Insufficient balance

  In the following days, Chen Ke entered a period of almost no rest or sleep. First, there were visitors coming to visit one after another. Among these people, many had read books or were owners of small workshops. They either saw posters, met by chance, or heard introductions from others, in short, they came after watching You Xun's lectures and hoped to enroll their children in school.

  Chen Ke privately referred to these people as "troublemakers". However, this group of people was still very important to Chen Ke, and due to the lack of social connections, he absolutely could not afford to offend their parents. Until Qi Hui Sheng excitedly informed Chen Ke that an old man named Ma Xiangbo wanted to meet him. Chen Ke thought to himself, what kind of face would it take for Qi Hui Sheng to personally come and inform him?

  "The literary youth, must go!" Qi Hui was so excited that he became a bit discomposed.

  "What's going on?" Chen Ke was very puzzled.

  After Qihui Shen's introduction, Chen Ke was stunned at that time. Mr. Ma Xiangbo turned out to be the founder of Fudan University.

  Chen Ke had never studied the history of Chinese schools, so he didn't know. Ma Xiangbo founded Aurora University. In the spring of 1895, the Jesuits wanted to turn Aurora into a church school and used the excuse that Ma Xiangbo was "ill" to appoint French priest Perrin as the principal, changing the school's direction and establishing new rules. The students were outraged, removed the school sign, and all quit school. When Ma Xiangbo saw the list of signatures from the quitting students, he was moved to tears and decided to stand on the side of the students. With the support of famous figures such as Zhang Jian, Yan Fu, and Yuan Huiyao, he established Fudan Public School (now Fudan University) in Jiangwan and officially opened it on Mid-Autumn Festival (September 13, 1905). Ma Xiangbo served as principal and French professor, hiring Li Denghui (not the one from Taiwan) as dean of studies. In 1898, when Aurora University, which had been taken over by the Jesuits, planned to move to Lujiawan, Ma Xiangbo still prioritized education and donated 40,000 silver dollars and eight plots of land in the public concession and French concession (worth over 100,000 yuan at the time) to purchase 100 mu of land on Rue de Luxembourg (now Chongqing South Road) to build new school buildings (later Shanghai Second Medical University, which merged with Shanghai Jiao Tong University on July 18, 2005).

  Ma Xiangbo founded the Aurora College for Women in 1902, which was renamed Shanghai Ximing Middle School in 1952.

  Fudan University, Chen Ke didn't know, but when Qi Hui-shen mentioned Fudan Public School, even if Chen Ke was stupid, he wouldn't have failed to associate it with Fudan University. It turned out that the big lecture Chen Ke organized this time had already become a well-known event in Shanghai. The appearance of Mr. You Xin, a female student, was also a major highlight. As a result, even Mr. Ma Xiangbo was shocked. He listened to students telling him about the course and looked at several free copies of Huangpu Review, and he was very satisfied with this popular science lecture series. Among the dropouts from Fudan University, some had attended lectures by Huangpu Academic Society, and through student feedback, Mr. Ma heard that the host of this big lecture was an overseas student who had never been heard of before. There were also rumors about You Xin. This old man became interested, and he simply asked someone to find Qi Hui-shen, a local, and then invited Chen Ke to meet him.

  This venerable old gentleman spoke, and Chen Ke naturally couldn't not go. From the old gentleman's tone, apart from Chen Ke, he also hoped to meet the recently very popular You Yunshi. Chen Ke hastily asked Qi Hui to inform You Yun, and besides that, Chen Ke immediately dispatched He Zuodao to write a letter. He Zuodao was quite skilled at writing with both steel pen and brush. The letter respectfully requested an audience with Mr. Ma. Then he sent He Zuodao to personally take the letter and request an audience with Mr. Ma.

  Chen Ke then organized Yu Yun's lecture notes, thought for a moment, and took out part of his own lecture manuscript. This was the lecture manuscript of "Tianyan Lun" that Chen Ke was about to give. In fact, this was no longer just Tianyan Lun, Chen Ke also wrote related content including the solar system, earth situation, natural ecology, etc. Originally, this was something for all party members to study, and Chen Ke strove to make knowledge more abundant.

