Go back to the valley to farm

Chapter 960 Study Spirit
Chapter 960 Research Spirit

This is also Li Junge's point of interest, so he couldn't help asking: "What did the old man say in his thesis?"

Alice said: "Speaking of which, Columbia University has a long history with China. The Department of Sinology at Columbia University was donated by Mr. Ding Longhan, a descendant of a Chinese laborer who was sold to the United States as a 'pigboy'. This is the earliest Sinology department established in the United States. In [-], Columbia established the 'Ding Long Chair Professor of Sinology', which is still the highest honor of the Department of East Asian Studies at Columbia University, and only six professors have received this title so far."

After speaking, he proudly said to the children: "The fifth among them is your grandfather Siyuan, and the sixth is a guest of Columbia University—your fourth ancestor."

The children all gasped in surprise.

Alice went on to say: "A lot of information mentions that Mr. Ding Longhan donated to establish the Department of Sinology at Columbia University. There is such a saying that the highest ruler of the Qing Dynasty was deeply moved when he heard about it. Empress Dowager Cixi personally donated five More than a thousand volumes of precious books."

"Actually, the fact that the Queen Mother was 'deeply moved' after hearing Mr. Ding Longhan's donation, there is no evidence in historical materials, and I am afraid it is out of imagination."

"According to Hu Shi, the most famous Chinese alumnus of Columbia University, and according to what Mr. Xia De, a professor of Chinese at Columbia University at the time, told him, this set is not the original version of the Yongzheng Year, but a copy printed by the Prime Minister's Office at that time."

"Where did these words come from? According to Hu Shi's report, Xia De said that it came from the words of the Dragon Boat Festival."

"Xia De is a foreigner, but his Sinology research is quite profound. He is the first Ding Long Chair Professor of Sinology. His words have certain credibility, but they still need to be tested."

"Who is Duanwuqiao? It was one of the five ministers sent by the Qing Dynasty to the West to investigate politics—Duanfang. He is a cultural leader among the people of the Mo Banner.

"In "Political Investigation Diary", it is written that the Chinese mission led by Duan Fang visited Columbia University on the tenth day of the first month of the 32nd year of Guangxu. There are only five people. ... Also, the library has a rich collection of Chinese books.'"

"It is conceivable that when they visit the library, the school will show them "The Collection of Ancient and Modern Books". And Professor Xia De, the only one in the school who is proficient in Chinese, will of course come out to greet the guests."

"It was at that time that Xia De introduced this set of books to Duan Fang, the head of the delegation. Duan Fang, who was proficient in edition studies, could tell at a glance that this book was not the original Kangxi edition, but a copy of the Zongli Yamen's copy."

"What about this version? There are records that say this version, 'The decoration, paper, and proofreading are all superior to the original Kangxi version. However, because the volume is too large, only [-] copies were reprinted at that time, and it was planned to be used as a gift to the great powers. Unexpectedly, before the book was sent out, it was caught in a fire, and there was not much left. This ceremony of donating books is invisible.'

During the Gengzi boxing revolution, Columbia University began to build a Chinese Academy, but suffered from the lack of sufficient reference materials for Chinese nationals. '

The school asked the US Secretary of State, John Hay and the US Minister to China Kang Ji, and asked the Chinese Beiyang Minister Li Hongzhang for help. '

Hongzhang asked the Empress Dowager to hand in Sheng Xuanhuai's discretion.The Sheng family invited the former Prime Minister's Yamen Huo Yu's book as a gift.This is the beginning and end of this great work to the United States and Fan. '"

"Is this statement correct? Of course, Grandpa will not jump to conclusions. We must find historical materials to confirm it."

"So my grandfather started to look up the Columbia Spectator, the school magazine of Columbia University. According to the map, I found a report in the newspaper in [-]: The State Council notified the new president of Columbia University, Butler, and had received a letter from Conger, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, saying that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs A [-]-volume "Book Collection" was selected. This book is comprehensive and is the largest tome in China. It was compiled by scholars instructed by Emperor Kangxi, and the current price is [-] U.S. dollars. The book is now ready to be shipped by Liu Kunyi, Governor of Liangjiang beautiful.

