A Man of Science and Engineering in Troubled Times Wandering in the Late Qing Dynasty

Wu Shizhao's whistleblowing allowed him to regain his official position.

His encounter with Shen Jin really perfectly confirmed Bei Dao's famous poem:

The mean is the pass of the mean, and the noble is the epitaph of the noble.

Perhaps it was because they knew the backgrounds of Li Yu and others, and because they found out all of a sudden that day, Li Yu, Liu E, and Wang Chonglie were not affected.

But seeing the dead body lying on the spot, how could he not be angry.

Outside the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, Li Yu and the other three found Shen Jin's body. There was no saying that there was no blood.

After Liu E buried him, his hands were shaking with anger.

Can't let it go!
It would definitely be okay to go directly to the Qing court, but Cixi was very afraid of foreigners.

Li Yu found Lu Bicheng and told her about Shen Jin's murder. Lu Bicheng was stunned when he heard this, "Alive...killed?!"

Li Yu said: "You pass this matter back to Tianjin's "Ta Kung Pao" and publish it directly. The newspapers in the concession, don't worry."

Lu Bicheng couldn't hold the pen steady, and tremblingly wrote down the general outline of the incident, and then sent it back to Tianjin Dagong Newspaper.

Ying Lianzhi knew that the matter was serious, so he reported it in detail.

After the incident was reported by Ta Kung Pao, other newspapers in the concession reprinted it one after another.

It was a reporter who died, and almost all the reporters were outraged.

Hong Kong's "China Daily" directly stated: "Shen Jun's death, ghosts and gods cry for him, people with lofty ideals drink blood for him, ministers of various countries are shocked by it, and Chinese and Western newspapers spread it. Although the day of your death is the year of your life."

It can be regarded as saving face for the Qing court.

But the foreigner's "The Times" was not polite. The reporter Morrison angrily called Cixi "that vicious old woman who deserves to be killed".

This atrocity was overwhelmingly condemned at home and abroad, and everyone expressed sympathy and condolences to Shen Jin.

Even the wives of ministers from various countries expressed their objections to Shen Jin's death when they met with the Empress Dowager Cixi.

It never occurred to Cixi that the execution of a reporter was considered a trivial matter for the purpose of controlling public opinion and imitating others, but now it has become so troublesome that all foreigners are against it.

She still doesn't understand the logic of modern society.

Cixi is now a bit regretful, so she asked the officials below not to "involuntarily implicate good people and leave people's hearts".

In the subsequent suppression of the Revolutionary Party, the Qing government also had some scruples in how it dealt with it. In 1905, an edict was issued to abolish torture such as Ling Chi and Xiao Shou, and regulations on the news industry such as the "Great Qing Newspaper Law" were promulgated, which can be regarded as a step forward from barbarism to civilization.

After all, Shen Jin's death was not in vain.

At the same time, he indirectly saved the lives of many arrested journalists from the Shanghai "Su Bao".

When Shen Jin died, he happened to meet the "Su Reporting Case".

Shanghai's "Su Bao" was shut down for publishing Zhang Taiyan's articles on the revolution, and a large number of people were arrested and imprisoned, including Zhang Taiyan.

After all, the Qing court could not directly bring out the people from the concession, so it asked for "extradition" to the concession.

However, after seeing how the Qing court treated a reporter, the Bureau of the Ministry of Industry in the Concession knew that these people would almost die if they were extradited, so they flatly refused.

Thereafter, the Qing court became the plaintiff and sued Zhang Taiyan in the concession court.

It's just that Zhang Taiyan's fighting power broke out once he went to court, and the Qing court was at a loss, let alone him.

In the dark, it can be said that Shen Jin indirectly saved Zhang Taiyan's life.

-

When Li Yu came to Yingtai to teach Guangxu again, he suddenly found a French doctor treating Guangxu.

To be precise, it should be a physical examination.

After the Reform Movement of [-], Cixi put Guangxu under house arrest. At that time, ministers from various countries expressed fierce protests. They believed that Guangxu's decrees were progressives, while Cixi was a conservative.

The great powers don't want to see conservatives in power because it's not in their interest.

Guangxu was imprisoned suddenly, and even the palace issued an edict in the name of Guangxu, calling famous doctors from all over the country to the capital to treat the emperor.

The question is too strange.

So a group of ministers in China headed by the British minister forced their doctors to be sent to "represent the entire Western world" to give the Chinese emperor a "physical physical examination" with "the latest scientific and technological achievements in the field of medicine today".

Although Western medicine at this time was not very powerful, in fact, they wanted to know more about Guangxu's physical condition.

Then the French doctor Doford was taken into Yingtai as a representative of doctors elected by various countries to see a doctor for Guangxu.

