shadow of britain

Chapter 632 Russian Old BJ
As a well-known founder of Russian Sinology in the academic circles of St. Petersburg, Bichulin's reputation is much more prominent than his shabby dress.

An old monk's robe that looked like it had been washed countless times and had lost its black dignity. The hem of the robe was soaked through by the snow, and the heavy snow caused his shoulders to sink slightly.

His face was red from the cold, and there was fine frost on his eyebrows and beard, but his eyes were shining with eagerness, as if he could ignite the cold bonfire around him at any time.

On this freezing cold day, he was still wearing a pair of oriental-style silk cloth shoes. This uncoordinated dressing style made Bi Chulin always exude a subtle sense of rebellion in his steps.

Poor, but not so poor as to look like a beggar.

Decent, but not entirely decent.

If he was placed on the bustling Nevsky Avenue, it would be like a drop of water falling into the sea, and no one would even notice the ripples.

After all, at least half of the minor civil servants working in the government offices in St. Petersburg feel this way.

The only things about Mr. Bi Chulin that made people feel unusual were the Bible in his hands and the small cross hanging on his chest.

Although he may not like to dress like this, there is nothing he can do about it.

Who made his father a priest, his grandfather a priest, and his great-grandfather also a priest?
In the Bichulin family, even the Bible and the cross are heirlooms.

God knows when their family started to engage in this business. Perhaps their family’s history in this business is even longer than that of the Romanov dynasty.

In Bichurin's view, the only difference between his family and the Romanovs was that the Romanovs were hereditary tsars, while the Bichurins were hereditary priests.

The peasants could not imagine a life without the Tsar, and they could not accept that a child who had 'turned away from God's call' had emerged from the family of priests whom they regarded as religious role models.

Ever since Yakinv Bichurin was born, the villagers have said that he was born to serve God.

He grew up in a priest's family in an obedient manner. When he was old enough, he was sent to the Kazan Theological Seminary for further studies, and then became a parish priest like his father.

Bi Chulin had resisted this situation when he was young. He wanted to take his destiny firmly into his own hands!
But then again, ideas are rich and reality is cruel.

The curriculum of seminaries is designed almost entirely for the training of clergy, and the knowledge and skills taught are of little use in secular careers.

As for working, it is impossible for me to work, I will never work in this life. I don't know how to farm, so I can only make a living by chanting sutras. Going to the church feels like going home, but what can I do?

However, since you only know how to recite the Bible, you should recite it well and thoroughly.

In line with the idea that "there are 360 ​​professions and every profession has its own czar", Bi Chulin worked hard and, in addition to presiding over sacraments, weddings and funerals, he persisted in studying the Bible and published several theological papers in succession.

Such hard-working spirit soon attracted the attention of the Holy Synod, the highest body of the Russian Orthodox Church.

At this time, the Russian government was setting up the BJ Orthodox Mission. So, with the strong recommendation of the Attorney General, the young and knowledgeable Father Yakinev Bichulin was appointed as the head of the mission and was ordered to go to BJ to preach.

And this time when he left, it was truly like "this departure is like a fish entering the sea, a bird flying into the sky, and he will never be bound again."

However, Bichulin did not forget the Tsar's expectations of him. Even though he was thousands of miles away, he still recited the scriptures well.

The only drawback is that other missionaries read the Bible, but Bi Chulin read the Lingbao Sutra, the Shangqing Sutra, the Taiping Sutra, the Diamond Sutra, the Lotus Sutra and the Agama Sutra.

Of course, in old BJ, he also read a lot of the Four Books and Five Classics.

If the Qing Dynasty had not prohibited foreigners from taking the imperial examinations, Bi Chulin felt that even if he could not become a Jinshi, he would at least be able to become a Juren.

"Are you Mr. Arthur Hastings?" Bi Chulin bowed slightly, his voice mixed with hoarseness and fatigue. It was obvious that the weather in St. Petersburg had made him very cold.

"So you are Father Yakinf Bicchulin?" Arthur looked at the monk curiously, who claimed to have many years of experience in foreign missions. "I heard that you have been in BJ for fourteen years?"

"It seems that Mr. Pushkin has told you all my experiences."

"Can you speak Chinese?"

Bi Chulin replied modestly: "Of course I can speak it, but it's hard not to have a Russian accent..."

"Wait a moment." Arthur raised his hand to interrupt Bi Chulin, and then took out a piece of paper from his pocket: "What's written on it? Can you read it to me in Chinese?"

