The gifts given by Portugal and France were stored in warehouses in the harbor.

When the Chinese envoys returned, they had to take not only the gifts with them, but also the envoys of the two countries. Among them, the animals are the most troublesome, the horse breeds sent by France, the sheep breeds sent by Portugal, and they have to be raised by special people for a period of time, and they will definitely not be able to run around with the ship.

Horses and sheep were purchased on the initiative of the Chinese mission. When I heard that the number was not very large, the royal families of the two countries did not bother to collect money, and sent officials to carefully select.

Coming to Grace Harbour again, across the Channel is the United Kingdom.

Not long after sailing, Song Qin took a French pamphlet and went to the cabin to find Zhang Ruifeng: "Ambassador Zhang, I found a good book below." I wasn't familiar with French before, and I kept relaying it through a translator. The content of this book is quite difficult, and the French translator can't understand it. So far, I've probably read a lot. When I return to Nanjing, this book must be presented to Your Majesty! It is better to organize missionaries who know French to translate this book into Chinese seriously. ”

"What book?" Zhang Ruifeng asked.

Song Qin replied: "The title of the book is very long, and I don't know if the translation is correct, it is called 'The Methodology of Correct Thinking and Discovering the Truth.'" The author is the French celebrity Descartes, who, like His Majesty, actually founded analytic geometry. His mathematical theories are highly regarded in France. But his philosophical ideas were tragically besieged by French scholars. ”

There were four scholars from the two academies who went to sea with the ship, and Song Qin came from the Qintian Academy.

He didn't talk much along the way, only observing and documenting geography, and spent the rest of his time learning Latin. When I arrived in France, I didn't go to banquets, but studied French in the Louvre, and occasionally went to bookstores with a translator.

Descartes's Methodology, at this time, was only available in French, not in Latin. Although it has been published for more than a decade, and the mathematical methods in the book are highly sought after, his philosophical works have been disparaged to the point of uselessness.

The ship staggered to England, and Zhang Ruifeng happened to have nothing to do, so he asked, "What is written in the book?" ”

Song Qin said: "It is all-encompassing, including mathematics, physics and so on. What is really valuable is to explain how to do academic research, and His Majesty will be very happy when he gets this book. ”

Zhang Ruifeng couldn't understand: "You should be specific." ”

Song Qin said: "For example, optics, Descartes' research, and the pedants of the Qintian Academy, are in line with each other in many places. Its rare feature is that it uses optical principles to explain how the eye sees. We all know that the eye gouges out is a sphere. According to Descartes, the eye is a convex lens...... Does Ambassador Zhang know convex lenses? ”

"Ahem," Zhang Ruifeng coughed twice and smiled, "You continue." ”

Song Qin said: "The clairvoyant mirror used by the generals is a convex lens. In Descartes' view, each of our eyes is a clairvoyant. As for the myopia of scholars, it is due to problems with the convex lens, which leads to changes in optical focus. ”

"I see," Zhang Ruifeng said with a smile unconsciously, "You go on." ”

Song Qin said: "Descartes' cosmology of mechanics also coincides with some scholars of the Qintian Academy. Descartes, even more extreme, believed that the entire universe was mechanically moving, except for thought, and that everything could be illustrated in terms of mechanics. All animals, including humans, are also governed by complex laws of mechanics. Even more valuable is the epistemology and methodology of academic research proposed by Descartes. ”

Without waiting for Zhang Ruifeng to speak, Song Qin talked eloquently: "There are three epistemologies: first, philosophy is the foundation of all natural disciplines, and it requires truth and reliability. Second, the philosophical (scientific) and theoretical systems of the past were flawed, and even originated from erroneous basic cognitions. Third, the reason why the foundation is wrong or unreliable is that the method of establishing the foundation is incorrect, or even there is no method, so there must be a methodology. Ambassador Zhang, do you know how important these are to the Qin Tian Yuan? ”

"How important?" Zhang Ruifeng asked.

Song Qin said: "It's like "Zhuzi's Language" is to Song and Ming Dynasty. ”

Zhang Ruifeng was dumbfounded, he knew that the emperor attached great importance to the Qintian Academy. But today, the natural disciplines of the Qintian Academy have not yet been built from a high position, nor have they formed a strict system. If it is really as Song Qin said, then this "Methodology" will be brought back, and the knowledge of Qintianyuan will be able to open a sect.

The more Song Qin spoke, the more excited he became, and the content of Descartes' methodology brought him a sense of enlightenment.

The four principles of Descartes' methodology:

First, put aside all preconceptions and establish the authority of reason. All knowledge is tested rationally, and the test criterion is clear and unquestionable.

Second, the object of study should be broken down into as small parts as possible until the problem can be satisfactorily solved.

Third, in the study of science, it is necessary to have an order, from the easy to the difficult, and from the simple to the profound. There is no natural order of research objects, and it is necessary to artificially set a research order for them.

Fourth, when studying the problem, try to enumerate all the situations as much as possible. Some questions have answers that are appropriate for this situation, and some for that situation. It is necessary to do universal research and be sure that nothing is missing.