Under the watchful eyes of Cixi, Ronglu, Yikuang and other ministers, the medical officer of the imperial hospital, and Li Lianying and other eunuchs, Dr. Dodford took off the clothes of Emperor Guangxu, looked at the emperor's eyes, and used a stethoscope and a tongue depressor. The board checked the heart rate and oral cavity of Emperor Guangxu.

This is something that has never happened in the palace before. Cixi, ministers and eunuchs were dumbfounded!

Then Doford diagnosed the physical problems of Emperor Guangxu: physical weakness, emaciation, fatigue, dizziness, headache, pale complexion, asthma, diarrhea, low back pain and other symptoms.But cardiopulmonary auscultation showed no abnormality, but vision and hearing decreased.

A word that is easier to understand for modern people should be the so-called "sub-health state".

No serious illness really.

However, it was the examination of this foreign doctor who found that Emperor Guangxu still had the problem of "life root", that is, the leftovers and false positives.

Dorford believed that Emperor Guangxu had some kidney problems.

He also examined the urine of Emperor Guangxu and performed a chemical qualitative examination of the urine protein in it.This should be the first use of chemical diagnosis in Chinese court medicine.

Anyway, Tai Hospital would definitely not do such a thing.

It's really embarrassing now.

We must know that in ancient times, the status of the emperor was like a god in the world, and the title of "Son of Heaven" was not called for nothing.

Even the emperor's stool can be used as medicine, and it is also called "Dragon Legacy".

It is said that the pharmacy will buy the emperor's daily stool from the eunuchs, then mix it with cinnabar and lily to remove the smell, then add hawthorn and honey to make a synthetic pill, named "Longyi Pill", and sell it at a high price to the dignitaries in Beijing .

Although the price is high, it is still in short supply.

Think about it too: Guangxu has only one person to eat, how can there be so many people rushing to eat.

Rare things are more expensive.

Pharmacies claim that regular consumption can prolong life, clear liver and improve eyesight, strengthen yang and kidney, and strengthen the body.

It's just that now the emperor's kidneys are not good, and even his vital organs are problematic, so the efficacy of "Longyi Pill" cannot be justified.

Isn't this the horror story:

—Can you give a tragic example?
——Don’t lift it!
Hey, if the news gets out, the royal family will definitely lose face.

However, Puyi, the last emperor, seemed to have this problem as well.

This is really... God is going to kill me!
At that time, Doford didn't prescribe any specific medicine, because he was only sub-healthy, so he had to rely on recuperation.

His suggestion is to drink more milk, human milk will do.

(Don't ask why there are people with milk. This thing was very popular among officials of the Ming and Qing dynasties, so it is inconvenient to say more)
Even Doford said that human milk is better, and if you drink milk, you need to add lactose.

Then let Guangxu cupping.

It should be a kind of cupping therapy in ancient Greece.

But in the West it seems to be mainly used for bloodletting.

As we all know, previous Western medicine was super obsessed with bloodletting therapy, and the suction of cupping can more effectively suck more blood.

After Washington got sick, he was bled to death for three days, a full 2.4 liters, almost half of human blood!
How can I stand it.

Fortunately, Tai Hospital didn't dare to bleed Guangxu, otherwise I really don't know which side this doctor is on.

Li Yu asked curiously, "How about the emperor's dragon body?"

Knowing about Li Yu, Doford said, "The emperor of your country is still in good health, but he has been in a weak state and hasn't changed much."

Doford was very puzzled: "I have been practicing medicine for many years, and I have seen people who are weak, but it is really rare for people who are weak for a long time without seeing other causes."

Doford certainly couldn't understand the brutal power struggles at court.

Li Yu asked in a low voice, "Is there really nothing serious?"

"No, I promise," Doford said.

After Li Yu taught Guangxu today's "Natural Knowledge Popular Science Class" (Li Yu already called it that), when he walked out of Xiyuan, he found that Dr. Doford was still there.

He was stopped by Zai Zhen.

Seeing Li Yu, Zai Zhen greeted him, "Mr. Li Yu!"

Li Yu walked over and heard Doford say to Zai Zhen: "I don't have a good solution for this. From your description, we can preliminarily judge that your friend is suffering from syphilis."

Zai Zhen asked, "Is there any cure?"

Syphilis was brought back to Europe by Columbus from the Americas, but how it spread in Europe, everyone has long started to blame each other, but most countries call it the "French disease".

But of course the Gallic rooster is not willing to take the blame, calling it "Naples disease".

Doford said: "It would be fine to wrap the dangerous area with a cloth soaked in wine after the XX act. Now that it has been infected, it is not easy to deal with. You can only rub the skin with mercury, or sit directly in the mercury casserole. "

Zai Zhen was stunned: "Is this really possible?"

No matter how it sounds, it sounds like being tortured.

"Maybe it can be alleviated, but I don't know how to cure it," Doford said.

Zai Zhen sighed, "Even your foreign doctors can't do anything, I really don't know what to do."

