Chapter 64 Translation

  Translation

  Yao Feng and the Li brothers arrived at the Ding family home by carriage, then quietly accompanied the three members of the Li family in the guest hall, listening to them chat with the five sons of the Ding family. Yao Feng remembered that Ding Baozhen had five sons and five daughters, but now there were only five sons present, not a single daughter appeared.

  Although Ding Baozhen knew that Li Jingyu was a woman, it would not be proper to have his daughter accompany him in front of so many people and reveal Li's identity.

  Yao Fan knew that his status was just a merchant, even if he came from overseas, it didn't count as a big shot. So he basically didn't make any statements, just echoed the crowd, increasing their favorability towards him, occasionally responding to people's requests, boasting about his overseas experiences.

  When the banquet began, everyone sat down around the table, and Ding Baozhen came out to join in. At this time, more and more dishes were brought up, and amidst the clinking of cups and chopsticks, Yao Fang frequently toasted, his purpose tonight being to improve relations with the Ding family.

  "Try some of this, Yao Weng. Although this vegetable tofu is plain and simple, it's one of the greatest flavors in the world." Ding Baozhen said to Yao Weng, pointing at a plate of vegetable tofu.

  Yao Fan quickly picked up a pair of chopsticks.

  "In the past, when I was in my hometown of Guizhou, our family had thirty or forty people, and we spent no more than four hundred taels of silver per year. Although not everyone wore silk or satin, each person had two sets of cotton clothes to change into. Although not everyone ate meat, every day we had two or three catties of meat at home. Life is about being content and happy." Ding Baozhen said calmly.

  "What the adults said is true. Nowadays, some officials casually throw away thousands of dollars, which is indeed a waste and a sin." Yao Feng smiled and flattered him.

  Ding Baozhen cast him a slanting glance: "You business people mostly only know how to make money, but not how to do good and accumulate virtue. You wouldn't bat an eyelid spending thousands of taels on buying a concubine, but if someone asked you to donate one or two silver coins to help the common people, you'd immediately become sleepless and lose your appetite."

  Ding Ti heard this and hastily mediated: "Father, what are you talking about? Yao is a guest you hold in high esteem, he must be a righteous businessman."

  Yao Fan heard the resentment in Ding Baozhen's words and hastily said, "I'm willing to listen to your teachings, sir! You're absolutely right!"

  So after I returned to China this time, I heard that Hu Xueyan, a merchant from Anhui, opened a pharmacy called Huqingyutang, which claims to be honest and not greedy for profit, only to provide medicine to save people. I was moved in my heart and wanted to learn from him. I am willing to donate 100,000 taels of silver to open a pharmacy in our Shandong province, just call it Yaoqingyutang! I don't seek to make a profit, but only hope to cure diseases and save people, and accumulate good karma. From now on, I won't take out a single coin, and every month I am willing to donate 10,000 taels to put in to rescue and treat the common people."

  Ding Baozhen's eyes lit up and he said: "You having this intention is a hundred times better than cheating me with 100,000 taels of silver!"

  "This old man thinks that the name of your shop is really not elegant, just like the character you chose for yourself, what's it called? Zao Fan? It has no style at all." After saying this, Ding Baozhen shook his head.

  Yao Feng saw Old Ding say so, knowing that at this time he couldn't be stubborn, if he wanted to benefit himself, he had to follow along with his words.

  "I was originally a lone wanderer abroad, although I had learned a bellyful of miscellaneous knowledge, but when it comes to the study of classics and history, I am indeed lacking in many areas, and cannot compare with the many scholars in the Qing Empire."

  I am honored to be invited to sit with Lord Ding today, it is the greatest honor of my life so far. Tonight I have a small request, please let Lord Ding rename my business and name the pharmacy I'm about to establish.

  Ding Baozhen had a few cups of wine, and his face also had some color. After hearing Yao Fang's words, he nodded slowly: "Then I'll give your business a name, let's call it Yu Chun. Yu Chun, the grass and trees are lush, and when they encounter spring, they will flourish. You do business, naturally seeking to make a fortune and seeking success."

  Yao Fang clapped his hands together in front of his chest and shouted loudly: "Great!!!" His exaggerated expression was like that of a character from Zhao Benshan's comedy sketch.

