British writer

Lu Shi knew about Zheng Guanying,

But this kind of knowledge is only heard, and I don't know much about Zheng Guanying's specific life.

He ushered the two into the house.

Unexpectedly, Natsume Soseki spoke first: "Mr. Zheng, are you the author of "Yi Yan" and "Prosperous Words of Dangerous Times"?"

Zheng Guanying was surprised,

"Who is this?"

Lu Shi introduced the two of them.

Zheng Guanying's complexion was a little strange,

His "Words of a Prosperous Age" runs through the two themes of prosperity and national salvation, and puts forward plans for reforms in politics, economy, military, diplomacy, and culture.

The creative background is the defeat in the Sino-Japanese War.

Seeing the Japanese, it's strange to have a good face.

Natsume Soseki also realized that he had said something wrong just now, so he stepped forward quickly, as if he wanted to "sensate your private race!".

Lu Shi has a big head,

"Natsume, stop messing around."

Natsume Soseki was embarrassed and shut up honestly.

Lu Shi turned to Zheng Guanying and said, "Mr. Zheng, can you show me the newspaper?"

Zheng Guanying handed over The Times.

After flipping through a few pages later, you can see an open letter from Cambridge University, inviting Lu Shi to be a professor at King's College, teaching Chinese literature, translation, and linguistics.

The open letter is signed by many literary figures in Cambridge.

After that, there was an open letter from Oxford University with similar content.

Natsume Soseki muttered in a low voice: "Sir Wodehouse and Mr. Xiao are going to have a headache."

Lu Shi chuckled, and put the newspaper aside casually,

It is not surprising that things have developed in this way.

Zheng Guanying looked at Lu Shi so calmly, he couldn't help being surprised,

It is really exciting that there are Chinese people who are sought after by white people far away overseas, and it is an open invitation from top universities such as Cambridge and Oxford.

Gu Hongming whispered: "How? Is it consistent with what I said?"

Zheng Guanying gave a shallow "hmm\

,""Yeah, a real young talent...young, too young!"

This feeling is exactly the same as when Gu Hongming first met Lu.

The two whispered,

Lu Shi was not in a hurry, and waited quietly.

After a while, Gu Hongming said: "Lu Shi, we came to London by train and heard the students discussing your speech... By the way, "I Have a Dream" was also published in the newspaper, do you know? Daily Telegraph."

Lu Shi asked, "The Daily Telegraph?"

Because he knew the tendencies of the three major newspapers, he was a little surprised. He didn't know what the conservative "Daily Telegraph" thought.

The logical explanation is that Cambridge exerted influence.

Lu Shi changed the topic: "What are you two visiting this time?"

Gu Hongming replied with a smile: "Hearing his voice, seeing his person. After listening to your speech, I was inspired, so I didn't think so much, so I came to visit. I thought I could have a chat with you, and I must be in a good mood." ah."

There are not so many reasons for literati exchanges.

Lu Shi could also understand, so he turned his gaze to Zheng Guanying and asked, "Mr. Zheng, how about you?"

Zheng Guanying was silent.

In fact, he wanted to persuade Lu Shi to work for the Qing court,

But Gu Hongming made it clear that Lu Shi could not accept it, so he could only settle for the next best thing.

He said: "Lu...er...Mr. Lu hasn't written yet, so I'll call you that. Mr. Lu, your novels are quite popular in London, and your plays and speeches are also attracting great attention. Visiting lecturer, even accepted by Cambridge and Oxford..."

Lu Shi raised his hand,

"Mr. Zheng, don't you know what's going on with me in London?"

The implication is to let the other party have something to say.

Gu Hongming laughed out loud,

"Zhengxiang, I told you before that Lu Shi is not someone who 'respects the old and loves the young'. You don't need to add so much flattery and flattery in front."

Zheng Guanying was vaccinated, so he was not embarrassed.

He said: "I already know that Mr. Lu is not planning to return to China for the time being. If so, have you ever thought about writing textbooks for the Imperial University? I believe that the people publicly invited by Cambridge and Oxford must be talented and learned."

This request really caught Lu Shi by surprise.

He despised the Qing government and would not work for it.

But writing textbooks is inspired by people's wisdom, and the two must not be confused.

Lu Shi asked: "The university hall is reopening?"

Founded in July 1898, Jingshi University Hall is the first national university in modern China, marking the beginning of national higher education in modern China.

However, the Boxer Rebellion, the invasion of the capital by the Eight-Power Allied Forces and other events caused the University Hall to be repeatedly destroyed and closed down.

Zheng Guanying sighed, and said: "The university hall is indeed closed now. There is no way, the German and Russian invading forces occupied the school as a barracks, and the school building, books, and equipment were severely damaged, and classes cannot be held for the time being."

Lu Shi: "..."

