Gifts from Portugal and France were stored in warehouses at the seaport.
When the Chinese envoys return, they not only have to take away the gifts, but also the envoys from the two countries. Among them, the animals are the most troublesome. The horses sent by France and the sheep sent by Portugal have to be raised by dedicated people.
For a period of time, I will definitely not be able to travel around with the ship.
Both horses and sheep were purchased by the Chinese mission on their own initiative. The quantity was not very large, and the royal families of both countries were too lazy to collect the money and sent officials to carefully select them.
Arriving at Port Grace again, the other side of the strait is England.
Not long after sailing, Song Qin took a French pamphlet and found Zhang Ruifeng in the cabin: "Ambassador Zhang, I found a good book below. I was not familiar with French before, so I kept relaying it through the translator. The content of this book
, it is quite difficult, and even the French translator could not understand it. Until now, I probably understand a lot of it. When I return to Nanjing, this book must be presented to His Majesty! It is best to organize missionaries who understand French and understand it.
Seriously translate this book into Chinese."
"What book?" Zhang Ruifeng asked.
Song Qin replied: "The title of the book is very long, and I don't know if it is translated correctly. It is called "Methodology for Correct Thinking and Discovery of Truth." The author is the French celebrity Descartes. Like Your Majesty, he actually founded analytic geometry. His mathematical theory
, is highly respected in France. However, his philosophical thoughts have been besieged by French scholars."
There were four scholars from the two academies who went to sea with the ship. Song Qin came from Qintian Academy.
He didn't talk much along the way, only observing and recording the geographical conditions, and spent the rest of the time studying Latin. When he arrived in France, he didn't go to the banquet. He stayed in the Louvre to study French, and occasionally went to bookstores with his translator.
Descartes's "Discourse on Method" was only available in French at this time and not yet in Latin. Although it had been published for more than ten years and the mathematical methods in the book were quite popular, his philosophical works were dismissed as useless.
The ship was swaying towards England. Zhang Ruifeng had nothing to do, so he asked: "What is written in the book?"
Song Qin said: "It covers everything, including mathematics, physics, etc. What is really valuable is the explanation of how to do academic research. His Majesty will be very happy to get this book."
Zhang Ruifeng didn't understand: "Please be more specific."
Song Qin said: "For example, in optics, the research of Descartes and the scholarship of Qintian Academy are consistent in many places. What is rare is that it uses optical principles to explain how the eyes see. We all know that digging out the eyes
It’s a sphere. Descartes believed that the eye is a convex lens...Does Ambassador Zhang know about convex lenses?”
"Ahem," Zhang Ruifeng coughed twice and said with a smile, "keep talking."
Song Qin said: "The lenses of the telescopes used by the generals are convex lenses. In Descartes' view, each of our eyes is a telescope. As for the scholar's myopia, it is all due to problems with the convex lens, which leads to the optical focus.
Variety."
"That's it," Zhang Ruifeng said without realizing it, but kept smiling, "keep talking."
Song Qin said: "Descartes's mechanical cosmology coincides with that of some scholars from Qintian Academy. Descartes is even more extreme. He believes that except for thoughts, the entire universe is in mechanical motion and that all things can be controlled by mechanics.
Explanation. All animals, including humans, are also governed by complex mechanical laws. What is even more valuable is the epistemology and methodology of academic research proposed by Descartes."
Without waiting for Zhang Ruifeng to speak, Song Qin started talking: "There are three epistemological theories: first, philosophy is the foundation of all natural disciplines and must be true and reliable. Second, the theoretical system of previous philosophy (science) was flawed and even originated from wrong assumptions.
Basic cognition. Third, the reason why the foundation is wrong or unreliable is that the method of establishing the foundation is incorrect or even has no method, so there must be a methodology. Does Ambassador Zhang know how important these are to Qintianyuan?"
"How important is it?" Zhang Ruifeng asked.
Song Qin said: "It is just like Zhu Xi's Yulei to Neo-Confucianism in Song and Ming Dynasties."
Zhang Ruifeng was dumbfounded. He knew that the emperor valued Qintianyuan. But now Qintianyuan's natural disciplines have not yet been established from a high position and have not formed a strict system. If it is true as Song Qin said, then if he takes this "Methodology" back, Qintianyuan's
Knowledge can lead to the establishment of a sect.
The more Song Qin talked, the more excited he became. The content of Descartes' methodology gave him a feeling of enlightenment.
Descartes’ four principles of methodology:
First, put aside all prejudices and establish the authority of reason. Use reason to test all knowledge, and the test standard must be clear and unquestionable.
Second, split the research object into as small a part as possible until the problem can be solved satisfactorily.
Third, when studying science, we must have an order, from easy to difficult, from simple to deep. For research objects that do not have a natural order, a research order must be artificially set for it.
Fourth, when researching a problem, try to enumerate all situations as much as possible. Some answers to questions are suitable for this situation, and some are suitable for that situation. You must conduct universal research and make sure that nothing is omitted.
The three points of epistemology and the four principles of methodology can be said to be building a solid foundation for scientific research.
