Chapter 31

  September 1, 1905. Mr. Ma Xiangbo woke up from his sickbed in the afternoon. The mansion was quiet except for occasional sounds coming from the central hall. Mr. Ma had been suffering from a cold for several days and felt much better after taking a nap at noon.

  A middle-aged man with a handsome face, thick eyebrows and big eyes, high nose bridge, wearing a pair of round glasses, lips slightly pursed, giving off an air of determination. His back was straight as a pen, although he wore a long gown and a horseback cape, his waist was straight, walking with a vigorous stride, looking like a military man.

  "Mr. Ma, you're awake," the man asked anxiously. Mr. Ma was still on his sickbed, and the man deliberately lowered his voice, but he had a full breath, and his thick, hoarse voice was even more penetrating. As he spoke, he helped Mr. Ma lean against the pillow.

  Mr. Ma Xiangbo took a look at the man holding a thread-bound handwritten copy in his hand and asked, "How many chapters of the book have you seen?"

  "Is it for this book that Mr. Xiangbo has called me here?" asked the middle-aged man.

  "Amazing, amazing!" said Mr. Ma Xiangbo, "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I absolutely wouldn't believe that this book was written by a young man in his twenties."

  The middle-aged man nodded and said, "Mr. Xiang Bo, I'll pour you a cup of tea." After finishing speaking, he put the book on the pillow and got up to pour the tea himself.

  On the cover is a line of beautiful regular script: "The Inheritance of Chinese Culture and the Rise of Materialism" Volume I.

  "You wrote 'Tianyan Lun' a few years ago, and everyone praised it. I, this old fellow, also felt enlightened by it. Once this book is completed, its impact will surely surpass yours." Mr. Ma said with a calm tone.

  The man who brought the tea was none other than Yan Fu, a renowned figure, and he had a very close relationship with Ma Xiangbo. When Ma Xiangbo founded Fudan Public School, Yan Fu gave his full support. At present, Yan Fu is serving as the principal of Wanjing Middle School in Anhui Province. Originally, Ma Xiangbo had already promised Yan Fu that next year, 1906, Yan Fu would take over as the principal of Fudan Public School. However, a few days ago, he suddenly received a letter from Ma Xiangbo asking him to come to Shanghai immediately, saying that he had obtained a precious treasure. Seeing the firm tone in the letter urging him to set off, Yan Fu rushed here without stopping his horse.

  It wasn't until he arrived at Mr. Ma's home that he learned that, apart from being busy with the start of school, Mr. Ma had been reading through the night for several days and had contracted a cold, falling ill. Despite this, Mr. Ma specifically instructed his family members that if he couldn't receive Yan Fu himself, they should let Yan Fu go first. After conveying Mr. Ma's message, his family member handed over a copy of the manuscript to Yan Fu with a resentful expression.

  Mr. Ma is a Ph.D., well-versed in both Chinese and Western learning, with extensive knowledge. What book can make him recommend it so highly? Yan Fu liked the title of the book at first glance. As a domestic recognized master of Western studies, Yan Fu was praised by Kang Youwei as "I have never seen such a person!" However, like other famous scholars of his time, Yan Fu's purpose in mastering Western learning was to revive China and Chinese culture. The words "Chinese Cultural Heritage" in the title were very appealing to him. But Yan Fu himself was also well-versed in national studies and felt that the author was somewhat arrogant.

  The first chapter of the book, however, is not about national studies, but rather "The Material Unity of the World", a debate between materialism and idealism. Although this person wrote in vernacular Chinese, it can be seen that they have some foundation in classical learning. Yan Fu's "Tianyan Lun" used classical Chinese, with many terms that Yan Fu struggled to translate, which eventually led to the proposal of the "faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance" translation standard. This person used vernacular Chinese, but was able to explain things clearly and systematically, making it possible for even those who had not read much to understand. As for this approach, Yan Fu felt that it was not suitable, yet also thought it was quite good.

  The author openly declares the materialistic stance of this book in the text. Yan Fu himself had some naive materialistic concepts, but when he saw "the world exists independently without relying on human subjective consciousness, however, without human subjective consciousness, the world would not be perceived", he couldn't help but secretly praise it.

