Capítulo 20: Suiren, the Forebearer of Fire
Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
As someone who earned a master's degree in history from Peking University in his previous life, Xia Ping'an could tell from the scene before him that he was in an ancient tribe in the Paleolithic Age.
Judging from the appearances of the tribal people, they were most likely ancestors of Huaxia people. From the vegetation and woods surrounding the tribe, they were most likely located somewhere in the region north of Yangtze River.
Xia Ping'an saw some plants that he was familiar with in the nearby forest, such as horse chestnut, chinaberry trees, Chinese mahogany, and white birches. On the slope of the hill, there were also shrubs like Chinese firethorn and almond cherry.
Some historians differentiated the Old Stone Age and the New Stone Age based on the methods used by the ancient humans to manufacture their stone tools. Xia Ping'an did not agree with their way of classification. In his opinion, this classification was too rigid and ridiculous. It did not fit well with the natural development of history.
According to the standard of those historians, if the ancient humans used lithic reduction techniques, such as percussion reduction, projectile percussion, and hard-hammer percussion, to manufacture stone tools, they were in the Paleolithic Age. On the other hand, if the ancient humans polished their tools, they were in the Neolithic Age.
What happened if in a tribe, a smarter ancient human decided to roughly polish his tools because he was unsatisfied with tools made using methods discovered by the historians, such as percussion reduction, projectile percussion, hard-hammer percussion, and bipolar percussion? Under the stated classification, wouldn't the tribe be living in both the Paleolithic Age and the Neolithic Age?
The division of the two ages was solely based on the speculation that all ancient humans only knew how to hit and chip the stones, but wouldn't polish them.
In Xia Ping'an's point of view, this standard was too rigid. This standard was formed under the assumption that none of the ancient humans were smart.
Since Xia Ping'an's previous life, he had insisted that the real classification between the ages was whether or not the ancient humans had mastered the use of fire. Mastering the use of fire meant that the ancient humans mastered the method to modify and conquer nature. Besides that, fire was also the most important energy source.
Ancient humans that could only utilize the embers started by lightning and volcanic eruptions lived in the Old Stone Age. On the other hand, ancient humans that could start their own fire lived in the New Stone Age.
Suiren was the only person recorded in human history to have pioneered the use of tinder. It was a great contribution by Huaxia ancestors to the entire human civilization.
By mastering fire, they mastered the most important source of energy of this era. Their productivity would greatly increase. They could use fire to make various tools and pottery. They could also process various foods, and the tribe could reproduce sustainably. Agriculture and production would follow after.
Recalling the three characters of Suiren God on the boundary bead, Xia Ping'an had a sudden revelation. Could it be...
Right then, a man wearing beast skin came out from a cave. He began to strike a tree drum at the entrance of the cave with wooden sticks.
The tree drum was a section of a hollow tree trunk. When he struck it with wooden sticks, the tree trunk would let out low drumming sounds that could be heard far and wide.
When they heard this sound, everyone in the tribe still busy at work gathered towards the hill slope.
In just a short while, the hill slope was full of people. There were thousands of tribesmen—male, female, young, and old alike.
Xia Ping'an also followed the crowd and gathered over there.
Another group of people emerged from the cave.
The people who emerged from the cave were all strong men and women. Many of them were clad in beast skin, and they also wielded long spears. The person who was walking at the very front was an elder with white hair. He held a staff in his hand, and he wore a necklace of beast bones around his neck.
Behind the elder, there was a tall, burly man with a head of disheveled hair. He was tied up with rope made from vines and was being escorted out of the cave. This man had an ashen face and seemed dejected as he staggered forward.
The elder with the staff raised both his hands, and the crowd at the entrance of the cave fell silent all of a sudden.
The elder swept a glance over the crowd with a sad expression. At the entrance of the cave, he let out a mournful cry and said, "The heavens are punishing us. Our tribe's divine fire has been extinguished."
The crowd was suddenly in an uproar. Right then, some people began to kneel down and pray. Some people wailed loudly.
Thousands of people on the slope were suddenly devastated. Countless people were crying loudly as though the end of the world had arrived.
