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

Chapter 682 Funding
Recently, after reading The True Story of Ah Q in the Morning Post Supplement, Li Yu bought some cream cakes and beautifully packaged meat floss to go see Lu Xun.

To be honest, although he lived in the Republic of China period, there were many famous literary masters in history who emerged, but Li Yu would not be interested in reading most of their works even if he lived today.

——Because there is no need.

Objectively speaking, most of the literary works of the Republic of China are not that literary. Only a handful of them can be called classics after a hundred years of vicissitudes, and the most typical one among them is Lu Xun.

The reason is very simple. First of all, China did not have much of a culture of writing novels in the past. The ancients valued the culture of the literati, who looked down on those who wrote novels. Therefore, famous novelists in ancient times were extremely rare. The four great classics and a few other books, such as "Jin Ping Mei", became classics.

During the Republic of China, after the vernacular movement, writers had just begun to learn to write in vernacular Chinese, and most of them were rather crude and had not yet developed.

Lu Xun was a man of extraordinary talent. His writing was sharp and his thoughts were profound. Even a hundred years later, every word he wrote was still eloquent, which was very remarkable.

Although there is no "first in literature" since ancient times, as far as the Republic of China is concerned, other writers are at least one level lower than Brother Xun.

Li Yu knocked on the door of Zhou's family in Badaowan, but it was Zhou Zuoren who opened the door.

"Is Teacher Zhou Shuren at home?" Li Yu asked.

Zhou Zuoren looked a little unhappy, and after a pause he said, "He has already moved away."

"Moved away?" Li Yu asked in surprise, "Are you kidding? Isn't this the house he bought?"

"Uh..." Zhou Zuoren didn't know how to respond.

His Japanese wife Nobuko Hata said from inside the house, "Please ask Mr. Li to go to Zhuanta Hutong."

Li Yu could tell that the tone of the voice was not natural, so he stopped asking questions and said, "Excuse me."

Zhuanta Hutong is three kilometers south of Badaowan, on the inner side of Fuchengmen.

Li Yu drove over and knocked on the door again. It was Lu Xun who opened the door, holding a cigarette, "Mr. Li Yu, why are you here?"

"I'll give you a warm home again." Li Yu said with a smile as he picked up the meat floss and cream cake in his hand.

Lu Xun sighed helplessly: "Don't mention it!"

This house is obviously not as good as the Badaowan mansion he bought for thousands of dollars before. It is just an ordinary small house for citizens.

"Not many people come here usually, so please come to my study and sit down," said Lu Xun.

His study was one of the better rooms in the small house, but it was also simply furnished. Fortunately, it was neatly arranged. On the desk was an inkstone and a Rongbaozhai brush; the bookcase next to it contained some books, but not many.

Zhu An brought in teacups, poured tea for Li Yu and Lu Xun, and left without saying a word.

Lu Xun said: "It's not a good tea, just drink it casually."

Li Yu asked, "Sir, do you work part-time at Women's Normal University?"

"I'm going to go," Lu Xun said, "otherwise the income won't be enough."

Most of his savings were spent on the house in Badaowan.

It seems that Lu Xun never bought a house again after that, although he was not short of money.

Maybe it was because he later went to Shanghai, where housing prices are comparable to those in New York. Even Brother Xun couldn’t afford to buy a house and had to rent one.

Since I have no money, I can only work part-time to earn some money.

Li Yu said: "Can they pay salaries now?"

"It's intermittent, of course not as punctual as before, but I can support myself by working a few more jobs. Things will get better in the future," Lu Xun exhaled a puff of cigarette, "It turns out that I have also developed the Ah Q spirit without realizing it."

The Beiyang government really fell into decline after that.

"Bicheng also teaches part-time at the Women's Normal University, so you can be colleagues from now on." Li Yu said.

Lu Xun smiled and said, "It's such an honor! In fact, thanks to Ms. Bicheng, there are now many more students in the Women's Normal University. Female students definitely prefer reputable female teachers. Male teachers like me dare not say a word to female students after class."

Having said that, it was at the Women's Normal University that Lu Xun met his second wife, Xu Guangping.

From the time Li Yu entered the door to the time he left, in more than an hour, Zhu An only came in to add water, and did not even say a word to Lu Xun - in fact, Lu Xun did not want to talk to her, they had gotten used to it.

This kind of indifference is very uncomfortable to watch.

This happens every day when we get home, and it's a huge torture for both of us.

