In this era when the emotional world is gradually freezing and the spiritual light is gradually fading, the novel Ancient Timespursues the ability to reach a height of belief and enter the inner spirit of human beings, thus sublimating the ethical state of literature and art contemporarily. This mythic novel is intended to present readers with a sense of spiritual belief, namely forgiveness and redemption, judgment and repentance within human nature, in unforgettable plots. It reflects the basic trend of human nature, that is, do you believe in the evil nature of human or the good nature of human. It is a contest of human nature and a psychological suspense that is closely linked. It can challenge the basic belief held by the readers, that is, kindness and love are the ultimate ethical state of "god" and human beings.

At the very beginning, the novel Ancient Times presents to the readers the process of the birth of the world and life: a group of Soul-- "Tai", that is, Pangu, conceived by Yin and Yang. Then the age of Tai began. After cultivation, Pangu formed a monument, which is the residence of “Tai”. Next, Pangu is like a cell division under the Tai monument. It becomes a Yin and a Yang two Yuanling, Yang is Xuanyuan Jian and Yin is Xingtian. In fact, all living things are from the Taiyi, just as the beginning of life in the world is gradually divided and evolved by a cell. The emergence of two living things will inevitably lead to the changes in the early Tai period, which is the process of quantitative change to qualitative change. Because the two spirits had their own thoughts and wisdom, they fought with each other for the ownership of Tai monument, which was the right to rule in the early period of Tai. This process first reveals the truth that life is benevolence and goodness, and explains the natural law and the world road that Yin and Yang must be combined and positive must prevail over evil, and positive and evil must be unified. 

After Pangu killed the Xingtian, he built the SunPalace, and created the four of his disciples which are Xuanyuan Mang, Fuxi Gong, Gouge Jiao, and Dayin Zheng. After that, Pangu followed the natural law of the combination of Yin and Yang and went to the future world for reincarnation. When the spirits carried out the nirvana, the bones were turned into a Zhao Stone and left on the dragon chair, and this Zhao Stone happened to be seen and stolen by Tiandou. Pangu let his four disciples Xuanyuan Mang, Fuxi Gong, Gouge Jiao, and Dayin Zheng manage the Sun Palace, and the four disciples each perform their duties, waiting for the return of Pangu. 

The disciple Xuanyuan Mang inherited the position of Pangu and became the leader of the heavens in the early Tai period. As a disciple of Xuanyuan Mang, Tiandou does not have a sense of superiority. On the contrary, because he has double faces and double bodies, he suffers from ridicule and even the discrimination of others. This makes Tiandou not grateful for his master's respect. Instead, he increasingly hates Xuanyuan Mang. After getting the Zhao Stone, Tiandou accidentally discovered the power of the Zhao Stone. With it, the mana increased greatly, and almost no one could beat him. After defeating the Gouge Jiao, Tiandou has gained unprecedented confidence, and this Zhao Stone has also contributed to his ambition. 

Tiandou used the Zhao Stone to create thousands of soldiers and dedicated them to Xuanyuan Mang as the guardian. Xuanyuan Mang saw that Tiandou not only increased his mana, but also was loyal to him. Xuanyuan Mang even looked at him with great enthusiasm, and cherished him, which made the status of Tiandou was higher than Fuxi Gong, Gouge Jiao, and Dayin Zheng. However, it was not long before the peaceful life of the heavens. In an internal turmoil, Tiandou used the power of the Zhao Stone to kill Xuanyuan Mang, and the Fuxi Gong, Gouge Jiao, and Dayin Zheng who came to save the Xuanyuan Mang. Then Tiandou usurped the leader position of Xuanyuan Mang and gained the right to rule the Tianting.

This result was actually known to Pangu before Pangu went to the reincarnation. However, Pangu did not interfere with the fate of the four disciples, that is, following the principle of the nature.

Tiandou also created five disciples by the power of the Zhao Stone, which are Nvwa, Nvji, Fuxi Hao, Xuanyuan Hao and Dayin Hao. Under the guidance of Pangu's spirit -- the incarnation of Pangu -- Tiandou ordered his disciples, Nvwa, Nvji, Fuxi Hao, Xuanyuan Hao and Dayin Hao, to create the celestial world, the spiritual world and the underworld. 

