Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 2317 Pampa (43)

"What a great achievement." Joseph Werner stood on the wharf of Hening County (newly established at the end of last year, the 184th county-level administrative unit in the country), looked at the ship that had just left, and said with emotion.

Werner is 59 years old. At his age, he shouldn't have traveled across the ocean to the far southern New World.But unable to stand the warm invitation of his friend Leibniz, he finally declined the invitation of the newly established Berlin Academy of Arts and Sciences, as well as the persuasion of the elector, and came to the hot land on the east coast.

Of course, he is also very curious.When he was in Germany and Berlin, he often heard people talking about people on the east coast, from various industrial products to political and economic systems, from their powerful fleet to the recently popular culture and art-the number of people learning Chinese in Berlin is It's been getting better and better every year - everyone is talking about it.Even at salons or balls held by the upper class, when the ladies talked about the luxury of Paris, the gentlemen seriously discussed the rise of the East Bank, and combined it with the status quo of Prussia, making it a long-lasting bad topic.

As a well-known miniature painter in Germany and even the entire Central European region, Werner, who was born in Switzerland, often went to various social occasions of high society, and was often asked about the difference between ink painting on the east coast and the pocket oil painting he learned.God is sorry, he really didn't know much about it, so after he became famous on the east coast, he studied the painting style of his colleagues in the east a little bit, but limited to the lack of information, it was not very in-depth.Therefore, every time he encounters such an occasion, he honestly answers "I don't understand" and "Don't dare to comment", which has won the respect of some people.

Compared with him, Leibniz had a much deeper understanding of the East.This talented person in mathematics was influenced by missionaries in China early on, read many reports or records written by them and sent back to Europe, and was quite yearning for traditional Chinese religion and philosophy.Especially after the East Coast rose like a comet, his interest became more intense. He had been exposed to Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, and had read "Chinese Literature" published by Spicelius in 1660, Kiel Schell's "Illustrations of Chinese Cultural Relics" published in 1667 and the version adapted by Abbot Miller in 1672 (with Chinese music content added and some errors corrected), at the same time with the Jesuit monks who had been to mainland China Min Ming and I (Italian) have a good relationship, and even asked him to help me understand some Chinese sericulture, astronomy, history and language when I went to China again.

In addition, the newly published Latin "Chinese Philosopher Confucius" by Jesuit priest Bo Yingli (this book translates "University", "Doctrine of the Mean", and "Analects" into Latin, and also includes the content of the 64 hexagrams of Zhouyi) He also read the book.If he hadn't been invited to be a professor at Luoyang University, he would have published a book called "China News" next year, highlighting his interest in oriental culture.

"East coast culture takes traditional Chinese culture as its matrix, draws nourishment from it, and then develops its own unique germ. In fact, the teachings of the Lord are quite similar to Chinese traditions. Chinese and European cultures should communicate better. Because it is beneficial to both sides. Our natural sciences, speculative philosophy, and logic are inspiring to the Chinese, and their practical philosophy and national morality are also very attractive to us. Well, we will not talk about the East Coast here , this civilization has developed to a very mature height, we only talk about Europe and mainland China. From my experience, the current European morality is corrupt and the social order is disorganized, just like we send missionaries to China to teach God inspired theology , and the Chinese should be invited to come to Europe to teach us the philosophy of practicality and moderation.” Leibniz, wearing an oriental stand-up collar shirt, said: “Of course, if people from the east coast participate and judge moral and practical philosophy, then Golden apples will be rewarded to them. This society is too perfect, although it is not an ideal utopia, it is already very good."

Werner took a deep look at Leibniz, and said after a long time: "Gottfried, you seem to be fascinated by the East Bank. Yes, I agree with you, this is definitely not utopia. You seem Is it because I am dissatisfied with the division of Germany, the war, and disappointed with the tyranny of the princes, so I admire the East Bank so much? Well, I admit that I am a bit subjective. I have not been here for a long time, and I have not yet deeply understood the people of this country. Culture. But as far as the great achievements I have seen so far, I have great respect for them. They are hardworking, brave, and pioneering, and they have brought the practical philosophy of the Chinese to the extreme. But it seems that the golden mean Didn't show it specifically?"

"No, it's reflected in their souls. It may not be as perfect as mainland China, but their roots are there. Although they are a little alienated, they are still reflected everywhere, especially in political life. Respect and respect." Leibniz said: "Live well in Luoyang University, you will be satisfied with everything provided by the people on the east coast. Then you can observe with your eyes and draw your own conclusions."

