.As soon as he returned to Suzhou, Zheng Ruozeng wanted to see the thing. Shen 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 him again.
After finally waiting for Chen to get fresh inside and out, Zheng Ruozeng was impatient to urge him to get on the car. The guard who served as the coachman asked, "Sir, where are you going?" "Suzhou Tong Interpretation Bureau." Chen said softly, so the horse and cow headed straight for the south of the city.
Because Chengnan is the garrison of the Governor's Office, the government office and the county office, it is prohibited to open convenient facilities such as shops, silver numbers, inns, etc., so it is much quieter than other urban areas where merchants gather. The carriage drove to an alley at the end of the Shuyuan Lane. At the door of the second to last, I finally saw a plaque with white background and blue characters, which read "Suzhou Tongtong Translation Bureau, five big characters, and there is a line of inconspicuous inscriptions in the lower left corner. After careful look, it turned out that it was mentioned by Chen Jue. "This place is really hard to find. Gui Youguang smiled and said, "I came here once, but I was still fascinated by the meat." At the beginning, it would be better to be low-key." Chen said softly: "I'm not afraid of the deep alley."
After getting off the car, Sanqi stepped forward to report. After a while, several people in the shape of a leader brought a few Westerners in certain clothes to greet them. When they saw that they were indeed in a state of sanity, the one who walked in front was very surprised and said, "I thought you would arrive tomorrow." He quickly brought everyone to worship.
Chen laughed and said, "Get up quickly, let's go in and talk." So Zheng Ruozeng followed into the yard, and didn't see any name, so he went into the front hall to sit down. He saw a couplet hanging in the middle hall, saying, "▲Tong the spiritual veins of the world and enlighten the mind of Mingshi, and translated the great works of the world to make up for the innate shortcomings." The horizontal banner is ▲The combination of Chinese and Western styles, and I couldn't help but laugh and said, "What a big tone; but it's cautious, which is very consistent with its owner's style."
Chen didn't pay attention to the curious Mr. Zheng. His eyes gently swept over the foreigners, and finally smiled at the Ming people who took the lead and said, "It's really great to see Mr. Mingye here."
The man was in his fifties, with a bright face, gray beard, and a straight-colored man in royal blue. He looked like a famous scholar. In fact, this is true. His name is Chen He and his pseudonym was Mingye. He was a famous talent in Shaoxing. He once joined the Yue Zhongshe Club with Chen Lian. This man was very insightful and well-read. Not only could he be used as a famous scholar, such as ancient poetry, lyrics, music, cursive script, and pictures, and could do his best to be effective in all famous scholars, and he had his own ideas and was extremely knowledgeable. He was also very proficient in the language and could understand the words of Japan, Korea, Annan, India and other countries. He was a genius.
Shen, who established the translation agency, has been in charge of many years. With his power and status and the terrifying wealth he has mastered, it is not difficult, but it takes time. Four years ago, he sent a fleet of precious silk and porcelain, and hired the most capable foreign sailors to travel across the ocean to Europe. Their mission is to buy books on science, politics, philosophy, medicine, architecture, etc. in Britain, France, Italy, and Germany, etc. in Britain, France, Italy, and Germany, and to attract scholars and technicians as much as possible, and to invite them to China with the best conditions...
After being sent out, there was a long wait, one year, two years, three years, four years... Finally, two months ago, news of the fleet returning was heard, which made Chen Jue overjoyed and eager to start the Suzhou Translation Bureau project. Under his low-key opening and silent spirit, Youguang searched for the yard in an orderly manner, prepared materials, and placed high-paying translators hired, everything was easy. But he also put forward his own opinions to Chen, and he had to find a famous scholar to take charge. In this way, the translated things could attract the attention of the scholars and officials. Otherwise, just let a few foreigners work hard, not to mention their bullshit Chinese, even if they wrote well, it would be very difficult to enter the upper class.
Chen thought about it and he was right. He really needed a steady, pragmatic and open-minded literati to check it out, which could avoid many problems. After thinking about it, he thought of Chen He. As a fellow villager in Shaoxing and a good friend of his master, Chen knew that Chen He was a child of an official. When he was young, he became an official. However, because he was not from a proper background, he was neglected by his superiors and colleagues. He was depressed all day long. As a result, he became seriously ill. Finally, he thought about it, so he abandoned his official position and obeyed the mountain. From then on, he did not do his job properly. He specialized in studying things that others did not understand, and seemed to know several foreign languages... Although they were from neighboring countries, it was rare to have this hobby.
So he wrote a letter to invite Chen He to come to Hangzhou for a lecture and personally introduced to him the work and significance of the Suzhou General Translation Bureau. Chen He was quite prepared, but he was very committed to it. He wanted to come to Suzhou first to see it and then make a decision. The two made an appointment. When Chen was still there, he accepted the appointment of the editor-in-chief of the General Translation Bureau. So when he saw Chen He was still there, Chen was very angry. Chen also smiled and said, "The nanny mortgaged it?" Chen couldn't help but laugh and said, "I still have the whole country, I don't know this."
