September 1, 1905. When Mr. Ma Xiangbo woke up on his sickbed, it was already afternoon. Aside from occasional sounds drifting in from the central hall, the residence was quiet. Mr. Ma had caught a cold a few days ago, but after a nap at noon, he felt his spirits had improved significantly.

Hearing movement inside the room, a middle-aged man walked in briskly. This man had a handsome appearance, with thick eyebrows and large eyes, a high and straight nose bridge, and wore a pair of round glasses. His lips were slightly pursed, giving him an air of fortitude. His back was straight; although he wore a long gown and mandarin jacket, his posture was upright, and he walked with a vigorous wind, looking rather like a soldier.

"Mr. Xiangbo, you're awake," the man asked with concern. Since Mr. Ma was still on the sickbed, the man deliberately lowered his voice, but his voice was full of vitality, and his deep baritone had a penetrating quality. As he spoke, he helped Ma Xiangbo lean against the pillows.

Mr. Ma Xiangbo looked at the thread-bound manuscript the man was holding and asked, "Jidao. You've already seen the book?"

"Mr. Xiangbo summoned me here specifically for this book, didn't he?" the middle-aged man asked.

"The younger generation is to be feared, truly to be feared," Mr. Ma Xiangbo said. "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would absolutely not believe this book was written by a youth in his twenties."

The middle-aged man nodded. "Mr. Xiangbo, let me pour you a cup of tea." After speaking, he placed the book by the pillow and rose to pour the tea himself.

On the cover was a line of beautiful running script: *The Inheritance of Chinese Culture and the Rise of Materialism*, Volume One.

"You, Yan Jidao, wrote *Tianyanlun* some years ago, and no one failed to praise it. Even this old man felt enlightened by it. But once this book is completed, the repercussions will surely surpass yours," Mr. Ma said with a faint smile.

The man who brought the tea was none other than the famous Yan Fu. He and Ma Xiangbo were close friends. Yan Fu had put forth great effort in Ma Xiangbo's founding of Fudan Public School. Currently, Yan Fu was serving as the principal of Wanjiang Middle School in Anhui. Ma Xiangbo had originally agreed with Yan Fu that next year, in 1906, Yan Fu would take over as the principal of Fudan Public School. But a few days ago, he suddenly received a letter from Ma Xiangbo asking him to come to Shanghai as soon as possible, saying that Ma Xiangbo had obtained a supreme treasure. Seeing the firm intention in the letter, Yan Fu rushed over without stopping.

Only after arriving at Mr. Ma's house did he learn that, aside from busy preparations for the school opening, Mr. Ma had spent almost all his time reading a book day and night. He caught a cold and fell ill. Even so, Mr. Ma had specifically instructed his family that if he couldn't receive Yan Fu, they should let Yan Fu read a book first. After conveying Mr. Ma's wishes, the family members handed the manuscript to Yan Fu with resentful expressions.

Mr. Ma was a doctorate holder, well-versed in both Chinese and Western studies, with profound scholarship. What kind of book could make him recommend it so highly? Yan Fu liked it as soon as he saw the title. As a recognized master of Western learning in China, Yan Fu was praised by Kang Youwei as "Such a man has never been seen before in my eyes!" But like other famous scholars of his time, Yan Fu's purpose in mastering Western learning was to revive China and Chinese culture. The words "Inheritance of Chinese Culture" in the title suited his taste very well. However, Yan Fu himself was also deeply versed in national studies, and he felt the author was being rather boastful.

The content of the opening chapter, however, was not national studies. The title was "The Material Unity of the World," a debate between materialism and idealism. The person wrote the book using vernacular Chinese, but one could see they had some foundation in national studies. Yan Fu's *Tianyanlun* used classical Chinese; Yan Fu had pondered bitterly on how to translate, eventually proposing the translation standards of "faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance" (*xin, da, ya*) that would be publicly acclaimed by later generations. After this person used the vernacular, the reasoning was laid out in a way that could be narrated plainly; even people who hadn't read many books could understand it. Yan Fu felt uncomfortable with this approach, yet also felt it was very good.

The author made no secret of the book's materialist stance in the text. Yan Fu himself had some concepts of naive materialism, but when he saw the passage, "The world exists independently of human subjective consciousness, but without human subjective consciousness, the world would not be perceived," he couldn't help but secretly say "good."

