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

Chapter 651 Rehabilitation
Jiang Menglin said: "They are targeting the Japanese, and they don't want to make Principal Cai angry at all."

Gu Hongming said: "I believe that Principal Cai will definitely come back. If he doesn't come back, I will leave too!"

Although Cai Yuanpei is a member of the New Culture Movement, Gu Hongming has always admired Cai Yuanpei. First of all, of course, because Cai Yuanpei was a serious Jinshi, and secondly, Cai Yuanpei had spoken for Gu Hongming before.

So in the "Cai-Lin War" between Lin Shu and Cai Yuanpei a few months ago, Gu Hongming chose to side with Cai Yuanpei.

Earlier, he was deeply dissatisfied with being regarded as a sinner of Confucius and Mencius, saying that he was actually a hero of the old learning of Confucius and Mencius.

Ku Hongming wrote a strange article in support of Cai Yuanpei: "At this time when Chinese traditional culture is in danger, Cai seems to support the new journals, but in fact he has good intentions. He has no choice but to resort to this perverse approach of fighting fire with fire."

He was obviously mistaken, but Cai Yuanpei saw through it without telling him, so he just let it go.

Jiang Menglin added: "The Japanese are really hateful. They are the culprits of everything, including the principal being forced to leave!"

Li Yu said: "Fortunately, now everyone is gradually realizing the true colors of the Japanese."

Gu Hongming also snorted: "Japanese people have always known that small etiquette but no great righteousness, stick to trivial matters but no great virtue; pay attention to trivial matters but underestimate shame; love power but no morality; the strong will be bandits, and the weak will be humble. It seems that He is respectful and respectful, but he actually has no righteousness in his heart; he is shameless and bullies the weak and fears the strong. "

Li Yu smiled and said: "This sentence seems to come from the Song Dynasty's "Zizhi Tongjian". After so many years, the little devil has not changed at all."

-

After several consecutive telegrams to urge him, Cai Yuanpei finally came back.

Several people immediately welcomed Principal Cai back at the restaurant.

Hu Shi said: "The students have become more violent in the past few days because of your departure. They feel that the Beiyang government forced you to leave, and they almost went to the presidential palace to demonstrate."

Cai Yuanpei said: "I was just worried that something would happen to them, so I headed north again."

"Now the school is finally on the right track, and it all depends on the principal!" Jiang Menglin said.

Cai Yuanpei turned to ask: "By the way, where is Professor Dewey?"

Hu Shi said: "He is going to Zhejiang to give several speeches."

"Zhejiang? I just went to Hangzhou, and all the institutions of higher learning there have closed down." Cai Yuanpei said.

Li Yu said: "He was invited by Tao Xingzhi to give a few lectures on civilian education."

"Public education is much more difficult than university education, and it is even harder to gain a reputation." Cai Yuanpei said with emotion.

Li Yu said: “We can’t just have elite education, otherwise we will never be able to complete the industrial transformation.”

"This is a wonderful statement!" Gu Hongming added, "Hu Shizhi also wrote an article some time ago, saying that nine out of ten people in China are illiterate. This is something we should thank God for. If only 40 million people could read Is it okay to be literate? If the coolies, horsemen, coachmen, barbers, and boys in Beijing all knew how to read, what kind of world would it be like if they interfered in government affairs like the students at Peking University? "

Hu Shi said: "Lao Gu is teasing me about this matter again."

Gu Hongming is quite old, but he is not lenient at all, and he does not give in to Hu Shi, a junior: "It was you who attacked me first with the pigtails."

Cai Yuanpei, who had long been used to the quarrels between the two of them, interrupted them and said: "When I was passing by Xuzhou, I heard that Professor Gu gave Zhang Xun a birthday couplet, 'There is no rain cover after the lotus is gone, and the chrysanthemums are still proud of the frost. branch.'"

"That's right," Gu Hongming said, "Principal Cai, don't say it yet. I would like to ask Professor Hu Shizhi if he understands the meaning."

Seeing that he was targeting himself again, Hu Shi thought for a while and said: "It seems to be a poem sent by the Song Dynasty writer Su Shi to a friend. It means that he hopes his friends will not be pessimistic and cherish the remaining years."

Gu Hongming said: "This is just a literal meaning, but it also has a deeper meaning. Can you see it?"

Hu Shi said: "'Aoshuangzhi' is naturally the braid of you two. I can't understand the 'rain cover'."

Gu Hongming said proudly: "That is the big hat of the Qing Dynasty!"

This time Gu Hongming had the upper hand.

