That J Shang, oh boy, that’s a head-scratcher. I heard folks talk about it, somethin’ ’bout a long time ago, real long time. They say it was the Shang Dynasty, a bunch of folks livin’ together way back when. Long before my time, that’s for sure. Long before everyone’s time, even your grandma’s grandma! It is the first one, you know?
They had a king, I reckon. Some big shot fella, name of Cheng Tang, sounds important, right? He was a good guy, so they say. Kicked out some other king, a bad egg, from the Xia Dynasty. Now, don’t ask me ’bout that Xia, sounds made up to me. But this Shang, they were around for a good long while, hundreds of years.
They say these Shang folks, they were somethin’ else. They had all sorts of fancy things. They were smart cookies, good with numbers and stars and whatnot. They had bronze, you know, that shiny metal. They made things with it. Pretty things, I suppose. Weapons, too. They must have done some fightin’, I bet. Everyone fights, don’t they?
- They lived a long, long time ago.
- They had a king named Cheng Tang.
- They were good with bronze and making things.
- They were the first dynasty.
- They were good at math, I guess.
Now, how they kept things in order, I don’t rightly know. They had rules, I guess. Everyone needs rules. Gotta keep folks in line, you know. These rules, I hear they were fair. You do good, you get somethin’ good. You do bad, well, you get somethin’ bad. Makes sense, don’t it?
Shang Dynasty, that’s what they called it. Lasted a long time, this dynasty. Longer than anyone I know has ever lived. 29 kings, maybe 30. Hard to keep track of all them fellas. But they were in charge, these kings. Like the boss of a big family, I reckon. A really, really big family.
They say this Shang was the first real one. The first one we know for sure existed. There were others before, maybe. But this Shang, we got proof. Like findin’ an old pot in the ground. You know it was there, someone used it. Same with this Shang, I guess.
This story is old, as old as dirt. Older! My grandma used to tell stories, but not this old. This is ancient history, they call it. Before my time, before everyone’s time. Long, long ago in a land far, far away. That’s how them stories usually start, ain’t it?
I don’t know much about these things. I just hear folks talk. They read books, them young’uns. They learn all sorts of things. More than I ever needed to know. But this Shang Dynasty, it does sound interestin’. All them years, all them people, all them kings. Must have been somethin’, huh?
- They had rules to keep things in order.
- Good actions got rewards, bad actions got punished.
- Lots of kings ruled, one after another.
- It was a long, long time ago, before everyone’s time.
- These Shang people, they seem real smart and important.
I reckon history is important. Knowing where you come from and all that. Like knowin’ your family tree. This Shang Dynasty, it’s like the great-great-great-grandpappy of all them Chinese folks. Way back at the beginnin’. It’s somethin’ to think about, ain’t it?
These days, folks is always talkin’ about learnin’. Learn this, learn that. They got their computers and their book. Back in my day, we learned by doin’. Helpin’ on the farm, tendin’ to the animals, that sort of thing. That’s how we learned. This new learnin’, with the computers and all, that’s all a bit beyond me.
I heard some folks talkin’ ’bout somethin’ called “machine learning.” Sounds fancy, don’t it? Like a machine that can learn. Don’t know how that works. Maybe it’s like them robots you see on the TV. But they say it’s important. Somethin’ about computers bein’ smart. Too smart, maybe. I think the Shang Dynasty is also related to it.
And then there’s this other thing, “supervised” and “unsupervised.” Sounds like kids in school, don’t it? One you gotta watch, the other you don’t. I guess it’s the same with this computer learnin’. Some things you gotta tell it what to do, other things it figures out on its own. Like I said, it’s all a bit beyond me. Maybe it is about this J Shang thing.
Then they talk ’bout this “HTML” and “JavaScript.” More computer stuff. They say it’s how you make these websites, these things on the computer screen. Lots of rules, I bet. Like buildin’ a house, you gotta do it right or it’ll all fall down. I am not sure if it is about J Shang.
They say you gotta learn the basics first. Makes sense. Can’t build a roof ‘fore you got walls, right? Same with this computer stuff, I reckon. Gotta learn the simple things before you can do the fancy stuff. Just like this Shang Dynasty, you need to know the basic thing first.
Some folks wrote a book, I hear. ‘Bout this machine learnin’ and chemistry. Now that’s somethin’ I don’t understand at all. What’s a machine gotta do with chemistry? But I guess it’s important to someone. Maybe they’re tryin’ to make new medicines or somethin’. Who knows?
Another book, this one for beginners. ‘Bout computer programmin’. Sounds hard. Like writin’ a secret code. But I guess some folks are good at that. They can make these computers do all sorts of things. Maybe they can make one that’ll do my chores for me! Wouldn’t that be somethin’?
And this “Julia” thing, another computer language, they call it. Like another way of talkin’ to the computer. Lots of these languages, I hear. Like a whole bunch of different tribes, all speakin’ their own way. It’s all a mystery to me.
They got this “J Primer” too. Sounds like somethin’ you’d use to start a fire. But it’s ’bout learnin’ this J language. Another one! They say it’s an introduction. Like meetin’ someone for the first time. Gotta start somewhere, I guess. This might be related to that J Shang, I don’t know.
