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After getting closer to the sense of identity between the two sides, Zhang Ruifeng continued: "Although Cromwell's approach is incorrect, as Chinese envoys, we must fulfill the imperial order. We will definitely visit London, England. As for whether to admit Cromwell's rule, this needs to go back to the country to ask His Majesty the Emperor, we cannot make decisions without authorization."

Queen Anne praised: "This is as it should be. You are very loyal to the Chinese emperor, and ministers should be like this. All actions of officials must be approved by the monarch. Like Cromwell, he is a traitor. He should Hanged in the streets of London!"

"The Queen Mother is really wise!" Zhang Ruifeng said flatteringly.

Queen Anne was even happier when she heard that, and she no longer obstructed the Chinese delegation from visiting London.

Zhang Ruifeng finally breathed a sigh of relief seeing the other party smiling.If you insist on going to London without persuading the French queen mother, the diplomatic achievements in Paris will be in vain.

Another grand farewell banquet was arranged, and the Chinese envoys finally left.

Reluctantly, Louis XIV took them to the Seine Pier in a carriage himself.This guy took Zhang Ruifeng's hand and looked at Lu Tianxiang again: "Mother has changed her mind. She will send a group of scholars and artists to follow the Chinese fleet to the east. The scholars will study Chinese books, such as the book "I Want You" Note". Artists will learn Chinese architecture, sculpture, painting, and when these artists come back, I will build a Chinese-style palace!"

In fact, Louis XIV also wanted to marry a Chinese princess, but he dared not say such things openly.

France, the filial son of God, is not Portugal in decline.

As King of France, and as a devout Christian, he could not marry a heathen.

Portugal didn't think much about it, because it had already fallen out with the Holy See.

The Jesuits are suspected of distorting the teachings and trying to integrate the "Bible" with the Four Books and Five Classics, which offended the Pope to death.When Portugal was restored, the Inquisition opposed Joao IV, and only the Society of Jesus supported the restoration of Joao IV.

In this way, Joao IV stood on the side of the Jesuits, and the Pope had hated him to the core. He refused to receive Portuguese envoys for more than ten years, and did not recognize Joao IV's rule over Portugal.

Now that you have fallen out with the Pope, it doesn't matter if you marry a pagan—the main thing is to use Chinese power to secure Portugal's Indian colony.In the event of a Dutch attack, you can ask China for help at a critical moment. This is also the reason for dowrying the colonial port.

Louis XIV asked the guards to come over, and each guard held the box in his hand: "These gifts are personally given to Chinese friends."

Each of the main members of the mission has a gift.

When Zhang Ruifeng opened it, he couldn't laugh or cry.

The waist pendant is made of gold and precious stones. Louis XIV felt that the jade pendant was too shabby and wanted to exchange it for better ones for his Chinese friends.

Alas, it will be melted when I return home.

Gold is melted into gold leaf, gemstones are set in jewelry for wives.If this thing is worn out, I am afraid that I will be laughed to death by my colleagues.

Louis XIV pointed to the dung mountain outside the city wall and asked, "I heard that there is no dung piled up outside the city wall in China. How do you deal with it?"

Zhang Ruifeng said: "Let someone transport it away."

Louis XIV looked at the dung mountain and muttered, "It will take a lot of manpower."

The dung mountain outside Paris can be described as majestic.It has been piled up for centuries, and once the enemy attacked Paris, they climbed directly from the dung hill.

In order to ensure safety, the city wall can only be continuously increased.

With the dung mountains in Paris as the background, the two sides bid farewell, which can be described as a good relationship between the host and the guest, and a good diplomatic story.

Watching the fleet of envoys drift away, Louis XIV turned around and walked towards the city, and said to the guards: "I won't take the carriage, I want to walk back to the Louvre."

The reason for this exquisite boy walking back to the palace is simple, he wants to show his new hairstyle to the Parisians.

Louis XIV, who had 48 royal wig makers in history, still has no ancestral hair loss problem.The hair on his head is abundant, and he can wear a small crown to make himself look more oriental.