  Soon, Yan Fu saw the two unfamiliar terms "productive forces" and "production relations". The author explained that material production is the decisive force in the development of human society. He further proposed the concept of "labor creating man himself". Then, the article extensively cited Chinese literature, proposing that the ancient kings "You Chao Shi", "Sui Ren Shi", and "Shen Nong Shi" were all outstanding talents who made great contributions to productive forces, and thus became the rulers of the world.

  Yan Fu had never looked at the world from such an angle, and when he first came into contact with it, he felt very uncomfortable. But after careful consideration, he found that this theory could be self-consistent, and it was difficult to raise objections. Although everyone's mouth did not like to talk about profit, but no one opposed "the world is bustling for profit, the world is scrambling for profit." This book actually talked about profit so bluntly, making Yan Fu very uncomfortable. However, the writing style of this book was not at all vulgar, and it felt uncomfortable no matter how he read it.

  This book's language is vernacular, but its reasoning is quite profound. The more you read on, the less understandable it becomes. After re-reading it once again, however, I suddenly felt enlightened. Yan Fu was not a person who just mechanically reads books; he would put down the book, close his eyes and think quietly for a moment before understanding the underlying principles. This book's reasoning is layered and nested; if you don't follow the ideas presented earlier, you won't be able to understand what comes later. This is completely different from China's traditional "few words, great meaning" approach, but rather follows the European philosophical model. Yan Fu not only wrote "Tianyan Lun", but also read many European philosophical works.

  The author must be well-versed in Western learning, and his attainments in Chinese studies will not be low either. Yan Fu was filled with great curiosity, wondering who wrote this article. Just as he was thinking about it, Mr. Ma Xiangbo woke up, and Yan Fu hurriedly went in to greet him.

  After serving Mr. Ma a cup of tea, Yan Fu asked, "This author is only in his twenties."

  "Twenty-five years old."

  "It's actually at this age. I read the first article and just feel that this person is quite overbearing in his views. It seems like he has a family motto that explains all the reasons in the world, with all his sharp edges exposed."

  "It's not just like it, but actually is."

  Upon hearing this, Yan Fu was taken aback and said: "Is this person a madman?" But in an instant he recalled Mr. Ma's high praise for the book just now.

  "If I were a madman, I wouldn't have to specially invite several people over. This person's words are reasonable and well-founded, I've carefully read through tens of millions of characters, yet can't find any flaws."

  "Tens of thousands of words?" Yan Fu was really surprised.

  Mr. Ma pointed to the bookshelf in the room, where a thick stack of books was placed, with over a dozen volumes. The binding and printing were identical to those that Yan Fu had seen before. Mr. Ma's scholarship was extremely clear, if he said that after careful examination he couldn't find any flaws, then it was certain that there were none. A young man in his twenties who could write several thousand words of discursive text, with a logical structure that was coherent and flawless from start to finish, was already a rare talent. Tens of thousands of words of logic without any disorder... Could China really have produced such a genius? Yan Fu immediately made up his mind to read the book carefully.

  "Who wrote this book?" Yan Fu felt very curious.

  His name is Chen Ke.

  "Chen Ke? The one from pharmaceuticals, and also made public the molecular formula?"

  "Does Ji Dao also know this news in Anhui?"

  Yan Fu indeed knew the news, while others were just joking about it. As an overseas student, Chen Ke actually developed a cure for syphilis. In the eyes of scholars, this was truly a shame to the literary world. However, Yan Fu came from the Southern Ocean Navy and studied at the British Royal Naval College, later becoming the principal of the Northern Ocean Navy Academy. Once sailors disembarked, they would inevitably visit brothels. It's not just one or two who contracted syphilis. If there had been a cure back then, it's possible that the combat effectiveness of the Northern Ocean Navy might have even improved somewhat. Due to professional reasons, Yan Fu was not at all opposed to Chen Ke developing this medicine. However, Chen Ke publicly disclosed the molecular formula, which obviously benefited foreigners, and Yan Fu was extremely dissatisfied with this.

  "Mr. Xiang Bo, since you have read this book, which category would you put it into?"

  "Not Confucian, nor Taoist, nor Buddhist, nor Legalist, nor a strategist. Yet all these schools of thought are present, and they all fall under the theoretical framework of his own doctrine."

  "Is it not Western learning?" Yan Fu listened with increasing astonishment.

