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

Chapter 668: One crab is not as good as one crab

After returning to the capital, Cai Yuanpei, Li Dazhao, Hu Shi and other Peking University professors came to support Li Yu and Li Shizeng, who had just returned from France.

Li Yu mentioned what Duan Qirui told him a few days ago about the "Declaration for Freedom" and reminded: "Beiyang senior officials may be detrimental to President Cai."

Hu Shi said: "Cao Kun is just a face-saving guy. He listens to his general Wu Peifu on everything. But Zhang Zuolin is really difficult to figure out. It is said that he was born a horse thief and can do anything."

Cai Yuanpei still didn't take it seriously: "Zhang Zuolin came to Beijing just to ask President Xu Shichang for several million military expenditures. They have been struggling for a while and will leave sooner or later."

Li Shi once said: "It would be great if that were the case, but from what I read in Shanghai newspapers, it seems that things are not that simple."

Cai Yuanpei wondered: "Has it been reported in Shanghai newspapers? I didn't see it in Beijing."

Li Shi once took out a copy of "Current Affairs News" and said, "Look."

There was an article in the newspaper titled "Interesting Sayings of Cao and Zhang when Treating Guests—Suddenly Talking About "The Man Surnamed Cai"":
On the day Cao Kun and Zhang Zuolin came to Beijing, they hosted a banquet at the hotel for the deputy chiefs of various ministries and military and police officers. During the dinner, Zhang Zuolin suddenly asked: "Have you ever heard that there is a man named Cai in Beijing who is causing a lot of trouble?"

Cao Kun responded: "Is it the Cai Yuanpei from the coeducational school?"

...Cao Kun immediately looked around at Wang Huaiqing (the commander-in-chief of the Gyeonggi garrison) and said, "Brother, why don't you keep an eye on him?"

During the banquet, there were people who looked at each other and turned pale.

After reading it, Hu Shi said angrily: "We just said in the manifesto that we want freedom of speech, and they suppressed the dignified president of Peking University?"

Cai Yuanpei also looked a little unhappy: "It is said that Cao Kun respects cultural people, and this should not be the case."

The more Hu Shi thought about it, the angrier he became: "They just want us to be honest cultural people. If we get a little bit involved in politics, it will offend them. Huh! Ten years later, the king's flag has changed on the city wall. I think this Republic of China is A true crab is worth less than a crab!”

He was indeed very angry. The newly established Zhili and Fengzhi co-administered governments suddenly strengthened their control over the capital's ideology and culture. The new newspaper "Weekly Review" edited by Hu Shi was repeatedly shut down.

On the National Day of the Republic of China, he also wrote a somewhat interesting modern poem to express his anger:

Ten years have passed, and they are here to commemorate again. They borrowed from us, to publish a red newspaper, to write a few articles, to take a day off, to issue a batch of medals: this is our commemoration!
Are you ashamed?/Is this a memorial to the revolution?/At that time,/we were not afraid of authority,/we didn’t care about our lives;/the prison was our hometown,/we went under bombs:/are we willing to accept such shameless commemoration?
Stop being annoying!/You can find another way to commemorate it. / Let’s all join together, / drive out this pack of wolves, / overthrow this bird government; / start a new revolution, / create a good government: / That’s the commemoration of Double Ten Day!
Li Shi was mature and cautious, and said to Cai Yuanpei: "Principal, it's no big deal to avoid the limelight. When a scholar encounters soldiers, he has a clear reason. There is no need to fight with the warlords."

Li Yu also said: "Didn't you just establish the Sino-French University? You can take this opportunity to go to France to inspect the education sector, and by the way, establish an overseas department of the Sino-French University in France."

Li Shi once said: "It's a good idea. It happens that the Shucai brothers have a close relationship with European academic circles. This matter is completely feasible."

Cai Yuanpei said helplessly: "Okay, I'll do as you say."

After drinking a few glasses of wine, Li Yu said to Professor Fu Yuefen of Peking University who had not spoken much: "Professor Fu, are you the director of the National Capital Library?"

