Training the Heavens

Chapter 256 Science Lecture
More than a month later, Zhang Xingjiu was summoned by Jiang Yixu right after class. He introduced him to a guest, "This is Father Ma Xiangbo. He was the principal of the public school for many years before me. He now serves in the imperial court, in charge of foreign affairs and foreign affairs. He just returned to Shanghai from overseas and heard that a talented young man had emerged from the public school, so he came to meet him."

"A student greets Principal Ma." Zhang Xingjiu saluted quickly. Jiang Yixu was a faculty member so he called Ma Xiangbo Father, but since he was a student, it would be better to call him Principal.

"Indeed, he is of extraordinary bearing." Ma Xiangbo praised while stroking his beard, and immediately began to test Zhang Xingjiu's knowledge. He answered questions fluently in both French and Latin, and his words were also well-reasoned when talking about mathematics and astronomy, which made Ma Xiangbo amazed.

"Speaking solely of Western science, among all the students I've taught, no one can compare to Zhou Ping. Zhou Ping really should study abroad in Europe. If it's inconvenient for you, I can ask other scholars to write letters of introduction for Zhou Ping."

Ma Xiangbo previously worked in the church and was now in charge of diplomacy and foreign affairs. He also knew many foreign scholars, which laid a certain foundation for him to establish Aurora University, Fudan University, and Fu Jen Catholic University in the future.

"Your Excellency the Bishop has already received replies from several French universities. It should not be a problem for Zhou Ping to study in Europe." Jiang Yixu quickly refused. The public school has spent so much effort to train Zhang Xingjiu, and he cannot be snatched away by others.

"That's good. I have visited Japan, the United States, France, Italy and other countries. Comparing them with the domestic situation, I was deeply inspired. I increasingly realized that the way to make a country rich and strong lies in promoting science and developing industries. Therefore, I have repeatedly written to the court to offer suggestions, but all of them are like a drop in the ocean." Ma Xiangbo could not help but shook his head and sighed. In such an era, it is undoubtedly painful to open your eyes and see the world.

"Zhou Ping, since you have a talent for science, you should go to Europe to learn the latest scientific knowledge. When you return home after completing your studies, you can repay the court and help make China prosperous and strong."

After chatting for a while, Ma Xiangbo gave Zhang Xingjiu another suggestion, "The worst thing to do in science is to work in isolation. If you have time, you should go out more often and communicate with other scholars. Only in this way can you make progress."

"I also want to, but I don't know how." Zhang Xingjiu spread his hands and said helplessly.

"Haha, what a coincidence! Yesterday, Fu Lan-ya from Gezhi Academy came to me and said that he had just established a mathematics class in the academy and was planning to hold science lectures to attract more people to learn scientific knowledge! The lecture will be held the day after tomorrow, and you can come with me then!" Ma Xiangbo immediately helped him find a channel.

Gezhi Academy is a unique school, which was first advocated by the British Consul in Shanghai, MacArthur, and promoted by Li Hongzhang, an important official of the imperial court.

Although Gezhi Academy was called an academy, it was not a traditional academy; it was located in the concession, but it was not a public school in the concession; missionaries were involved in its affairs, but it was not a church school; it had official funding, but it was not a government-run school.

It is a product of the special city of Shanghai and the result of the interweaving of heterogeneous cultures. It is one of the earliest new schools in modern China jointly run by Chinese and Western schools to systematically disseminate natural science knowledge and cultivate scientific and technological talents.

Currently, the academy teaches at the British missionary John Fryer, Chinese scientists Xu Shou, Hua Hengfang, Wang Tao, etc. It can be said to be the most advanced scientific school in the country. If Zhang Xingjiu had not found Xuhui Public School, he might have enrolled here.

Now that he had the opportunity to go and see it, he was naturally happy and agreed immediately. However, Jiang Yixu was a little unhappy because Fu Lan-ya was an Anglican missionary and he was a Jesuit, so there was inevitably some gap between them.

But these are all trivial matters. He did not stop Ma Xiangbo from teaching at Gezhi Academy before, so he naturally would not stop Zhang Xingjiu from going there now. At the same time, he also felt that it would be beneficial for Zhang Xingjiu to communicate more with these scientists.

Two days later, Zhang Xingjiu hailed a rickshaw and arrived at Gezhi Academy, more than ten miles away. This academy was near what would later become People's Square, and two blocks east would lead to the Bund. Perhaps because of the lecture, quite a few people had gathered at the school today, including Westerners in suits and ties and Chinese in robes. No one stopped Zhang Xingjiu when he entered, perhaps because Fu Lanya was eager for as many people as possible to attend the lecture.

"Zhou Ping! Here!" After strolling for a while, Ma Xiangbo saw him and quickly waved him over, introducing the person next to him, "This is Mr. Fu Lan-ya."

"Hello, Mr. Fu," Zhang Xingjiu said politely, and mentioned something that Fu Lan-ya was proud of. "I heard from the teachers at the public school that Mr. Fu translated Mr. Xu Shou's 'Research on Temperament and Lü' into English and published it in 'Nature'. This was the first time that Chinese scientific research results were presented to scientists around the world. This is truly a remarkable achievement."

This was the first Chinese article published in Nature. Unfortunately, Xu Shou passed away more than ten years ago, otherwise Zhang Xingjiu would have found him and taken a photo with him.

"I am very happy to help Chinese scientists and spread their achievements to the world. Unfortunately, there have been no high-quality scientific research articles for many years since Mr. Xu passed away." Fu Lan-ya said with a reserved smile.

"Perhaps in a few years, Zhou Ping will be able to write such an article. By then, I would like to trouble you to help translate it and submit it to Nature." Ma Xiangbo had great expectations for Zhang Xingjiu.

"Believe me, I will see this day!" Fu Lan-ya said politely.

After chatting for a while, the lecture officially began. Fu Lan-ya took to the podium and used various experimental equipment to introduce Western scientific knowledge to the audience. This knowledge seemed magical to others, but a bit boring in the eyes of Zhang Xingjiu.

While pretending to listen attentively, he recalled John Fryer's resume in his mind. This missionary was worthy of respect and had made outstanding contributions to the introduction of science into China.

During his tenure at the Jiangnan Arsenal, he translated hundreds of books covering a wide range of fields, including mathematics, physics, chemistry and chemical engineering, mining and metallurgy, mechanical engineering, medicine, agronomy, surveying and mapping, and military ordnance. These works inspired many Chinese people.

After arriving at the Gezhi Academy, he published a monthly magazine "Gezhi Huibian" in the name of the academy, which specialized in introducing natural science knowledge. The first issue was published on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month in the second year of the Guangxu period (February 1876, 2). It was the earliest science and technology magazine in modern China.

His greatest influence on later generations was his translation of chemical terms. John Fryer felt that it was inconvenient that China did not have characters for chemical elements, so he used his Chinese skills, together with his Chinese assistants such as Xu Shou, to recombine the Latin pronunciations of chemical elements popular in the world using the radicals of Chinese characters, forming so many new Chinese characters.

Of course, Zhu Yuanzhang also made a significant contribution in this process.

After the speech, Zhang Xingjiu followed Ma Xiangbo to continue communicating with Fu Lan-ya. After chatting for a while, he made a request.

(End of this chapter)