The brown-red-haired Westerner who was talking to Zhang Ruiyang stood up immediately when he saw Zhang Yuan walking into the hall, looked at Zhang Yuan, and asked Zhang Ruiyang: "Is this your son, Zhang Jiezi, Zhang Gongzi?" the Westerner said.
It’s Nanjing Mandarin, and the accent is quite stiff. (《》)
Zhang Ruiyang also stood up and replied: "It's the puppy."
This Westerner is nearly a head taller than Zhang Ruiyang. He should be 1.9 meters tall, which is equivalent to the Ming Dynasty tailor's ruler of 5 feet 6 inches. It is rare to see such a big man in Jiangnan. Mu Jingyan, the father of Mu Zhenzhen, is also
Only five feet four inches, this Westerner wore a tall hat that was narrow at the top and a straight jacket. His eyes were as green as a cat's eyes, and they were blinking constantly. No wonder Little Stone was frightened and frightened——
Zhang Ruiyang introduced: "Zhang Yuan, this is the Jesuit President Wang Fengsu and Wang from Nanjing."
Zhang Ruiyang had met Thai and Western missionaries in the Zhou Palace, so he was not surprised to see the red-haired and green-eyed Thai and Westerners. This Thai and Westerner claimed to have come all the way from Nanjing to visit Zhang Yuan. As for the Western missionaries in the late Ming Dynasty, Zhang Yuan
We only know more about Matteo Ricci and Tang Ruowang. Matteo Ricci passed away four years ago, and Tang Ruowang should still be studying at the Roman Theological Seminary at this time. Who is this Wang Fengsu?
After some pleasantries, Zhang Yuan learned that Wang Fengsu was the head of the Nanjing Society of Jesus. After receiving a letter from Xu Guangqi at the end of last month, he rushed all the way to Shanyin to visit him——
There were some things that Wang Fengsu did not tell Zhang Yuan. Xu Guangqi praised Zhang Yuan in his letter as a genius of Su Hui and definitely not a creature in the pool. He said that if Catholicism was to spread in the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Yuan would be a great help, so he tried his best to urge Wang Fengsu to meet Zhang Yuan as soon as possible.
, we must work hard to make good friends, it is best to guide Zhang Yuan to join the Society of Jesus——
Xu Guangqi was an outstanding Catholic figure in the Ming Dynasty and a close friend of Matteo Ricci. Wang Fengsu did not dare to neglect Xu Guangqi's letters and set out overnight to come to Shanyin. However, when he saw that Zhang Yuan was just a young scholar of 17 or 18 years old, he couldn't help but feel a little agitated.
Disappointed, what help could a young member of the Society of Jesus do to them? But now that he is here, Wang Fengsu still has to cheer up and talk to Zhang Yuan, and first ask the servant to present the gift he brought from Nanjing to Zhang Yuan.
Above, there is a prism, a stone rubbing of "A Map of Mountains and Seas", and a chiming bell. When Matteo Ricci came to Beijing to present the gift to Emperor Wanli, the two chiming bells were the most valuable. Jesuits usually only had to visit important figures in the Ming Dynasty to obtain them.
Only the missionary power would give a self-ringing bell. Now there are no more than ten self-ringing bells in the entire Ming Dynasty. It was Xu Guangqi who suggested that the Jesuits give Zhang Yuan a self-ringing bell——
This three-foot-tall, gilded ebony chiming bell has an angel with two wings on each of its four corners. The whole shape is like a steeple church. It is extremely exquisitely made. In Thailand, this chiming bell is much more expensive than a telescope. Zhang Yuan saw
When it comes to the self-ringing bell, he is overjoyed. He needs this very much to accurately control the time. He also wants the skilled craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty to imitate it. The strength of the Chinese copycats should be traced back four hundred years -
The pendulum of the self-ringing clock did not move. The red-haired and green-eyed Wang Fengsu remained calm, waiting for Zhang Yuan to ask. Unexpectedly, Zhang Yuan did not ask. He went to open the back cover of the self-ringing clock and took a closer look. This was not a winding clock, but a heavy-duty clock.
The hammer-driven clock has a large error and needs to be adjusted every day. Immediately lower the weight and turn the olecranon-shaped minute hand to adjust the time to 3:10 in the afternoon, and the hands start to move -
—
Zhang Yuan turned to Wang Fengsu and said: "This is about this time, we will adjust it later. ("")"
Wang Fengsu was stunned and asked for a long time: "Master Zhang, have you seen this Babel Tower before?"