As for Zhu An, Lu Xun later said: "This is a gift my mother gave me. I can only take good care of her. Love is something I don't know."

How thrilling the word "offering" is.

Lu Xun's mother liked Zhu An very much and thought that time would allow the relationship between the two to improve a little. In the feudal era, people usually got married before falling in love.

But after more than ten years, it was still like this, so Lu Xun's mother asked him what was wrong with Zhu An.

Lu Xun only gave one example: "Once, I told her that there is something delicious in Japan; she said, 'Yes, I have eaten it too.' In fact, this kind of thing is not only not available in Shaoxing, but also not in the whole of China. How could she eat it? In this way, naturally the conversation can't continue. The conversation is boring, so it's better not to talk about it..."

But if you think about it carefully, if there is no emotion, then everything is in vain.

In this marriage, both of them were victims of feudal ideas, but Zhu An was more miserable. Her life was like air, with no status.

But even if love is thousands of miles close, the opposite side of heartlessness is mountains and rivers.

If I had a child, it would be better, at least I would have something to think about, but unfortunately...

-

A few days after returning home, Mei Lanfang and Yang Xiaolou prepared to go to Shanghai.

Li Yu also had to go to Shanghai on the way, but it was entirely because the Chinese Scientific Society was holding an annual meeting.

Hu Dunfu, Yu Heqin, Zhu Kezhen and others are now full of confidence. They feel that China's scientific undertakings have great potential. There are so many outstanding graduates every year who continuously provide talent. Coupled with Li Yu's fund, the hope is too great.

If there had not been so many wars later, especially the Japanese invasion of China, it would have really taken off.

But the damn Japanese always interfere when China is about to take off.

Li Yu's contribution to domestic science is basically concentrated in the science field, while engineering is the key to determining whether a country can rise. The domestic industrial foundation is very weak and difficult to change.

All Li Yu can do is to ensure that science becomes strong first while trying to recruit more talents in engineering.

They all worked very hard, and Li Yu was able to get the latest scientific magazines from various countries. Although it was a month late due to sea transportation, it was much better than in the past.

Hu Dunfu and his colleagues were busy translating these magazines, and they created a lot of new scientific terms. Of course, Li Yu helped a lot...

In fact, the translations of many scientific terms did not initially become what they were in later textbooks. Li Yu helped them avoid many "detours".

This is also a good thing for Li Yu. Otherwise, he would have to take the trouble to learn some inexplicable new words, which would easily confuse them with the inherent impressions in his mind.

Hu Dunfu introduced a new young man to the Science Society to Li Yu: "His name is Yan Jici, and he graduated from Southeast University. Not long ago, I saw that the two new textbooks "Junior Middle School Arithmetic" and "Geometric Proof Method" published by the Commercial Press were well written, so I temporarily recruited him."

Yan Jici later became an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a heavyweight figure in modern Chinese physics.

Li Yu laughed and said, "You are a waste of talent to be an editor."

Yan Jici loves this place very much: "The atmosphere of the Science Club is very good, and I can also read the latest journals. I like it very much!"

Li Yu thought for a moment and said, "If you want to see real cutting-edge science, you might as well go study abroad yourself."

Yan Jici said: "That's exactly what I was thinking, but I haven't collected enough money for the trip yet. I heard that you can work and study in France, so I'm learning French in my spare time, and I'm going to study in France next year."

"France is great. I will write you a few letters of introduction so that you can visit the best professors in France, such as Curie, Langevin, and Jean Perrin. As for tuition fees, you don't have to worry about it," said Li Yu.

Yan Jici thanked him and said, "You don't have to pay for the tuition, but a letter of introduction is enough to repay you."

Europe is a well-known society where favors are important. It would be very difficult to get by on your own without any introduction.

Li Yu will definitely help these big names if he can, as the value they will create in the future is enormous.

Hu Dunfu asked again, "Sir, have you published any articles recently?"

Li Yu said: "We have made some preparations, but the data is not enough."

"Data? Experimental data?" Zhu Kezhen asked.

"Observational data," Li Yu said, "I want to write a paper on astronomy, but it will take at least a few months to prepare the observational data."

"In just a few months, you can write another paper that will shock the astronomical world!" Hu Dunfu exclaimed.

"Maybe it can't be called a shock." Li Yu said casually.

They knew Li Yu's level very well. Zhu Kezhen said: "Which of your papers is not amazing!"