Without following these, science will not be a system.
Zhang Ruifeng didn't understand this either, and quickly changed the subject: "Since Descartes is so great, why not extend an invitation and take him back to Nanjing to face the saint?"
Song Qin said: "I have inquired, Descartes has been living in the Netherlands."
In fact, Descartes had already gone to Sweden to serve as the Queen's personal tutor.
The weather in Sweden was cold, so he got up at midnight every day and gave lessons to the Queen at five o'clock. He was blown by the cold wind every day, and unfortunately he contracted pneumonia and died...
Descartes, a Frenchman, settled in the Netherlands for a long time because his research was too shocking and often challenged the authority of the church and Jesus. People in the Netherlands believed in Protestantism, which was a little more liberal, and they would not be burned to death for no reason.
Even so, after Descartes finished writing "On the World" ("Principles of Philosophy"), he waited almost ten years before he dared to publish it.
Because when "On the World" was being completed, news came from Italy that Galileo was pronounced guilty by the Holy See for endorsing the heliocentric theory.
Galileo was very popular and had no fear of his life. He was sentenced to kneel on a stone slab and sign a letter of repentance, and was sentenced to life imprisonment. All "Dialogues" must be burned, and other books were prohibited from being published or reprinted. Later, the life sentence was changed to home confinement, and he has been banned from home.
He was placed under house arrest until his death.
Compared with the heliocentric theory, Descartes's "On the World" is more radical. He completely uses natural science to explain the universe.
Descartes also had an even more outrageous philosophical theory: Because of my existence, God exists and the world exists.
It's a pity that if the Chinese mission had come a few years earlier, they would have met Descartes alive in the Netherlands.
In addition to "Methodology", Song Qin also bought other books by Descartes.
He couldn't quite understand the French books, but he could roughly read the Latin books, so he stayed in the cabin and continued reading.
What Song Qin was reading at this time was "Principles of Philosophy". This book was originally called "On the World", but when it was published in Latin, it was renamed "Principles of Philosophy".
The book contains three articles from "Methodology" and adds other content, generally discussing matter, the world and the earth.
In order to gain recognition from the church and prevent himself from being banned, Descartes also claimed in the preface that God is omnipotent and created everything in the universe. Any of his research stems from the thinking ability given by God. This kind of thinking ability cannot
Incorrect.
But between the lines, it is obvious that Descartes did not believe in God at all. He said that "there is a God" who created everything.
Adding "there is one" is thought-provoking.
Other members of the envoy regarded Europe as a barbarian land and were full of contempt. But Song Qin quickly abandoned this stereotype after reading Descartes's books. He felt that there were still great scholars in Europe.
Song Qin was obsessed with "Principles of Philosophy", although he did not agree with some of the contents in the book and even thought it was wrong.
But Descartes said in the preface that all arts are rough at the beginning, but they can be gradually improved. The same goes for philosophy (science). As long as you have the right method and follow it, you will encounter the truth.
When the fleet arrived in London, Song Qin was still addicted to the book.
Cromwell was still negotiating with the Netherlands and was busy asking Parliament to transfer power. He did not show up for the time being and did not prepare any welcome ceremony. He only sent his trusted officials to receive him.
Milton didn't come either. He was blind, maybe out of anger.
After staying in London for a few days, Song Qin carefully read "Principles of Philosophy". In addition to thinking about the content of the seal, he also followed Descartes' ideas and thought about the origin of the gravity of things.
Although His Majesty the Emperor said that gravity comes from universal gravitation, why does the earth produce universal gravitation?
Study ink and pick up pen.
Song Qin wrote quickly: "When Chinese people write books and establish theories, they all want to be in a high place. The same is true for scholars in Qintian Academy today. They first justify their theories and determine the origin of the universe, heaven and earth, and then proceed to study astronomy and physics. There is a great scholar in Europe named Descartes.
, his work made me enlightened. When studying knowledge, why should we go from the big to the small? It’s okay to start from the small to the big..."
Ancient scholars were actually all similar.
First of all, we must determine the cosmology and world view. For example, Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism is the non-polarization of Tai Chi. Tai Chi divides Yin and Yang, and Yin and Yang Qi evolves all things. Only with this big framework can we continue to study.
The same situation existed in the Qintian Academy established under the order of Zhao Han. Scientists had doubts about the "Qi Li Theory" and could not come up with any new view of the universe, so they engaged in specific research while arguing about the birth and composition of the universe.
Descartes inspired Song Qin, why did he need to determine these things when he first came?
It is indeed possible to have a worldview. The universe is material, and that is enough. Since the universe is material, we can slowly explore and study it. How to study it? The epistemology and methodology can be determined, and they can be continuously improved and supplemented from generation to generation.
After writing a bunch of words and sentences, Song Qin wrote three more keywords: worldview, epistemology, and methodology.
Only by identifying these three things can the development of Chinese science truly move toward systematization and theorization, rather than just trying one thing with a hammer or a stick.
Based on Song Qin's realization alone, this mission to Europe was already worthwhile.