High heels, tights, brocade robes, and now a small crown.

Such a mix and match style of Chinese and Western styles has indeed become the most beautiful boy on the street.People have been discussing the king's hairstyle, and they think it looks awesome, and those who are a little rich already want to imitate it.

Louis XIV held his head high, his heart full of pride.

Of course the robe did not dare to drag the floor, it was rolled up and draped over the shoulders so as not to be soiled by street feces.His hair crown is made of pure gold, inlaid with an emerald, which is much more expensive than the small crown of the Chinese envoy.

This guy also wrote a letter to Zhao Han, all in Latin, not in French, it would appear disrespectful.

In the letter, Louis XIV expressed his yearning for China and his admiration for the Chinese emperor.He hopes to be friends with the emperor of China. In the future, he will rule the west, and the emperor of China will rule the east, and together they will lead the fashion trends of the world.

Chapter 763 [Science]

Gifts from Portugal and France are stored in warehouses at the port.

When the Chinese envoys return to the voyage, they will not only take away those gifts, but also bring the envoys of the two countries with them.Among them, animals are the most troublesome. The horse breeds sent by France and the sheep breeds sent by Portugal have to be raised by special personnel for a period of time, so they will definitely not be able to travel around with the ship.

Both horses and sheep were purchased on the initiative of the Chinese mission.Upon hearing that the quantity was not very large, the royal families of both countries were too lazy to collect money, and even sent officials to carefully select them.

Come to Grace Port again, across the strait is the United Kingdom.

Not long after the voyage, Song Qin took a French booklet and found Zhang Ruifeng in the cabin: "Ambassador Zhang, I found a good book below. I was not familiar with French before, so I have been relaying it through the translator. The contents of this book , is quite difficult, and the French translator can’t understand it. Up to now, I probably understand a lot. When I return to Nanjing, this book must be presented to His Majesty! It is best to organize missionaries who can understand French. 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 the translation is correct. It is called "Methodology for Correct Thinking and Discovering the Truth". The author is a famous French scholar Descartes. Like His Majesty, he actually created 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 boat, and Song Qin was from Qintian Academy.

He didn't speak much along the way, only observed and recorded the geographical situation, and spent the rest of the time studying Latin.When I arrived in France, I didn’t go to the banquet, but stayed in the Louvre to study French, and occasionally went to bookstores with an interpreter.

Descartes' "Discourse on Method", at this time, only has a French version, and there is no Latin version yet.Although it has been published for more than ten years and the mathematical methods in the book are quite sought after, his philosophical works have been dismissed as useless.

The ship staggered towards England, Zhang Ruifeng happened to be idle and 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 to explain how to do academic research. Your Majesty will be delighted to get this book."

Zhang Ruifeng couldn't understand: "Please be more specific."

Song Qin said: "For example, the research of optics, Descartes, and the pedantry of Qintianyuan are consistent in many places. The rare thing is to use the principles of optics to explain how the eyes see things. We all know that when the eyes are dug out, It is a sphere. According to Descartes, the eye is a convex lens... Does Ambassador Zhang know about convex lenses?"

"Ahem," Zhang Ruifeng coughed twice, then smiled, "Go on."

Song Qin said: "The telescopes used by the generals are convex lenses. According to Descartes, the eyes of each of us are a telescope. As for the myopia of scholars, it is because of problems with the convex lens that the optical focus is out of focus. Variety."

"So that's how it is," Zhang Ruifeng didn't understand, but kept smiling, "Go on."

Song Qin said: "Descartes' mechanical cosmology also coincides with some scholars of Qintian Academy. Descartes is even more extreme, thinking that except for thoughts, the entire universe is mechanically moving, and everything can be controlled by mechanics." Elaboration. All animals, including humans, are also governed by complex laws of mechanics. Even more valuable, is the epistemology and methodology of academic research proposed by Descartes."

