[Qilin]

I finally finished reading the currently translated novel, all I can say is that it conveys the mystery better. While it lacks the anime's frills and visuals, it better presents the clues that lets the reader/viewer come to his/her own conclusion. At least, it allows the reader to digest everything at his/her own pace. That is especially true in this case since the evidence in this case is a handful of historical texts that involve through reading and rereading.

Spoiler for thoughts on historical context:

What I find most appealing is the attention it gives to historical context in their discourse analysis. From the start, I was puzzled by several questions concerning the mystery, but the most salient one was: "Why go through so much trouble for the sake of a cultural festival?" I mean, cultural festivals are pretty cool and all, but I don't think that cutting it down warranted a school-wide resistance, no to mention all the sacrifices they made because of it.

But then, I figured that student freedom was probably not as widespread in the past as it is now. If we assume that school administration back then was much stricter in restricting student freedom, the cultural festival takes a whole different meaning. It becomes one of the few channels for students to express what little freedom they had. As such, they could only react violently when it was threatened. The prevalence of student activism at the time is likely a reflection of such a relationship between the administration and the student body. Even the Principal's speech about improving the school's education standards takes on an entirely new meaning when viewed from the lens of that particular zeitgeist.

This all goes to show the importance of understanding the historical context in any piece of text. As time goes on, cultures and meanings change alongside it, so it is understandable for certain meanings and nuances to become lost in the process. That is why complete understanding of historical context is invaluable when it comes to reading any piece of text.

The foreword for Hyouka vol. 2 puts it rather eloquently:

Once the subjectiveness is taken away, this story will become a classic as it transcends all historical perspectives.

Will the day come when our stories become a classic for someone in the future?

Once a work can be appreciated from an entirely different era, once it transcends its own time, that is when a work truly becomes a "classic".