September 1, 1905. When Mr. Ma Xiangbo woke up on the sickbed, it was already afternoon. Except for the occasional sound coming from the atrium, the mansion was quiet. Mr. Ma has been suffering from a cold for a few days, and he took a nap at noon and felt much better.

Hearing the sound inside the house, a middle-aged man walked in quickly. This person has a handsome appearance, thick eyebrows and big eyes, a high nose bridge, a pair of round glasses, slightly pursed lips, and a kind of resolute taste. He had a straight back, and although he was dressed in a long robe and a horse coat, his waist was straight, and he walked like a soldier.

"Mr. Xiangbo, you're awake." The man asked with concern. Mr. Ma was still on the sickbed, and the man deliberately lowered his voice, but he was full of energy, and his deep voice was more penetrating. As he spoke, he helped Ma Xiangbo to lean on the pillow.

Mr. Ma Xiangbo looked at a codex bound in the man's hand, and he asked, "How many." Have you seen the book? ”

"Mr. Xiangbo summoned me here for this book." The middle-aged man asked.

"The afterlife is terrible, the afterlife is terrifying." Mr. Ma Xiangbo said, "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed that this book was written by a young man in his twenties." ”

The middle-aged man nodded, "Mr. Xiangbo, I'll pour you a cup of tea." When he had finished speaking, he put the book next to his pillow and got up to pour his tea.

On the book cover is a beautiful line line, "The Inheritance of Chinese Culture and the Rise of Materialism" Volume 1.

"You Yan Jidao did "The Theory of Heavenly Evolution" a few years ago, and everyone praised it, and I also felt that my old man was suddenly opened. Once this book is completed, the repercussions will be greater than yours. Mr. Ma said lightly.

The man who brought the tea was the famous Yan Fu, and he had a good relationship with Ma Xiangbo. Ma Xiangbo set up Fudan Public School, and Yan Fu made great efforts. Now Yan Fu is working as the principal of Wanjiang Middle School in Anhui. Originally, Ma Xiangbo had made an appointment with Yan Fu, and next year, that is, in 1906, Yan Fu would take over as the principal of Fudan Public School. But a few days ago, I suddenly received a letter from Ma Xiangbo, asking him to come to Shanghai as soon as possible, and Ma Xiangbo said that he had obtained a treasure. Yan Fu saw that the intention of letting him move in the letter was very strong, so he hurried over non-stop.

When I arrived at Mr. Ma's house, I learned that Mr. Ma had been reading a book almost all night in the past few days, except for the start of school. I occasionally contracted a cold and fell ill. Even so, Mr. Ma also specially told his family that if he couldn't receive Yan Fu, he would let Yan Fu read a book first. After Mr. Ma's family conveyed Mr. Ma's meaning, they handed a copy to Yan Fu with a look of resentment.

Mr. Ma is a Ph.D. with a deep understanding of both Chinese and Western cultures. What book could make him so recommendable. Yan Fu liked the title of the book as soon as he saw it. As a recognized master of Western studies in China, Yan Fu was praised by Kang Youwei as "I don't see such a person in my eyes!" But like his contemporaries, Yan Fu's purpose in mastering Western studies was to be able to revive China and restore Chinese culture. The words "Chinese cultural inheritance" in the title of the book made him very appetizing. But Yan Fu himself is also a deep understanding of Chinese studies, and I feel that this author is not ashamed.

The content of the first chapter is not Chinese studies, but the title is "The Material Unity of the World", which is a debate between materialism and idealism. This person writes books in the vernacular, but it can be seen that he has some background in Chinese studies. Yan Fu's "Theory of Heavenly Evolution" uses literary language, and Yan Fu pondered how to translate many words, which put forward the translation standard of "faith, reach, and elegance" that was recommended by later generations. After this person uses the vernacular, he can tell the truth eloquently, even if he is not a person who does not read much, he can understand it. Yan Fu felt uncomfortable with this kind of practice, but he felt very good.

In the text, the author makes no secret of the materialist stance of the book. Yan Fu himself has some naïve materialist concepts, but he sees that "the world does not depend on the subjective consciousness of human beings and exists independently, but without the subjective consciousness of human beings, the world will not be perceived." This paragraph, I can't help but say hello secretly.

