Understanding "Smart City" from "The Twelve Hours of Chang'an"

"Smart city" has always been a lofty-sounding concept. Although most people have heard of it, few actually understand the connotation of "smart city". With the recent popularity of "Chang'an Twelve Hours", the author suddenly discovered that the concept of "smart city" as a city camp has existed since ancient times, and Chinese culture is indeed broad and profound!In this context, this article attempts to use the current mainstream structure of "smart cities" to interpret "The Twelve Hours of Chang'an". It is hoped that through the comparison of ancient and modern "smart cities", everyone can understand the basic connotation of "smart cities". Cognition.

"Smart city" is a complex giant system that requires mutual coordination and cooperation among multiple systems. "Chang'an Twelve Hours" can present all of this vividly, and it must be said that a lot of effort has been put into it.

Organic combination of static data and dynamic data

In ancient times, monitoring and information recording of urban development relied on manpower. Human-generated data can be mainly divided into two types: static data and dynamic data.

The data generated by the entry clerk's records is static data.Registration officials are not given much description in the play, but they are an indispensable part of Chang'an Smart City. Many static data such as household registration data, goods import and export data, shop data, etc. in Chang'an City are recorded one by one by the input clerks. It is their silent efforts that enable the data analysis in the play to be implemented.

The data provided by the watchtowers in the city, Marquis Wu, bad people and court secret stakes, is dynamic data that is updated in real time.Watchtower Wuhou is located at a high point in the city overlooking the whole city; bad guys patrol the lanes in the city; and hidden stakes secretly monitor some forces. The three are organically combined to fully control the operational dynamics of Chang'an City.

Communication and processing two-in-one

Watchtowers were set up in every city in Chang'an City, one every three hundred steps. Standing on the top of the watchtower, Wuhou could closely monitor Chang'an City. When the Wolf Guard fled in the city, it was the real-time monitoring and guidance provided by Wanglou Wuhou that pointed the way for Zhang Xiaojing to hunt down the Wolf Guard.

In addition, the watchtowers also have a more core function - communication. The watchtowers transmit information to each other through signal board coding. Together with the cooperation of the scouts, messages and government orders can be quickly conveyed in the city.

The price of paper is an important factor affecting the quality and quantity of data

The archives room is located in the Jing'an Si Yamen and stores a large amount of household registration file information, incoming and outgoing cargo lists, city defense plans, etc. in Chang'an City. It is precisely with the large amount of data in the archives room that the later data analysis can be implemented.

Speaking of data storage, we have to mention theData storage media – paper. Papermaking is undoubtedly a great invention in the history of human civilization. With the emergence of paper, the recording and statistics of large amounts of data in ancient times became possible.

The official paper of the Tang Dynasty was rattan paper, and all statistical data entered by officials needed to be recorded on rattan paper. However, the output of rattan paper was actually limited. The large-scale use caused the supply of rattan paper to exceed the demand, and the price of rattan paper soared. Later, the entry officials fell into a situation where there was no paper available. How can we record data when there is no paper?

With Xu Bin as the core computing power and Da An Shou Shu as the core algorithm

As we have mentioned above, the archives room holds a large amount of data.But data alone is not useful. Did computers exist in ancient times? How to process data?

Well. . . Can’t process data without a computer? ! Who says people are not computing resources? ! ! Jing'an Division's calculation and analysis of data was actually completed by thirty-five elite officials drawn from various ministries.

Now that we have talked about data computing, we must mention a legendary figure-Xu Bin, also known as the "Walking Server".

Xu Bin used the "big case technique" he invented to compare and analyze a large amount of data from the Jing'an Department and derive effective conclusions in a short period of time. Does this concept sound familiar? Then read the four words "big case writing skills" and see if you find anything?

No? Then read it again: "Da – writing – technique".

Documents are ancient data. By analyzing a large number of documents (data), we can finally find out the key and answer to the problem. Isn't this "big data" technology? ! !The author "Ma Boyong" is very imaginative enough to come up with this vocabulary.

