Reborn and become a Great Scientist

Chapter 424 163 Strasbourg, France

Medal of the Kingdom of Italy?

interesting.

Emmanuel III's proposal shocked Chen Muwu at first.

He was thinking that today was just the first time he met the Italian king, and there was no interaction between the two parties before.

Why was he so enthusiastic that he directly handed over the medal of his country?

Chen Muwu thought again and roughly guessed Emmanuel III's motives.

When the Pope invited him to the Vatican to discuss the relationship between science and theology, it did not mean that the world's largest religious leader was suddenly interested in science, which has always been in conflict with theology.

The reason why the Pope invited Chen Muwu to the Vatican in the first place is the same as why Emmanuel is now awarding a badge to Chen Muwu on the 3rd.

On the one hand, they all want to use Chen Muwu's influence in scientific research to show their love for science.

On the other hand, they all want to use this incident to get themselves back into the public eye.

Needless to say, the Pope naturally said that the entire country was swallowed up by Italy and huddled in the Vatican, the city within the city of Rome.

This has been the case for several generations of popes, and they have lived in peace for decades. Every day, they are terrified, fearing that the neighboring country of Italy will one day change to a radical leader and annex their country.

As for the Italian king that Chen Muwu faced, Emmanuel III, although he was not worried about his throne being deposed, he was now in the embarrassing dilemma of knowing the prime minister but not the king in Italy.

Although the country itself is a constitutional monarchy, His Majesty the King may still not want his limelight to be stolen by others.

That's why he wanted to follow the example of another His Majesty who lived with him in Rome. Going to the History of Mathematics Branch of the International Congress of Mathematicians today to listen to Chen Muwu's lecture was just an appetizer. Dinner with Chen Muwu tonight was just for him. It's just a soup in the plan.

The real main course of Emmanuel III's heart was to invite Chen Muwu to return to Rome from Bologna with him, where he would receive his investiture and canonization.

The King of Italy also thought according to ordinary people's thinking. He thought that Chen Muwu would not refuse his kind offer.

After all, who doesn't want to have a golden badge on his chest and a noble title after his last name, so that he can have bragging rights in front of others in the future.

however.

“It’s an honor for me to be valued so highly by you.

"I'm really sorry, Your Majesty.

“Because I wanted to meet Professor Hilbert this time, I took the time to come to Italy to attend the International Congress of Mathematicians.

"As soon as the meeting ends tomorrow, I will rush back to London, England overnight, because I will hold a wedding there soon.

“This matter has been planned for a long time, and relatives and friends from all over the world have arrived in the UK. I cannot let them go just because I accept a personal honor.

"So I'm really sorry, Your Majesty the King. I'm afraid I can't accept the medal awarded to me by your country this time."

Emmanuel III considered the matter of conferring the honor as a European, but he did not expect that Chen Muwu was neither a European nor a time traveler from the future.

He is really not that interested in medals. Medals seem to be very important to Europeans, but to him they are nothing more than iron cards.

Besides, people in later generations always like to make fun of Su Xunzong, the man who wears medals like chain mail, and Dr. Hu, who likes to collect honorary doctorates from famous universities around the world. Chen Muwu doesn’t want to do that either. Become a combination of the two. A doctor who likes to collect medals.

Chen Muwu had received medals from two countries before, one from the Beiyang Government of the Republic of China, but so far, Chen Muwu had only seen the medal in the luggage that his family members carried with them after they all came to London.

After receiving from his eldest brother the first-class Jiahe Medal with a large ribbon and a first-class honor medal that he carefully kept, Chen Muwu found a corner at home and stuffed it in.

But later Mrs. Chen found out about this, and she took back Chen Muwu's two medals, treating them as a kind of family honor and ordered them to be kept well.

Chen Muwu had no idea where the two badges were now, and he was indifferent to them.

On New Year's Day this year, Chen Muwu was in Sweden to receive the Royal Polar Star Medal from the Swedish Crown Prince.

He just wanted to wait until he was stationed in Sweden in the future. With such a card, it would be much more inconvenient to do things than not.

After he returned to his home in London, England with the medal, he gave it to the old lady.

On the one hand, Chen Muwu himself was unwilling to keep it, and on the other hand, it was also to continue to win the favor of the old lady.

Chen Muwu estimated that he would be able to receive another country's medal in his lifetime. When his good brother Prince Albert, Duke of York, ascends the throne of the British Empire due to popular expectations, he will inevitably be awarded the honor.

It's just that according to British laws, even if they award the Medal of Honor to foreigners, these foreigners will not enjoy the corresponding titles and related benefits of knighthood and nobility. It is just a simple honorary title.

In addition to the medals of China, Sweden and the United Kingdom, Chen Muwu feels that he should not have any intersection with the honor systems of other countries.

At best, I might get some commemorative badges similar to "Commemorating the Victory of the Anti-French XX War" in the future.

Chen Muwu never expected that the King of Italy would want to award him a medal.

And compared to the badge of this kingdom that would disappear after the end of World War II, Chen Muwu still felt that it was more important to rush back to England to attend his wedding.

Therefore, he politely and politely refused Emmanuel III's invitation to go to Rome to discuss the matter of the award, and the reasons he gave left the Italian king speechless.

After all, Italy is Europe's "Little China", a place where family ties and family are more important than anything else.

And Westerners seem to have a very strange value system that Chen Muwu can't quite understand, that is, no matter what you do or how big of a mistake you make, as long as you say "for the family", everything can be taken care of. forgive. Marriage is a very important thing in the family as it allows the family to flourish and produce offspring.

