Cowen obviously didn't expect Lu Shi to be so young, so he mistakenly regarded Gu Hongming as the main owner at first.

Fortunately, he was cautious enough and asked the doorman first.

Lu Shi stretched out his hand,

"Hello, I'm Lu Shi of London Politics and Economics."

"The library is doing the final classification of books and manuscripts, and the staff are too busy to touch the ground, so I, the manager of the Printmaking and Painting Department, will lead the way, and I hope Professor Lu will bear with me," Cowen said. ”

After speaking, he aimed at Gu Hongming and Natsume Soseki,

Lu Shigang was just about to be introduced,

Unexpectedly, Cowen smiled and shook his head,

"It's okay, Professor Lu. Unimportant. ”

He turned and walked towards the building.

was said "not important" to his face, Gu Hongming couldn't cry or laugh, and he didn't know if the other party had a good mentality or was too arrogant.

The trio followed Covin.

The British Museum occupies a vast area and has a large collection, which accounts for only 1 per cent of the total collection on display.

As he walked, Kaowen introduced at the same time, and at the same time instructed Lu Shi to pay attention to the protection of the scroll when borrowing, even if it was just rubbings and transcripts, he should be as careful as possible.

A few people arrived at the reading room.

The materials to be read in Lu Shi belong to the history of the Ming Dynasty, and there is no original in the library, only copies.

After asking the staff, Cowen was relieved that he didn't need to move the original manuscript, and even intimately told Lu Shi which bookboxes and bookshelves to look for.

After that, he found a corner and stayed no longer bother.

Lu Shi took notes carefully.

Gu Hongming looked curiously beside him,

He said in a low voice: "After reading these historical materials, I realized the novelty of the "Fifteenth Year of Wanli" you wrote. ”

Gu Hongming is good at literature and classics, and his historiography is relatively weak.

If he is also proficient in historiography, he will find that the research method of "The Fifteenth Year of Wanli" is interdisciplinary, similar to "Guns, Germs and Steel".

Lu Shi was still reading, and he didn't raise his head,

Well, I am writing this to observe the pulse of history from the perspective of long-term social development, and pay attention to the interaction between characters and current situations. This is different from the traditional way of writing historiographical monographs. ”

Gu Hongming chewed this sentence carefully.

After a while, he said, "I don't really understand. ”

Lu Shi asked: "Mr. Gu has read "The Mystery of Great Righteousness", right?" How did Emperor Yongzheng evaluate himself? ”

Gu Hongming replied: "I may not be able to memorize it all, I want to think about it...... Well...... 'I have been working hard all night and night, diligent in governance, although I dare not compare with the ancient sages and queens, but I love the hearts of the people, and I am not eager to sleep for a while, and I am not exhausted in everything. ’”

That's enough to memorize.

Lu Shi said: "Pick up the lamp and boil the oil, and work hard all night." The result? ”

Gu Hongming immediately said: "In the prosperous era of Kangqian, Emperor Yongzheng inherited the upper and lower generations, and the effect was excellent. Of course, it is undeniable that the erosion in the back will soon be ......"

The old gentleman has indeed changed,

When discussing the Qing Dynasty, it is possible to be as objective as possible.

Lu Shi nodded,

"The same is true during the Wanli period, excellent officials worked hard, even trivial affairs to the township and county, in order to reverse the decline. But what about the final outcome? It's still a piece of erosion. ”

It's a bit of a fate to say that.

Gu Hongming suddenly realized and said: "I think your book is a little different, so it is." ”

He read "The Fifteenth Year of Wanli" before, and he only felt that the historical story was wonderful.

But looking back now, I find that there is a thesis in it, and this argument goes beyond specific historical figures and historical details, and is an analysis of the general trend of history.

As Lu Shi just said:

"Pay attention to the interaction between the characters and the current situation."

Gu Hongming sighed,

"Evil Sect."

Lu Shi is puzzled,

"Evil Sect? What kind of evil sect do you say? ”

Gu Hongming raised his chin and replied, "You are an evil book." I thought about it and felt that reading your book was filled with a sense of powerlessness. Whether it is Wanli as the emperor or Zhang Juzheng, who holds the power of the empire, it seems that they have not succeeded. ”

This is the grand historical view in "The Fifteenth Year of Wanli",

The problems of the system cannot be repaired from the part, and the answers can only be found from the economic foundation, social structure, and cultural soil.

Lu Shi said: "After watching "Guns, Germs and Steel", it should not be difficult to understand "The Fifteenth Year of Wanli". ”

Both are interdisciplinary works,

There are many commonalities in research methodology.

Gu Hongming said: "Can that be the same? ”

One book takes foreign countries as examples, starting with the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, and the Chinese read it like watching the fire on the other side;

One tells the history of China and empathizes.

