Hello and welcome to Chinese Folk Tales.
This is Beibei.
In our last few episodes, we took care of quite a few important things, such as separating the sky and the earth, creating humans and patching up a leaky sky.
We acquired some hunting skills and started domesticating animals.
So things were going in the right direction.
But life was far from comfortable.
For one thing, people didn't have a decent place to live.
Well, real estate has never been an easy problem to solve for us humans.
But still, today we're talking about single houses or apartments.
Back then, they were talking about getting rained on and being eaten by wild beasts.
The lucky ones found caves to live in.
It kept away some of the beasts, but it was humid, dark, and full of virus-carrying bats.
And even those caves were in short supply.
What to do?
As it is the case today, some people just sit on their bombs and complain about everything.
But there are always a few who actively try to find solutions and make their lives better.
Now let's meet Mr. Handyman of ancient China.
He liked to think about how to make life better, and his hands were never idle, always making some little tool or other.
One day, Mr. Handyman was picking wild berries in the forest and a little twig fell on his head.
He looked up and saw a bird building a nest with twigs.
Mr Handyman was no Newton, but he was curious enough to keep looking until he saw the nest take shape right over his head.
What a nice little place to live in, he thought.
There's sunlight and fresh air.
There might be a bit too much worms and bugs for his liking, but this works so much better than dank caves.
If little birds could do this, why can't we?
But the problem was also obvious.
We might be smarter than birds, but we're also so much bigger and heavier.
How do you build a nest for humans?
But Mr. Handyman was not a man to back down in front of challenges.
First he looked for a huge tree, so big that Mr Handyman couldn't circle its trunk with both arms stretched out.
He climbed up and found two strong branches that looked like a good foundation for a nest.
Finding a good location is always the priority for real estate.
Mr. Handyman then searched for the necessary materials.
Twigs mostly, but none of the twigs were strong enough.
Maybe I have to use some small trees instead, he thought.
Cutting down a few saplings is not terribly difficult for us today.
We might not have the muscles, but we have the tools.
Mr. Handyman instead had lots of muscles, but no suitable tools.
Time to think and invent again.
He rummaged through piles of flat rocks and found one with a sharp edge.
He sharpened it on another piece of rock.
And voila, he just made the first axe in Chinese history.
Great for humans, but sad for trees.
Mr Handyman and all his muscles hacked down, one sapling after another, until it was too dark to see.
As much as he wanted to finish this project, he had to go back to the cave so he wouldn't become dinner for some wild beasts anymore.
Mr Handyman was so excited about his project he couldn't wait to tell everybody about it back in the cave.
A few cheered for him, but most people enjoyed dumping cold water over other people's enthusiasm much more.
Are you out of your mind?
They sneered.
And where are the wild berries you've wasted the whole day?
That's probably the wife.
Luckily, there are always a few warm and supportive souls.
We'll go with you tomorrow to help, they said.
We've suffered long enough in the smelly cave.
When the sun came out the next day, the man with positive mindsets set out for the big tree.
They made more axes and fell down more saplings.
Mr. Handyman crisscrossed the saplings and built up the base.
Then they gathered enough hay to make a nice and thick cushion.
The first human nest was born.
Not quite a treehouse, but it was a good start.
In fact, it looked like a hillside villa compared to the Batritten Caves.
Now, even the ones who had sneered at Mr Handyman before had to admit that he had done something wonderful.
People built more nests on trees and said goodbye to the bats.
Villages formed on top of trees, and they came to be called tribes.
Mr Handyman was honored with the title, which means have a nest, and his tribe was called You Chao clan.
Maybe it's easier to remember him as the Chinese baron in the trees.
You Chao came to be thought of as the first architect in Chinese history.
The trend of progress had just begun.
What other great inventors and crazy minds are there on the way?
We will continue in the next episode.
So hope to see you then.
Bye for now.
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