Ancient correspondence
Hongyan Chuan Shu
The allusion of "Hongyan Chuan Shu" comes from the story of "Su Wu shepherding sheep" in "Han Shu? Su Wu Biography". According to records, in the first year of the Han Dynasty (100 BC), the envoy Zhonglang of the Han Dynasty, Su Wu, was detained by the Shanyu, the Marquis of Tutankhamun, on an envoy to the Xiongnu. He was brave and unyielding, and the Shanyu exiled him to Beihai (today's Lake Baikal). ) Shepherding sheep in no man’s land. Nineteen years later, Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty succeeded to the throne, and the Han Dynasty reconciled and got married. Envoys from the Han Dynasty came to threaten Su Wu and demanded that Su Wu be released. However, the Chanyu refused and could not say anything, so he lied that Su Wu was dead. Later, Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty sent envoys to the Huns. Chang Hui, the deputy envoy who went to the Huns with Su Wu and was detained, secretly met with the Han envoys one night through the help of the jailer, told the Han envoys about Su Wu's situation, and He came up with a plan and asked the Han envoy to tell Shanyu: "When the emperor of the Han Dynasty was hunting in Shanglinyuan, he shot a wild goose. There was a letter written on silk tied to its foot. It said that Su Wu was not dead, but It's in a big swamp." The Han envoy was very happy after hearing this and blamed Shan Yu according to Chang Hui's words. Chanyu was greatly surprised after hearing this, but could not deny it, so he had to let Su Wu go.
The Blue Bird Biography
According to the ancient Chinese book "The Classic of Mountains and Seas", there are three blue birds, named Zhao Lan and Zi Yan (there is also a blue bird named by the author) (not found) are followers and messengers of the Queen Mother of the West. They can fly across thousands of mountains and rivers to deliver messages, delivering good news of auspiciousness, happiness and joy to the world. It is said that the Queen Mother of the West once wrote a letter to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. The Queen Mother of the West sent a blue bird to deliver the letter, and the Blue Bird delivered the letter of the Queen Mother of the West to the Chenghua Hall of the Han Palace. In later myths, the blue bird gradually evolved into the Phoenix, the king of birds.
Li Jing, the leader of the Southern Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem: "Blue birds do not send foreign messages from the clouds, and lilacs are empty in the rain." Li Bai in the Tang Dynasty wrote a poem, "I hope that because of the three blue birds, I will report long-lasting lovesickness." Li Shangyin wrote a poem, "Peng Peng" There are no many roads to this mountain, and the blue bird is diligent in looking around." Cui Guofu's poem "I think of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty in the distance, when will the blue bird pass by", all of which are borrowed from the allusion of "the blue bird's message".
Kite Communication
The kites we use for entertainment today played an important role as an emergency communication tool in ancient times.
Legend has it that as early as the late Spring and Autumn Period, the master craftsman Gongshu Pan (Luban) of the State of Lu imitated the shape of a bird, "cutting bamboo wood to make a magpie, and then it flew away without falling for three days." This kind of bamboo wood made of The flying "wooden magpie" made of wood was the predecessor of the kite. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cai Lun invented papermaking. People used bamboo strips to make frames and then papered them to become "paper kites". In the Five Dynasties, when people were making paper kites, they tied a bamboo whistle on them. When the wind blew the bamboo whistle, it sounded like a kite, and the word "kite" came from this.
The original kite was made for military needs. Its main purpose was for military reconnaissance or to convey information and military intelligence. After the Tang Dynasty, kites gradually became an entertainment toy and became popular among the people.
Communication Tower
In the 18th century, French engineer Claude Chape successfully developed a practical communication system that accelerated the speed of information transmission. The system consists of several communication towers established 230 kilometers between Paris and Lille. A wooden pillar was erected on the top of these towers, and a horizontal crossbar was installed on the wooden pillar. People could rotate the wooden pole and swing it to various angles under the operation of ropes. There are two vertical arms at both ends of the horizontal crossbar, which can also be rotated. In this way, each tower can form 192 different configurations through wooden poles, and nearby towers can use telescopes to see information representing 192 meanings. In this way, it is passed on in sequence, and it only takes 2 minutes to complete a message transmission within a distance of 230 kilometers. This system made great contributions in the French Revolutionary War in the 18th century.
Signal flags
Signal flags have been used on ships for communication for more than 400 years. The advantage of flag communication is that it is very simple. Therefore, even though modern communication technology is quite advanced today, this simple communication method is still retained and has become an important method of short-range communication. When communicating with signals, signal flags can be used alone or in combination to express different meanings. Usually a single flag is flown to indicate the most urgent, important or commonly used content. For example, flying the letter A flag means "there are divers under my ship, please move away from my ship slowly"; flying the letter O flag means "someone has fallen into the water"; flying the letter flag W means "my ship needs medical assistance" and so on.
Semaphore
During the 200 years between the 15th and 16th centuries, fleet commanders commanded their ships by firing cannons or raising sails. In 1777, Admiral Howe, commander of the British American Fleet, printed a signal manual and became the first person to write a signal book. Later, Admiral Sir Popham used some flags as "shorthand" letters and created a complete set of flag letters. In 1805, when Lord Nelson commanded the Battle of Trafalgar, the last signal he sent before his death was Popham Flag No. 16: "Sail to the enemy and fight at close range."
In 1817, Britain Captain Mariette of the Navy compiled the first internationally recognized book of signaling numbers. There are 40 Fanghai signal flags, including 26 letter flags, 10 number flags, 3 substitute flags and 1 answer flag. Flags come in different shapes: swallowtail, rectangular, trapezoid, triangle, etc. Flags also vary in color and pattern.