Minister Conger also said in the letter that this move proves the Chinese people's friendship with the United States. "

"Then grandpa went to search for various American newspapers and materials on that day, and finally found that the San Francisco Chinese newspaper "China and the West Daily" also published a report on the selected books: "On the [-]th, the New York call cloud, the US Department of Foreign Affairs reported to Colombia yesterday Bila, the head teacher of the university hall, said that he received a letter from Kang Jia, the imperial envoy in BJ, stating that the books sent to the school by China were selected by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China as a set of [-] volumes of "Zi Shi Ji Ji", which contained ancient and modern Chinese history. All things were once compiled by Emperor Kangxi and Confucian ministers, and the price of the book was very high.'”

Li Junge immediately found a loophole: "Wait, why do the two newspapers have different names? One is called "Zi Shi Ji Ji" and the other is called "Book Ji Ji"? And the leaders of Columbia University, one is called Butler, and the other is called Bila? "

Alice smiled and said, "You still listen carefully. Grandpa's explanation is that the translation of "Book Integration" at Columbia is Tu Shu Chi Cheng. Obviously, "Zhongxi Daily" and Columbia Spectator come from the same source, but "Zhongxi Daily" is run by Cantonese, and in a hurry, it mistranslated Tu Shu Chi Cheng as "Zi Shi Ji Ji". As for the new principal, Butler, the northern dialect was translated as Butler, and the Cantonese was translated as Bi La.

Li Junge nodded involuntarily and said: "It makes sense, then this thing makes sense. The old man is really rigorous in his studies."

Alice smiled and said: "The rigor is yet to come. So far, all we have seen are unilateral accounts from the United States, indicating that this is an 'express delivery', Columbia University is the recipient, and the sender's testimony must be found .Who is the sender? It is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Qing court."

"So my grandfather went to look up the "Historical Materials on Sino-US Relations—Guangxu Dynasty" edited by Taiwanese scholar Huang Jiamo. From the various original files of Sino-US negotiations collected in the book, I found two documents received by Wu Tingfang, then Minister to the United States."

"The first one is the document received on the third day of February in the 28th year of Guangxu. This document should have been sent out long ago, but because of crossing the ocean, the time difference between sending and receiving is about two months."

"Wu Tingfang said: On September 27, Guangxu 21, American Minister Conger sent a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, saying that he had received a letter from Professor Lou of Columbia University in New York. The books are stored in the school, and all the objects made by Hua Baigong are collected and displayed in the museum. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will make preparations immediately."

"The second one was received on the third day of March of the following year. Wu Tingfang said: I have received a letter from the Minister of Nanyang, and I plan to send a copy of "Book Collection" to American schools; as for the various artifacts needed by the museum, American businessmen do business in China. It has been a long time, and it can be purchased by an American businessman. Once the Minister of Nanyang sends it to "Book Integration", the embassy will transfer it to Columbia University."

Li Junge raised his hand again: "Wait a minute, didn't you still talk about Bila just now? Why did the first received letter become Professor Lou again?"

Alice laughed and said: "Professor Lou, that is, Seth Low, the former president of Columbia University. This matter was initiated by him, but when "Book Collection" arrived at Columbia University in the spring of [-], Seth Low had already been elected as the mayor of New York. It is the new headmaster Butler who welcomes it."

Li Junge nodded and said: "It's almost like solving a case, but at least all the buttons have been undone."

Alice said: "Combining all these materials, Grandpa's final conclusion is: [-]. This matter should be agreed by Li Hongzhang when he was critically ill."

