Ancient People Watch a Girl Group Dance from a Later Age

["But when those Daoist guys rebelled, they really went for it."]

["If you ask me why, all I can tell you is, knowledge is power."]

"What was the relationship between Daoism and the Taoist School among the Hundred Schools of Thought?"

"Knowledge is power? Well said!"

In an age when Buddhism flourished and Daoism declined, some Daoists trembled and said, "Sky screen, please don't praise us to death!"

In different eras, the strength of Buddhism and Daoism depended on whether the emperor followed Daoism or believed in Buddhism.

When an emperor who followed Daoism took the throne, Daoism grew strong.

Examples included the emperors of the Li family, who claimed descent from Laozi; Emperor Zhenzong of Song, who replaced Confucianism's Supreme God Haotian with Daoism's Jade Emperor as the supreme god; and a certain Lord of Ten Thousand Years who did not wish to be named.

When an emperor who believed in Buddhism took the throne, Buddhism grew strong.

Examples included Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan, who became a monk four times; Empress Wu Zetian; the emperors of the Yuan Dynasty, who made Buddhism the state religion; and the emperors of the Qing Dynasty.

["All those Buddhists did all day was carry water, sweep floors, and recite scriptures. They insisted that everything came down to karmic retribution."]

["This so-called karmic retribution meant that if your life was bad, it had to be because of sins you committed in your previous life. And if you did evil in this life, you were sure to suffer retribution in the next."]

["Look how elaborate that was. As long as the religion reserved the right to interpret it, it could deal with all manner of demons and monsters."]

["That kind of Buddhist practice was also something rulers were happy to see. After all, such a clever way to keep the people ignorant was rare."]

"That was indeed a clever way to keep the people ignorant! When was Buddhism founded?"

"The Buddhist teachings that good and evil receive their due, and that karma governs the cycle of rebirth, are truly a powerful tool for rulers."

["The Daoists, on the other hand, generally weren't very good at studying scriptures, but feng shui, astronomy, and the Book of Changes were their favorites. In ancient times, any one of those fields of knowledge could have shaken imperial power."]

["And these educated men were always ready to carry out justice on Heaven's behalf, without being bound by the thinking of pedantic Confucian scholars. For all you knew, one day a Daoist might appear with yellow cloth wrapped around his head, pointing a hand at the sky and shouting, 'The blue sky is dead; the yellow sky shall rise.'"]

["If you were the emperor, would you feel at ease?"]

Certain emperors: Not at ease, so we must suppress Daoism!

"A Daoist who doesn't follow Zhang Jiao's example is a good Daoist!"

"Daoists should be refining pills. Rebellion is unacceptable."

["Fortunately, the threshold for entering Daoism was fairly high. Without a certain foundation of knowledge, you couldn't do well even if you joined."]

["That also meant there were never many Daoists in ancient times, making them relatively easy to control. At the same time, they made no distinction even for high officials and nobles, so that even emperors were their clients. After all, who didn't want immortality?"]

["On top of that, Daoism's history was plain to see, with a cultural legacy stretching back thousands of years. The emperor had no reason to fabricate charges against it, nor would doing so be easy. So the ruling class turned a blind eye, and the two sides left each other alone. Naturally, that was on the condition that the Daoists didn't follow Zhang Jiao's example."]

After watching the video, the ancient people who had read the history books thought it was inaccurate.

Daoism was not that weak. At its height, it had been even more powerful than Buddhism.

The Tang Dynasty revered Laozi as an ancestor and made Daoism the state religion, vigorously promoting it and raising the status of Daoists. Emperor Gaozu of Tang even decreed that Daoism ranked above Buddhism, and Laozi before the Buddha.

Emperor Zhenzong of Song and Emperor Huizong of Song also fervently revered Daoism. Emperor Huizong even gave himself the title "Emperor, Sect Leader and Lord of the Dao." Daoism was consequently held in high regard and became the state religion.

Buddhism was not without threats either. Four emperors in history had sought to eradicate it.

[First get your facts straight. Zhang Jiao wasn't a Daoist; he belonged to the Supreme Peace Religion. He wasn't even a Daoist priest; he was a sorcerer.]

[Wasn't Zhang Jiao a Daoist?]

[I just looked it up. Zhang Jiao's main achievements in life were founding the Way of Supreme Peace and launching the Yellow Turban Rebellion. The Way of Supreme Peace he founded is regarded as the formal beginning of Daoism and even had a profound influence on its later development.]

[If Zhang Jiao hadn't rebelled, there would have been no place for Zhang Daoling and Zhang Lu afterward. If he hadn't rebelled, he would have been the founder of Daoism!]

The next video to appear on the sky screen was different from those before it.

Of the dozen or so videos Gao Shengyang had scrolled through, not one featured beautiful women.

Because Gao Shengyang had no shortage of women in real life, he didn't watch that sort of thing in short videos. After a while, the platform's system stopped recommending them to him.

This video of a girl group dancing had been brought out by the video playback system to obtain more emotion points.

The dance from a later age, together with miniskirts and high heels, left people throughout the dynasties staring in a daze!

"In broad daylight, how shameless! Dancing, dancing, dancing this sort of..."

An old Confucian scholar's face flushed red. He looked furious and could barely get his words out.

A butcher beside him said contemptuously, "If it's shameless, why are you still watching? And why is your nose bleeding?"

To the ancient people, every member of the girl group in the video was a beauty on the level of a fairy.

People in later ages had fairer skin than the ancients, and with makeup, plastic surgery, and lighting effects, weren't they all like fairies?

The ancient people watching this were like wild boars tasting fine grain.

From emperors to princes and generals, down to ordinary farmers and commoners, everyone's eyes widened.

Across the dynasties, countless people's noses bled.

Seeing their husbands like this, the women were displeased, while also marveling at the "boldness" of women from later ages.

Cao Cao was in no mood to appreciate any of this.

Thanks to the sky screen, his already poor reputation had become even worse.

Before long, another Yellow Turban Rebellion would break out in his territory.

The next few short videos all featured different girl groups and stars dancing.

Gao Shengyang obtained more and more emotion points.

Bachelors across the dynasties who couldn't find wives watched these short videos. Women from a later age, as beautiful as fairies and beyond anything they had ever dared imagine, danced for them one after another, making them feel their lives had not been lived in vain.

Some people also began harboring wicked thoughts.

And more and more customers visited the brothels, whose business kept getting better.

The video playback system did not favor men over women. It played the short videos that had been most popular over the past two days.

A 2024 DJ version of the song "Ask," accompanied by male idols dancing, opened the eyes of people across the dynasties once again, especially the women.

The genders switched, and the expressions on the men's faces transferred to theirs.

["If a woman always waits until the night is deep"]

["Giving up her youth without regret"]

["Will he then be true to you"]

["Must a woman never ask too much"]

["Is it best that she remain forever innocent"]

["For the one she loves"]

["Who makes your heart flutter"]

["Who breaks your heart"]

["Who makes you sometimes want to hold him in your arms"]

["And who cares about your dreams"]

["Who says he will understand your thoughts"]

["Who is moved by you"]

["It's just that women easily fall deeply in love"]

["Always trapped by love"]

["Until at last they fall ever deeper"]

["But love is a woman's soul"]

["She can devote her whole life"]

["To the one she loves"]

"Th-this, this is outrageous!" The old Confucian scholar whose nose had been bleeding was furious.

"Exactly! Why do these men from later ages look like pretty boys? They're even less manly than eunuchs!" the butcher said beside him.