  "If I had to say it, it's a bit like Catholicism. The meaning of this book is that what I say is the truth of the heavenly way. But this book is actually atheist. It really is... Ah."

  In response to Mr. Ma's words, Yan Fu thought for a moment before asking: "Mr. Ma has summoned me, what is the task?"

  "Firstly, Fudan Public School is about to start. You must come. Secondly, I want you to take a look at this book. This book will surely be widely circulated and the author's arguments are bound to be popular. Even if they are not heavenly principles, they are certainly not heretical or heterodox ideas. Young people who read it will surely follow in large numbers. Moreover, the author of the book is a naturally talented person, if you are willing, I would like to have him as your disciple. If no one teaches him, this person may bring chaos to the world."

  "How can it be like this?" Yan Fu's eyebrows were tightly furrowed.

  "This person is knowledgeable and doesn't speak carelessly, his gaze is sharp. In other articles in the appendix, he says that China's current difficulties lie in not having experienced a foreign industrial revolution. The purpose of this book is to point out the gap between Chinese culture and industrialization. As long as we can cross this chasm, our China will inevitably return to being a central nation. From his tone, it seems that he implicitly considers himself the orthodox representative of Chinese culture."

  This remark left Yan Fu speechless. Yan Fu stared at the book on Ma Xiangbo's pillow for a long time before asking, "Mr. Xiangbo, I've heard your words. I'd like to ask, how does this person's theory compare with that of Confucianism?"

  "If Han Fei had this book in his time, Confucianism would certainly not have been solely revered."

  Chen Ke was unaware that someone was "calculating" him. He faced a large group of young people who were far less knowledgeable than the two predecessors, and was lecturing on dialectical materialism. This lesson had been going on for several days, and was now discussing the part on "historical laws and social forms". After finishing the discussion on slavery and feudalism, the students below began to discuss in whispers.

  Chen Ke also felt tired, and announced a class break. He sat on the stool, picked up his tea cup and took a big gulp. After drinking, Chen Ke crudely wiped the water stain from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand and let out a comfortable sigh.

  Since reaching an agreement with Mr. Ma Xiangbo to use the Fudan Public School venue, Chen Ke has been using it every day without hesitation. Because of the disturbance caused by smashing the venue, Chen Ke also specially held a medical lecture. Anyway, Chen Ke is now the president of Shanghai Renxin Medical College. It's not very convincing that the medical college doesn't hold medical lectures.

  However, the timing of the class was not quite right, as Jiangnan had already entered the plum rain season. Chen Ke had to move the lecture to a classroom instead. At this time, Fudan Public School was about to start, and students from outside the city had already rushed to school. The students didn't have anything else to do, so when someone gave a lecture, everyone naturally came to listen. As a result, more and more people gathered, and by the time Chen Ke lectured on "The Inheritance of Chinese Culture and the Rise of Materialism", the number of listeners had increased from over 100 to over 400. The venue had to be moved to the largest auditorium in Fudan Public School.

  At this time, the dark clouds that were making autumn rain outside the auditorium were low and gloomy, although it was afternoon, it was as if night was about to fall. The rain fell heavily at times and lightly at others, but it didn't stop pouring down. More than 400 people, mostly students, couldn't go out freely in the rain, and the auditorium was still crowded with people. Since Chen Ke had announced the end of class, the students began to relax, and the vast majority of them were enthusiastically discussing the content of the lecture. The auditorium was truly filled with the sound of voices.

  No student asked Chen Ke questions, not because they didn't want to or had any dissatisfaction with him. It was because Chen Ke had set a rule. At the end of each class, he would specially leave time to answer his classmates' questions one by one. Chen Ke had to teach for almost six hours every day, and the time spent answering questions also exceeded an hour. Most importantly, it was about to be free question-and-answer time. The students saw that Chen Ke's throat had been a bit hoarse recently. They sympathized with him and tried not to disturb him during breaks.

  "Huangpu Academy is recruiting science teachers!" someone shouted loudly.

  "Huangpu Xueshe Industrial Faction is recruiting!" someone shouted loudly.

  "Huangpu Academy Constitutionalists are recruiting!" someone shouted.

  These people are all recent additions to the Huangpu student body, who have spontaneously formed small groups of educated youth. The factions among them are actually not as clear-cut as they seem. It's just that young people think it's fun and must raise a big flag. Young people who participate in multiple or even all so-called factions can be said to occupy the vast majority of "Huangpu Academy" members.

