Chapter 28

In the following days, Chen Ke once again entered a period of almost sleepless and restless time. First, there was a constant stream of visitors. Many of these people were educated or small workshop owners. They had either seen the posters, encountered the lectures by chance, or heard about them from others. After attending You Gou's lectures, they hoped to enroll their children.

Chen Ke privately referred to these people as "troublemakers." However, they were very important to Chen Ke. Due to the lack of social connections, he could not afford to offend the parents. It wasn't until Qi Huishen excitedly informed Chen Ke that an old gentleman named Ma Xiangbo wanted to meet him. Chen Ke thought to himself, what kind of influence must this person have to make Qi Huishen personally come to inform him?

"Chen Ke, you must go!" Qi Huishen was so agitated that he lost his composure.

"What's going on?" Chen Ke was puzzled.

After Qi Huishen's introduction, Chen Ke was stunned. This Mr. Ma Xiangbo turned out to be the founder of Fudan University.

Chen Ke had never studied the history of Chinese schools, so he didn't know. Ma Xiangbo had founded Zhen Dan University. In the spring of the 31st year of Emperor Guangxu's reign, the Jesuits attempted to turn Zhen Dan into a church school. They used the pretext of Ma Xiangbo's "illness" to appoint a French priest, Perrin, as the headmaster, changing the school's policies and establishing new rules. The students were outraged, removed the school sign, and all withdrew. When Ma Xiangbo saw the list of signatures of the withdrawn students, he was moved to tears and decided to stand with the students. With the support of notable figures like Zhang Jian, Yan Fu, and Yuan Xitao, he founded Fudan Public School (now Fudan University) in Jiangwan, which officially opened on the Mid-Autumn Festival (September 13, 1905). Ma Xiangbo served as the principal and French professor, and he hired Li Denghui—not the one from Taiwan—as the academic dean. In the 34th year of Emperor Guangxu's reign, the Jesuits, who had taken over Zhen Dan University, planned to relocate it to Lujia Bay. Ma Xiangbo, prioritizing education, set aside past grievances and donated 40,000 silver dollars and eight plots of land in the International Settlement and French Concession (worth over 100,000 silver dollars at the time) to purchase 100 acres of land on Lüban Road (now Chongqing South Road) to build new school facilities (which later became the Shanghai Second Medical University, which merged with Shanghai Jiao Tong University on July 18, 2005).

In 1902, Ma Xiangbo founded Zhen Dan Women's College, which was renamed Shanghai Xiangming High School in 1952.

Chen Ke didn't know about Zhen Dan University, but when Qi Huishen mentioned Fudan Public School, Chen Ke immediately thought of Fudan University. It turned out that Chen Ke's grand lecture had become a well-known event in Shanghai. You Gou's appearance was a major highlight. As a result, even Mr. Ma Xiangbo was intrigued. He listened to the students' descriptions of the lectures and read several free copies of the Huangpu Review. He was very satisfied with the science popularization lectures. Some of the students who had withdrawn from Zhen Dan University attended the Huangpu Society's lectures. Through their feedback, Mr. Ma heard that the organizer of the grand lecture was an unknown overseas student. There were also rumors about You Gou. This old gentleman became interested and had someone find the local Qi Huishen to invite Chen Ke for a meeting.

When such a respected old gentleman spoke, Chen Ke naturally could not refuse. From the old gentleman's words, it seemed he also wanted to meet the recently famous You Gou. Chen Ke quickly had Qi Huishen notify You Gou and immediately sent He Zudao to write a letter. He Zudao had excellent handwriting, both in pen and brush. The letter respectfully requested a meeting with Mr. Ma. Then, He Zudao personally delivered the letter to Mr. Ma.

Chen Ke then organized You Gou's lecture notes and, after some thought, took out part of his own lecture notes. These were the notes for the upcoming lecture on "The Theory of Evolution." This was no longer just about the theory of evolution; Chen Ke had also included information about the solar system, Earth, and natural ecosystems. This was originally intended for all party members to study, and Chen Ke aimed to make the content as rich as possible.

Soon after, Qi Huishen and You Gou returned to the workshop, and He Zudao came back with Mr. Ma Xiangbo's personal letter. Chen Ke's letter was very polite, stating that he and You Gou would visit Mr. Ma at any time convenient for him.

Mr. Ma's reply was equally courteous. He mentioned that he had heard about Chen Ke's lecture schedule and that he had classes during the day. They agreed to meet that evening. Chen Ke made some simple arrangements and then went to the bathhouse with shower gel and shampoo. After changing into clean clothes, Chen Ke appeared before everyone, smelling fresh.