The National Capital Library later became the National Library.

"Yes." Fu Yuefen said.

"I happen to have a batch of books that I want to donate to the library." Li Yu said.

Fu Yuefen's eyes lit up, he put down his chopsticks and said, "How many volumes?"

"Twenty thousand volumes," Li Yu said, "and they are all high-quality books, left behind by the British senior adviser to the Beiyang government, Morrison. I bought them and originally wanted to transport them to Shanghai Datong University, but after looking at them, there were many If you repeat, why not donate it to the National Capital Library?”

"That's great!" Fu Yuefen said happily, 20,000 copies is not a small amount.

Li Yu continued: "In addition, there are some various scientific books that I bought. If you include magazines, there are almost more than 30,000 volumes. If I can't fit them at home, I will donate them to you."

Books at this time were very expensive, which was a big deal for them. Fu Yuefeng couldn't hide his excitement: "Mr. Academician is so righteous! I will set up a big room in the National Capital Library and bear the name of Mr. Academician!"

Li Yu smiled and said: "Then you'd better prepare a bigger one, I'm afraid it won't fit."

Fu Yuefen said: "No problem! On the day of completion, I will specially invite Mr. Academician to come and see it!"

"It's an honor." Li Yu said.

Before traveling through time, Li Yu had been to the National Library of China many times, but they were all in the newly built main hall. At this time, the National Library of China only had the Ancient Books Library, and the architecture was quite impressive.

-

Recently, Li Yu has given regular lectures at several universities in Beijing. Over the years, almost all science students at school have listened to Li Yu's lectures.

I came to Peking University today and happened to meet Lu Xun on campus.

"Academician Li Yu, didn't you go see Cai Hu quarrel?" Lu Xun asked.

"Fighting? What's the quarrel about? Didn't we have dinner together a few days ago?" Li Yu asked doubtfully.

Lu Xun laughed and said: "Recently, Dr. Hu Shizhi wrote a book called "A Critique of the Dream of Red Mansions". He started by saying, 'Those who have always studied this book have taken the wrong path,' pointing the finger directly at Principal Cai."

There have been many studies on "A Dream of Red Mansions" for a long time, and there were quite a lot of them during the Qing Dynasty, mainly by the Suoyin school. The so-called Suoyin can be simply understood as allusion.

Cai Yuanpei is a leader of the Suo Yin School. Four years ago, he wrote "The Story of Suo Yin in the Stone", which contains many controversial views. For example, "A Dream of Red Mansions" is a political novel written during the Kangxi reign of Shunzhi, alluding to a series of people and events at that time. Cai Yuanpei has explored almost all the characters and plots in the book one by one, such as Yuanchun's relatives alluding to Kangxi's southern tour, and Jia Rui's allusion to Qian Qianyi.

Li Yu said: "I have only casually watched "Dream of Red Mansions" and don't know much about the details."

Lu Xun said: "Dr. Hu Shizhi used scientific positivism to study red science. I think 80% of his achievements were caused by listening to your lectures on scientology."

Li Yu said awkwardly: "I've become a fan of trouble..."

Hu Shi's book is quite impressive. For example, it is suggested that the author of "Dream of Red Mansions" is Cao Xueqin; Cao Xueqin is Cao Yin's grandson; after the 80th chapter, Gao E continued his studies; the whole book is a microcosm of the Cao family, etc.

These views are more agreed with by later generations.

Li Yu and Lu Xun approached the door of the principal's office and heard Hu Shi saying inside: "Principal, your views are too far-fetched and subjective. If you ask me to tell you, it's like guessing a stupid riddle."

Cai Yuanpei did not care about Hu Shi's criticism and replied: "All my suggestions are self-explanatory. Allusive literature has a long history in Chinese history, especially the Qing Dynasty. And most of my suggestions are not isolated evidence."

Hu Shi said: "Principal, your method is obviously not scientific enough. Today is a new culture and a new era, and we cannot keep using the old methods."

Raising the banner of science is a very powerful way to argue at this time.

