Treasure hunt begins in England

Chapter 589 Trip to Manchester
Since the document in the hands of the librarian was the earliest version of these documents, it might even be the most original version, so Liang En and the others went to Manchester together with Professor Alexander the next morning.

Manchester is a city with a population of about 50. It is also a metropolitan municipality and a single administrative area of ​​Greater Manchester in Northwest England. It is an important transportation hub and commercial, financial, industrial and cultural center in the UK, and an international metropolis.

The city is located in the center of the urban agglomeration in northwestern England, on the plains of northwestern England, and near the Pennines in the east.It is the birthplace of the cotton textile industry and the first industrialized city in the world.

More than 200 years ago, the world's earliest modern cotton textile industry was born here, which opened the prelude to the industrial revolution.Manchester also became the forerunner of a new generation of large industrial cities with the emergence of the cotton spinning industry.

As time goes by, the city has always been at the forefront of the times.Now, it is full of electronic atmosphere, centered on electronics, chemical industry and printing.

With more than 700 industries such as heavy machinery, weaving, oil refining, glass, plastics and food processing, it is not only the political and cultural center of Northwest England, but also a commercial and employment center.

The Chetham Library that Liang En and the others are going to is located in the center of this ancient industrial city. It is a red sandstone building with a long history. The main part of the building was first built in 1421.

Although the surface of this old, outdated, small library submerged in modern metropolitan buildings looks very ordinary, even in the center of Manchester, no one dares to underestimate this library. .

It was created to compete with the Oxford and Cambridge academic libraries in south-east England, and to provide a place for independent study and research in north-west England.

Going back to 1653, a successful cloth merchant named Humphrey Chetham donated money to build the library. He solemnly stated in his will:
Libraries should be "used by scholars and others influenced by scholars" and librarians "shall not make demands on anyone who comes to the library".

The original trustee began to provide services to doctors, lawyers and clergy in Manchester and the surrounding area when the library was built. They collected books and periodicals of all kinds covering a wide range of knowledge.

But later, with the emergence of more and more libraries, Chetham Library changed the direction of its collection, focusing on collecting works from the north-west of England.

Statistics show that more than half of the more than 12 printed materials were published before 1850, including books and journals in the 16th and 17th centuries, and there are more than 40 precious medieval manuscripts.As for modern manuscripts, that's more.

The library now houses many rare first editions, such as Samuel Johnson's 1755 Dictionary of the English Language, which took the British writer, critic and lexicographer seven years to complete.

The long poem "Paradise Lost" written by British poet and political commentator Milton in 1667 shows the majestic momentum of an epic.

The 1493th century English edition of the Nuremberg Chronicle published by German humanist scholar Hartmann Schödel in Nuremberg on July 7, 12.
Based on the Bible, this work of world history records many events in history and is one of the most well-organized and brilliantly mixed illustrations and texts of the early printed books.

Also because of these books, countless celebrities have visited here in history, such as Marx, Engels, Dalton, Joule, and Charlotte, the author of "Jane Eyre". Read and study here for a long time.

After entering the library, Liang En and the others found that the inside of the library was full of history like the outside. For example, there were still iron chains on some tables, which were preparations made in the past to prevent theft.

Because they had an appointment in advance, Liang En and the others quickly found the librarian who was waiting for them here, and then they went to the room with small windows on three sides and sat down around a small wooden table. .

"This table was used by Marx and Engels." After everyone sat down around this seat, the curator said proudly, and then took out a document in a box to show everyone up.

"This is the document in our library. It is older than the texts in your hands. I even suspect that this document may be the most original document."

"Why do you say that?" Seeing the librarian put a special doily on the book and then quietly unfolded the old yellowed paper, Liang En asked curiously.

"On the one hand, this document is the oldest among the three known. You know that an ancient document in this respect often represents closer to the truth." Mr. curator said while slowly unfolding the document.

"On the other hand, it is because there are some things in this document that are not in your two documents. I think these things should be the key to the mystery, at least part of the key."

Soon the file was unfolded, and everyone focused on this ancient document.The front of the document was no different from the document in Liang En's hands, they were all confusing Latin letters.

But when the document was turned over, several people were surprised to find a black mark appeared on the back of the document.

This sign is a black sun, inside the sun is painted a cross with a sword, the capital letter JHS and three nails, which seems to be the symbol of a Christian organization.

"Jesus Society?" The first time they saw this sign, Liang En and Professor Alexander next to him recognized what this sign represented.

The Jesuits are one of the main orders of the Catholic Church. Founded in Paris in 1534 by the Spanish Saint Ignatius of Loyola, it aimed to oppose the European Reformation.

The entire organization imitated the military discipline to formulate strict rules, so it is also called "Jesus Company".In addition to strictly adhering to "absolute wealth", "excellent beauty", "absolute will" and "three vows", monks should also unconditionally be loyal to the Pope and perform all tasks assigned by him.

In order to facilitate penetration into all levels of society, this organization cancels special congregational uniforms, does not live in monasteries, conducts various activities through preaching, running schools, hospitals, serving as official positions and confessors of princes.

对于这一组织18世纪资产阶级思想家曾予以抨击，欧洲一些国家曾加以取缔。1773年教宗克雷芒十四世宣布解散。1814年重新恢复。20世纪60年代以来，成为促进天主教现代化的重要力量。

At the same time, for Chinese people, this organization is also one of the earliest Catholic organizations that China came into contact with.It began sending missionaries to China during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty.

The first Jesuit to come to China, Francis Xavier (1506-1552), arrived at Chuan Island off the coast of Guangdong in the 30th year of Jiajing (1551) and died on the island the following year.

39年第一批耶稣会士抵达澳门。万历四年（1576）澳门教区成立。历史上自1552年至1800年，在华外国耶稣会士约780多名，华夏耶稣会士约130多名。他们也成为了中学西渐和西学东渐活动中最重要的思想文化交流的媒介。

(End of this chapter)