Chen He smiled and said, "I'm just starting to learn it. I'm going to master all these Spanish within two years." "That's great." Chen saw that he was in high spirits and felt relieved. He looked at the Westerners and said, "Please allow me to introduce myself. I'm Daming."
The Minister of Rites, the Southeastern Minister of Rites, is very happy to see you here again. Several Westerners came back with his fleet, and they looked very well-educated. He saluted deeply and then introduced themselves. One of them was Spanish, named Linszhe, graduated from the University of Salamanca in Spain, majoring in mathematics and philosophy; the other was French, named Ai Huaxia, graduated from the University of Paris, majoring in logic and rhetoric; two British people, one named Mamudong, graduated from Oxford, majoring in art and astronomy; the other was Wen Guangming, graduated from Cambridge University, majoring in politics.
Chen sighed for a moment, and he didn't expect that these well-known universities had existed in the Ming Dynasty. It seemed that it would be impossible not to hold on. So he asked them kindly if they were used to coming to the Ming Dynasty, whether they had any requirements in life, or something like that. He originally planned to flatter these top students with the attitude of treating foreign experts. Unexpectedly, the feedback from several people made him secretly wipe his sweat:
Since being recruited, several Western scholars have been studying Chinese for a short time for a year, and at least language communication is not a problem. They are rushing to express their feelings:
"I have read "The Travels of Marco Polo since I was a child, and I have always been longing for and doubting the heavenly east... I am not sure if there is a country with richness and civilization as he described.
"Ai Huaxia said: "So when he heard that there was an envoy from the East, Kuo Muxue, who seemed to have signed up without hesitation when he was working in the Ming Dynasty, he wanted to come and see the country with his own eyes." "What's the result?" Chen asked with a smile.
"As I saw, your country has a fertile land, rich food, cares about clothing, gorgeous furnishings at home, and very cheap things." Ai Huaxia said: "You can buy any delicate white sugar that can only be enjoyed by the royal family; many people like to keep bees, so honey and wax are very cheap: the output is so large that you can load a ship, or even a fleet..."
"It also produces a lot of silk, with excellent quality and perfect color, much better than Granada silk, and every foot of it is more expensive than gold in the UK." Mamudong continued: "There are also velvets, silks, satin and other fabrics on the market, which are so expensive...' Even in Spain and Italy, the richest in our place, it is impossible to buy such high-quality and low-priced things."
"It's impossible." Spanish Lin Sizhe pointed to the silk hand robe on his body and said, "Only the great nobles dare to care about this kind of fabric. I used ten days of salary to make three pieces." "You really burned the bag..." Wen Guangming teased him. "It's going to be replaced." Lin Sizhe said seriously: "What is more admirable is that silk cloth is not sold according to size, but according to weight, so there will be no fraud."
Chen Ru waited for someone to laugh in his heart and said, "This is because you can buy silk like cabbage in Suzhou, where the sound of looms is everywhere. 1
Several foreigners who came to see the world continued to describe their experiences. Ma Mudong said: "There are rivers everywhere here, rice is planted everywhere. The farmers' harvest is so much. The food price here is more than five times cheaper than in Europe, and the white rice is like pearls... cursing those oats that can be difficult to swallow."
There are also a lot of beef here, which is so cheap that you can buy a good one with 8riyal silver coins, and you can buy beef at half price; a whole deer is sold for 2riyal: and cheaper pork, as good as our Spanish lamb, I love it very much." Lin Sizhe pointed to his lower abdomen and said, "It's just that we have to control our appetite."
Listening to their reverence and incredible narratives, Chen Ju waited for the pride of the people, and his face was slightly burning. They said it was true, but that was because they had only been to Shanghai and Suzhou. If they left here, they would go to the north, as long as they walked inland, they would find that everything was not that good. Just as the knowledgeable Zappu said: "The Ming Dynasty takes the Huai River as its boundary, half better than heaven, and half like hell...
Of course, no one will take the initiative to expose this, because vanity cannot be avoided. Only leave it to the future and let them see it themselves.
In any case, these people from Europe felt that they had entered heaven and said that they would not go back even if they were beaten to death. They also asked Chen Ju carefully whether they would allow them to take their relatives and friends over? Chen Ju wanted to agree, but then he thought about it and pretended to ponder: "What...
Seeing him in a dilemma, the few people immediately showed a begging look and said, "We can work harder, no matter what we do..."
Chen was afraid of scaring them, and laughed and said, "Of course it is OK to come back, human ethics, but if you want to settle in the Ming Dynasty, you really need to work harder." He explained, "You should know that our country has just ended a war with its neighbors. Although our country won a great victory, it was also traumatized by the war..." He said, "Among the invaders, there are many red and blue-eyed Franchise men, and the Dutch joined, so you should know the attitude of our government towards foreigners, not only do you think of it."
