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

After returning from Houdefu Restaurant, all the Peking University teachers felt very bored, especially some of the older teachers in the Chinese Liberal Arts Department who had come from the Beijing Normal University.

Liberal arts professor Chen Sanli said dissatisfied: "President Yuan Da's ambitions were exposed too quickly."

Chen Sanli is Chen Yinke's father.

Yan Fu said: "Coining and borrowing money are normal things. I heard that the United States, as a republic, also prints the president's face on the money."

"That's not the current president, right?" Chen Sanli retorted, and then said to another liberal arts teacher, "Jieshi, what do you think?"

Li Yu was shocked, not "what do you think", but "Jieshi".

A teacher in his 50s said: "I think the president has not forgotten the constitutional monarchy in his heart. No wonder he wants to call Liang Qichao back in a hurry to help him."

Li Yu later found out that this man was called Chen Fuchen, whose courtesy name was Jieshi. He taught philosophy at Peking University and was a very decent person.

Chen Sanli said: "Now I hope that Minister Cai Yuanpei will issue more education laws. I really don't want to still be inseparable from the bureaucrats."

Professors in science and engineering departments have this idea even more, otherwise they will be annoying to death in the future. The key point is that we really don’t want to be ordered to do things by laymen.

Hu Renyuan, provost of engineering, said: "Whether it is Britain, France, Germany or Japan, universities operate independently of the government. The government is only responsible for the obligation to allocate funds, but it cannot have the power to extend its hands to manage."

Seeing this, Yan Fu had no choice but to say, "I will sort out your opinions and report them to Minister Cai."

Then he said to Xia Yuanxi, the dean of science: "Don't forget about material analysis."

Xia Yuanxi paused and said, "I will definitely do what needs to be done."

Minting is definitely a major national event. It is not appropriate to use foreign money in the past. It is too easy to choke the financial lifeline.

However, with the fragile financial system during the Republic of China, even if you minted your own money, it would be strongly affected by the international silver price. This would happen several times in the future.

After all, the most troublesome thing is that the pricing power of gold and silver has always been in the hands of Europe and the United States.

-

The next day, Zhou Ziqi helped contact Fan Xudong.

Li Yu drove his car and came to Qianliang Hutong.

The main production place of Yuan Datou in the early days was the Tianjin Mint. This mint in Beijing was similar to a functional department and originated from the institutions of the former Qing Dynasty.

In the Qing Dynasty, there was a department under the Ministry of Household Affairs called Baoquan Bureau, which was responsible for minting coins. It had four factories, of which the south factory was in Qianliang Hutong.

The money minted by Nanchang was mainly responsible for paying salaries. In the Qing Dynasty, the name of salary management was Qianliang, so the alley where Nanchang is located was called Qianliang Hutong.

Li Yu's car passed by a relatively deserted large house. The previous owner was the senior British who signed the "Treaty of Nanjing" during the First Opium War.

This house has been passed down to later generations. In the early years of the Republic of China, it was still a famous haunted house in the capital.

Li Yu met Fan Xudong who was waiting in a small tea shop outside the mint.

"Are you Academician Li Yu?" Fan Xudong asked.

Li Yu said: "Exactly, you are Fan Xudong?"

Fan Xudong said: "Mr. Academician actually came to see me, a nobody, in person."

Li Yu said: "You are an unknown person now because of environmental restrictions, but you don't want to be a laboratory technician your whole life, right?"

Fan Xudong was stunned for a moment, and then said: "The rotten smell of officialdom is too strong, and I have already thought of quitting."

"This is easy to handle," Li Yu said, "Do you have any ideas for doing something big?"

"What's the big deal?" Fan Xudong asked.

"Build a private salt factory, and then build an alkali plant." Li Yu said.

Fan Xudong pondered for a while and said: "The sales rights of domestic salt have always been controlled by a few hereditary salt merchants. In fact, it is a partnership monopoly between government and merchants. They are divided into Yinan, Gang merchants, ticket merchants, contractors, designated merchants, etc., each with exclusive rights. According to There is one side. If you set up a private salt factory, it will be a tiger's mouth grabbing food."

Li Yu took out a bag of salt he bought casually and said: "The salt merchants sell this kind of coarse salt, and the purity is not even 50%. According to foreign standards, it is not qualified to feed livestock. That's why foreigners laugh at us for eating salt." It’s just eating dirt.”

Fan Xudong sighed: "I know, but freezing three feet doesn't last in a day. How can it be so easy to break the ice? The interests of the entire salt world are complicated and there are thousands of parasites. We have long been accustomed to living a comfortable life. If we create Refined salt will definitely touch their interests.”

Li Yu said: "So now is a once-in-a-lifetime good time. The country has undergone tremendous changes and everything is renewed. There are a lot of new forces in the Congress, and we can definitely win enough support."

Fan Xudong understands this truth: "If we can recruit high-ranking officials or influential people to support us, we will have the capital to fight with the old salt merchants."