Soon, Yan Fu saw two terms he had never seen before: "productive forces" and "relations of production." Centering on productive forces and relations of production, the author recounted that the production of material goods is the decisive force in the development of human society. He further proposed the concept that "Labor created man himself." Then, quoting extensively from Chinese documents, the article proposed that the ancient sage kings—"Youchao," "Suiren," "Shennong"—were all outstanding talents who made tremendous advancements in productive forces, which was why they were honored as masters of the world.

Yan Fu had never looked at the world from such an angle. At first contact, he felt very unaccustomed to it, but upon careful thought, he felt this argument could justify itself, and finding objections was actually quite difficult. Although people didn't like to talk about profit with their mouths, no one opposed the saying, "All the hustle and bustle in the world is for profit." This book discussed profit so bluntly that it made Yan Fu very uncomfortable. The writing style was not mercenary at all, yet reading it felt uncomfortable no matter what.

Although the text was in the vernacular, the reasoning was incredibly deep. The further he read, the more puzzled he became. Reading it again, he found himself suddenly enlightened. Yan Fu was not a person who read books rigidly; he put down the book and closed his eyes in silent contemplation, understanding the principles within after a moment. The reasoning of this book was interlocked layer by layer; if one didn't think according to his preceding concepts, the latter parts naturally wouldn't make sense. This was completely different from the traditional Chinese "subtle words with profound meaning," but rather the mode of European philosophy. Yan Fu had not only translated *Tianyanlun* but also read many European philosophical books.

This author definitely mastered Western learning, and his attainments in national studies wouldn't be too low either. Yan Fu developed a great curiosity, wondering who had written this text. While he was pondering, Mr. Ma Xiangbo had already woken up, and Yan Fu hurriedly went in to greet him.

After serving Mr. Ma tea, Yan Fu finally asked, "This author is only in his twenties?"

"Twenty-five years old."

"To be only this age. I just read the first section. I only felt this person's discussion of affairs is rather domineering. It seems to have the intention of one school of thought speaking all the truths of the world. The sharp edge is fully revealed."

"Not 'seems to,' it simply *is*."

Hearing this, Yan Fu said in astonishment, "Is this person a mad scholar?" But in the blink of an eye, he remembered that Mr. Ma's evaluation of this book just now was not low.

"If he were a mad scholar, I wouldn't have needed to specially invite you over, Jidao. This person's reasoning has substance. I read it carefully several times; in a book of several hundred thousand words, I actually couldn't find a flaw."

"Several hundred thousand words?" Yan Fu was truly surprised.

Mr. Ma Xiangbo pointed to the bookshelf in the room, where a thick stack of books was placed, numbering over a dozen. The binding was exactly the same as the one Yan Fu had read. Yan Fu was very clear about Mr. Ma's scholarship; if Mr. Ma said he couldn't find a flaw after careful reading, then there certainly were none. If a youth in his twenties could write an argumentative essay of a few thousand words with logic linking front to back without flaws, he would already be a rare talent. Several hundred thousand words with logic never becoming chaotic... could China actually have such a talent? Yan Fu immediately made up his mind that he must read this book carefully.

"Who wrote this book?" Yan Fu felt extremely curious.

"This person's name is Chen Ke."

"Chen Ke? Is it that Chen Ke who made medicine and published the molecular formula?"

"You knew about this news in Anhui too, Jidao?"

Yan Fu indeed knew this news; others told it as a joke. As a returned student, Chen Ke actually made medicine for syphilis. In the eyes of scholars, it was truly disgraceful. But Yan Fu came from the Nanyang Navy, had studied at the Royal Naval College in the UK, and served as the principal of the Beiyang Naval Academy. Once sailors got off the ship, they would inevitably visit brothels. Those who contracted syphilis were definitely not just one or two. If they had this medicine back then, the combat power of the Beiyang Navy might have been even higher. For professional reasons, Yan Fu didn't feel the slightest bit of revulsion toward Chen Ke making this medicine. It was just that Chen Ke publishing the molecular formula clearly benefited the foreigners; Yan Fu was quite dissatisfied with this.

"Since Mr. Xiangbo has read this book, into which category do you classify it?"

"Not Confucianism, not Daoism, not Buddhism, not Legalism, and not the School of Diplomacy. Yet it happens to contain the words of all schools, but all return under the theory he advocates."

"It's not Western learning either?" Yan Fu grew more amazed as he listened.

"If you want my opinion, it has a bit of the flavor of Catholicism. The meaning of this book is: what I say is the supreme principle of the Heavenly Way. Yet this book happens to be atheist. It's really... sigh."

