Pulande took Li Yu to an office. Although it was not big, it was very good to have his own room in the legation.
Thanks to his having worked in the Customs and Excise Department, he had a good relationship with Hart, and now he is the Secretary-General of the British Concession Industry Bureau, so his status is not low.
Puland opened his notebook, took out a Bailey gold medal fountain pen made in Hannover, Germany, which showed aristocratic temperament, and said to Li Yu: "Sir, please tell me. Now many people in the European intelligentsia want to know your deeds and why you can have it."
Such high knowledge, and... and in such a country where science is not popular."
Naturally, Li Yu couldn't tell him the truth, so he started to make nonsense: "Actually, there is nothing to say. I have studied Western learning in a foreign school in Zhili since I was a child. After several years of enlightenment education, I spent nearly ten years reading it all.
Scientific books from various countries..."
Anyway, the Gengzi national crisis has devastated the entire Tianjin area, and there is nothing he can do to prove it.
"So you are basically self-taught. It's unbelievable! I wonder what diploma you have now?" Purland asked.
"A diploma? It should only be regarded as middle school or elementary school." Li Yu said.
"With such talent and understanding, all I can think of is the deceased Mr. Faraday. I never expected that there was such a genius in the Qing Dynasty."
"Mr. Reporter, there are crouching tigers, hidden dragons in the land of China, and I am just the most ordinary one."
Puland smiled lightly and said noncommittally: "Are you interested in visiting Europe in the future? The academic atmosphere there is much stronger."
"Of course, I will definitely go if I have the chance."
Li Yu's purpose in wanting to take the imperial examination was actually to travel to Europe and the United States in the future, where there are now many masters.
But when he was in college, the cost of studying abroad was not cheap, and 100 years ago it was even ridiculously high. The only way to study abroad was through public funding.
Speaking of which, at that time, there were also two types of study abroad at self-financing and study abroad at public expense.
Ji Xianlin, who once studied in Germany, said: "If you want to study abroad, only the children of wealthy businessmen, big businessmen, high-ranking officials, and prominent officials can do so."
Ji Xianlin came from a poor background and was a student studying abroad at public expense.
Examples of those who study abroad at their own expense include Xu Zhimo. His father, Xu Shenru, was a wealthy businessman in Haining, Zhejiang. He even opened a bank of his own and was very wealthy. He could open a bank at home, which is like what later generations would say, "the family has a mine."
, the money is so much that it can only be regarded as a number! This is also the reason why Xu Zhimo still spends lavishly after marrying Lu Xiaoman - it is really a habit from childhood.
When it comes to government-sponsored study abroad, the main reason is that the threshold is very high. After all, only a few dozen people are sent each year, which is very different from the hundreds of thousands that are sent every year now.
But if you can pass the exam to study abroad with government funding, the benefits will be very good!
For example, Qian Zhongshu studied in the UK at public expense, and the treatment standard for him was "20 pounds for clothing, 80 pounds for transportation, and 24 pounds for monthly tuition and living allowances"!
At that time, the United Kingdom was on the gold standard, and the pounds issued were quite valuable and directly linked to gold. Each pound directly corresponded to 7.3 grams of gold.
Calculating this, Qian Zhongshu’s monthly tuition and living allowance is more than 60 taels of silver!
For comparison, the magistrates in the Qing Dynasty only had a monthly salary of 4 taels! Of course, the magistrates in the Qing Dynasty would not have such a small amount of money, and they would commit corruption every year.
But with more than 60 taels of silver a month, which is equivalent to more than 20,000 yuan today, you can still live a petty bourgeoisie life in Europe, let alone a hundred years ago when living materials were much scarcer.
The reason why the Qing Dynasty gave them so much money was because they felt that if they went out, they would represent the face of the country. They should not be too shabby, after all, they could not lose face!
Because there are so many subsidies, many international students even take their families with them to go abroad, and it is more than enough.
In addition to government-funded and self-funded programs, there are also work-study programs. The most typical example is Cai Yuanpei, the number one Chinese student studying abroad.
Since Cai Yuanpei could not afford the cost of studying abroad, he worked part-time at the embassy in Germany, and also translated and wrote articles for the Commercial Press. Fortunately, Cai Yuanpei was already well-known at the time, so the royalties he paid were very high, which was no worse than government-funded treatment.
, my four years in Germany were very fulfilling.
Pulande naturally understood what Li Yu meant and asked, "Do you know anything about European universities?"
"I know a thing or two about European universities."
"Then you should have heard that our schools in the British Empire are second to none in the whole of Europe, no, I should say in the whole world. If possible, I hope you will come to our universities of Cambridge and Oxford for further studies."
Puland is quite confident in this and indeed has pride in it.
Li Yu said: "If this is true, it will be a great honor."
The two chatted for a while, and Puland discovered that Li Yu was indeed knowledgeable. Whether it was mathematics, physics, or astronomy, he knew everything.
"What a genius!" Puland couldn't help but say, "Tomorrow I will write a special report for you. In addition, I also need your cooperation to take a photo."
"Of course." Li Yu said.
There was a special photography room in the embassy. The photographer asked Li Yu to sit on the sofa and said to him: "Sir, don't be afraid, the photo will be taken soon! It's just photography. Although the portrait will be left on the film,
But it’s not breathtaking.”
The photographer thought he was another ignorant Qing person, so he gave an extra explanation.
Li Yu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I know how to play SLR, okay?
"You just take pictures, I know all this!"
The photographer put his head under the black cloth behind the camera obscura and said to Li Yu: "Cheese!"
"Click"!
The shutter was pressed and the photographer said: "Very good, let's do some more poses."
In order to facilitate selection, the photographer took a few additional photos.
After taking the photo, Puland walked into the studio and said to the photographer: "Develop it as soon as possible. I will use it tomorrow." Then he said to Li Yu, "Thank you for your cooperation."
"You're welcome, don't forget to contact me to record the gramophone record."
"No problem, I have to go back and sort out the manuscript today. Just come to the newspaper office to see me tomorrow."
"Good work!"
News about the Qing Dynasty was still a beat or two behind the world. At this time, Li Yu's papers and reports in The Times had long been translated into multiple languages and published in newspapers in various European countries.
Planck, an academician of the Prussian Academy of Sciences and a professor at the University of Berlin, also saw this article. His eyes were very sharp and he immediately noticed the three words "light quantum" mentioned in a very inconspicuous place in the article.
"This person is not simple! How difficult is it for him to have read my report? Otherwise, why would the word 'quantum' appear in the article?"
Planck read it carefully again and was convinced that he actually used the concept of quantum in a very subtle way, but he only used it in some conceptual explanations at the beginning. Later, he did not mention the electromagnetic wave predictions and crystal diffraction experiments that caused a stir in the academic world.
.
Planck looked through the newspaper and found that the author of the paper was actually a Chinese, living in the distant Qing Dynasty.
"What a pity, otherwise I really want to discuss it with him!"