Chen Muwu used the fact that he was getting married to refuse Emmanuel III's invitation to be awarded the title. The Italian king opposite him could not find anything wrong with him.

“Well, in that case, there’s really nothing we can do.

"Dr. Chen, if you come to Italy next time, I hope you can contact us in advance.

"At that time, I must invite you to visit Rome and hold a grand investiture ceremony for you at the royal palace in Italy."

Emmanuel III said very sincerely.

But Chen Muwu felt that the other party was not very sincere. Even if I didn't go to Rome to receive the medal, couldn't you send the medal to London, England?

Although His Majesty the King yourself did not have time to go to London, does your country have an embassy in London?

Can't the badge that you want to award Chen Muwu be sent to the Italian legation first, and then let the Italian minister carry the badge to confer the medal on Chen Muwu on the wedding day?

No need to give red envelopes, just a medal can be exchanged for a wedding banquet. You guys in Italy are not at a loss, so just have fun!

Humph, not sincere at all!

After saying goodbye to Emmanuel III and leaving tonight's dinner venue, Chen Muwu returned to the station and began to pack his luggage in his room.

Just as he said to the King of Italy tonight, as soon as the closing ceremony of the International Congress of Mathematicians ends tomorrow, Chen Muwu will leave Bologna and hurry back to London, England.

Chen Muwu himself came to Italy to attend the conference. His real purpose was not to give a speech or read his paper at the conference, but to meet Professor Hilbert who came from the University of Göttingen in Germany for the conference.

Being able to invite Professor Hilbert to follow him back to London, England, to attend his wedding was already an unexpected gain for Chen Muwu.

As for the lecture on the history of ancient Chinese mathematics at the History of Mathematics sub-venue this afternoon, it was completely impromptu.

Although he listed many famous mathematicians and mathematical achievements in ancient China, he also gained recognition from many audience members and achieved the results he expected.

But Chen Muwu also knew that what he did was just using his reputation in academia to help China regain its respect.

After all, ancient Chinese mathematics was all practical mathematics aimed at solving practical problems and did not form a theoretical system that has been passed down to this day.

Moreover, since the Renaissance, the level of mathematics in Western countries has become further and further away. Except for the Tatars in the Forbidden City and the students taught by missionaries in coastal areas, few people know how advanced European mathematics has become.

His speech received a warm response from the audience simply because for these big-nosed Europeans and Americans, ancient China was a country only recorded in "Marco Polo's Travels to the East" and Volvo during the Enlightenment. The mysterious country in Tai's works and a series of Arabic legends has always been covered with a hazy veil.

The next day came the closing ceremony of the International Congress of Mathematicians.

The most famous Fields Medal in mathematics is still in the conceptual stage.

After two International Congresses of Mathematicians that excluded the Allied Powers in World War I, Professor John Charles Fields, the Canadian mathematician who facilitated the 1924 International Congress of Mathematicians at the University of Toronto, Canada, I came up with the idea of ​​using the prize to connect mathematicians around the world.

Just after the International Congress of Mathematicians in 1924, Fields, a professor of mathematics at the University of Toronto, the organizer of the conference, noticed that there was a surplus of funds for hosting the International Congress of Mathematicians.

That's why Fields finally came up with the idea to imitate the now-well-known Nobel Prize, use the funds from the International Congress of Mathematicians in 1924 to establish a foundation, and use the foundation's annual share to create the highest award in the international mathematics community. idea.

Unfortunately, Professor Fields's idea lasted until 1924 after the 1932 conference before it was finally put on the agenda.

Unfortunately, Professor Fields passed away before the 1932 International Congress of Mathematicians in Zurich, Switzerland, and was unable to attend that meeting.

The Fields Medal was finally awarded for the first time four years later, in 1936, at the International Congress of Mathematicians held in Oslo, the capital of Norway.

Of course, even if there had been a Fields Medal in 1928, Chen Muwu would not have won the award if nothing unexpected happened.

Let’s not talk about whether the incompleteness theorem has a chance of winning the award, but the mathematical community is also very exclusive. They will never allow the first Fields Medal to be awarded to Chen Muwu, an outsider who studies physics.

At the closing ceremony of this year, Chen Muwu remembered that this highest award in mathematics was purely a matter of "eating the carrot and not worrying about it".

Emmanuel III, who had dinner with Chen Muwu yesterday, stepped onto the podium at the closing ceremony of this International Congress of Mathematicians and gave a concluding speech.

Chen Muwu suspected that the Italian king suddenly came to attend the closing ceremony of the meeting, and also hoped that he could get sufficient exposure in the media's lens.

After the entire closing ceremony was over, Chen Muwu and Professor Hilbert reunited.

"Dr. Chen, I went to listen to your speech yesterday. Overall, it was very good."

Hilbert deliberately mentioned Chen Muwu’s speech at the History of Mathematics session yesterday.

Chen Muwu didn't hide it, he just smiled slightly.

"Professor Hilbert, you know that I don't know much about mathematics. This is another opportunity to speak on stage at the International Congress of Mathematicians. Compared with forcing me to talk about mathematics problems, I may make mistakes and be laughed at by the audience. I can only tell you what I can best tell you."

"Dr. Chen, do you know why German mathematicians did not participate in the 1920 International Congress of Mathematicians after the World War?"

Chen Muwu didn't know why Hilbert suddenly wanted to talk to him about this matter, but he still told the other party what he knew about the situation.

"Is it because Germany was part of the Allies in the First, uh, World War, and the Allies were defeated?"

Hilbert shook his head: "This is not the case at all. In fact, it was because the French chose Strasbourg as the venue for the International Congress of Mathematicians with ulterior motives."

(End of this chapter)