Reflecting on Mr. Ma Xiangbo's words, Yan Fu asked, "Mr. Ma summoned me here; do you have any instructions?"

"First, Fudan Public School is about to open. You have to come eventually. Second, I wanted you to look at this book. This book will inevitably prevail in the world. The principles stated by the author, even if not the supreme principles of the Heavenly Way, are absolutely not heretical fallacies. If the youth read it, the followers will surely be many. Jidao, the person who wrote the book is a heaven-sent genius. If you are willing, I actually want you to take him as a disciple. If no one disciplines him, this person will likely bring chaos to the world."

"It could be so?" Yan Fu frowned tightly.

"Let's not talk about this person's scholarship; his vision is terribly sharp. In other articles in the appendix, he says that China's current difficulties lie in not having undergone a foreign industrial revolution. And the purpose of this book is to point out the chasm between Chinese culture and industrialization. As long as we can cross this chasm, my China will inevitably return to being the Central Kingdom. Looking at his meaning, he actually faintly considers himself to be the orthodox of Chinese culture."

The weight of these words left Yan Fu speechless. Yan Fu stared at the book by Ma Xiangbo's pillow for a good while. Only then did he ask, "Mr. Xiangbo, listening to your words, I want to ask: compared to Confucianism, how is this person's theory?"

"If this book existed in the time of Han Fei, Confucianism would certainly not have been the sole revered school."

***

Chen Ke didn't know someone was currently "calculating" him. Facing a large group of young people whose scholarship was far less profound and broad than those two seniors, he was talking endlessly about materialist dialectics. This class had been going on for several days, and he was just speaking on the part about "historical laws and the replacement of social forms." After finishing the discussion on slavery and the feudal system, the students below were already whispering to each other, discussing it.

Chen Ke also felt tired, so he announced a break. He sat on the stool, picked up his tea cup, and drank a draft heroically. After drinking, Chen Ke wiped the water stains from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand in a completely undignified manner and sighed comfortably.

Ever since reaching an agreement with Mr. Ma Xiangbo to use the Fudan Public School grounds, Chen Ke used them unceremoniously every day. Because of the "smashing the venue" incident, Chen Ke had specifically held a medical lecture. At any rate, Chen Ke's current title was the Principal of Shanghai Renxin Medical College. If a medical college didn't hold medical lectures, it would be unjustifiable.

But the time for starting classes wasn't quite right; Jiangnan had already entered the plum rain season. Chen Ke had to move the lectures inside the classrooms. At this time, the opening of Fudan Public School was approaching, and students whose homes were out of town had already arrived at the school one after another. The students had nothing else to do; since someone was giving lectures, everyone naturally came to listen. As a result, more and more people gathered. By the time Chen Ke lectured on *The Inheritance of Chinese Culture and the Rise of Materialism*, the audience had increased from a hundred or so to over four hundred. They had to move the lecture venue to the largest auditorium in Fudan Public School.

At this moment outside the auditorium, dark clouds manufacturing autumn rain hung low; although it was afternoon, it looked as if it were about to get dark immediately. The rain was heavy at times and light at others, but it poured down without stopping. Most of these four hundred-plus people were students; with the rain falling, they couldn't go out freely, so the auditorium, which had already slowly filled up, was surging with heads. Since Chen Ke announced the end of class, the students began to act freely. The vast majority discussed the lecture content extensively, and the auditorium was truly a cauldron of voices.

No students asked Chen Ke questions, not because they didn't want to or had any dissatisfaction with Chen Ke, but because Chen Ke had set a rule. At the end of the lecture, he would specifically set aside time to answer students' questions one by one. Chen Ke lectured for nearly six hours every day, and the time for answering questions was also over an hour. Most importantly, the free Q&A time was coming up soon. The students saw that Chen Ke's voice had been a bit hoarse recently, so they were considerate of him. During the break, they tried their best not to disturb Chen Ke.

"Huangpu Study Society Science and Education Faction recruiting!" someone shouted.

"Huangpu Study Society Industrial Faction recruiting!" someone shouted.

"Huangpu Study Society Constitutional Faction recruiting!" someone shouted.

...

These people were small groups spontaneously formed by intellectual youth who had joined the Huangpu students during the recent lectures. The distinctions between their factions were actually far from being that clear-cut. It was just young people finding it fun and insisting on raising a big banner. Young people who participated in multiple, or even all so-called factions simultaneously, could be said to occupy the vast majority of "Huangpu Study Society" members.