Cai Yuanpei was obviously at a disadvantage and didn't know how to answer. He happened to see Li Yu and Lu Xun sneaking at the door, so he said: "Academician Li Yu, Teacher Zhou, come in."

Li Yu flashed in and smiled: "We were just passing by, passing by."

"It's okay, please sit down," Cai Yuanpei said. "Dr. Hu Shizhi and I were talking about red science just now. You see, even the study of literature is inseparable from scientific methods."

Li Yu said: "I think the word science in the 'scientific method' mentioned by Dr. Hu is in a broad sense, not a narrow sense."

Lu Xun was also happy: "If everyone hadn't listened to your lectures, they wouldn't know that the allusion in your words is actually the general theory of relativity and the special theory of relativity."

Hu Shi said: "That's right! Nowadays, if you study literature and history, no one will talk to you if you don't know something about the theory of relativity. Fu Sinian wrote me back from the University of London a few days ago, saying that he is studying the theory of relativity and quantum theory." Otherwise. It is said that the era of science will begin after the 20th century. Especially in the first half of the 20th century, the whole world simply worshiped science. No matter what discipline you study, you must understand it.

This is good. In the future of compulsory education, natural science will always be the top priority.

Li Yu said: "I have never been exposed to red studies, but I have read "A Dream of Red Mansions". In fact, I think there is nothing wrong with Principal Cai's method of seeking concealment. After all, literature needs to be gentler, and the expression of many opinions is not so straightforward. More People probably just watch the fun and it’s interesting.”

Cai Yuanpei smiled and said: "Thank you, Brother Shucai, for speaking for me, but I already agree that Dr. Hu Shizhi won."

Hu Shi was given the step and immediately stepped down: "It is the scientific method that wins."

These small arguments are common to them, they have to happen every once in a while, it's not a big deal at all.

-

This year, Li Yu held a nationwide mathematics and physics competition as usual, with no restrictions on age or academic qualifications. He then called the top few and prepared to send them abroad to continue their studies.

Two students from Nanjing Normal University (later Southeast University) were discussing the topics for the finals. Ge Zhengquan said: "I heard that you not only participated in the physics competition, but also the mathematics competition, and you also won the first prize?!"

Wu Youxun said easily: "Mr. Academician said that physics is inseparable from mathematics, so the two of us participated together."

Ge Zhengquan sighed and said: "You are really amazing! I have seen the last question in the mathematics competition. It seems to involve generalized integrals and complex series. Only three people who participated in the mathematics competition could solve it."

Wu Youxun was still very happy: "It's not difficult, just change the yuan."

Ge Zhengquan said: "It's amazing!"

Speaking of which, Ge Zhengquan is one year older than Wu Youxun, but Wu Youxun entered Nanjing Normal University one year earlier than him.

Li Yu came over and said to them, "This year, we have exceeded the quota for the Boxer Indemnity Scholarship, but the Education Foundation will make up for it, so everyone can go to the United States to study."

In history, Ge Zhengquan scrimped on money to pay for a ferry ticket to the United States, and after landing, he was admitted to the Department of Physics at Berkeley University. After that, he continued to work part-time until he got a scholarship.

The main reason is that the tuition fees at old American universities are too expensive. Not to mention this time, even before Li Yu traveled through time, most American college students had to rely on student loans. It is said that many people took 20 to 30 years to pay them off.

Ge Zhengquan said happily: "I applied for the competition just because I knew there was a scholarship!"

Wu Youxun asked: "Which university will I go to? I won't know until I get there?"

Li Yu said: "That's right. But I suggest you go to the University of Chicago, where the physics department has a better atmosphere."

At this time, the University of Chicago was a first-class university in the United States. It was mainly supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, with sufficient funds and excellent facilities.

Wu Youxun said: "Thank you very much, Mr. Academician."

At the University of Chicago, he would study with Compton. Li Yu will definitely help Wu Youxun get the Nobel Prize for the Compton Effect, which is also what he deserves.

