Columbia University's education, journalism, art, international affairs and other majors are very good, especially its School of Journalism, which awards the Pulitzer Prize in the United States.
But when it comes to history majors, Columbia University is really not good enough.
The so-called historical academic exchange seminar was held in the College of Arts and Sciences at Columbia University, and all history professors and lecturers from the school attended.
Zhou Hexuan, led by a history assistant, walked into the conference room with a smile. Everyone inside gathered together and applauded enthusiastically to welcome his arrival.
It is normal to receive such courtesy.
Zhou Hexuan is known as a top master of history in both Britain and France, where the academic level of history is extremely terrifying. However, the history major at Columbia University is inherently weak, which is equivalent to a second-rate master. How can he accept the martial arts guidance of Wang Chongyang and Huang Yaoshi?
Excited?
Before the meeting, the teaching assistant introduced Zhou Hexuan one by one: "Mr. Zhou, this is Professor Stein, who is extremely proficient in the study of American history. This is Professor Woodrow, who has unique insights into the history of the indigenous people of North America. This is
Professor Wilson, he is an expert in the field of European history. This is..."
Zhou Hexuan smiled and greeted everyone, and then said: "Hello everyone, I am very happy to be invited by Columbia University to come here to communicate with fellow historians. Since it is an academic exchange seminar, let's discuss cutting-edge topics in the field of historical research.
.”
Professor Wilson asked: "Is it the kind of new history proposed by the European Annales School?"
"No, it's about human civilization," Zhou Hexuan said. "I once had an exchange with Professor Toynbee from the UK and reached agreement on certain academic views. I believe that history should be studied as a macro-object, and
It is not just about one nation, one country or one time period. This view can be seen from the paper published by Professor Toynbee. You can also read my "Guns, Germs and Steel". Of course, this
This book has not yet been published in the United States."
Professor Stein, who focuses on studying American history, was completely confused when he heard this. He had no understanding of it and couldn't help but ask: "Mr. Zhou, can you tell me in detail?"
Zhou Hexuan smiled and said: "The basic unit for studying human beings and the future is civilization. Based on the origin, growth, decline, and disintegration process of each civilization, we can understand certain common laws of different civilizations. We can combine all the civilizations that have ever existed in the world.
Civilization is divided into more than 30 types of civilization mentality, among which there are seven independent civilizations and satellite civilizations subordinate to these independent civilizations. According to the common characteristics of these civilizations, they can be summarized into three main civilization models, namely Greek civilization, that is, culture
Unification is a model of political division; the Chinese model is a grand unification model that focuses on unity with a mixture of divisions; the Jewish model is a discrete model that has a recognizable unified culture but no political entity."
The history professors and lecturers present here thought carefully after hearing these words and found that these three civilization models really sum up all civilizations in the world.
"This is a very creative point of view." Professor Woodrow nodded in approval.
Zhou Hexuan continued: "Professor Toynbee and I both believe that the rise of civilization has nothing to do with the quality of race. Although Western civilization is powerful now, white people in Europe and America are not more noble than black people in Africa. The most important thing depends on the environment in which civilization arises.
.However, on this point, Professor Toynbee and I have different views. He believes that the more difficult the environment, the more sparks of civilization can be forged. Every time a difficulty is overcome, the civilization will take a step forward. Part of me
I agree with his point of view, but I think there should be prerequisites, such as climate and geographical environment. It is impossible to develop advanced civilization in the Arctic Circle. The prerequisite for splendid civilizations to be born in Europe and Asia is that the latitude climate is suitable for agricultural development.
, and has tameable animals and plants.”
Woodrow, an expert on Native Americans, asked: "Then why are the primitive civilizations of the Americas now extinct?"
Zhou Hexuan smiled and said: "I elaborated on this issue in my book "Guns, Bacteria and Steel". America is a vertical continent, and changes in latitude caused huge climate differences, making it difficult for early agriculture to develop and spread, such as corn.
