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

Oxford is a very old university. It should be the oldest university in the UK. It has a history of more than [-] years, decades longer than Cambridge. ——Cambridge was founded when some people from Oxford left.

But there is no need to think that their long history is worth touting. Some academies in China have a longer history.

Later universities in some emerging countries with short histories are not weak at all.

And what do you think can be taught in British schools 800 years ago?At that time, there was no Renaissance, and it was just a church school.

It can be seen from the names of their colleges that "Trinity College" and "St. John's College" are all in the Bible.

It is said that hundreds of years ago, most of the literate people in Europe were church personnel.

Of course, Oxford's ranking is still very high, and the battle for the top spot between Oxford and Cambridge has continued for hundreds of years.

When different newspapers in the UK rank, sometimes this one puts Oxford first, and another one puts Cambridge first.

The area of ​​Oxford is quite large, without courtyard walls, it feels like a university constitutes a small city.

Although many people have no chance to enter Oxford, in fact, many people have seen the inside of Oxford on TV. The Hogwarts Hall in "Harry Potter" was filmed in Oxford (actually, the crew rebuilt the scene later, but it always borrowed from Oxford).

British drama is also quite traditional. After all, there is a big tree like Shakespeare, and Oscar Wilde and others in the late [-]th and early [-]th centuries, which have been thriving.

Today the Oxford Drama Society is preparing to organize a performance of Ibsen's A Doll's House.

While they were still preparing, Li Yu went to the Bodleian Library first.This is a well-known library next to Oxford University. Its collection of books is second only to the British Library. It is said that in the early years, every book printed in the UK would be sent to this library.

The library already has the Star Wars collection, and the Bodleian Library has ordered ten more due to the high number of borrowings.

The earlier the time, the more the library is the soul of a university.

As soon as Li Yu entered the library gate, he heard several Chinese people talking inside.

"Luo Chang, you have been in Honolulu for many years and you are a student at Oxford. What do you think is the strength of Oxford University?"

It was Kang Youwei who spoke, what a coincidence, why did I meet him here again!
But counting the time, Kang Youwei has indeed started his European trip, and the first stop must be Britain, which is the closest to the American continent.

Luo Chang is a relatively young disciple of Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao, only 20 years old.

His academic qualifications are very prominent among Kang Youwei's disciples: he studied at Waseda University and Japan Army University in his early years, and now he has transferred to the top Oxford University in the UK.

It was this years of overseas experience that made him a disciple of Kangmen.

Luo Chang said: "Master, Oxford has a wide range of subjects, covering natural philosophy, literature and art history, etc., and there are also many majors for factories."

Kang Youwei nodded: "I have traveled around London a lot, and I have seen their steel giants, workshops and factories, and even saw a shipyard, which is indeed worth learning. You are a man of insight. After returning to China, I will definitely entrust you with important tasks."

It seems that Mr. Nanhai still has not forgotten Emperor Guangxu, and firmly believes that he will be reused after returning to China.

Kang Youwei was pacing in front of the bookshelf, and another student came to borrow the Star Wars series. After he left, Kang Youwei asked Luo Chang: "In such a culturally prosperous place in Europe, there are people who like to read this kind of entertainment novels that are purely for leisure?"

Luo Chang said: "Yes, Master, and it will be borrowed almost as soon as it is returned."

Kang Youwei continued to ask, "Where are Li Yu's other books on mathematics?"

Luo Chang said: "It's about the same level, and most of the borrowers are professors and lecturers."

Kang Youwei was surprised and said, "All the professors in British universities must read Li Yu's books?"

Luo Chang said, "That's right."

"It's so miraculous, have you read it?" Kang Youwei naturally couldn't understand it. Hearing that the Oxford University professor still wanted to read Li Yu's books, he didn't dare to make judgments.

Luo Chang said: "I'm sorry, Master, I can't read it. My majors are literature, law, history, and military affairs. I don't know much about natural philosophy. I can barely understand his "Game Theory" and the first half of "Fractals and Chaos" because it is aimed at ordinary readers."

"So, I can also understand?" Kang Youwei asked.

Luo Chang said: "Shigong is a talented person, so he is naturally much better than me."

After thinking about it, Kang Youwei gave up. It was somewhat embarrassing if he could not fully understand it, so he said: "Natural philosophy is just a second-class knowledge. You can't learn from the world, so you don't need to read it."

Li Yu at the door glanced at Lu Bicheng, and said softly, "Why don't we go first."