Ge Zhengquan met Li Yu for the first time and said tentatively: "After listening to several speeches by Mr. Academician, I am now more interested in probability theory in physics. I went to the United States and want to continue this research."

Li Yu immediately agreed: "Very good! Since Maxwell introduced probability theory into physics decades ago, most physicists still cannot accept it, the most important ones are experimental physicists, because this curve has not been tested yet verify.

"But in theory, especially in quantum theory, probability theory has become the cornerstone. Without probability theory, quantum theory can hardly move forward. The development of quantum theory has been slow in recent years. On the one hand, it is affected by the war, and on the other hand, it is stuck in the basics. In theory.

"Just as atomic theory urgently needed scientists like Jean Perrin to verify the existence of atoms through experiments, Maxwell's molecular velocity distribution curve also needed warriors to overcome obstacles. As long as it is verified, it must be a great achievement!"

Earlier this year, German physicist Stern confirmed the statistical law of gas molecular velocity distribution, but failed to give quantitative results.

The name Stern may seem a bit unfamiliar at first glance, but he is actually the Stern who discovered the Stern-Gerlach experiment of electron spin, and is also a Nobel Prize winner.

Ge Zhengquan was very encouraged: "That is to say, by confirming Maxwell's theory through experiments, can it also lay the foundation for newer quantum mechanics?"

"That's right," Li Yu said, "but experimental verification is not easy. Germany's Stern just found a direction, but the accuracy of the experiment is not enough, and the experimental rate statistics are also difficult. The experimental equipment needs to be more sophisticated. Design, can take years.”

"I have been mentally prepared for this for a long time. Several of Professor Millikan's experiments took several years to complete." Ge Zhengquan said.

Li Yu smiled and said: "You are the best to think so."

Historically, Ge Zhengquan measured the velocity distribution of bismuth vapor in 1934 and verified Maxwell's molecular velocity distribution curve.

Then another 20 years later, in 1955, Miller and Kush of Columbia University in the United States measured the velocity distribution of potassium and thallium vapor molecules with higher resolution, stronger molecular beams and spiral groove velocity selectors. .

Of course, if we wait eagerly for experimental physicists to take action, physics cannot develop so fast. Prior to this, many theoretical physicists had already acquiesced in the use of probability theory in physics.

Wu Youxun suddenly said: "I have a strange question and I would like to ask Mr. Academician."

Most of these future scientific leaders are very divergent in their thinking, and it is not surprising for Li Yu to ask weird questions.

"What's the problem?" Li Yu replied casually.

Wu Youxun said: "If human civilization suddenly encounters some kind of catastrophe, all civilization and all knowledge are lost, and only one sentence is left for subsequent civilizations, how can we express the most information with the fewest words?"

It is estimated that he also did a "thought experiment" after knowing that Zhao Zhongyao asked about the small black hole before.

Ge Zhengquan smiled and said: "You actually started studying philosophy and asked such a philosophically profound question."

Wu Youxun said: "Perhaps as long as people know a little bit but not enough, they tend to worry about things."

Li Yu asked, "What do you think?"

Ge Zhengquan thought for a moment: "Tell future generations that humans can fly into the sky?"

Li Yu said: "Four hundred years ago, Wanhu tried it. But ancient people from far away may have thought that jumping off a cliff is too dangerous."

Wu Youxun said: "Write a complicated formula, such as Maxwell's formula? Let them know that science is extremely profound?"

Li Yu said: "This is not inspiring. Maxwell's formula is too difficult and may only promote the birth of witchcraft."

The two asked: "What should I say?"

Li Yu remembered Feynman's words and said to them: "It's actually very simple. Tell them that all objects are made of atoms.

"Although some people in ancient Greece have made speculations about atoms, it was more of a philosophical speculation. If you tell a new civilization in a serious and unmistakable tone, this sentence will be the most informative.

"The discovery of the atom can be a history of science; and for us, the interior of the atom still indicates the future scientific process.

"All the physical and chemical changes we see every day are actually interactions between outer electrons."

Wu Youxun thought for a while: "It seems to be true!"