  Soon after Zhihui returned to the workshop with Youhuan, He Zuodao came back. What he brought back was a letter written by Mr. Ma Xiangbo himself. Chen Ke's letter was very polite, saying that whenever Mr. Ma felt convenient, he would go to visit Youhuan and other friends together.

  Mr. Ma's reply was also polite, saying that he had also heard about Chen Ke's class schedule, which was full during the day, so they agreed to meet tonight. Chen Ke made some simple arrangements and then took a shower with his toiletries. After changing into new clothes, Chen Ke appeared in front of everyone smelling fresh.

  "Sissy!" Yu Yun gave a definitive phrase.

  Four people set off in a row.

  The streetscape of Shanghai in 1905 was quite bleak, and Chen Ke couldn't bear to look at it no matter what. With so many recent events, Chen Ke looked at the various people around him and suddenly had an idea. "I've got it," he thought, "After I establish the Huangpu Book Society, I'll conduct a few social surveys."

  Qī Huìshēn and Chén Kè were squeezed inside a yellow cab. "Social survey? What are they investigating?"

  "Since we want to gather revolutionary comrades, if they don't understand the social situation, what revolution are they going to make? Therefore, it is necessary to conduct social investigations. Through investigation and analysis of the dynamics of society, let the comrades who participate in the social investigation reach the conclusion that revolution is necessary."

  "What's to be investigated? Look at all these people in Shanghai, where did they come from? Why can't the countryside sustain them anymore? The purpose of my investigation is to examine the disintegration of traditional small-scale agricultural economy under the impact of industrial systems."

  "Disintegration of small-scale agriculture?" Zhi Hui Shen had heard Chen Ke mention the term "small-scale agriculture" before and roughly understood it, "How does small-scale agriculture disintegrate?"

  "To put it simply, because rich people, for example your father, bought up large tracts of land. Hehe, the small-scale farming economy collapsed."

  Qī thought deeply for a moment, "So what you're saying is that the industrial system rapidly created a large number of rich people like my father, right?"

  "You see the harm. Now, it is either the foreign industrial system that thoroughly destroys China's small-scale agricultural economy or China's own industrial system that destroys the small-scale agricultural economy. Either way, the small-scale agricultural economy is doomed to bankruptcy."

  "After all, it must be the people's revolution." Qi Hui nodded deeply in agreement. If this were before, Qi Hui would have been excited to see the essence of society. But now, he no longer had any emotional fluctuations. Chen Ke had already lifted the veil that had initially blinded Qi Hui's eyes, and he could now search for clues and paths on his own. "I will arrange this matter."

  The two places were not far apart, and the four of them hadn't finished discussing the detailed arrangements when they arrived. Standing in front of Mr. Ma's residence, they tidied up their clothes. You Ou lifted her sleeve to take a sniff, glaring at Chen Ke. Without saying a word, Chen Ke pulled out a small bottle of perfume from his pocket and sprayed it on You Ou twice. Although she didn't particularly like the scent, girls always smelled better when fragrant. She snatched the perfume from Chen Ke's hand and stuffed it into her own pocket. Everyone knew that Chen Ke had many good things, and whenever possible, they would all try to sneak away with one or two small items. Seeing how clever You Ou was, Qi Hui stomped her foot and pounded her chest in regret for being too slow.

  They checked each other's attire one last time, and You Ou suddenly asked, "Wen Qing, how many watches do you have?" Because of the lecture, Chen Ke had lent his watch to You Ou. This time out, Chen Ke simply wore another one.

  "We'll talk about this later." Chen Ke didn't want to get entangled any further. If they continued to tangle, they might even have their watches stolen.

  Mr. Ma Xiangbo was slender and handsome, with a spirited appearance. He had a mustache that was common among scholars of the Republic of China era, which had almost turned pure white in color. After exchanging a few simple pleasantries, Mr. Ma directly got to the point: Fudan Public School was about to start classes soon, and he hoped Chen Ke could give a lecture at the school before classes began. The content would be the same as the large-scale lecture course that Chen Ke had organized this time.