Soon, Yan Fu saw the words "productivity" and "production relations", which he had never seen. Focusing on the productive forces and the relations of production, the author describes that the production of material materials is the decisive force in the development of human society. Furthermore, the concept of "labor creates man himself" was proposed. Then, the article cites Chinese literature and proposes that the ancient kings "Youchao", "Suiren" and "Shennong" are all outstanding talents who have made great contributions to productivity, and they are regarded as the lords of the world.

Yan Fu has never looked at the world from such an angle, and when he first came into contact with it, he felt very uncomfortable, but when he thought about it carefully, he felt that this argument could justify itself, and it was quite difficult to have objections. Although everyone doesn't like to talk about profit, everyone is not opposed to "the hustle and bustle of the world is for profit, and the hustle and bustle of the world is for profit." This book is so straightforward about profit, which makes Yan Fu very uncomfortable. The writing of this book is not a philistine, how uncomfortable it is to read.

Although the text of this book is in the vernacular, the reasoning is biased and profound. The further I read it, the more puzzling I became. I re-read it again, but I found that it suddenly became clear. Yan Fu is not a person who reads to death, he put down the book and closed his eyes to meditate, and after a while, he understood the truth. The reasoning of this book is layered, and if you don't think about it according to his previous ideas, you will naturally not read through the later ones. This is completely different from the traditional Chinese "small words and big meanings". Rather, it is the model of European philosophy. Yan Fu not only wrote "The Theory of Heavenly Evolution", but also read many European philosophy books.

This author must be proficient in Western studies, and his attainments in Chinese studies will not be too low. Yan Fusheng was extremely curious, and he didn't know who made this article. While thinking about it, Mr. Ma Xiangbo had already woken up, and Yan Fu hurriedly went in to say hello.

After serving Mr. Ma with tea, Yan Fu asked, "This author is only in his twenties." ”

"Twenty-five."

"It's that age. I read the first one. I just think that this person is quite domineering in his arguments. It is as if there is a saying that the meaning of the whole world is exhausted. Sharp. ”

"It's not like it, it's really it."

Hearing this, Yan Fu was surprised and said, "This person is crazy? But in a blink of an eye, he remembered that Mr. Fang Cai Ma had a good opinion of this book.

"If it's a crazy life, I don't have to make a special trip to invite a few people over. This person has something to say, I have read it carefully several times, and I can't find a flaw in the book of hundreds of thousands of words. ”

"Hundreds of thousands of words?" Yan Fu was really surprised.

Mr. Ma Xiangbo pointed to the bookshelf in the room, where there was a thick stack of books, more than a dozen of them. The binding is exactly the same as the one Yan Fu has read. Mr. Ma's knowledge is very clear, if Mr. Ma said that he could not find a flaw after a closer look, he would definitely not be able to find it. If a young man in his twenties can write an essay of several thousand words, he will be able to link the logic without any flaws. It's already a rare talent. Hundreds of thousands of words of logic have never been chaotic, ...... there are such talents in China? Yan Fu made up his mind when he boarded the book and read this book carefully.

"Who wrote this book?" Yan Fu felt very curious.

"This man's name is Chen Ke."

"Chen Ke? Is it the pharmaceutical, and the Chen Ke who announced the molecular formula? ”

"How many people in Anhui also know this news?"

Yan Fu did know the news, and the others took this as a joke. As an international student, Chen Ke actually made medicine for willow disease. In the eyes of readers, it is really insulting. However, Yan Fu was born in the Nanyang Naval Division, studied at the British Naval Academy, and became the principal of the Beiyang Naval Academy. Once the sailors disembarked, they would certainly visit the brothel. It is not just one or two people who have contracted willow disease. If there was this medicine back then, the combat effectiveness of the Beiyang Naval Division would have been improved. For professional reasons, Yan Fu was not disgusted at all by Chen Restraint for taking out this medicine. It's just that Chen Ke is open to the molecular formula, and it is obvious that it is foreigners who are cheaper, and Yan Fu is quite dissatisfied with this.

"Since Mr. Xiangbo has read this book, what category do you put this book in?"

"It is not Confucianism, it is not Taoism, it is not interpretation, it is not illegal, and it is not Zonghengjia. However, all the opinions are there, but they are all under the theory of their claims. ”

"It's not Western studies either?" The more Yan Fu listened, the more strange he became.

