I am a Primitive Man-Chapter 839: A Bold Idea
Chapter 839 – A Bold Idea
“Divine Child, why is it warmer if we go south?”
Shaman looked at Han Cheng and asked, his eyes full of confusion.
This question had been on Shaman’s mind for quite some time, but seeing Han Cheng so excitedly explaining things, he had held back—until now.
After Shaman asked, the Eldest Senior Brother was also momentarily stunned before realizing the question’s importance.
Indeed, why would it get warmer in the south?
Shouldn’t the South be roughly the same as their own tribe’s location?
Mao was especially puzzled, having traveled south many times with trade teams.
Besides, the original Huangguo Tribe was to the south of their current location, and yet one spring, he and Shang, along with the people of the Huangguo Tribe, had almost failed to return due to harsh conditions. That place had been anything but warm.
Hearing Shaman’s question, Han Cheng was momentarily taken aback.
As someone from the Northern Hemisphere, he naturally knew that traveling south generally meant warmer climates—this was common knowledge in his original world.
Smiling, he realized he had instinctively applied his modern understanding to the situation.
Still, such questions, though obvious, often left others speechless because they couldn’t articulate why.
For Han Cheng, trained in the humanities, there was no problem. He had excelled in geography among his humanities subjects: longitude, latitude, the line of sunrise and sunset, perihelion, aphelion, the Tropic of Cancer, heat rising, cold sinking—all second nature to him.
Clearing his throat, Han Cheng decided it was time to begin his “performance.”
“The South is warmer because it is closer to the sun. The sun is like a big fireball—like a campfire. Stand far from it, and you feel cold; stand near it, and you feel warm.”
“Then why is the south closer to the sun?”
Shi Tou, who had wandered over, asked with twinkling eyes, taking over Shaman’s role as the ‘ten thousand whys.’ Shi Tou, who as a child had dreamed of flying due to Han Cheng’s coaxing, was particularly curious about such things.
Han Cheng continued: “That’s because the Earth we live on is a sphere. The south is closer to the middle of the sphere, which juts outward, so it is nearer to the sun.”
Seeing Shaman and others still confused, Han Cheng grabbed a large, round fruit, placed it on the ground, stuck a small stick nearby, and tied a thin string to it. He began comparing distances using the string.
First, he measured the fruit’s midpoint, marking it on the string. Then he measured the top.
Everyone noticed that the same length of string reached the fruit’s middle but not its top. To reach the top, a longer string was needed.
“For example, if the stick represents the sun and the fruit is our Earth, isn’t the middle of the fruit—the equatorial region—closest to the sun?”
Han Cheng, in full “high school geography teacher mode,” used this crude but effective model. Just like his old teacher had used a student’s head for demonstration, he now used a fruit.
The tribe immediately understood: the middle of a sphere, like the equator, is closest to the sun.
Han Cheng continued: “As for why the south you’ve visited isn’t warmer, it’s because you haven’t gone far enough. If you travel further south, it will get warmer. Ask the old primitives; they once fled north due to the Flying Snake Tribe and were frozen by the cold…”
He gave examples of tribes moving north and returning because of freezing conditions.
A new question arose:
“Divine Child, how can the Earth be a sphere? Isn’t it flat?”
Shi Tou asked. The others were equally shocked.
Since birth, they had always walked on the land—mountains, valleys, rivers, plains. How could it be round?
Han Cheng was fortunate that his audience was uninformed primitives; otherwise, such a claim could have provoked ridicule.
Without photographs or maps, convincing them the Earth was a sphere was challenging. But for Han Cheng, trained in the humanities and model-based explanations, it was doable.
He held up the same fruit again: “Look closely at the surface.”
Though the tribe was familiar with this fruit, they observed.
“Notice anything?”
They saw nothing at first. Han Cheng prompted: “The fruit’s surface isn’t smooth, right?”
Everyone realized he was correct.
“Now imagine enlarging this fruit greatly. The small bumps become mountains and hills; the grooves are like valleys. Our Earth is the same—uneven but spherical.”
Some began to understand. Shi Tou compared the fruit’s bumps to distant hills and mountains, realizing how vast the Earth must be.
Han Cheng smiled, seeing comprehension dawning. “The Earth seems flat because it’s enormous, and local features hide the curvature. From a higher, broader perspective, you can see it’s round. You’ll first see the treetops in the distance, then the lower parts…”
Initially, Han Cheng had considered using myths like Pangu or the “round sky, square earth” explanation. Still, he realized a modern, factual approach would prevent future confusion for the tribe’s descendants.
A bold idea came to him: by teaching the tribe that the Earth is a vast sphere, perhaps future Green Sparrow descendants would dream of exploring the world, sailing far, discovering new lands, and spreading their culture globally.
“Actually, the Earth isn’t just a sphere—it’s always rotating.”
Excited, Han Cheng gathered everyone into the warmer brick-and-tile house. More people joined, curious to learn.
He began explaining: rotation, day and night, the sun rising in the east and setting in the west.
For the tribe, this concept was more challenging to grasp than the idea that the Earth is a sphere. They had never felt the Earth moving. “If we spin, we get dizzy; why not when the Earth spins?”
Han Cheng smiled: “The Earth rotates once per day—very slowly—so you don’t feel dizzy. Try spinning slowly on the ground and see if you get dizzy.”
After some tried and confirmed, he posed the questions: “Why is there day and night? Why does the sun rise in the east and set in the west?”
Everyone was stumped. Even the clever ones—Shaman, Yuan, Shi Tou—had no idea.
Han Cheng explained: “It’s because the Earth rotates. Let me show you.”
He darkened the house, lit an oil lamp, and used the fruit as a simple globe. He marked the fruit for the tribe’s location.
“The lamp is the sun, the fruit is the Earth, and the mark shows our tribe. The side facing the lamp is day; the side in shadow is night.”
Turning the fruit from west to east, the mark passed from light to dark, demonstrating day and night.
Shi Tou finally shouted excitedly: “I get it!”
“Why?” Han Cheng asked.
“Because the Earth rotates from west to east!”
Han Cheng nodded approvingly. Encouraged, Shi Tou added: “When it rotates west to east, the eastern side is illuminated first, and sunlight disappears last from the west side…”
“Excellent!” Han Cheng praised, giving Shi Tou two thumbs up. Even with hints, Shi Tou’s answer deserved recognition.
Chapter 839: A Bold Idea
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