Dirty dirty——
On a train from Birmingham to London, steam billows from the chimney at the front of the train. Due to incomplete combustion, it is mixed with thick black smoke.
The conductor passed by with a trolley, selling goods,
Risotto,
pie,
fish and chips,
…
Most of them are foods that cannot be stored for a long time.
In a box in the second carriage, two Chinese people were sitting.
One of them is Gu Hongming,
He whispered: "It's really good to take the British Empire train and enjoy the service."
The person opposite shook his head,
"Isn't it because they are almost at the station that they sell the food at a low price? This has nothing to do with the service itself, it is purely a commercial behavior."
The train they took started from Birmingham, passed through Coventry, Northampton, Cambridge, and then arrived in London.
We have just passed the last transfer station——
Cambridge.
Gu Hongming had no choice but to say: "General Manager Zheng, can you stop thinking about business things all the time? If you look at everything as business, wouldn't you fall into the eyes of money? Living like this would be too boring!"
General Manager Zheng’s name is Zheng Guanying.
The general director refers to the general director of the Guangdong-Hankou Railway, which is a position.
It is worth mentioning that Zheng Guanying was the manager of both the Hanyang Iron Works and the Steamship Investment Promotion Bureau, and came to London for "visit and study".
Just in time, Gu Hongming returned to London from Edinburgh.
The two of them walked together.
Zheng Guanying frowned,
"Don't call me that. I have a name and a number."
Gu Hongming quickly said: "Okay, Zhengxiang, Tao Zhai, and Qi Yousheng."
Zhengxiang is Zheng Guanying's character.
Tao Zhai is the number, and Qi Yousheng is another number.
Zheng Guanying was helpless and complained: "Hong Ming, what's wrong with you? Why do you become so cynical when you come to England? If I had known this, I shouldn't have gone to London with you."
The muscles on Gu Hongming's cheeks jumped, and his expression was complicated.
"I'm just disappointed."
Zheng Guanying asked: "Disappointed? Disappointed to whom?"
Gu Hongming was silent and did not answer any questions.
The other party was the manager of the Hanyang Iron Works and the Steamship Merchants Bureau, and they were on the imperial diet. Of course, I couldn't admit that I was disappointed with the Qing court.
He said: "You still have the nerve to accuse me of being cynical? As for that card game Landlord, aren't you pestering me to play with your entourage every day? I heard you talking nonsense yesterday after drinking, 'Zheng Zhengxiang, Zheng Zhengxiang! You How could he have fallen so low! I have to examine myself three times every day, and I cannot continue like this.'"
Zheng Guanying's face was as black as ink,
"You...I...!@*#￥%..."
Since there was no way to argue, the rest turned into hemming and hawing gibberish.
Gu Hongming couldn't help laughing and said, "You have nothing to say, right?"
Zheng Guanying was helpless.
"That card game is really fun. Of course, it's far less interesting than mahjong, but the card game is more portable."
Gu Hongming said: "Yes, you still have the courage to admit it."
Zheng Guanying snorted and said, "What is there that you dare not admit? Confucius said, 'It is difficult to have a full day without any intention! Is there no one who plays games? To do so, it is still a wise man.' Sages are not opposed to games. .”
The so-called "gamer" refers to people who play Go.
Can Go be compared with Landlords?
Gu Hongming muttered: "Strong words are not reasonable!"
Zheng Guanying smiled and was about to respond when he heard a burst of noise outside.
The two of them couldn't help but frown,
Just now at Cambridge Station, a group of students came up and the whole train became a lot noisier.
Gu Hongming said: "I went over and closed the door tightly."
As he spoke, he walked to the door, pulled the handle,
As a result, he did not close the door tightly. Instead, he pressed his whole body against the door and eavesdropped on the voices outside through the crack in the door.
Zheng Guanying couldn't help but be stunned.
"What are you doing!?"
He also made a complaint in his mind: "What does it look like with your butt stuck out!?"
At this time, Gu Hongming was really sticking his butt out, pressing his right cheek against the door, and putting his ears as close to the crack of the door as possible, like a voyeur.
Zheng Guanying raised his voice slightly,
"What are you doing!?"
Gu Hongming came back to his senses,
"cough……"
He coughed awkwardly, then opened the door wider.
The noise outside immediately spread into the car.
Zheng Guanying was dissatisfied.
"what?"
However, Gu Hongming made a silence gesture and said: "Listen. Come here, come closer and listen."
Zheng Guanying was somewhat disgusted with this unethical behavior.
He sighed, moved his buttocks, and moved closer to the box door. His body was still straight, like a student sitting upright.
Ask him to ignore image like Gu Hongming, he can't do it.
At this time, the sound of reciting came from outside,
"
I have a dream.
I dream that one day, the valleys will rise, the mountains will descend, the rough and tortuous roads will become smooth, and the Holy Light will be revealed and shine on the world.
No matter who it is, we can work together, pray together, and fight together.
