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

Don’t look at the fact that the Shanghai Concession is only about thirty square kilometers. It was even smaller in the late Qing Dynasty, with a development area of ​​only a dozen square kilometers, and there were no high-rise buildings like those of later generations.

But the power bursting out here should not be underestimated. There are countless newspapers published alone, and they cover various categories.

Shanghai's printing industry is also very prosperous.

But Li Yu didn't know how to run a newspaper, so he planned to go to Zhang Yuanji first to find a solution.

The Commercial Press usually accepts the printing business of some tabloids without equipment. At this time, some people gathered with pages ready for printing.

After expressing to Zhang Yuanji his idea of ​​funding a China Women's Newspaper, Zhang Yuanji replied: "I must approve of such a good thing, but I happen to have something to do with it."

"It's easy. Just introduce someone who knows how to run a newspaper." Li Yu said.

"Introduce someone..." Zhang Yuanji thought for a moment, and suddenly said to a person waiting outside: "Brother Wu, Imperial Master Li Yu wants to pay for the newspaper, are you interested?"

A middle-aged man in his forties raised his head: "Emperor Li Yu? A giant of science!"

Li Yu said: "If it is fake, we will replace it."

Zhang Yuanji introduced him: "Brother Wu, whose nickname is Jianren, is a well-known scholar and newspaperman in Shanghai. However, he encountered a lot of financial troubles before, and the newspaper was stumbling."

Bitch Wu?
Li Yu always felt that the name was strange, but he still shook hands with him: "Nice to meet you."

Zhang Yuanji took out a book: "This is Brother Wu's new work. It is very popular throughout Jiangnan Province. Brother Shucai can read it in his spare time."

Li Yu glanced at the title of the book: "The Strange Current Situation Witnessed in 20 Years".It turned out to be the author of this book.

This book is naturally famous and was regarded by Lu Xun as one of the four major condemnation novels.All four books come from the late Qing Dynasty, and they all directly criticize the late Qing Dynasty.It can be seen that at this time, the Manchu and Qing court was too weak to control thoughts and speech as before.

And once the mind is liberalized, it will intensify the demise of the Qing court.

Li Yu had seen the word "Wu Jianren" in the title of the book, but he never recognized the word "Jiang".

Moreover, the signature on the cover is "I am from Foshan", not "from Wu Jian".

Seeing Li Yu looking at the cover, Wu Jianren said, "I have lived in Foshan for many years, so I used this signature."

Li Yu thought it was too funny: I have lived in Foshan for a long time, so it is too easy to just use the name "I am from Foshan".

If it were somewhere else, couldn't they be called "I'm from Shaoxing", "I'm from Shanghai", "I'm from Tianjin" and so on.

Li Yu said: "One of Mr.'s characters and nicknames are so easy to recognize, but the other is unrecognizable. It's full of conflict."

Wu Jianren laughed: "Don't tell me, not many people know this character now. I heard that when my husband was recruiting scribes in a tavern, he specifically asked about the four ways to write the word 'fennel'. And mine is cocoon. Another way to write the word.”

"趼" connects to "cocoon".

Historically, Wu Jian people would die of poverty and poverty in a few years.

Li Yu asked: "Sir, are you interested in running a newspaper together? Don't worry about funds."

"This is really the best, and the female newspaper suits me best." Wu Jianren said.

Zhang Yuanji explained at the side: "Brother Jianren once wrote a book called "Cocoon Dark Poems and Grass". These four characters are written in cursive lines, which is a bit like 'Lan Gui Shi Chao'. People often mistakenly think that it is written by a woman. "

Wu Jianren said with a smile: "Now I will run a women's newspaper together to confirm the rumors and not let others spread them in vain."

Wu Jianren's character is free and easy.

Zhang Yuanji gave Li Yu another reassurance: "Brother Xianren has been rich and talented for a long time, but he doesn't like to chase wealth, so he is quite unsuccessful. Many years ago, he and Li Boyuan were recommended by Zeng Mutao, the grandson of Zeng Guofan, to take the economic special subject of the imperial court. But at that time It happened that someone was impeaching Li Boyuan. Li Boyuan laughed and said that the impeacher was 'the one who really knows me', so he decided not to take the exam. And Brother Jianren was also dismissive and gave up taking the exam."

Li Boyuan is the author of "The Appearance of Officialdom".

Wu Jianren sighed: "It's a pity that Boyuan passed away suddenly last year, so we can no longer talk freely over wine."

"The dead open the eyes of the living, and our generation should forge ahead," Zhang Yuanji said, and then said to Li Yu, "By the way, Brother Jianren also has a book. The idea is good, but I have to read the content. I felt like there were some mistakes in the end, and you could help me correct them."

"Correct the mistake?" Li Yu said, "I don't have the ability."

Li Yu even had to ask Lu Bicheng to polish his Star Wars novel, so how could he change it into a serious novel? "There are some," Zhang Yuanji said, and found a book written by Wu Jianren. "This "New Story of the Stone" was written by brother Jianren. He continued the twenty chapters of "The Story of the Stone". Are there any books now?" Young writers and poets are vying to continue writing "The Story of the Stone", but Brother Jianren's perspective is the most special.

