Chapter 735: The Wheel of History (Part II)

One back to Suzhou. Zheng Ruozeng was about to go to see the thing, and silently pointed to the corner of his robe and said, "You have to let me change my clothes, right?" "Seeing that the stain was his masterpiece, Zheng Ruozeng was embarrassed to urge again."

It was easy to wait for Shen Mo to be new inside and out, and when he came out from behind, Zheng Ruozeng couldn't wait to urge him to get into the car. The guard, who served as the coachman, asked, "My lord, where are you going?" ”

"Suzhou Translation Bureau." Shen Mo said softly, so the carriage went straight to the south of the city.

Because the south of the city was the residence of the governor's yamen, the government office, and the county government, it was forbidden to open convenient facilities such as shops, silver horns, and inns, so it was much quieter than other urban areas where merchants gathered. The carriage drove to an alley at the end of Shuyuan Lane, and at the door of the penultimate house, I finally saw a plaque with blue characters on a white background, with five big characters on it: 'Suzhou Translation Bureau', and a line of inconspicuous inscriptions in the lower left corner.

"It's hard to find this place." Gui Youguang smiled: "I've been here once, but I'm still lost." ”

"In the beginning, it's better to keep a low profile." Shen Mo said softly: "The aroma of wine is not afraid of deep alleys." ”

After getting out of the car, Sanchi stepped forward to report, and after a while, several people who looked like leaders led a few Westerners in Hanfu to greet them. When I saw it, it was silent, and the one who walked in the front was very surprised: "I thought you would arrive tomorrow." "Hurry up and pay a big salute with everyone.

Shen Mo smiled and said, "Come on, let's go in and talk." So Zheng Ruozeng also followed into the courtyard, and he didn't see any famous hall, so he entered the front hall and sat down, he saw a couplet hanging on the middle hall, saying: 'Through the world's spiritual veins enlighten the mind, translate the great works of the East and West to make up for the congenital deficiencies', and the horizontal criticism is 'a combination of Chinese and Western'. I couldn't help but laugh secretly: 'What a big breath; But it's cautious, and it's in line with its owner's style. ’

Shen Mo didn't pay attention to the curious Mr. Zheng, his gaze gently swept over a few foreigners, and finally smiled at the Ming people who took the lead: "It's really good to see Mr. Naruno here." ”

The man was in his fifties, with a clear face, gray beard, and a royal blue straight jacket, and he looked like a celebrity and gentleman, in fact, his name was Chen He, and his name was Mingye, and he was a famous talent in Shaoxing, and he had formed a Vietnamese Central Society with Shen Lian. This person is brilliant and well-read, not only ancient poetry, sao fu, lyrics and songs, cursive, pictures, etc. can do his best to serve all famous artists, but also his own ideas and excellent work; And he is also very proficient in the language, and can understand the words of Japan, North Korea, Annam, India and other countries, which can be described as a genius.

The idea of establishing a translation agency has been silent for many years. With his position of power and the terrifying wealth at his disposal, it is not difficult, but it will take time. Four years earlier, he had sent a fleet of ships loaded with precious silk and porcelain, with his closest confidants and the best foreign sailors, to sail directly across the ocean to Europa. Their task was to buy books on science, politics, philosophy, medicine, architecture, and other fields in Britain, France, Italy, and Germany with the huge wealth they had gained from selling expensive goods, and to recruit scholars and technicians as much as possible, and to invite them to China on the best terms......

After sending it out, it was a long wait, a year, two years, three years, four years...... Finally, two months ago, the news of the return of the fleet came, which made Shen Mo overjoyed, and he couldn't wait to start the Suzhou Translation Bureau project, under the guidance of his spirit of 'low-key opening, moisturizing things silently'. Gui Youguang methodically searched for a place, prepared materials, and placed a well-paid interpreter, and everything went very easily. But he also put forward his opinion to Shen Mo, he must find a famous Confucian to sit in the town, so that the translated things can attract the attention of the scholars, otherwise just let a few foreigners work blindly, and not speak their bullshit Chinese, even if the writing is good, it will be extremely difficult to break into the upper class.

