My son was recently telling me about how people in ancient China actually died from some state examination?!?! (Though from what I hear from relatives, the current high school exams are probably just as gruelling 😅) And I believe this is the one you’re referring to here? Would absolutely love for you to write about it!!
Your question at the end kind of jolted me. I’ll admit that after learning about the heavy reliance on oral traditions by ancient cultures, I went “you guys didn’t think to write this stuff down”? And now, I’m wondering whether those in the future will look back at us and think “seriously? You guys just stored stuff on the cloud?!” 😅
That last question, the thought of it, hit me quite hard myself as well. If these is to be some kind of mass event with loss of life but not property and then humanity is starting to recover, how are they going to look at hardware sitting around and figure things out? Our sophisticated digital methods also have a huge barrier to entry, unlike something on parchment or paper which you just need to unfold to see the actual thing. So yes, you're right, future generations will laugh at us.
PS: a spinoff of this piece to deal with the Confucian exam system on the list but no promises when :-)
Very interesting! I hadn't thought about the exam system in China and coinciding with the development of paper. But I'm very excited for that episode because I would love to learn more about that system! I think a lot about how much data is stored in precarious ways electronically. My husband's and my wedding video is on a VCR tape, and I'm not sure how we would watch it!
One of the things I love about paper is how it preserves knowledge past the end of the civilizations that produced it. It amazes me that I can read the words of people who are doing my craft thousands of years ago.
It's like a precious window into their creative spirit and energy. I love the ability to learn from their experience.
200 books for the whole city... and still enough to dream and remember.
The beauty is in this care. Digital books have made knowledge enormous in volume but incredibly fragile. Very interesting article, Ash!👏
My son was recently telling me about how people in ancient China actually died from some state examination?!?! (Though from what I hear from relatives, the current high school exams are probably just as gruelling 😅) And I believe this is the one you’re referring to here? Would absolutely love for you to write about it!!
Your question at the end kind of jolted me. I’ll admit that after learning about the heavy reliance on oral traditions by ancient cultures, I went “you guys didn’t think to write this stuff down”? And now, I’m wondering whether those in the future will look back at us and think “seriously? You guys just stored stuff on the cloud?!” 😅
That last question, the thought of it, hit me quite hard myself as well. If these is to be some kind of mass event with loss of life but not property and then humanity is starting to recover, how are they going to look at hardware sitting around and figure things out? Our sophisticated digital methods also have a huge barrier to entry, unlike something on parchment or paper which you just need to unfold to see the actual thing. So yes, you're right, future generations will laugh at us.
PS: a spinoff of this piece to deal with the Confucian exam system on the list but no promises when :-)
Very interesting! I hadn't thought about the exam system in China and coinciding with the development of paper. But I'm very excited for that episode because I would love to learn more about that system! I think a lot about how much data is stored in precarious ways electronically. My husband's and my wedding video is on a VCR tape, and I'm not sure how we would watch it!
One of the things I love about paper is how it preserves knowledge past the end of the civilizations that produced it. It amazes me that I can read the words of people who are doing my craft thousands of years ago.
It's like a precious window into their creative spirit and energy. I love the ability to learn from their experience.