"Without the divine fire, how can we hold back the terrifying darkness that consumes the heavens and the earth? Without the divine fire, the ferocious beasts and poisonous insects will consume, sting, and bite us when we sleep. With winter coming, without the divine fire, countless of our tribesmen will freeze to death," the elder lamented as he cried out to the sky.
The elder continued, "Without the divine fire, our warriors cannot forge sharp and sturdy spears. Without the divine fire, we can only continue to eat raw and cold meat. We cannot store food for long. Our bodies will grow weak, and we will fall sick. Our children will no longer be strong and will struggle to grow."
The cries on the slope filled the sky.
Fire was the treasure of the entire tribe. It was their most important possession. It was the only energy source that humans could master. Without fire, the entire tribe might not be able to survive in the wilderness. They would face various survival challenges.
"This man is the strongest warrior in the tribe. We bestowed him the duty of keeping watch over the divine fire. Last night, he instead fell asleep while on watch and allowed our divine fire to extinguish."
"Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!" Countless people on the hill slope roared angrily. They glared at the man who was tied up with eyes filled with rage.
The man who was tied up was weeping. He knelt on the ground and pleaded loudly, "Chief, I am willing to pay for my crimes with my life. However, before I die, please allow me and the other warriors to retrieve the ember of the divine fire. Please allow me to die on the path of redemption."
The weeping and regretful warrior did not cause the enraged crowd around him to calm down. It was because, in everyone's eyes, the value of the ember far outweighed that of a person's life.
"He needs to pay for his crimes. However, before punishing him, our tribe needs a team of warriors who are willing to risk their lives. They will need to traverse countless mountains and reach the top of the mountain that spits fire from deep underground to bring us back a new ember of divine fire," the elder said in a sad and heavy voice as he pointed at the mountain range in the distance.
As they gazed at the mountain range in the distance, countless people fell silent. There were countless ferocious beasts in the mountains. The journey was long and arduous. Legends told that the top of the mountain that spat flames from deep underground was also perilous. For many, they believed that even if most of those who went on the mission to retrieve the divine fire from the distant mountains died, they might not necessarily succeed in bringing back the ember of the divine fire.
Many tribes had sent warriors to bring back the divine fire. In the end, there was no the news of the people who left on the mission. They never returned.
Most of the time, they had to send out multiple teams without end only for the chance of one team succeeding in returning with an ember.
For all the warriors, this was the greatest and most dangerous trial of this era.
For an ember, people would die almost every day.
"I am already old. This tribe needs a new chief. The warrior who brings back the divine fire will replace me as the next chief of our tribe."
Once the elder said this, warriors who were initially hesitant stood out from the crowd. They were willing to cross mountains and travel far to bring back the embers of the divine fire.
Xia Ping'an had been observing at the side all this while. Now, as he recalled the three characters of Suiren God on the boundary bead, Xia Ping'an finally understood what he needed to do.
If his understanding was correct, in this setting, he needed to play the role of Suiren and take up the historical calling of Suiren.
Xia Ping'an was very emotional. An inexplicable feeling and restlessness welled up in him.
Under the gazes of everyone, Xia Ping'an emerged from the crowd and took a few steps forward. He said loudly, "Chief, we don't have to sacrifice the warriors of our tribe. Give me half a day. I can make a divine fire. The divine fire in our tribe will never be extinguished again."
A commotion stirred up. Everyone stared at Xia Ping'an in disbelief. Even the chief glared at Xia Ping'an angrily. He said, "Do you know what you're talking about?"
"If I fail to deliver what I say, Chief may punish me. I'm willing to accept any punishment!"
"Are you waiting for the divine fire brought forth by the heavenly lightning?" The old man took a look at the sunny sky and glared at Xia Ping'an. He continued, "Nobody knows when the next heavenly fire will come. It might come after a heavy snow. Perhaps after the leaves have turned green a few times, only then will the heavenly fire descend."
Xia Ping'an replied loudly, "I'm not waiting for the heavenly fire. I don't need to depend on the heavens. Neither do I need to depend on the earth. I can make my own divine fire!"
The entire tribe was being thrown into chaos. Shocked, everyone stared at Xia Ping'an. From their point of view, someone who would say such a thing in front of everyone was basically a lunatic. He refused to wait for the heavenly fire. Neither was he willing to retrieve the ember from underground. How would he make a divine fire?
Impossible!
