CDJMM – Volume 1 – Forum Style Extra

Strong Nation Forum → Netizen Exchange Section

Topic: Do you guys think Li Jingran was a transmigrator?

Original Poster:

As the title says. I’m in my first year of high school. We just studied the essay Funeral of a Beauty in class, and out of curiosity, I looked up this “Li Jingran” guy on Baidu. Then I got scared.

Li Jingran’s life can no longer be described as just “cheat-mode,” right?! I strongly suspect he was a transmigrator!

Look, for the first sixteen years of his life, he was just a loafing rich kid, drinking, gambling, whoring, smoking opium. Then one day—bam!—he completely turned his life around. Not only did he quit opium, he started writing top-tier detective novels, and even dragged his younger sister with him from their hometown in Fengtian to Beiping!

And that was only the start of his “cheat-mode” life.

Tell me, who here hasn’t felt the terror of having to recite the entire Looking Down on Humans Through a Rat’s Eyes series from memory during school? Or The Last Person Who Didn’t Take Drugs—not only did we have to memorize it, it was also standard anti-drug education material for teenagers. Every year on June 26th, International Day Against Drug Abuse, eight out of ten WeChat public accounts were quoting that article. I was so sick of it I felt physically nauseous…

And then there’s Memoirs of Prostitutes. Tell me, has any modern novel adaptation produced a star bigger than the ones from Memoirs of Prostitutes? That book was adapted into plays, films, and TV dramas over a dozen times. From it came one Politburo Standing Committee member, four or five National People’s Congress representatives, and countless ministers, directors, and veteran revolutionary leaders. Not even novels dare to exaggerate like that!

As for Rise of a Dynasty, no need to explain—it’s the founding ancestor of time-travel-rebellion novels in Huaxia. Even today, it’s still the “white moonlight and cinnabar mole” in the hearts of many webnovel authors. Too bad it was left unfinished… sigh QWQ.

Anyway, after saying so much, my main point is: was Li Jingran transmigrated? The contrast is way too drastic, like two completely different people! Even if he did “reform,” no way can a useless second-generation brat suddenly transform into a literary genius overnight!

No.1, Anonymous
Not gonna lie, I’ve suspected the same thing…

No.2, Anonymous
Me too…

No.4, Anonymous
…psst, let me tell you, there actually was a webnovel about a transmigrator becoming Li Jingran. Using his knowledge of history, he dodged assassinations, crushed his enemies, and climbed to the peak of life.

No.5, Anonymous
!!! Brother upstairs, don’t run! Drop the title, we won’t kill you!

No.6, Anonymous
I’m not floor 4, but I can answer for him. That book’s already been 404’d for “historical nihilism.” Word is the author’s been “invited for tea.” Shhh.

No.7, Anonymous
OP, your imagination is wild—go wash up and sleep. If you read more, you’d know there are plenty of “cheat-mode” figures in history. Comrade Wang Mang, who seized the throne at the end of Western Han to build socialism—look him up. Or “Child of Destiny” Liu Xiu. Compared to them, Mr. Li Jingran is just an ordinary genius.

You have to understand: with geniuses, nothing is surprising. What seems like “cheat-code hacks” to us ordinary folk is just daily life for them.

No.8, Anonymous
Ordinary genius??? Do you even know what “ordinary” means? Li Jingran was clearly a supreme genius! If he hadn’t been murdered by those Qing Gang reactionaries at 17, do you really think the post-revolution Writers’ Association chairmanship would’ve gone to Zheng Yiliang instead of him?

No.9, Anonymous
Hey hey, bro upstairs—our forum doesn’t play the fandom wars game. No trashing others! Zheng Yiliang was also a very talented scholar and writer. He and Li Jingran were close friends too!

No.10, Anonymous
Summer vacation must be here, because now even elementary schoolers are pretending to be high schoolers. Transmigration? And you actually believe that nonsense? Since you already Baidu’d, couldn’t you at least do a more complete search?

“Even if he did reform, no way can a useless second-generation brat suddenly transform into a literary genius overnight!”

That’s your original line. Honestly, I laughed my head off. Have you read The Path of a Beast? If you had, you’d know what a rotten environment Li Jingran grew up in.

