A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME (PROFESSOR LIU POV)

Despite the strong smell of perfume, the irritating sounds of people talking and the annoying florescent lights, you could not help but put on a genuine smile as you watch the crowd of students both old and young who have made the tripe to the Chinese international University out of their own pockets just to listen to your well advertised speech. To be honest you still could not believe if you are the reason all these people were here even though a part knew that the event would have a high turnout.

"And now for our main event" the anchor cried "the man you have all being waiting for, all the way from Philadelphia USA, the esteemed professor of historical studies, the former two term president, the esteemed pioneer and inventor of the Gen 5 computer network, please make welcome Samuel Liu Chen."

You gracefully entered the stage amidst clapping and loud cheering.

"Thank you for the warm welcome ladies and gentlemen. I very much appreciate it." You begin

"Although I must confess that when I first came here to complete my degree program in historical studies, I never for once pictured myself giving a speech in this very hall. Are you sure I am in the right place?"

This brought a bit of scattered laughter that you gave a few minutes to die down.

"Anyway, today I would like for you all to join me as we take a journey to one of the most momentous time in Chinese history."

With a small signal from you a projector was turned on and it displayed an enlarged map across the wall

"The period in question was year 875 BC when this great nation was rocked by a peasent rebellion unlike any other it has ever faced. This rebellion was a very large and very loud one and the issues it raised are still being addressed by governments all over the world even till today. Can any one be kind enough to specify the exact rebellion I speak of?"

A multitude of hands flew up but you picked a thin looking boy with glasses.

"It is the yellow turban rebellion sir which is rated as the most widespread rebellion in Chinese history." He answered with confidence

"Marvelous answer young man" you say with a nod and then turned to the crowd

"It quite interesting to note at at it's height the yellow rebellion as I like to call it came to include no less than over 10 million peasents." You take a brief pause as you try to make eye contact with each member of the crowd

"Now think about this figure for a moment. 10 million people were not only willing to abandon their homes and their families but we're willing to fight against trained, well armed soldiers who were financed by the national coffers for a reason that is often described by our current generation as filmsy at best. There were not fighting for lofty ideals like freedom as in the Spartacus rebellion or equallity as in the French revolution but ironically they were able to gather far much more members than the two."

"Excuse me sir"

A hand was raised up in the crowd and with your permission a lady with brown hair rose up to speak

"Are you saying that the yellow rebellion has more to contribute to world history and people's mentality than the former two?" She asked

"What I am saying is that while a majority of people will fight for lofty ideals, every single man on Earth would fight if they feel that their most basic right to survive is threatened" you answer and then turned to face the crowd

"One thing we should all keep in mind is that while a few may had been concerned about the condition of the country at the time for the vast majority it was simply a matter of getting enough food for themslves and for their families."

"Excuse me sir" another voice called and a young Chinese lady in her early thirties stood up.

" Many scholars believe that the yellow rebellion was just a mere symptom of an ailing government, are you now saying that this was not the case?"

"What is your name young lady?" You asked

"Min zu sir" she replied

"Lady min why do you think the yellow rebellion became a cause of concern for the Han government."

"Probably because of many people who were taking up arms sir" she replied

"And who were the class of people that took up arms the most?" You ask again

She paused for a while as though thinking about the question until she finally replied

"The peasents sir"

"Exactly" you said and then turned to face the crowd

"like I said earlier while a few minority were interested in the issues and the cause of the Zang brothers, for the vast majority it was simply an excuse to Rob and loot the nobles for the much needed food and supplies, so don't you think all that could have been avoided if the emperor had simply issued an edit to distribute grain among the poor?"

The lady slowly sat down in contemplation.

"But professor" an advanced man called "even if the emperor was to issue such an edit, with all the corruption in the capital at that time what were the chances of the common people actually getting the promised food?"

"Well the chances would be quite slim I confess" you reply "but if you think critically about it you will realize that at the period in question the emperor of China was basically seen as a god. That was precisely why whenever a powerful emperor like the Ming dynasty came to power they were able to control the belief of the people and this in turn control the officials, so while luoyang was corrupt to the core it seems safe to say that if the emperor had truly wanted to, such an edict would eventually found its way into the hands of the common people as the officials would have made sure they carry out that order simply because of fear of divine punishment. However as history has proven time and time, it is simply impossible to predict human behavior"

The elderly man sat down

"Now if we take a look at how the country was a few years before the start of the rebellion, we would see that the peasents fear for survival was entirely valid. There was famine everywhere, disease were rampant, widespread unemployment and instead of proffering a solution to all these problems, all the corrupt official could do was to raise taxes. These things could have been addressed individuallly but when you begin to add them up together for over a long period of time, it creates a discontent that will eventually drive people into the most sucidial actions.

Remember the purpose of this seminar is not to join in the long standing debate of wether the fall of the Han dynasty could have been avoided but rather to show by way of example the extent us human can go when we feel our basic survival is being threatened. I suppose we are no different than animals in that way. (Pause)

Another prominent historical example is the Korean revolt of the early 19th century. Now as we all know the revolt was caused by.....

And so you continue the seminar, taking questions along the way.

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