Without waiting for Zhang Ruifeng to speak, Song Qin talked eloquently: "There are three theories of epistemology: first, philosophy is the foundation of all natural sciences, which requires truth and reliability. Basic cognition. Third, the reason for the wrong or unreliable foundation is that the method of establishing the foundation is incorrect, or even there is no method, so there must be methodology. Does Ambassador Zhang know how important these are to Qintianyuan?"

"How important?" Zhang Ruifeng asked.

Song Qin said: "It's just like "Zhu Zi Yu Lei" is to Song and Ming Neo Confucianism."

Zhang Ruifeng was dumbfounded, he knew that the emperor attached great importance to Qintianyuan.But today, the natural sciences of Qintian Academy have not yet been established, nor have they formed a strict system.If it is true what Song Qin said, then take this "Methodology" back, and the knowledge of Qintianyuan will be able to establish a school.

The more Song Qin talked, the more excited he became. Descartes' methodological content gave him the feeling of enlightenment.

Descartes' four principles of methodology:

First, put aside all prejudices and establish rational authority.All knowledge is tested by reason, and the test is clear and beyond doubt.

Second, split the research object into as small parts as possible until the problem can be solved satisfactorily.

Third, to study science, there must be an order, from easy to difficult, from simple to deep.For a research object without a natural order, it is necessary to artificially set a research order for it.

Fourth, when researching a problem, enumerate as many situations as possible.There are answers to some questions that apply to this situation and some to that.To do universal research, make sure nothing is missed.

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 would be fragmented.

Zhang Ruifeng couldn't understand this either, so he quickly changed the subject: "Since Descartes is so good, why not invite 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 private teacher of the Queen of Sweden.

The weather in Sweden is cold, he gets up in the middle of the night every day, and gives lessons to the queen at five o'clock.Blown by the cold wind every day, unfortunately contracted pneumonia and died...

As a Frenchman, Descartes settled in the Netherlands for a long time because his research was too shocking and often challenged the authority of the church and Jesus.Those in the Netherlands believe in Protestantism, so they should be a little more open-minded, so they won't be burned to death for no reason.

Even so, after Descartes finished writing "On the World" ("Principles of Philosophy"), he held back for almost ten years before he dared to publish it.

Because when "On the World" was finished, news came from Italy that Galileo was convicted by the Holy See because he agreed with the heliocentric theory.

Galileo was very popular and had no fear of his life.Sentenced to kneel on a stone slab to sign a statement of repentance, in addition to life imprisonment, all "Dialogues" must be burned, and other books are prohibited from being published or reprinted.Later, life imprisonment was changed to home confinement, and he was kept under house arrest until his death.

Compared with the heliocentric theory, Descartes' "On the World" is more radical, and he fully uses natural science to explain the universe.

Descartes also has an even more outrageous philosophical theory: because of my existence, God exists and the world exists.

It's a pity that the Chinese diplomatic mission could have met the living Descartes in the Netherlands as long as they had come a few years earlier.

In addition to "Methodology", Song Qin also bought other books by Descartes.

He didn't quite understand the French books, but he could roughly understand the Latin books, so he stayed in the cabin and continued to read.

At this time, Song Qin was reading "Principles of Philosophy".This book was originally called "On the World", and when it was published in Latin, it was renamed "Principles of Philosophy".

The book contains the three articles of the Method, with additional additions, dealing with matter, the world, and the earth in general.

In order to gain the approval of 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 a God-given ability to think, which is infallible.

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.

It is intriguing to add "there is one".

The members of the other missions all regarded Europe as a barbaric land, full of disdain in their bones.But Song Qin read Descartes' book, but quickly abandoned this prejudice. He felt that there were still great scholars in Europe.

"Principles of Philosophy" made Song Qin very obsessed, although he didn't agree with some of the content 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 perfected.The same is true for philosophy (science), as long as you have the right method and follow it, you will encounter something of 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 getting parliament to hand over power.He didn't show up for the time being, and didn't prepare any welcome ceremony, and only sent confidant officials to receive him.

