The Da Vinci Code

Reading "The Da Vinci Code" these days... such an awesome book!
Page-by-page, chapter-by-chapter, I couldn't stop and it's very addictive!
Now, regardless if the incident about Christ's marriage is true, there are some other valuable things in this book.
One point that Dan Brown made in the book I couldn't agree more: History is always a one-sided account.
He quoted Napoleon's statement: What is history, but a fable agreed upon?
Using Sir Leigh Teabing's mouth, Dan Brown suggested that history is always written by the winners. "When two cultures clash, the loser is obliterated, and the winner writes the history books----books which glorify their own cause and disparage the conquered foe."
How true this is!
History from thousands of years ago is too far away for us to reach, and it's difficult for us to discover the "truth". But if we look at 20th century's history of China, you could see how many different accounts have been made upon a single topic by both sides of the Strait.
Every time I walk in to a Chinese bookstore in Flushing, I will find so many political history books that are written by either Mainlander or Taiwanese, both condemning each other's deeds.
If a person weren't born in a place where he can find books from both sides, meaning Mainland or Taiwan, his mind will be filled with one-sided account made by writers of his side without even having the chance to compare and contrast. How sad would that be!
That is how political authorities control the people's thinking, and it happens everywhere in the world.
This is also a topic that Gao Xing Jian --- the author of Soul Mountain and the first Chinese ever who received a Nobel literature prize --- wrote in his Nobel speech. He stronly condemns political control in literature, that made this beautiful art form into a tool for their political propaganda.
As common people, we would never know the ultimate truth behind what we read and hear. But at least, we should be aware of such things, and always be curious (if not skeptical) about everything. A curiosity that brings more knowledge.