It was completely impossible!
Fire was a divine item. How could a human create a divine item? Was that person the same as a god?
"If you can do so, you must be the person that the heavens have sent to bring the divine fire to us. In the future, the entire tribe will obey your command," the elder said decisively. "If you cannot, you will follow these warriors and cross the mountains to retrieve the divine fire."
"Alright," Xia Ping'an agreed with a smile. As he glanced around his surroundings, he said, "Everyone, you can watch how I will create the divine fire in our tribe. I need to prepare some tools."
"I will provide you with whatever you need," the chief said immediately. He also did not believe that Xia Ping'an could create the divine fire with just some tools. He merely wanted to see what sort of trickery Xia Ping'an was going to perform.
The entire tribe became curious. Xia Ping'an did not concern himself with what the rest did and began to prepare his tools under their watchful gazes.
First, Xia Ping'an found a wooden rod that was a few feet long. He then unraveled soft vines and made a rope. He fastened the rope at both ends of the wooden rod and tightened the rope. The rod did not bend and became a simple tool reminiscent of a violin bow.
Then, Xia Ping'an found a piece of dried firewood in the cave and a shorter piece of dried wood. On a stone, he sharpened one end of the dried piece of wood. He then used the stone to chisel a hole in the piece of dried firewood. He also chiseled another smaller hole next to the first hole.
Next, Xia Ping'an found some dried grass and tree bark. He asked the people to the side to beat the grass and tree bark with rocks. The dried grass and bark were beaten, becoming fibers. Then, Xia Ping'an began to demonstrate how to start a fire by drilling wood.
He stepped on the piece of firewood that had two holes chiseled in it. He stabbed the sharpened stick into one of the holes in the firewood. Next, he lassoed the rope of the violin-bow-like tool on the short stick. Xia Ping'an then pulled the wooden rod of the bow back and forth. The sharpened stick spun rapidly and rubbed against the hole in the piece of firewood.
It was child's play for Xia Ping'an to start a fire by drilling wood.
Ten minutes later, under the shocked gazes of many people, with Xia Ping'an skillful moves, smoke began to appear from the firewood with two holes in it. Smoking sawdust fell from the other hole and dropped onto the pile of dried grass that was beaten into fibers.
Soon, smoke could be seen appearing from the pile of fibrous dried grass. Xia Ping'an gently blew air on it. A moment later, a tiny flame popped up from the pile of grass.
He did it!
Everyone in the tribe had gaping mouths and wide eyes, as though they had witnessed a miracle.
Xia Ping'an continued to add small twigs to the tiny flame. Soon, he had a raging bonfire burning on the ground.
"Divine fire! The divine fire has been ignited!" The entire tribe was shocked. They looked at Xia Ping'an as though they were looking at a deity.
What Xia Ping'an just did was akin to performing a magic trick in front of the tribe. The rare ember of divine fire popped up from nothing in Xia Ping'an's hands.
The divine fire was neither from the heavens nor the earth. It was born of one of them. It appeared from nothingness in Xia Ping'an's hands.
In the eyes of everyone, this was a shocking miracle.
The chief got excited too. He even put his hand over the ember to test its temperature, unafraid of being burned. He wanted to test and see whether or not the fire was real.
Countless people rushed towards Xia Ping'an and surrounded him. All of them were extremely exhilarated as they questioned Xia Ping'an on how he did it.
Xia Ping'an looked at the elated crowd and gently said, "There's no need to get excited. I can teach all of you."
Then, Xia Ping'an selected a few warriors and youths, including the man who was tied up, and slowly taught them how to make a fire by drilling wood.
A second person had mastered the skill. The third soon followed. The entire tribe went into an uproar.
For the next few days, the neighboring tribes sent people here to learn the skill after they heard news of someone in this tribe being able to create the divine fire out of nothing.
Xia Ping'an didn't keep his skill a secret. He would teach the skill of making fire by drilling wood to whoever came to learn.
A few days later, Xia Ping'an earned a name among all the tribes. His name was Suiren God!
Prior to this, he had no name. None of the people in the tribes had names.
Suiren meant the person who drilled wood and obtained fire. He was also crowned the title of God.
In this era, nobody in the tribes had a name. Xia Ping'an became the first person to have a name.
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