Cixi looked at the three of them with still tepid eyes, and she said calmly: "Timothy Richard, please tell me first, what is the defective method?"
Sweat almost broke out on Yikuang's forehead. He coughed slightly, wanting to remind Timothy Richard.
Timothy Richard said to himself: "Dear Queen Mother, the deduction of the theory of evolution follows the scientific method, but the evidence is slightly insufficient."
"Oh?" Cixi raised her eyes, "Does that mean that, well, all the people in the Ai family didn't change from apes?"
"No! There is not much problem with Darwin's statement at this point. It's just that it still lacks some fossil evidence."
The hearts of Yi Kuang and Li Yu who had just fallen to the bottom of the sea slowly came back to their senses.
Li Yu really wants Timothy to become a screenwriter. He has to make several twists and turns every time he speaks. He is really looking for excitement!
Cixi was obviously also distracted by Timothy Richard: "Why is it right one moment and wrong the next?"
Timothy Richard said: “Just because it is right, it is not right; and precisely because it is wrong, it is right.”
This time, even Ronglu next to him was confused: "Mr. Bishop, if I remember correctly, you are a Christian. How come you have been in the Qing Dynasty for decades and still like to talk about Buddhism?"
"Lord, just because I am a missionary, I will never question God; but after many years of study, I believe that evolution is also God's will. It was God who designed everything in the beginning and gave the original motivation."
Li Yu let out a long sigh of relief. Although his explanation was very ridiculous, he still managed to get himself involved.
Timothy Richard was a member of the Protestant sect that was more radical and respected science to a certain extent. If they are a conservative and devout Catholic, I am afraid they will not be able to escape the name of deceiving the emperor today. Because those who opposed the theory of evolution most vigorously at that time were the believers.
As for Lord Kelvin and others, it is more of a scientific question. For example, Darwin himself once estimated that according to his evolutionary logic, it would take at least a billion years for life to evolve to its current variety. Based on thermodynamics, which he was best at, Kelvin estimated that the earth's lifespan was only about 100 million years, which was not enough at all, so he questioned the theory of evolution.
Of course, we all now know that it is actually Kelvin's estimate that has a greater deviation. The actual age of the earth is about 4.5 billion years. As for life, it began to appear more than 3 billion years ago.
Fortunately, Timothy is not pedantic. After all, Protestantism does not recognize the pope like Catholicism does, and it does not have a highest institution. The various small factions are having fun on their own, with various opinions emerging one after another, and there are no special restrictions.
In addition, he is a person who values education. When he first came to China more than 20 years ago, he vigorously promoted the heliocentric theory and was also very enthusiastic about science.
Moreover, the Qing government at that time strongly opposed anyone preaching in schools, so he is not right today.
But Cixi frowned slightly: "So, is it really a monkey?"
Timothy Richard smiled and said: "Your Majesty, this is evolution, not monkey change."
"Please tell the Ai family carefully." Cixi still didn't want to give up.
"Queen Mother, I only briefly read about it in the newspaper. As for the mystery, I really can't answer it for you. Maybe you can find an excellent Western teacher in the palace to help you solve your problems."
Cixi nodded: "Your suggestion is good."
Cixi is preparing to get in touch with the wives of ministers from various countries, and also imitate them in running salons, broadening her horizons, and chatting. After all, no one can stand staying in the palace all the time.
But if you don't understand anything and make a fool of yourself in front of the minister's wife, you will lose face greatly. Our old Buddha loves face the most, so this is absolutely unacceptable! And if you want to understand the West, you really need someone who understands Western learning by your side.
Cixi said with a little envy: "Yikkuang, you have finally found a good Western teacher."
Yi Kuang said: "Queen Mother, this Mr. Li Yuxiao is indeed well-informed and knows everything."
Cixi glanced at Li Yu, and Li Yuhun was almost frightened. Look at what I'm doing, I don't want to enter the palace!
Fortunately, Cixi also shook her head, "Yikuan, the Yu Geng you mentioned before should be back by now."
Yikuang said: "Back to the Queen Mother, my servants have sent a telegram. I believe they are already making preparations."
Yu Geng’s two daughters are more suitable.
"That's good." Cixi thought for a while and then said, "It's rare to see someone of our own who understands Western learning today. Your name is Li Yu, right? The Ai family would like to test you."
"Your Majesty, please ask the question. I will tell you everything you know."
Li Yu thought to himself, I'm afraid you might make some stupid questions!
Cixi plucked the tea leaves with her long fingernails and said: "Actually, Si Gege has mentioned it before, saying that you can make the sound on the stage louder by simply using a few water tanks. Recently, Prince Qing also He told me a lot about the things he learned about the sky, and I think it was you who taught him. Then the Ai family will take a test on you, how many stars are there in the sky? "
Cixi just asked casually, but such a broad question is really difficult to answer. Just like a person who has never played basketball asks Jordan how to play basketball well, it is almost impossible to explain.
Li Yu could only restrict the conditions in a general way and said: "Back to the Queen Mother, if you look at it with the naked eye, you can probably see more than three thousand stars in the sky."
This is more rigorous. Strictly speaking, the eyes can see more than 6,000 stars, which is the stars with the lowest visual magnitude of 6. However, half of it is below the horizon. The earth is "lying" and rotating, so the stars in the southern hemisphere are naturally invisible.
"That's it?" Cixi obviously didn't believe it, "Have you counted it?"
Good guy, Lafayette actually has some ways to argue with the modern Internet.
"Your Majesty, this is the result of statistics compiled by scientists from various countries for many years. Of course, if you use a telescope, you can see more."
When this matter was mentioned, Yikuang also became more energetic: "Queen Mother, don't you have a telescope?"
Cixi said: "Oh, I almost forgot about this. It's a pity that no one in the palace knows how to use it. Even if I look blindly, I have seen the moon several times, but I can't tell clearly."
Li Yu had an idea: "Queen Mother, I can help you observe the beautiful rings of Saturn... Ah, there is a ring of light around the planet. It is very beautiful. You will definitely like it."
At that time, people called Saturn the town star, because ancient people observed that Saturn passed through one of the twenty-eight constellations every year, and seemed to take turns stationing in the twenty-eight constellations. It was called "the town star every year", which is also the town star.
Cixi became interested: "A halo around a star? It sounds interesting."
Observing the rings of Saturn is the most introductory part of astronomical telescopes. Li Yu was best at astrophysics and quantum mechanics during college, which was a piece of cake for him.