Xu Bin, as the only person who has mastered the core algorithm of "Big Case Spelling Technique", naturally became the core figure in Jing'an Division's data analysis. His presence has greatly improved the data analysis efficiency of Jing'an Division.

What? You ask me how Xu Bin did it?

Where do so many come from and why? If you ask me, I will ask who to go with. . .

Just worship with the editor!

Sicheng Li Bi is responsible for decision-making; Captain Zhang Xiaojing is responsible for execution

Sicheng Li Bi was undoubtedly a talented young man. He became friends with Zhang Jiuling at the age of seven, and had a close friendship with the prince at the age of nine. When the prince was entrusted with the important task of taking charge of the Jing'an Division, he could not find a suitable candidate, so he had to ask Li Bi, who was practicing Taoism, to come out and assume the position of Sicheng of the Jing'an Division.

Whether it is storing massive amounts of data or conducting large amounts of data analysis, the ultimate goal is one - to make correct decisions and implement them. This is exactly the meaning of the existence of the city operation management center. The city operation and management center is like the brain of the city. It gathers all kinds of information and uses it to help decision-makers make correct judgments. Through unified dispatch and command, it can efficiently solve various problems faced by the city.

Pictured: Shenzhen Urban Operation Management Center

Although there is the concept of smart cities and a large amount of data as support, it is often people who make the final decision. This is true in the drama and still true in reality. But this does not mean that the existence of smart cities has no value. I believe there will be a huge difference between decisions made based on an in-depth understanding of the city's operating conditions and decisions made blindly.

After reading this, many readers may have become impatient. After saying so much, the core characters have not shown up yet. What does it mean? !

Cough, cough, cough

The key figures must be discussed later!

You won’t forget such a big head anywhere, don’t worry!

"Five Yamas" Zhang Xiaojing is undoubtedly the core character of the whole drama. As the captain of Jing'an Division (ps: temporary worker), when Chang'an City was in danger, he stepped forward and tracked down the "Wolf Guard" at all costs and guarded the city. The safety of the people of Chang'an City. In order to avoid spoilers, I won’t go into the specific process. If you are interested, you can watch it by yourself~

As mentioned above, "Wanglou is responsible for investigating and delivering information; Xu Bin is responsible for analyzing data; Li Bi is responsible for making decisions based on analysis." However, no matter how correct the decision is, it is still empty talk if it is not correctly implemented.

Two typical businesses: one for people and one for things

Chang'an Smart City demonstrated its value in the field of cadre selection at the beginning of the series. Xu Bin used the art of major cases to find people suitable for carrying out tasks in Chang'an City, and finally selected Zhang Xiaojing and Cui Liulang. This is how we get Captain Zhang Walked out of death row. (Pull the one who said it was a lie out of here! Who allowed you to know so much!)

Regarding another important application field of Chang'an Smart City, I don't have to say that everyone should also know it. The title of the drama has revealed everything - "Twenty-Four Hours Against Terrorism". The original purpose of the Jing'an Department was to be responsible for the prevention of bandits in Chang'an City, so it is natural for Chang'an Smart City to be applied in the field of urban security.

Pass encrypted information through the watchtower password;

Comprehensive perception of space through flat maps and 3D models

Information transmission between watchtowers is achieved by flipping the signal boards on the watchtowers. The arrangement of different signal boards represents different messages. Only people who know the encoding method can understand the information transmitted by the signal boards.

The design of the coding system of the watchtower signal board is actually formulating a set of information transmission protocols. Through a coding method that is only known internally, it can achieve rapid transmission of messages while ensuring information security. (Although the code was later leaked by a traitor...)

Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty was divided into 108 squares and had a population of one million. It was the largest city in the world at that time, no one!In such a large and complex city, if you want to track criminals, you must have a clear understanding of the spatial information of different people and events.

The value of the map can be seen from the Wolf Guard's desire for the Chang'an map in the early stages of the series. For the Wolf Guards who have just arrived in Chang'an, being able to have an accurate map will undoubtedly help them achieve an accurate understanding of the complex space of Chang'an City. Otherwise, they will not be able to find the place and they will carry out terrorist attacks. . .

