Chapter 1465: Psychology Students Never Talk About Constellations
Xiao Peng and Hua Chong were chatting enthusiastically:
"Actually, ancient people's stargazing was pretty much the same. You know that the positions of the stars you see vary depending on the season, right? So, ancient stargazers divided the sky into different regions. For example, our ancestors divided the stars into 28 mansions, while the ancient Babylonians divided them into the 12 constellations. The earliest images of the 12 constellations can be found on clay tablets from the Babylonian period."
"Later, when Alexander the Great of Macedonia conquered the East, he brought the Babylonian zodiac to Greece. In Greek mythology, everything could become a god. The Greeks thought, wow, this is great! So they immediately adapted the zodiac into the context of Greek mythology, built temples for them, and also developed their own personality psychology around it. This is why many people now believe the twelve constellations originated in ancient Greece."
Hua Chong clapped his hands suddenly. "I was just wondering, 'Something feels off.' A lot of girls who've been talking to me about astrology say it's a science from ancient Greece. It seems like they've been studying astrology for ages and don't even know where the twelve constellations originated."
Xiao Peng smiled and said, "Westerners are best at flattering themselves. If they have something good, they'll just modify it and claim it as their own. But if it's something bad, they'll quickly throw it away and claim it's someone else's. However, when Greece absorbed the culture of the twelve zodiac signs back then, it wasn't simply to expand their own mythology, but to share the responsibility of the church at the time."
"Share the responsibility?" Hua Chong was confused.
Xiao Peng nodded and said, "In ancient Greece, the rulers at that time used various methods to control the people, such as using medicine to control the people. At that time, the church had the final say on whether to treat people."
Upon hearing this, Hua Chong stretched out his hand and said, "Wait! Boss! I have a question!"
"What's the problem?" Xiao Peng asked puzzledly.
Hua Chong said, "As far as I know, doctors in ancient Greece treated patients by bleeding, right? This is the mainstream treatment method in the West, and bloodletting was the main treatment method from ancient Greece to the Middle Ages! Then why does the church still have the final say? How simple is that? Anyone can bleed someone!"
Xiao Peng nodded after hearing this: "You are indeed right. I can see that you love studying."
Medical classifications can't simply be divided into Traditional Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine. Instead, they should be divided into "modern medicine" and "contemporary medicine." Some so-called "TCM haters" claim that "TCM is unscientific." They really should understand the history of Western medicine. Back then, Western medicine essentially cut off whatever was wrong, and the universal cure for any illness was bloodletting. For headaches and fevers, a single cut and bloodletting was considered a cure. Other treatments included hitting the head with a bucket or hammer...
These are all mainstream treatments! Especially bloodletting: Traditional barbershops have red and white striped light boxes at the entrance. This tradition comes from the West, meaning: We can do bloodletting in our barbershops.
After hearing this, Hua Chong said embarrassedly: "Boss, you've been here for so long, can't you learn a little bit?"
Xiao Peng explained, "At the time, in order to control the common people, the church stipulated that only church monks and their designated barbers could perform bloodletting treatments. They said that bloodletting by others would be ineffective without divine blessing. But even if they did, the mortality rate was still very high. This would definitely cause people to distrust the church, right?"
Hua Chong nodded: "Of course it is. You said that bleeding for headaches and fever might make you feel better, but bleeding for diarrhea is ridiculous."
Xiao Peng snapped his fingers. "You're right. It was at this time that the Babylonian constellations reached ancient Greece, giving the ancient Greek church an excuse to shirk responsibility. They linked the twelve constellations with medicine. At that time, doctors had to observe the astrological signs before treating patients. If a patient had a problem, they couldn't blame the doctor or the church, but only the stars. Moreover, at that time, each part of the human body was associated with a different constellation. For example, Aries governs the eyes, Taurus governs the neck, Gemini governs the shoulders, and Cancer governs the chest. Well, Libra and Scorpio are quite unfortunate. The former governs the buttocks and the latter governs the 'little brother'. Anyway, basically, if there is a problem in the body, the constellation corresponding to the problem location must be linked to the constellation in the sky in order to achieve a treatment effect. At that time, the church turned astronomy into a tool to control the civilians."
After hearing this, Hua Chong said, "Boss, our ancestors did the same thing, blaming all problems on the gods in heaven. He himself is the emperor granted by heaven."
Xiao Peng nodded. "These were all common tactics used by ancient rulers. And those stargazers would be controlled by the rulers and turned into their tools. Our ancient Sitianjian and other official departments were responsible for this job. Compared to Europe, they went even further. Of course, Africa wasn't much better. After the twelve constellations were introduced to Egypt, they became a tool for the pharaohs to resurrect. Why did the pharaohs build pyramids and mummify themselves after death? For them, the pyramids were a tool for resurrection. According to them, the twelve constellations were twelve checkpoints that the deceased had to face after death. If they could overcome them, they could be resurrected. It's similar in India. The Mahayana Mahavairocana Mahasanghika Sutra is a scripture that blends Hinduism, Buddhism, and the twelve constellations. It's been passed down in India to this day."
"What about our Da Xia?" Hua Chong asked.
Xiao Peng laughed and said, "During the Sui Dynasty, this doctrine entered Daxia along with Buddhist scriptures, but Daxia didn't buy into it. At that time, Daxia's medical system had already taken shape, with the twenty-eight constellations and the twenty-four solar terms. Ordinary people grew vegetables and treated illnesses as they should, and they didn't take the twelve constellations seriously. Don't underestimate the wisdom of our ancestors. There are still relevant papers on the twenty-eight constellations on Zhihu, and they are very rigorous! Moreover, the birthdays of ancient Daxia people were calculated according to the lunar calendar! The twelve constellations are calculated according to the Gregorian calendar. Isn't this the biggest bug? So many people believe in constellations now, but it's actually just the 'Barnum effect'. When have you ever seen a psychologist ask what his constellation is? Hua Chong, remember, only weak and insecure countries will use the culture of other countries to support themselves."
Hua Chong was amused when he heard this: "Boss, I suspect you are cursing Koreans, but I have no evidence!"
Xiao Peng also laughed: "Hey, be more confident and remove the word 'doubt'!"
Hua Chong was about to speak when he heard someone slam the table behind him: "Shit!"
Uh, they both turned around. There really are Koreans here? And they even understand Chinese?
Oh my god, the influence of Chinese is growing!
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