It took thousands of years to spread in the Americas. California’s agriculture is now developed, but it relies on modern agricultural technology. A thousand years ago, California’s natural environment would have made it impossible for a strong farming civilization to arise.”
When the keyword "vertical continent" was mentioned, coupled with Zhou Hexuan's simple explanation, Woodrow, who has been studying Native Americans for many years, suddenly had an idea and couldn't help but exclaimed: "Oh my God, why didn't I think of this factor? This is really
An astonishing discovery. Based on this academic achievement alone, we can definitely win the Pulitzer Prize for History!”
The Pulitzer not only has journalism awards, literature awards, but also history awards.
Winners of the Journalism Award are not restricted to nationality, but the winning works must be published in American newspapers and periodicals. The Literature Award is only awarded to Americans. It is impossible for Zhou Hexuan to win these two awards.
Only for the Pulitzer Prize in History, as long as the research object is the United States or has made a significant contribution to the study of American history, people from any country can win the prize.
Professor Woodrow really did not say nonsense. The historical perspective of "vertical continent" alone is enough to win the Pulitzer Prize in history, because it has a major breakthrough and enlightenment for the study of American history.
Columbia University happens to be the awarding institution of the Pulitzer Prize. As long as "Guns, Germs, and Steel" is published in the United States, next year's Pulitzer Prize in History is likely to be awarded to Zhou Hexuan.
Facing a group of historians who were not considered to be top-notch, Zhou Hexuan's various cutting-edge historical viewpoints can be said to have made them enlightened and astonishing.
The entire academic exchange meeting lasted for three and a half hours. At the beginning, Zhou Hexuan was mainly explaining, but later it became history professors who raised various questions, and Zhou Hexuan answered them in a few words.
This is not only a crushing of knowledge, but also a crushing of the times. Perhaps high school students in the 21st century with better history scores can chat and laugh with these historical scholars, which will broaden their horizons in the field of historical research.
After the meeting, Zhou Hexuan smiled and took out the Chinese version of "Guns, Germs and Steel" and said: "I will give this book to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Columbia University. You can ask someone to translate it into English."
The teaching assistant carefully put away the book and looked at Zhou Hexuan with eyes full of respect.
The historians stood up one after another and took the initiative to shake hands with Zhou Hexuan, as if they were looking for his autograph with such enthusiasm.
Facts have proved that President Butler made a very wise decision by inviting Zhou Hexuan to serve as a visiting professor at Columbia University. Columbia University, which originally had a mediocre history major, quickly improved its academic achievements because it took the lead in having in-depth exchanges with Zhou Hexuan.
Six months later, "Guns, Germs, and Steel" was translated and published, and Columbia became the first American university to offer "historical anthropology." Professors Stein and Woodrow, who were originally only proficient in American history and Native American history,
Later, he became an expert in historical anthropology and became famous in the field of world history research.
Professor Woodrow, in particular, told reporters in an interview in his later years: “The turning point in my academic career came from an exchange with Mr. Zhou Hexuan. He broadened my horizons in historical research and he can be called my mentor.
"
The morning is an academic exchange meeting, and the afternoon is a lecture activity, open to all students in the College of Arts and Sciences.
What made Zhou Hexuan dumbfounded was that many students majoring in finance and economics came to attend the lectures. They all came because of the reputation of the "Wizard of the Far East".
During the free question session, the questions raised by the students were all about the stock market crash and economic crisis. Some even asked for advice on how to short U.S. stocks.
A good history lecture was made a mess by these finance majors, which caused great dissatisfaction among the history majors, and the two sides started to quarrel in the classroom.
In the afternoon of that day, Zhou Hexuan left at the request of Professor Butler, and boarded a ship bound for Europe the next day.
What Zhou Hexuan doesn't know is that the news that he was nominated for both the Nobel Prize for Literature and the Goncourt Prize for Literature is being widely reported by Chinese newspapers and has caused a stir in the country.