  "Uncle Ding's name is well-chosen! Yun Chun Commercial House, Yun Chun Foreign Firm, Yun Chun Hall, this name is smooth to the mouth no matter how it's used. Using it as the name of a medicine hall also has the implication of 'magical hands bringing spring back', really great!" Li Jingfang also applauded in praise.

  A sedan chair with many people carrying it, Ding Baozhen's five sons all praised their father for getting this title, and Ding Baozhen couldn't help but feel proud.

  Yao Fan took advantage of the situation and said: "If Lord Ding is willing to help me write the inscription, I am willing to pay a thousand gold coins per character!"

  Ding Baozhen looked at Yao Fang with a profound gaze and said, "Alright, I'll write it for you, but don't take a single coin! Just remember what you said today."

  Yao Fan knew that Ding Baozhen was not only talking about setting up a medicine hall, but also about helping him purchase machinery.

  "Don't worry, sir. The Yao family's business all over the world relies on just one word: trust." said Yao Fangdao.

  Ding Baozhen was also pleased, and asked his family to bring him a pen and ink. On the spot, in the middle of the hall, he wrote on the wall the eight big characters "Yu Chun Shang Hao, Yu Tang".

  "These eight characters, as long as they are engraved on a plaque and countless copies are printed, all the branches across the country will be protected, especially in Shandong, this is more effective than anything else, this treasure that blinds the eyes, is priceless!" Yao Feng thought to himself.

  "Sir! From now on, if you need any Western intelligence, the entire Yao family is willing to be your informants. If you need any Western machinery, the entire Yao family is willing to be your errand boys!" Yao Feng was making a vow of loyalty, completely fawning over this old man who would be promoted to Sichuan Provincial Governor and Minister of War next year.

  Li Jingfang was not surprised at all, as if he had already seen that Yao Fang was this kind of person. He didn't feel sorry for him either. After all, Li Jingfang originally hoped to help Yao Fang find a position within the洋务派 (Yangwu) system in the Qing dynasty. As for serving under Ding Baozhen or his father Li Hongzhang, Li Jingfang didn't care. After all, Li Hongzhang had too many resources in his hands and wasn't particularly interested in having Yao Fang serve him.

  Li Deshu felt a little disappointed and thought that Yao Fang's thigh hug was too tight, how could his father win him over in the future?

  It turned out that this kid had the idea of introducing Yao Fan to Li Hongzhang. He was the one who had the deepest contact with Yao Fan among these people, so he could feel the special temperament on Yao Fan's body most deeply. He felt deeply that this person represented not only his learning, but also a trend of the times. When Li Shu described it, he often felt that there was a kind of breath coming from Yao Fan's body, which made people feel as if a new era had arrived in an instant.

  Li Jingyu was a woman, but she had a keen mind and a sixth sense that told her something was wrong with Yao Fang, although she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.

  Ding Baozhen was overjoyed, firstly because he was happy to have obtained the help of the Yao family, which had such great utility value, and secondly because Yao Feng had suddenly expressed his stance in front of the Li family, teaching the three naive young sons of the Li family a lesson about the bitter taste of doing something for someone else's benefit.

  To show his magnanimity, Ding Baozhen didn't mind saying in front of the three members of the Li family to Yao Fang:

  "Yao Fang, can you help me find some Western scientific books recently? Although the Tongwen Guan in Beijing is also translating Western scientific books, the progress is slow. It's better to rely on oneself than others, so I've asked the Shangzhi Book Academy to start translating, but they're struggling with a lack of translation talent. We've invited a few foreigners to read and dictate, and then the scholars write and edit, but it's still like the saying 'a donkey's lips can't match a horse's mouth', and the progress is very slow."

  Yao Fu knew that the Tongwen Guan in Beijing was actually a trash heap, equivalent to the Qing Dynasty's foreign language vocational school, used to cultivate small officials for written translation and oral interpretation.

  That place originally only recruits Banner descendants, and the standard for Han people to enter is under 30 years old, with a degree of Xiucai or above, preferably as a Juren or Jinshi. However, if someone is already a Xiucai or even a Juren or Jinshi before the age of thirty, do they still need to go to that place? The imperial examination path is the real broad road for those under 30.

