Preface / 前言

A personal and verifiable chronicle of the transition from the mechanical age to the AI era, beginning in 1980 and continuing forward.
一部从1980年开始、持续记录机械时代向 AI 时代过渡过程的个人化、可验证编年史。

Feb 25, 2026

I am not a historian, not a journalist, and not a famous writer. I am an ordinary Chinese software engineer born in the 1980s, living in Jinan, trying to keep pace with mortgages, education, and the small anxieties that come with a changing world.

我不是历史学家，不是记者，也不是著名作家。我只是一个普通的中国软件工程师，生于20世纪80年代，生活在济南，努力应对房贷、教育，以及这个不断变化的世界所带来的种种细小焦虑。

But I still have to write these pages.

但我仍然必须写下这些文字。

The 0.5 Chronicles is neither a grand narrative of world history nor a pure memoir. It is an attempt to record the long transition from the late mechanical age to the digital era, and from the digital era into the age of AI. As long as I am able to write, I will continue this record. I also hope that, one day, others will carry it forward.

《0.5纪元》既不是一部宏大的世界史，也不是纯粹的个人回忆录。它试图记录人类社会如何从机械时代的尾声进入数字时代，又如何从数字时代继续迈向 AI 时代。只要我还能写，我就会把这份记录继续下去。我也希望将来会有人把它接续下去。

Milestones (verifiable) / 里程碑（可验证）
A small set of checkable events each year—across technology, science, and culture—with dates and names whenever possible.
每年选取少量可以核查的事件，涵盖技术、科学与文化，并尽可能标注清楚日期与名称。

Daily life (felt) / 日常生活（可感）
The texture of ordinary life—appliances, communication, entertainment, school, work, and family—and the way major changes arrive in the lives of real people.
记录普通生活的质感——家电、通信、娱乐、学校、工作与家庭——以及那些宏大变化如何真正落到具体的人身上。

Why “0.5”? / 为什么是“0.5”？
0.5 means transition. It is neither the end of the old era nor the final form of the new one. It is the unstable middle, where both still coexist.

0.5 意味着过渡。它既不是旧时代的终结，也不是新世界的最终形态。它是一种尚未定型的中间状态，是两种时代并存、交错、彼此牵引的阶段。

The machines keep running, but information starts flowing.
机器仍在运转，但信息已经开始流动。

The family gathers around a television, but a network quietly forms behind the screen.
一家人仍围坐在电视机前，但屏幕背后，网络已经悄然成形。

Experience travels by word of mouth, but knowledge becomes searchable and reproducible.
经验仍通过口耳相传，但知识已经变得可搜索、可复制。

Method: Milestones + Vignettes / 方法：里程碑 + 生活片段
These two threads calibrate each other. Milestones keep the direction accurate; vignettes keep the human temperature real. When I am uncertain, I will say so plainly and mark what still needs verification.

这两条线索彼此校准。里程碑保证方向尽量准确，生活片段保留普通人经验的真实温度。凡有不确定之处，我会明确说明，并标出仍需核实的内容。

Point of view / 视角
This chronicle begins in 1980 and continues forward as an ongoing record. It does not claim equal first-hand memory of every year. For the earlier period, the narrative relies more on family accounts and surviving traces of everyday life, such as photographs, receipts, letters, and objects. From 1985 onward, it gradually enters the range of my own lived experience.

这部编年史从1980年开始，并将作为一项持续性的记录不断写下去。它并不声称对其中每一年都拥有同等程度的第一手记忆。对于较早阶段的内容，叙述更多依赖于家庭讲述，以及照片、票据、书信、实物等日常生活留下的痕迹；从1985年以后，这份记录也逐渐进入我个人亲历经验的范围。

Boundaries / 边界
I avoid political positioning and focus on technology, culture, economy, and everyday life.
我避免政治立场表达，专注于技术、文化、经济与日常生活。

I respect facts: key milestones should be checkable, and uncertainty should remain visible.
我尊重事实：关键里程碑应当可以核查，不确定性也应当被保留下来。

I respect ordinary people: major changes always end up in specific families, schools, and jobs.
我尊重普通人：再大的变化，最终也总会落到具体的家庭、学校与工作岗位上。

Who am I? / 我是谁？
My name is Yang Yu. I was born in 1985 in a small county in Shandong, studied computer science, and worked in Jinan for many years as a software engineer. To make a living, I have also done foreign trade work. If you still remember your first radio, your first cassette tape, your first dial-up connection, or your first AI-assisted draft, I hope you may find a shadow of your own life here.

我叫杨宇，1985年出生于山东一个小县城，学习计算机专业，在济南做了多年的软件工程师。为了生活，我也做过外贸工作。如果你还记得你的第一台收音机、第一盘磁带、第一次拨号上网，或者第一篇由 AI 协助完成的草稿，我希望你也能在这里看见自己生活的一点影子。