Reborn Bao Guowei, I really didn’t want to be a great writer!

Chapter 377 History? Politics? The grand occasion of the "old district" of Paris!

"I want to emphasize that this book is not what the outside world says it is, but rather populism from the East. I think the book review of The Chrysanthemum and the Sword in Le Figaro is not objective and biased, and has a very strong racist tendency!"

At this moment, the sky outside the editorial office had completely darkened, and only the dim light was flickering inside the room.

After reading "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword", the famous French historian Marc Bloch was obviously completely unable to accept the slander of this work in his heart from the outside world.

Le Figaro, the most influential newspaper in France today, was originally based on the famous play "The Marriage of Figaro" by French playwright Beaumarchais. Its name was taken from the protagonist of the play.

It has a long history, almost one hundred years old.

Moreover, there is a famous quote in Le Figaro that is familiar to people in later generations.

That is "If criticism is not free, praise is meaningless", this motto, which also comes from Beaumarchais's plays, has always accompanied this newspaper.

It can be said that compared with the academic journals of Marc and Febvre, the volume of Le Figaro is much larger, and the number of readers who can read this newspaper is also huge.

This is also the reason why Mark was angry. As the most authoritative newspaper in France, how could Le Figaro publish such an unprofessional article?
"This is a joke. Are the editors in Le Figaro a bunch of ne's? Unbelievable!"

Marc Bloch opened the newspaper on the table and found the report from the day again.

Because of this report, he almost thought that "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword" was a very bad work.

I read this book just out of curiosity about Bao Guowei.

Now that I think about it, I almost missed a truly world-class masterpiece because of this book review!
"That's not surprising." Lucien spread his hands and shrugged.

"Mr. Mark, you may not know that The Chrysanthemum and the Sword is now a best-seller in European countries. In just a few days, it has sold more than 200,000 copies. You have to know that this is during the Great Depression, and gentlemen don't have much extra money in their pockets to read books. You can imagine how much exposure a review of this book will bring."

Lucien finally said in an old London accent, using a London metaphor, sarcastically: "You should know that most copy editors in Europe are 'ass'. They can do anything to get sales."

Mark sighed and looked at "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword" in his hand again. It was a Ukiyo-e painting from the Japanese Warring States Period, which matched the name of the book.

For a moment, he felt that he couldn't put the book down, and even vaguely classified the book as a new school of historiography! (At this time, the name of the Annales School had not yet been clearly defined)
My curiosity about the author Bao Guowei has reached an unprecedented level!

"Mr. Lucien, I think we should do something."

With resentment in his heart, Mark looked at the gentleman opposite him, the current master of French history, Mr. Lucien Febvre.

The latter gave him a very clear expression and said with a smile.

“I think this is our chance!”

The popularity of "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword" was so great that even the two of them couldn't help but want to take this opportunity to promote the name of the new historiography!
Let more people recognize and understand the new historiography.

Lucien believes that in the near future, the comprehensive, comprehensive and macro-level historical research methods that he and his companions uphold will surely become the mainstream in the academic community!
During this period, there may have been some suspicion of riding on the popularity, but the desire to protect the reputation of "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword" made the two unwilling to stay for a moment.

This is not only helping Mr. Magic Bag in the East to fight, but also helping themselves!

"I think we can't wait like this any longer. We need to write a book review and let these people see what real history is!" Mark said thoughtfully.

"Indeed, mobilize the students and professors to launch a general offensive and wave of the new era against the historical conservatives and those profit-seeking insects!"

For a moment, even Lucien, who was in his fifties, became excited.

He waved his arms and seemed to be twenty years old again.

There is a reason why France is called the old revolutionary base in later generations.

The French Revolution from the late 18th century to the 19th century completely and profoundly changed the political landscape and social structure of the country and the world.

In a sense, the Paris Commune and the Storming of the Bastille have inspired generation after generation of French people to challenge authority.

To the extent that a generation of Chinese leaders had studied in or been influenced by French thought.