Gu Hongming was very depressed,

"No more talking! Still not talking! The more you talk, the more congested you become. Last time, it was like this, and it made you dizzy. ”

Lu Shi is embarrassed,

"Ahem......"

Gu Hongming stepped aside,

"I'd better flip through the books myself. It's a rare visit to the library of the British Museum, and you can't afford to waste such a great opportunity. ”

Lu Shi is also happy to be quiet,

It is not difficult to copy books, but it is difficult to copy historical works.

Especially the book "The Fifteenth Year of Wanli", which was popular in the 80s and 90s,

And he came from the 20s of the 21st century, after 30 or 40 years of development, the concept of big history has also kept pace with the times, and many views have been revised on the basis of Huang Renyu.

He needed to concentrate his efforts on perfecting the Fifteenth Year of Wanli by combining historical data and newer historiographical perspectives.

On the other side, Gu Hongming studied seriously.

At this time, Natsume Soseki approached him and whispered, "Mr. Gu, come and have a look." ”

Gu Hongming was puzzled,

"What's wrong?"

Natsume Soseki swallowed, lowered his voice, and said, "I seem to have seen the Yongle Canon." ”

Gu Hongming didn't think much about it,

"Normal."

He ran his finger across the spine of the book he was reading, and said, "There are not only manuscripts of the twenty-four histories here, but also a large number of manuscripts of wild histories. ”

Natsume Soseki nodded, then shook his head,

"However, the manuscript of the Yongle Canon collected here is not complete."

Gu Hongming chuckled,

"You don't know how many copies there are in the Yongle Canon, right? The catalogue alone has 60 volumes, 370 million words, and a total of more than 10,000 volumes. How can you collect all of this? ”

He put down the history book in his hand,

"Where, take me to see it."

Natsume Soseki immediately took Gu Hongming to a bookcase.

Gu Hongming leaned over,

Soon, he showed a somewhat puzzled expression, and said in a low voice, "How does this look like a copy......

When Natsume Soseki heard this, he was relieved,

"Just now, I saw that there are two volumes of "Yongle Canon" here, thinking that it is so rare, I thought it was genuine, but it turned out to be a copy...... That's good, that's good! ”

Gu Hongming raised his eyebrows,

"Who says a copy isn't genuine?"

Natsume Soseki was stunned,

"Huh?"

Gu Hongming said: "As I just said, tens of thousands of copies of the Yongle Canon were compiled from the first year of Yongle, and it was finalized in the fifth year of Yongle, and then it took another whole year to complete the copying. In addition to the scriptures, histories, sub-books, and collections, the book also covers astronomy and geography, yin and yang medicine, divination, interpretation of Tibetan Taoist scriptures, drama, crafts, and agriculture...... How is it possible that such an important book has only the original and no copies? ”

Natsume Soseki understood,

"Yongle Canon" does have the difference between the original and the copy,

But from the perspective of cultural relics, both are real and original.

He asked, "Where is the original?" ”

Gu Hongming muttered: "It is presumed to be in Yongling. ”

Natsume Soseki nodded,

"Yongle Mausoleum...... Emperor Yongle used the "Yongle Grand Canon" to accompany the funeral, even if he was selfish, it was not incomprehensible. ”

Gu Hongming was slightly embarrassed, lowered his head and coughed a few times,

"Ahem, ahem, ahem......"

In fact, the Yongling Mausoleum of the Ming Dynasty is the joint burial mausoleum of the eleventh emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Shizong Zhu Houxi (year name Jiajing) and the three queens of Chen, Fang and Du.

The so-called "copy" was also copied during the Jiajing period, in order to use the original to accompany the burial, and it was not that there was a distinction between the main and the secondary when the book was written.

It's not easy to talk to Natsume Soseki about this kind of thing.

Gu Hongming walked up to Lu Shi and whispered.

Lu Shiji's hand paused slightly,

"Really?"

After all, Gu Hongming is not an archaeologist, and he is not sure, so he can only say: "Look like." ”

Lu Shi bowed his head in contemplation.

At this moment, Cowen's voice came from behind him: "Professor Lu, what happened?" ”

He never left, always keeping an eye on the three of them.

Lu Shi nodded to Gu Hongming.

Gu Hongming told Cowen his opinion, and then asked with some concern: "Mr. Cowen, you should be able to understand that the original and the copy are treasures, right?" ”

Cowan chuckled,

"Of course, how could I not know? I know this kind of thing better than you. ”

Gu Hongming frowned,

Obviously, I feel that the other party is too arrogant.