"After Empress Dowager Cixi fled to the West, she appointed Li Hongzhang and Prince Qing Yikuang as ministers with full powers, and presided over negotiations with foreign powers in BJ, which exhausted her energy. It is recorded in "Sheng Xuanhuai Archives Selected Seven - Boxer Movement", [-] On October [-], [-], Li Hongzhang 'vomited blood in half a large bowl with blood cakes' in his apartment, and the doctor diagnosed him with gastric bleeding; on November [-], Li Hongzhang 'stomach gas gradually eased, and his spirit improved slightly'."

"When Kang Ge sent a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Qing Dynasty to ask for a letter, he happened to meet Li Hongzhang who was dying of illness. And Li Hongzhang's signed letter was handled on the day when he was 'slightly better'."

"Li Hongzhang was on the fourth last day of his life, and he was still trying his best to deal with this insignificant foreign negotiation incident. The purpose was just to win over American diplomats. Four days later, Li Hongzhang left the world with a full heart."

"Second, this matter has nothing to do with the Empress Dowager Cixi. Grandpa consulted the "Records of Dezong", "Guangxu Dynasty Shangyu File", "Guangxu Dynasty Zhu Criticism Memorial", "Gengzi Incident Qing Palace Archives Compilation", etc., but did not see the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. There have been memorials on the matter, but there is no decree."

"Based on the current information, it should be after Li Hongzhang's death that Prince Qing or Wang Wenshao, in the name of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, consulted Nanyang Minister Liu Kunyi for specific handling. Then, the whole matter has nothing to do with Empress Dowager Cixi."

"Three, Liu Kunyi decided to give away a copy of "The Collection of Ancient and Modern Books", and asked the Americans to purchase other artifacts in China."

"Fourth, it is confirmed by information that this "Collection of Ancient and Modern Books" was originally a lithographic copy commissioned by the Prime Minister's Office to be photocopied by Shanghai Tongwen Publishing Bureau. It was allocated 38 taels, and then an additional subsidy of 10 taels was used to print it on high-quality peach blossom paper. A total of one volume was printed. One hundred and one."

"One of the books was bound in yellow silk and prepared for imperial reading. After the book was printed, in addition to the yellow silk copy being presented to the emperor, another ten copies were taken to the Prime Minister's Office in BJ, and the remaining ninety copies were temporarily stored by Shanghai Road."

"By the winter of 5000, apart from purchasing the book in Sichuan, Guangdong, Zhili and other provinces, as well as giving a set to Japan as a gift, there was still a lot of inventory. We had to pay 4 taels for warehouse rent, insurance, guarding, etc. every year. As soon as I took over, it cost more than [-] yuan. It has become a heavy burden on Shanghai Road."

"Since it can't be sold, it's better to give it away. This is Liu Kunyi's real idea. Liu Kun received a message from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to buy Chinese books and donate them to Columbia University. He pushed the boat along the way and not only successfully completed the diplomatic mission entrusted to him by Li Hongzhang. , and let the Columbia East Asian Library have a collection of books to be proud of.”

"And the remaining dozens of sets were unfortunately destroyed by fire, but that should be after this incident."

After finishing speaking, he said seriously: "This is the real ins and outs of this set of books."

Li Junge clapped his palms and praised: "After a thorough search, how much effort did the old man spend to come to this conclusion from the plethora of materials and documents?!"

"While drawing conclusions, it also makes people understand the difficulties of the Qing court's foreign affairs at that time, the local government's coping, the round-trip format between the messages, and even the government's outsourcing business, the scale of printing, the cost of funds, and the situation of Chinese students studying abroad. There is a series of understanding.”

"The value of this paper is not only to restore a little historical fact, but also because it reveals these aspects at that time."

"Such a precious paper is submerged in the old man's voluminous research materials. I didn't even notice it. The Academy of Social Sciences really picked up a treasure this time!"

"It's amazing, it's really amazing! With this spirit of research, 50 years as a day, it's really unreasonable not to become a contemporary Confucianist. Children, do you understand how to do learning this time?"

(End of this chapter)