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

Although Cornell University has been regarded as a relatively civilized university in the early 20th century, it still cannot completely eliminate the discrimination that is almost deep in the bones of American society.

When Li Yu, Zhu Kezhen, Hu Shi and others returned to campus, a group of white girls were launching a petition asking the school to expel two black female students.

Prestigious schools such as Harvard, Yale, Cambridge, and Oxford currently only admit male students, while Cornell University has long begun to admit female students.

However, the discrimination against dark skin is obviously very strong, and white female students cannot bear to live and study with black girls.

Zhu Kezhen looked at them and said helplessly: "It happened once three years ago and was rejected by the school; I didn't expect it to happen again today."

Hu Shi said angrily: "I want the United World Congress to publish an article in the newspaper. If the black people are expelled, the yellow people will follow."

Jiang Lifu, Hu Mingfu and others share the same hatred: "We jointly submit a letter!"

They could handle the internal affairs of the school themselves, so there was no need for Li Yu to interrupt, and he asked curiously: "What will the world be like?"

Hu Shi said: “The student club I joined at UConn also included some American students who sympathized with the weaker ethnic groups.”

Li Yu asked again: "Besides Chinese and Japanese students, are there any other Asian students at Cornell University?"

Hu Shi said: "Some, such as Filipino students."

Li Yu thought for a while and said, "The Philippines should be considered an American colony now."

After winning the Spanish-American War in 1898, the United States took over the Philippines. Otherwise, MacArthur, the five-star general during World War II, would have fled from the Philippines first, leaving behind the famous phrase "I will come back."

Hu Shi nodded: "Previously, two Filipino students gave a speech at Cornell University, advocating that the Philippines should strive for independence. But even the American students in the International Association scoffed after hearing this. They said that if the United States allows the Philippines to become independent, it will only let the Japanese Just came to invade."

Li Yu sighed: "So there is no such thing as world peace. This is human civilization."

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Li Yu stayed at Cornell University for two days before leaving. He still had one key thing to do when he arrived in the United States: contact the Rockefeller Foundation.

In view of the previous success of the Carnegie Foundation, Rockefeller was already extremely keen on philanthropy and education in the East, and wanted the project to be implemented early.

Li Yu received an invitation letter from Rockefeller Jr. to attend a "China Conference" to discuss the feasibility of investing in medical education in China.

He knew very well that the Rockefeller Foundation was preparing to establish Union Medical College in China.

The foundation held a meeting in the conference room of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel and invited not only Li Yu, but also many famous American presidents and medical celebrities, including Harvard University President Eliot and University of Chicago President Judson.

These two principals are almost equivalent to China's Mei Yiqi and Jiang Menglin in the United States, and their status is very high.

Medical celebrities are equally impressive, the most powerful being Harvey Cushing, current professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School and the "father of modern brain surgery", and Welch, dean of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

From the Chinese side, in addition to Li Yu, the Minister to the United States Xia Kiefu was also invited to attend.

Li Yu only knew Gu Weijun, the later minister to the United States, but he really didn't know much about the Xia Kiefu in front of him. After all, Gu Weijun's light was too dazzling.

Xia Jiefu respected Li Yu very much: "Master Li, I don't know how many times I have heard your name."

Li Yu had heard similar words countless times and said with a smile: "Mr. Minister, you don't have to be polite."

Principals Elliott and Judson shook hands with Li Yu one by one. Li Yu had met them before, and Elliott introduced Harvey Cushing, who was also present.

This old man is quite powerful and has reduced the mortality rate of craniotomy surgery by 80 to 90%!

The name of craniotomy is scary. Mr. Hua Tuo wanted to perform craniotomy on Cao Cao, but Cao Cao killed him directly.

By the end of the nineteenth century, the mortality rate from craniotomy was still high, until Harvey Cushing came along.

Later generations commented on his achievements like this: "Before Harvey Cushing, patients who underwent craniotomy would die in nine out of ten cases; after him, nine out of ten patients would be saved!"

Li Yudao: "We would be extremely honored if Harvard Chinese Medical School could ask Dr. Cushing to guide him for two years."