Li Yu asked, "Bei Zi, I don't know if it's..."

Zai Zhen quickly said, "It's Baron."

He was afraid that Li Yu might mistake him for him.

It has been rumored that Emperor Tongzhi also died of syphilis.

"Balong?" Li Yu asked in surprise.

Zai Zhen said: "He has been looking for flowers and willows recently, and he seems to have found some from Nanyang. I didn't expect..."

As the son of Rong Lu, Minister of Military Aircraft, Ba Long and Zai Zhen were both sons and brothers before. They are about the same age and often play together.

However, just as Papa Baron died, it would be unreasonable to go to the Land of Fireworks.

This guy is beyond redemption.

Zai Zhen suddenly realized that Li Yu also knew Western learning, and asked with an attitude of trying, "Mr. Li Yu, do you have a solution?"

Li Yu spread his hands: "I don't understand medicine."

Although I know that the treatment of this thing depends on antibiotics, but where to do it in a short time.

Inevitably, a large number of experiments are required to try out the excellent strains of penicillin one by one.

Baron's experience inspired Li Yu. If he builds a laboratory in the future, and sets up a few rooms, it seems that he can do exhaustive research.

But it's hard to say how long it will take to get it out, so it's necessary to find someone to do this kind of thing in the future.

As long as penicillin is produced, it is almost a piece of silver.

Li Yu's mind suddenly went flying, and Zai Zhen called him twice before he realized it.

Zai Zhen sighed: "If there is no other way, I can only try mercury."

Li Yu wanted to stop him, but Doford offered his hospitality: "My clinic can provide medical services."

Zai Zhenxi said: "It's so good!"

Li Yu thought, let them go, anyway, he has already said that he doesn't understand medicine, so he can't talk about it.

-

Not long after returning home, an apprentice from Fengtai Photo Studio came to the door and told Li Yu that the record was ready and that the premiere was going to be held in the Daguanyuan studio, and Li Yu was invited to come.

He also left two tickets.

So Li Yu was going to call Lu Bicheng to have a look.

This is the first movie in Chinese history, no matter what level it is, its symbolic meaning is already big enough.

There was a fire in Fengtai Photo Studio in 1909, and all the instruments and recorded videos were burned, so later generations can't see it at all.

It is a memorable thing to be able to see the truth with my own eyes now.

Lu Bicheng had taken pictures before, but hadn't seen the movie, so he asked curiously, "What is a movie?"

Li Yu laughed and said, "It's just someone singing on a big screen."

The first movie theater run by Ren Qingtai, "Daguanyuan Studio", was originally named Tea House, just like ordinary theaters.

Li Yu guessed that people must be indispensable, so he and Lu Bicheng rushed to the theater early, even if it was so, there were almost no seats.

The busiest place in Dashilan today must be this theater.

Ren Qingtai tried to show several films before, but they were all short. The first film shown in the theater was the foreign film "The Leper". The audience was very enthusiastic and the show was full.

However, due to the poor equipment, short film size, and lack of film sources, there are only foreign scenery films except for some comedy films.

It is not easy for the people at this time to go abroad, but it is just a good time to take this opportunity to understand what the world of foreigners is like.

Then I took a look and found that there seemed to be no big difference, except that the clothes and hairstyle were different.

Today's show is a domestic film, or a popular opera, which is very attractive.

It's a pity that there is no popcorn, Li Yu handed a stack of melon seeds to Lu Bicheng: "This is indispensable for watching movies."

Lu Bicheng waved his hand: "Don't eat, don't eat."

Li Yu knew the reason why she didn't eat, so he said, "It's okay, someone will clean it."

Even so, Lu Bicheng felt that it was too unsightly to spit out melon seeds, so he insisted on not eating them.

Moreover, in the huge auditorium, it seemed that no other women were present, which somehow made her feel uncomfortable.

The sound of the movie theater was relatively noisy, and as Tan Xinpei appeared on the curtain with a knife, the audience immediately began to cheer.

Li Yu suddenly realized that the gramophone idea he had made for the movie theater didn't seem to be working.

Because the big guy was familiar with the opera at first glance, and Tan Xinpei was famous, after a few movements, he began to cheer. The key cheers came one after another, and the small sound of the gramophone could not be heard at all.

Even if a sound amplifier is designed, it can't hide the human voice.

So this movie is basically equivalent to watching a silent movie.

Silent films are silent films, the commemorative significance is even greater.After all, no matter how wonderful it is, it cannot be compared with the great special effects movies of later generations.

On the contrary, the audience was so excited that they were still unsatisfied after the screening, and insisted on letting the movie theater focus on it and put it aside.

Lu Bicheng found it very strange, "How is this done? Why are there moving images?"

"I'll record a section for you later."

Li Yu thought about his habit of using his mobile phone back then, and took pictures almost every day, but now he hasn't taken pictures himself for more than a year, and his hands are really itchy.