The Chang'an sand table is a three-dimensional upgraded version of the Chang'an map. By making a detailed Chang'an sand table, a three-dimensional perception of the space of Chang'an City can be achieved, allowing Si Cheng and Li Bi to understand the real-time progress of the hunt for the Wolf Guard in the Jing'an Si Yamen Office and conduct dynamic analysis. The command provides great convenience.

The last line of defense to ensure data security

The Jing'an Division not only stores a large amount of data, but also includes key figures such as Li Bi and Xu Bin, all of which require strict protection. Later in the plot, due to the transfer of the Luben Army, the defense force of the Jing'an Division was empty, so that when the murderers invaded, the Jing'an Division was defenseless. Although Cui Qi fought hard and died for his country in the end, the fate of the officials of the Jing'an Department who were massacred could not be avoided, which not only highlighted the importance of security.

Modern smart cities require stricter security. Data security is directly related to everyone's vital interests and national security. Just imagine, if personal and even national information can be obtained by criminals at any time during the transmission process, how can individuals have privacy? How else to ensure national security?A strict protection system should be built during data acquisition, transmission, storage and other processes to ensure the safe operation of smart cities.

Through the above overview of the main components of a smart city, I believe everyone has a certain understanding of the concept of a smart city, but this alone is not enough. A smart city is a complex giant system that requires the cooperation between various functional modules. If you do not have a certain understanding of its operating mechanism, it is still difficult to truly understand a "smart city".

So let’s analyze the logical structure and operating mechanism of smart cities together. Let’s first take a look at Chang’an’s “smart city”.

Tang Changan smart city model map

Interpretation:

Watchtower Wuhou is located at a high point in the city. Together with the bad guys patrolling in the city and the lurking hidden stakes, Chang'an City can be monitored in real time.If a problem is discovered, encrypted information will be transmitted through the watchtower signal board, and the information will be quickly transmitted to the Jing'an Division through the cooperation of the scouts;

Xu Bin conducted "big data" analysis based on the information from the scouts and the document data in the archives room, and presented the analysis results to Sicheng Libi;

Li Bi made a judgment based on the analysis and assigned orders to Captain Zhang Xiaojing for execution. If Zhang Xiaojing encountered problems during the execution of the task, he would send messages through the watchtower for timely feedback, thus forming a complete closed loop.

Next, let’s compare current smart cities;

Modern smart city model diagram

Interpretation:

The operating mechanism of the current smart city is very similar to that of the Chang'an City Smart City, and can be understood as an upgraded version.The city monitors the city in real time through video surveillance, personnel information, spatio-temporal data, etc., and uses high-speed communication networks to transmit the data to the city data center;

After the urban data center performs preliminary calculation and processing of the data, the data is classified and stored; the urban big data center uses big data, machine learning and other technologies to further conduct in-depth analysis of the massive data in the data center, and transmits the analysis results to the city operation Management center for dynamic presentation;

Based on an in-depth understanding of the city, decision makers make judgments on specific issues and direct various functional departments to implement them. If problems arise during execution, timely feedback and processing can be provided through the communication network, thus forming a complete closed loop. Through the construction of smart cities, the level of urban governance will be continuously improved.

Comparing Chang'an's "smart city" with the current "smart city", we can find that there is no essential difference between the two. Although with the development of computer technology, modern smart cities cannot match Chang'an Smart City in terms of data volume, information transmission efficiency, and computing efficiency, the most basic ideas and logical structures of the two "smart cities" are still the same. However, many tasks that in the past required manual labor can now be handled more intelligently and efficiently by computers.

I believe that everyone has a preliminary understanding of the concept of smart city at this time. The concept of "smart city" mentioned in this article is obviously a simplified version, which is also for the convenience of everyone's understanding (actually, the editor's ability is limited –!).

To quote Michael Sandel: The essence of learning lies not in the knowledge you remember, but in the thinking it triggers.

I hope that after reading this article, everyone can think about smart cities.