  Chen Ke hastily handed over the two drafts. Mr. Ma was not very interested in the chemistry part, and he casually browsed through it before putting it down. However, on the cover of the second draft, in He Zudao's elegant handwriting, were five big characters: "A Grand Exposition of Evolution".

  The disastrous defeat of the Sino-Japanese War pushed the Chinese nation to the brink of disaster once again. At this time, the famous scholar Yan Fu translated Thomas Huxley's "Evolution and Ethics" into Chinese, which was published in December 1897 in Tianjin's "Guo Wen Huibian". The book caused a huge social response that Yan Fu had not anticipated, and Kang Youwei, the leader of the Reform Party, praised Yan Fu after reading the translation, saying "I have never seen such a person" and calling him "the first Chinese scholar to translate 'Evolution and Ethics'". From then on, "Evolution and Ethics" became a famous book that was unanimously recommended by scholars at the time.

  Ma Xiangbo and Yan Fu had a very good relationship. The establishment of Fudan Public School received great support from Yan Fu. He knew that the author of "Tianyan Lun" claimed to be "Darwin's Bulldog", and Darwin's famous work was "On Evolution". Seeing this name, Mr. Ma immediately became interested. Turning to the first page, it wasn't Yan Fu's famous sentence "Survival of the fittest, survival of the adaptable." but rather Xunzi's words, "The movements of Heaven have their regularity, and do not take sides with either Yao or Jie. From Heaven comes the praise, who can control Heaven's decree and use it?"

  Yan Fu's Tianyan Lun is written in classical Chinese, while Chen Ke's Evolution Theory Lecture Notes are in vernacular Chinese. The lecture notes are divided into seven chapters: the first chapter is on the universe and the solar system; the second chapter is on oceans; from the third to the seventh chapter, it covers Asia, Europe, Africa, America, and Australia, describing the characteristics of various living organisms and their evolutionary processes in these regions, as well as their interactions and development. Yan Fu's Tianyan Lun can be considered a political book, while Chen Ke's work is an educational science book.

  Chen Ke had read "Tianyan Lun" and also read "Evolution Theory". Although Tianyan Lun was so popular, Chen Ke did not want to talk about Tianyan Lun. His lecture this time was originally a party course lecture to encourage progressive youth, so the content of Tianyan Lun seemed empty and tasteless to Chen Ke. The real highlight was Chen Ke's third part of the course, named "The Inheritance of Chinese Culture and the Rise of Materialism". However, the manuscript was not yet completed, and Chen Ke did not dare to bring it out for criticism.

  He flipped through a few pages and saw that "The Origin of Species" was a science textbook, so Mr. Ma put it down.

  Yu Yun's course only had one day left, so Mr. Ma suggested that the course start the day after tomorrow. Chen Ke immediately agreed and asked Mr. Ma to lend him the auditorium temporarily. Chen Ke originally planned to hold the course in Zhou Yuanxiao's workshop, but could he move it to Fudan Public School instead? Chen Ke said that if they borrowed a place from Fudan Public School, he would pay a special venue usage fee. Chen Ke's lecture was an open class and did not charge any fees. Mr. Ma naturally would not accept the money. After settling the matter, Chen Ke and his companions stood up to bid farewell.

  When going, they rushed for time and took a rickshaw. Coming back, of course, didn't need to be so luxurious, everyone simply walked.

  "Man, you really know how to take advantage of a situation." Zhi Hui said with a deep laugh.

  "A gentleman can be deceived with a simple method." Chen Ke also smiled, but his smile soon turned into a bitter one. "Unfortunately, time is limited, otherwise I would have liked to go to this school and become a professor or something."

  "Why is time so short?" Zhi Hui was deeply puzzled.

  Young students have ideals and passion, originally a good place to cultivate revolutionaries. However, Anhui has had many popular uprisings in the past two years, if they lingered in Shanghai for a year or two, this opportunity would be missed." After finishing speaking, Chen Ketan changed his tone.

