After reading the book "A Brief History of Humanity" and then coming back to read "The Asda Chronicles", you can't help but feel that this is a very profound TV series. The profound thing is that the story frame set by the screenwriters subtly condenses the development history of human beings for tens of thousands of years, and the source of contradictions and conflicts just perfectly reflects the process of human beings changing from a forager society to a farming era and from a tribe to a nation.
The Neanderthals in the TV series are based on the Neanderthals in the book A Brief History of Humanity. As early as the appearance of Homo sapiens, another human group in Europe and West Asia, Neanderthals, they were burly and muscular, suitable for the cold climate of the Ice Age. They are also a type of human race, but not the same attribute as the human ancestor Homo sapiens. The Nians in the play are blue-blooded people who have been endowed with the attributes of beasts, and the descendants of human beings are called ygots. This follows that Neanderthal genes were found in later human genetic testing, indicating that this kind of interbreeding existed at that time, but it only accounted for a small part.
As early as more than 30,000 years ago, the Neanderthals were extinct. Just like the siege of the blue blood race by the human race in the play, humans finally stood at the top of the food chain. There was a negotiation between the two sides at the beginning of the first episode, but it fell apart. The reason is that humans say let's cooperate, build a country, share resources and share the fruits of labor, while Neantas say we don't eat things like garlic. In fact, the message here is actually the opposition of two completely different social models. The Nianta people are the life model of the primitive gatherer tribe, while the Asda people have entered the farming society.
The idea proposed by the Terrans is not attractive to the blue bloods at all, because the Neantas can obtain enough food only by their own ability to meet the needs of themselves and their offspring. And they hunted a variety of food, slaughtering a bear today to pick a fruit tomorrow, there is no need to rely on the human race to grow such a single food. Originally, there was nothing to do with their own well-being, but human beings coveted the plains of the moon for the blue-blooded people, and did not hesitate to use genocide to occupy them, and why did humans who are not physically comparable to the blue-blooded people succeed in the end? Is it really just because of a takun? It also starts with a seed.
Remember the three taboos of the white wolf mother-in-law in the play? You can't climb the big black wall, you can't plant, and you can't domesticate animals. Because the domestication of animals and plants is the beginning of the human agricultural revolution, and this origin has completely changed the mode of human existence. Like the establishment of the Asda Alliance, perhaps it was a group of people who discovered that a regular source of food could be obtained through cultivation, rather than hunting in the sun and rain. Once it started, people gradually settled in one place, started farming and building houses, and depended on crops for survival. In order to ensure sufficient food, people must expand their cultivation, which requires occupying more land. In the beginning, the competition for land may only be a small range among individuals, but if everyone competes for land, the society will not be peaceful, so an alliance like Asda is gradually formed.
In this alliance, different people and tribes perform their duties, and there are slaves who are responsible for hard farming and labor. Although they have the largest population, they have the lowest status, and their personal freedom and labor results are firmly controlled within a small in the hands of some people. These people include the Hai people who master advanced technology, the Dongfang people who control the Han army, and the Baishan people who are blessed by the gods. The role of the Hai people and the Dongfang people is easy to understand, but what role did the Baishan people play when they were criticized by many people at first for pretending to be ghosts?
In fact, there was a cognitive revolution before the human agricultural revolution, and people began to use virtual stories to make it possible for most people to cooperate. As a single individual, human ability is very limited, but the power of cooperation among many people cannot be underestimated, and it is the gods that bind this power, because everyone in Asda believes in the existence of gods. A Brief History of Humanity contains the following passage:
The point of "fiction" is not only to allow human beings to have imagination, but more importantly, to imagine "together" and weave all kinds of common fictional stories, whether it is the "Genesis" of the Bible, the "Aboriginal" of Australia Dreamtime, even the so-called country in modern times, is actually a kind of imagination. Such fictions give Homo sapiens unprecedented capabilities, allowing us to assemble large numbers of people and work together flexibly.
To put it bluntly, it is to draw a pie, and beauty exists in the imagination of human beings, but because they believe that this supernatural force will allow them to eat that pie, people are willing to surrender. In other words, if there is only the existence of the army and technicians, it is impossible to build a huge social system like Asda, which is why Takun wants to become a king, and he will never be able to bypass the Baishan people independently. Violence is never a leader's first choice, because there are easy and effective ways to draw a pie. Takun will marry the Baishan people first to gain political convenience, and he will not kill unless it is a last resort.
Contrast that with the worldview of the Neantas, who were clearly unaffected by this cognitive revolution, who saw themselves as part of nature and coexisted with other creatures. They have no class distinctions and no desire to dominate other creatures. Even if their own race is about to become extinct, what they think of is to be grateful that they are still alive. When inviting Xue Xing to go with them, Xue Xing was reluctant. They did not force it. They believed that personal will was above everything else. So even if they are strong and fast, they are all single, and even if the cooperation is small, they cannot unite hundreds of thousands of people like human beings. To build a plank road in the sea, this power is enough to defeat all the large and ferocious creatures in this world.
But it's not enough to have gods alone, and everyone has to believe that this power can take shape. The firefly possession that Tarquin prepared was to convince people that he was Aravin. If Yin Chan said that he was the God of Inai, no one would believe him. He had to survive the baptism of the waterfall, and he had to convince the surrounding ethnic groups before he could unify them and move towards a common goal. This kind of virtual imaginary story is the biggest characteristic of human beings that distinguishes them from other creatures. A large number of cooperation expands the boundaries step by step, making everything possible, and human beings will become the first of all spirits.
The struggle within the Asda Alliance has intensified, and each faction will do everything for its own interests. It is not easy for the interest group headed by Takun to overthrow the Baishan clan, because that is the unshakable inner order in everyone's heart. If If he wants to overthrow, he must find another stronger story to convince everyone, so the appearance of Tan Ya just meets his needs. Tan Ya is the direct line of the Asi clan, and the Baishan clan is only a collateral line. And confirmed through ceremonies, etc. When the country was finally established, Tanya brought the crown to Takun, which was equivalent to the power that God gave Takun to lead the people, and he could then formulate rules to continue to consolidate his vested interests.
Someone asked me when the plot was aired whether that primitive Neanta-like life with no desires was good or bad. At the time, I didn't know how to answer. After reading "A Brief History of Humanity", I thought I have the answer. In terms of happiness, they must be Neantas, but as long as some people enter the farming society, human beings cannot stop imagining, and cannot hold back the boundaries of their desires, and cannot give up their attachment to the land. Even if some prophets like the white wolf mother-in-law predicted the terrible consequences, fled with their own clansmen and abide by the laws of primitive nature, they could not escape being found by human beings in the end. At this time, the Wahan people have only two choices: Either join them and be one of them, or be destroyed like the Neantas, either way, they'll never go back.
If you can watch it patiently, this is really a deep conscience drama. I strongly look forward to the second season. It is a pity not to shoot.
View more about Arthdal Chronicles reviews
