Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 704 Good Luck Charlie

Matter determines consciousness, and once consciousness is formed, it takes time and the harsh realities of education to reverse it.

In this process, most humans will do a lot of strange, twisted, and absurd things, which can be described as a death throes.

The timeline in the book doesn't involve many strange operations; European countries, especially intellectual circles, have always worshipped the Central Empire.

Governments around the world have also been very pragmatic, accepting the reality of lagging behind and quietly catching up.

While maintaining friendly relations with China, Britain, the leading power in Europe, has been using its military to impose new technical requirements on some defense companies, while also providing some behind-the-scenes government support.

In conclusion, we cannot place our hopes on the peace-loving nature of that self-proclaimed Central Empire in the East.

Governments around the world have done one thing in common: they have sent students abroad.

Because China was the first to send students abroad, it had no choice but to reciprocate by accepting students from Europe and the United States in return.

Initially, a number of translated works on ancient Eastern thought appeared on the European market. These included works by sages such as Confucius, Mencius, Lao Tzu, Zhuangzi, and Mozi.

A group of European scholars with a strong sense of humanism were astonished after reading these works, exclaiming that these were ideas from two thousand years ago.

The popularity of these works in cultural circles led to the fact that most of the first group of European and American students who went to China to study were studying humanities.

For this type of student, the country naturally welcomes them with open arms. However, there has been some opposition to students coming to study natural sciences. In the end, the cabinet intervened and suppressed it.

Europe during this period was rife with all sorts of chaotic ideologies, and the situation was actually quite similar domestically.

People tend to overthink when they're full; this is true in Europe and it's true in China as well.

The biggest stir in China is that some people have picked up the Mohist ideas of universal love and non-aggression, added some concepts of care for the underprivileged, and called it the "New Mohist" doctrine.

Another group, under the banner of "enriching the country and strengthening the military," combined various schools of thought and advocated for the improvement of the status of merchants. They believed that the court was still too restrictive of merchants and demanded legislation to establish the rightful status of merchants.

These two theories were mainly concentrated in economically developed coastal provinces. The former was somewhat better and did not cause too much of a stir, while the latter was different and quickly swept across the country.

Charlie, born into nobility, was among the first group of international students to enroll at Peking University. He didn't wait for the scholarship exam; being wealthy, he chose to pay for his own tuition.

So after obtaining the visa from the embassy in London, he immediately boarded a cruiser that was transporting the observation group back to their ideal country.

Charlie also brought a servant, and because he was paid well, the journey was relatively comfortable. However, a warship is hardly comfortable.

The advantage of warships is their speed, not to mention cruisers that prioritize speed. What would normally take at least ten months of sailing took only nine months to reach Guangzhou.

This voyage left a deep impression on Charlie. First, he nearly died from malaria. This happened in Mumbai; out of curiosity, Charlie went to Mumbai for a trip and contracted malaria upon his return. The crucial issue was that the quinine he carried was ineffective. Fortunately, the ship's medic administered another medication, which pulled him back from the brink of death. Secondly, there was the food. Charlie was surprised to find that even during long voyages at sea, the ship still provided a type of green vegetable called "bean sprouts." Finally, he was constantly forced to drink boiled water, instead of the rum he had read about as a nautical necessity in novels.

Upon arriving in Mumbai, Charlie even wondered if he could quit drinking—it was truly amazing. One of the benefits of sailing with a warship was participating in daily training with the officers and soldiers.

In short, by the time Charlie arrived in Guangzhou, most of his previous health problems had disappeared. It was quite miraculous.

There were quite a few Europeans in Guangzhou, and they didn't seem to sense much hostility towards Charlie, who came to the city after landing. The people of Guangzhou were used to seeing Europeans.

The only problem is that we can't leave the city, and we have to go back to the business district near the dock to spend the night.

Charlie's first trouble in Guangzhou was that the night markets were too fun. He got carried away and lost his way, almost getting arrested by the local officials as a thief.

Fortunately, he gave the navy's name, and the local government contacted the navy, who sent people to pick him up. After all, they had been traveling together for almost a year, and Charlie had spent a lot of money.

After spending ten days in Guangzhou, they switched to another warship and continued north.