You Gou came to listen to the lectures every single day these days. The hospital had already gotten on the right track, and the demand for toxic drugs from all sides was increasing. But You Gou used the excuse that one person couldn't make medicine and insisted on coming to listen to the class. After Chen Ke went back, they would make medicine together. In fact, not only You Gou, but all comrades except Qi Huishen and Wu Xingchen used various reasons to insist on coming to listen to the class every day. The only one who didn't actively request to listen was Xie Mingxian. Xie Mingxian's reason was simple: he came to work, not to listen to classes. To listen to classes and take money for nothing, he felt embarrassed. But Chen Ke insisted that Xie Mingxian come to listen.

Qi Huishen was truly busy, but as long as he had time, he would definitely run over. The one who exceeded Chen Ke's expectations the most was Wu Xingchen. Originally, Chen Ke didn't expect Wu Xingchen to really have an interest in these subjects, but as it turned out, Wu Xingchen would also come whenever he had time. His towering 195cm figure sitting in the crowd was truly hard to miss.

This book had already entered the printing stage. Qi Huishen found a printing plant and ordered five thousand sets in one go. The book was divided by volume, with each volume being a chapter. Twelve sections plus the appendix made thirteen books in total. Qi Huishen was very smart; he had them start printing from Volume Seven, and the books were delivered just yesterday. Chen Ke was helpless regarding the comrades' ostentatiousness. Today, amidst the envious gazes of the students, the People's Party members each held a copy of the book. Students were already asking how this book was sold.

Chen Ke had no intention of making any money, but he told everyone a story: if you give a horse to someone, they naturally won't cherish it. But if you sell it to others at a relatively low price, then the person who bought the horse will cherish it. Money isn't the problem; this subtle psychological change is the problem. So Chen Ke set the price of this book at 40% of the cost price; a thick book only sold for 150 *wen*. The youth who could come to study weren't poor; they could absolutely afford it. One must know that for *Tianyanlun*, which was much thinner than this book, Lu Xun had spent 500 to buy it back in the day. Moreover, the members of the Huangpu Study Society also told the students the total number of books. Everyone suggested the students buy different volumes separately and exchange them to read, which would save even more money.

"Student days are just good, huh," You Gou sighed, sitting beside Chen Ke. You Gou had long since walked out of her depression. Three days after that disturbance, You Gou began lecturing at Fudan Public School. Everyone respected this female teacher very much, so as the only female in the auditorium, she got the position in the very center of the first row. No one dared to grab it from her. Also as a teacher, during breaks, she sat on the podium beside Chen Ke. Since that open class experience, You Gou wore a white lab coat whether lecturing or listening. This alternative style actually made the students afraid to approach her.

"The Study Society is also set up. The things I really want to talk to everyone about have also started. Hehe! I'm very happy," Chen Ke laughed.

"Wenqing, to be honest, if you had talked to me about these principles as soon as I met you, I would have absolutely thought you were a big swindler." You Gou didn't know why, but she suddenly had such a sentiment. Sighing comfortably, You Gou knocked her left hand with the book held in her right hand. "But now, I feel what Wenqing says are supreme maxims."

"Revolution is not that easy," Chen Ke answered this question.

You Gou raised her left hand. The gaze of every student who saw this action focused entirely on the wristwatch on You Gou's wrist. "Wenqing, time's up, it's time to lecture." Deliberately delaying for a bit, You Gou finally retracted her wrist. Amidst the envious gazes of the students, You Gou jumped off the podium and sat back in her seat.

This was a signal. Students began to return to their seats one after another. Amidst a rumbling sound, order in the auditorium began to be restored. Many notes began to be passed around and then piled up on the table in front of Chen Ke. Chen Ke looked through them for a while, then suddenly laughed. "Everyone's questions today are very concentrated. Everyone asks about this change in European social systems. There are also quite a few classmates asking about European history. I recall that in the appendix, I wrote an article with a very vulgar name." After speaking, Chen Ke stood up and, under the illumination of the gas lamp, brushed a few characters onto the blackboard.

The students read along word by word, "European Ancient History Derived from Bullshitting." As soon as these words were read, the whole room roared with laughter.

Chen Ke smiled and turned around. "In Europe, history only started to be somewhat reliable by the end of the 18th century. When I say reliable, I mean compared to Chinese history. Chinese history is divided into faithful history (*xinshi*) and wild history (*yeshi*). Why they are called this, there are definitely classmates who know. Please stand up boldly and answer!"