"Tower of Babel?"
Zhang Yuan was surprised, and then he understood that these European and Western missionaries called the self-ringing bell the Tower of Babel in order to show their magic, and replied: "I have dreamed about it before, and when I saw it today, it was indeed the same as what I saw in my dream."
Wang Fengsu opened his green eyes wide and was speechless. He opened the "Map of Mountains and Seas" and showed it to Zhang Yuan. It was lithographically printed based on the map hand-drawn by Matteo Ricci. It also had colored markings. Asia was in khaki, and South and North America and Antarctica were in pink.
, Europe and Africa are white, and the ocean is dark green. Oceania is not marked on the map. At this time, Westerners did not know that Oceania existed -
Zhang Yuandao: "This picture is a bit off. Our territory of Ming Dynasty should be moved to the northeast. The Holy Temple"
Wang Fengsu was shocked. When Matteo Ricci drew this "Map of Mountains and Seas", taking into account the arrogance of the Ming people, he placed the eastern part of Asia, the Ming territory, in the center of the map to please the Ming people. It was indeed very effective.
People from the Ming Dynasty who had seen the map proudly believed that the Ming Dynasty was the center of all nations. They were very happy and their favorable impression of the missionaries doubled. But now this weak member pointed out the deviation of the map in one word. Wang Fengsu was shocked——
Seeing that he had so little common sense, Zhang Yuan was shocked by the red-haired and green-eyed Wang Fengsu. He secretly screamed with shame and said, "I have seen a map drawn by the Taixi people in my dream. It is slightly different from this one."
Leaving things that are difficult to explain to dreams is Zhang Yuan's habit. People in the late Ming Dynasty and Westerners all believe in this. Wang Fengsu is now sure that his trip to Shanyin was worthwhile. Zhang Yuan is a genius.
, and he had a strange dream, wouldn’t it be that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit were enlightening this young man——
Wang Fengsu was extremely excited, but asked cautiously: "Did Young Master Zhang see any characters when he had that strange dream?"
Zhang Yuan knew what Wang Fengsu was thinking, so he shook his head and said, "No."
Wang Fengsu took out the cross necklace he was hanging: "Have you ever seen this thing?"
Zhang Yuan shook his head and said no, not wanting to get entangled in the dream, so he changed the topic and asked: "Is President Wang from Italy, Portugal or Germany in the West?"
Wang Fengsu was surprised again. Most people in the Ming Dynasty regarded Spain and Spain as one country and could not distinguish between Spain and Portugal. They were all called Francois. The Jesuits who preached in the Ming Dynasty were mainly Portuguese and Italians, and there were no Spanish ones.
People, but in the 31st year of Wanli, the Spaniards massacred Ming immigrants in Luzon, but the people of Ming Dynasty blamed them as missionaries, making it difficult for them to preach——
Wang Fengsu, a Jesuit named after a Ming Dynasty man, was in awe of Zhang Yuan and replied: "I am from Italy." After saying that, he took out two books from his bag and handed them to Zhang Yuan: "This is a humble work. Please give me some advice, Mr. Zhang."
.”
Zhang Yuan took it and read it. One was "Qijia Western Learning" and the other was "The Practice of the Saints of the Holy Religion of God" and said: "I will definitely read it."
Zhang Ruiyang was not interested in this missionary at all, so he stood up and said: "Zhang Yuan, you accompany the guest, while I go in and have a rest." Zong Yishan's parents are still in the west building of the inner courtyard, and Yi Ting and Zong Yishan's marriage has been decided.
Next, as Yi Ting is Zhang Ruiyang’s adopted daughter, Zong Yishan will be his Zhang family’s son-in-law——
Zhang Yuan invited Wang Fengsu to have a long talk at the wooden building in the back garden. The weather was cloudy today. At this time, the clouds were opening and the sun was appearing. The winter sunshine was shining on both sides of the Touxian River. The ice and snow were crystal clear, which was really beautiful. Wang Fengsu took the opportunity to show a prism, which split the sunlight into red.
The self-ringing bell, the map of all nations and the prism are the three treasures of the Jesuits who came to preach in the Ming Dynasty. Just like when Buddhism was introduced to China, the eminent monks from the Western Regions often showed magical powers to gain followers. The Jesuits used some advanced technology to attract followers.