Milton didn't come either, he was blind, probably out of anger.

After living 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' thinking 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?

Grind ink and pick up a pen.

Song Qin frantically wrote: "Everyone in the country wants to build a high-level view when they write books. The same is true for scholars in today's Qintian Academy. They first justify their own theory, determine the origin of the universe, and then proceed to study astrophysics. There is a great scholar in Europe named Descartes , His work made me suddenly enlightened. Why study knowledge from big to small? From small to big..."

The ancient scholars were actually pretty much the same.

First of all, we must determine the cosmology and worldview, such as Cheng Zhu Neo-Confucianism, that is, non-polarized 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.

This is also the case with the Qintian Academy established under the order of Zhao Han.Scientists doubted the "Qi Li Theory" and couldn't come up with any new cosmology, so they argued about the birth and composition of the universe while doing specific research.

Descartes inspired Song Qin, why did he have to confirm these things when he came here?

It is true that there can be a worldview, the universe is material, and that is enough.Since the universe is material, it can be slowly explored and studied.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 key words: world outlook, epistemology, and methodology.

Only by confirming these three things can the development of Chinese science be truly systematized and theoreticalized, rather than trying to be lucky.

Based on Song Qin's understanding alone, this trip to Europe is already worthwhile.

Chapter 764 [Gewu School]

Apart from Pan Wei, Song Qin, and Cai Yuncheng, the last scholar who went to sea with the group was Li Sixiao.

When Song Qin was summarizing scientific research methods, Li Sixiao entered the room with "Principles of Philosophy" and said excitedly: "Brother Yang, the book you recommended is really well written, Descartes is really a great European Confucian !"

Song Qin said with a smile: "It's not a great Confucian, he is not a Confucian, but he is indeed a European sage."

"Otherwise," Li Sixiao shook his head and said, "this Descartes is indeed a great Confucian, even though he has never read Confucian classics. The truth that this person comprehends, I will translate it as 'mind-matter theory' (mind-matter dualism), which coincides with Yang Minggong's Great way of learning!"

"what?"

Song Qin was dumbfounded.

Li Sixiao analyzed: "Descartes doubted everything. He believed in God, but he said he was not sure whether God existed. Because only doubt is real, and it is doubtful to be sure. Doubt proves that people are thinking, and thinking is human. Proof of existence, so "I think, therefore I am". He was convinced of his own existence, and then he tried to prove the existence of God and the world. Thinking is the heart and conscience. I think, therefore I am, is there nothing outside the heart? "

Song Qin muttered, "Isn't this explanation too far-fetched?"

"It's not farfetched!"

Li Sixiao began to eloquently: "There is nothing outside Yang Minggong's heart, since the heart and things are in one body. Without the spiritual heart, there will be no heaven, earth, ghosts, gods, and everything; Only by thinking about oneself can we prove the existence of God and the world. Without God endowing the mind and the world, he would not be able to think. Duke Yangming and Descartes are saying the same thing?"

Song Qin didn't like vain things, so he didn't bother to refute immediately, nodded and said, "Maybe."

Li Sixiao said again:

"Descartes said that the world is very complicated, and people can never truly see the problem comprehensively. Only God can do this. Therefore, the method for people to study the world should divide the problem into details, and study it as isolated and static as possible. "

"Duke Yangming also said that Tao cannot be expressed. He also said that to do good and eliminate evil is to study things. Besides, people must practice kung fu in things. It should be adjusted according to the circumstances. Isn’t it just a case-by-case discussion, isn’t it a way to divide and study things? The ready-made school, the return school, and the orthodox school of mind learning have their own methods. But we scholars who study the world have to find another way to understand mind learning. This flute Karl's knowledge is just like understanding with psychology to guide our research world."

"Descartes had a theory of mind and matter, and Lord Yangming said that mind is rational. Things can be attributed to Qi. Isn't the theory of mind and matter the theory of Qi?"