Zhou Hexuan didn't want to shout slogans, and said to the crowd of onlookers: "Raise your hands and ask questions, come one by one." Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info”

As soon as he finished speaking, the students raised their hands in unison, lest they would not be able to take their turn if they were slow.

"This classmate comes first." Zhou Hexuan pointed to a little fat man at the front and said.

The little fat man didn't expect that he would be chosen, so he scratched his ears and cheeks at the moment, and said embarrassedly: "That, I'...... I haven't figured out what to ask yet. ”

"Hahahaha!"

The crowd burst into laughter.

Zhou Hexuan pointed to another tall man, the one who said before that he would use his own blood and sweat to write "China Chapter on the Rise of a Great Power".

"Mr. Zhou, my name is Chen Da, Zi Minzhi, I am a student of the mining class of Nankai University," this person first introduced himself, and then asked a very popular question nowadays, "Now many people say that Chinese are not as smart as Westerners and are an inferior people, what does Mr. Zhou think about this?" ”

Seeing that everyone was looking at him with expectant eyes, Zhou Hexuan smiled and said: "To say that the Chinese belong to an inferior nation, one is our inferiority, and the other is the contempt of Westerners for us. Where does inferiority and contempt come from? That stems from a history of humiliation since the late Qing Dynasty. The overall backwardness of science and technology, military, economy, and culture is inferior to the Western powers, and we are all inferior to others, so we are looked down upon by others. Am I right? ”

Chen Da nodded and said, "That's right." ”

"But are the Chinese really an inferior nation? I don't admit it," Zhou Hexuan said, "from the Qin and Han dynasties to the Song and Ming dynasties, China has been ahead of the West for thousands of years. Marco Polo praised China as a paradise full of gold, which made Westerners yearn for it, and came to China one after another to do business and study, which indirectly contributed to the rise of the Great Voyage. Voltaire was the champion of the Enlightenment, known as the king of French thought and the conscience of Europe. He spoke highly of China's history, astronomy, political system, science, law, ideology, and morality, and said that China is a great nation of civilization. ”

"Is that really the case?" Everyone was surprised. Many of those present had heard of Voltaire's name, but they did not know that he praised China in such a way.

Zhou Hexuan said with a smile: "I didn't make up these words, interested students can read Voltaire's "Theory of Customs". ”

Chen Da said blankly: "Then why did China become what it is now?" ”

"From Voltaire's writings, we can draw two conclusions," Zhou Hexuan analyzed, "first, China is not an inferior nation, and Westerners also admire and learn from us; Second, before the Enlightenment, there were many places where the West was inferior to China. The transcendence of Western civilization over Chinese civilization has only lasted three or four hundred years. Today's Britain, France, Germany and many other powers were regarded as barbarians more than 1,000 years ago, and they drank blood, could not understand the written language, and did not know etiquette. In the Middle Ages, it was even more ignorant and backward, and when he was sick, he was treated with bloodletting, and he was burned to death if he dared to say that the earth was not the center of the universe, and papermaking, gunpowder, and compass were all transmitted from China. Can this be said that China is an inferior nation? ”

Everyone pondered in silence, and some began to smile confidently on their faces.

Lu Jingyan suddenly asked: "Mr. Zhou, why is China lagging behind now?" ”

"Because Westerners are progressing and we are regressing," Zhou said, "after the Renaissance, Westerners got rid of the shackles of thought and advocated reason and science." China's rulers, from the Yuan Dynasty onwards, tried to imprison people's minds with Cheng Zhu Lixue, reaching their peak during the Manchu Qing Dynasty. The Japanese studied China in the Tang and Song dynasties, and for nearly 100 years they studied Europe and the United States, and they caught up, while China was still staggering. This is why China is backward, not because we are an inferior nation, but because we have delayed the golden period of rapid development of science and technology. ”

Chen Da asked again: "Does Mr. Zhou think that China should learn from the West in an all-round way?" For example, the abolition of Chinese characters, the Latinization of scripts, the abolition of Chinese, and the use of Esperanto? ”

"How can this be justified, how can Chinese characters be abolished?" Liang Qiming, who had not spoken, was furious, and said, "If you really abolish the Chinese character Chinese, China will be wiped out!" ”

Some of the young students, including Chen Da, immediately glared at Liang Mingming, who they thought belonged to the kind of old stubbornness who did not know progress.

The movement to abolish Chinese characters has continued throughout modern Chinese history, from the late Qing Dynasty to the 20 years after the founding of New China. Whether it is Roman pinyin, or modern Chinese pinyin promulgated by our party, or even simplified Chinese characters, they are all preparing for the abolition of Chinese characters.

The reason for this is not only as simple as ****, but also a more practical problem.

For example, in today's typewriters and typography, the Latin alphabet can be easily completed, while Chinese characters are extremely troublesome, which greatly hinders the spread of culture and science.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the movement to abolish Chinese characters was supported by the Soviet Union on the one hand, and on the other hand, it was also because Chinese characters were indeed inconvenient to use. Especially after the invention of electronic computers, Chinese characters cannot be input and displayed, which makes Chinese feel that Chinese characters have fallen behind the times and are old things that will eventually be eliminated.

Who would have thought at the time that the input of Chinese characters on a smartphone was far more convenient than the Latin alphabet?

Mr. Lu Xun said in an interview before his death: "If Chinese characters do not perish, China will perish." In the eyes of later generations, this statement is too ridiculous and ridiculous, and even went on to ridicule and slander Lu Xun, but who can understand the anguish and bitterness in Lu Xun's heart when he said this?

Can you mock Newton for not understanding the theory of relativity?

