George Bernard Shaw always felt that something was wrong, and after a moment of silence, he suddenly laughed: "Zhou, you are secretly changing your concept again, and you almost wrapped me in." Since you think my comparison is unfair, let's talk separately about the outstanding figures of the world in the last 500 years. Italy has Galileo and Bruno, Britain has Newton, Darwin, Faraday, Watt, Germany has Gauss, Goethe, Beethoven, Einstein, France has Voltaire, Rousseau, Pasteur, Descartes, Russia has Pushkin, Mendeleev, the United States has Franklin, Edison...... The list can be very long. And who are there in China? In the past 500 years, who in China has made outstanding contributions to the development of world civilization? Whether it's literature, art, or natural science, as long as you can name one. ”

As soon as these words came out, the Chinese present began to think hard, and even Song Meiling was searching her stomach to recall Chinese celebrities.

Lin Yutang felt very sad that from the Ming Dynasty to the Republic of China, in the past 500 years, there has really not been a single Chinese artist, writer and scientist who has influenced the world.

Cai Yuanpei couldn't help but say, "Mr. George Bernard Shaw, this is unfair. From the pre-Qin period to the Tang and Song dynasties, China has produced a splendid culture that has attracted worldwide attention, but it has begun to lag behind in the past 500 years. The West was in the dark Middle Ages before the Renaissance, and it began to develop rapidly in the last 500 years. How can you compare the glorious era of Western civilization with the backward era of Chinese civilization? ”

George Bernard Shaw laughed: "So, I said that there is no culture in China now. ”

Zhou Hexuan suddenly said: "Is it really okay to list only one?" ”

"Of course, can you find one? It must be an artist, a writer, or a scientist who has influenced the world. George Bernard Shaw raised an eyebrow.

Zhou Hexuan smiled evilly: "Have you heard of Zhu Zaiyu, the little Zheng King of the Ming Dynasty of China. ”

George Bernard Shaw wondered, "Who is this?" ”

Xiao Zheng Wang Zhu Zaiyu has always been a neglected figure, even in the Republic of China era, there are very few people who study him. It was not until Joseph Needham, a fanatical Chinese fan, published a book defining Zhu Zaiyu as a "Chinese Renaissance saint" that Zhu Zaiyu became well-known to scholars at home and abroad.

Lin Yutang was also full of doubts, he was born in a Christian family, and although he had a strong foundation in Chinese studies, he had little research on the miscellaneous families of the Chinese dynasties. He turned his head to look at Cai Yuanpei: "Mr. Xiaomin, where do I seem to have heard the name Zhu Zaiyu?" ”

Cai Yuanpei laughed: "Liu Bannong published a book half a year ago, and the title of the book is "Zhu Zaiyu, the inventor of the twelve-equal rate". ”

Of course, Cai Yuanpei was deeply impressed by this, because Liu Bannong's book also had a line of small print printed on the cover - a collection of commemorative essays commemorating Cai Yuanpei's 65th birthday.

George Bernard Shaw still didn't understand, and asked Zhou Hexuan: "Zhou, can you describe this Zhu Zaiyu in detail?" ”

Zhou Hexuan said with a smile: "Zhu Zaiyu, the ninth grandson of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, is titled 'King Zheng', which is equivalent to your European princely title. He was a mathematician, the first to use the abacus to open the square, the study of the equation of the number series, the first to solve the first term, the last term and the number of terms of the known proportional series, and solved the decimal conversion of different carry systems. He was also a dancer, dancer, metrologists, and astronomical calendarist. He is best known as a musician, who pioneered the Twelve Equal Temperament. ”

George Bernard Shaw, the most British dramatist and with a great knowledge of music, exclaimed, "How could the law of twelve equals be invented by the Chinese?" You're lying! ”

Zhou Hexuan saw George Bernard Shaw's surprised look, and immediately became happy: "Mr. Zhu Zaiyu used the 81-level extra-large abacus to calculate the opening square and the opening square, put forward the 'reducer theory', and based on this, he created the chord alignment and rhythm pipe, and finally invented the twelve equal laws. This theory was transmitted to the West by missionaries, and the famous musician Bach made the world's first piano. And 90% of all musical instruments in the West today are based on the 12 equal temperaments. It can be said that without Zhu Zaiyu's invention of the 12 equal rhythms, none of the Western musicians you just listed, including Beethoven, would have been able to compose and play beautiful music. ”

To put it bluntly, Zhu Zaiyu, the king of Xiao Zheng, is the founding patriarch of Western modern music.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!" George Bernard Shaw shook his head repeatedly.

Zhou Hexuan said with a smile: "If Mr. George Bernard Shaw doesn't believe it, then you can read Zhu Zaiyu's "The Complete Book of Music and Rhythm." The historical classics that have been handed down hundreds of years ago can't even lie, right? ”

Cai Yuanpei secretly gave a thumbs up and winked at Zhou Hexuan.

Lin Yutang likes to translate Chinese classics into foreign books, and when he heard Zhou Hexuan's words, he immediately became interested in Zhu Zaiyu, and planned to devote himself to studying and translating Zhu Zaiyu's works when he returned.

Song Meiling clapped her hands and smiled: "China and the Western world have always had friendly exchanges, just like the current Republic of China and Western countries, we can promote and develop together." ”

Mrs. Lampson said: "China does have a lot of excellent traditional culture, and the more you learn about it, the more you can feel its charm. ”

George Bernard Shaw was still skeptical about this, but he had already developed a strong interest in Zhu Zaiyu, and immediately asked: "Zhou, can you tell us about Mr. Zhu Zaiyu, a nobleman of the Ming Dynasty?" ”

"Of course," Zhou Hexuan said in a language that Westerners could understand, "Mr. Zhu Zaiyu has been very intelligent since he was a child, and when he was 10 years old, he was named the prince of Zheng, that is, the first heir to the prince. Although his father was a prince, he lived a simple and upright life, and was imprisoned by the emperor for advising him not to be superstitious about witchcraft (Dandao). Mr. Zhu was only 15 years old at the time, and he could not bear to suffer his father alone, so he built a house out of mud next door to the compound where his father was under house arrest, and lived a life of hardship every day. He lived in the Burrow for 19 years, during which time he read a lot of books and studied with famous teachers, laying a solid foundation in mathematics, history, and music. It was not until the year after his father's release that Mr. Zhu Zaiyu moved back to the prince's palace. After his father's death, Mr. Zhu, who could inherit the throne of the prince, voluntarily gave up the title and focused on his academic research, eventually becoming a generation of masters. ”

After listening to Zhu Zaiyu's story, George Bernard Shaw sighed: "This is a respectable scholar and a nobleman with high morals. ”

George Bernard Shaw's recognition of Zhu Zaiyu first stems from his status as a prince. The title of prince must be respected in Europe, and George Bernard Shaw, an Englishman, is very superstitious about it. The second is Zhu Zaiyu's own morality, in order to accompany his father, who was imprisoned by the emperor, he actually lived in a mud house for 19 years. Finally, it is the purity of academics, and for the sake of research, he actually took the initiative to give up the title of prince, which is worthy of respect no matter what.

After telling Zhu Zaiyu's story, Zhou Hexuan is about to start fighting back, and he wants to make George Bernard Shaw completely bow his head and admit his mistakes.