When several people heard this, they said anxiously: "Although we look the same as those barbaric robbers, we admire China. When we come to the Ming Dynasty, we cannot count those accounts on our heads." Chen nodded and said: "I know and understand, but the adults in the court do not know yet, so if you want to get national treatment, you have to work hard on your own." "How to work hard?" Several people asked in unison.
Chen pointed to the couplet in the hall and said, "Do this thing well, nothing will be a problem." He also explained, "As the couplet says, there are many differences between our civilizations in the East and the West, and we do not understand many of your things. And the scholars and officials in our country are humble and studious, and there must be my teacher when we walk together. As long as we do our best to do a good job in translation, through the books you translated, our Chinese adults will naturally understand you, recognize you, and respect you. At that time, there will be no need for me to come forward, and naturally there will be people talking to you."
Zheng Ruozeng and Chen He were shocked when they heard this: ▲As a great man, you can tell the translation of the book jl, these Westerners are completely sold here...
Sure enough, several people rushed to express their determination to devote themselves to the translation career, and even quoted a sentence from a famous Chinese poet: "The silkworm will not be able to die until the silk is gone, and the candle will not dry until it turns into ashes." Chen was waiting for someone to tense his face and dare not laugh.
It was noon while talking, and the internal manager invited everyone to the banquet hall for dinner. Because Chen had already instructed him to try his best to take care of the eating habits of foreign translators, so this luncheon naturally had to be mainly Western.
In the banquet hall filled with flowers, I saw a long dining table covered with dark green velvet tablecloths, neatly arranged gold and silver Western tableware. The porcelain plates and porcelain bowls were also produced in Jingdezhen. A small basket made of gold and silver thread was also prepared according to the heads, filled with golden bread and candied fruits. In addition, there were many plates of meat, chicken, goose, duck, bacon, and beef, which were thoughtfully cut into slices for easy use of knife and fork for foreigners. On the table next to it, there were also various meats and vegetables, as well as various oriental dishes.
Chen naturally sat in the only position on the upper side, Gui Youguang, Chen He and Zheng Ruozeng were all on the left and right, and the rest were all golden and blue-eyed Westerners, with fifteen or sixteen. It turned out that the four were the most well-educated among them, and were selected as Huabiao to welcome him.
Shen picked up the crystal cup and briefly greeted the Western families I had never seen before, wishing them good health and everything goes well. Everyone raised their glasses together and started this banquet that combines Chinese and Western styles.
Chen looked at the two sets of tableware in front of him, and then the foreigners were all using chopsticks, and they were very skillful in their movements, and they even picked Chinese dishes. Then he looked at Gui Youguang and Zheng Ruozeng, both holding knives and forks, and Chen He taught them how to hold the knife and how to hold the forks. After a long time of gesture, Gui Youguang said discouragedly: "It's really hard, it's not as good as chopsticks?" Then he picked up the chopsticks he was used to again. Zheng Ruozeng liked this method very much and thought it was a good attempt for Yilin.
Seeing that the adults were very skilled in using knife and fork, Chen He said in surprise: "Where did you learn this?" "I have eaten it in Shanghai..." Chen went over vaguely and made a fuss: "Well, this steak is fried quite well."
"Haha, this cook cooks for the Franc Malacca Governor," Chen He smiled and said, "When I went to the pier to buy fish, I met Lin Sizhe and the others, and ended up running away." He said, "It's not unusual. That place is poor and hot, and mosquitoes can even bite people to death. Who would be willing to stay?
"No, not bad." Chen cut a piece of fresh and juicy steak into his mouth, rubbed his mouth and said, "The conditions provided by Zhenchuan Gong are indeed good." Compared to the low-key appearance, the translation bureau can be regarded as 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 pick up a blood-stained steak with chopsticks, and laughed: "It's all the advice of the adults, I just follow the order."
"How is the work going?" Chen Zi was eating poorly. Seeing that Chen He had wiped his mouth, he got to the point.
"I have translated three books: "The main reason is that they can't write yet. The words they say are spoken, so they have to tell me first, and then I will re-select words and sentences, and finally write them down. This will naturally be slower." I was disappointed, and said, "I am learning their words, and they are also learning our words. I believe that I won't need to do it twice soon." "Don't worry, quality is the most important." Chen said, "This shot must be started, and the good start is half the success." "What is the first book of the adults?" Chen He asked softly.
"He knew that before the translation work began, the General Translation Bureau had classified all the books and compiled them into a set of catalogs, and also compared them with Chinese and Western languages. Chen He quickly asked someone to bring a thick book over. "What I want is a catalog." Chen was a little powerless.
Chapter completed!