After thinking about it silently, he was right, and he really needed a steady, pragmatic and enlightened literati to check it, so that many problems could be avoided. After thinking about it, he thought of Chen He, as a fellow villager in Shaoxing, and a friend of his master, Shen Mo knew that Chen He was the son of an official eunuch, and he was an official when he was young, but because he was not born on the right path, he was snubbed by his boss and colleagues, and he was depressed all day long, and he became seriously ill and finally wanted to open it, so he abandoned the official mountain man uniform, and never did his job properly, and took pleasure in studying things that others did not understand, and seemed to know several foreign languages...... Although they are all from neighboring countries, it is rare to have this hobby.

So he wrote a letter to invite Chen He to come to Hangzhou for a talk, and personally introduced to him the work and significance of the Suzhou Translation Bureau. Chen He was quite moved, but Lao Cheng was serious and wanted to come to Suzhou first to see before making a decision. The two agreed that as long as he was still there when Shen Mo came to inspect, he accepted the appointment of the editor-in-chief of the Interpretation Bureau.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So seeing that Chen He was still there, Shen Mo was very happy. Chen He also smiled and said, "Nanny mortgage? ”

Shen Mo couldn't help but laugh and said: "It's also a Fur Rang machine language, I don't know this." ”

Chen He said with a smile: "I have just started learning in Xia, and I plan to master all these Spanish languages within two years." ”

"That's great." Shen Mo saw that he was full of interest, put his mind at ease, and looked at the westerners again: "Please allow this official to introduce himself, I am the waiter of the Daming Rite Department, and the southeast meridian is slightly silent, I am very happy to meet you here." ”

Several Westerners came back with his fleet, and they seemed to have a very good temperament and cultivation, and they greeted him deeply when they heard the words, and then introduced themselves, one of them was a Spaniard, with a Chinese name called Lin Sizhe, graduated from the University of Salamanca in Spain, majoring in mathematics and philosophy; One is French, whose Chinese name is Ai Huaxia. Graduated from the University of Paris, majoring in logic and rhetoric; Two Englishmen, one named Ma Mudong, graduated from Oxford University, majoring in art and astronomy; The other is Wen Guangming, who graduated from Cambridge University and majored in political science.

Silent for a while, I couldn't imagine that these thunderous universities already existed in the Ming Dynasty, and it seems that it really won't work if you don't hurry up. I asked them cordially, if they were used to coming to Daming, and if they had any requirements in life. He originally planned to flatter these high-achieving students with his attitude towards foreign experts. Who knew that the feedback of several people made him secretly wipe his sweat:

From the time they were recruited to the present, several Western scholars, who have studied Chinese for at least one year, at least have no problem in language communication. They scrambled to express their feelings to Shen Mo:

"Contemptible people have watched "The Travels of Marco Polo" since childhood, and have always held longing and suspicion for the heavenly East...... I'm not sure if there can be a country that is as rich and civilized as he described. Ai Huaxia said: "So when I heard that an envoy from the East recruited scholars to work in the Ming Dynasty, Biren did not hesitate to sign up, and I wanted to come and see this country with my own eyes." ”

"And what was the result?" asked with a silent smile.

"As I can see, your country has a fertile land, rich food, exquisite clothing, gorgeous furnishings in the home, and very cheap things." Ai Huaxia said: "You can buy delicate white sugar that can only be enjoyed by the royal family; Many people love beekeeping, so honey and wax are very cheap: the production is so large that you can load a ship, or even a fleet......"