  As for the children of the Eight Banners, they also look down on the Tongwen Guan in Beijing. The children of the Eight Banners all think that learning a foreign language is equivalent to surrendering to a foreign country. Those who are willing to go and study are basically stupid to the point where they can't even attend the official school of the Eight Banners, and will be left behind or expelled as useless people. Even so, after going, they will still be discriminated against by relatives and friends, and even cut off relationships, unable to hold their heads up when going out.

  So the Qing Foreign Language Academy, also known as the Tongwen Guan in Beijing, couldn't even fill its student quota during normal times. It was offering a stipend equivalent to that of a banner person's child, but still no one wanted to sign up. That's a stipend of 36 taels of silver and 23 shi of rice per year! One shi is equal to 120 catties!

  To know that the annual salary of a seventh-rank official is only 45 taels of silver and 22.5 shi of rice, eighth-rank officials are even lower, with only 40 taels of silver and 20 shi of rice. The banner allowance's horse armor money grain has already exceeded the treatment of seventh and eighth rank officials.

  Even if given a stipend, the Eight Banners' young men would not attend that language specialty school. You can say that at this time the Eight Banners' young men have become a group of idle and useless good-for-nothings.

  Yao Fangdao said: "I heard from travelers passing through the capital that a couplet circulating in the capital reads, 'Cunning schemes are numerous and varied, setting up a small imperial court with the same literary style; military strategy lacks long-term vision, enticing younger brothers to worship foreign gods as teachers.' Some people say this is 'speaking of things not yet the same, literature will be lost.' Others even say 'making a fuss about nothing, everyone follows Catholicism.'"

  Ding Baozhen angrily said: "What else do these people have besides a mouth! The 'Book of Later Han. Yang Ji's biography' says 'those who have resentment in their hearts must seek to harm in the midst of things', they can't bear to see it, so they fabricate rumors and cause trouble, without caring whether it benefits the country or not!"

  After being slandered and discredited by them like this, nowadays even the principal of Tongwen Guan in Beijing cannot be found, no one is willing to take on this scolding job!

  Yao Fangdao said: "With so many ministers opposing in the court, it is naturally difficult to find translation talents. In this situation, it is really difficult for the academy to translate books."

  Ding Baozhen said: "In recent years, the Translation Department of the Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau has translated many books, including various scientific works. However, for a vast country like Qing, it's far from enough to rely on just one translation department. At least two or three would be needed."

  Yao Fangdao said: "I think it's like this, sir. If you have a book that needs to be translated, just give it to me and I'll get my family members to translate it as soon as possible for you."

  "Excellent!" Ding Baozhen exclaimed with great joy, praising him highly.

  "Yao Fan, can you find some of your family members who are proficient in foreign languages to come to Shandong as translators and teachers?" asked Ding Baozhen.

  Yao Fan didn't expect to get entangled in such a troublesome matter, and hastily said: "I can help look for someone, but I can't guarantee that anyone will be willing to come. After all, people who are proficient in both countries' languages are rare, and if there are any, they're probably busy making a fortune in maritime trade, so why would they be willing to become a humble teacher?"

  Ding Baozhen felt somewhat disheartened upon hearing this. At the time, the translation work in the academy relied on missionaries' stuttering and awkward Chinese oral accounts, which were then guessed at by scholars who recorded them into written texts. The resulting translations were of extremely poor quality, often rendering them incomprehensible to readers.

  Ding Baozhen ate halfway and was full, got up and left.

  After a meal, everyone became more relaxed and familiar with each other.

  In the dining hall, a dozen or so red candles were burning on the candlesticks, and the bright flames illuminated the outer courtyard, where you could see pots of fresh flowers and potted landscapes.

  Ding Jia San Zi Ding Ti He said: "Tonight's flowers are really good, and the candlelight makes them even more charming."

  Li Jing asked: "Are the lotus flowers in Daming Lake already in full bloom?"

  "Tomorrow you'll see for yourself; it's a beautiful sight with lotus leaves stretching up to the sky and endless greenery."

  Li Desheng said: "Then tomorrow we will go boating on Taiyuan's Great South Lake!"

  So everyone decided to go on an outing together the next day.

  Yao Fan smiled silently, knowing that after this meal, he had established a reliable connection with the Ding family.