When it came to the abolition of Chinese characters and Chinese, Zhou Hexuan smiled dumbly: "My view is the same as that of Mr. Liang Qiming, abolishing Chinese characters and Chinese language, China will really be wiped out." ”

"Sir, I didn't expect you to be such an old-fashioned person!" Chen Da looked at Zhou Hexuan in disappointment.

Zhou Hexuan was not in a hurry, and asked slowly: "Once Chinese characters are abolished, the whole of China will become illiterate." How does the government work? How does the company work? How do newspapers deliver information? Have you thought about any of this? ”

"This, these can be done slowly." Chen Da said.

Zhou Hexuan shook his head and said: "I always believe that China is the greatest nation, Chinese characters are the most beautiful words, and Chinese is the most elegant language. Seeing the disdain on the faces of many students, Zhou Hexuan added, "I am fluent in English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Russian Chinese, and I know their roots and our own culture." Do you know about the Meiji Restoration in Japan? ”

Chen Da immediately said: "You know, it is precisely because of ***** that Japan can develop rapidly because of its separation from Asia and its entry into Europe!" ”

"That's wrong," Zhou Hexuan laughed, "Japan's Meiji Restoration is actually the Chinese Westernization Movement's 'middle school as the body, Western learning as the application'. 'Wazumi Yokoto' is the highest program of Japanese education, and to put it bluntly, it is the Japanese heart and Western talents, who blend Shinto doctrine, Confucianism, and nationalism. There were people in Japan who did advocate ***** but eventually abolished it. In order to preserve its traditions, the Japanese government also emphasized that all religions must be under the leadership of Shintoism, and even their weddings are recommended to be married before the gods. In addition, Confucianism still plays an important role in Japan, and their official documents are mostly written in kanji. Do you think Japan is behind the times? ”

These words made the students even more confused. Chen Daci said exhaustively: "It is precisely because Japan uses Chinese characters that it is not as developed as the West!" ”

"You're getting cause and effect wrong," Mr. Zhou said, "and China is lagging behind Japan, and Japan is lagging behind Britain and France, and that's because there's not enough time to catch up, not because of Chinese characters, Chinese, and Japanese." The United States also uses English, and Americans speak English, but it also took them more than 100 years to catch up with Europe. How long has it been since China has been catching up? ”

Chen Da was finally speechless, he was actually not persuaded by Zhou Hexuan, but he didn't know how to refute.

At this moment, the passengers of the entire carriage were all gathered around.

There were a few people who didn't know the truth whispered:

"Who's that?"

"I don't know, it may be a big shot, you see those students listen to him."

"It makes a lot of sense."

"Yes, learned gentlemen are different. Our ancestors spoke Chinese, how can this thing be abolished and learn from foreigners? ”

"Well said sir, a few more words!"

“……”

Zhou Hexuan no longer argued with these hot-blooded young people, and continued:

"The train is coming in, I'll say a few last words. A thousand years ago, we had the most splendid civilization in the world, the richest country, the most powerful army. Today, a thousand years later, we must face up to the tragic fact that China is lagging behind the rest of the world.

Since the late Qing Dynasty, the great powers knocked on the door of China with artillery, and the Opium War, the First Sino-Japanese War, and the Gengzi Kingdom changed ...... We have been defeated again and again, the government has signed traitorous treaties again and again, and our dream of a heavenly kingdom has finally been shattered. But we must not be arrogant, we must be self-confident and self-reliant, not inferior and cowardly, we must work hard, not gloomy......

I have a dream.

I dream of a day when the valley rises, the mountain descends, the bumpy and winding road becomes a smooth road, and the glory of freedom, equality, and democracy shines on the earth. That's our hope. I returned to China with this dream in mind. With this dream, we will cleave a stone of hope from the mountain of despair. With this belief, we will transform the cacophony of the country's squabbles into a beautiful piece of music filled with happiness.

I have a dream.

I dream that one day, China will once again stand as one of the world's great powers. Let the voice of prosperity sound from the waves of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River! Let the voice of prosperity sound from the fertile soil of North China and South China! Let the voice of prosperity sound in the Gobi steppe of northern Xinjiang! Let the voice of prosperity sound in the mountains and mountains of the northeast and southwest! Let the voice of prosperity and strength sound on every hill and every hillside inside and outside the Great Wall.

I have a dream.

Dream of one day. Every province, every prefecture and county, and every village in China will be transformed into a civilized world full of high-rise buildings and factories. Our sons and daughters, our children and grandchildren, whether Han Chinese, Manchus, Mongolians, Hui people, Tibetans, will join hands and sing a great hymn to the Chinese nation: We are free, we are strong, we are rich, we will no longer bear the pain of war, we will no longer bear the misfortune of poverty. Our children can sit in the bright school hall and learn the most advanced cultural knowledge; Our children and grandchildren can talk and laugh with foreigners and drink together, without looking at anyone's face; Our country is no longer the object of ridicule, and there is no longer a need to sign humiliating contracts. Any overseas Chinese can straighten their waists and shout: I am Chinese!

I have a dream.

For this dream, I will work together, struggle together, study together, work together, and sacrifice together. Because I know that one day, our dreams will come true. This is our great motherland, we are a great nation. When we worship our ancestors, we can gloriously say to our ancestors: We have done it, we are strong! Instead of complaining to your ancestors, you have left behind a poor and weak China, and you have left behind a humble nation.

I have a dream ......"

Zhou Hexuan was flickering at first, but as he spoke, he unconsciously burst into tears, and his loud words were filled with tears, and he was moved by himself.

Everyone in the carriage, whether it was a student, a businessman, a wealthy gentry, a politician, or a reporter, all listened to him silently, looking forward to the day when his dream would come true, and the day when China would become strong.