"Effeminate!" You Gou jealously remarked.

The four of them set out.

The street scenes of Shanghai in 1905 were quite ridiculous, and Chen Ke couldn't bear to look. With so many recent events, Chen Ke, looking at the various people, suddenly had an idea. "Huishen, I plan to conduct some social surveys after the Huangpu Book Society is built."

Qi Huishen and Chen Ke were squeezed into a rickshaw. "Social surveys? What kind of surveys?"

"Since we are gathering revolutionary comrades, we must understand the social situation. We need to conduct social surveys to analyze the dynamics of society and help the comrades involved reach the conclusion that a revolution is necessary."

"What will you survey? Look at all these people in Shanghai. Where do they come from? Why can't they survive in the countryside? My idea is to investigate the disintegration of traditional small-scale peasant economies under the impact of industrial systems."

"Disintegration of small-scale peasant economies?" Qi Huishen had heard Chen Ke mention this term before and could roughly understand it. "How does it disintegrate?"

"Simply put, because rich people, like your father, buy up land. Ha, the small-scale peasant economy disintegrates."

Qi Huishen thought for a moment. "So, you mean that the industrial system is rapidly creating a large number of rich people like my father?"

"You've hit the nail on the head. Nowadays, either the industrial system of foreign countries will completely destroy China's small-scale peasant economy, or China's own industrial system will do so. In any case, the small-scale peasant economy is destined to fail."

"In the end, a people's revolution is necessary." Qi Huishen nodded in agreement. In the past, Qi Huishen would have been excited to see the essence of society. But now, he had no emotional fluctuations. Chen Ke had already lifted the initial veil that had clouded Qi Huishen's eyes, and he could now search for clues and paths on his own. "I will arrange it."

The distance was not far, and they had not finished their detailed discussion when they arrived. The four of them straightened their clothes in front of Mr. Ma's residence. You Gou lifted her sleeve and sniffed it, glaring at Chen Ke. Without a word, Chen Ke took out a small bottle of perfume from his pocket and sprayed it on You Gou. Although You Gou didn't particularly like the scent, being fragrant was better. She grabbed the perfume from Chen Ke and put it in her pocket. Everyone knew Chen Ke had many good things, and if possible, they would all try to take a small item or two. Seeing You Gou's quick action, Qi Huishen stomped his feet and regretted not being faster.

After one last mutual check of their attire, You Gou suddenly asked, "Chen Ke, how many watches do you have?" Chen Ke had lent his watch to You Gou for the lecture and wore another one this time.

"We'll talk about that when we get back." Chen Ke didn't want to get into it. If he did, he might lose his watch.

Mr. Ma Xiangbo was slender and handsome, with a spirit that belied his age. He had a beard typical of intellectuals of the Republic of China era, which was almost pure white. After a brief exchange, Mr. Ma got straight to the point. Fudan Public School was about to open, and he hoped Chen Ke could give a lecture at the school before the opening. The content would be the same as the grand lecture Chen Ke had organized.

Chen Ke quickly handed over two manuscripts. Mr. Ma was not too interested in the chemistry part and skimmed through it briefly before putting it down. However, the cover of the second manuscript, with He Zudao's elegant handwriting, read "A Grand Narrative of Evolution."

The disastrous defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War once again pushed the Chinese nation to the brink of peril. At this time, the famous scholar Yan Fu translated the British biologist Thomas Huxley's "On the Origin of Species" and published it in the "National News Compilation" in Tianjin in December 1897. The book's publication had an unexpectedly huge social impact. The leader of the reformists, Kang Youwei, upon reading the translation, exclaimed, "I have never seen such a person," and praised Yan Fu as "the first to translate Western learning into Chinese." Since then, "On the Origin of Species" has become a famous book, recommended by scholars of the time.

Mr. Ma Xiangbo and Yan Fu were good friends, and the establishment of Fudan Public School received significant support from Yan Fu. He knew that the author of "On the Origin of Species" called himself "Darwin's bulldog," and Darwin's famous work was "The Origin of Species." Seeing this title, the old gentleman immediately became interested. He opened the first page, but instead of Yan Fu's famous phrase "survival of the fittest," he saw a quote from Xunzi: "The way of heaven is constant; it does not exist for Yao and does not perish for Jie. To follow heaven and praise it, how much better to control the mandate of heaven and use it?"

Yan Fu's "On the Origin of Species" was written in classical Chinese, while Chen Ke's "A Grand Narrative of Evolution" was in vernacular Chinese. The manuscript was divided into seven lectures: the first on the universe and the solar system, the second on the ocean, and the third to seventh on Asia, Europe, Africa, America, and Australia, respectively. It described the characteristics and evolutionary processes of various organisms in these regions and their interactions and development. Yan Fu's "On the Origin of Species" was more of a political book, while Chen Ke's was more of a science education book.