Nvwa was ordered by Tiandou to create Man Gods, and Nvwa divided these gods into 18 families, and then Nvwa was ordered to lead the gods to make people in Taihang Mountain, until Nvwa came to the world again to mend the sky. In the process, Nvwa had an affair with Fuxi Hao and gave birth to Xuputi. After that, in order to avoid being punished by heaven, Nvwa fell into the world. Also, she swallowed the Soul Bead of Xingtian and gave birth to Fuxi Qian. While Xuanyuan Hao was beaten down the world by Tiandou because of his affair with Nvwa, and Ji Xuanyuan was born in the earthly world. And Dayin Hao had an affair with Xuannv, the Xuannv gave birth to Dayin Xu. Nvwa had children is a matter of nature, while the affair of Fuxi Hao, Xuanyuan Hao, Nvji and Xuannv is purely for the power and status.  

In this way, Dayin Hao and Xuannv had a kid named Dayin Xu. Because Nvwa's son, Xuputi and Xuannv's kid were exercising themselves in the earthly world, then Dayin Hao and Xuannv brought Dayin Xu to visit the Nvwa who was in the Ruizhu Palace. There Xuannv saw the Fuxi Qian, and Fuxi Qian's beauty left a deep impression on Xuannv. So, she joked to the Nvwa, saying that in the future, when the Dayin Xu grow up, she will marry Fuxi Qian to Dayin Xu. Nvwa also thought that it is a joke. But the speaker is unintentional, the listener is interested, and the young Dayin Xu has been keeping this in his mind. In his opinion, this is undoubtedly a marriage contract. 

Tiandou is not in a hurry to rule the Three Realms, because he knows that he is not an eternal god. Pangu's incarnation told him that only by going back and forth can he become the immortal god. In order to be an emperor of the ages, Tiandou reincarnated to the future world. 

Pangu turned back to the period when the Jade Emperor and Dayin Xu took charge of the Tianting and the Three Kingdoms. Pangu was born in the Sun Palace, named Xuanyuan Jian. The emergence of Xuanyuan Jian has brought the Three Realms into an era of trivialism and unity, and the story of unifying the Three Realms and establishing a peaceful Three Realm began. 

In accordance with the will of Tiandou, the Nvwa invited Yellow Emperor Ji Xuanyuan from the earthly world to the Tianting, and appointed him as the Jade Emperor. Since then, the direction of the Three Realms has undergone tremendous changes. The three kings of Fuxi Hao, Xuanyuan Hao and Dayin Hao have successively rebelled and made themselves kings. Because of the rebellion of the Fuxi Hao, Xuanyuan Hao and Dayin Hao, Nvwa broke with them. She listened to the will of the Tiandou and faithfully assisted the Jade Emperor.

However, the stupid Jade Emperor indulged in the wine and beauties, ignoring the advices and suggestions of the ministers, and alienating Nvwa who assisted in him. Later, the Jade Emperor was killed by Dayin Xu who is Dayin Hao's son. That indicates the realm headed by the Jade Emperor perished, then Dayin Xu usurped the throne and claimed himself as Tianzun. The Three Realms have been turbulent since then.

Fuxi Qian, Nvwa's daughter, grew up and was very beautiful. When Dayin Xu repeatedly expressed his love, Pangu came back to the Tianting. Xuanyuan Jian’s appearance made Dayin Xu feel panic. Fuxi Qian and Xuanyuan Jian fall in love with each other at the first sight, and they decided to live together forever. Dayin Xu took the promise that Nvwa has agreed with Xuannv that she would let Fuxi Qian marry Dayin Xu as the excuse to trouble Ruizhu Palace, which made Xuanyuan Jian extremely hate Dayin Xu. From then on, Dayin Xu and Xuanyuan Jian were incompatible with each other as fire and water. 