Bi Chulin stretched his head and stared at the paper, then asked hesitantly, "Although the Chinese characters on your paper are good, they look like random writing and have no specific meaning."

"Don't worry about that. I just want to know how to pronounce these words in Chinese."

Bi Chulin glanced at Arthur and blurted out: "Oh my, Paris is so sweet!"

Arthur had a satisfied smile on his face. He thought about it for a while before giving a thumbs up to the man from Kazan. "You are so modest. I can't even detect a Russian accent. You have lived in BJ for fourteen years. By the way, where do you live in BJ?"

Although Bi Chulin could understand Arthur's curiosity, he couldn't help but feel that this British diplomat was a little bit crazy.

Not to mention the matter of the Chinese characters earlier, even if he told Arthur the location of the missionary group now, would this guy know where that place was?

But out of politeness, Bi Chulin answered honestly: "We all live in Andingmen, the Orthodox Church between Lama Temple and Dongzhimen. It's quieter there, and Russian caravans usually enter and exit from Dongzhimen, so living there will also be convenient for us to contact them."

Having said that, Bi Chulin took a deep breath, as if trying to dispel the coldness around his mouth.

He rubbed his red, frozen hands, and the bustling scenes of the past appeared before his eyes. There was a hint of nostalgia in his tone: "There are caravans outside Anding Gate all year round, and those furs, spices and teas flow in and out as if they have legs..."

Arthur muttered, "Your residence is close to the Lama Temple? No wonder you know Tibetan studies and Mongolian studies in addition to Chinese studies. I remember there are many lamas living there, right?"

As soon as Arthur said this, it was Bi Chulin who was surprised.

"You...you also lived near there?"

"No, no... don't misunderstand me." Arthur paused: "My tutor once visited BJ with Earl Amherst's delegation."

To make it more credible, Arthur added, "In the 21st year of Jiaqing." "Oh!" Bi Chulin patted his head, "I almost forgot, your tutor seemed to have worked in the East India Company, right?"

He counted on his fingers: "In the 21st year of Jiaqing, I was still in China at that time. I went there in the 13th year of Jiaqing, and was recalled to St. Petersburg the year Emperor Jiaqing passed away."

Arthur asked cautiously, "I heard from Mr. Pushkin that you were recalled because of religious issues?"

Unexpectedly, Bichulin had no intention of concealing this: "In fact, the religious issue is secondary. I know that Mr. Pushkin will definitely tell you that it is because I am an atheist and do not care about missionary work, and I have said some radical remarks, so I angered the emperor. But in fact..."

"Excessive speech? What did you say?"

Bi Chulin stared at Arthur for a long time, but did not answer directly. Instead, he asked, "Are you firm in your faith?"

"Of course." Arthur replied with a serious face: "I am a devout Christian. How can you insult me ​​like this? You know, due to the orders of His Majesty the King and the Cabinet, I just converted from Catholicism to the Church of England last year."

Bi Chulin almost couldn't help laughing when he heard this: "Sorry, I have to inform you in advance. What I'm going to say next may offend your beliefs."

"I swear to God, you better not do this."

Bi Chulin lowered his voice and whispered in Arthur's ear: "I actually just said one sentence - I think there is no difference between Jesus and Confucius."

After saying this, Bi Chulin secretly opened the Bible in his hand and showed it to Arthur.

Arthur didn't notice anything wrong at first, but when he took a closer look, he immediately realized that there was something else going on in Bi Chulin's Bible.

Although the knight usually doesn't pay much attention to religious affairs, he at least remembers that the first sentence of the Bible should be: In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.

Instead of - isn't it a pleasure to learn and practice from time to time? Isn't it a pleasure to have friends coming from afar? Isn't it a gentleman to not be angry when people don't know you?
Bi Chulin coughed and immediately put the Bible back under his armpit: "You know, the work in the ministry is boring. I have to find something to do."

"It's boring to work, but is this what you do when you're bored?"

Perhaps because Arthur was introduced by Pushkin and was an Englishman with some mental problems, Bi Chulin was obviously very relaxed in front of Arthur, and he even shared this little secret that might result in a second exile without hesitation.

Bi Chulin nodded in agreement and said, "To be honest, I do this every day. I secretly read The Analects while at work. There is nothing more exciting in the world than this."

Arthur was speechless for a moment when he heard this. Even when he discovered Hugo's interests and hobbies, he didn't remain silent for so long.

