him. Hahaha! -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 06/12/2023 postreply 20:53:21

• You have a good sense of humor. -shuier- ♀ (0 bytes) () 06/12/2023 postreply 21:07:01

• 啊，水儿说的是秋兰吧：） -王武- ♂ (0 bytes) () 06/12/2023 postreply 22:44:48

• 水儿是向王武先生说的。她不爱赞我的，哈。 -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 06/13/2023 postreply 06:42:42

• 对呀，王武先生风趣幽默。 -shuier- ♀ (0 bytes) () 06/13/2023 postreply 16:23:22

• Wow! It would take ages for me to tweet you this way. -shuier- ♀ (0 bytes) () 06/12/2023 postreply 21:08:08

• Would you like to write something on a bamboo slip? -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 06/12/2023 postreply 21:16:46

• With a brush? -shuier- ♀ (0 bytes) () 06/12/2023 postreply 21:18:20

• How about a carving knife? -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 06/12/2023 postreply 21:20:13

• Carving a bamboo slip? You must be kidding me. -shuier- ♀ (0 bytes) () 06/12/2023 postreply 21:22:37

• inconvenient truth :-) -颤音- ♂ (0 bytes) () 06/12/2023 postreply 21:25:35

• I am serious. -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 06/12/2023 postreply 21:26:03

• OK. Send me a blank bamboo slip. -shuier- ♀ (0 bytes) () 06/12/2023 postreply 21:37:04

• You just called my bluff. OK. You win. -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 06/12/2023 postreply 21:48:49

• So much for carving a bamboo slip. Hahahahahaha -shuier- ♀ (0 bytes) () 06/12/2023 postreply 21:49:35

• sonething and haha on my bamboo and show up here.... -AP33912- ♂ (0 bytes) () 06/13/2023 postreply 03:20:00

• i think rasier ti carve 中文 ，英文has more curves, harder to carve. -AP33912- ♂ (0 bytes) () 06/13/2023 postreply 03:23:00

• easier to carve chinese. -AP33912- ♂ (0 bytes) () 06/13/2023 postreply 03:25:00

• as shown here-- easier to get english typo. -AP33912- ♂ (0 bytes) () 06/13/2023 postreply 03:28:00

• That's an excellent point. Thanks, AP! -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 06/13/2023 postreply 06:28:02

• i got hundreds of bamboo growing in my yards, I may carve 江水兰som -AP33912- ♂ (0 bytes) () 06/13/2023 postreply 03:19:00

• Good idea! Pls tweet me with all the bamboo slips. Thanks! -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 06/13/2023 postreply 06:26:05

• 以前的竹简书，都得用牛车来运。 -lovecat08- ♀ (0 bytes) () 06/13/2023 postreply 03:40:10

• 秦的宰相创造了篆体，书在竹简上分享，珍贵。 -lovecat08- ♀ (0 bytes) () 06/13/2023 postreply 03:42:56

• 商晚期的甲骨文，更是珍贵。商代文字上承原始刻符號，下啟西周文字，是漢字發展的關鍵形態 -lovecat08- ♀ (0 bytes) () 06/13/2023 postreply 04:59:09

• 猫姐早安！对。书写文字一路简化。 -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 06/13/2023 postreply 06:30:30

• 小R总有独特视角，学习了！ -花似鹿葱- ♀ (0 bytes) () 06/13/2023 postreply 05:02:34

• 花姐早安！先秦时代哪来推特？只想強调百家争鸣，势必带动文字交往，因而也推动信息传播科技。 -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 06/13/2023 postreply 06:34:24

• 秋兰，标题党。秦的推特，也把秦始皇的帐户3了，他进不去推特了。哈！ -lovecat08- ♀ (0 bytes) () 06/13/2023 postreply 06:45:18

• 有一位主席给秦皇大赞特赞呢。鲁迅也为秦皇说过好话。我则认为中国皇帝统一江山，历来都是无所不用其极的。话说回来，灭秦者秦也 -renqiulan- ♂ (0 bytes) () 06/13/2023 postreply 07:02:25