The officers and soldiers on the ship are quite welcoming to customers who can generate gold coins at any time.

After arriving in Tianjin, Charlie's paperwork went smoothly with the other members of the observation group. They even put him on the train directly, leaving him to travel the rest of the way on his own.

If Charlie had arrived six months later, he wouldn't have encountered so much trouble. Six months later, the Ministry of Rites would have had dedicated personnel waiting at customs, providing one-stop service to every international student, including escorting them to their school.

The first Chinese phrase Charlie learned after boarding the warship was, "Hello, brother." The first word Charlie learned after boarding the train was, "train."

While in England, Charlie had seen trains and even rode with a group of people to mock the train, which was slower than a horse.

While both were trains, the Chinese steam locomotives achieved astonishing speeds, unlike the slow-moving contraptions made by the British.

Charlie gained a profound understanding of what constitutes advancement after making comparisons.

Sitting by the window, Charlie stared blankly at the passing scenery outside.

It wasn't until a Chinese person across from him asked him in English, "Where in Europe is your friend from?"

When Charlie heard someone speaking English, and with a London accent at that, he was surprised but immediately smiled and replied, "Hello, my name is Charlie. I'm from London and I'll be studying at the University of the Central Kingdom soon."

"Aha, what a coincidence! My name is Kong Shen. Last year I was studying mathematics at Oxford University. Today I'm reporting to the Ministry of Rites. If I'm lucky, I might be assigned to teach at Beijing University."

The two stood up, shook hands, and after some polite exchanges, began to talk.

When London was mentioned, the two almost simultaneously complained: "The worst thing about London is the weather."

That's how men are; once they find common ground, they can quickly become friends. Charlie felt incredibly lucky to have met a friend in China who had returned from studying in England.

After getting off the train, Kong Shen decided to take Charlie to the University of Peking, and then report to the Ministry of Rites.

Thanks to Kong Shen's decision, Charlie escaped a terrible fate.

Here's the thing: Beijing University hasn't officially started accepting international students yet, so Charlie arrived early.

Since it's still summer vacation, no one from the school is processing his paperwork. The school staff on duty said they need to consult the Ministry of Rites for advice on how to handle the matter.

Fortunately, the carriage was left waiting when we arrived; otherwise, you wouldn't have anywhere to find a carriage in the area around the capital university.

Kong Shen had no choice but to take Charlie and Tom (the servant) to the Ministry of Rites. It was already closed for the day, so he had to take Charlie to the embassy first.

That evening at the embassy, ​​when Charlie recounted his travel experiences to the minister, the minister affectionately called him "Lucky Charlie."

In particular, his malaria, which even quinine couldn't cure, was actually cured by the military doctor. The minister told Charles, "The military doctor is the best doctor in China, comparable to the imperial physicians who serve the royal family."

Having spent a considerable amount of time in Beijing, the minister naturally learned that seeking medical treatment in China was far more reliable than in Britain; even now, bloodletting was still being used for treatment in Europe. Chinese doctors had stopped doing that a long time ago.

Regarding the level of doctors, the best doctors initially served the royal family. Later, military doctors rose to prominence, and a special military medical university was built in the southern suburbs of the capital.

If the imperial physicians were the pinnacle of internal medicine, then military medical universities were the pinnacle of surgery, and in just twenty years, the reputation of military medical universities among the general public surpassed that of the imperial physician system.

Because military medical universities established hospitals open to the public, this accelerated the improvement of their doctors' skills, forcing the relatively closed imperial medical system to respond by establishing a traditional Chinese medicine university to compete with the military medical universities. From the perspective of development speed, the military medical university system comprehensively suppressed the traditional Chinese medicine university system.

Initially, there was only one military medical university, but now it has opened six branch campuses in Tianjin, Jinan, Xuzhou, Nanjing, Wuchang, and Guangzhou.

When discussing medical skills, the ambassador remarked that the Chinese had far surpassed Europe. He also mentioned that he had repeatedly written back to China suggesting that British universities send more medical students to study there. Unfortunately, most British universities are private, and they were not very enthusiastic about his appeals. After all, sending students requires a significant amount of funding.

