8: Chapter 8: The Qing Dynasty Did Not Have a Year of Renzi

"The prophecy says: The Yellow River's waters turn clear, and the Qi flows smoothly toward order; host and guest are indistinguishable, and the Earthly Branches lack a Zi."

Jiang Zhe pulled a black pen from his pocket and pointed at the first line, asking, "What does 'The Yellow River's waters turn clear' mean?"

Xiaoyu thought for a moment and quickly gave an answer: "The Yellow River has always been yellow; it's impossible for it to turn clear unless it's managed, but even then, it can't be made completely clear."

"This must be referring to the Great Qing!"

"Barely a passing grade!" Jiang Zhe praised her first before explaining, "The meaning of 'The Yellow River's waters turn clear' is—the Yellow River symbolizes our mother river!"

"Suddenly!"

He suddenly emphasized his tone, "One day, the waters of the Yellow River turned clear!"

"It directly means: the heavens are changing for this Yellow River!" Jiang Zhe tried to guide Xiaoyu's understanding, "What did it turn into?"

"The Great Qing!"

"Exactly! It is indeed the Great Qing. The first line means: The Great Qing has entered the Central Plains!"

...

Inside the office.

Several history teachers were discussing fervently.

"How did we understand the first line before?"

"My previous understanding was twofold: first, it describes the phenomenon of the Yellow River turning from turbid to clear, which was seen as an auspicious omen in ancient times. Second, it's a metaphor for a rare event that's difficult to achieve. No matter how you look at it, it was positive. I didn't expect it to become negative in this brother's mouth, and it's quite a good take!"

"Right, right, right. It seems this 'brother' used a third method of interpretation. He really has some skill!"

Even if they didn't understand the mathematics of the tui bei tu, the Chinese language teachers were intrigued by their colleagues' comments.

Their curiosity was piqued. Were they ready to get off work?

They were only in their fifties, the prime age for hard work; how could they leave now!

Listening to his colleagues' discussion, Teacher Wang, the history teacher, suddenly pulled a copy of the "tui bei tu" from his drawer.

He quickly flipped to the 33rd hexagram; what Jiang Zhe said was indeed word-for-word identical to the book.

"He's a talent with very unique insights, but can he interpret it in a way that everyone accepts?"

At that moment, Jiang Zhe's voice came from the screen.

"The second line: 'The Qi flows smoothly toward order.' Do you know what that means?"

Xiaoyu speculated without hesitation, "When Qi flows smoothly, all meridians are in harmony; when Qi is rebellious, the organs are misaligned. A history teacher once said it's a term from Traditional Chinese Medicine."

"But in the context of the 33rd hexagram—Brother, can I understand it as: the wars have ended, a new dynasty has arrived, and the illness is mostly cured? But it's not the Great Ming that was cured; rather, the root of the illness, the Great Ming, was pulled out. A change of dynasty occurred, and the new dynasty is the 'Qing'?"

Hearing this, Jiang Zhe's eyes lit up. "Not bad, Xiaoyu!"

"Ah? Was I right, Brother?" Xiaoyu was also a bit dazed. "I don't know what happened, but I suddenly feel like my thoughts are much, much clearer!"

Jiang Zhe, of course, wouldn't say that this was the credit of the +1 Intelligence!

"Correct, your understanding isn't wrong." Jiang Zhe nodded with satisfaction. "It's more or less what you meant, but it actually refers to Shunzhi as the era name."

"The riddle and its meaning are fused together—it metaphors how the Great Qing began its rule over the Central Plains starting with Emperor Shunzhi, and also how the symptoms of the Central Plains gradually smoothed out from chaos into order during the Shunzhi era."

"I think it's okay!"

Receiving praise from her brother, Xiaoyu made a firm 'steel grip' gesture and pulled her arm down. "Yes! This young lady is simply amazing!"

Inside the office.

Teachers of various subjects nodded in approval with appreciative looks.

Teacher Wang couldn't suppress the proud smile on his face; fortunately, Xiaoyu had indeed listened in class and actually remembered it.

Feeling proud~

"Then what about 'host and guest are indistinguishable, and the Earthly Branches lack a Zi'?" Xiaoyu tried to solve this line, but after racking her brain to no avail, she turned to Jiang Zhe.

"I've talked about this before!" Jiang Zhe used the black pen to point from the third line to the fourth. "'Host and guest are indistinguishable' refers to the clash between Han ethnicity and Manchu culture after the Qing entered the Central Plains. Initially, the Great Qing did not give important positions to Han officials."

"To explain it more deeply:"

"After moving into the Central Plains, they didn't know in their hearts whether they were guests or hosts."

"Why?" Xiaoyu couldn't help but ask. "They've already moved into the Central Plains, so why can't they distinguish if they're the host or the guest?"

"Because there were too many Han people and too few of them!" Jiang Zhe explained gently with kind words. "Isn't it true that after a century or two of the Great Qing, many of the Eight Banners couldn't even speak Manchu? Why is that?"

He threw the question to Xiaoyu. She thought for a moment, and her eyes lit up. "It's because there were too many Han people and too much Han culture, which assimilated many Qing people."

Jiang Zhe grinned. "Doesn't that make host and guest indistinguishable?"

"Wow!!!"

Xiaoyu was so startled by Jiang Zhe's explanation that it felt like the clouds had parted to reveal the moon; it was as if a lock in her little head had been opened.

"Brother, you're awesome!"

"No swearing!" Jiang Zhe said with a serious face as he vigorously rubbed his sister's head!

"Ah, I get it, you stinky brother!"

