Dragon Nation.
Inside an apartment, Su Nan, who had just gotten off work, lay sprawled on the sofa, absentmindedly scrolling through short videos.
Suddenly, a notification popped up on his phone.
"Congratulations! You have been selected as a beta user for [Spacetime Shared Videos]. Simply click the link and watch videos to earn cash rewards."
"Keep watching, keep earning! The more you watch, the higher your income!"
"..."
Su Nan laughed at the advertisement on his screen.
He'd seen plenty of these schemes where you scroll forever and only earn a few cents.
Even a dog wouldn't—
Click it. Of course he'd click it!
You get paid just for watching videos!
And so, Su Nan tapped the link.
The next second, a brand-new video app installed automatically.
"That fast?"
Suspicion flickered across Su Nan's face.
[Verified Account: Su Nan]
[Linked Bank Account: 6236…7833]
[Withdrawable Earnings: 0 yuan]
[…]
The app actually looked pretty legitimate.
"A new platform's launch bonuses should be pretty high, right?"
Su Nan immediately tapped on a video.
[New · A Hundred Dynasties Form History, Five Millennia in Song, Striding Proudly into the Present!]
[…]
[You have finished watching one video. Earnings: 50 yuan. Available for withdrawal at any time!]
Seeing the notification pop up, Su Nan's eyes flew wide open.
"Holy crap—fifty yuan for one video?!"
"This new platform is going all out to attract users!"
"Guess I'm milking you dry today!"
"..."
Grinning from ear to ear, Su Nan opened the next video.
[Watch in One Go: A Century of Humiliation in Modern Chinese History! Witness the Rise of China!]
…
What Su Nan didn't know was—
The instant he clicked on the first video,
In Great Qin, Great Han, Great Song, Great Ming, and countless other historical planes—
A colossal curtain of light suddenly appeared across the sky.
It was so vast that every person in the world, across all eras, could see it clearly.
Such a miraculous sight instantly stunned people throughout the dynasties.
"What is that? Have immortals descended from the heavens?!"
"A heavenly omen! The Heavens are foretelling something to us!"
"There has been drought in recent years—could this be related?"
"..."
Across countless historical eras, ancient people stared at the massive heavenly screen in shock.
At that very moment—
A line of enormous characters appeared upon the sky-filling curtain.
[New · A Hundred Dynasties Form History, Five Millennia in Song, Striding Proudly into the Present!]
The people of old were baffled.
"What does that mean?"
Just as confusion spread—
Streams of floating comments suddenly drifted across the heavenly screen.
[This adaptation is an honor to A Hundred Battles Become a Poem!]
[How can one single song possibly cover our vast five thousand years of Huaxia history? Tearing up.jpg]
[Five thousand years of Chinese civilization—its melody unbroken, its culture passed down without end!]
[One song strings together five millennia of history. So good! I replay it every day!]
Seeing these drifting comments, the ancients began to grasp the situation.
A hundred dynasties form history?
It must be explaining the history of Huaxia!
Listing all the dynasties in order!
Though they didn't fully understand what this was, it seemed somewhat akin to prophetic works like the Burnt Flatbread Song or the Tui Bei Tu.
Curiosity surged among the people.
Especially the emperors across various eras—they focused with utmost seriousness.
Could this song be recording… every rise and fall of every dynasty?!
"Men!"
"Record every single word spoken by the heavenly screen!"
"Not one word is to be missed!"
"..."
…
What Makes Huaxia
The Age of Ancient Kingdoms
[The Five Clans brought enlightenment; Yan and Huang together founded Huaxia.]
[Yao and Shun yielded in virtue; harmony reached the Four Seas.]
Xia:
[Yu divided the Nine Provinces; hereditary rule made the realm a family possession.]
Shang:
[Glorious Yin Shang—divination flourished, characters carved upon oracle bones.]
Western Zhou:
[At Muye, Heaven's punishment was carried out; feudal lords were enfeoffed, states established to command the many Xia.]
[Rites and music upheld the clan order; poetry and books revealed refined elegance.]
Eastern Zhou:
[Kings You and Li lost the state; King Ping moved the capital, Zhou's power waned.]
