The literary giants of the late Ming Dynasty began by copying books

Although Yangmano said it was full of flowers, Walter's interest waned a lot when he heard that the book "History of Portugal" was a European history work written by a Chinese.

He also thought that Wang Wenlong's works were about Chinese customs and customs. If that still had some value, what insights could the Chinese have into the study of European history?

Regarding China, most Europeans at this time believed that China was a hermit country with high moral standards, but this also had a derogatory meaning, because hermits could not come out to do things. From the Western missionaries who went to China, every one of them relied on information This can be seen by promoting Europe as a kingdom of heaven on earth.

After all, at this time, Europe had begun to colonize overseas for more than a hundred years. After conquering the territories of many other civilizations, Europeans' views on overseas customs gradually changed from awe to disdain. Eurocentrism was being born.

The Jesuits in Macau did not have enough translators. Most of the priests who were proficient in Latin and Chinese needed to preach or write missionary pamphlets. Therefore, only one translation work was carried out on "The Theory of Heavenly Evolution" and "History of Portugal". In part, it was finally decided to bring these books back to Europe.

Therefore, of the two volumes in Walter's hands at this time, only half of "The Theory of Heavenly Evolution" written by Wang Wenlong has been translated, and the other "History of Portugal" has not even translated the first chapter.

Walter first read "Tianyan Lun", which was boring. He had no understanding of the "Book of Changes", and the Jesuit's ability to translate the classical Chinese written by Huang Daozhou was also very poor, and there were even a lot of misreadings. , Walter put the book down immediately after reading it halfway through.

"Well, it is indeed a unique Eastern thought." Walter praised vaguely, but he actually didn't want to read anymore.

After reading "The Theory of Heavenly Evolution", Walter picked up "History of Portugal" without much expectation.

He originally thought that "The Theory of Heavenly Evolution" must be interesting, but he didn't think so after reading it, and the European history books written by the Chinese were even less interesting when he thought about it.

But just after reading the prologue, Walter's eyes widened in surprise.

"The writing techniques of this book are really advanced..."

Yes, it is advanced.

At this time, Western literature had stepped out of the prison of medieval Christian literature and knightly epics, and the humanistic literature brought about by the Renaissance was in the ascendant.

"The Decameron" and "The Giant" have already appeared. In London, Shakespeare has become famous. However, these are just some literary innovations that describe normal people instead of Christian knights. They are just changes in the objects of description, which are truly epoch-making. The theory of novels has not yet matured, and the novels that lead the revolution have not yet appeared.

The first modern novel in the history of Western literature, "Don Quixote," would not be written for another four years.

As for novels about world affairs, Chinese literature at this time was already ahead of Europeans. Even without the arrival of Wang Wenlong, "The Plum in the Golden Lotus" and "Water Margin" were all great works that pointed their writing towards ordinary people in the world.

At this time, the epic and grand narrative at the beginning of "History of Portugal" and the complicated characters in the continuous adventure stories immediately shocked Walter.

Although this is a history book, it is more fascinating than the funniest novel Walter had ever read.

The Macau Jesuits' translation of "History of Portugal" was very average, but after only reading the preface and a small chapter, Walter admired the author of "History of Portugal" very much.

The "History of Portugal" in front of him consisted of more than a dozen thick volumes, and Walter couldn't wait to know what the works contained in these exquisite Chinese blue book boxes were about.

After all, Walter was a politician. He was extremely excited, but he forced his face to calm down, nodded and asked: "Are you capable of translating this "History of Portugal"?"

Walter really wanted to see the follow-up content of "History of Portugal", and even planned to take this book back. At this time, the European publishing industry was also booming, especially the United Kingdom, which had become a center of the European publishing industry. So he wanted to take this book back. British publishing is certainly profitable.

However, Walter knew that there was no one in Britain who could translate a Chinese book at this time. Even if there were some Chinese in the British colonies in India, the books would still have to be sent to India. Walter did not have such ability now. .

Yangmano said: "The Jesuits have a translation center in Europe, which includes priests who can translate Eastern texts. I don't have such ability."

As for Yang Mano's calculations, Yang Mano can actually read some Chinese. The "History of Portugal" written by Wang Wenlong is not difficult. It is much easier to understand than those Confucian classics. But if Yang Mano says that he can Translation, where is the chance for him to go back?

Walter was a little disappointed when he heard this, but he still had some hope. This time, Walter did not find El Dorado when he went to sea to colonize. He could not explain to the shareholders who funded him. Fortunately, he robbed the Manila galleon and sold all the goods and crew. After that, he should be able to make up for the shortfall of going overseas, and as long as this "History of Portugal" sells well, he can make a lot of money.

If Walter wanted to publish "History of Portugal", he had to ask the Jesuits to help translate it, so the final income had to be shared with the Jesuits. So Walter discussed the publication of "History of Portugal" with Yang Mano.

This is the rule on the ocean at this time. When we need to take advantage of each other, we are the most hated enemies, and we must also help each other.