"I admire it!" Hu Shi complimented casually, then quickly changed the subject and said to Cai Yuanpei, "The magazine "New Wave" run by several students has been doing well recently. We have also made an appointment with the Chinese Science Society of Shanghai Datong University."

Cai Yuanpei supported: "The science society led by Mr. Li Yu is very advanced. They are the best people writing popular science articles now."

Hu Shi said: "We also all use vernacular and new punctuation..."

Gu Hongming interrupted Hu Shi again: "It's vernacular, new punctuation again! According to vernacular, you shouldn't be called Hu Shizhi, you should be called "Where are you going?" Also, in front of you today, I must say a good word for classical Chinese. If a telegram comes from home saying that your father is dead and asking you to go home quickly for the funeral, the text in vernacular is very long-winded; if it is written in classical Chinese, it only needs four words: 'Father is dead and he will come home soon.'"

Hu Shi immediately retorted: "Now that printing technology is booming, it is no longer necessary to treat ink as gold. It is most urgent to let more people understand it."

Gu Hongming continued to sneer: "The artistic content of vernacular literature is too low. What is the name of the new poem you wrote, Yellow Butterfly, right? Hehe, it is really well written! From now on, I will just call you 'Yellow Butterfly'."

The standard of Hu Shi's new poems is indeed not very good, and his face turned red when he was told about it.

Cai Yuanpei stopped the quarrel between the two at the right time: "Okay, okay! In a few days, two British scholars will arrive in the capital. One is Mr. Russell, a philosopher and mathematician. He is the one who promised to Li Yu Come. The other one is the writer Mr. Maugham.”

Gu Hongming said: "Just one article and one theory."

These two are very well-known, and they came a year earlier than in history. Russell introduced it several times that Maugham was the writer who wrote "The Moon and Sixpence".

Cai Yuanpei said: "They will visit Peking University, and you will welcome them together when they arrive."

Hu Shi agreed: "No problem."

Gu Hongming suddenly asked: "Can they speak Chinese?"

Li Yu said: "Definitely not, Mr. Russell would like to learn Chinese."

Gu Hongming said: "Then Professor Hu Shizhi doesn't need to go."

"Why don't you let me go?" Hu Shi asked.

Gu Hongming smiled and said: "Your English is really not authentic, and the other person happens to be British." Hu Shi said: "I have studied abroad for seven years, why is my English not authentic?"

Gu Hongming said: "Study abroad for seven years? Haha, then all you will learn is the pronunciation of lower-class British people."

Li Yu looked a little funny. The two of them had many arguments like this during the New Culture Movement, and they refused to give in to each other.

Cai Yuanpei stood up and said, "It's almost time. Let's go back to school quickly. We have missed so many classes, so everyone should hurry up."

-

A few days later, Russell and Maugham arrived in Beijing. They had already traveled around Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, and Changsha.

Russell had been imprisoned for half a year for opposing the war, and he was in good spirits after being released from prison.

After a brief greeting, Russell looked around and said, "It's a very beautiful campus. I like such traditional buildings."

Cai Yuanpei said: "This used to be a princess mansion."

"That's it, it's so beautiful!" Russell said, "My recent trip to China has given me a deeper understanding of this ancient country. I also like the character and spirit of the Chinese people very much. I remember that when I visited the West Lake, several people The bearers carried me through the rugged mountain roads. Although it was hard work, they talked and laughed and seemed not to be worried. "

Li Yu said: "That is not necessarily a good thing. What China's vigorous New Culture Movement wants to remove is this habit of cannibalism."

Russell took a puff of his pipe: "What you said is a bit philosophical."

Later, Brother Xun also deeply disapproved of this incident: "Russell praised the Chinese when he saw the bearers smiling in the West Lake. Maybe he had other intentions."

Subsequently, Russell gave a lecture titled "Philosophical Issues" at Peking University.

He gave five lectures in total, including "Analysis of Mind", "Analysis of Objects", "Mathematical Logic", "Social Structural Studies", etc.

But perhaps because the content of the speech was too professional and technical, Russell's speech did not cause as much of a response as Dewey's. As a result, many academics feel that Russell's ideas have not been accepted by China's new intellectuals and have not had a profound impact on China.

He even caused some controversy because of some of his views. For example, in Russell's suggestions for China's future, he felt that two things must be made clear: first, it is not appropriate to copy Western culture entirely to China; second, China's previous culture was not suitable for the needs of the time and should be Complete makeover.

Russell hoped that the Chinese would neither blindly follow Western civilization nor follow China's inherent traditions intact. He believes that China will be able to make special contributions to world civilization in the future as it did in the past.