Li Yu said: "Your brother is the deputy minister of education, and you have the full support of Liang Qichao. Although I am not talented, I am somewhat famous, and I can attract some financial and channel support."

Fan Xudong had already been full of enthusiasm, and Li Yu immediately said: "Then do it!"

Li Yu said: "At least we must fight for the people's freedom to eat salt."

Fan Xudong said: "When I came back from studying in Japan, I passed by Tanggu. There were a large number of deserted and unused white-flowered saline-alkali land. There was no grass and no green hills. However, the sea water was the most suitable for drying salt under the strong sunlight. It can be said to be inexhaustible. It’s an excellent place for salt production.”

Salt merchants have always gathered in Tianjin.

"It seems that you have been paying attention," Li Yu said. "In a few years, if the salt tax exemption policy is won and the price of salt drops, we can continue to use salt as raw material to develop other chemical industries."

Fan Xudong said: "After studying chemistry for so many years, I definitely hope to put it to use. Also, I don't believe we can't make a base ourselves."

The soda ash process at this time was Solvay's alkali production method. The raw materials were salt, limestone and ammonia.

So if you want to make soda ash, refined salt is the first step.

At present, there are no factories in Asia, including Japan, that can produce soda ash of their own. They are all factories invested by Europe and the United States. Soda ash is a truly "stuck" high-tech industry.

Li Yu said: "If you write a letter to your brother and Mr. Liang Qichao, they can win the support of many politicians, and then they can raise funds to carry out a big event."

Fan Xudong stood up: "I'm going to find my brother now. I can't stay in this place for a whole day!"

Li Yu smiled and said, "Then we'll see you in two days."

-

When returning home, Li Yu happened to pass by the "Zhuangyuan Barber Shop" and saw Yang Xiaolou getting a haircut, so he stopped the car and went in to say hello.

"Boss Yang, you are very active in cutting your hair!"

"Hey, it's Brother Li!" Yang Xiaolou said, "The superiors have been urging you to cut your hair. The big guys were still hesitant, but the children in the Liyuan got their hair cut first. As soon as I saw it, I just followed suit."

Li Yu said: "Sooner or later it will have to be cut."

Yang Xiaolou said: "I saw a lot of barbers on the street. There was even a notice in front of the noodle stall, and those who cut braids were rewarded with a bowl of meat noodles. There were a lot of cut braids piled under the notice, and then they were picked up by rickshaws. Take them away in carts one by one." Li Yu smiled and said, "Why didn't you ask for a bowl of noodles by the way?"

Yang Xiaolou looked to the other side: "They said that if you get a haircut in this barber shop you invest in, you can get a Panama hat as a gift, so I came."

Li Yu took out a straw hat and handed it to him: "From now on, you will be the straw hat boy."

Yang Xiaolou took the hat and continued: "Brother Li, in a few days our Zhengle Education Association established in Liyuan will hold a charity performance to raise money for a primary school of its own. In addition to the famous actor Mr. Tan Xinpei and me, there will also be popular celebrities in Beijing on stage. Exploring flowers on the chrysanthemum list."

"What's the flower on the Jubang list?" Li Yu asked.

Yang Xiaolou said: "It was the selection of Peking Opera actors held by various circles in Beijing last year, and the list posted was called the Chrysanthemum List."

Li Yu said: "You put this top pick at the end of the list, does it mean he has a good background?"

"That's not true!" Yang Xiaolou said, "His name is Mei Lanfang. He has only been out for a year and has already surpassed Mr. Tan and me."

Li Yu thought to himself, it turned out to be Mei Lanfang, so there would be no injustice.

"Since it is a benefit performance for education, I will definitely support it."

Yang Xiaolou raised his hand and said, "The address is Guangde Building, Dashilan. I'm waiting for you sir."

After Li Yu returned home, he asked Lu Bicheng to go to the theater with him.

Lu Bicheng had been stuck at home for almost a year. She had long wanted to go out for some fresh air, so she happily changed into beautiful clothes and went out together.

The "Zhengle Education Association" that Yang Xiaolou refers to is a group just formed in Liyuan after the Revolution of [-], with Tan Xinpei as its president.

Although the Revolution of [-] was an incomplete revolution, it still shocked everyone in the country and pushed all walks of life to a prosperous road. The opera industry was not to be left behind.

In the past, most actors started learning opera at a young age, and their cultural aspects were very lacking. Insightful people want to spread new ideas and instill new knowledge to their colleagues through groups like the Yuhua Association, so as to improve their cultural accomplishment and better shape their characters on the stage.

The idea is good.

The Zhengle Yuhua Association has done many practical and useful things for the development of Peking Opera. For example, they petitioned the authorities to abolish the Xianggongtangzi (where wealthy people can prostitute male dandies) that has been in place since the Qing Dynasty, which greatly improved the social status of actors. .

