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

As soon as Medina left, the Spaniards on the ship started talking.

"I'm afraid I heard it wrong? Sir Medina actually recommended to us a history of Europe written by a Chinese?"

"Haha, the Chinese writing the history of Europe sounds like the weirdest dream."

"Sir Medina, like the British, has never really seen the Chinese, so he still has beautiful illusions about them in his heart."

Zhong Bin and Li Kuiqi, who were busy on the boat, listened to the sarcasm of these Spaniards with unbearable expressions on their faces.

Both of them are from Fujian, and have been together in the West since they were young. History records that the traitor Li Jin was the first Chinese to arrive in Europe, but this is not necessarily the case. To be precise, he was just the first Chinese to arrive in Europe and leave clear written records. At this time, the Spanish employed a large number of Luzon Chinese as sailors on their sailing ships. The Chinese had already come to Europe.

The large sailing ships of this era had to be assigned one sailor for every four tons of deadweight. The carrying capacity of the Spanish large sailing ships was huge, and the number of sailors needed was not a small number. For the Spanish colonists who were short of manpower, they hired local indigenous people. Being a sailor with the Chinese is inevitable.

Some Chinese can even climb to high positions relying on their own skills. For example, Zhong Bin currently serves as the navigator on a Spanish galleon, and Li Kuiqi's position is the fire head, which is the number one sailor.

These Spaniards had colonized Luzon for a long time, and after getting used to being arrogant and domineering, they gradually became discriminatory towards the local indigenous people and local Chinese maritime merchants. Incidentally, they also had a lot of disdain for the Chinese. They did not believe that Wang Wenlong could write anything. Good book.

Zhong Bin and Li Kuiqi had been serving on Spanish sailing ships for a long time, but when they felt the deep prejudice of the Spanish, they couldn't stand it. The Spanish threw the English version of "History of Portugal" left by Medina in the cabin. Disdainfully, Zhong Bin and Li Kuiqi borrowed it and discussed and watched it with the Spanish sailors on the ship who could speak English.

The Spaniard who knew English was also a mixed-race Englishman in Spain, and was also discriminated against. The three of them read "History of Portugal" together, and they actually couldn't sleep all night after reading it.

After reading it for a few days, Zhong Bin couldn't help but sigh: "It's unbelievable that there was a figure like Wang Wenlong in the Ming Dynasty!"

The sailboat set sail from Barcelona and returned to Sumatra after several months of smooth sailing. Zhong Bin and Li Kuiqi disembarked in Nanwuli, Sumatra. I couldn't wait to find the local Chinatown. Both of them were from Tong'an, and the Chinatown here was mostly populated by Fujian maritime merchants. The two of them were rare Chinese people in the Spanish fleet who had reached high positions, and they were very popular among the local Chinese merchants. Take it seriously and you will be greeted as soon as you enter the Chinese area.

During the banquet, an old scholar recommended: "The two sea masters have followed Europeans on the sea all year round. I am afraid it is difficult to know the situation of the Ming Dynasty. Just two years ago, the Ming Dynasty published a unique book. Nowadays, people traveling on the sea cannot Don’t read it, it’s called “History of Portugal” and the author is Duke Jianyang of Ming Dynasty.”

Hearing this, Zhong Bin and Li Kuiqi couldn't help but look at each other, and then laughed.

They took out an English book wrapped in thick cowhide from their luggage and said with a smile: "I and I would also like to recommend "History of Portugal" to you. This book is now across the ocean and is being read by locals in the UK in Europe. The businessman translated it, and even the Spanish lord came to our ship to recommend this book to the Spanish."

The Spaniards on the ship were so discriminatory against the Chinese that they did not pay any attention to the "History of Portugal". Zhong Bin and Li Kuiqi read it every day, and even took the book with them when they got off the ship. The Spaniards did not take it seriously.

However, the English version of "History of Portugal" aroused everyone's surprise. They borrowed it to read it and started talking about it.

Walter, who was far away in England, was very concerned after he printed "History of Portugal". Although Britain in this era was getting richer and richer, its population was only one million after all. A book that could print five or six hundred copies was considered to be very popular. Decades later, the famous First Folio, a collection of Shakespeare's plays, was first printed, with a total of 750 copies printed.

Even if all of this number could be sold, it would be considered a bestseller. Later, the second, third, and fourth folios were printed one after another, and the best-selling one only sold a thousand copies.

The first printing of "History of Portugal" was only four hundred volumes. According to historical records, the price of an ordinary book at this time was only equivalent to more than one day's wages of a skilled worker, but that refers to a simple book that can be printed with Gutenberg ink and metal movable type. Booklet, this kind of book does not have copyright and does not have complicated graphics and text.

