Chapter 950 949 [Oxford Lecture]
Zhou Hexuan took the train and went straight to Oxford. The next stop was Cambridge, because Cambridge University also gave him a doctorate in literature.
The two universities are connected by a railway, called the "University Line", which passes through Bletchley Station. Turing is now deciphering codes in Bletchley Park.
On the night Zhou Hexuan came to Oxford University, the president personally held a welcome dinner for him. On the morning of the next day, the honorary doctorate certificate and the appointment letter of honorary professor were officially awarded, and it was hoped that Zhou Hexuan could stay as a professor of Sinology at Oxford University.
To be honest, the Sinology major at Oxford University was in terrible shape at this time. From 1939, when Sinology was officially established, to 1949, only five students graduated in ten years.
Chen Yinke was originally invited to take the position of professor of Sinology, but Chen Yinke failed to take the opportunity due to various reasons.
However, the University of Oxford obviously attaches great importance to Sinology. It has allocated special funds to pay the salaries of Sinology professors and established a separate "Chinese Studies" last year. After graduation, you can obtain a bachelor's degree from Oxford University.
Unfortunately, very few British students are interested in Chinese culture. There are very few applicants, and even if they are interested, it is only an elective subject.
Since Chen Yinke did not come, the position of professor of Sinology is temporarily vacant, and Xiu Zhongcheng, lecturer of Chinese philosophy and religion, presides on behalf of him. Zhou Hexuan reluctantly agreed to be a visiting professor of Sinology and started giving lectures on the second day after being hired.
There are only three students who really belong to this major. I heard that there were originally seven last year. The students couldn't bear it and ran away. Fortunately, Zhou Hexuan was so famous that more than 200 people came to the lecture, and even some professors were generous enough to support him.
Xiu Zhongcheng is a tall and thin old man who can speak Chinese very fluently. As the host of this lecture, he walked up to the podium and said with a smile: "I am really happy today. The number of students in the Chinese subject class finally exceeded single digits."
"Hahaha..." There was a chuckle from the audience.
Xiu Zhongcheng continued: "Chinese culture is mysterious and Chinese is great. You can discover it as long as you immerse yourself in research. I hope that more and more students will study Sinology in the future, so that cultural exchanges between the East and the West will become closer... Okay, I’ll stop talking nonsense and let’s hand over the podium to the great historian and litterateur Charles Zhou!”
Amidst a burst of applause, Zhou Hexuan came to the podium and said: "I am very happy to accept the offer from Oxford University. In terms of knowledge, I am not even as good as a freshman at Oxford University because I don't understand Latin. It is definitely a good idea to get into Oxford University." You can’t pass the exam.”
The professors and students who came to listen to the lecture burst into laughter again because Zhou Hexuan said a joke that made them laugh. At this time, if you want to get into Oxford University, you must know Latin. For example, Qian Zhongshu knew 100% Latin, otherwise he would not be admitted to Oxford University.
Many Oxford students resented this, especially those majoring in science and engineering, and more than once they called for the abolition of Latin exams. The joke Zhou Hexuan said just now was regarded as a complaint by teachers and students, just like the comment that Chinese language majors in China must learn English.
Zhou Hexuan made a few random jokes and finally got to the point:
"Many Westerners cannot understand the Chinese people's thinking mode, nor can they understand the Chinese people's morality and aesthetics. If you want to understand this topic, you must find the reason from the root. Where is the source of the moral concepts of Western culture? In ancient Greek philosophy and the Bible. And where is the source of Chinese cultural and moral concepts? In the Book of Changes."
"As far back as the Xia Dynasty thousands of years ago, the earliest "Book of Changes" appeared in China, called "Lianshan", and later in the Shang Dynasty there was "Gui Zang". But both of the "Book of Changes" were lost. What we are looking at now is the "Book of Changes" of the Zhou Dynasty. Just like the "Bible" in the West, it was not written by one person, but was continuously added and summarized by several generations. From the Xia Dynasty to the Zhou Dynasty, China lasted for thousands of years. There is cultural continuity, and I think the formation of the "Book of Changes" took thousands of years."
"What is Yi? Yi means Xiang. In the course of thousands of years of evolution, the "Book of Changes" has summarized everything into 'Xiang'. 'The sage established the Xiang to fulfill his intention'. This sentence explains why China cannot The reason for the development of modern science. Chinese sages, that is, scholars, advocated 'establishing images', which is the so-called induction method. The sun, day, men, vigor...these are summarized as yang attributes, which can be integrated into the yin and yang five elements. Category, in order to explain the laws of the world, is to 'complete the meaning'."
"The sage establishes an image to express his meaning. In my opinion, this sentence means that the Chinese like to summarize the appearance and do not pay attention to the abstract theorems. The Chinese like to do induction, while Westerners are willing to do deduction. This is what East and West fundamental difference."
"So in the Chinese induction method, the laws of heaven, the laws of earth, and the laws of man are all the same thing. We equate the laws of nature and the laws of society, and thus form the idea of the unity of nature and man. China There is a very famous allusion called Wang Yangming's Bamboo Observation. Wang Yangming observed bamboos not to study the growth laws of bamboos, but to understand the principles of life from bamboos. This is obviously contrary to science."
"The Book of Changes not only affects Chinese people's understanding of science, but also affects Chinese people's morality and aesthetics..."
Zhou Hexuan spoke eloquently for two hours. Sinologist Xiu Zhongcheng was fascinated by what he heard, but other teachers and students were a little confused. Most of them didn't even understand what the "Book of Changes" was. However, the effect is still there. At least after listening to one lecture, these British people have a deeper understanding of China.
When it came to the free question time, a professor suddenly raised his hand and said: "Mr. Zhou, I really enjoyed reading your "The Goddess" and I am very interested in Chinese mythology and religion. The Chinese in "The Goddess" both worship Taoism. Even if you are sick, you will worship Jesus. Do you Chinese people have a religion that you truly believe in?"
Zhou Hexuan felt that this man looked familiar and asked, "May I ask this gentleman's name?"
The professor said, "I am Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College, John Ronald Tolkien."
Zhou Hexuan resisted the urge to roll his eyes: "Hello, Mr. Tolkien, I have read your "The Hobbit" and it is very interesting."
Tolkien said: "I'm writing a sequel to The Hobbit."
The sequel to The Hobbit is The Lord of the Rings, which Tolkien had been writing for several years.
In 1937, Tolkien wrote to his publisher: "I am already writing the first chapter of the New Hobbit story."
In 1938, Tolkien finally finished the third chapter.
In early 1939, Tolkien wrote to the publisher: "I guarantee that it will be completed by mid-June this year."
At the end of 1939, Tolkien wrote to the publisher again: "Due to an injury while tidying up the garden, the story is getting longer and longer. It may be delayed until next spring."
In March 1940, Tolkien faced a publisher urging him to write the manuscript and wrote: "Because the water pipe at home burst, the couple is in poor health, and the research work has taken too much effort. I'm sorry that I haven't finished it yet."
At this moment, "The Lord of the Rings" has been completely stopped. The reason is probably that Tolkien is in a bad mood, or more likely because the cancer has reached an advanced stage.
In comparison, Zhou Hexuan's serialization speed of "The Legend of Galaxy Heroes" is already fast enough.