Li Yu shrugged: "We will publish it in our Science Magazine at that time, and you may need to write an annotation article."

Hu Dunfu said: "There are not many people in the Science Society who understand astronomy, and I am afraid we cannot write a good annotation."

"It doesn't have to be that complicated," Li Yu said. "Just explain some common sense things."

Zhu Kezhen seemed to be ready for the battle: "I learned a little about astronomy when I was in the United States, and I just happened to catch up recently. Being able to annotate your articles, I feel like a modern Zhu Xi!"

"Zhu Xi's annotations to the Four Books?" Li Yu laughed. "Science is not that obscure, and the meaning is often very straightforward. One is one, two is two. There is no need to be so nervous."

Zhu Kezhen asked: "Do you still need us to translate?"

Hu Dunfu said on behalf of Li Yu: "Of course not! Mr. Li Yu used to write papers directly in English. If necessary, he could even use German, so he must have written both the Chinese and English versions."

In fact, even in China, during the Republic of China period, most universities’ science and engineering courses were still taught in English, and all homework was in English.

"That's right. You don't need to worry about this," Li Yu said, "but it's a good opportunity to write a popular science book about astronomy."

"Good idea! People are still not over the craze for Mr. Einstein's theory of relativity," Hu Dunfu said. "If you want to understand the theory of relativity, you need to have a certain understanding of astronomy. I've asked my brother Hu Mingfu to come here today to write a popular science book on astronomy together."

"All the funds are drawn from the Science Society. I will take the time to write some small articles to help you fill in the gaps," Li Yu said. "Astronomy happens to be able to connect the origins of modern physics. Sir Newton's law of universal gravitation explained astronomy. Today, the latest theory of relativity can be seen as a perfect version of the explanation of the universe."

After hearing this, several people became more eager to try it.

Hu Dunfu said: "Writing popular science articles is an important task of the Science Society. Now that Science Magazine is doing so well, why don't we learn from other newspapers and have a supplement dedicated to publishing popular science books?"

"But this will increase the price by at least 30 to 40 percent," said Yu Heqin.

"It doesn't matter. The price remains the same. I will advance the money for the Science Magazine supplement as a charity event," said Li Yu.

Hu Dunfu said: "You are asked to spend money everywhere, this is..."

Li Yu smiled and consoled him, "You obviously have no idea how much money I have. This expenditure is just a drop in the bucket!"

Yu Heqin also laughed and said, "Sir, you have set a good example for capitalists! I have read Karl Marx's Capital, which says that from the day capital was born, every pore was dripping with blood and filth. You are completely different."

"Haha! I'm not a capitalist, I can be called...an entrepreneur." Li Yule said.

“Entrepreneur,” Yu Heqin said, “that sounds like a good name!”

That night, Li Yu treated everyone to a good meal, and naturally invited Yan Jici to join them.

Li Yu also introduced him to some scientific situations in Europe.

Ordinary people simply cannot access this information. After all, there is no Internet, and domestic information is often far behind. Unless it is about major events such as World War I and the Paris Peace Conference, domestic newspapers will not report it. The threshold of science is very high, and domestic reports are even rarer.

"Can we go to Madame Curie's Radium Institute?" When mentioning France, the first person that Yan Jici thought of was Madame Curie.

"Of course you can," Li Yu said, "but the radiation there will be a bit higher, which is not very friendly to the body, especially for young people who are not married or have children. I suggest you study other directions first."

"Is radiation so dangerous? Isn't it said that it can cure cancer?" Yan Jici asked.

"Risks often coexist with opportunities. It can treat cancer, but naturally it can also create cancer," said Li Yu.

"What you said, sir, is so philosophical! No wonder everyone says that you have reached the level of a philosopher in science." Yan Jici said this very sincerely, without any exaggeration.

Li Yu smiled and said, "Science already has many of the most profound philosophical ideas. You can understand them without me saying anything."

"If we don't go to the Radium Institute to study the most advanced radium, what should we study?" Yan Jici asked.

"The University of Paris has many excellent subjects. Professor Langevin and Professor Jean Perrin are both experts in physics. It just so happens that I am short of people to take charge of the optics project. Why not learn optics?" said Li Yu.

"Okay, I'll listen to you, sir!"

"I'm just making a casual suggestion. It must be based on your personal wishes."

"Optics is not bad either. It is said that physics is also inseparable from optics. Maybe I can help you build a better telescope in the future."

Li Yu smiled and said, "That's the case..."