"If I were to say, it would be a bit Catholic. The meaning of this book is that what I am talking about is the way of heaven. But this book is atheistic again. It's ......, hey. ”

Yan Fu pondered for a moment about Mr. Ma Xiangbo's words, and then asked, "Mr. Ma summoned me, what is the send?" ”

"First, Fudan Public School is about to open. You have to come. Second, I want you to see this book. This book is bound to be popular all over the world, according to the author's reasoning. Even if it is not the way of heaven, it is definitely not heresy. When the young people read it, the followers will be many. A few ways, the person who wrote the book is a genius, if you are willing, I want you to accept him as a disciple. If there is no one to discipline him, he is afraid that he will cause chaos in the world. ”

"How can that?" Yan Fu's brows furrowed.

"This person is knowledgeable, not to mention, and his vision is very powerful. In other articles in the appendix, he said that China's difficulties today lie in the fact that it has not experienced a foreign industrial revolution. The purpose of this book is to point out the gap between Chinese culture and industrialization. As long as we can cross this chasm, China will inevitably return to the central country. Looking at what he meant, he vaguely thought that it was orthodox in Chinese culture. ”

The weight of these words made Yan Fu speechless. Yan Fu stared at the book next to Ma Xiangbo's pillow for a long time. That's when he asked. "Mr. Xiangbo, listen to you. I would like to ask, how does this person's theory compare to Confucianism? ”

"If Han Fei had this book from time to time, Confucianism would definitely not be able to exclude him."

Chen Ke didn't know that someone was "calculating" himself. He was confronted by a large group of young people who were far less knowledgeable than those two predecessors, who were talking endlessly about the dialectic of materialism. This lesson has been taught for several days now, and it is talking about the part of "the laws of history and the replacement of social forms". After talking about slavery and feudalism, the students below have already exchanged heads and discussed it.

Chen Ke also felt tired, and announced a break between classes. He sat down on a stool, picked up his teacup and poured it boldly. After drinking, Chen Ke wiped the water stains on the corners of his mouth with the back of his hand without grace, and sighed comfortably.

Since reaching an agreement with Mr. Ma Xiangbo to use the premises of Fudan Public School, Chen Ke has unceremoniously used it every day. Because of the smashing incident, Chen Ke gave another lecture on medicine. After all, Chen Ke's current name is the president of Shanghai Renxin Medical College. Medical schools don't hold medical lectures, and it's a bit unreasonable.

However, the start time of the class is not quite right, and Jiangnan has already entered the rainy season. Chen Ke had no choice but to move the lecture into the classroom. At this time, the opening of Fudan Public School is approaching, and students from other places have already rushed to the school. The students have nothing else to do, and since someone is lecturing, everyone naturally comes to listen. As a result, more and more people gathered, and by the time Chen Ke talked about "The Inheritance of Chinese Culture and the Rise of Materialism", the number of people attending the lecture had increased from 100 to more than 400. I had to move the lecture venue to the largest auditorium of Fudan Public School.

At this time, the black clouds of autumn rain were creating outside the auditorium, and although it was afternoon, it was as if it was about to get dark. The rain is sometimes heavy and sometimes light, but it does not stop raining. Most of the more than 400 people were students, and they couldn't go out freely in the rain, and the auditorium, which was already slow, was still crowded. Since Chen Ke announced the end of class, the students began to be free, and most of them discussed the content of the lecture, and the auditorium was really full of people.

None of the students asked Chen Ke questions, not because they were unwilling or dissatisfied with Chen Ke. Instead, Chen Ke set the rules. At the end of the lecture, he will set aside time to answer the students' questions one by one. Chen Ke lectures for nearly six hours a day and spends more than an hour answering questions. Best of all, it's Q&A time soon. The students saw that Chen Ke's throat had become a little hoarse recently. I understand him. When you are resting, try not to disturb Chen Ke.

"Huangpu School of Social Sciences is recruiting!" Someone shouted.

"Huangpu Institute Industrial Recruitment!" Someone shouted.

"The Huangpu Society Constitutionalist Recruitment!" Someone shouted.