Subsequently, masters such as Mei Lanfang continued to carry out drastic reforms in Peking Opera, eliminating many dross elements.

In the past, Peking Opera artists used a lot of vulgar things to attract audiences during their performances. Mei Lanfang resolutely decided to abandon the vulgar elements for the long-term development of Peking Opera art.

Li Yu took Lu Bicheng to the Guangde Building Theater, but was stopped at the door: "Sir! Female guests are not allowed in here."

Li Yu said: "The Qing Dynasty is gone, so the theater still doesn't allow female guests to enter?"

The ticket checker at the door said: "Master, don't make things difficult for me, this is the rule."

Li Yu said: "The previous rules should have been changed long ago."

The ticket inspector said: "I'm afraid this rule won't be changed."

Li Yu smiled disdainfully and took out twice the ticket price: "Do you think the rules can be changed?"

The ticket inspector immediately beamed: "Yes, yes! Please come in!"

Li Yu shook his head and walked in with Lu Bicheng in his arms. The ticket inspector suddenly said, "Sir, although female guests can enter, they have to go through another small door."

"Hey!" Li Yu said dissatisfied, "Why are you farting half-heartedly and only speaking half of your words?"

Suddenly, someone from behind yelled: "You can't see Mount Tai! Academician Li, Madam, you don't have to listen to him, please come in."

When the ticket checker saw it, he quickly apologized and said, "It turns out he is Mr. Qi's guest. I'm really sorry."

The one who scolded him was Qi Rushan, who was now also a big boss in the Beijing opera industry.

Qi Rushan said: "It's only been a few days since I met the academician again. We were watching a play together in Paris, and now we are watching a play together in China. We are really destined."

Li Yu said: "It's a pity that I am still a layman on stage art, so I can only watch the excitement."

Qi Rushan knew that Li Yu was very rich, so he introduced him to the dining room, and then said: "If art is only shown to those who understand it, won't it limit one's own development?"

Li Yu said: "Sir is indeed an excellent opera theorist, and his words are very profound."

Qi Rushan smiled and said: "I don't dare to take it, I don't dare to take it."

Li Yu asked: "How is today's repertoire arranged?"

Qi Rushan took out a piece of red paper: "Tan Xinpei will play the main role, the finale will be performed by Yang Xiaolou, and Mei Lanfang and Wang Huifang's "Fan Jiang Pass" will be played in the third to last performance."

(Actually, "finale" refers to the penultimate game, and the big axis is the last one.)
  Wang Huifang was second on the Juban list and could be considered classmates with Mei Lanfang, but his reputation soon fell below that of Mei Lanfang.

Li Yu has traveled through such a long time and has a better understanding of opera. At least he can hear what is being sung on the stage, and he can tell the difference between pure and ugly. After all, there are no other entertainment activities now.

By the way, I also wanted to take a look at Mei Lanfang's first appearance.

The performance started as scheduled, and Li Yu cracked melon seeds and listened to the show in a decent manner. However, when Mei Lanfang came on stage, Yang Xiaolou appeared on the stage.

Li Yu asked in confusion: "Why is the order out of order?"

Qi Rushan on the side said: "The theater owner just told me that Mei Lanfang has three more hall plays today, and I'm afraid he won't be able to make it. But with Boss Yang and Boss Tan here, I guess there won't be any big problem."

The theater obviously underestimated Mei Lanfang's status in the hearts of theater fans.

When the fans in the audience discovered that Mei Lanfang should have appeared but Yang Xiaolou came out, they concluded that Mei Lanfang would not appear and were very dissatisfied. The theater suddenly became noisy and chaotic.

The person in charge of the Yuhua Association hurriedly came on stage and explained to the audience: "Mei Lanfang has three other hall operas to sing, so he can't make it at the moment. If he can make it back, he will definitely come."

Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by a series of shouts from the audience. They shouted: "He has to come. If he doesn't come, we will ask for a refund!"

"Yes, refund!"

Li Yu almost collapsed when he heard the sound of "refund". How could he feel like listening to Deyun Club cross talk?
  Qi Rushan also hurriedly came on stage to persuade: "I'm really sorry for everyone's situation today! But today's play is specifically for education. Although you are here to have fun, there is no one who is not enthusiastic about education. I hope you will consider maintaining the school. , forgive me this time, and I will find ways to make amends in the future."

Although his attitude was very sincere, the audience still did not buy it. Several audience members stood up and said loudly:

"We paid money just to see Mei Lanfang. If his show doesn't show, we'll refund the tickets. No need to talk nonsense!"

The scene was deadlocked. Qi Rushan could only walk off the stage and whispered to Li Yu: "Brother Shucai, can you please run over and pick up Mei Lanfang? The hall where he is acting is not far away. If you drive , it won’t take more than a cup of tea to get back and forth.”

Li Yu put down the melon seeds in his hand: "It's easy to talk."

Unexpectedly, I turned out to be an errand boy today.