Gu Hongming: "..."

Natsume Soseki: "..."

None of the three knew what to say.

Silence permeated the room.

After a while, Gu Hongming said: "Lu Shi, I know the reason why you don't return to the country, and I can understand it. But 'the wisdom of the young makes the country wise, the rich of the young makes the country rich, and the strong of the young makes the country strong'. There is nothing good about compiling textbooks in college."

After hearing what the other party said, Lu Shi laughed loudly,

"Mr. Gu, don't you look down on the reformers the most? Why did you quote Liang Rengong's "Young China"?"

Gu Hongming twitched his beard and replied: "I don't like the one with the surname Kang."

After speaking, he couldn't help laughing himself.

Lu Shi pondered for a moment, then whispered, "I'm afraid it won't work."

Gu Hongming and Zheng Guanying looked at each other,

"Why?"

The two spoke almost in unison.

Lu Shi smiled wryly,

"It's not that I don't want to write textbooks, it's...it's..."

I'm not good at writing in classical Chinese, it's really hard to say.

Zheng Guanying asked: "But what's the secret?"

Lu Shi had no choice but to say frankly: "Mr. Zheng, I came to London to study, but I didn't get a job in China. One of the reasons is that my writing in classical Chinese is extremely poor. If you let me use English or vernacular, then there is no problem."

Zheng Guanying:? ? ?

"this……"

No matter how much he thought about it, he never thought it would be such a reason.

Gu Hongming nodded again and again,

"I see."

He can understand Lu Shi because he was born in Penang, British Malaysia. Even if he has been studying classics, he sometimes feels strenuous.

This is also the reason why he is always ridiculed for his lack of knowledge even though his translations are as good as his body.

Gu Hongming pondered for a moment, thinking that the theme of Lu Shi's speech at Cambridge was "Faith, Express, Elegance", so he said: "Then you write a book and talk about translation issues, such as grammatical gender, which is easy to write. .”

It is really easy to write this kind of explanatory text in classical Chinese.

Lu Shi frowned,

"Mr. Gu mentioned Liang Rengong's "Youth China" just now, do you still remember the first sentence?"

Gu Hongming nodded,

"If I remember correctly, the first sentence of "Young China" should be "The Japanese call me China."

Lu Shi asked: "Why is the grammatical gender of the word 'China' feminine in French, masculine in Russian, and neuter in German?"

This question stopped Gu Hongming,

When he looked at Lu in a daze,

"Why?"

Lu Shi said: "From the perspective of linguistics, yin, yang, and neutral belong to word formation under grammar. They are the characteristics of known words, and they are the laws summed up by studying the common characteristics of a group of words. In short , is the sex that comes first with words and then words.”

Gu Hongming understands,

"So you can't turn it around and ask, why is this word a certain grammatical gender?"

Lu Shi nodded,

"Yes, because this is a characteristic of the word itself, and it is a rule of linguists. Therefore, to pursue grammatical gender in translation is to focus on the minutiae."

Gu Hongming himself is also a translator, of course he understands this,

Just like why decimals are used in mathematics, and why addition is represented by "+", there is no reason to say.

Natsume Soseki on the side nodded,

"It's really useless to stare at the minutiae."

He was sent to study abroad, but the Japanese Ministry of Education gave him an ambiguous goal of "studying English", so he was deeply moved.

For countries in distress, school textbooks are also based on pragmatism.

Lu Shi said: "English is the 'extraordinary development of Western learning' rather than the 'existence of Western learning'. It is necessary to learn foreign languages, but it is necessary to study translation as a special study, and it doesn't matter whether you pursue credibility or expressiveness. If you pursue elegance, you are putting the cart before the horse. "

This is the final word.

Zheng Guanying sighed,

"well……"

The country is weak, and the compilation of teaching materials is so difficult.

Lu Shi thought for a moment and said, ""Guns, Germs, and Steel" is a literary work. If it is translated into Chinese, it may be used as a teaching material."

As soon as the words fell, they were overruled by Gu Hongming and Zheng Guanying.

"No!" ×2.

The two spoke in unison.

Lu Shi asked, "Why?"

Gu Hongming showed a helpless expression, and replied: "It's not suitable."

It is true that "Guns, Germs, and Steel" is an immortal work, but it involves too many disciplines and is too comprehensive.

Because he was going to visit Lu Shi, Zheng Guanying also read "Guns, Germs and Steel" all night,

He said in a deep voice: "This book is amazing, but when I read it, I couldn't help thinking, which subject does it belong to? Mr. Lu just said liberal arts, but politics, geography, history, hygiene, biology... it seems like which one? Any subject is fine, and none of them are accurate."

Gu Hongming echoed: "It can be used as an extended reading material, and the textbook is really not suitable."

Lu Shi could not refute this.

He asked, "What subjects are there?"