His biological mother, Madam Zhou, was driven to death by his stepmother Wang (who was still a concubine at the time). Later, after the legitimate wife died, Li’s dimwit father, Li Tingye, actually promoted Wang to the official wife, sowing the seeds for endless family turmoil.

Why did young Li Jingran, so talented, suddenly degenerate into a debauched opium addict? Simple—because that was the only way to survive under his stepmother’s roof!

As the legitimate eldest son, he was naturally the thorn in Wang’s side. If he had dared show his intelligence, I guarantee you he wouldn’t have lived to shine later in Beiping.

Guess how old Li Jingran was when he started hiding his brilliance? He was only seven! A seven-year-old already understood the need to suppress himself, and he kept it up for nine years. When I was seven, I was still playing in the mud!

If that doesn’t prove he was a born genius, I don’t know what does. With that kind of patience and willpower, how could he not succeed?

No.11, Anonymous
Damn! That’s insane!

No.12, Anonymous
The old saying is true—“the child is father to the man.” Geniuses always show it early. It’s like the myth that Einstein got “1 point” in math—just propaganda. In Germany back then, 1 was actually the highest grade (:з”∠).

No.13, Anonymous
Not gonna lie, after learning this, I admire the Watchman even more! When I read in the history books how he was gunned down by reactionaries, I cried for so long. At least Heaven had eyes—after Zhang Tongjue killed the Watchman, he soon died suddenly of illness himself. So satisfying!

No.14, Anonymous
Uh, we study history. Our professor said Zhang Tongjue actually died of cyanide poisoning.

No.15, Anonymous
For real???

No.16, Anonymous
It’s true. Professor Wang from Peking University’s history department says the same. Zhang Tongjue died almost right after Li Jingran. According to the Qing Gang member Liao Fang, who was first to see Li Jingran’s body, Zhang was gasping for breath, convulsing, then quickly went into cardiac arrest. His corpse was a pale pink color—classic sign of cyanide poisoning.

No.17, Anonymous
I also heard it from the professor. They say that before Mr. Li Jingran went alone to meet Zhang Tongjue, he left final instructions: no one was allowed to touch his body with bare skin after his death, and everyone had to wear masks. Later, Liao Fang also said that when Mr. Li Jingran was cremated, his corpse was already so decayed it was unrecognizable… And what’s more, before going to the meeting, he wrote in his will that his body must be cremated after death.

In other words, in Funeral of a City, the coffin carried through Beiping’s streets by the citizens didn’t actually contain Mr. Li Jingran’s body—only his ashes.

No.18, Anonymous
Oh my god…

No.19, Anonymous
I suddenly have a bold guess…

No.20, Anonymous
+1, I also have a bold guess…

No.21, Anonymous
I’ll be brave and say it first! Could it be that Mr. Li Jingran’s “wolf fire” meant he had coated his whole body with concentrated cyanide, and then perished together with Zhang Tongjue?!!!

No.22, Anonymous
WTF?!

No.23, Anonymous
Sorry, but after thinking it through carefully, it actually seems very possible? That would explain why Zhang Tongjue and Mr. Li Jingran died almost at the same time.

No.24, Anonymous
Li Jingran: Even in death, I’ll drag someone down with me!

No.25, Anonymous
Refreshing! Li Jingran was a true man!! I’ve never admired anyone in my life, but I admire Li Jingran! That’s how a real man should be!

No.26, Anonymous
…What do I do, I think I’m starting to stan Li Jingran (cry-laugh).

No.27, Anonymous
Holy shit! Thanks to the explanation upstairs! With that level of IQ and EQ, he was born to play politics! If he hadn’t died so young, I feel like he could have made it all the way to the central leadership.

And well, didn’t Ms. Bai also—cough cough—get to her vice-national rank precisely because of Mr. Li Jingran’s guidance and encouragement?

…Actually, put this way, Bai seems more like the one who transmigrated. Her life is way too Mary Sue, even TV dramas wouldn’t dare to script it like that (:з”∠)

No.28, Anonymous
Ah, such a pity. Everyone who received Mr. Li Jingran’s kindness ended up making a name for themselves and leaving their mark in history. But Mr. Li himself didn’t even get the chance to showcase his talents. He not only died young, but also left behind a ton of unfinished business (grievance)!!

No.29, Anonymous
Upstairs!! The moment I hear “unfinished business” I can’t help but jump in!