The three points of epistemology and the four principles of methodology can be said to be laying a solid foundation for scientific research.

Without following these, science is not systematic.

Zhang Ruifeng didn't understand this, and hurriedly changed the topic: "Since Descartes is so good, why don't you send an invitation and take him back to Nanjing to face the saint?" ”

Song Qin said: "I have inquired below, and Descartes has always lived in the Netherlands. ”

In fact, Descartes had long since gone to Sweden to serve as the personal teacher of the Queen of Sweden.

It was cold in Sweden, and he got up in the middle of the night every day to give lessons to the queen at five o'clock. was drenched by the cold wind every day, and unfortunately contracted pneumonia and died......

Descartes, a Frenchman, settled in the Netherlands for a long time because his research was so shocking that he often challenged the authority of the Church and Jesus. The Dutch side is Protestant, a little more open-minded, and will not be burned to death for no reason.

Even so, Descartes had to wait almost ten years to publish his On the World (Principles of Philosophy).

Because when "On the World" was finished, news came from Italy that Galileo had been convicted by the Holy See for agreeing with heliocentrism.

Galileo was very popular and had no worries about his life. He was sentenced to kneel on a stone tablet to sign a confession, to be imprisoned for life, to have the Dialogue burned in its entirety, and to prohibit the publication or reprinting of other books. Later, he was sentenced to life imprisonment and confined to home, and remained under house arrest until his death.

Compared with heliocentrism, Descartes's "On the World" was more radical, and he expounded the universe entirely in natural science.

Descartes had an even more outrageous philosophical theory: God exists and the world exists because I exist.

It's a pity that the Chinese envoys had only come a few years earlier to meet the living Descartes in Holland.

In addition to Methodology, Song Qin also bought other books by Descartes.

He couldn't read the French books, but he could read the Latin books in general, so he stayed in the cabin and continued to read.

At this time, what Song Qin read was "Principles of Philosophy". The original title of this book was "On the World", but when it came out in Latin, it was renamed "Principles of Philosophy".

The book contains three essays from the Methodology, with additional additions, a general discussion of matter, the world, and the earth.

In order to gain the approval of the church and prevent himself from being banned, Descartes also claimed in the preface that God was all-powerful and created everything in the universe. Any of his research stems from God-given thinking ability, which cannot be mistaken.

But reading between the lines, it is clear that Descartes did not believe in God at all, saying that "there is one God" who created everything.

Add "there is one", which is intriguing.

The other members of the legation regarded Europe as a barbarian land, and their bones were full of contempt. But when Song Qin read Descartes's book, he quickly discarded this preconception, and he felt that there were still university scholars in Europe.

"Principles of Philosophy" made Song Qin very obsessed, although he did not approve of some of the contents of the book, and even felt that it was wrong.

But Descartes said in his preface that all art is rough at first, but can be perfected gradually. It's the same with philosophy (science), as long as there is the right way to follow it, you will encounter something that is true.

When the fleet arrived in London, Song Qin was still addicted to books.

Cromwell was still negotiating with the Netherlands and was busy handing over power to Parliament. He did not show up for the time being, nor did he prepare any welcoming ceremony, but only sent his confidants and officials to receive him.

Milton didn't come either, he was blind, probably angry.

After living in London for a few days, Song Qin carefully read the "Principles of Philosophy". In addition to thinking about the contents of the certificate, he also followed Descartes' idea of what the gravitational pull of things comes from.

Although His Majesty the Emperor said that gravity comes from gravity, why does the earth produce gravity?

Grinding ink, lifting the pen.

Song Qin wrote a book: "When Chinese people write books and speak, they all want to be strategic. Today's Qin Tianyuan, scholars are also the same. First of all, we will justify ourselves, determine the source of the universe, and then study astrophysics. In Europe, there was a scholar named Descartes, whose work made me suddenly. Why bother to study from large to small? From small to big, it can also be ......"

Ancient scholars were actually pretty much the same.

First of all, we must determine the cosmology and world view, such as Cheng Zhu Lixue, which is non-polarized Tai Chi, Tai Chi is divided into yin and yang, and Yin and Yang Qi evolve all things. With this big framework, we can continue to do learning.

The Qintian Academy, which Zhao Han ordered to form, was also in this situation. Scientists were skeptical of the "theory of qi theory" and could not come up with any new cosmology, so they engaged in specific research while arguing about the birth and composition of the universe.

Descartes gave Song Qin inspiration, why did he have to be sure of these as soon as he came?

The worldview can indeed exist, the universe is material, and that is enough. Since the universe is material, we can slowly explore and study it. How to study it? Epistemology and methodology can be determined, and they can be continuously improved and supplemented from generation to generation.

After writing a bunch of words and sentences, Song Qin wrote three more key words: world view, epistemology, and methodology.

Only by determining these three things can the development of Chinese science truly move towards systematization and theorization, rather than a hammer in the east and a stick in the west.

With Song Qin's realization alone, this trip to Europe was worth it.

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