But in front of Zhang Yuan, these three treasures obviously had no effect. However, Zhang Yuan still had to pretend to be curious and asked about the principle of the prism's reproduction of colored light. Wang Fengsu did not understand that each of the seven colors of light has a refractive index, so his answer was half correct.
Half a mistake, Zhang Yuan did not correct it——
Wang Fengsu lived in a small building by the Touhe River for three days, and had long conversations with Zhang Yuan every day. Wang Fengsu was far less knowledgeable than Matteo Ricci, and only had a superficial understanding of geometry, astronomy, and optics, although Zhang Yuan's knowledge in these areas was only better than that of later generations.
The high school level is a little better, but it is not comparable to Wang Fengsu. There is nothing to talk about with Wang Fengsu, and Wang Fengsu has no intention of talking about that. He only wants to persuade Zhang Yuan to join the religion, saying that Xu Guangqi, Li Zhizao and other Ming officials have joined the religion, and Wang Fengsu
Actively promote the doctrine and earnestly hope to save Zhang Yuan’s soul——
Zhang Yuan knew where he came from and where he was going. He had to save himself first. The lives of his family and the people of the Ming Dynasty were not allowed to be ravaged by intruders and Jurchens. As for the soul, he could save it slowly. There was no rush. For these
He has a good impression of the missionaries. This is the same as when Moses came and Jianzhen traveled east. As long as they do not use force to force others to believe in religion, the people are free to believe in whatever religion they like. Moreover, the Catholic doctrine at this time is as close to Confucianism as possible.
Getting closer is beneficial to civilizing the people's wisdom. Late Ming society needs the infusion of new religious ideas, but Zhang Yuan himself, of course, cannot become a Catholic. Once he becomes a Catholic, he will be labeled, and the road to national salvation will be difficult to follow in the future——
Zhang Yuan excused himself because he was young and his mother was a devout Buddhist and would not allow him to become a Catholic. However, Zhang Yuan did not stop talking and said that he could consider it later. This gave Wang Fengsu hope. The Jesuit in the Ming Dynasty was also Zhang Yuan.
To make friends, unite all the forces that can be united. The biggest enemies of the late Ming Dynasty are natural disasters and Jianzhou Jurchens. The booming Western technology must be borrowed——
Zhang Yuan also saw the hidden worries of the Jesuits from Wang Fengsu's words. Unlike Matteo Ricci's caution, Wang Fengsu preached too openly. The new church in Nanjing was completed the year before last. Wang Fengsu organized a large number of believers to line up and parade through the city. Male and female believers often gathered together.
Chanting sutras and praying made the people of Nandu somewhat dissatisfied, and officials and Buddhists who were hostile to Catholicism even criticized them with the same voice. Wang Fengsu did not take it seriously. Last year, he was criticized by his superiors, the Jesuits, for his most successful missionary work in the Ming Dynasty.
received the award, so I worked harder and tried my best to develop believers, otherwise I would not have chased Zhang Yuan from Nanjing to Shanyin in the cold winter -
Zhang Yuan advised Wang Fengsu to adopt a missionary strategy like Matteo Ricci, focusing on spreading scientific knowledge, otherwise there would be dangers of corruption, but Wang Fengsu obviously did not listen, but out of admiration and wooing Zhang Yuan, Wang Fengsu agreed to use his
I asked someone to bring Zhang Yuan two of the latest Spanish Mushroom matchlocks. In the Ming Dynasty, matchlocks were called bird guns——
Zhang Yuan also invited Wang Fengsu to visit Hanshe Mirror Workshop. Wang Fengsu was greatly surprised that Hanshe Mirror Workshop could produce telescopes.
On the 16th of the twelfth lunar month, Wang Fengsu left Shanyin with full of praise and saw that Zhang Yuan's trip was worthwhile. Zhang Yuan also donated two hundred taels of silver as funds for the Nanjing Jesuit mission, and once again reminded Wang Fengsu to be careful in preaching and beware of those anti-Catholic officials.
Impeachment, but looking at Wang Fengsu's demeanor, he did not listen to this advice. Zhang Yuan thought: "If you don't listen to me, the Catholic Church will suffer a big setback in the Ming Dynasty, but this is good. It not only shows my foresight, but also allows the Jesuits to change the current situation."
The missionary policy goes back to Matteo Ricci’s strategy of putting technology first.”
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This chapter contains a lot of information and is difficult to write, so the update is late. It's the end of the month. Please give me a monthly vote for encouragement.