I hereby write in blood to nominate Rise of the Dynasty!!! The very first transmigration-rebellion novel in Huaxia’s history is… a pit!

Probably because there were too many readers trapped at the bottom of the pit, countless people over the decades have tried to continue Rise of the Dynasty. But let me just say one thing: except for Mr. Li Jingran, all those who tried continuing it are garbage! Trash!!

No.30, Anonymous
+1 upstairs.

What the hell are those male-chauvinist screenwriters even writing?! Clearly, Xu Wangmu was a dreamboat because he deeply loved his Republican-era girlfriend, and so in Dahua he shunned women, avoided base pleasures, and devoted himself wholeheartedly to rebellion and leading the people toward prosperity. A passionate, loyal, swoon-worthy man! And yet, in the hands of those sleazy macho hacks, he turned into a lustful creep with three wives and four concubines clinging to his arms!!! I’m spitting blood here! Damn it!!

No.31, Anonymous
+10086 to the one above.

As long as you’re flaming Rise of the Dynasty: New Edition, we’re sworn sisters from different mothers!!!

And this kind of trashy continuation even got adapted into a web drama!! How did such a script—so disrespectful to the author’s legacy—even pass review?! Only because Mr. Li Jingran died too early, leaving no descendants to defend him. Ughhh! My poor Mr. Li, what a tragic death QWQ

No.32, Anonymous
…Why do the last few posts feel so strange?? Since when did girls sneak into our steel-straight-male forum (shocked.jpg)?

No.33, Anonymous
Girls ahhhh!!! Our shabby little forum finally isn’t a monastery anymore (crying tears of joy.jpg).

No.34, Anonymous
What’s the fuss, bro? These days even sites like Green River—straight-up BL forums—have straight guys lurking. Isn’t it totally normal for a few girls who love weapons more than makeup to wander into our forum?

No.35, Anonymous
34L +1111. My wife often reads in the female section, and she says that before censorship, over there, “time-traveling to the Republic and sleeping with Li Jingran” was basically standard practice. In her words: “A boy like that, full of swoon-worthy traits, dying young, and most importantly, never once entangled in ambiguous relationships with women while alive—such a super dreamboat was rarer than diamonds in that era full of scumbags. Not shipping him would be a crime against conscience.”

No.36, Anonymous
…Sis on 31F, haven’t you been following the news? That web drama got pulled from streaming platforms a while ago.

Ahem, after all, the Li family isn’t to be trifled with. Thanks to Mr. Li Jingran’s legacy, the Li clan, this capitalist giant, not only survived the purges of those years but steadily grew into today’s sprawling family, spanning military, political, and business circles.

The scriptwriter of Rise of the Dynasty: New Edition was really bold. Honestly, the three-wives-four-concubines thing wasn’t even the sensitive part. What he really shouldn’t have done was reference and borrow from our Party’s actual founding and nation-building history in the later arcs… Ahem. Some things cannot be said, cannot be said.

No.37, Anonymous
Since we’re already on this topic, I can’t help but recall that rumor circulating around: supposedly, before his death, Li Jingran wrote the outline of The Rise of a Dynasty and entrusted someone to pass it on to our Party, which at that time was just beginning to establish its revolutionary base areas…

No.38, Anonymous
I’ve heard that rumor too! And I’ve heard an even wilder one—apparently, that freak Li Jingran was actually using The Rise of a Dynasty as a manual for rebellion and a blueprint for nation-building… They say our Party’s later organizational development and state construction were… well, better not say too much.

No.39, Anonymous
Hey! You guys still dare to bring this up?! Be careful you don’t get invited out for “tea”!

No.40, Anonymous
Quickly change the topic! Otherwise this little forum of ours is done for!

No.41, Anonymous
Holy crap, guys, turn on CCTV-1 right now!!

No.42, Anonymous
What’s on CCTV-1?

No.43, Anonymous
It’s the National Highest Science and Technology Award ceremony.

No.44, Anonymous
Wait a second—the awardee is an elderly lady named Li Shuran?!

No.45, Anonymous
What the hell???

No.46, Anonymous
Is this Li Shuran the same one I’m thinking of?!

No.47, Anonymous
Must be just someone with the same name, right?

No.48, Anonymous
Didn’t Li Shuran already pass away ages ago?