One and a half months later, in the Italian city of Salerno, Jesuit Luo Mingjian received letters and manuscripts from the Paris General Assembly of the Society of Jesus. Luo Mingjian, an Italian and the originator of European Sinology, is undoubtedly the most academically capable scholar of Eastern languages ​​in Europe at this time and space.

As early as the age of nineteen, Luo Mingjian received two doctorate degrees in law from the University of Spinazzola in Italy, and then joined the Jesuits to study philosophy and theology. Thirty years ago, he set out from Lisbon to preach in Goa, using only He learned the local South Indian language in one year. Then he arrived in Macau and began to learn Chinese. Two years later, he had mastered more than 15,000 Chinese characters and could read Chinese books. Three years later, he began to write and preach in Chinese. Scripture.

It was Luo Mingjian who established the Jesuit tradition of using Chinese to preach to the Chinese in Macau. He founded the first school in Macau to teach Chinese to Portuguese people, and compiled the first "Portuguese-Chinese Dictionary" with Matteo Ricci.

Luo Mingjian was very familiar with Chinese culture and believed that if he wanted to preach in China, missionaries must first understand China instead of using the hegemonic method practiced in the colonies. So he returned to Europe more than ten years ago and actively worked to get the Pope to send envoys Ming Dynasty, at the same time began to translate Chinese classics.

Now Luo Mingjian is translating the "University" part of the "Four Books" into Latin and preparing to publish it in Rome. He believes that people who want to go to China must understand Chinese culture.

Luo Mingjian was surprised when he opened the letter sent from Paris.

The cadres of the General Association stated in the letter: A group of Macau Jesuit personnel and materials encountered a shipwreck on the ship when they returned to Europe to report their work. The personnel and materials were detained by the British. Now, the General Association and the British have reached negotiations. They would only let him go if he helped the British translate a Chinese book.

The Jesuit General Assembly asked Luo Mingjian to put down the work at hand and translate the "History of Portugal" first to rescue the Yangmano brothers who were still imprisoned in the hands of the British at this time.

Luo Mingjian had heard about the book "History of Portugal" in his previous correspondence with his colleagues in the Australian Jesuits, and had also seen some fragmentary articles. He had long been curious about the book "History of Portugal".

Luo Mingjian quickly put down the translation work of Confucian classics, opened the box of Chinese thread-bound books, and began to read "History of Portugal". After reading it, Luo Mingjian started to like "History of Portugal".

The writing style and choice of words and sentences of this book are very suitable for his taste, and the content of the book is even more interesting than the most exciting novels Luo Mingjian has ever read.

At the same time, the Jesuits who were curious about this book also sent people to Luo Mingjian to learn about the "History of Portugal".

Luo Mingjian was full of praise for this book when he saw people coming to it. After all, he still thinks in Europe, and he did not hesitate to think that this was the most interesting Chinese book he had ever read.

However, when asked by the General Assembly, Luo Mingjian said that he did not recommend that the book be released in Rome - "History of Portugal" contains a large number of descriptions of the Portuguese resistance to Spain, exaggerating the difficult rise of the Portuguese, and even has a more vicious vision than Europeans. The analysis of the conflict between Spain and Portugal.

Once such a book is released, it will definitely arouse the nationalism of the Portuguese and make the Spanish rulers who have annexed Portugal dissatisfied. The Jesuits still need to rely heavily on the help of Spanish colonies to preach in Asia, and the Jesuits do not want to do this. Bad relations with Spanish people.

In the end, the Jesuits also took into account Luo Mingjian's statement, so they canceled their own plan to publish the Latin version of "History of Portugal", but the goods for Walter still had to be handed over.

Although the process of translating "History of Portugal" was easier and more enjoyable than translating "The Four Books", and Luo Mingjian worked very hard, after all, Luo Mingjian was almost sixty years old and had limited energy, so the translation work could only be carried out slowly. .

Moreover, after "History of Portugal" was translated into Latin, it had to be taken to the UK and then translated into English for publication. The process was complicated and could not be completed quickly even if we wanted to.

It will probably be a year later that the majority of European readers see this book for the first time.

……

Turning his attention back to the Ming Dynasty, Wang Wenlong stayed in the capital until the 30th year of Wanli, and could not leave for a while.

In the first month, there was a major disaster in Huguang and Jiangxi, and grain prices soared. Mao Wenlong's arrangements for purchasing grain were greatly delayed, and Wang Wenlong could only continue to have relations with him in the capital.

In February of this year, the prince got married. At this time, Zhu Changluo had been established as the crown prince. All the civil servants in the dynasty breathed a sigh of relief. On the day of the wedding, the whole capital was bustling with excitement. However, just after the prince's wedding, the atmosphere suddenly changed. .

Emperor Wanli summoned all the ministers in the capital to wait for the order at Rendemen. This order came out of nowhere and instantly caused a lot of discussion in the city. Even Wang Wenlong heard rumors in the market that Wanli was seriously ill and was about to return to heaven. He was now planning to do so. Explain the aftermath.

Mao Wenlong's tone was very serious when delivering the news, but Wang Wenlong's expression was much more exciting - he knew that a famous scene in the Wanli period was coming.

(End of this chapter)