Pangu knew in advance that Dayin Xu wants to usurp the position. And before the Tiandou went to reincarnation, the Pangu's incarnation has secretly told to the Nvwa that she should take into consideration the overall situation and assist in Dayin Xu in order not to make the Three Realms chaos even if Dayin Hao and Dayin Xu fight for the position of Emperor. However, Dayin Xu does not believe in Nvwa and lets Nvwa in a serious situation of internal worry and external aggression. Even so, in order to recover Xinghai that stolen by Xuanyuan Hao, Fuxi Hao and Dayin Hao, Nvwa set her feet on counterinsurgency.

The counterinsurgency has not yet achieved results. The Dragon Emperor Xuanyuan Jian, who came from the Pangu's reincarnation, became the number one enemy of Tianzun Dayin Xu. And since then, Dayin Xu has focused on killing Xuanyuan Jian.

Xuanyuan Jian and Fuxi Qian get married. Dayin Xu wanted to kill Xuanyuan Jian but was prevented by Nvwa. For the first time, Dayin Xu held a banquet, and put Xuanyuan Jian into the Yanglong Pool, thinking that this would kill Xuanyuan Jian. However, Xuanyuan Jian got good in this misfortune for he did not die in the Yanglong Pool but gained a world-wide invincible ability named Dacheng Daofa. The emergence of Xuanyuan Jian makes Dayin Xu feel very nervous and worried. In order to eliminate Xuanyuan Jian, Dayin Xu punished Nvwa out of anger and put her into the prison. Then he took Nvwa as a hostage and forced the son of Nvwa, Xuputi, to cheat Xuanyuan Jian into the palace to attend the dinner again. Finally, Dayin Xu hammered Xuanyuan Jian on the Cross of Xuanling and put him down to the West Gate. 

After killed Xuanyuan Jian, Dayin Xu still wants to possess Nvwa's daughter, Fuxi Qian. While Fuxi Qian preferred to die rather than live together with Dayin Xu. So Fuxi Qian was prisoned in the Guanghan Palace by Dayin Xu. When Xuanyuan Jian went to the earthly world, it was in the Tang Dynasty. With the help of Lu Zheng in the underworld, Xuanyuan Jian successfully reborn to the Li family. At that time, Fuxi Qian gave birth to a daughter of Xuanyuan Jian. In order to find Xuanyuan Jian, Fuxi Qian, regardless of danger, escaped from Guanghan Palace with the help of Wangshu and went to the earthly world in the Nantian Gate. Later, with the help of Lu Zheng, Fuxi Qian was reincarnated to the earthly world, and her parents are just the God Jixuan and Shoulian Tong who were punished to the earthly world to transmigrate. 

With the help of Da Yanbao, Xuanyuan Jian and Fuxi Qian met with each other in the earthly world and get married. After Xuanyuan Jian reincarnated to the world, he has Yin-yang eyes and the soul can come out from his body. Every time he fell asleep, his soul would go to the underworld and discussed with Lu Zheng on how to overturn the rule of Dayin Xu. Xuanyuan Jian established a base in the underworld, and eventually led the soldiers to the Tianting, destroying the forces of Xuanyuan Hao, Fuxi Hao and Dayin Hao, overthrowing the court that headed by Dayin Xu. Also, he killed Dayin Xu, awarded the gods in the three realms. Since then, the eighty-one Xinghai has finally unified, and the three realms have achieved a permanent peace, and accordingly the earthly world entered into a peaceful and prosperous stage.

From the beginning of Tai to the period when the Jade Emperor was in charge of Tianting, and then from the period when Da Yinxu governed Tianting to the period when he turned back to the earth, Xuanyuan Jian experienced two rounds of reincarnation, both of which were in the spirit of great love, sacrificing himself and saving the lives of the people. At the same time, these two processes closely connect god and human, and the history of the three worlds and the history of the human world are on the same track, which makes the novelAncient Times has unique charm. Readers will no longer be impressed by any of the mythic novels of the past -- mythic novels are legends that “gods" have nothing to do with the real life of people. 