…
"
Zheng Guanying's English was not as good as Gu Hongming's, so it was a bit difficult to listen.
In this case, he could not understand the shock brought by this speech. He only felt vaguely that it was very infectious, but that was all.
Gu Hongming was so intoxicated that he even muttered:
"I have a dream……"
After two minutes, the speech ended.
Zheng Guanying asked: "What was that just now? In the UK, someone would give a speech on a train?"
Gu Hongming shook his head,
"I don't know much about it either. It's just that the content of that speech is really... no, I have to go and see it."
He could no longer restrain his curiosity and pushed the door open.
Zheng Guanying hesitated for a moment, then quickly followed.
The two of them walked all the way towards the "place of origin" of the speech. Almost all the boxes they passed along the way were filled with college students.
When these college students saw the two Chinese people, they also cast curious glances.
Whispers arose,
"It's Chinese."
"Ah, they are from the same country as Professor Lu? Why do they feel that their temperament is completely different from Professor Lu's?"
"You ask me that, who am I going to ask..."
"By the way, how do you know that I am Chinese? You are not just guessing, right?"
"Of course I'm not just guessing! Look at their braids!"
…
Zheng Guanying couldn't help but be surprised.
He has been to Belgium, England, France,
In the past, although these white people would be curious about Asians and occasionally point fingers, they would never chatter like this.
What's going on today?
Gu Hongming on the side understood that the "Professor Lu" mentioned by the students was Lu Shi.
Some time ago, he had been following Lu Shi through newspapers. It was not until Zheng Guanying went to England that he had to act as a translator and matchmaker. He had no time to read newspapers anymore, and his understanding of Lu Shi's current situation was cut off.
Zheng Guanying asked in a low voice: "Why do these students look at us like this?"
Gu Hongming chuckled,
"Maybe it's because there are talented compatriots who are recognized overseas."
Zheng Guanying resisted the urge to roll his eyes and said, "Hong Ming, are you going too far in boasting like this?"
Gu Hongming was stunned for a moment, then laughed loudly.
"I didn't say anything about myself."
He pointed to the box in front and said, "I'll talk to you about this topic later. I want to see where that speech came from first."
The two of them continued forward.
Unexpectedly, there were also several college students sitting in their destination box.
Gu Hongming was surprised,
The ambitions of today's British young people are so lofty. They often say "I have a dream" or "I dream of one day"?
"hiss……"
The more Gu Hongming thought about it, the more frightened he became.
On the other side, the young people in the box were also looking at them curiously.
Both sides looked at each other.
After a long time, a British student asked: "Chinese?"
Gu Hongming and Zheng Guanying nodded.
Seeing the two admitting, the expressions on the faces of the British students changed from confusion to excitement.
Someone immediately said: "You and Professor Lu are from the same country! How great!"
The so-called "love the house and the bird",
Zheng Guanying could clearly feel the respect these students had for "Professor Lu".
It's just that Chinese people are professors in the UK...
What kind of fantasy is this? !
Puzzled.
Zheng Guanying touched Gu Hongming's shoulder and asked in a low voice: "Hongming, you say you were born in Nanyang, studied in the West. You have been traveling in the UK for more than two months recently. Have you ever heard of any gentleman named Lu? Good at learning?"
Gu Hongming did not answer him, but asked those students,
"Are you talking about Lu Shi?"
The students nodded.
One of them said: "Yes, the speech just now came from Professor Lu's speech in Cambridge."
Zheng Guanying was a little confused.
"You said... the speech came from the speech?"
He thought his English was too poor and he didn't understand.
The student seemed to feel that what he said was a bit awkward, and then said to his companion: "Komen, show me the notes you compiled."
The student named Coleman was obviously a little reluctant.
"This...I..."
Gu Hongming said: "Hello, my name is Gu Hongming, and I am a translator. Seeing that you respect Professor Lu so much, you should be interested in Chinese culture. I am willing to exchange the translation of "The Analects of Confucius" or "The Doctrine of the Mean" with you."
The students were a little confused;
They saw that Gu Hongming was quite proud when he mentioned his name.
But the problem is...
Who is Gu Hongming?
All the students couldn't help but look at each other.
Finally, someone said: "The title of Professor Lu's speech today is "Faith, Expression, and Elegance", and the theme is exactly..."
Before he finished speaking, Gu Hongming said: "Isn't that the 'Three Dilemmas of Translation' proposed by Mr. Yan Fu? Lu Shi... ahem... Professor Lu gave a lecture on this?"
After he said this, the students believed that he really knew what he was doing.
Coleman hesitated for a moment and said: "The theme of Professor Lu's speech today is related to translation. Well... Mr. Hu is a translator, so it is natural for him to be interested. I can give you the notes I took, But you can’t let it deface.”
Gu Hongming: "..."
in silence.
Seeing that he didn't speak, Coleman asked in confusion: "Mr. Hu?"