Charlie was shocked and said, "Is that so? It seems I should write back home and ask my family to sponsor medical students to study in China."

After hearing this, the minister smiled and asked, "Charlie, you should be glad you're not a squid."

Charlie paused for a moment before asking curiously, "The same question was the first one on the questionnaire provided by the London legation when I applied for my visa. Do the Chinese oppose squid?"

The minister's smile widened as he said, "The current Prime Minister of China is deeply disgusted by the squid's opium smuggling activities and has ordered restrictions on the squid's movements. All squid that come to do business are not even allowed to leave the business districts of their respective regions. China is the only country in the world where opium is privately prohibited. Opium is limited to medicinal use and can only be used in official hospitals."

"An official hospital? How is that possible?" Charlie was shocked!

"Why not? Even in a county in China, the cabinet mandates that there must be at least one official hospital. Otherwise, how did this country come to have 300 million people?"

That night, a weary Charlie, burdened with many questions, went to bed early. The next morning, Tom woke him because they had arrived at Kong Shen.

Kong Shen took Charlie to eat a breakfast that was supposedly from Yangzhou. If Charlie hadn't been told beforehand, he would have burned his mouth with the soup dumplings.

After each meal, Charlie would remark, "London is a city where taste is useless."

Kong Shen casually joked, "That's because you haven't been to places outside of London. If you had, you would be more confident in your sense of taste. Believe me, London is already the city in Britain where taste can play a significant role."

The Ministry of Rites was speechless at the student's early arrival; "Brother, you've come far too early." They suggested, "How about this? Study the language for a while first. Hire a tutor; you'll have to attend a preparatory language course after the semester starts anyway. If your language skills aren't up to par, you won't be able to officially begin your studies."

Charlie first obtained a certificate of identity verification from the Ministry of Rites, which allowed him to legally reside in the capital without having to stay overnight at the legation.

After Kong Shen returned with the formalities completed, he warmly invited Charlie to stay at his place until the start of the new semester.

Kong Shen advised Charlie against living in the inner city, as it was under the jurisdiction of the Imperial City and subject to a curfew. The outer city had far fewer restrictions, allowing for more freedom to go out at night. Furthermore, rent in the outer city was significantly lower than in the inner city, although other expenses were higher. As for learning a language, he should, of course, learn the most authentic Mandarin. Mandarin was primarily based on the Beijing dialect, and living in the outer city would expose him to everyday Beijing speech.

Kong Shen also enthusiastically offered to teach him for free, and told Charlie that he had received a job from the Ministry of Rites to teach mathematics at the Capital University, and that they should go to report together when the semester started.

Charlie accepted Kong Shen's invitation and returned to the legation. When the minister learned of Charlie's situation, he was very envious and said, "Students studying abroad have it so good. As a minister, you need official permission to leave the capital."

With Kong Shen leading the way, Charlie's integration into the capital city went smoothly. After renting a house near the university, he bought two sets of local clothing.

During the holiday, Kong Shen took Charlie on a wild adventure throughout the capital, becoming a proud temporary alleyway hutong enthusiast.

Charlie kept a daily record of these experiences. After returning to China after studying abroad, he compiled his notes and published a book called "Charlie's Adventures in China".

The book became a bestseller in Europe, was translated into multiple languages, and sold over a million copies.

This book is also unanimously regarded by later international students as a must-read for them.

In 1819, the seventeenth year of the Qianzheng reign, the Capital University enrolled its first batch of students from Europe and America, more than half of whom came to study traditional culture. A small number studied medicine, natural sciences, and other disciplines.

Charlie, who arrived more than a month early, made rapid progress in his Chinese and was successfully elected class monitor.

The two universities have different models. At Beijing University, a large class system is adopted, and students have more contact with their counselors on a daily basis.

Charlie could adapt to all of these, but the key was the intensity of the studies. He also took history as an elective, which tormented him to the point of near death. Such a long history, so many dynasties, it would take a long time to memorize.

Years later, after Charlie returned to England and taught at Oxford, he was dismissed from Oxford University for writing an article in the newspaper opposing the British government's support for the US government's war against Donghua.

(End of this chapter)