But as soon as he turned around, he saw Kang Youwei's daughter, Kang Tongbi, also coming in.

The two met before at Columbia University in the United States, and Kang Tongbi said, "You are Li Yu?!"

Li Yu smiled awkwardly: "Miss Kang."

Kang Tongbi squatted slightly, then ran in to look for Kang Youwei.

She whispered a few words to Kang Youwei, and Kang Youwei said loudly, "He's here too?"

Kang Youwei strode out and asked Li Yu, "Why are you here?"

Li Yu spread his hands and asked, "Why can't I be here?"

Luo Chang has always had a good impression of Li Yu, but he has been in a trance since he saw Kang Tongbi just now, just thinking about how to talk to Kang Tongbi.

Kang Youwei snorted, "Farewell."

After speaking, he left the library directly.

Li Yu shrugged: "No."

After they left, Lu Bicheng asked, "Mr. Kang still seems to have a lot of prejudice against you."

Li Yu said: "It was nothing at first, but I caught his braids, and Liang Zi must not be able to untie them. But now there is no Internet...well, there is no wider media, and many people actually don't know."

Lu Bicheng said: "People who can read and write, especially intellectuals in the United States, must know. You should be careful in the future. Mr. Nanhai's power overseas seems to be not small."

While the two were talking, James Bruce, the vice-principal of Oxford University, and one person ran over to greet Li Yu: "Mr. Academician is here, so let me find it easily. I'm the vice-principal of Oxford, James Bruce."

Li Yu shook hands with him: "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"I heard that the most outstanding scientists in the world today are coming to our school, we are very welcome!" Bruce said, and then introduced another person beside him, "This is Mr. Abel Rhodes, the son of the great Sir Cecil Rhodes."

When foreigners introduce themselves, they often say that they are the son of so-and-so, especially the nobles. Li Yu has long been used to it.

Abel Rhodes shook hands with Li Yu: "Father donated money last year to set up a special scholarship at Oxford University to provide funding for outstanding scholars. As long as they get the qualifications, they are called 'Rhodes Scholars'. We hope that Mr. Academician can accept this honor."

Only then did Li Yu realize that it was the very famous "Rhodes Scholarship" of Oxford University.

The selection of the Rhodes Scholarship is very difficult, and the approval rate of the application is so low that it is less than one in ten thousand. It is called the "Global Youth Nobel Prize" by later generations.

At the beginning, it was only available to a few countries in the Commonwealth of Nations, and it was not opened in the mainland until 2015. Only four people in the mainland were awarded the title of "Rhodes Scholar" every year.

As for the person who founded this scholarship, he has a lot of background: Cecil Rhodes is the diamond king of South Africa and the founder of De Beers, the world's largest diamond mining company.

At the same time, he was an extreme colonialist, and he was the direct instigator of the Boer War between South Africa and Britain.

Although the Boer War dragged Britain into the quagmire of war and suffered heavy losses, Cecil Rhodes still became one of the wealthiest men in the world at the time.

Cecil Rhodes is also an extreme racist. He himself said: "I insist that we British are the first race in the world; I also insist that the more land we occupy, the more beneficial it is to mankind."

Although the relationship between Britain and Germany has been very bad in the past few decades, Rhodes still prefers the Kaiser and Germany (many British people think the same, but there is currently a dispute between the two in Europe's first and second).

Therefore, Rhodes Scholarship also recruits German students in addition to several countries in the Commonwealth of Nations, because Cecil believes that the world will eventually be ruled by Britain, the United States and Germany, and will bring lasting peace.

This kind of thinking is scary to hear.

Li Yu asked: "I heard that your school's scholarship does not have quotas for Asian students."

Abel Rhodes said: "Mr. is an exception. Haven't you already become a citizen of the United States?"

Li Yu said in surprise, "Where did you hear that? It's nothing!"

Abel wondered: "Then how can you set up a business in the United States?"

Li Yu said speechlessly: "It has nothing to do with nationality, and the company has Mr. Morgan's shares."

Abel suddenly realized: "So that's the case! But we can still be extra merciful, after all, your excellence has surpassed the entire Far East."

Li Yu was a little displeased with his superior attitude of the British race, and directly refused: "Thank you for your kindness, you should consider 'giving favor' to others."