The first time "Mr. Hu" may be a mouthful;
The second time "Mr. Hu" could only mean that Koeman really didn't know Gu Hongming.
Gu Hongming thought of how confident he was when he introduced himself just now, and suddenly felt hopeless and wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl in.
He took the note dejectedly,
"Thank you."
Coleman nodded, and then introduced the entire speech today.
From Lu Shi begins with Yeats's "When You Are Old",
This later led to the dispute between the British and Chinese,
Then there is "I Have a Dream",
Finally there is the poem.
…
Koeman went through it one by one, trying not to miss anything.
At the beginning, Gu Hongming replied a few words "uh, uh, ah ah", but there was no sound afterwards,
Because all his attention was focused on that speech.
His expression became more and more solemn,
Suddenly, two lines of tears slipped from the corners of his eyes and dripped down his cheeks onto the manuscript paper.
Koeman opened his mouth to speak,
But the classmate next to him stopped him and shook his head.
Koman sighed and said in his heart,
Anyway, I just sorted out the first draft. After I go back, I have to review and sort it out with other classmates who took notes. If it is dirty, it will be dirty.
For a moment, no one spoke in the entire box.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Silence lies between them all,
The hustle and bustle outside seemed to have nothing to do with the atmosphere in the box.
I do not know how long it has been,
"Huh~"
Gu Hongming sighed.
Zheng Guanying was not that sensitive to English, but he could still sense the power of this speech and said: "It's really good...it's really good..."
Gu Hongming shook his head,
"No, you have no idea how good it is."
After finishing speaking, he took a deep breath and said in Chinese:
"
'I have a dream that one day, in Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda, the sons of former slaves will be able to sit at the same table as the sons of former slave owners and talk about brotherhood;'
…
"
Although the British students did not understand, they were greatly shocked.
Professor Lu is right. In terms of rhythm, Chinese does have something, and in some places it is even better than English.
As a Chinese, Zheng Guanying’s feelings are even deeper.
On the surface, this speech is about Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Rhodesia, Myanmar, and India. There is not a single mention of China.
But, is that really the case?
Especially those "Voice of Equality" passages, a Chinese speech, doesn't it say what he thinks in his heart?
After a while, Gu Hongming finished reading the Chinese version.
He returned the manuscript to Corman.
Coleman said: "Professor Lu's speech should be published in the newspapers tomorrow."
Gu Hongming nodded and asked: "Who are you?"
Everyone answered in a variety of ways. Some said it was from the London School of Economics and Political Science, while others said it was from University College London and King's College London.
They collectively chartered a bus to attend a lecture in Cambridge, but when they came back they acted separately.
Gu Hongming thanked him again: "Thank you."
Afterwards, he and Zheng Guanying returned to their box together in despair.
The two of them were relatively speechless.
The scenery outside the car window passes quickly,
Gradually, the train began to slow down, and some anxious students outside had already walked to the aisle. While chatting, they stood on tiptoe and looked at the first carriage from time to time to see if any conductors appeared.
Zheng Guanying suddenly spoke,
"Hong Ming, it seems that you know this Professor Lu?"
Gu Hongming nodded,
"Didn't you always ask me who invented Landlords?"
Zheng Guanying:? ? ?
(⊙_⊙)?
Others are stupid.
I thought this was a game invented by the Germans or the Dutch, but I didn’t expect that the real inventor was a Chinese.
The most outrageous thing is that this person is also an all-rounder in a sense.
On the one hand, card games can be invented;
On the one hand, you can do the kind of speech that is highly inflammatory and builds cohesion.
Gu Hongming said: "His name is Lu Shi, and he is the author of "Guns, Germs and Steel"."
He did not introduce Lu Shi’s other works.
Because both films and dramas are more entertainment-oriented, and are far less shocking than "Guns, Germs, and Steel".
Sure enough, Zheng Guanying opened his mouth wide in surprise, as if he could eat a whole peach.
After a while, he couldn't help but ask: "Lu Shi said in his speech, 'If Britain wants to become a great country, this dream must be realized.' Do you think he really does it for the good of Britain?"
This is a rather heart-wrenching question.
Gu Hongming shook his head easily,
"Won't."
He had been in contact with Lu Shi, and he could feel that Lu Shi just looked down on the Qing court, but had a strong sense of identity.
In other words, in Lu Shi's eyes, the Qing court was just the Qing court and represented nothing.
Zheng Guanying nodded,
"What I'm saying is that I just heard the student named Coman say that Lu Shi expressed some views on Chinese culture during his speech, and I appreciate it very much."
So Lu Shi is very magical,
The British felt that Lu Shi was really doing good for Great Britain.
The Chinese people think that Lu Shi has a strong identity.
Gu Hongming said: "When I get to London, I want to visit you. Zhengxiang, do you want to go with me? Just tomorrow."
Zheng Guanying said: "Okay! Let's go together!"
(End of chapter)