……

These people have recently joined the group of intellectual youth of Huangpu students in the course of attending lectures. The genre distinction between them is actually far from being so clear-cut. It's just that young people think it's funny, so they have to pull a big flag out. Youths who participate in several, or even all, so-called factions at the same time can be said to account for the vast majority of the members of the "Huangpu Society".

You Mu comes to the lectures every day these days. Hospitals are on track, and the demand for toxic drugs is increasing on all sides. But You Yu excused himself for not being able to make medicine, so he had to come to the class. After Chen Ke returns, they will make medicine together. In fact, not only You Wei, but all the comrades except Qi Huishen and Wu Xingchen, most of them resolutely came to the lecture every day for various reasons. The only one who didn't take the initiative to ask to attend the class was Xie Mingxian. Xie Mingxian's reason is very simple, he is here to work, not to attend lectures. Listening to the class, he felt embarrassed about taking money for nothing. But Chen Ke asked Xie Mingxian to listen to the lecture.

Qi Huishen is really busy, but as long as he has time, he will definitely come. What surprised Chen Ke was Wu Xingchen, originally Chen Ke didn't expect Wu Xingchen to really be interested in these subjects, but Wu Xingchen would come as long as he had time. His majestic figure of 195 sat in the crowd, and it was really hard to see it.

The book has already entered the printing phase. Qi Huishen found a printing house and ordered 5,000 sets in one go. The book is divided into volumes, each of which is a chapter. Twelve sections plus appendices for a total of thirteen books. Qi Huishen was very smart, he let the seventh volume start printing, and the book happened to be delivered yesterday. Chen Ke was helpless against the publicity of his comrades. Today, in the envious eyes of the students, the members of the People's Party are each handing a book. Some students have asked how the book will sell.

Chen Ke didn't plan to make any money, but he told everyone a story, if you give a horse to someone, everyone will naturally not cherish it. But if you sell it to someone else at a relatively low price, then the person who bought the horse will cherish it. Money is not the problem, this subtle psychological change is. Therefore, Chen Ke set the price of this book at 4% of the cost price, and a thick book only sold for 150 yuan. There are no poor people among the young people who can come to school, they can definitely afford it. You must know that "The Theory of Heavenly Evolution", which is much thinner than this book, Lu Xun bought it for 500 back then. Moreover, the members of the Huangpu Institute also told the students how many books there were. It was suggested that the students buy different fascicles separately and exchange them with each other to save money.

"It's good when you're a student." You Wei sat beside Chen Ke and sighed. You Yu has already come out of the loss. After that disturbance, You Yu began to give lectures at Fudan Public School on the third day. Everyone respected the lady, so as the only woman in the auditorium, she was given a place in the middle of the first row. No one dared to rob her. Also as a teacher, when she was resting, she sat next to Chen Ke on the podium. Since the experience of that public class, whether you are lecturing or listening to the class, you Yu has all dressed in white audition clothes. This alternative style makes students afraid to approach her.

"The school club has also been established. I've got what I really want to talk to you about. Hey! I'm so happy. Chen Ke said with a smile.

"Wen Qing, seriously, if you tell me these things as soon as you know me, I definitely think you are a big liar." You Yu didn't know why, and suddenly had such a feeling. After talking comfortably, You Yu tapped his left hand with the book he was holding in his right hand. "But now, I think Wen Qing is speaking a wise saying."

"Revolution is not so easy." Chen Ke answered the question.

You Wei raised his left hand, and all the students who saw this action focused their eyes on the watch on You Yan's wrist, "Wen Qing, it's time to give a lecture." After deliberately delaying for a little time, You Mu withdrew his wrist, and under the envious eyes of the students, You Wu jumped off the podium and sat back in his seat.

It was a signal that the students began to return to their seats, and there was a rumbling sound as order began to be restored in the auditorium. A lot of notes began to pass and then piled up on the table in front of Chen Ke. Chen Ke looked at it for a while, and suddenly smiled: "Today, everyone's problems are very concentrated. Everyone asked, this social system in Europe has changed. There are also many students who ask about the history of Europe. I remember that in the appendix, I wrote an article with a vulgar name. After speaking, Chen Ke stood up and wrote a few words on the blackboard under the light of the gas lamp.

The students followed word by word, "Ancient European History". After reading these words, the hall immediately burst into laughter.