  Qī Huì Shēn didn't have any connection, Chén Kè had discussed with him some detailed situations about going to ānhuī. He also listed several necessary conditions, but now none of these conditions are met, so Chén Kè must put all his effort into preparing for this work. Qī Huì Shēn has already made up his mind to follow Chén Kè to ānhuī, and naturally he cannot volunteer to take charge of the student propaganda work at Fudan University.

  Back at the workshop, those classes had long been dismissed. However, in the courtyard, Hua Xiongmao was sitting and chatting with two people. Seeing Chen Ke return, Hua Xiongmao introduced: "Wen Qing, someone has come for the poster we put up, it's these two gentlemen."

  The two men listened to Hua Xiongmao's words and quickly got up. The one on the left was over 40 years old, and at a glance, he looked like a poor scholar, with an air of pretentiousness in his demeanor. The one on the right was around 20 years old, wearing a deep blue long gown made of fabric that seemed familiar to Chen Ke, as if it were the same fabric he had dyed himself. Hua Xiongmao noticed Chen Ke's gaze and winked at him. Chen Ke was certain that Hua Xiongmao had taken notice.

  Chen Ke asked the two to sit down, and the man in his 40s began to boast that he had read all 24 histories and could definitely be of great help. Just as he was boasting, Chen Tianhua also came over and sat down beside them to listen. Chen Ke casually asked, "Mr., during the Han Wu Emperor's reign, which cases did Zhang Tingyu and Zhang Shizhong preside over?"

  Zhang Shi was not a figure of the Han Wu Emperor period. Chen Tianhua heard this and knew that Chen Ke had ulterior motives, almost laughing out loud. The poor scholar obviously couldn't answer. He hummed and hawed, wanting to say something but didn't dare, his face turning red from holding it in. Still, he couldn't get the words out. Chen Ke very politely sent him away.

  As soon as he came back, before Chen Ke could speak, the young man said calmly: "I think what's written on the poster is to find the corresponding content in the book?"

  "That's right."

  "Someone told me where to find it, right?"

  "That's right."

  "Sir, don't try to test me anymore. I haven't even read all 24 histories, let me just do things as they are written on the poster, that's what I can do. If you ask me questions, I won't be able to answer any of them."

  Chen Ke and Hua Xiongmao both lit up, Chen Ke asked: "Then what have you read?"

  "Records of the Grand Historian."

  "Can you answer that question just now?"

  "Is one startling the horse and the other stealing the jade ring?"

  "Then where did I go wrong just now?"

  "It should be Emperor Wen of Han, not Emperor Wu of Han."

  Chen Ke and Chen Tianhua both smiled. Chen Ke then asked: "Can we start work today?"

  "It says on the poster that accommodation and meals are provided here?"

  "Right."

  "May I eat first?"

  Hua Xiongmao couldn't help it anymore and burst out laughing after hearing this.

  "May I ask your surname?"

  "My surname is Xie and my name is Mingxuan."

  "Your age."

  “24。”

  "What merits and achievements?"

  "Scholar."

  "Then let's have dinner."

  Even if it's just one more person, as long as they're useful, the overall efficiency will increase dramatically. Not to mention Xie Mingxuan's historical knowledge, but just his ability to communicate with people makes everyone like him a lot. The communication between both sides is unimpeded, and whether things get done quickly or slowly really isn't a problem. With Xie Mingxuan's help, Chen Tianhua was freed up for a small amount of time. The writing speed of the manuscript increased by a lot.

  This "Inheritance of Chinese Culture and the Rise of Materialism" is Chen Ke's materialistic view of history. Chairman Mao once said, "No investigation, no right to speak." Marx knew almost nothing about China, so his writings on China are somewhat absurd and laughable. The European process of slavery, feudalism, and capitalism does not fit China. In the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, slavery still existed on a large scale, and the feudal system with its divisional mode was also the main structure of the political situation. Since 221 BC, when Qin Shi Huang unified the six states, "establishing counties and abolishing divisions," the era of centralized power began. The feudal system occasionally appeared in history but was no longer the mainstream of China's political system.

  If we consider this change in political system as a demarcation line, China walked out of feudalism more than 2,000 years ago.