The spark of Marxism has never been extinguished in France.

As French people born in the late 19th century, Lucien and Marc seemed to have rekindled their passion for struggle after feeling the power of Bao Guowei's words.

“I think we should focus on the book The Chrysanthemum and the Sword, which studies and analyzes the culture, society and history of Japan. The author studies the family, religion, morality, art and other aspects of the Japanese people, and explains a contradictory and complex cultural history from multiple perspectives, allowing us to fully understand the character of this country.”

After hearing Lucien's analysis, Mark naturally said the same thing.

"Also, a point mentioned in this book "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword" cannot be ignored, that is, it shows the diversity of culture and tells us that we should not study the history of different countries with the same standard, but look at history in combination with culture instead of wearing tinted glasses."

Lucien nodded in agreement.

"Yes, it is very important not to wear tinted glasses. You must tell those 'assholes' in the editorial office of Le Figaro!"

"There is also research on Japanese shame, which I think should be done."

“I think the focus should also be on the research of new historiography, especially the viewpoints mentioned in our Economic and Social History Annals, and should also be combined with the book The Chrysanthemum and the Sword.”

"We can't be highlighted too much. This is the work of Mr. Dongfang Mysterious Bag. I think we should highlight his contribution more."

"Damn it, Favre you idiot, we haven't written it down yet!"

Just as Lucien Febvre and Marc Bloch responded, The Chrysanthemum and the Sword became a big hit in Europe.

Unlike previous historical works, this book is only used in university classrooms and is a reference book bought by students to prepare for exams.

At most, only a small number of history enthusiasts will read some large professional books such as "History of Ancient Rome" and "Ile-de-France".

However, this book "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword" is completely different.

Most readers of "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword" do not read it from the perspective of a history enthusiast.

On the contrary, many people read this book because they are often attracted by the name of Bao Guowei, an Oriental man. His previous works such as "Answer" and "To Live" have been widely circulated throughout Europe.

Of course, what people talk about most is that Bao Guowei's previous refusal of the Pulitzer Prize in the United States made many Europeans feel happy.

At that time, Europeans still held an attitude of disdain but not provocation towards Americans.

Most Europeans felt that America was a country of criminals and bandits.

Of course, judging from the course of history, this view does not seem to be wrong.
The popularity of "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword" is naturally fueled by the American booksellers behind the scenes.

They don't care about anything. Europeans don't like Americans. The book brings up things like the Japan threat theory.

As long as there is money to be made, America will do anything.

In this way, "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword" became popular not only in America, but also spread throughout Europe.

By the time Japan realized the situation and wanted to stop this process, "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword" had sold nearly 500,000 copies in Europe.

This was an extremely terrifying number at the time.

It was rainy in Paris in November.

On the streets of Paris, French men wear classic fedora hats and well-tailored suits or trench coats.

Ladies usually wear delicate wool sweaters with a tweed skirt, and occasionally pull down their wide-brimmed hats decorated with feathers to look at the men passing by. As the center of European culture and art at the time, the streets of Paris were full of vitality even in the midst of the Great Depression.

In the early morning, in the dim light, many gentlemen had already gathered in the coffee stalls on the street.

Order some morning snacks and a cup of coffee, and gather in groups of three or four to discuss the latest political trends or the latest literary works.

Those who can have a leisurely breakfast here are basically upper-class people in the city of Paris.

Newsboys shuttled through the narrow and winding streets, holding the latest edition of Le Figaro or Le Monde in their hands and constantly shouting out their wares in clear voices.

"Le Figaro! Le Monde!"

"Hey! Kid! Give me two newspapers."

At the morning tea stall, a tall man in military uniform waved to a passing newsboy.

"Sir, would you like two of each, or one of each?"

The newsboy looked at the gentleman timidly. The gentleman had a big head and a unique French hooked nose. He looked meticulous, with a serious look in his eyes.

This made the newsboy feel a little scared, and he behaved more cautiously.