The kind-hearted British spy thought for a long time and said something sincere: "It's really too risky for you to do this. How about this? I have a few Elder Carter novels in my possession. Are you interested?"

'The Incorruptible' Bi Chulin shook his head slightly. His greatest hobby in life was chanting sutras, and he had no interest in popular novels.

Born in Russia, he was a priest.

Born in India, he is a guru.

Born in Uthman, he was an Imam.

If he was born in the Tang Dynasty in the East, even if he was not Jianzhen who sailed east, he would have to be Tang Monk who went west to obtain Buddhist scriptures.

But unfortunately, the Monkey King and the bald Sha Seng, who were supposed to serve as his chief disciples, are now floating somewhere in South America.

Fortunately, he did meet the Yorkshire pig.

Bi Chulin said with a smile: "Don't worry, my superiors usually don't take me too seriously. As long as it doesn't get to the Tsar, nothing serious will happen. And I always think that the reason I was punished last time was mainly because of financial issues."

Arthur asked in surprise: "Do you still have financial problems?"

He could not think of any way in which an expatriate missionary could embezzle money.

Bichulin said angrily: "It's not that I have financial problems, but that the missionary group has financial problems. According to the regulations of the Russian Orthodox Church, priests are not allowed to engage in commercial activities, especially trade activities that are not approved by the church. But our mission has been short of funds for a long time. If we are not allowed to do some small sewing and mending business, dozens of people will not be able to preach, and even eating will become a problem. Originally, the Orthodox Church understood our difficulties, so they turned a blind eye to our business. But later, because I had a conflict with the church over the management of the missionary group, they reported my business to the emperor, saying that what I did was insulting the image of religion, and they also instigated my exile to Siberia. If the Decembrist uprising had not triggered the new emperor's comprehensive review and purge of the Orthodox Church, I might still be staying on that damn Wallaby Island as a Russian Robinson."

Arthur quipped, "Sounds like drifting life is unpleasant?"

Bichulin pointed at the snowflakes all over the sky and said, "Do you see the heavy snow in the sky? The winter on Walaam Island is ten times colder than this, and I have spent five years and still haven't found my Friday!"

Arthur comforted him: "Think positively, at least your fate is much better than Robinson Crusoe. You only stayed on the desert island for five years before returning to the civilized world."

Bi Chulin still feels indignant when recalling the past: "But at least Robinson Crusoe was stranded on a desert island due to a natural disaster, while I was exiled purely due to a man-made disaster."

Arthur looked at Bi Chulin's nose, which was frozen purple, and then he remembered that he should invite this gentleman to come in and sit down. "I'm sorry, chatting with you always makes me forget the time. Why don't we go in and talk? There is a hot stove in my office. Can we make some tea and desserts and talk slowly?"

When Bi Chulin heard this, he suddenly remembered the purpose of his visit today: "No, it's not all your fault. The chat was really interesting. I almost forgot that I came here to invite you to our private party today."

"A private party?" Arthur couldn't help laughing. "Will Mr. Pushkin be there too?"

"No, he's not here this time." Bichulin said, "The Emperor just approved him to publish Pugachev's History yesterday. Of course, as usual, the Emperor added a lot of comments to Pushkin's manuscript, so Pushkin is busy revising his manuscript."

"That sounds unfortunate..." Arthur began, "I hate it most when people circle or mark my manuscript."

Bichulin nodded and said, "Me too, but this time is different. This time the Emperor approved a loan of 20,000 rubles for Pushkin to publish The History of Pugachev, so he was quite happy even to revise the manuscript."

Arthur was quite disappointed when he heard this and said, "In that case, it seems that I'd better not bother him tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? You don't need to come tomorrow."

Bichulin took out an invitation from his bosom. "Although I don't know why, today the minister knew that I would come to visit you after get off work, so he asked me to pass this invitation to you. Tomorrow night, our Foreign Minister Count Nesselrode will hold a dance party at his home, and Pushkin will also attend. You'd better practice the Mazurka tonight. I assure you that the Mazurka will be much more useful than the waltz at the banquet in Petersburg."

"Count Nesselrode?" Arthur was stunned for a moment before taking the invitation: "Besides Mr. Pushkin and I, who else will go to the ball?"

"Well... I don't know about that. But..." Bichulin pondered for a moment: "Celebrities in St. Petersburg like Prince Suvorov and Prince Kochubey must be invited... If there are others, they will probably be people from the cultural circle."

(End of this chapter)