  By the year 605, when the Sui dynasty's Daxing first year began to implement the imperial examination system, the existence of hereditary aristocratic groups was constantly weakened. The first truly civilian-born head of state in Europe might have been the little Hitler who came to power in 1933. In Europe, a commoner thinking about becoming a prime minister can go back to sleep. But in China, this is not an illusion. The imperial examination system, no matter how unfair it was, was already the fairest among all the unfairness as a public unified examination. The imperial examination system defended the bottom line of fairness.

  The Song and Ming dynasties both had vibrant capitalist systems, the only difference with Europe being that the bourgeoisie did not take power to form a government. Moreover, Europe's capitalist system gained an advantage only after combining with the Industrial Revolution.

  So, Chen Ke thinks that Marx's comments on China are unrealistic. And those people in the country at that time blindly followed suit, mechanically copying. Chen Ke considered himself a communist believer, so he took the attitude of historical materialism and thought that these people all had historical limitations, and were playing out of tune.

  If having an emperor is considered a feudal system, then among the many countries in Europe, there are not a few that have kings. Even after experiencing two world wars, only three crowns fell in Europe: Russia, Austria, and Germany. Chen Ke has never understood one thing - a country that still has a king, where the reproductive system of a royal family is more noble than people's votes, actually dares to call itself a democratic country with a straight face. What kind of joke is this?

  "The Inheritance of Chinese Culture and the Rise of Materialism", this book, which is a summary of Chen Ke's materialistic view of history learned from different periods, still needs to be combined with Chinese history. Chen Ke is also a lover of Chinese culture, from the age of three, he studied Tang poetry, Song lyrics, Analects and "Idiomatic Stories". Before becoming familiar with modern Chinese, he was first familiar with classical Chinese. Before learning to use "yú bù kě jí" to criticize others, Chen Ke already knew how Confucius used this word to praise that smooth politician.

  In addition to the numerous debates on the internet and the many relevant articles he had read, Chen Ke was very optimistic about the prospects of this "masterpiece". This wasn't the 21st century, it was 1905, China was in a cultural desert, once this book came out, Chen Ke was extremely confident in its influence.

  You Yu didn't care much about Chen Ke's work, as her attention had been occupied by the public lecture for days. Facing hundreds of people to teach was a great challenge and stimulation. You Yu never knew that having a high perspective would make such a difference. It is physiologically impossible for one person to notice hundreds of people at the same time, which You Yu had heard from Chen Ke and also believed. However, when standing on the podium, she felt like she could see the reactions of hundreds of people clearly, especially the changes in their emotions, which varied with the content of her lecture.

  When Yu Yun spoke about knowledge that everyone didn't understand, some people paid more attention, others became confused, and some simply gave up. But when the experiment began, everyone's attention was drawn over, whether they understood or not. These days of lectures made Yu Yun feel a sense of being able to control others. This gave her an immense satisfaction.

  And the newspaper had already published news about You Yun. You Yun didn't dare let others see it, she secretly brought the newspaper back home and locked herself in her room to read it. Every word written about her made You Yun so excited. The praising articles made You Yun smile from ear to ear, while the critical ones made her turn up her nose at them. Then, suppressing the urge to write a letter to that newspaper, she put the critical article in a corner of her study room.

  This was the last day of class, and You Yun tidied up her clothes, spotless. She lightly applied some makeup and then took out the perfume she had secretly obtained from Chen Ke and sprayed it on herself. Miss You Yun went to class feeling refreshed. As soon as she walked out of her own room, she ran into her second brother, and the two hadn't spoken in days. Today was no exception, and they both looked away, each going their separate ways. In the main hall, however, she saw her mother sitting there. You Yun hurried over to greet her. "Mother, good morning."

  "Are you going out?" Her mother asked somewhat helplessly. She had several newspapers by her side, browsing through them clearly, among which two were actually the "Huangpu Review".

  "Yes. Is there anything else mother wants to instruct?"

  "When was your school built?"

  "This will be ready by early next year."