No.49, Anonymous
I mean, it’s been eighty years.

No.50, Anonymous
Wait, who exactly is Li Shuran?? Why do all of you know her?

No.51, Anonymous
Replying upstairs: she’s Mr. Li Jingran’s younger sister.

No.52, Anonymous
I just checked Baidu—Li Shuran doesn’t even have a Baidu entry… that mysterious?!

No.53, Anonymous
…

No.54, Anonymous
She really IS Mr. Li Jingran’s younger sister!! Li Shuran!!!

No.55, Anonymous
oly shit!!! This old lady is that amazing?!

No.56, Anonymous
I’m bawling!! This is what a true patriot looks like!!

No.56, Anonymous
No wonder there’s no Baidu entry! As a top nuclear physicist, after the founding of the nation, Ms. Li Shuran resolutely abandoned her comfortable life in the U.S., returned to the motherland, and spent 30 years in the remote northwest, working in anonymity on the secret development of nuclear weapons!! This is truly a peerless patriot!

No.57, Anonymous
Her identity was top secret, and so were her deeds! QWQ I’m crying!!

No.58, Anonymous
Like brother, like sister!

No.59, Anonymous
The siblings truly were patriots in pairs!

No.60, Anonymous
The country has not forgotten! The people will not forget!

No.61, Anonymous
Salute to our patriots!

No.62, Anonymous

“My elder brother gave his life for Marxism. As his younger sister, I dedicated my entire life to the cause of building socialism.
I believe that throughout my ninety-plus years, I have lived them well. If there truly is a world after death, I can tell my brother with peace of mind: my life was not in vain. I lived well, because I devoted my whole life to the most magnificent cause on earth—the lifelong struggle for the liberation of humanity.”

That was said so beautifully!!

Sir, did you see that? Your younger sister did not fail your expectations! She became a pillar of our nation, worthy of the highest honor!

No.148, Anonymous
Holy crap, I just heard from a buddy at the TV station—The Legend of Li Jingran has already been greenlit by the broadcasting authority! The director is secretly casting right now!

No.149, Anonymous
…

No.150, Anonymous
So after Memoirs of Prostitutes, A Wanderer’s Adventures, and The Rise of a Dynasty, now they’re going to make a TV series out of the author’s life itself? Capital is coming to fleece us again.

No.151, Anonymous
No boy-band idols playing Mr. Li Jingran! No boy-band idols! No boy-band idols!!

No.152, Anonymous
I get your worry, but… Mr. Li Jingran died at 17, still a minor… at that age, who else but boy-band types can play him? (:з”∠)

No.153, Anonymous
What about Bai Cang? He’s 24 this year, but still has a really youthful vibe!

No.154, Anonymous
No way! Bai Cang is getting more and more greasy these days! Gross.

No.155, Anonymous
I nominate Sinan! That abstinent, wolf-cub vibe of his totally melts my heart! And his age fits too—he’s only 18 this year!

No.156, Anonymous
nmsl, and you think some illiterate dropout from a shady trade school is fit to play my dear Mr. Li?!

No.157, Anonymous
Hey 156, did you forget to wash your mouth before going out? Full of crap! My Sinan clearly graduated from a proper university! Stop spreading bullshit!

No.158, Anonymous
xswl, wasn’t it just a diploma-to-degree upgrade program? Who doesn’t know? Only you braindead loli-fans treat him like some treasure.

…

No.200, Anonymous
Wait, did I enter the wrong forum? Isn’t this supposed to be the Strong Nation Forum?

No.201, Anonymous
What the hell is “zhuzhu,” “sxwl,” and “dbq”? What kind of nonsense slang is this?

No.202, Anonymous
Didn’t think even our little crappy forum would attract internet trolls and paid commenters. Heh.

No.203, Anonymous
Hey, you water army upstairs—open your eyes! This isn’t Tieba or Douban’s gossip group. This place only has straight-up military geeks and crusty straight guys. The only person we like here is Teacher Yui Hatano!

No.204, Anonymous
Brother, lend me a phone to say something!

No.205, Anonymous
Lend me a phone to say something!

…

No.220, Administrator
According to relevant national laws, regulations, and forum rules, certain posters in this thread have had their IPs banned. This thread is now locked. Please refrain from further replies.