  You Yun has been coming to class every day. The hospital is now on the right track, and the demand for various medicines is increasing. However, You Yun makes excuses that one person cannot make medicine alone and must come to class. After Chen Ke returns, they will make medicine together. In fact, it's not just You Yun, except for Qi Hui Shen and Wu Xingchen, most of the comrades insist on coming to class every day with various reasons. The only one who didn't actively ask to attend classes is Xie Mingxian. Xie Mingxian's reason is simple: he came to work, not to attend classes. Attending classes without doing anything is a waste of money, and he feels embarrassed about it. However, Chen Ke specifically asks Xie Mingxian to come to class.

  It's really busy, but as long as he has time, he'll definitely come. What was unexpected for Chen Ke was Wu Xingchen. Originally, Chen Ke didn't expect Wu Xingchen to be really interested in these subjects, but it turned out that Wu Xingchen would also come whenever he had time. His 195cm tall figure sitting among the crowd is really eye-catching.

  The book has entered the printing stage. Qihui Sheng found a printing factory and ordered 5,000 sets at once. The book is divided into chapters, with each chapter being one volume. Twelve chapters plus an appendix make up a total of thirteen volumes. Qihui Sheng was very clever and had them start printing from the seventh volume, which arrived yesterday. Chen Ke was helpless against his comrades' boasting. Today, under the envious gaze of the students, each member of the People's Party received one book. Some students have already asked how to buy the book.

  Chen Ke never intended to make any money, but he told everyone a story. If you give away a horse for free, people won't cherish it. But if you sell it at a relatively low price, the buyer will treasure it. Money isn't the issue; this subtle psychological change is the problem. So Chen Ke set the book's price at 40% of its cost, and the thick volume was sold for only 150 wen. Young people who came to read books weren't poor; they could absolutely afford it. To put things into perspective, Lu Xun spent 500 yuan on a much thinner book called "On Evolution". Moreover, members of the Huangpu Academy told students how many copies were printed in total and suggested that they buy different volumes separately and exchange them with each other to save money.

  "It was great during our student days." You Yun sat down beside Chen Ke and sighed. You Yun had already walked out of her loss. After that incident, You Yun started teaching at Fudan Public School on the third day. Everyone respected this female teacher, so as the only woman in the auditorium, she got the first row middle seat. No one dared to take it from her. As a teacher, during breaks, she sat beside Chen Ke on the podium. Since that public class experience, You Yun wore a white lab coat whether teaching or attending classes. This unconventional style made students not dare to get close to her.

  "The school is also set up. What I really want to tell everyone has also started. Hehe! I'm very happy." Chen Ke smiled and said.

  "Wen Qing, honestly, if you had lectured me on these principles the moment we met, I would have thought you were a complete scammer." You Xun suddenly felt this way. After comfortably expressing himself, he used the book in his right hand to tap his left hand. "But now, I think Wen Qing's words are truly wise and insightful."

  "Revolution is not that easy." Chen Ke replied.

  You Yu raised his left hand, and all the students who saw this action focused their eyes on the watch on You Yu's wrist. "It's time for class," he said, intentionally delaying for a moment before withdrawing his hand. Under the admiring gaze of the students, You Yu jumped down from the podium and sat back in his seat.

  This was a signal, and the students began to return to their seats. Amidst the rumbling noise, order began to be restored in the auditorium. Many slips of paper started circulating and piled up on Chen Ke's desk. After flipping through them for a while, Chen Ke suddenly laughed: "Today, everyone's questions are very focused. Some asked about the changes in Europe's social system, and many students asked about European history. I remembered that I wrote an article in the appendix, with a rather crude title." Having said that, Chen Ke stood up, and under the light of the gas lamp, he quickly wrote several words on the blackboard.

  The students followed one word at a time, reciting "A History of Europe in the Middle Ages pulled out by nonsense". As soon as they finished reading this sentence, there was a burst of laughter.

  Chen Ke smiled and turned around, "Europe didn't get its history straight until the end of the 18th century. What I mean by 'straight' is compared to China's history. China's history is divided into orthodox history and unofficial history. Why are they called that? I'm sure some of you know. Please stand up boldly and answer!"