Hearing this, the viewers in the livestream were so amazed that gifts started flying across the screen.

"I've never heard of this kind of interpretation before!"

"Exactly, Han culture is broad and profound; its ability to assimilate is indeed very strong!"

"Kneeling before the master!"

Inside the school office.

The math teacher looked stunned, then burst out laughing. "Hahaha, this interpretation... even as a math teacher, I can't find a way to refute it. Not bad!"

The Chinese teacher was a bit more composed. "Hmm, I at least agree with this interpretation. From a neutral perspective, it's truly seamless!"

As for the history teachers and Teacher Wang, they were full of astonishment. They looked at each other and nodded like chickens pecking at grain.

"Enough talk, quick, Old Wang, send a gift!" a young history teacher urged. "Tip a hundred; I'll transfer it to you later."

Before Teacher Wang could react from his shock, the young teacher snatched his phone, clicked on a Small Rocket, paid, scanned Old Wang's face, and the payment was successful!

[Wang Zhong Wang sent a Small Rocket gift and left a message: 'Good, very strong, love watching, keep going!']

"Uncle Wang, I'll give it to you later!" the young teacher said with a chuckle.

"So impulsive!" Old Wang shot him a glance. "Forget it, consider it my tip to her brother."

The next moment!

Xiaoyu directly asked about the last line: "Then what does 'the Earthly Branches lack a Zi' mean?"

Speaking of 'the Earthly Branches lack a Zi,' Jiang Zhe grinned.

"There are two explanations!"

"The meaning of this sentence is that the first emperor of the Great Qing, Nurhaci, did not enter the pass. He only completed the unification of the entire Jurchen tribe and wasn't truly an emperor in the Central Plains."

As soon as he finished speaking, before Xiaoyu could say anything, the viewers in the livestream began to raise doubts.

"No, I don't buy that!"

"If Nurhaci doesn't count as an emperor, then the second one, Hong Taiji, doesn't count either!"

"Right, this explanation is very forced; it feels like it's about to crash. Either Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng are frauds, or your interpretation is just terrible!"

"I thought you were strong, but I didn't expect that just now was your peak. You fell off so quickly!"

Not only them, but even the teachers in the office were frowning.

They also felt the viewers' comments were correct!

"Huh?" Especially the young teacher who had tipped Jiang Zhe earlier. "Uncle Wang, I'm sorry about your hundred yuan; I tipped too early."

But Teacher Wang shook his head slightly, his eyes reflecting deep thought. "Indeed, his explanation is a bit forced. It makes sense, but not much. If he stops here, it seems he hasn't touched the mystery of the tui bei tu. 'The Earthly Branches lack a Zi' definitely can't be explained as someone not having children!"

The history teachers nearby all chimed in:

"The tui bei tu is inherently difficult to interpret, and he says it predicts the end of Huaxia. This interpretation of his simply doesn't hold up to scrutiny!"

"Is he going to fail right at the start of the broadcast?"

Before the history teachers could continue, Xiaoyu, knowing that the consequence of her brother's mistake was making no money, couldn't help but ask on behalf of the viewers: "Brother, I don't agree with the first one. What's the second interpretation?"

Jiang Zhe smiled and gave a thumbs up.

"Exactly, I don't really agree with the first interpretation either."

The first interpretation was actually one that didn't have high recognition in his previous life.

To make Xiaoyu deeply remember the mysteries of the tui bei tu, he had taken great pains to fleece more wool!

"The second interpretation is the one I truly accept!"

"The meaning of 'the Earthly Branches lack a Zi' is: the regime collapsed and ended in the Xinhai Year; there was no Renzi Year!"

After saying that, he made a show of pulling out a piece of paper backed by a wooden board from behind him and wrote a series of references on it with flourishing strokes.

"Now, please look at the real answer—"

Jiang Zhe paused deliberately, looking at his sister's impatient expression.

If he knew what the viewers in the livestream were saying, many of them were cursing: [Holy crap, hurry up!]

"Look closely. The second emperor of the Great Qing, Hong Taiji, changed the national title from 'Later Jin' to 'Great Qing' in 1636."

"In that year—what year was it? Naturally, it was the Bingzi Year of the lunar calendar!"

Jiang Zhe quickly sketched '1636 ~ Bingzi Year' on the paper.

He looked at his sister, whose eyes were darting around, and asked pointedly, "How many years are in a Jiazi cycle?"

"60 years!"

His sister's answer and the viewers' comments in the livestream blurted out simultaneously.

"Correct, sixty years make a Jiazi, one great cycle."

"Starting from this Zi year in 1636, from the time Hong Taiji changed the national title to 'Qing,' the Great Qing's national destiny spanned exactly 276 years on the land of Huaxia."

"Now, Xiaoyu, starting from 1636, what year is it 276 years later?"

After a short while.

Xiaoyu instantly gave the answer: "1636 + 276 = 1912!"

Jiang Zhe responded with satisfaction: "Correct! What happened on February 12, 1912?"

"The last Great Qing emperor, Puyi, issued the abdication decree!" Xiaoyu brainstormed quickly, her answer following immediately.

"And then?"

"After he abdicated, it meant the Great Qing had officially fallen."

"Well said!" Jiang Zhe suddenly grinned. "Sister, what you should know is, what year was 1912?"

Jiang Zhe tapped on the white paper and then drew a shocking timeline:

1636: Bingzi Year ———— 1912: Renzi Year

"Remember, the Great Qing had no Renzi Year!" Seeing his sister staring intently at the timeline on the paper until her face turned to one of complete shock, Jiang Zhe then confidently joked, "Now, do you understand?"