In Chunshu Hutong, Dongcheng, Beijing, Tang Wenzhi and Shen Zengzhi came to the gate of a house with the plaque "Jin'an Jilu" hanging in front of them.

"Dongdongdongdongdongdong!" The knock on the door sounded.

"Who?" A woman opened the door.

Tang Wenzhi said: "Is this the residence of Mr. Gu Hongming?"

"Yes. You are looking for your husband, please wait a moment."

Tang Wenzhi once went to Japan as a diplomat, and he could tell at a glance that the woman in front of him was different from ordinary Chinese women.

Sure enough, before the woman could turn around, Gu Hongming's voice sounded in the house. He said in Japanese: "Sakiko, just let them come in, I want them to come."

Yoshida Sadako is Gu Hongming's concubine. She is indeed a Japanese man, and she was redeemed by Gu Hongming in a brothel. However, she was just selling her skills but not her own, and she was a down-and-out Japanese woman who was wandering in China.

Tang Wenzhi and Chen Zengzhi came to the hall, and Gu Hongming came out and said, "Brother Zipei, Yinghou, come and sit in the house!"

Gu Hongming's mother is a mixed-race Portuguese and Malaysian, so he has a high nose, deep eyes, and looks a bit like a Westerner.

After Tang Wenzhi and Chen Zengzhi sat down, they asked, "I wonder what advice Mr. Hongming wants us to come to the mansion?"

Gu Hongming was not in a hurry to answer, and first greeted Sadako Yoshida: "Sakiko, hurry up and take out the best tea for the two distinguished guests!"

Then he smiled and said, "I heard that the two of you are writing a book about traveling to the West."

Tang Wenzhi didn’t know where Gu Hongming got the news: “Which Mr. Hongming is referring to?”

"Hey! Don't hide it. Of course I know that it was written by Mr. Zhenbeizi, but I heard that Yinghou was looking for master's polished books to find materials for those who understand the West. I also want to help with a bunch of them."

Gu Hongming grew up in Malaysia since childhood. His adoptive father was a British. Later, he followed them to the UK and Germany for more than ten years. He did not come to China until he was nearly thirty years old. He was definitely a Chinese with a complete Western education background.

He was even a British citizen before, although he was just a "second-class citizen".

Gu Hongming translated "The Analects of Confucius" and "The Doctrine of the Mean" into English, and his level was much higher than the previous version of the missionary.

Tang Wenzhi certainly knew Gu Hongming's background in his studies and bowed to him: "I had this intention early on, but I heard that my husband was employed by the deputy chief teacher of the middle school in the Jingshi University and was busy with the opening exams, so I did not dare to bother him."

In this era, the university entrance examination was an absolute major event. After all, the Qing court did not get rid of the idea of ​​"sucking talents in the world for their own use".

Gu Hongming smiled and said, "I have a good attitude towards the exam. I am really idle now. Have you brought the manuscript?"

Tang Wenzhi said: "Of course."

He took out the manuscript of "Ying Yi Diary" and placed it on the table.

Gu Hongming picked up the manuscript and read it, but the more he looked, his brows became tighter and tighter: "Tsk! Yinghou (Tang Wenzhi's word), do you really think the West is so good?"

Tang Wenzhi said: "Of course, otherwise why do we have to spend a lot of effort to learn the West."

Gu Hongming shook his head and said, "You only see the watch but not the roots. Foreigners are simply bullshit! We can learn from them, but we cannot copy them, and we cannot worship them. What is really worth exploring is our Confucianism!"

Gu Hongming's statement is very similar to the Westernization School's idea of ​​"middle school as the body and Western learning as the purpose", but Tang Wenzhi never expected Gu Hongming to directly scold foreigners.

Tang Wenzhi said in surprise: "Mr. Hongming, but the reality is that we are defeated by Western guns and cannons again and again. Naturally, the West is strong and we are weak. Since we are weak, of course we must learn."

But Gu Hongming said: "This is a bad word! Yinghou, you must know that Westerners can only bully Chinese people kindness and not use firearms, but Chinese people will sooner or later surpass Westerners!"

Of course no one believed this sentence when it was said at that time.

Tang Wenzhi felt confused. Why did he feel that Gu Hongming was denying the article he wrote? Didn’t he agree to give some advice after he was ready?

Could it be that it was written incorrectly and did not fall into Master Gu's eyes?

He asked, "Mr. Hongming, of course, I hope we can catch up with foreigners, but now there are other ways besides learning from Western countries?"

Gu Hongming said: "I didn't expect it at the moment, but I believe that if we study the Tao Te Ching in depth according to our Confucianism, we will definitely find a method."

Tang Wenzhi was almost stupid. What method is this?

Chen Zengzhi next to him kept silent. At this moment, he suddenly laughed and said, "The one who is wrong with this is Hongming! Do you think there are fewer people who are proficient in the moral principles of the Te Ching? Can we surpass foreigners by relying on the moral principles of the Tao Te Ching? Do you want to kill foreigners on the battlefield with the Four Books and Five Classics?"

