In the twelve years I’ve spent in China, I never once thought history was boring. Practically everyone who’s been through the Chinese school system can name many more of these stories from every major dynasty-there are thousands of years worth of them-and historical stories continue to be a subject of fascination for working adults. Think someone is setting a trap for you? You could say “this isn’t going to be like the Feast at Hong Gate, is it?”, referring to when Liu Bang and Xiang Yu, opposing leaders of the Chu-Han Contention, met in a banquet that was joyful on the surface but full of murderous tension underneath. Think someone is doing a poor job of hiding their ill intentions? You could say “this is exactly like how even the passersby knew of Sima Zhao’s heart!”, referring to how Three-Kingdoms-era chancellor Sima Zhao was very clearly planning to usurp the throne. Many of our idioms refer to famous historical events. There, history is not considered a nerdy niche interest. So do all my other relatives, who are still in China. My parents, who don’t even make active efforts to study history, know more than me just by virtue of having lived in China for many more years of their lives. And the truth is that I don’t consider myself an expert of Chinese history, just a mildly knowledgeable enthusiast. Ever since I started sharing stories from Chinese history online, many people have asked me “How do you know so much of this, Xiran? Are you a historian?”
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