Cards 2020

The theme of 2020 is Beijing opera face paintings, featuring both historical and fictional characters. I imagine what if these people lived in 2020. Who would they be in year 2020?

曹操 / Cao Cao

曹操(155年-220年),字孟德,小名吉利,小字阿瞒,沛国谯县(今安徽亳州)人。东汉末年著名军事家、政治家、文学家和诗人,三国时代曹魏奠基者和主要缔造者。曹操于建安年间权倾天下,在世时官至丞相,爵至魏王,谥号武王。

2020年的曹操是金融界大亨。

Cao Cao (c. 155 – 220), courtesy name Mengde, was a warlord and the penultimate Chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty who rose to great power in the final years of the dynasty. As one of the central figures of the Three Kingdoms period, he laid the foundations for what was to become the state of Cao Wei and ultimately the Jin dynasty, and was posthumously honoured as "Emperor Wu of Wei". He is often portrayed as a cruel and merciless tyrant in subsequent literature; however, he has also been praised as a brilliant ruler and military genius who treated his subordinates like his family.

During the fall of the Eastern Han dynasty, Cao Cao was able to secure the most populated and prosperous cities of the central plains and northern China. Cao Cao had much success as the Han chancellor, but his handling of the Han Emperor Xian was heavily criticised and resulted in a continued and then escalated civil war. Opposition directly gathered around warlords Liu Bei and Sun Quan, whom Cao Cao was unable to quell.

Cao Cao was also skilled in poetry, calligraphy and martial arts and wrote many war journals.

Cao Cao in 2020 is a finance mogul.

程咬金 / Cheng Yaojin

(589年-665年),本名咬金,后改名知节,字义贞,唐朝大将,凌烟阁二十四功臣之十九。在民间故事程咬金是一员福将,其三板斧相当厉害,但实际上,一生并无以板斧为武器,而用槊。文艺作品中的程咬金曾经当强盗,还劫过皇杠。故事里靠山王杨林的义子大太保罗芳和二太保薛亮,护送皇杠进京,他们打着杨林的旗号,以为平安无事,谁知半路杀出程咬金,把两人打败并劫走皇杠。

2020年的程咬金是中学训导主任。

Cheng Zhijie (589 – 665), courtesy name Yizhen, better known by his original name Cheng Yaojin, was a Chinese general who served under the emperors Gaozu, Taizong and Gaozong in the early Tang dynasty. His portrait was on display in Lingyan Pavilion along with those of another 23 officials who rendered meritorious service to the Tang Empire during the reign of Emperor Taizong.

Cheng Yaojin is often depicted in Chinese folklore and popular culture as a somewhat inept and bumbling warrior who sometimes shows up at the right place and right time to save the day. The popular Chinese saying "Cheng Yaojin shows up suddenly along the way" is used to describe a situation where someone shows up unexpectedly and disrupts a plan. It is also used to describe an unwelcome busybody who shows up where he is not wanted.

Chen Yaojin of 2020 is a secondary school master of discipline.

陈奇 / Chen Qi

陈奇,《封神演义》人物,京剧《青龙关》角色。陈奇是商纣王的部将,手使一根荡魔杵。曾受异人秘传,养成腹中一道黄气,张口一哈,黄气喷出,见之者魂魄自散。曾喷出黄气生擒邓九公、太鸾、黄天禄、土行孙。后来被黄飞虎刺死。在姜子牙封神时敕封郑伦、陈奇镇守西释山门,宣布教化、保护法宝,这就是民间所流传的哼哈二将。

2020年的陈奇是市政厅的防蚊专家。

Chen Qi is a character from 《Creation of the Gods》, a 16th century Chinese novel. It is also a character in the Peking opera performance 《Gate of the Blue Dragon》, based on a story from the novel. His special power is spewing a yellow vapor which disables his enemies.

Chen Qi of 2020 is a city council mosquito control expert.