Chen Ke had read "On the Origin of Species" and "The Origin of Species." Although "On the Origin of Species" was very popular, Chen Ke did not want to lecture on it. His lecture was originally intended as a party class to inspire progressive youth, and he found the content of "On the Origin of Species" to be hollow and uninteresting. The real meat was in Chen Ke's third part, titled "The Inheritance of Chinese Culture and the Rise of Materialism." However, the manuscript was not yet complete, and Chen Ke was not ready to show it.

After flipping through a few pages and seeing that "A Grand Narrative of Evolution" was a science education book, Mr. Ma put it down.

You Gou's lectures had only one day left, so Mr. Ma suggested starting the course the day after tomorrow. Chen Ke immediately seized the opportunity, requesting that Mr. Ma allow him to use the auditorium. Chen Ke had originally planned to give the lectures at Zhou Yuanxiao's workshop, but he now proposed moving them to Fudan Public School. Chen Ke offered to pay a venue usage fee, but Mr. Ma refused to accept it. Chen Ke's lectures were free and open to the public. After settling the matter, Chen Ke and his companions took their leave.

On the way there, they had rushed and taken rickshaws, but on the way back, they didn't need to be so extravagant and decided to walk.

"Chen Ke, you really know how to seize opportunities," Qi Huishen smiled.

"A gentleman can be deceived by a method," Chen Ke smiled back, but his smile quickly turned into a bitter one. "Unfortunately, time is short; otherwise, I would have liked to become a professor at this school."

"Why is time short?" Qi Huishen was puzzled.

"Young students are full of ideals and passion, making them a good place to cultivate revolutionaries. However, there have been many uprisings in Anhui in recent years. If we stay in Shanghai for one or two years, we will miss the opportunity." Chen Ke sighed.

Qi Huishen didn't respond. Chen Ke had discussed some detailed plans for going to Anhui with him and listed several conditions that needed to be met. None of these conditions were currently satisfied, so Chen Ke had to focus on the preparations. Qi Huishen had already made up his mind to follow Chen Ke to Anhui and could not volunteer to take charge of student propaganda work at Fudan University.

Back at the workshop, the classes had already dispersed. However, in the courtyard, Hua Xiongmao was sitting and chatting with two people. Seeing Chen Ke return, Hua Xiongmao introduced him: "Chen Ke, the people who came in response to our posters are these two gentlemen."

The two men quickly stood up upon hearing Hua Xiongmao's words. The one on the left was in his forties and looked like a poor scholar, acting pretentiously. The one on the right was in his early twenties, wearing a dark blue robe. The fabric looked familiar, much like the fabric they had dyed. Hua Xiongmao noticed Chen Ke's gaze and winked at him. Chen Ke was sure Hua Xiongmao had already observed them.

Chen Ke invited the two men to sit down. The older man boasted about his extensive knowledge of the Twenty-Four Histories and claimed he could be of great help. While he was boasting, Chen Tianhua also came over and sat down to listen. Chen Ke casually asked, "Mr. Scholar, what cases did Zhang Tingwei, the magistrate during Emperor Wu of Han's reign, judge?"

Zhang Tingwei was not from Emperor Wu of Han's reign. Chen Tianhua, upon hearing this, knew Chen Ke was up to something and almost burst out laughing. The poor scholar clearly couldn't answer and hemmed and hawed, his face turning red. He still couldn't answer. Chen Ke politely dismissed him.

After the older man left, the young man spoke frankly, "I see from the poster that I need to find the corresponding content in books, right?"

"That's correct."

"Someone told me where to find it, right?"

"That's correct."

"Mr. Scholar, don't test me. I haven't read all the Twenty-Four Histories, but I can do the work as described on the poster. If you test me, I won't be able to answer anything."

Chen Ke and Hua Xiongmao's eyes lit up. Chen Ke asked, "What have you read, then?"

"The Records of the Grand Historian."

"Could you answer the question I just asked?"

"One was about a startled horse, and the other was about a stolen jade ring, right?"

"Where did I go wrong?"

"It should be Emperor Wen of Han, not Emperor Wu of Han."

Chen Ke and Chen Tianhua smiled. Chen Ke continued, "Can you start working today?"

"I see from the poster that you provide accommodation and meals, right?"

"Yes."

"Can I have a meal first?"

Hearing this, Hua Xiongmao couldn't hold back his laughter