These views are actually quite pertinent and objective, and more in line with the idea of ​​moderation.

However, when "Shenbao" published Russell's speech, the subtitle was "Dr. Luo said that China should preserve its inherent national essence."

Soon after it was reported, the article attracted criticism from some intellectuals. For example, Zhou Zuoren published an article "Russell and the Quintessence of China" in the "Morning Post", directly criticizing Russell's views by name. He believed that Russell advised the Chinese to preserve the quintessence of the country, which was very inappropriate, because the disadvantages of Chinese tradition far outweigh the advantages. Chinese people are particularly prone to arrogance.

Of course, there are also many people who support Russell. Many people have written that preserving the national essence is not inconsistent with transforming society. The Chinese should not only preserve the national essence of their own country, but also the national essence of other countries. This principle also applies to other countries.

It can be considered that Russell was indirectly involved in the debate of China's New Culture Movement.

Unfortunately, Russell did not stay in China for long. When he went to give a speech at Hebei Yude Middle School, in order to maintain the gentlemanly demeanor, he did not wear a coat and accidentally caught the wind and cold. What was even more unfortunate was that the cold turned into pneumonia, which took more than three months to recover.

During this period, he refused to be interviewed by any newspaper. A Japanese newspaper, which was very dissatisfied with this, falsely published the news that Russell had died. After subsequent negotiations, they were still unwilling to retract the news.

After recovering from illness, Russell's lover Blake became pregnant again, and the two had no choice but to return to the UK.

On his way back home, Russell passed by Japan, and the Japanese newspaper tried to interview him.

Russell retaliated by having his secretary hand out printed notes to reporters that read: "Due to Mr. Russell's death, he is unable to be interviewed."

My brother is very good at handling things.

The other Mr. Maugham mainly had a unique dialogue with Gu Hongming.

Since Maugham did not go to Peking University to attend a lecture, he stayed at the Beijing Hotel. He had just read "The Spirit of the Chinese" in the UK and was very interested in Gu Hongming, so he sent an entourage to Gu Hongming's house with an invitation, saying that he hoped to invite Gu Hongming to chat.

As a result, Maugham received no news for several days.

Realizing that he had neglected Gu Hongming, Maugham immediately paid a visit in person.

Although Gu Hongming had trouble dealing with the New Culture Movement, he really loved Chinese culture and was very conceited. He said to Maugham: "It's a great honor for you, sir, to come and see me. Because your people only deal with coolies and compradors. They probably think that all Chinese are either coolies or compradors, so you think you just have to wave and we will come.”

Maugham had to apologize to him.

When talking about Western culture, Maugham believed that Western culture has influenced the whole world, and Europe has created a brilliant culture that is still guiding the world today.

Gu Hongming disagreed with Maugham's statement: "The Hume and Berkeley of the West cannot be compared with our Confucius. When the West was drinking in caves, we were already evolved humans."

Maugham obviously did not agree with Gu Hongming's opinion, so he asked: "Why have you, the yellow race, been despised by the white race for hundreds of years?"

Gu Hongming immediately became angry: "Because you white people invented cannons and machine guns! This is not called convincing people with virtue or culture, but bullying the weak by force, which is no different from savages."

Maugham continued: "Now that Dewey is in your country, his pragmatism is welcomed by you."

Gu Hongming said: "Dewey's pragmatism is the last refuge for those who believe in unbelievable things."

Maugham asked another sharp question: "I heard that there is a new cultural movement going on in your country. The most distinctive slogans are democracy and science. This is Western culture after all, right?"

Gu Hongming immediately replied: "The New Culture Movement is a movement in which those who have recently returned from foreign universities use their blasphemous hands to completely destroy the oldest culture in the world."

He paused and then continued: "There is also Russell who came with him. He is the guy who uses the most solemn words in the world to instigate young people to become hooligans. As for the new Soviet-Russian doctrine, I haven't studied it yet. Remember Marx said it is a ghost, a ghost that makes the whole world uneasy."

"Incisive, really incisive!" Maugham had realized that he could not argue with Gu Hongming. Even if his reasoning was a bit crooked, his mind was spinning too fast, so Maugham turned to the last place he was more interested in, "Come to China and let What surprised me the most was that Chinese people no longer have braids, which is completely different from what I saw in the newspapers, but now Mr. Gu has silver braids.”

Gu Hongming grabbed his braid with a little pride and said: "This is a mark that proves that I am a representative of an era."

He is also a man who is always busy.