"Yes." The man nodded and said, "Is it Le Figaro and Le Monde? Give me one copy of each!"

The man took out a coin of nearly fifty centimes and put it in the newsboy's hand.

"Sir, this is too much!" The newsboy did not expect to receive so much money. This money was enough for him to sell ten newspapers.

"Where's my newspaper?" the man asked in an unquestionable tone, causing the newspaper boy to shudder.

He hurriedly took out two different newspapers from his backpack and handed them to the other party carefully, fearing that he would be beaten if he was not careful.

This was not uncommon at the time.

"you can go now."

The man ignored the newsboy, waved his hand without saying anything else, and lowered his head to read the newspaper attentively.

The newsboy felt his hair stand on end, and he felt uncomfortable standing in front of the officer.

Seeing the mark on the other person, the newsboy could feel that this gentleman's identity was not simple.

Could it be the gentleman who has recently become famous in the military and political circles?
As a newsboy, he was still able to get some hot news in Paris.

In a daze, the newsboy walked a long way before he finally reacted.

He turned his head sharply, looked at the gentleman from a distance, and gave a symbol of thanks.

"Je vous remercie!"

He said loudly.

But seeing that the gentleman didn't seem to react, the newsboy could only leave in disappointment.

Fortunately, I was lucky today and met a kind gentleman, although he looked very cold.

At this moment, the man in military uniform did not pay attention to the newsboy's mishap, but just concentrated on reading the newspaper in his hand.

He first read Le Figaro with a frown on his face, then flipped through Le Monde, but it seemed that he didn't find what he was looking for.

In fact, he was unable to calm down because the discussions of the customers next to him were too loud.

“The quality of these people is like that of Americans.”

The man in military uniform thought so.

So I listened carefully to what they were discussing.

After listening for a while, the man's anger suddenly eased a lot, because their topic did not make him feel disgusted.

Discussions are usually about literature, such as Proust's "Remembrance of Things Past" or Hemingway's new work.

There was even a debate between Sartre and Beauvoir on existentialism, the latter of which interested the man quite a bit.

Of course, the most discussed topic is The Chrysanthemum and the Sword, a popular oriental work today.

But at this moment, he had no intention of joining the discussion.

"As long as it's not harassed by those hypocritical politicians, it's fine."

The man muttered something and continued reading the report in the newspaper.

Soon, he found an interesting book review in the newspaper.

"This is an article written jointly by Professor Lucien Febvre and Professor Marc Bloch."

The man thought about it and remembered that these two people seemed to be famous French historians.

Combined with the recently popular book "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword", as professional historians, their views are obviously more convincing.

Coffee, tea and snacks, coupled with the right article, make reading a pleasant experience.

The man immediately forgot the hustle and bustle of the streets of Paris and immersed himself in the logical and dialectical writings of the two professors.

The colorful streets of Paris continue, with ladies wearing new Chanel suits, artists gathering on Montmartre to create, and the second-hand bookstalls beside the Seine River also full of artistic atmosphere.

Of course, Sennar today is still much cleaner than it will be a hundred years later.

Under the shadow of the Great Depression, it seems that there is a story everywhere here.

At some point, another man in military uniform came over and saw his friend who was concentrating on reading not far away.

Mr. Charles de Gaulle, the currently in-demand Undersecretary of Defense.

Alexander walked up and patted de Gaulle on the shoulder. He glanced at the article that analyzed and evaluated "The Chrysanthemum and the Sword" and asked with a smile.

"Hey, Charles de Gaulle, do you like the book The Chrysanthemum and the Sword? Or are you a loyal supporter of this oriental boy like some other literature lovers?"

The man named Charles de Gaulle slowly raised his head and was not surprised to see his friend.

A subtle smile appeared on his face.

Not sure if it was because of the change caused by this article, de Gaulle thought about it and answered seriously.

"Nowadays, everyone knows about that miraculous boy from the East. His writings have given me strength. Now I plan to read this new work carefully!"

(End of this chapter)