Chen Zengzhi is a true Confucian master. He also loves Confucianism wildly, but he has not yet thought that he could defeat Westerners by relying on these.

Gu Hongming argued: "Of course not! I mean that the Chinese people now lack the core of the Tao Te Ching and the essence of Confucianism, so they end up in such a defeat."

"Oh? Can Mr. Hongming tell me what is the core of the Tao Te Ching and the essence of Confucianism?" Chen Zengzhi asked.

Gu Hongming thought for a while and said, "Nature is the spirit of the Chinese."

Chen Zengzhi continued to ask: "What spirit?"

Gu Hongming said word by word: "Meek!"

"Hahaha!" Chen Zengzhi laughed loudly, "I thought Mr. Hongming had lived overseas for a long time and was a famous scholar who was familiar with Western learning. He didn't want to say such words. It really disappointed me!"

Gu Hongming said: "Isn't it? Or do you think you understand the West better than me?"

Chen Zengzhi said: "Of course, I am not as good as a teacher. But when you talk about the "essence of Confucianism" you mentioned just now, I can't hide it. In this regard, I understand everything you say; but if you want to understand what I say, you have to read Chinese books for another twenty years!"

"Then what I said is wrong?" Gu Hongming continued.

Chen Zengzhi pointed to the bookcase on the side wall, "I see that there are many Confucian classics on the shelf. You can read them more first and then talk to me."

Gu Hongming was a little genius in debate and immediately fought back: "Please ask Mr. Chen, which book on the bookshelf can be memorized, I can't memorize it? Which book you understand, I don't understand?"

Chen Zengzhi ignored it and said to Tang Wenzhi: "Yinghou, let's go."

Then he stood up and said to Gu Hongming: "We came to the house to ask for advice from the West, not to come here to study Confucianism with your husband, let alone, hum!"

Of course, Gu Hongming knew what he meant by snorting in the end: Chen Zengzhi and Tang Wenzhi were both serious Jinshi, and he was just a "reputable Jinshi". Chen Zengzhi believed that his research on Confucianism was far above him.

Although this is actually true, Gu Hongming doesn't think so. He sneered: "What a big tone, I wonder if the foreigners have read Mr.'s articles?"

The English articles Gu Hongming wrote throughout his life were far more popular than Chinese articles, and his fame was obtained from the Western side by translation of "The Analects of Confucius" and "The Doctrine of the Mean". He also wrote many articles and argued that Chinese traditional culture is better than Western culture.

Foreigners therefore think that he is the most powerful master of Chinese studies in China, and even said: "You can not look at the three halls when you go to China, but you must look at Gu Hongming."

However, when it comes to Confucianism, although Gu Hongming loved Chinese Confucian culture very much, he was still incomparable to the native scholars and officials like Shen Zengzhi and Tang Wenzhi.

After all, Gu Hongming became a monk halfway through and only began to study Chinese culture when he was nearly 30 years old. He only had a general framework for Confucian classics. His articles seemed to be using the theory of the twelve zodiac signs to explain the entire universe. It was relatively abstract and vague and did not discuss it in depth.

Chen Zengzhi sneered: "Sir, do you think foreigners can understand the true Confucianism?"

Chen Zengzhi was already quite polite. He did not say "can understand his own articles", but instead directly used the word "Confucianism" mentioned by Gu Hongming.

Chen Zengzhi no longer talked nonsense, and it was meaningless to continue to argue about Confucianism. What they wanted to do was to write this book introducing the West, so they left straight away.

Gu Hongming was so angry that he blew his nose: "Pediacal, it's really pedantic!"

In anger, he even accidentally knocked over the teacup.

Sadako Yoshida immediately ran up to comfort her and said, "Husband, don't get angry. You will go to the university to meet Mr. Zhang in the afternoon."

Chen Zengzhi was very gentle. Later, Gu Hongming and Hu Shi were the real enemies. Gu Hongming despised Western learning, while Hu Shi advocated Western learning. In the future, the two of them would confront each other many times in the New Culture Movement, and there were also debates about Confucianism and Confucius.

However, when it comes to Chinese studies, there is no need to compare with real masters like Zhang Taiyan. Even Hu Shi and Gu Hongming are at least fifty Xu Zhimo.

There are indeed few people who like Gu Hongming's current Confucianism. He was able to suddenly become a "genius" in the eyes of many people in the Internet era a hundred years later, and it became famous again, because of his remarks that despise the West and firmly believe that China will rise.

Originally, he might have been just an ordinary scholar and became a not dazzling name in history books.

But what is amazing is that China later became stronger with blood and sweat and gradually forged national confidence. So Gu Hongming's words a hundred years ago actually adapted to the times!

It's like a prophet who has seen through a hundred years.

This is Gu Hongming's luck, and even more so our luck.

(End of this chapter)
Chapter completed!