Abel wanted to keep him for a while, but now Li Yu is a super sweet potato, and all major organizations want to recruit him.Moreover, he has already helped Cambridge to conduct experiments, which was another blow to Oxford's reputation, so he said: "Mr. Academician, we can give you higher financial support; and 'Rhode Scholars' will also boost your reputation."

Li Yu sneered: "Do you think I lack money or reputation?"

Albert was at a loss for words.

Vice-principal Bruce saw that Li Yu would not move, so he had no choice but to give up: "The club has been organized, and the performance will begin immediately. It is the first time in Oxford and even the whole of London that eastern and western dramas are on stage at the same time. Mr. Bernard Shaw also came to watch in person. Let's go and have a look first."

Li Yu said, "Please!"

Li Yu was a distinguished guest and was invited to the front row; Kang Youwei was also a guest of Oxford, and the two were not far away; Li Yu's right across Lu Bicheng was Bernard Shaw.

Bernard Shaw was already famous at this time, his thought was relatively advanced, he had read Marx, and he was also very friendly to China. Later, he visited China specially and formed friendship with Lu Xun and Cai Yuanpei.

Bernard Shaw smiled and said, "Mr. Wen Hao, I have read your Star Wars series, and your imagination is amazing."

Li Yu laughed and said, "I can't afford this title. Without Miss Bicheng's help, that set of books wouldn't be so brilliant."

George Bernard Shaw said: "I have carefully read the whole set of books. I don't know why, but I always feel that it has a strong sense of stage impact. It seems that it was born for the stage. I really want to rewrite it into a play. However, its magnificent background does not seem to be suitable for performances on the stage."

Unexpectedly, Bernard Shaw really saw some clues. The Star Wars series originally came from movies, and it is far from enough to say that it was born for the stage.

Li Yu said: "Perhaps in a few decades, there will be a way to broadcast it on movies."

"Sir, you mean a film played on a piece of cloth," said Bernard Shaw. "Now that you say that, it seems necessary for me to think about it."

When Kang Youwei saw a great British writer talking and laughing with Li Yu, he coughed and walked over: "I am Kang Youwei, named Nanhai. It's a pleasure to meet Mr. Xiao."

Bernard Shaw said politely: "I have heard about your deeds. You are respected as the emperor's teacher, and you have taken refuge overseas. The story of the clothes and edicts is also very dramatic."

Kang Youwei rolled his eyes and said, "If Mr. Xiao intends to adapt it into a drama, I would like to tell you the details."

Li Yu immediately understood that Kang Youwei wanted to use Bernard Shaw to adapt it into a play to expand his popularity, so as to win more donations for the Royal Society.

Li Yu said: "The writing of dramas set in the imperial palace of the Qing Dynasty is very different from that of European royal families. Mr. Nan Hai must have a lot of understanding of British aristocratic culture, and he should be clear about the key points."

Kang Youwei said: "It doesn't matter, Mr. Xiao can play freely, and I can provide consulting help for things that I don't understand in the process."

George Bernard Shaw said: "I think what Mr. Li Yu said makes sense. If you don't have a deep understanding of the content you are writing, you can't write a wonderful play. I heard that Mr. Puccini even went to China to create a play with a Chinese background. Even he didn't dare to write. Naturally, I can't write without going to China."

Bernard Shaw was still very rigorous.

Kang Youwei couldn't wait, and said: "I have a very deep understanding of Chinese court culture, and Mr. Xiao can completely trust me."

Li Yu suddenly laughed and said, "What a 'Palace Yuye Wine'!"

Kang Youwei raised his beard, "What did you say?"

Li Yu continued: "One hundred and eighty glasses; how about this wine, let me brag to you."

Kang Youwei said angrily, "What a mess of doggerel!"

Lu Bicheng on the side laughed out loud: "Good poetry!"

Kang Youwei said angrily, "Don't cut the cross! How dare you laugh at the old man?"

When Li Yu saw him scolding Lu Bicheng, he immediately quit: "Mr. Nanhai, you have read too few books! "A Doll's House", which will be staged soon, tells the story of a woman's awakening. Laughing at a woman on such a occasion, or a talented woman, will only make you more out of place and ignorant."

To be called "uninformed" by others is a great shame and shame for a literati.

But when Kang Youwei heard Luo Chang tell him the general outline of the play, his voice immediately became low, but he was not full of breath, and pointed at Li Yu: "You..."

Li Yu didn't want to quarrel with him, so he pointed to the stage: "The performance has started, Mr. Nanhai should sit there and watch the show."