Chen Ke turned around with a smile, "It was only at the end of the 18th century that the history of Europe was reliable. What I say is reliable is compared with China's history. The history of China is divided into the history of faith and the history of the wild. Why is it called that, the students must know. Please stand up and answer boldly! ”

The students looked at each other, and at this time one of them stood up and said loudly: "The history of letters is the history recorded by special historians. Wild history is the record of the literati themselves. Chen Ke knew this person, his name was Cui Guoxi, and he was the initiator of the industrial school of Huangpu Publishing House.

Chen Ke nodded and motioned for Cui Guoxi to sit down. "Seriously, although I also read some history books, my difference between the history of faith and the history of the wild is the same as what this classmate said. I'm not a professional historian, and I haven't asked anyone about it. I think this answer is 90 points, which is passable. ”

The classmates burst into laughter again. Chen Ke never didn't know how to pretend to understand. His level of Chinese studies is definitely not comparable to that of the masters of this year. In order to propagate his ideas, Chen Ke must use his strengths and avoid his weaknesses.

"This history book, which is considered relatively early by foreign countries, is called "Homer's Epic". As for this book, it is 2,500 years old. It is written about the Greeks who were known as the birthplace of European history 3,000 years ago. To Europeans, it's a history book. In China, which book can be compared to this? "Chen Ke sold a pass?

The students only looked at Chen Ke and looked back and forth, but did not reveal the mystery.

"Historical Records?" Someone shouted. Chen Ke shook his head.

"Warring States Policy?" Someone else shouted. Chen Ke still shook his head.

The students shouted a few names, and finally even "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" was shouted.

Chen Ke still shook his head, no one dared to say anything anymore, everyone waited for Chen Ke's explosive speech.

"This is considered to be the Homeric epic of Europeans as the equivalent of a history book, and the Chinese equivalent of the Classic of Mountains and Seas." Chen Ke said word by word.

The students were stunned for a moment, and immediately burst into a long burst of laughter.

According to the famous "slap in the face" on the Internet, Chen Ke told the historical record of Europe. This is not that Chen Ke is deliberately trying to belittle Europe, because at a time when Chinese youth are increasingly feeling the backwardness of Chinese culture, Chen Ke must point out where the real gap between China and Europe lies. We must build up the self-confidence of the Chinese. After introducing the pitiful history of Europe, Chen Ke said in a very calm tone: "Students, China itself is a civilization. China itself is culture. There are those who believe in God and those who do not, but everyone believes in their ancestors. Today's Chinese must have their own ancestors. And the deeds of our ancestors are in that history book. The greatness of our ancestors is also in those history books. Now China is lagging behind and has been beaten. This is the business of our generation, and it is up to our generation to save China and recover China. However, this does not mean that our ancestors were left behind those Europeans. ”

Speaking of this, Chen Ke looked around the audience, and suddenly found that at some point, there was a middle-aged man standing by the door who had never seen him. Although it was far away and the sky was dark, the man was backlit and could not see clearly. But just one stop there, the middle-aged man's demeanor and temperament are different. Slightly stunned, Chen Ke didn't care about the person and continued to talk.

"Our current decline cannot erase the glory of our ancestors. We are lagging behind, and we can only say that all of us are despicable people. But it is not that our ancestors are despicable. Now many people have been criticizing how backward Chinese culture is, and they can't wait to immediately change their foreign species, so that they feel that they have become noble. I have only one evaluation of this kind of person, to borrow Zhang Fei's words in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, three surnames are slaves, I bah. I wrote this book, The Inheritance of Chinese Culture and the Rise of Materialism, and I am here to point out where the gap between us and Europe is. Just to tell you what the world is really like. How can we catch up with Europe, how can we overtake Europe! Students, you are all in the prime of your youth, and it is also a good time to study. I have only one word for you. ”

Speaking of this, Chen Ke turned around and wrote a big line on the blackboard, then turned around and said loudly: "Read for the rise of China." ”

After a few moments, the students began to applaud and everyone stood up and cheered. The whole auditorium was filled with thunderous cheers.

Looking at the enthusiastic faces of the students, the faces flushed with excitement, and even some people had tears in their eyes. Chen Ke couldn't hold back his emotions, and shouted again almost hoarsely: "Study for the rise of China." ”

The rain outside was getting heavier and heavier.