[Lords rose—Qi, Jin, Song, Qin, Chu contended for hegemony.]
[Jin split into three; the Warring States formed as seven powers divided the land.]
[To grow strong meant reform—recruit talent, train troops, sharpen arms.]
[All states waged war—war, war, war, war!]
[In an age of great contention, who can end the slaughter?]
As the video began to play,
Rousing music thundered from the heavenly screen.
It stirred the blood and set hearts ablaze.
Figures appeared one after another—from Yan and Huang to the Battle of Zhuolu.
Every major turning point in history was reenacted upon the screen.
And across it drifted countless comments.
[Ahhh I love this version! It makes the long stretch of history feel tangible!]
[The Five Clans: Youchao, Suiren, Fuxi, Shennong, Xuanyuan!]
[Oracle bone script is the earliest mature writing system discovered in China to date!]
[The sacred flame of civilization—unextinguished for millennia. Only in Huaxia!]
[Fun fact: evidence for the Xia dynasty isn't fully complete yet. Even earlier Yu dynasty inscriptions have already been unearthed!]
[Five thousand years up and down? More like five thousand up and five thousand down—almost ten thousand total!]
…
This segment covered the Age of Ancient Kingdoms, primarily the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties.
The ancients were familiar with this history.
The earlier the era, the clearer their understanding.
As for the floating comments, they had begun to form a theory.
These must be words spoken by people of later generations.
But before the Xia… there was a Yu dynasty?
…
Great Qin Plane
The First Emperor watched the heavenly screen calmly.
"This song recounts history."
"And now it reaches the era of constant warfare among the states!"
"In an age of great contention—who can end the slaughter?!"
"Naturally… only Great Qin!"
His left hand rested upon his sword hilt, pride surging within his chest.
For hundreds of years the states had warred.
Only when Qin marched east and swept across the Six Directions was chaos finally ended.
"Li Si, what does 'Yin Shang divination, characters carved upon oracle bones' mean?"
"Why have I never heard of such a script?"
The First Emperor turned to Li Si.
Li Si immediately replied, "Your Majesty, I too do not know the term 'oracle bone script.'"
"However, I have heard that in former days, the Shang royal house inscribed characters upon turtle shells and animal bones to record state affairs and sacrificial rites."
"Such writing was mastered only by a small number of royal clan members."
"After Zhou overthrew Shang, to consolidate its rule, matters concerning bone inscriptions were deliberately concealed."
"..."
In the early days, writing was a privilege of the nobility.
Oracle bone script, used by the Shang royal house to record major events, was even less likely to circulate among the common people.
Only the true royal core would know of it.
After Zhou conquered Shang, it had intentionally suppressed this script to strengthen its legitimacy.
Thus, even Ying Zheng—the ruler of all under Heaven—had never heard of it.
The First Emperor nodded in realization.
No wonder he had never known of such writing.
"The scripts of the Six States are too numerous."
"Under Heaven, the written language must be unified."
"The unification of script is imperative—this shall be national policy. Implement it at once!"
Li Si bowed deeply. "Yes, Your Majesty!"
At that moment, the impassioned song continued from the heavens.
Qin:
[Reformed laws, emphasized farming and war; prepared the stakes for the eastern advance.]
[Breaking the vertical alliances, the king's name first shook the world.]
[Diplomacy and conquest combined; devouring like a leviathan—none could rival it.]
[Within the Eight Horizons, customs unified; thus began the Chinese order, and for a hundred dynasties Qin's laws endured.]
Countless comments floated across the sky.
"In an age of great contention, who can end the slaughter? Qin!"
"Other states only sought wealth and strong armies. Only Qin's rulers were determined to march east!"
"Eternal Emperor! Brother Zheng!"
"No matter how many emperors came later, there is only one First Emperor! The true Eternal Emperor!"
Seeing these comments, Ying Zheng's pupils contracted slightly—then he burst into hearty laughter.
"My ministers, do you see this?!"
"Great Qin shall be remembered for ten thousand generations!"
Pride swelled within him.
His achievements would be immortal.