Gu Hongming replied: "There are two types of general subjects and specialized subjects. For specific subjects, you need to read the "Regulations of the Imperial University Hall". In my impression, they include history, mathematics, Gezhi, geography, literature, and of course, Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism."

Zheng Guanying on the side added: "You forgot gymnastics."

Gu Hongming's head is full of black lines,

￣□￣｜｜

"Yes, and that weird gymnastics."

Everyone else felt that Mr. Gu seemed to be a little out of touch with gymnastics, so they tried their best to hold back their curiosity and didn't ask.

Zheng Guanying said: "Then, can you write a literature textbook? I read the article "A Brief Discussion on Narrative Tricks and Reasoning Works", and I was deeply shocked."

Lu Shi shook his head,

"Mystery novels are small doors and small eyes, that's not right."

Gu Hongming took over the conversation: "The article "I Have a Dream" can definitely be selected."

Lu Shi: "..."

That is indeed a text, and I still have to recite part of it.

Zheng Guanying held a different opinion.

"I don't think so. "I Have a Dream" is very good, but don't forget that it was born when Mr. Lu gave a speech at King's College, Cambridge University. This alone is difficult to use as a text."

Gu Hongming nodded,

"Then, 'A Generation'? 'The Answer'? Both poems are very good."

Zheng Guanying sighed when he heard this,

"How can two English poems be used as textbooks for literature?"

Lu Shi coughed lightly, and cut into the topic: "These two poems are far more interesting in Chinese than in English."

He chanted in Chinese:

"

'Meanness is the pass of the mean,

Nobility is the epitaph of the noble.

Behold, in that gilded sky,

Filled with the curved reflections of the dead. '

"

In an instant, silence swept over.

The rest of the people looked at Lu Shi with disbelief.

After a while, Zheng Guanying said: "Now I understand why Mr. Lu said that he is not good at writing classical Chinese."

As a native of the Qing Dynasty, he always believed that poetry had strict rhythms,

Only then is it poetry.

But after listening to the first paragraph of "Answer", he had to admit that writing poems in vernacular also had a certain impact.

It is more straightforward, and the emotions conveyed are naturally more direct.

Gu Hongming said in a low voice: "This poem is indeed qualified."

Zheng Guanying gave him a sideways glance,

"It's okay to write articles in vernacular. The folks have already had signs of it. "The Story of the Stone" has been written for a long time. But writing poems and songs in vernacular is a big problem in the world. How dare you?"

Gu Hongming shook his head,

"Don't dare."

Don't talk about him, Zhang Baixi, Wu Rulun, Yan Fu, Lin Shu...

These famous people dare not add up.

Gu Hongming thought for a moment, and then said: "It's okay, there are also "Yes! Prime Minister" and "Roman Holiday". In many countries with great powers, such as Britain, France, Germany, and Russia, there will be special drama courses to train professionals."

Lu Shi coughed lightly,

"I can see it, Mr. Gu, you are trying your best to praise me..."

Gu Hongming was embarrassed, and even blushed a little.

Zheng Guanying on the side said: "Mr. Lu, Mr. Lu, you are a great talent. Hearing that you are willing to compile teaching materials, Hongming will naturally try his best."

Gu Hongming let out a "huh\

,""Zhengxiang knows me."

The last time I met Lu Shi, especially when Lu Shi predicted that Cixi ordered Guangxu to prepare for the throne to follow the court to deceive the world, Gu Hongming was already very disappointed with the Qing government.

The Qing government sucks, so what?

Education must not be bad!

Gu Hongming said: "Lu Shi, I am still full of enthusiasm for research, education, and translation. You...you won't laugh at me, will you?"

Lu Shi shook his head,

"Won't."

Gu Hongming let out a long breath,

He didn't know why, but in front of Lu Shi, a junior, he always felt an indescribable sense of oppression.

Lu Shi said, "Let me think of a way. Literature, history, maybe..."

The first thing he thought of was "The Fifteen Years of Wanli\

,"Because of "Guns, Germs and Steel", he proposed a modern view of history in London Political Economy, but so far there is no book as an example.

"Wanli Fifteen Years" is undoubtedly qualified.

Moreover, the original work of "Fifteen Years of Wanli" is written in English. After it was written, it was cited as a textbook by many American universities. As long as the translation is in place, it can be used.

Of course, this book also has many problems, even if it is copied, it cannot be accepted as it is.

Lu Shi was thinking,

On the other side, Gu Hongming couldn't restrain his excitement,

"I knew it, I knew it..."

He covered his chest with his hands, looking like he was about to lose his breath.

Lu Shi hurriedly supported the other party, patted his back and pinched him, and said: "Mr. Gu, the capital university has not resumed classes yet, and there is no such thing as a horoscope, can you be more rational? !"