"In the sequel to Brother Jianren, Jia Baoyu was resurrected in the 27th year of Guangxu (1901) and traveled to Shanghai, Nanjing, Beijing, and Wuhan. He witnessed various new things such as trains, ships, and electric lights, and even took a diving boat. The boat circled the earth from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, and from the Antarctic to the North Pole. In the end, I was shocked by the highly developed Western technological civilization, and I am confident that China will be able to produce these things one day in the future."

Li Yu was stunned when he heard this!

My mother, I am continuing to write "Dream of Red Mansions", but it is also a story about rebirth?So ahead of its time?

Anyway, Li Yu couldn't believe that someone like Wu Jianren, who could be written into the literary history of the Eight Classics, could write such novels as "The Rebirth of Jia Baoyu: The Underwater World" and "The Rebirth of Jia Baoyu is Like Entering the Grand View Garden". .

The image of serious literature in my mind seems to be a little shaken...

Wu Jianren himself said: "The error Yuan Ji refers to is the description of travels to Western countries and trains and ships in the book. Although I have worked as a mechanical draftsman in the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau for 14 years, and once trial-produced a steam ship. However, it has never been able to understand the principles of science, so it needs the help and guidance of real scientific giants."

Well, no wonder I am writing these contents. It turns out that I have been drawing drawings for many years.

Li Yu said: "It's just a novel, as long as the broad perspective is correct."

Of course, I know that the most widely circulated version of "Dream of Red Mansions" in later generations is Gao E's continued version. Wu Jianren's version is so shocking.

But Wu Jian was very serious: "Then ask the scientific giant Emperor Li Yu to help correct the scientific perspective."

Li Yu smiled and said: "Yes, but sir, you must help run the China Women's Newspaper properly."

Wu Jianren said cheerfully: "That's natural!"

Then Li Yu asked Wu Jianren to help point out some discussions about science in the book, and then explained them one by one.

Wu Jianren said: "Look at this section of the submarine. I know that it is difficult to develop a submarine, but I still dream of traveling around the world in the water."

"If it is all based on imagination, this is a good idea. Brother Wu, you can take a look at "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea". By the way, this book seems to have not been translated yet." Li Yu said.

"No problem, I can understand English." Wu Jianren said.

Li Yu added: "In addition, whether electric lights, trains, airships, or ships, they are all manifestations of science, and the inner principles are the long-standing scientific persistence, that is, the development of physics, mathematics, chemistry, mechanics and other disciplines."

"The emperor's master has penetrated deeply, and his knowledge of science is really high!" Wu Jianren clasped his fists and said, "Three years ago, I wrote an article lamenting that the world is changing so fast and competition among countries is so fierce. All of this seems to have nothing to do with us Chinese. Relationship. Because I found that Chinese people either belittle themselves too much, or are blindly arrogant. And those who are blindly arrogant are mostly uneducated. They refuse to admit that they are better than themselves, let alone learn. It does not mean that people are "magical and arrogant". "Qiao" means that we have already had this thing, and you foreigners secretly learned from us."

Wu Jianren let out a long sigh and continued: "I published this article in the hope that the Chinese people would reflect on themselves, but some people accused me of being a foreigner who worships foreigners, a traitor who doesn't know how to be patriotic, and a traitor. Hey, I don't know who the traitor is! "

These were all written by Wu Jianren in 1903-1904. The title of the article is "Airship", but the original text is in classical Chinese, which is quite long and more straightforward.

Wu Jianren knew about the existence of airships from foreign articles and newspapers. It was hard to say whether he had seen them or not.

But having such knowledge shows that he is not an ordinary scholar.

As a time traveler, Li Yu is much more optimistic than him. "The backbone of the nation has never been broken. There are clowns all the time, but they can't change anything, so there's no need to worry about it. Those who can't kill us will eventually make us stronger." "

"This is a good saying. I will remember it when I look back!" Wu Jianren said.

Zhang Yuanji smiled and said: "If you stay with Brother Shucai for a long time, you will find that he is a truly strange person. Although his literary talent and calligraphy are a mess, he can still give you a few enlightening aphorisms from time to time."

"I have already seen it," Wu Jianren also said happily, "I am more determined to participate in the imperial division's newspaper."

Wu Jianren had run many newspapers before, and although most of them were unsuccessful, he was familiar with all the processes and could handle troublesome things himself.

A few days later, Li Yu asked Qiu Jin to directly write the words for publication.

Qiu Jin's words are quite heroic: "I want to unite [-] people in unity, make the voice of the women's world throughout the country day and night, and become the general organ of the women's world, so that my women can be lively, energetic, and run away from the dust." , and quickly advance into the great bright world."

Li Yu also specially telegraphed Lu Bicheng in Tianjin and asked her to write an article and send it over, and it was published in the first issue of "China Women's Newspaper".

Li Yu also asked Shi Liangcai to publicize it in "Shenbao" and Lu Bicheng in "Ta Kung Pao". In short, it was very prosperous and he must make Qiu Jin feel busy and have something to do.

The hard work paid off. Qiu Jin planned articles and publicity matters every day in the newspaper office, and many heroic words came out.

"China Women's Newspaper" also develops in the direction of her philosophy: the women's world is "the pioneer of lion awakening" and "the forerunner of civilization".