Chapter 238 The moon in the Tang Dynasty is relatively round
Earl Acton stood on the deck of the Yuanbei, looking at the scenery along the Huangpu River. From beginning to end, the surprised expression on his face never faded.
Not only was he like this, but like him, the indigenous diplomats who were also special envoys or new ministers were also surprised.
Everything they saw before them made them feel unbelievable.
Even if you have heard countless times about how powerful and incredible the Tang Dynasty is, what you have heard about it or just read about it in writing is still not as shocking as seeing it with your own eyes.
Seeing the shocked expressions of the people around him, Viscount Norris, the deputy consul of the Kingdom of England in Datang, seemed much calmer.
Even the young English Viscount couldn't help but move a few steps to the side to show the difference between himself and these country bumpkins.
"A bunch of country bumpkins who have never seen the world!" This is Norris' true feeling!
Standing with them even made Norris feel undignified!
This kind of loss of dignity is irreparable, even if you are wearing Tang Dynasty professional attire worth tens of yuan!
Unlike the other natives on the ship who came to the Tang Dynasty for the first time, this was Norris's third time to the Tang Dynasty.
More than ten years ago, Norris became one of England's diplomats stationed in Tang Dynasty. Since arriving in Tang Dynasty, Norris felt that his whole person was completely different.
In the past ten years, he has tried his best to maintain his status as a diplomat and continue to stay in the Tang Empire. This also made it possible for him to return to China three times in the middle, but he was able to return quickly every time.
He was transferred back to Shanghai and continued to serve as his diplomatic staff.
For this reason, he also paid a huge price in the internal competition in England.
Datang is great, everyone knows it, and everyone wants to go there
As a foreigner, if you want to live in Datang, there are only three ways: either sneak into Datang, become a naturalized citizen in Datang, or become a diplomat and be sent to Datang by the officials of their respective countries.
It is too difficult to cross the border illegally. Datang strictly prevents illegal crossing at the borders and has even set up a lot of no-man’s land. It is extremely difficult to cross these no-man’s land. Every year, there are countless people on the Indian Peninsula who want to cross the vast expanse of land.
Smuggled into the Tang Empire from the southwestern border.
But there are actually not many people who can successfully reach the Tang Dynasty alive.
Even if someone occasionally manages to sneak across the border, they will soon be found and exiled to an isolated overseas island.
The people of the Tang Dynasty did not accept foreigners, especially the people of the Tang Dynasty who lived in areas close to the border. They were very wary and would immediately report a strange-looking native to you.
As for naturalization, Norris actually really wanted to, thinking about it day and night, but he couldn't meet the conditions for naturalization, otherwise he would have applied for naturalization.
When neither of these two paths was feasible, Norris had no choice but to resolutely follow the path of a diplomat.
Speaking of which, this is actually quite good. Because he is a diplomat, he will not be treated too harshly when living in the Tang Dynasty. Even if his scope of activities will be restricted, it is enough.
Not only Norris, many people in England also want to become diplomats and serve in the Tang Dynasty, or even continue to serve.
Every position in the English Legation in the Tang Dynasty, even if it was just a groom, would lead to fierce competition.
If you want to ask why they have such a mentality, Norris's thoughts can generally represent the thoughts of most of the indigenous diplomats stationed in Datang.
That’s why Datang is different!
Why is it different?
Everything is different!
It's tacky to talk about trains, ships, and tall buildings.
In Norris's view, many details are more worthy of attention.
For example:
The sky in Datang is different. Songjiang Prefecture has foggy weather for most of the year. Whenever it gets foggy, North Li likes to stand on the balcony on the third floor of the embassy and look at the clouds and mist. The high-rise buildings, clouds, mist, high-rise buildings and lights are intertwined in a poetic and imaginary way, just like a paradise in an illusion.
The air in the Tang Dynasty is different. Even though he is still standing on the deck of the ship, Norris can already smell the unique smell of the Tang Dynasty. It is the faintest smell of coal. He inhales deeply. One bite, it's so fragrant and sweet.
The moon in the Tang Dynasty is different. Many foreigners who have been to the Tang Dynasty say so. The moon in the Tang Dynasty is rounder than that in other places in the world. Some people even seriously say that the moon is farther from the Tang Dynasty. It is closer, so the moon seen in Datang is rounder and brighter.
Norris had personally heard a former minister who had been to Jinling say that after he left the city and took the train to Jinling at night, he looked up and saw the moon, which was big and round, much rounder than that in London.
The moon in the Tang Dynasty is rounder than that in foreign countries!
Standing on the deck, Norris became excited at the thought that he was about to land at the dock and once again set foot on the land of the Tang Dynasty.
He greedily breathed the air of the Tang Dynasty.
The air is so sweet and smells of burnt coal, something that can only be found in the Tang Dynasty!
The ship quickly docked at the pier.
Passengers began to disembark. Most of them were Tang people who had returned from overseas territories such as Ceuta and South Africa. Naturally, these people had nothing to say.
Speaking of Viscount Norris and Earl Acton, they were guided by the crew to the diplomatic channel that belonged only to them.
However, it is worth mentioning that among the more than 20 diplomats from different countries, if you don't look at their appearance carefully, you can't tell whether they are Tang people or indigenous people from a distance.
Because they were all wearing professional attire that was very popular and popular in the Tang Dynasty these days, with tall dome hats on their heads, middle-aged and elderly people holding walking sticks, young people holding folding fans, wearing leather shoes, and the bags that the entourage carried with them. , are also rattan luggage or leather bags.
This kind of dress is no different from the ordinary Tang people disembarking from the ship in another channel.
Ordinary people in the Tang Dynasty basically wore this way when going out, but in more formal occasions, people in the Tang Dynasty would still wear traditional Hanfu. The more upper-class they were, the more traditional their clothes were.
In the past few decades, the clothing of people in the Tang Dynasty has undergone many changes. New things are constantly appearing, but the traditional ones are also retained.
As the people of the Tang Dynasty traveled around the world, the clothing of the people of the Tang Dynasty also spread all over the world, especially the professional attire of the people of the Tang Dynasty, which became popular all over the world.
Simplicity and dignity are the two characteristics of Datang's professional attire.
As for the traditional Hanfu of the Tang Dynasty, to be honest, it is not suitable for the indigenous people.
It's not that they don't look good on them, it's just that they are expensive.