Reading History with Skepticism: Popping the Gorgeous of History

Author: Wang Zhongxu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-10-01
Features: After the Crow Drank Water, there was another crow that was terribly thirsty and looked everywhere for water. At this point, it saw some water in a bottle, but it couldn’t reach it. So, it used its wits and picked up pebbles one by one and dropped them into the bottle. As the water level rose, the crow was able to drink. According to ornithological experts, crows are one of the most intelligent bird species. A television station once filmed two scenes. One showed a crow waiting for the traffic light to turn red before confidently crossing the street. Another scene depicted a crow flying to a utility pole to drop nuts from a height, shattering them on the ground, or waiting for passing cars to crush them. To cut to the chase. After the crow drank water, its heroic act quickly spread across the country, earning the love and admiration of crows. They unanimously crowned it king. The crows all said it was a genius, a rare talent that might only appear every few hundred or even a few thousand years. The crows were blessed, and with such a wise leader, how could the Crow Kingdom not thrive and prosper, and how could the crows not live happily ever after?
In the past, in the world of birds, crows had always been part of the marginalized and oppressed third world. But now, with this wise leader, this savior, the crow species would surely stand tall among the birds of the world, recreating its glory and rising again. The crow that became king walked with pride, strutting around with arrogance. It believed that to truly revitalize our species, we must launch a "Water-Drinking Revolution." Through this revolution, every crow would become smarter and stronger. It decided to promote its water-drinking experience nationwide, urging all crows to adopt the method of dropping stones into bottles to drink. Through the Water-Drinking Revolution, outdated and backward habits would be broken, and a scientific approach to drinking water would be advocated—neither drinking from any container nor drinking dirty or foul water. In this way, our crow species would gain respect and elegance in the bird world.
However, the king didn’t expect that his order would be met with collective resistance from the northern crows. These crows, accustomed to freedom, didn’t care whether the water was from ponds, ditches, clean, or dirty—they just drank whenever they were thirsty, regardless of bottles or stones. What did being a gentleman, civilized, or noble have to do with them? The king flew into a rage, believing that the northern crows dared to defy his orders because the old leader was resentful and interfering. So, it dismissed the old crow and appointed a female crow in its place. This famous female crow was the one who had been mocked by all for her singing. This foolishly infamous Crow Lady became an enthusiastic promoter of the Water-Drinking Revolution and was trusted by the crow king.
Crow Lady walked into office with arrogance and confidence, determined to fully implement the king’s instructions without deviation, launching the Water-Drinking Revolution with great fanfare. Under Crow Lady’s leadership, the entire northern region was adorned with banners and drums, streets were covered with slogans, and propaganda teams roamed the streets and alleys. During the day, the crows danced the large yangge dance, and at night, they carried large red lanterns. It was truly a household and widespread awareness. But Crow Lady knew,