胡理 / Hu Li

《巴骆和》一剧中的人物,是个店掌柜,调解巴杰、骆宏勋两家不和的成员之一。《巴骆和》故事源于《绿牡丹全传》。

2020年的胡理是警察部队的谈判专家。

A character from the play 《Ba Luo Reconciliation》, a shopkeeper who helps to make peace between the Ba and the Luo families. The story of 《Ba Luo Reconciliation》 originates from 《Green Peony Chronicles》.

Hu Li of 2020 is a hostage negotiator.

李克用 / Li Keyong

李克用(856年-908年),字翼圣,后唐庄宗李存勗之父,本姓朱邪(又作朱耶),其父受唐朝天子赐李姓。绰号鸦儿、三郎、独眼龙、飞虎子,沙陀族人。是中国唐朝末年最强大的藩镇节度使之一,后受唐封为晋王。后唐建立后,尊称其为唐太祖武皇帝。

2020年的李克用是大型机程序员。

Li Keyong (856 – 908 AD) was a Shatuo military governor (Jiedushi) during the late Tang Dynasty and was key to developing a base of power for the Shatuo people in what is today Shanxi Province in China. His son, Li Cunxu (Emperor Zhuangzong) would eventually become the founder of the Later Tang, arguably the first of many Conquest Dynasties in China.

Li Keyong in 2020 is a mainframe programmer.

孙悟空 / Sun Wukong

孙悟空,是小说《西游记》中主要角色之一。又名孙行者,自封花果山美猴王、齐天大圣。曾任天官弼马温。玉帝后来为了招安孙悟空,承认了他自封的封号齐天大圣。取经完成后被如来佛祖授为斗战胜佛。

孙悟空是从远古天产灵石中孕育而来,经风吹雨打、日晒雨淋而成之石猴,身俱天地灵气、日月精华,系花果山美猴王,历经海外艰辛波折拜师须菩提祖师,天赋灵奇修炼成七十二变地煞术,曾经闯龙宫取得定海神针,因此神针能随使用者心意自由变化大小,而被孙悟空取名为如意金箍棒,亦曾撼地府擅改阎罗王的生死簿,经天界玉皇大帝招安后历风波遂成齐天大圣,因大闹天宫遭释迦如来佛祖降伏镇压封印于五行山(五指山)下,五百年后由南海观世音点化,保护唐三藏法师前往西天取经,协同猪八戒、沙悟净和白龙马坚心守护不屈不挠历险克难伏魔降妖,终至西天取得如来佛祖真经送返大唐。

孙悟空生性聪明、调皮、活泼、忠诚、嫉恶如仇。在东亚汉字文化圈中已经成为机智与勇敢的化身。代表了人性中的善良、正义、不阿、自由的情怀和追求。

2020年的孙悟空是坐过牢的神父。

The Monkey King, known as Sun Wukong in Chinese, is a legendary figure best known as one of the main characters in the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West and many later stories and adaptations. The Monkey King's origins predate the novel and can be traced back to the Song dynasty. In the novel, he is a monkey born from a stone who acquires supernatural powers through Taoist practices. After rebelling against heaven and being imprisoned under a mountain by the Buddha, he later accompanies the monk Tang Sanzang on a journey to retrieve Buddhist sutras from the West (India) where Buddha and his followers reside.

The Monkey King possesses immense strength; he is able to lift his 13,500 jīn or 7960 kg staff with ease. He is also extremely fast, able to travel 108,000 li (21,675 kilometres) in one somersault. Sun also knows the 72 Earthly transformations, which allow him to transform into various animals and objects. Sun Wukong is a skilled fighter, capable of defeating the best warriors of heaven. His hair possesses magical properties, capable of summoning clones of the Monkey King himself, and/or into various weapons, animals, and other objects. He has demonstrated partial weather manipulation abilities as well, and is able to freeze living creatures and even gods with his icy breath.

Sun Wukong of 2020 is an ex-convict priest.