Harvey Cushing asked: "Is the Harvard Chinese Medical School ready?"

Li Yu said: "Not only is it complete, but it also introduces the latest medical equipment."

"If that's the case, I can consider it," Harvey Cushing said, "but my major is too limited. My tutor is a generalist, and he has many students, none of whom are below my level."

Li Yu asked: "Who is Dr. Cushing's mentor?"

Harvey Cushing said: "Dr. Halsted."

He is indeed a more important medical tycoon.

Dr. Halsted is known as the "Father of Modern Surgery". He and Welch, the dean of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine mentioned just now, belong to the four famous giants of the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

The key is that this Halsted boss is not only strong in medical skills, but also has a stronger ability to train students. His students can be found in top hospitals in the United States, and they are all leading figures.

Halsted's life was quite legendary. He became a top doctor in his thirties, but when he was studying local anesthesia with cocaine, he and his students became addicted!

He went to a drug rehab center to detoxify, but the drug rehab center actually used non-drug detoxification, and then Halsted became addicted to both!

Misfortunes never come singly.

Had it not been for the help of his good friend Welch, another member of the Big Four, the genius might have been ruined.

Li Yu smiled and said: "Dr. Halsted is so busy that he may not be willing to leave the United States."

Harvey Cushing said: "But he can select a few comprehensive surgeons from the residents he trains. From my understanding, what your country needs is doctors who can take care of multiple disciplines."

Li Yu didn't know much about medicine, mainly because he had never been sick. What he said made sense, so he replied: "Thank you Dr. Cushing for your advice."

After a few people took their seats, the meeting officially began.

Rockefeller's son, Rockefeller Jr., served as the host and spoke first: "We at the Rockefeller Foundation are prepared to invest US$100 million to promote the well-being of all mankind!"

The first sentence caused a huge sensation.

There are probably no more than five people in the world who can spend 100 million US dollars now. US$100 million at the beginning of the 20th century was so terrifying.

Li Yu thought to himself, it's really hard to make money by engaging in a monopoly industry...

Rockefeller Jr. continued: "The Foundation is still a child, very young, with little experience. The world is its testing ground. So we are prepared to develop slowly at the beginning, hoping to collect all the information we can in different feasible fields. information so that when we really decide to do it in the future, we can understand the problems we may face and act based on the best advice we can get... In addition, I would like to emphasize that the foundation is already interested in China. "The performance of Academician Li Yu and many students studying in the United States convinced us that China is the best experimental field, because although it is backward, it also has great potential. This potential is what we value most..."

Li Yu thought to himself, these business people are really smart.

What investors like most are small and micro enterprises that have huge prospects but are still in their infancy. If the investment is successful, the returns will be almost unlimited.

And China is definitely the most in line with their philosophy.

Eliot, President of Harvard University, was the second to speak: "What impressed me most is that in its long history, China has never given Western ideas and educational methods an opportunity to enter on such a large scale. So we can take this opportunity A great gift to China - medical education and surgery.

"I think it is the wisest and most appropriate choice for the Rockefeller Foundation to invest in China. Nowadays, China is no longer suitable for the spread of religion, and we must show true sincerity in science and medicine.

"It is obvious to all that China has undergone tremendous changes in just two years, and unprecedented opportunities have emerged. We should gradually and orderly establish a complete and effective medical system in China."

Their opinions are quite consistent.

The next few speakers were basically the same as Rockefeller Jr. and Eliot.

The meeting quickly made a decision: to prepare to send an inspection team within a few months to inspect the situation of medical education in China.

The expedition team will be led by Harvard University President Eliot, University of Chicago President Judson and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Dean Welch.

The lineup is very luxurious.

With all the big shots gathered, the Waldorf Astoria Hotel naturally had to entertain them warmly to enhance their reputation. They even invited a few chefs from Chinatown to make a roast duck.

Welch was a close friend of Dr. Halsted. During the meal, he agreed to poach several well-trained residents from Dr. Halsted.

Li Yu raised his glass and said gratefully: "Thank you dean in advance."

The modern resident training system was founded by Halsted. He was extremely strict with resident doctors and wished they would not get married and have children and live in the hospital seven days a week for training and study.