"Thank you very much for your suggestion." Werner, who has been formally appointed as an art professor by Luoyang University, replied, "I heard that you are studying "Book of Changes" recently. Do you have any experience?"

"Oh, I applied the principles mentioned in the "Book of Changes" to the proof of algebra. You know, it is the circle diagram of 64 hexagrams and the square circle arranged according to the eight hexagrams in the circle. I studied the mathematical arrangement of the hexagrams , and finally came to a wonderful conclusion." Leibniz said in a slightly excited tone: "The core idea of ​​the 64 hexagrams in the "Book of Changes" is actually based on the binary principle. Yes, I have I proposed binary arithmetic before, and now I finally found a bosom friend, I am very happy, the great civilizations really have a relationship.”

Leibniz is now a professor of mathematics at Luoyang University, and his monthly salary plus various subsidies is as much as [-] yuan.Coupled with the low-rent housing provided by the government - don't get me wrong, this is a villa, but the rent is very low - he has a good material life guarantee, so he can conduct academic research without distraction.If he hadn't come to Hening Port to pick up his old friend this time, he might not be willing to leave the school in Yuquan District.With this time, it is better to study more mathematical problems, the East Coast people are very accomplished in this area.

However, Leibniz has also encountered some troubles recently, that is, people from the east coast have approached him several times, asking him to help start a relationship, and recruit some scholars from Europe to live and give lectures on the east coast, whether it is in the field of art or science.You must know that the current situation in Europe is unstable, and many scholars' patrons (usually nobles) have cut off their confessions, and their lives are actually not satisfactory.Therefore, the East Coast government believes that now is a good opportunity to absorb talents from the bottom of Europe, which can not only enrich the intellectual resources of the East Coast, but also weaken the potential of Europe-although the knowledge structure of those European scholars may be somewhat outdated, but There is no doubt that their minds may be very useful, and if they stand on the shoulders of giants (the knowledge held by the East Coast people), they may be able to play a surprisingly large role.

Leibniz wrote some letters back to Europe, but has not yet received a reply.As for Werner, he was kindly invited before he came to the East Bank. At that time, the painter was hesitating whether to be the first president of the Berlin Academy of Arts and Sciences.Now it seems that he was finally persuaded by Leibniz. Perhaps the 1000 yuan settling allowance and high salary promised by the East Coast people also played a big role.The Prussians ended up missing the president of one of the two best universities in their country—of course, the Prussian Academy of Sciences, which was only founded in 1700, also missed their first president, Gottfried Sir William Leibniz.

"Let's not talk about that." Leibniz said with a smile: "I recently received a research grant of [-] French currency, and Luoyang University was very interested in my idea of ​​a new type of binary computing machine. They encouraged me to continue my research , and approved a funding of [-] yuan. Oh, God, they are good people, generous people! I have never received so much sponsorship at one time, and they also matched two smart, qualified Knowledgeable young people help me share part of the work. What's more wonderful is that the people on the east coast have a stronger industrial base than you and I imagined. They can manufacture precise gears and ingenious transmission structures, which can turn some of my wonderful I am very excited that the idea has been realized. I am now imagining a sophisticated, efficient and practical mechanical calculation tool, and I really want to make it. Just last week, people from the East Coast Agricultural Bank came Visited me, they want to evaluate the progress of my project, and promised that if it is appropriate, they will consider investing an additional [-] French currency in my research funding. Haha, I actually don’t care who the “intellectual property rights” mentioned by the people on the east coast belong to. But I really want to test out some fantastic ideas, the East Coast people provide me with a good environment, I am determined to seize this opportunity, and I will succeed."

"I'm glad to see you enjoying it so much," Joseph Werner said with a smile.In fact, he has just received a request from people on the east coast, that is, to help recruit some familiar "certain level" scholars to visit the east coast.He hesitated before, but after talking with Leibniz, he thought maybe this was a good opportunity.With a stable and affluent life, sufficient research funds, and various instruments and components provided by industries far exceeding the Old World, they must be able to make greater achievements.At least, it is far better than being displaced in Europe because of the war.

Looking at the Taotao River not far away, Werner suddenly felt that the era of Europeans would never come, which made him a little sad.

(End of this chapter)