The printing of "History of Portugal" is different. First of all, there are a large number of maps in it, coupled with the specially designed binding and cowhide binding, the price is very high. The unbound version is priced at fifteen shillings, and the stapled version is priced at 15 shillings. One pound, the latter equivalent to three months' wages for a skilled English worker at this time. Walter originally thought that such a book would not sell too well and was just using it as a stopgap measure. However, two weeks after the book went on sale, bookstore owners in West England, which was rapidly becoming prosperous due to the textile industry, received a large number of letters asking for more goods. Then bookstores in North London, East England and the South also came to rush for goods.

This book became an immediate hit, and all four hundred copies were sold out instantly.

Books like "History of Portugal" are simply incomprehensible to the lower-class British people. They can't even understand the geographical location of Europe, but people with a little knowledge are pursuing them one after another.

In this era, hardcover books could only be sold to the elite. At this time, many of Britain's emerging bourgeoisie and princes and nobles had purchased this book.

In the UK these days, the textile industry has given birth to a large number of small factory owners. After these people become rich, they also pursue the aristocratic style. They often learn from the aristocratic decoration at home and make elaborate decorations. They also imitate the aristocratic dress at home when they go out. Famous people have purchased this "History of Portugal" and praised it, and small factory owners with a little wealth in the countryside have actively echoed it.

"History of Portugal" became an immediate hit in the UK. Even Queen Elizabeth, who is in her seventies, rarely mentioned this book during a banquet: ""History of Portugal" is a magical work full of oriental colors. It is profound to read. It’s interesting and of great value for governing the country... This book is indeed the one I’ve been reading these past few days.”

Elizabeth I suddenly commented that "History of Portugal" was actually caused by Walter's money behind it, but there is no doubt that "History of Portugal" became a hot topic again.

A few months later, the sales of "History of Portugal" directly exceeded one thousand copies, which was already an absolute best-selling book in the UK.

Such sales were enough to attract the attention of other European countries. "History of Portugal" quickly traveled across the ocean and was translated into many languages. It first became famous in the Netherlands, and then in Portugal and Spain.

Europeans are keen to talk about the content of "History of Portugal", but Spain, which is still powerful at this time, and the Catholic world, which dominates public opinion, have mixed reviews of "History of Portugal".

Many Spaniards thought that although the book was interesting, it was far from perfect. The Chinese actually predicted that the Spanish Empire had declined, and even said that Britain, which had just begun its colonial activities, could rely on the chartered company model to rise.

Although Wang Wenlong has demonstrated this in detail in his book, Spanish people generally arrogantly express that there are various problems with Wang Wenlong's discussion. They believed that the Spanish colonial empire, which occupied the vast land of South America and countless gold and silver mines, would inevitably prosper forever.

The author of "Don Quixote", Cervantes Saavedra was born in a church school. As an adult, he served as an attendant to the local bishop. Later, he joined the army and fought with the Spanish army in Greece and Rome. He also served as a member of the Spanish Armada. quartermaster. At this time, he was already a famous poet and novelist. Although his situation was somewhat embarrassing and he often satirized nobles and monks in his works, in the final analysis, Cervantes was still a Spaniard who benefited from Spain's colonial achievements and was loyal to the Catholic Church.

After reading "History of Portugal", he highly praised the book, but refuted Wang Wenlong's view that the Spanish Empire would eventually decline. He said that as long as the Spanish Empire could adhere to "decency", it would always be "blessed by the Lord." , "I see no possibility of imperial decline."

Readers praised him loudly after seeing his comments, thinking that Cervantes was worthy of being the greatest Spanish writer.

As more and more news about "History of Portugal" from Europe spread back to the West, Western Chinese also discovered that "History of Portugal" was popular in Europe.

Previously, Wang Wenlong's name was only circulated among the sea masters of the Ming Dynasty. Although he was popular, his reputation was only heard among the upper class. Many Chinese in the West had not returned to the Ming Dynasty for many years and did not know Wang Wenlong's name at all. Even if people have heard the name of "History of Portugal" or even read the original book, they still don't know much about Wang Wenlong.

It was not until this time that many Chinese businessmen were really surprised that "History of Portugal" was taken seriously by Europeans.

Yang Qi, a Chinese business leader in Gula, Dongchong, wrote to Li Dan specifically: "The Dutch here have often talked about the book "History of Portugal" recently, and this book has caused a sensation among their sealords. Batavia's The Dutch have formed a new East India Company, and its company figures have great admiration for the Ming Dynasty when they first arrived in the West. When I was talking to the Chinese, they took the initiative to talk about the book "History of Portugal". I sincerely admired the book and expressed that I had read it. Only through this book can we know how many sages there are in China. Nowadays, the Dutch highly respect this book and respect Wang Wenlong. I heard people say that Wang Wenlong was originally a Western Chinese and did not become an official when he returned to the Ming Dynasty. Why not recruit him to the Ming Dynasty? My subordinates, it will definitely be of great benefit to introduce Wang Wenlong's name when discussing with the Hongmao, Dutch and Portuguese people."

(End of this chapter)