Therefore, the doctors who come out of his hands will definitely stand the test.

Li Yu added: "Dean Welch, there is one more thing I want to say. China has always been ridiculed as the 'sick man of East Asia' because of opium. The poison of opium has not dissipated yet, so when you choose anesthetic drugs in the future, , be sure to be cautious and cautious.”

Welch said seriously: "I will definitely put it in the code."

The Rockefeller Foundation has a long history, but its real success may be China’s Concorde. Its largest single investment was also Concorde, totaling tens of millions of dollars invested.

The effect is really good. Needless to say how powerful Xiehe is.

Of course, investment is only the first step. Generations of hard-working and great Concord people are even more admirable.

While eating, Li Yu asked Principal Elliott, "Mr. Principal, can you recommend an economist to me?"

Eliot thought for a moment and then said a name: "John Bates Clark, he is in New York."

Manhattan, home to Wall Street, has no shortage of economists, and those whom Eliot can specifically recommend are certainly not ordinary people.

Clark is the founder of the American Economic Association, and the "John Bates Clark Award" named after him is commonly known as the "Little Nobel Prize in Economics."

The next day, Li Yu met Mr. Clark at Columbia University.

After a brief introduction and what he wanted, Clark began to carefully read the article about Shanghai International Savings Association given by Li Yu.

The more he looked at it, the tighter his brows became, and he asked in surprise: "Doesn't the Shanghai French Concession government have a financial regulatory agency? How could it allow such a ridiculous thing to exist?"

Li Yu said speechlessly: "You guessed it right, there is indeed no financial supervision department. In addition, the administrative agency of the French Concession in Shanghai is called the Ministry of Industry Bureau, and its functions are far inferior to those of the government."

Clark took a drag on his pipe and said, "What a dereliction of duty!"

Li Yu said: "Fortunately, Shanghai County and the Republic of China government have the Ministry of Finance. If it can be demonstrated from an economic perspective that they have committed major illegal acts, they can be banned and sanctioned according to law."

Clark said: "This kind of rudimentary financial behavior has countless loopholes that can be used as illegal facts. I just wonder if your country has relevant laws?"

Li Yu was stunned: "It seems... not."

"Then you can only ban it, not sanction it," Clark said.

Li Yu sighed: "It would be nice if we could ban it. Shanghai's concession has extraterritorial jurisdiction and consular jurisdiction, and it is impossible for the Ministry of Finance to go in and arrest foreigners."

The words "extraterritoriality" and "consular jurisdiction" sounded to Li Yu as products of unequal treaties, but to current Europeans and Americans they seemed appropriate, so Clark didn't think there was anything wrong and just said: "Mr. Academician, do you want me to write an article analyzing the illegal activities of this World Expo?"

"This is enough," Li Yu said. "Sir, please feel free to write that I have already investigated and found that there are no complicated forces behind the World Expo."

"Even if there is, they can't find it on me. That's not what I'm worried about," Clark said. "I would like to make another suggestion. When your country selects international students, you can consider more economics. This is not only Pure business. Only by establishing sound economic laws can we avoid such absurd things from happening again."

Li Yu said: "Sir's suggestion is very pertinent."

But I thought in my heart: From now on, the economy of the Republic of China will have a lot of bad debts, and even all of them have been upgraded to the so-called "political economics", which is simply ridiculous to grandma's house.

Moreover, in a few years, there will be a super financial fraudster in the United States who is more famous than the International Savings Association - Charles Ponzi.

That's right, he is the creator of the "Ponzi scheme" and the originator of financial scams.

His trick is still repeated a hundred years later, and countless people have been fooled.

As for economics, this thing is actually very difficult to study. It is full of all kinds of mathematical chaos and is almost impossible to predict. Even the best economists will make mistakes.

——This is also the fascinating part of economics.

Clark kept his word and quickly wrote an article, essentially refuting the Shanghai International Savings Association.

Li Yu plans to publish this article first in the United States and the United Kingdom, and then reprint it in major newspapers in Shanghai to confirm the fact that the International Savings Club is deceiving people and kill it with one blow.