The students looked at each other in blank dismay. At this moment, a person stood up and said loudly, "Faithful history is history recorded by specialized historians. Wild history is the records of literati themselves." Chen Ke recognized this person; his name was Cui Guoxi, the initiator of the Huangpu Study Society Industrial Faction.

Chen Ke nodded and motioned for Cui Guoxi to sit down. "To be honest, although I read some history books, my understanding of the distinction between faithful history and wild history is the same as what this classmate said. I am not a professional historian, nor have I asked others about this question. I feel this answer is a 90; it passes."

The classmates laughed again. Chen Ke never pretended to know what he didn't. His level of national studies definitely couldn't compare with the masters of this era. For Chen Ke to propagate his own thoughts, he had to play to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses.

"This history book that foreigners consider relatively early is called the *Homeric Epics*. This book, well, has a history of 2,500 years. It writes about the affairs of the Greeks 3,000 years ago, known as the birthplace of European history. In the eyes of Europeans, it is a history book. Placed in China, which book can be mentioned in the same breath as this one?" Chen Ke kept them in suspense.

The students saw Chen Ke's gaze patrolling back and forth, but he didn't reveal the riddle.

"*Records of the Grand Historian* (*Shiji*)?" someone shouted. Chen Ke shook his head.

"*Strategies of the Warring States*?" someone else shouted. Chen Ke continued to shake his head.

The students shouted several names in succession; in the end, even *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* was shouted out.

Chen Ke still shook his head. No one dared to make a sound anymore; everyone waited for Chen Ke's explosive statement.

"This *Homeric Epics*, which is recognized by Europeans as equivalent to a history book, is equivalent to China's *Classic of Mountains and Seas* (*Shan Hai Jing*)," Chen Ke said, enunciating every word.

The students were stunned for a moment, then immediately erupted into a long burst of explosive laughter.

According to that famous "face-slapping article" on the internet, Chen Ke explained European historical records once over. This wasn't Chen Ke deliberately wanting to belittle Europe. Today, when China's youth increasingly felt that Chinese culture was backward, Chen Ke had to point out where the true gap between China and Europe lay. He had to establish the self-confidence of the Chinese people. After introducing Europe's pitiful history, Chen Ke said in a very calm tone, "Classmates, China itself is civilization. China itself is culture. Among everyone, there are those who believe in gods and those who don't, but everyone believes in ancestors, right? Today's Chinese people inevitably all have their own ancestors existing. And the deeds of our ancestors are in those history books. The greatness of our ancestors is also all in those history books. Now China has fallen behind and is being beaten. This is the business of our generation; it relies on our generation to save China and restore China. But, this does not equate to our ancestors being more backward than those Europeans."

Speaking to this point, Chen Ke looked around the stage. Suddenly, he discovered that at some point, a middle-aged man he had never seen before was standing by the door. Although he was far away, and with the dim sky and the man standing against the light, his features couldn't be seen clearly. But just standing there, the middle-aged man's bearing and temperament were out of the ordinary. After pausing slightly, Chen Ke ignored the man and continued speaking.

"Our current decline cannot erase the glory of our ancestors. We are backward; we can only say that our generation are all base and inferior people. But it is not that our ancestors were base or inferior. Now there are already quite a few people wantonly criticizing how backward Chinese culture is, wishing they could immediately change into a foreign breed, only then feeling they have become noble. I have only one evaluation for this kind of person, borrowing Zhang Fei's words from *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*: slave of three surnames, I spit on you. I wrote this *The Inheritance of Chinese Culture and the Rise of Materialism*, and I lecture on this book here, precisely to point out exactly where the gap between us and Europe lies. Just to tell everyone what this world is actually like. How can we catch up to Europe, and how can we surpass Europe! Classmates, you are all in the prime of youth, and it is also a good time for studying. I have only one sentence I want to give to everyone."

Speaking to this point, Chen Ke turned and wrote a line of characters heavily on the blackboard, then turned back and shouted loudly, "Read for the rise of China."

A moment later, the students began to applaud. Everyone stood up one after another, cheering while applauding. The entire auditorium thundered with joy.

Looking at the enthusiastic faces of the students, faces flushed red from excitement, and some even having tears in their eyes, Chen Ke couldn't suppress his own emotions and shouted again, almost exhausting his voice, "Read for the rise of China."

Outside, the rain was falling harder and harder.