Chapter 6: Am I a Barbarian?

Page 1/3

In a drowsy haze, Li Nian instinctively reached for his phone, intending to check the time to see if he could sleep another five or ten minutes. But today was strange—he fumbled around for a long while and couldn’t find it.

Where’s my phone? Did it fall on the floor?

Suddenly, a voice came through: “Brave warrior, what are you searching for? Need Guo’s assistance?”

Li Nian jolted awake, his foggy mind instantly clearing. He opened his eyes and immediately saw Guo Dian standing not far from the bed, smiling warmly at him.

“I must have been so sleepy I forgot I traveled back to the Qin dynasty yesterday! If only waking up could bring me back to the modern world,” he thought.

Seeing Li Nian awake, Guo Dian apologized, “Sorry to disturb your sweet dreams, noble warrior. Please forgive me. But His Majesty has commanded that Doctor Su Xu come to instruct you today, so I had no choice but to interrupt.”

After explaining, Guo Dian turned to the palace maids trailing behind him. “Hurry and assist the brave warrior to get up and dress!” Immediately, several maids stepped forward to help Li Nian rise.

As the maids tended to him, Li Nian noticed the grooming tools they carried—hot water and cloths were expected, but he was surprised to see something resembling a toothbrush.

Did the Qin dynasty really have toothbrushes?

Curious, he searched his mental database and discovered that indeed, during the Qin and Han periods, there was a tool called the bronze toothbrush. It was shaped somewhat like a pipe, with cloth strips stuffed into a round hole to use as bristles.

If there was a toothbrush, there must also be toothpaste. Li Nian saw one maid carrying a dish of white powder. "Is this toothpaste?"

He searched again and found it was called chalk powder in modern terms. It was made by grinding chalk soil into powder, washing, and filtering it, with calcium carbonate as the main ingredient.

Chalk powder was mild and non-toxic, but prolonged use could harm the heart and spleen, damage internal organs, and cause weight loss.

Seeing this, Li Nian shook his head at Guo Dian, indicating he wouldn’t use it. Although the harm built up over time, if it could be avoided, it should be.

“If I can’t return to my own time and have to live here, I must find ways to improve hygiene and quality of life.”

“Right, I need to get a flushing toilet—if I can’t make a flush, at least a water-based one!” Recalling last night’s nighttime ordeal, words failed him.

“Paper must be on the agenda too, otherwise wiping will be a nightmare. Since I’m in the Qin royal palace, at least conditions are decent. But among common folk, using rough tokens to scrape...”

Page 2/3

“And tables, chairs, and stools—who can endure kneeling all day? Legs would break from the strain! Toilets and paper are tough for now, but furniture should be easier to manage.”

Guo Dian saw Li Nian shake his head at the chalk powder and understood his meaning, though he didn’t grasp why Li Nian refused it. Everyone in the palace, including the king, used this powder. Did this warrior see some problem with it?

After being assisted by the maids to dress and wash, Li Nian was now wearing a set of Qin dynasty clothing Guo Dian had brought back yesterday. As for the modern clothes he arrived in, Li Nian wisely kept silent.

Sitting at the table eating breakfast, the meal was no improvement over last night’s dinner. However, Li Nian had made progress—he recognized the ingredients, unlike yesterday, when everything was unfamiliar. He also learned that Qin people usually ate only two meals a day; after this breakfast, the next would be at four in the afternoon.

After finishing, he walked around the palace room to aid digestion. An attendant entered to report, “Chief steward, Doctor Su Xu has arrived!”

Guo Dian said to Li Nian, “Please wait a moment, brave warrior. I’ll be right back.”

In the Qin dynasty, the title “Doctor” was not an academic degree but an official rank. The famous Chunyu Yue was a “Doctor.”

Doctors were responsible for overseeing all historical records and classical texts, advising on state affairs, and educating royal princes—holding considerable authority.

During Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s reign, seventy doctors were appointed, not all Confucians as some might think. For example, Huang Ci was a famous scholar, and Lu Ao was a Taoist immortal. But the Doctor Su Xu who came to teach Li Nian was indeed a Confucian.

Soon, Guo Dian returned with a middle-aged man in Qin official robes, who carried a bundle that clinked as he walked—likely bamboo slips.

Guo Dian introduced Li Nian: “Doctor Su, this brave warrior is the one you are to instruct today.”

Then turning to Li Nian, he said, “Brave warrior, this is Doctor Su, sent by His Majesty to teach you.”

Su Xu set down his bundle and bowed to Li Nian: “Doctor Su Xu greets the brave warrior!”

Li Nian returned the bow in kind.

Su Xu was puzzled. The king had suddenly ordered him last night to come teach someone in the palace the next day. He had assumed it would be a royal prince, but this was someone he had never seen before. Guo Dian referred to him as “brave warrior,” not “prince,” so he was clearly not the king’s son.

Who was this person? Why was he in the royal palace? Why did the king command him to receive instruction? Also, his hair was short and not crowned—was he a barbarian from some remote region?

Before starting, Su Xu noticed something else: the man didn’t kneel properly but sat down directly on his haunches before the desk.

This only confirmed Su Xu’s suspicion: this man was indeed a barbarian!

Page 3/3

Su Xu took two scrolls of bamboo slips from his bundle, handing one to Li Nian and keeping the other. He looked at Li Nian and asked, “What books have you read? Have you studied the Book of Songs, the Book of Documents, the Rites, Music, the Changes, or the Spring and Autumn Annals?”

Seeing Li Nian’s blank expression, Su Xu shook his head. This man was certainly a barbarian. Teaching a barbarian to read and write would be no easy task—His Majesty’s decree would be difficult to fulfill.

“Since you haven’t read any of these, we’ll start with the Book of Songs!” Knowing Li Nian couldn’t understand, Su Xu stopped wasting words and began the lesson.

Su Xu’s teaching was crude: he read a line, and Li Nian repeated after him, with occasional explanations. There were no blackboards, chalk, or paper. For a normal student, this method would rely on time and patience.

However, Li Nian had a plan. He searched for small seal script characters in his mental database, comparing them to the text on the bamboo slips. Soon, he realized the text was the “Guan Ju” from the Book of Songs:

“Guan guan cry the ospreys on the islet in the river. A modest, virtuous lady; a good match for a gentleman.

Crooked water plants, flowing left and right; a modest, virtuous lady, waking and sleeping, seeking him.

Seeking but not finding, waking and sleeping, thinking anxiously; oh, how restless, tossing and turning.

Crooked water plants, gathered left and right; a modest, virtuous lady, harmonizing with the zither and lute.

Crooked water plants, gathered left and right; a modest, virtuous lady, joyful with bells and drums.”

Li Nian just couldn’t understand the language or speak it, but he wasn’t truly illiterate. As long as someone taught him the pronunciations of these ancient characters, he could learn fairly quickly.

Su Xu noticed this too. The barbarian was not as slow as he had imagined—in fact, he learned quickly. After a few corrections, he could read through the “Zhou Nan: Guan Ju” passage, albeit with some stumbles.

“Unexpectedly, this barbarian isn’t stupid!” Su Xu thought.

If Li Nian had heard this, he would have pointed at himself and said, “Me? Barbarian?”

Well, he was from Shu. Considering his hometown’s location, in this era, he truly could be called a barbarian.