  "Ah..." Yu Feng's mother sighed, "Two days ago, your father had a friend who said that there was a girls' school in Shanghai recruiting teachers with a decent salary. I heard you're quite famous, they want to ask if you'd like to go."

  "Mom, our school is under construction and there are a lot of things going on, I'm definitely not going."

  "The principal of that girls' school has a son. I heard from them that this child will inherit the school, but he can't manage it himself. They actually want to see if your father is willing to form an alliance through marriage; if you do get married, they'll let you take over managing the school."

  You Yu heard this and felt a headache coming on. "The lecture time is almost here. Let's talk about this later when I get back."

  Her mother looked at her and was about to scold her, but helplessly waved her hand, "Your father attended a few years of foreign school, talking about new ideas. This has really spoiled you. Go ahead, go ahead. You're already 23 years old, I really can't control you anymore."

  This is the seventh day of class, and also the last day. There are many people below. The difference from previous days is that the front row people all arrived early to stand in position, and not a few people brought their own stools. After Yu Yun entered the stage, everyone's line of sight converged on Yu Yun. This intense gaze bombing could no longer make Yu Yun flinch. She began to lecture calmly. Halfway through, the edge of the crowd suddenly started **, where people began to move to other places, like a startled fish school. Then shouts and curses began to ring out.

  There were many people listening to the class, and as soon as they squeezed in, the order was chaotic. The tourists stood high and looked very clearly. Not only did someone squeeze inside, but there were also people squeezing outside, trying to see what was going on. Then this reverse flow of people let out a cry of surprise after seeing the center of the commotion.

  The people in the center of the commotion were not tall, and You Yu could only see the women's hair. The hair was messy and dirty. Moreover, the center of the commotion was moving towards her. After a moment, You Yu finally saw the faces of those women. What they looked like, You Yu didn't care, she only saw the abscesses on their faces. Several women infected with venereal disease were walking quickly towards You Yu. No, it should be said that they were running over.

  "Miss You Yu! Help!" The woman who was at the front suddenly let out a shrill cry.

  "Miss You Yu, save us!" The other women cried out in unison.

  By naming names, it's clear what these women are after. Qi Hui-shen and He Zu-dao were also present, but the foreign devils who had been invited to keep order had already had their contracts terminated. The new arrivals were the men brought by Wu Xing-chen, but even they felt intimidated by the sight of the women's faces covered in pus. As revolutionary comrades, Qi Hui-shen and He Zu-dao were worried about Yu Yun, so each of them grabbed one of the women's arms and shouted: "Don't go any further!"

  They were suddenly grabbed by two women, who held them in a tight embrace. "Sir! Save us!" they exclaimed, before burying their faces, covered in pus-filled sores, into the chests of the two men. Although neither of the men had ever been to a brothel, Qi Hui Shen had handed out flyers on the streets, and the women's practiced movements seemed familiar to him, reminiscent of those used by courtesans.

  Zi Hui deep and He Zuodao tried to stop people but ended up being surrounded instead. The two Shandong men who came to help occupy the scene were definitely skilled in martial arts. However, they had no experience in publicly beating women, and the large abscesses on the prostitutes really scared them off. Moreover, the lead woman rolled up her sleeves, revealing the large abscesses on her arms. The Shandong heroes couldn't think of where to grab without touching the abscesses. In this brief moment of hesitation, the women had already broken through the last line of defense.

  You Yun was also frightened and couldn't move, after the three women got on the stage, two of them hugged You Yun's legs from left to right, and the leader grabbed You Yun's arm.

  "Miss You! Help!"

  You Xuan only felt dizzy and disoriented, but amidst the daze, she heard a woman shout: "Miss You, who in Shanghai doesn't know that you've created a cure for venereal disease? But you can't be rich and heartless!" This woman was probably also a singer, her voice was extremely pleasant to listen to. Her enunciation was clear and distinct. The audience below saw this commotion, heard that You Xuan had created a cure for venereal disease, and heard the phrase "rich and heartless". Instantly, they became interested. Although they didn't dare get too close, not one person wanted to leave. Everyone stared intently at the stage, as if the lecture podium had transformed into an opera stage.