"It also produces a large amount of silk, of excellent quality and perfect color, which greatly exceeds the Granada silk, and every foot is more expensive than gold in England." Ma Mudong continued: "There are also velvet, silk, satin and other fabrics on the market, and the price is so cheap...... Even in Spain and Italy, where we have the richest, it is impossible to buy something of such good quality and low price. ”

"It's impossible." The Spaniard Lin Sizhe pointed to the silk robe on his body and said: "This kind of fabric is only dared to be asked about by the great nobles, but here, I used ten days' salary to make three of them." ”

"You really burn buns......" Wen Guangming teased him.

"To be replaced." Lin Sizhe said seriously: "What is even more admirable is that silk cloth is not sold here according to size, but by weight, so there will be no fraud." ”

Shen Mo and the others laughed secretly in their hearts: "This is because you can buy silk like cabbage in Suzhou, where the city is full of machines." ’

Several foreigners who came to see the world continued to describe what they had seen, Ma Mudong said: "There are rivers everywhere, rice is grown everywhere, the farmers harvest so much, the price of grain here is more than five times cheaper than in Europe, and here is white rice like pearls...... Curse the hard to swallow oats. ”

"There are also plenty of cattle here, so cheap that you can buy a good one for eight riyals, and half the price; A whole deer sells for two riyals: and cheaper pork, which is as good as our Spanish lamb, which I love to eat. Lin Sizhe pointed to his lower abdomen and said, "It's just that you have to control the amount of food." ”

Listen to them speak with reverence and incredulity. Shen Mo and the others were proud, but their faces were also slightly feverish. They are telling the truth, but that's because they've only been to Shanghai and Suzhou, and if you leave here, let alone go north, you just go inland, and you will find that everything is not so good. Just like the well-informed Xavier said: 'The Ming Kingdom is bounded by the Huai River, half of which is better than heaven, and half is like hell......

Of course, no one will take the initiative to puncture this, because vanity cannot be avoided by anyone, only for the future, let them see it for themselves.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In any case, these people from Europe, feeling that they had entered heaven, said that they would not go back even if they were killed, and cautiously asked Shen Mo if they were allowed to take their relatives and friends over?

Shen Mo wanted to agree, but after thinking about it, he pretended to groan: "What about this......?"

Seeing his embarrassed look, several people immediately showed a begging look and said, "We can work harder, and we can ...... whatever we do."

Shen Mo was afraid of scaring them, so he smiled and said: "Of course it's okay to take it, it's common sense, but if you want to settle in Daming, you really need to redouble your efforts." He explained: "You should know that our country has just ended a war with its neighbors, and although our country has won a great victory, it has also suffered from the trauma of the war...... "Among the invaders, there are many red-haired and blue-eyed Francos and Dutch people who have joined, so the attitude of our government towards foreigners, not to mention, you should also know." ”

When several people heard this, they said anxiously: "Although we look the same as those barbaric robbers, we admire China, and we come to the Ming Dynasty for the first time, so we can't settle those accounts on our heads." ”

Shen nodded silently and said: "I know and understand, but the adults in the court don't know it yet, so if you want to get national treatment, you have to work hard yourself." ”

"How?" Several people asked in unison.

Shen Mo pointed to the couplet in the hall and said: "Do this well, everything will not be a problem." He also explained: "As the couplet says, there are many differences between our Eastern and Western civilizations, and we do not understand many of your things; As long as you do your best to do a good job in translation, through the books you translate, the adults in my country will naturally understand you, recognize you, and respect you; At that time, you don't need me to come forward, naturally there will be someone to speak to you. ”

Zheng Ruozeng and Chen He secretly said after hearing this: "It's worthy of being an adult, anything you say can be used in the translation of books, these Westerners are completely sold here......

Sure enough, several people rushed to express their determination to dedicate themselves to the cause of translation to Shen Mo, and even quoted the sentence of a famous Chinese poet: "The silkworms die in spring, and the wax torch turns to ashes and tears begin to dry", which made Shen Mo and the others tense their faces and dare not laugh.

At noon, the housekeeper invited everyone to the banquet hall for dinner, because Shen Mo had already instructed him to take care of the eating habits of foreign interpreters as much as possible, so this luncheon was naturally Western-style.