Cowen also felt that his words were too big, and hurriedly remedied and explained: "This old gentleman, I don't mean to be sarcastic. You know, I'm the manager of the Printmaking and Painting Department, and I still have a concept for this kind of thing. ”

He thought about it for a while, giving an example:

"For example, Li Sixun's painting in the Tang Dynasty, which is called "Green Landscape Map" in your country, has facsimiles in both the Northern and Southern Song dynasties. But even if it's a facsimile, it's a cultural relic. As far as I know, the facsimile of the Northern Song Dynasty has Ni Zan of the Yuan Dynasty and Zhang Tianjun of the Ming Dynasty. ”

I didn't expect foreign monks to really recite scriptures,

Since you know how to distinguish treasures, it's easy to say.

Gu Hongming said: "Then you hurry up and let your staff keep these two volumes of "Yongle Canon" well, don't damage them." ”

Cowan nodded and walked away quickly.

Seeing his back disappear, Lu Shi couldn't help but sigh,

When you come to the British Museum to look through historical materials, you will inevitably encounter such problems, but if you do encounter them, you will still be depressed.

Alas......

Evening ......

After a while, Cowin returned,

He saluted to Lu Shi,

"Professor Lu, thank you for your help. I have already asked my colleagues in the library just now, and they actually know that the two volumes of the Yongle Canon are genuine, but they are too busy to deal with them for the time being. ”

Land Hours: ???

Gu Hongming: ???

Natsume Soseki: ???

All three were a little confused.

I thought the British were illiterate,

Unexpectedly, people know the goods, but they don't have enough time.

Gu Hongming's face darkened,

"Short of time?"

It sounds like an excuse no matter how much it sounds.

As a result, Covin said: "Indeed, my colleagues are worried about the papyrus in Egypt." ”

Anyone could tell the smugness in his words.

Gu Hongming lowered his voice and asked, "Lu Shi, this papyrus is ......?"

I used Chinese, and I couldn't understand Kaowen.

Lu Shi also replied in Chinese: "I think it's a document or a painting of ancient Egypt." Historically, those papyrus have survived much longer than the Yongle Canon. He's gagging us. ”

"Bastard!"

Gu Hongming was so angry that he cursed.

Cowen saw the two of them muttering, but they didn't understand, so he interjected: "Don't worry, your country has no ability to protect cultural relics, and we in the British Museum will do our best." ”

Lu Shi snorted coldly,

"Collecting artifacts looted from different countries and claiming to be the protection of cultural relics...... This phenomenon is often referred to as 'shamelessness'. ”

There was no mercy in the words.

Covin's face was red and white,

He said: "Professor Lu's words are a little paranoid and excessive. Have you ever heard of the Parthenon? ”

Lu Shi had already guessed what the other party wanted to say, but he didn't stop it.

He replied: "Yes, in Greece." ”

Cowan nodded,

"Since Professor Lu has heard of it, then he should also know that the marble of the famous Parthenon was bought by the Earl of Elgin from the Sultan of Ottoman Turkey for 36,500 pounds, otherwise it would have been ground up and made into bricks long ago."

Lu Shi quietly watched the other party pretend to be X.

Covin was stared at uncomfortably and continued: "So, is there something wrong with what I said? For countries that don't have the capacity to protect their heritage, the British Museum is undoubtedly doing the right thing. ”

Lu Shi said: "Then, one day in the future, when Greece has the ability to protect cultural relics, will the British Museum return it?" ”

One sentence stunned Covin,

"This ......"

In modern times, the Greek government has repeatedly asked the British to return the antiquities,

They even built a museum around the Parthenon site, but it was empty, as a way to express their demand for the return of the relics.

Of course, the result is definitely not a show.

Lu Shi said: "It is undeniable that the British Museum has done the work of sorting, researching and restoring these cultural relics, which objectively promotes the dissemination and exchange of culture, and can barely be regarded as a kind of 'protection'." ”

Hearing this, Covin's face improved.

But Lu Shi didn't finish speaking,

He added: "But what is the original intention of this 'protection'? ”

Cowen doesn't give an answer,

It's not that it can't be answered, but the answer is self-explanatory.

This kind of "protection" and "protection" is the plundered spoils of war, so its purpose is still to maintain the cultural order under the world colonial system.

Not to mention that this "protection" is not necessarily very professional:

The use of Japanese painting restoration techniques to restore the Chinese painting "The Female History of the Portrait" led to the "Female History of the Portrait" being repaired, resulting in diseases such as slag loss;

Grinding away the yellowed shell of Elgin's stone carvings to meet the pre-war social concept of "white as noble";

The papyrus is damp, cracked, and truncated at the waist;

……

After so many oolongs, the British Museum had to invite cultural relics and archaeological experts from all over the world to restore it.

The China Pavilion has a large number of people from China.

Lu Shi said: "The British Museum robs, steals, buys and sells, don't pretend to be innocent." Why not admit your face honestly? ”

(End of chapter)