项羽 / Xiang Yu

项羽(公元前232年-前202年),名籍,字羽,秦朝末年西楚军事家、政治家。

楚国名将项燕之孙,七岁后随叔父项梁迁吴中,秦末民变期间在会稽郡(今江苏苏州)起兵反秦,被楚后怀王封为鲁公。前207年钜鹿之战中,项羽统率楚军五万大破秦军四十万,决定秦朝覆亡之势,秦朝最后一位君主子婴自降为“秦王”,不再称“皇帝”。项羽起兵三年,即率领山东六国诸侯灭秦,分封天下,政由羽出,自封“西楚霸王”,统治黄河及长江下游的梁楚九郡,年仅二十五岁。

前206年,汉王刘邦从汉中出兵进攻项羽,展开了历时四年的楚汉战争,期间项羽虽然屡屡大破刘邦,但项羽因分封矛盾引起各路诸侯纷纷反叛,且始终无法有固定的后方补给,粮草殆尽,又未能重用范增、韩信、陈平,最后反被刘邦所灭。前202年,项羽在垓下之战为刘邦指挥诸侯六十万联军所败,突围至乌江后,自刎而死。

项羽被誉为中国历史最为勇猛的将领,史学家称“羽之神勇,千古无二”,“霸王”一词,专指项羽。

2020年的项羽是网红。

Xiang Yu (232–202 BC), born Xiang Ji, was the Ba Wang or Hegemon-King of Western Chu during the Chu–Han Contention period (206–202 BC) of China. A noble of Xiaxiang (present-day Suqian, Jiangsu), Xiang Yu rebelled against the Qin dynasty and became a prominent warlord. He was granted the title of "Duke of Lu" by King Huai II of the restoring Chu state in 208 BC. The following year, he led the Chu forces to victory at the Battle of Julu against the Qin armies led by Zhang Han. After the fall of Qin, Xiang Yu was enthroned as the "Hegemon-King of Western Chu" and ruled a vast area of land covering parts of present-day Shanxi, Henan, Hubei, Hunan and Jiangsu, with Pengcheng (present-day Xuzhou, Jiangsu) as his capital. He engaged Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han dynasty, in a long struggle for power, known as the Chu–Han Contention, which concluded with his eventual defeat at the Battle of Gaixia. He committed suicide at the bank of the Wu River.

Xiang Yu of 2020 is a celebrity Youtuber.

张飞 / Zhang Fei

张飞(?-221年),东汉末年人氏,三国时期蜀汉名将,与关羽并称“万人敌”。字益德。官至车骑将军、领司隶校尉,封西乡侯,后遇刺身亡,蜀汉追谥桓侯,是为西乡桓侯。

陈寿在撰写《三国志》的时候,将张飞与关羽、马超、黄忠、赵云合为一传(《三国志·蜀书·关张马黄赵传》),罗贯中的长篇小说《三国演义》中又将该五人并称“五虎上将”,随着民间剧目的发展,便广为世人所知。而在中国传统文化中,张飞以粗犷刚烈好酒著称,虽然此形象主要来源于小说和戏剧等民间艺术,但已深入人心。

2020年的张飞在健身房当私人教练。

Zhang Fei (died 221 AD), courtesy name Yide, was a military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei in the late Eastern Han dynasty and early Three Kingdoms period of China. Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, who were among the earliest to join Liu Bei, shared a brotherly relationship with their lord and accompanied him on most of his early exploits. Zhang Fei fought in various battles on Liu Bei's side, including the Red Cliffs campaign (208–209), takeover of Yi Province (212–214), and Hanzhong Campaign (217–218). He was assassinated by his subordinates in 221 after serving for only a few months in the state of Shu Han, which was founded by Liu Bei earlier that year.

Zhang Fei is one of the major characters in the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which dramatises and romanticises the events before and during the Three Kingdoms period. In the novel, Zhang Fei became sworn brothers with Liu Bei and Guan Yu in the fictional Oath of the Peach Garden at the start of the novel and remained faithful to their oath until his death.

Zhang Fei in 2020 is a gym personal trainer.