Fireflies reflecting snow: an eternal scam

When I was a child, I often heard the teacher tell the story of Che Yin's reading, saying that a child named Che Yin liked reading very much, but his family was poor and could not afford lamp oil, so he asked his mother to sew a white gauze cloth bag. Che Yin caught dozens of fireflies, put them in his pocket, and made a substitute for night oil lamps.

At that time, we had already used the electric light invented by Edison, and we could afford candles even if there was a power failure. Therefore, we have never had the opportunity to try such romantic things as catching fireflies and reading books.

However, many people now question this eternal story, and they are hooked on the ancients. Based on the experiment made by Emperor Kangxi on a whim in his later years. Kangxi studied with his master when he was a child. The master told him the story, and he always had doubts. One day, Kangxi sent people to catch hundreds of fireflies in Jehol and put them in their pockets, trying to read books with the light emitted by fireflies. I just know that the words in the book are not clear by the weak light of fireflies. Needless to say, Kangxi felt cheated and took it seriously. In his last year in office, he made an imperial edict, telling students that you can't believe all the words in the book. This firefly, for example, is ridiculous to study.

Fireflies glow because there is a fluorescein in the cells at the end of their abdomen. Once this fluorescein comes into contact with oxygen, it will produce luminescent enzyme effect, and then cause a series of biochemical reactions. Flash is just a by-product of biochemical reaction. Can have how bright? In addition, the gauze bag made by Che Yin Niang is breathable and won't suffocate fireflies, but the light transmission is definitely not good. Hundreds of fireflies caught by Kangxi people can't be used as lamps, and dozens of fireflies in Che Yin are really incredible to read.

Also, instead of spending so much time catching bugs, it is better to spend the time catching bugs on reading. Therefore, in the Ming Dynasty, some people made up jokes to satirize Che Yin. "One day, Sun Kang (the man who studied in Xue Ying) visited Che Yin and found that the other party was not there. He asked him what he had done, and the doorman said,' I caught fireflies.' The next day, when Che Yin visited Sun Kang, he saw Sun Kang standing there watching ants climb trees and asked him why he didn't study. Sun Kang said, "I don't think it will snow. "

There was no imperial examination system in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, so it was hereditary for the descendants of aristocratic families to be officials, while the main way for civilians to be officials was through recommendation (inspection). A poor scholar with no background like Che Yin can only get ahead by recommendation. If you want to be recommended, you have to have a reputation. Fame is earned by yourself.

Some people are filial, but it is difficult to leave when there are many people. Therefore, Che Yin used fireflies as props in a unique way. He knows that fireflies have only a little light and can't read the words in the book clearly, but he still has to read with great enthusiasm, which is hard enough for him.

A "reading show" made Che Yin famous, starting with a small official, and then making this official the position of the official department minister, which was a success.

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