The magic of Ancient Timeslies in that it is not a mediocre and ordinary novel, but in this novel, the gods and the kingdom of god -- that is, the three realms which are comprised of the celestial realm, the spirit realm and the underworld interact harmoniously with human beings. With the advancement of the history of the kingdom of god, the history of the human world has also changed. From the Three Emperors and Five Sovereigns to the Xia, Shang, Zhou and Qin Dynasties, the Han, Jin, Sui and Tang Dynasties, the novel is full of legends. In this novel, "god" is closely related to human beings, and it strictly follows the historical track to unfold a historical picture scroll composed of human beings and the history of Chinese civilization from birth to development. The story told in Ancient Timesis unforgettable and fascinating. Throughout China's mythological literature, there are intermittent and even fragmented mythological stories, and no mythological literature closely links the genealogy of traditional mythological characters. And this is done in the Ancient Times, which is by far the most complete work of mythological literature. 

The language in the Ancient Timesis exquisite which can be enjoyed by scholars (the educated) and the common people.  In terms of nearly 100 poems, lyrics and songs in the novel alone, it is an impressive and perfect work. It can be seen that the author has a profound foundation in ancient culture, but it also shows that the author has made great efforts for this novel. Through the novel of theAncient Times, what I want to explore is the kind of reality that transcends our current life, and what this novel brings us is confidence, so that our hearts are full of hope for the real life. It teaches us the true meaning of justice, warmth, kindness and love. It makes us brave, lets us meet to suffering and death frankly, and it gives us love and strength. The novel presents the reader with a non-realistic world, letting the reader know that "three realms" or "Tianting" or "immortal" are originally like this, rather than what we have traditionally known. It also rises to a high level in the ethical realm, and reflects the contradiction between human and society and the confusion of human nature from the metaphysical level. This novel is a projection of social reality, a reflection of social life, and has a philosophical implication beyond transcendence. Therefore, this is a classic contemporary myth novel, also can be called the best work.

Every plot in the novel Ancient Timesstimulates the reader's senses and nerves and has a profound influence on the reader's mind. After reading it, we all think about the following questions: what should we love, hate and fear? In the end, the readers will get a profound inspiration, that is, people's life is valuable and meaningful. Death does not mean total annihilation, for although the body is dead, the spirit body can reach two different worlds, either the celestial world, or the spiritual world or the underworld. The advantage of this novel is that people have a sense of "sin and punishment", that is, atonement and judgment. Through the influence of the power of art on people's hearts, they have a kind of conscious consciousness, and this consciousness of self-examination arises spontaneously and unconsciously, even if a person has no conscience, his conscience will revive. People's spiritual and ethical state must rise, and must reach a certain height, so as to reach a beautiful place. First of all, we should understand that kindness and love are the most precious things in the process of life, which is the same goal of this myth novel, that is to eventually lead hatred to love, and only in this way can we reach the desirable kingdom of god.

The Ancient Timesshould be an excellent mythic epic. What it depicts and sings is not the fight and demand of the gods in the aspect of material desire, but the struggle and difficulty experienced in the pursuit of a higher spiritual realm, and the battle trail of conquering the inner world rather than the outside world. It is a mirror of the vast world and people, an adventure of heroes and sages in Chinese mythology, and a strange and complete symphony of Chinese mythology. 

When you know that you are not the only one suffering in the world, you will surely reduce the pain, and your hope will be reborn in despair! The real hero is not without humble sentiment, but is not succumbed to humble sentiment. The true brightness is not the time when there is no darkness, but when it is never covered by darkness. So, before you can defeat the external enemy, you have to defeat your internal enemy first. And you don't have to be afraid of falling into depravity, as long as you can constantly extricate and cultivate yourself.

Yin Qian 

December 5, 2018 in Huairen City, Shanxi Province, China

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here refers to the chaotic spirit before heaven separated form the earth. 

 (Introduction to the author: Yin Qian, born in Yili, Xinjiang, China, now lives in Shanxi Province, China. Independent scholar, writer, literary critic. In the early days, the poetry works published under the pseudonym "Bei Ye" and had a great influence on the poetry field. More than 6,000 articles published in various newspaper supplements and literary magazines. Currently, he is mainly engaged in the research and creation of anthropology, literature, philosophy, yi-ology and astrology, and has published 45 academic and literary works so far.)

--------------------------------------------------------