  The students looked at each other in dismay, when a man stood up and said loudly: "Orthodox history is the history recorded by official historians. Unofficial history is the record of events kept by scholars." Chen Ke recognized this person, his name was Cui Guoxian, the initiator of the Industrial Faction of Huangpu Book Society.

  Chen Ke nodded and motioned for Cui Guoxin to sit down. "Honestly, although I've also read some history books, my understanding of the difference between official histories and unofficial histories is the same as what this classmate said. I'm not a professional historian, nor have I asked anyone else about this question before. I think this answer deserves 90 points, it's just barely passing."

  The classmates burst into laughter again. Chen Ke would never pretend to know what he didn't know. His level of national studies was absolutely incomparable to that of the great masters of this era. In order to promote his own ideas, Chen Ke had to emphasize his strengths and avoid his weaknesses.

  "This foreign book, considered to be one of the earliest historical books, is called 'Homer's Epic'. This book has a history of 2500 years. It writes about the things of the Greeks who were known as the origin of European history 3000 years ago. In the eyes of Europeans, it is a historical book. If we put this book in China, which book can be mentioned in the same breath?" Chen Ke sold a pass?

  The students looked at Chen Ke with their eyes scanning back and forth, but did not reveal the answer.

  "'The Records of the Grand Historian'?" someone shouted. Chen Ke shook his head.

  "What about 'The Strategies of the Warring States'?" someone else shouted. Chen Ke still shook his head.

  The students shouted out several names, and finally even "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" was called out.

  Chen Ke shook his head again, and no one dared to make a sound anymore. Everyone was waiting for Chen Ke's explosive speech.

  "This book is considered by Europeans to be equivalent to a historical book, 'The Epic of Homer', which is equivalent to China's 'Shan Hai Jing'." Chen Ke said word for word.

  The students were stunned for a moment, and then burst into a long laughter.

  According to that famous "slap in the face" article online, Chen Ke retold the history of Europe. This wasn't Chen Ke intentionally belittling Europe, but rather, as Chinese youth increasingly feel the backwardness of Chinese culture today, Chen Ke had to point out where the real gap between China and Europe lies. He had to establish confidence among the Chinese people. After introducing the pitiful history of Europe, Chen Ke said in a very calm tone: "Classmates, China itself is civilization. China itself is culture. Some of you believe in gods, some don't, but everyone believes in their ancestors, right? Today's Chinese people must have their own ancestors. The stories of our ancestors are in those history books. The greatness of our ancestors is also in those history books. Now that China has fallen behind and been beaten, this is something for our generation to take care of, to save China and restore the glory of the Chinese nation. But this doesn't mean our ancestors were more backward than those Europeans."

  As he spoke, Chen Ke glanced around the audience and suddenly discovered that an unfamiliar middle-aged man had appeared at the door. Although it was far away and the sky was dark, the man's back was against the light, making his face unclear. However, just standing there, the middle-aged man's demeanor and temperament were different from others. After a slight pause, Chen Ke continued to speak without paying attention to the man.

  "Our current decline cannot erase the glory of our ancestors. We have fallen behind, and all we can say is that our generation is inferior. But it's not that our ancestors were inferior. Now, many people are criticizing Chinese culture for being backward, and they would rather change into a foreign species to feel noble. I only have one evaluation for such people, borrowing Zhang Fei's words from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms: 'Three-surnamed family slave', I spit on them!

  I wrote this book "The Inheritance of Chinese Culture and the Rise of Materialism" to point out where the gap between us and Europe lies. To tell everyone what the world is really like. How can we catch up with Europe? How can we surpass Europe?! Fellow students, you are all in your prime years, also a great time for reading. I only have one sentence to give to everyone."

  Here is the translation:

  "Having said that, Chen Ke turned around and wrote a line of big characters on the blackboard, then turned back and loudly declared: 'Study for the rise of China'."

  After a moment, the students began to applaud, everyone stood up, clapping and cheering. The whole auditorium was filled with thunderous applause.

  Looking at the students' enthusiastic faces, their cheeks flushed with excitement, and some even had tears in their eyes. Chen Ke couldn't hold back his emotions, and almost hoarse from shouting again: "Study for the rise of China."

  The rain outside is getting heavier and heavier.

  Article 31