What history is to me?

Since I know that professor, I found that there are a lot of rooms in history study for me to explore. He teaches me history is a training of thinking, revealing secrets hidden by people…I still remember that one day he asked me a question: what’s emperor‘s job? Every body know that 皇帝日理萬機。 但即是做什麼呢？

I answered him that emperor should be busy at reading the reports from his officials and write his edicts. The professor then said, “do you know how many reports one day he should read from everywhere within his empire? He even can’t handle the reports from one county. Furthermore, he pointed out that many students only know the term and abstract concept but don’t really know what the content is. All we know emperor is busy but we really don’t know what he‘s busy for.

After discussion and reading some books the professor recommend, I know that there ‘ are two main tasks the emperor should do: first, he should play a role of switchboard, he doesn’t have to read and answer those reports but he has to know who is the suitable person to read and answer those reports. If he can assign the huge number of reports to different officials effectively, he has done half of his job; the second half is, he needs to keep a myth: he is son of heaven and mandate of heaven. He can’t tell other people that he is a normal person only, in this myth, normal people can’t often see him, even touch him.

Through this training, I know what critical thinking is---don’t simply trust what other people tell you, think it more and think it deeper.