Learning a language is easy, but mastering writing is difficult.
Just as a perfect blueprint can be drawn in an instant, constructing even the most unremarkable house—brick by brick—takes a long time.
Adam was troubled.
Over the past decade, he had managed to get the tribe speaking a common language.
But when he tried to get them to learn a form of writing...
When he wanted to write his thoughts on the stone walls so that the people could understand them, he realized that the once-unremarkable symbols were actually so important.
Writing. The flesh of language.
Adam's fingers touched the cold stone wall.
He looked at the words on the stone wall, using minerals of different colors as pens.
There were Chinese characters: English, French, German, Russian...
These were the first scripts he had tried over the ten years, attempting to teach the tribe to write.
Obviously, these attempts at writing had failed.
"I am too anxious. These symbols belong to the 21st century. They are only used after humanity's material and spiritual civilization has developed to a certain degree in an extremely advanced civilized society."
"I shouldn't look too far ahead... ten thousand years from now."
"My gaze needs to be diverted, closer to this dark and unknown era."
"Closer. A little further back. 3400 BC..."
Adam probed the depths of his memory. The red ore in his hand also wrote words on the stone wall.
This was a script from more than 6,600 years later.
Its name: [Cuneiform]
This was the most ancient script.
It was a writing system created by the Sumerians.
They used reed styluses to carve wedge-shaped strokes onto clay tablets, hence its name.
Writing tools—reed styluses and clay tablets: Where on the steppe was there no reed? Where was there no earth?
Damn, you just needed to bend down and pick it up from the ground, waiting for the sun and wind to harden it.
The past could be told through language; words could be depicted on clay tablets. History was quietly being born.
A few decades later. Hundreds of years later. Thousands of years later...
It might be written on stone, metal, wax tablets;
It would record economic, religious, and diplomatic activities;
It would be used by the Akkadian, Babylonian, Hittite, Persian, and other civilizations;
From Mesopotamia to ancient Persia, the script would be borrowed for over 3,000 years to write their own...
At the same time,
Adam also wrote the first word.
LÚ
It didn't look like a concrete human figure, but rather an abstract composition of 2-4 diagonal wedge-shaped tips and one or more vertical wedge-shaped heads.
Although he had only written this one word, he couldn't contain his excitement.
And at that moment,
The chieftain of the tribe carried the fattest lamb, the most vibrant fruits, and the brightest stones... Nervous, hesitant, anxious yet expectant, he knelt before the fire.
Only because the people had not seen fire for too long had they seen this noble and merciful god.
And they were truly a little unsure.
God had given them the right to use fire, so they no longer feared the cold, the night, or wild beasts... Living in a warm, bright, and blissful cave.
God had also taught them the right language, so they could understand each other's intentions and unite better, without relying on gestures and guesses.
People scattered across the land were like weeds that would sooner or later be uprooted;
But united, they were a prehistoric giant that made any beast groan;
Thus, they could hunt the large beasts they had once feared, skin them, and sew clothes to protect themselves from the cold.
Even if a beast was too strong to be defeated for a time, they could set traps one after another under the chieftain's guidance and open up new hunting grounds on the vast grasslands.
These achievements were made under the fire and language given by God.
God was so generous and great.
So what should the tribe use to repay and dedicate themselves?
Some suggested using the fattest prey—a very self-preserving thought;
Some clan members suggested using the most vibrant fruit—a respectful choice;
Some suggested using the most beautiful stone—a pious sacrifice.
But Adam seemed not to care.
It seemed he was called fire, and after being revered as a god, he was no longer hungry, tired, or aging.
Compared to worldly pleasure, he was more satisfied with his own attempts and persistence, especially the moments of success that fueled him after hard work.
"Look."
Adam had not the slightest air of a god. He lifted the kneeling chieftain with one hand and pointed to the stone wall with the other.
"Look. Here it is: LÚ!"
"LÚ?"
The chieftain subconsciously repeated the word spoken by God, slowly averting his gaze from the cold ground.
Up. Up. Slowly up, until his gaze focused on the cuneiform script.
Language was power.
Writing preserved that power.
"Yes."
"This word means 'people.' You, your people, your tribe, and all who live on the earth can be called by this word."
Adam patiently explained to the chieftain what this word meant.
Perhaps it couldn't bring food or clean water, let alone keep the sky bright forever...
But this word was the beginning of everything.
The chieftain of the tribe was ignorant.
He memorized every word of God in his heart.
Because the chieftain's duty was to tell everyone in the tribe the Word of God.
When the last rays of the sun disappeared over the grasslands, when the wind howled and beasts roared, when the tribes returned to the cave with the day's catch, that was the moment he passed on the Word of God.
In this dark and obscure age, civilization was still struggling in the muddy soil. The existence of a tribe capable of transmitting wisdom was called—
[Priest]
He excitedly announced the good news to his people:
"People (LÚ)!"
When this voice echoed in their ears, it seemed instantaneous, like drops of water falling into the sea. Everyone felt something.
They seemed to understand the meaning of the name in an instant—it was the name of their race, the name of the race on Earth, a name that existed on the land, just like their race.
Writing that separated the entire race from beasts.
If the Chinese character for "person" (人) was a human figure standing sideways, bowing, embodying social relations,
The cuneiform LÚ was more like a label for a short "file of social identity."
Here, it referred to a "person" belonging to a specific part of human society.
It would become the cornerstone.
It would create a complex picture of human society on clay tablets.
It would record who was the priest, who was the enemy, who was the craftsman—letting a person, with their social role, acquire an immortal definition in writing.
The chieftain of the tribe...
No!
This should be called [Priest]. He clenched his hand until every vein bulged, exerted all his strength, and raised the torch in his hand high.
Everyone looked up and gazed at the flame, fanatically symbolizing God. Tears welled up in their eyes uncontrollably.
"People!"
"We are people!"
In the dark cave, fire and joyful cries merged together. Fanatical roars did not cease, and the word was constantly exhaled.
The boundary between man and beast seemed to have been clearly and indisputably drawn at this moment.
The day when civilization would crawl out of the mud was drawing near.