When I arrived at the banquet hall full of flowers, I saw that the long dining table was covered with dark green velvet tablecloth, neatly placed with gold and silver Western tableware, porcelain plates and porcelain bowls were also produced by Jingdezhen, and a small basket made of gold and silver thread was prepared according to the head, which was filled with golden bread and preserves, in addition to many plates of meat, chicken, goose, duck, bacon, beef, all intimately cut into slices, convenient for foreigners to use knives and forks.

The table next to it is filled with a variety of meats and vegetables, as well as a variety of oriental dishes.

Shen Mo naturally sat in the only position above, Gui Youguang, Chen He, and Zheng Ruozeng were on the left and right, and the rest were all blonde and blue-eyed Westerners, there were fifteen or sixteen, and it turned out that those four were the most cultivated among them, and they were selected as representatives to greet him.

Shen silently picked up the crystal cup, briefly greeted those Westerners who had never seen it, and wished them good health and all the best.

silently looked at the two sets of utensils in front of him, and looked at those foreigners, all of whom used chopsticks, and their movements were very skillful, and they also chose Chinese dishes to eat; Looking at Gui Youguang and Zheng Ruozeng again, they both held knives and forks and made curious gestures, Chen He taught them how to hold knives and forks on the side, and after a long time, Gui Youguang was discouraged and said: "It's really hard, it's better to use chopsticks?" Then he picked up his accustomed chopsticks again.

Zheng Ruozeng liked this method very much and thought it was a good attempt.

Chen He was a little surprised to see that the adults were very skilled in using knives and forks: "Where did you learn this?" ”

"I've eaten ...... in Shanghai" was silent and vague, and said, "Hmm, this steak is fried quite well." ”

"Hehe, this cook cooks for the Governor of Malacca," Chen He said with a smile: "When I went to the dock to buy fish, I ran into Lin Sizhe and them, and they ran away." He said and chuckled: "This is not unusual, that place is poor and hot, mosquitoes can bite people to death, who wants to stay." ”

"Not bad, not bad." Silently cut a piece of tender and juicy steak and put it in his mouth, wiped his mouth and said, "The conditions provided by Zhenchuan Gong are indeed good. "Compared with the low-key appearance, the inside of the translation bureau can be called luxurious.

"yes, such good conditions." Chen He nodded and said, "If you don't work hard, you feel sorry for Zhenchuan Gong." ”

Gui Youguang struggled to clip a bloodshot steak with chopsticks, and said with a smile: "It's all an adult's order, I just follow orders." ”

"How's the work going?" Shen Mo had almost eaten himself, and seeing that Chen He had already wiped his mouth, he entered the main topic.

"Three books have been translated." Chen He said: "The main reason is that they don't know how to write now, and the words they say are all spoken, so they have to tell me first, and then I will re-choose the words and make sentences, and finally write them down, so the speed is naturally slow." Afraid of silence and disappointment, he said: "I am learning their words, and they are also learning our words, and I believe that they will not have to do it twice in the near future." ”

"Don't worry, quality is the most important thing." Shen Mo said: "This first shot must be fired, a good start is half the success." ”

"What are you going to do with your first book?" Chen He asked softly.

"Bring me the bibliography." Shen Mo commanded, knowing that before the translation work began, the people of the Translation Bureau had already sorted all the books into categories and compiled them into a set of catalogs, as well as Chinese and Western languages.

Chen He hurriedly asked someone to bring a thick book over.

"I want a catalog." The silence was a little weak.

"This is the catalogue...... Chen He whispered, "They brought back books from Europa, Arabia, and Egypt along the way, as long as they could find them, and they collected more than 90,000 copies in total." ”

partition

I won't cheat, my debts will definitely be repaid, and I have a short break for a better job......

Chapter 735: The Wheel of History (Part II)

Chapter 735 The Wheel of History, to the website