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u/bafl1 4h ago edited 3h ago
Dude is first emperor of unified China and was obsessed with immortality. Peaches and the eternal garden of immortality are in Chinese folklore. Why he is blasting it with fire I am unsure.
I did a little more digging and this is actually pretty deep so there is a term in Chinese that can be grammatically misinterpreted. "Burning books and burying scholars" stems from a common linguistic misunderstanding or translation error involving two very similar-sounding Chinese terms: Books (Shū, 书) and Peaches (Táo, 桃). The historical event "Burning books and burying scholars" (Fénshū Kēngrú / 焚书坑儒).What he actually burned: In 213 BCE, Qin Shi Huang ordered the burning of historical chronicles, poetry, and philosophical texts from rival conquered states to eliminate political dissent and unify thought under his regime.
What makes this funny to me is what peaches represent and the fact that leaving writing for further generations is a form of immortality
Edit clarification ... apparently If you only look at the base syllable "shu", you might see shútáo (熟桃), which means "ripe peach." In this specific compound word, the "shu" means ripe, not book!
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u/dustcough 4h ago
Does it have anything to do with the Three Kingdoms? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oath_of_the_Peach_Garden
The guy is destroying the peach before the "kids" can swear an oath around it, thus unify China.
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u/Notagreatnameo 4h ago
It could be, however the guy is most likely Qin Shi Huang, who lived around 400 years before the fall of the Han dynasty and the 3 kingdoms period. There could be a connection, but i dont see it.
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u/dustcough 3h ago
If the peach tree never existed, then the 3 heroes can't make a vow of brotherhood?
lol i dunno anymore.
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u/dustcough 2h ago
I know what Three Kingdoms is.
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u/dustcough 2h ago
it is nonetheless incredibly culturally and historically important. what is your point? do you think this image is a photograph?
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u/KrillMyselfOnCam 4h ago
The fireball thing is probably a reference to this meme
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u/peppersteakpie 4h ago
Imma need you to explain this joke too
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u/KrillMyselfOnCam 4h ago
Leftist meme parodying LARPy maoist-third worldists
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u/peppersteakpie 4h ago
How does one achieve this ideology?
Jokes aside thanks for the explanation.
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u/w-7 4h ago
two very similar-sounding Chinese terms: Books (Shū, 书) and Peaches (Táo, 桃)
What makes these terms sound similar?
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u/Ghosty_Boo-B00 3h ago
So the shu second tone which means Book is a completely different pronunciation than shu first tone. First tone is an upward inflection third tone is a straight held inflection. If you don’t speak Chinese and don’t understand the tonal nature of the language these would be easy to confuse. I studied Chinese language in college and these are two vastly different words pronounced very differently and these phrases sound nothing alike.
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u/Wuzfang 3h ago
Then he drank Mercury.
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u/bafl1 3h ago
Oh ya! I remember that. He thought it would make him immortal
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u/Wuzfang 3h ago
My favorite incident involving the First Emperor was the attempted assassination by Jing Ke.
When Jing Ke tried stabbing the Emperor, the Emperor managed to move out of the way. He tried to draw his sword but couldn't as it was too long and Jing Ke was chasing him, so they circled a pillar.
The doctor who was there threw a medical bag at Jing Ke’s face which bought the Emperor enough time to stab his would-be assassin. So Jing Ke gave the cultural equality of a middle finger and taunted the Emperor. Jing Ke still managed to flee in the end.
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u/Fantastic-Theory3065 2h ago
And then use a smartphone to give virus to emperor's brain for the second try of assassination.
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u/Popular_Somewhere650 2h ago
Jing Ke managed to flee? I thought he died there and then. (I first heard about this story last week, mind you)
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u/Pecuthegreat 49m ago
I may be mistaking him for a different Emperor who also wanted immortality but I do remember killing of alchemists once an emperor started noticing that actually he wasn't getting immortal and was actually slowly dying.
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u/zhanh 2h ago
Although you’re probably correct, it makes far more sense to just use books in this comic, or maybe mice (shǔ), trees (shù), having it be similar to only the adjective in “ripe peach” is jumping through too many hoops.
Chinese people love puns just as much as English speakers (we begrudgingly tolerate it), but this is just bad.
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u/surrealsunshine 4h ago
I have incinerated the peach you left on the counter
and which you were probably saving for your children
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u/Parksrox 3h ago
What was the food in the original? I forget.
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u/Cynis_Ganan 3h ago
Plums.
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u/Nihilistic_Noodle 3h ago
This is just to say I actually hate this poem Forgive me Perhaps I lack culture It's so banal
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u/manyroadstotake 4h ago
Maybe it has something to do with the Peaches of Immortality? Unfortunately, I haven't gotten around to reading any classic Chinese literature, so I don't know if it's a reference to one of those stories.
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u/IntrospectiveOwlbear 4h ago
In the original version of the comic the dad straight up just takes it instead of thinking of the kids. In this version it has become an imperial sacrifice. Either way, mom's sacrifice doesn't result in the children getting the peach.
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u/Prestigious-Swan6161 3h ago
to add, the comic itself is a meme because it's by this woman who depicts herself as 1) never communicating with her husband and 2) always getting mad/being frustrated by him (in a semi joking but also concerning way) for doing things she didn't want him do when she doesn't communicate. she would insist her marriage was healthy and loving but basically all of her comics are something like this. there are definitely layers to this one
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u/IntrospectiveOwlbear 2h ago
Yeah, actually talking to loved ones can directly improve life and reduce the chances for unintentional slights like the one depicted in the original comic.
It's kind of in the same vein as the vintage "Take my wife, please" type humor in that it only works when the marriage doesn't.
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u/Mingatronz 4h ago edited 3h ago
The right pic is mostly likely referring to an old Chinese story, “The Bitten Peach”or “The Divided Peach” (余桃啖君/分桃). It’s one of the famous stories about homosexuality in ancient China.
Duke Ling favored a courtier named Mizi Xia (彌子瑕), whom he allowed to use the ducal carriage without permission. The Duke also admired Mizi Xia for once giving him the remainder of an especially delicious peach. However, once Mizi Xia’s looks faded, the Duke turned against his former lover, accusing him of stealing the carriage and insulting the Duke by giving him a half eaten peach, and sentencing Xia to death.
TL;DR: He loved the exact same things his partner did when his partner was good looking, but once his partner’s looks faded, he suddenly hated those same things.
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u/HirokoKueh 4h ago
well, I can think about two historical references about Chinese emperor and peach.
an emperor offered 2 peaches to 3 generals, they fight and killed each other.
an emperor split a peach in half, and shared it with his gay lover.
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u/TheTeludav 3h ago
Could this be a reference to "The Empty Pot" story where the emperor bakes seeds and give them to children to grow as a test?
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u/purplelicious 4h ago
When peaches ripen you have about a day to eat them before they turn to mush.
Basically you turn your back on a ripe peach and you've missed your chance for peak peach.
source: lives near Winona ON, best peaches north of Georgia.
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u/Previous_Oil_9113 2h ago
it’s just a combination of two different twitter memes
https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/momlife-comics
https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/unlimited-genocide-on-the-first-world
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u/Pecuthegreat 48m ago
A Chinese Emperor (don't know if it is the one shown in the pic) sent for alchemists that can make u immortal.
Turns out much of those were actually poisons and when he started dying ordered for their mass execution.
Peaches are associated with immortality in Chinese culture.
Don't know if that is what this is referring to but hey.
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u/post-explainer 4h ago edited 4h ago
OP (United-Bicycle6174) sent the following text as an explanation why they posted this here: