Chapter 961: Delving into the Spirit

This is also Li Junge's point of interest, and he couldn't help asking: "What does the old man say in his paper?"

Alice said: "Speaking of which, Columbia University has a long history with China. The Department of Sinology at Columbia University was donated by Mr. Ding Longhan, a descendant of Chinese workers who were sold to the United States as 'piglets', and it was the earliest Sinology Department established in the United States. Since 1901, Columbia University has established the Ding Longhan Chair Professor of Sinology, which is still the highest honor in the Department of East Asian Studies at Columbia, and only six professors have been awarded this title to date. ”

After speaking, he proudly said to the children: "The fifth of them is your grandfather Siyuan, and the sixth is a guest of a brother's university, your fourth ancestor. ”

The children all whispered in surprise.

Alice continued: "When many sources mention Mr. Ding Longhan's donation to establish the Sinology Department of Columbia University, there is such a statement, that is, the supreme ruler of the Qing Dynasty at that time was deeply moved when he heard about it. The Empress Dowager Cixi personally donated more than 5,000 precious books. ”

"In fact, the Queen Mother was 'deeply moved' after hearing Mr. Ding Longhan's donation, there is no evidence in the historical data, I am afraid it is out of imagination. ”

According to Hu Shi, the most famous Chinese alumnus of Columbia University, according to what Mr. Xia De, a professor of Chinese at Columbia University at the time, told him, this set was not the original version of Yongzhengnian, but was copied by the then Prime Minister Yamen. ”

According to Hu Shi's relay, Xia De said that it came from the words of the Dragon Boat Bridge. ”

"Xia De is a foreigner, but he has a deep understanding of Sinology, and he is the first Ding Long Chair Professor of Sinology. There is some credibility in his words, but they need to be examined. ”

"Who is the Dragon Boat Bridge? It was one of the five ministers sent by the Qing Dynasty to the West to investigate politics - Duanfang. The cultural leader among the last banner people, knowledgeable, understanding the collection of gold and stone, and the version is naturally a good show. ”

"In the "Political Diary of the Investigation", it is written that the Chinese delegation led by Duan Fang visited Columbia University on the 10th day of the first month of the 32nd year of Guangxu. …… There are only five Chinese students here. …… In addition, the library has a rich collection of Chinese books. ’”

"As you can imagine, when they visit the library, the school will show them the Ancient and Modern Books Collection. And Professor Xia De, the only one in the school who is proficient in Chinese, of course, has to come out to greet the guests. ”

It was at that time that Xia De introduced this set of books to the head of the delegation, Duan Fang. And Duan Fang, who is proficient in editions, can see at a glance that this book is not the original version of Kangxi, but a copy of the Prime Minister's Yamen. ”

"What's going on with this version? There are records that this version, 'The decoration, paper, and proofreading are all better than the Kangxi original.' However, due to the large size of the book, only 100 copies were reprinted at that time, and they were intended to be used as gifts to the great powers. Before the unintended book was delivered, it was caught in a fire, and there was not much left. This book donation ceremony is an invisible dropout. ’

During the Gengzi Rebellion, Columbia University began to build a Chinese College, but it suffered from the lack of Chinese nationality to refer to. ’

The school sent a letter to the U.S. Secretary of State, John Hay, and the U.S. Minister to China, John Kang, to request the help of Li Hongzhang, China's Minister of Beiyang. ’

'Hongzhang Naijuan asked the Empress Dowager of the West to make Sheng Xuanhuai at her discretion. Sheng Shi asked the former Prime Minister Yamen to give him a book. This is the beginning and end of this masterpiece to the United States and Fan. ’”

Of course, Grandpa will not jump to conclusions, and must look for historical materials to confirm it. ”

So my grandfather began to look through Columbia Spectator, the school magazine of Columbia University, and found a report in the newspaper in 1902: The State Council informed the new president of Columbia University, Butler, that he had received a letter from Conger, the minister to China, saying that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had selected a 6,000-volume book for the "Book Collection." The book is the largest of its kind in China, compiled by scholars instructed by the Kangxi Emperor, and costs $7,000 at the time. The book is now being shipped to the United States by Liu Kunyi, the governor of Liangjiang.

Minister Conger also said in the letter that this move proves the friendly feelings of the Chinese towards the United States. ”

Then my grandfather went to look for various American newspaper materials on this day, and finally found that the Chinese newspaper "Zhongxi Daily" in San Francisco also published a report on the selection of books: "On the 17th, the New York called Yunyun, and the US Department of Foreign Affairs yesterday told Xi Bila, the chief professor of the Collinthia University, that he had received a letter from Kang Jia, the envoy stationed in Beijing, stating that the books sent by China to the school were selected by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to obtain a set of 6,000 volumes of "Zishi Collection", which contained various events in ancient and modern China. ’”

Li Junge immediately found a loophole: "Wait a minute, why are the two newspapers called different? One is called "Zishi Collection" and the other is called "Book Collection"? There are also leaders of Columbia University, one is called Butler, and the other is called Billa?"

Alice smiled: "You still listen very carefully, grandpa's explanation is that the translation of "Book Collection" here in Columbia University is Tu Shu Chi Cheng, obviously, "Zhongxi Daily" and Columbia Specctator are from the same source, but "Zhongxi Daily" is run by Cantonese, and in a hurry, Tu Shu Chi Cheng was mistranslated as "Zishi Collection". And the new principal, Butler, is translated Butler from Northern and Billa from Cantonese. ”

Li Junge couldn't help but nod and said, "It makes sense, then this matter makes sense." The old man is really rigorous in his studies. ”

Alice laughed, "The rigor is still to come. At this point, all we see are unilateral accounts from the United States, indicating that this is a 'courier', Columbia is the recipient, and the testimony of the sender must also be found. Who is the sender, it is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Qing court. ”

So my grandfather went to consult the "Historical Materials of Sino-US Relations - Guangxu Dynasty" edited by Taiwanese scholar Huang Jiamo, and found two receipts of Wu Tingfang, the minister to the United States at that time, from the various original archives of Sino-US negotiations collected in the book. ”

"The first is the receipt of the document on the third day of the second month of the 28th year of Guangxu. This submission should have been sent out a long time ago, but because of the transit, the difference between sending and receiving was about two months. ”

Wu Tingfang said: On September 21, the 27th year of Guangxu, US Minister Conger sent a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, saying that he had received a letter from the chief professor Lou of the Colombia University Hall in New York, and that the church was adding Chinese studies, and planned to purchase and gather Chinese books to store in the school, and to concentrate all the things made by Hua Baigong and display them in the museum. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is now making preparations. ”

"The second case was received on the third day of March of the following year. Wu Tingfang said: He has received a communication from the Minister of Nanyang and plans to send a copy of the "Book Collection" to the American Academy; as for the various utensils needed by the museum, American businessmen have been doing business in China for a long time, and they can be purchased by American businessmen on their behalf. As soon as the Nanyang Minister sent the book collection, the embassy forwarded it to Columbia University. ”

Li Junge raised his hand again: "Wait, didn't you just say that Bila, why did the first piece of the text become Mr. Lou again?"

Alice smiled, "Mr. Lou is Seth Lo, the former president of Columbia University. He started it, but by the time the book arrived at Columbia in the spring of 1902, Seth Lo had been elected mayor of New York, and it was the new president, Butler, who greeted him. ”

Li Junge put his hand on his head: "It's like solving a case, but fortunately, all the buttons have been unbuttoned." ”

Alice said: "Combined with all this information, in the end, grandpa came to the following conclusions: First, this matter should be agreed by Li Hongzhang when he was critically ill. ”

After Cixi fled westward, she appointed Li Hongzhang and Prince Qing as plenipotentiary ministers to preside over negotiations with the foreign powers in Beijing, which exhausted the old man's energy. According to the "Selected Archives of Sheng Xuanhuai No. 7 -- The Boxer Rebellion," on October 30, 1901, Li Hongzhang 'vomited half a large bowl of blood with blood cakes' in his apartment, and the doctor diagnosed him with stomach bleeding; on November 3, Li Hongzhang 'gradually relaxed his stomach qi and improved his spirits slightly'. ”

When Conger sent a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Qing court asking for a letter, he happened to encounter Li Hongzhang who was ill and dying. And Li Hongzhang's signed letter was exactly what he handled on the day of 'slightly better spirits'. ”

On the penultimate day of his life, Li Hongzhang still tried his best to deal with this inconsequential diplomatic incident, just to entrap American diplomats. Four days later, Li Hongzhang left the world with a full stomach. ”

"Second, this matter has nothing to do with the Empress Dowager Cixi. Grandpa consulted the "Records of Dezong", "Guangxu Dynasty Decree Files", "Guangxu Dynasty Zhu Criticism Notes", "Gengzi Incident Qing Palace Archives Compilation", etc., but did not see the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on this matter, nor did he see any edicts. ”

"Based on the current information, it should be after Li Hongzhang's death, in the name of Prince Qing or Wang Wenshao's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to consult Nanyang Minister Liu Kunyi for specific handling. Well, the whole thing has little to do with the Empress Dowager Cixi. ”

3. Liu Kunyi decided to give away a copy of the "Collection of Ancient and Modern Books", and asked the Americans to purchase the other artifacts in China. ”

"Fourth, there is information to confirm that this "Collection of Ancient and Modern Books" was originally a lithograph copy commissioned by the Prime Minister's Yamen to be photocopied by the Shanghai Tongshu Bureau. 380,000 taels were allocated, and then a subsidy of 100,000 taels was added, and it was printed on high-quality peach blossom paper, and a total of 101 taels were printed. ”

"One of them is bound in yellow silk, specially prepared for the imperial view. After the book was printed, in addition to the Huang Silk book and presented it to the emperor, another 10 copies were taken to the Beijing Prime Minister's Yamen, and the remaining 90 copies were temporarily stored by Shanghai Dao. ”

By the winter of 1901, in addition to the purchase of the book by Sichuan, Guangdong, Zhili, and other provinces, and the gift of a set to Japan, there was still a lot of stock in stock, and four to five thousand taels of warehouse rent, insurance, and guards had to be paid every year, and by the time Liu Kun took over, it had already cost more than 40,000 yuan. Become a heavy burden on Shanghai Road. ”

"Since you can't sell it, it's better to give it away. This is Liu Kunyi's true thoughts. Liu Kun received a message from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to purchase Chinese books and give them to Columbia University. He not only successfully completed the diplomatic mission assigned to him by Li Hongzhang, but also gave the East Asian Library of Columbia University a set of books that he could be proud of. ”

"The remaining dozens of sets were unfortunately destroyed by fire, but that should be after this incident. ”

After speaking, he said seriously: "This is the real ins and outs of this set of books." ”

Li Junge stroked his palms and exclaimed: "Exhaustive search, how much effort did it take to draw this conclusion from the vast amount of information and literature?!"

At the same time, it also gives people a series of understanding of the difficulties of the Qing court's foreign affairs at that time, the coping of local governments, the format of round-trip messages between messages, and even the government's outsourcing business at that time, the scale of printing, the cost of funds, and the situation of Chinese students. ”

"The value of this paper is not only to restore a bit of historical facts, but also to reveal these aspects at that time. ”

"Such a precious paper was actually drowned in the old man's sweat cow research materials, even I didn't pay attention to it, the Academy of Social Sciences really picked up a treasure this time!"

With this spirit of study, it is really impossible to say that he will not become a contemporary Confucian in the past 50 years. Babies, do you understand what to do this time?"

https:

Genius one second to remember the address of this site:. Mobile version reading URL: m.