Chapter 404: Too straightforward, offending writer Xu

I said, "Anything related to history, except for jokes, must be rigorous." This female scholar once reposted "Emperor Guangxu's Speech at Peking University" on her Weibo.

Her original intention was to encourage students that the emperor’s ideas more than a hundred years ago were so advanced, so we should work harder and strive for progress.

Xu Qianrang immediately caught my weakness and said with disdain, "During the reign of Emperor Guangxu, there was no Peking University."

Shi Ting said: "Peking University did exist, but it was called the Imperial University of Peking at that time."

I said calmly, "The female scholar knew it wasn't called Peking University, she just used a modern term for it. A few days later, she immediately deleted the post."

Shi Ting said, "The emperor would not have given a lecture at the university. Although Guangxu was an enlightened man, the rules were very strict at that time. Female scholars should have been able to distinguish clearly between such matters."

I said, "The female scholar was no ordinary person. Of course she had to verify the facts. And it turned out that everything on the internet said it was indeed true. Even more amazing is that the literary grace and tone of this speech were consistent with Guangxu's identity as someone who was eager for reform and innovation.

Even many provincial newspapers have people interpreting Guangxu's speech at the Imperial University of Peking, which is clear in thought and brilliant in writing.

An article that has been circulating online for over 10 years, with no one paying attention. Once the female scholar disclosed it, it exploded like a bombshell, prompting many people to conduct research. The results of the research were both ridiculous and embarrassing. Think about where it came from.

Everyone shook their heads and no one could answer.

"It's based on an online novel called 'One Man's Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895,' in which the author travels back in time to Emperor Guangxu and delivers this passionate speech. Thanks to the author's profound literary skills, he's successfully misled readers into believing this event actually happened."

Everyone was so shocked that they couldn't close their mouths.

Shi Ting asked, "Can anyone who writes online novels be so good?"

I said, “There are also experts among online writers.”

Xu Qianrang said, "I never read that stuff. It lowers my IQ."

I laughed and said, “The female scholar usually quotes classics when explaining the Analects, but ended up treating online novels as facts, and her image was completely destroyed.

What I mean by this is, Mr. Xu, if you want to write a history of the Yuan Dynasty, you must do so based on faithfulness to historical facts. The second condition is that your level must surpass Dangnian Mingyue's.

Mr. Shen, who had remained silent, asked, "Why do you have to surpass him?"

I said, "It's like a person who's used to smoking premium cigarettes. His standard is a pack of 50 yuan. If you give him a pack of 10 yuan cigarettes, he won't smoke it."

Shi Ting didn't say anything, but suddenly exclaimed: "I found it, I found it, this speech is well written." After that, he actually began to read it aloud.

Shi Ting was the leader, and no one dared to object to him reading, so they had to listen to him.

I whispered to Baibai: "Take some photos of the scene and send them to me."

He understood that the story was being filmed in front of the historian, and the more he read, the more interested he became. Except for the two writers who had sullen faces, everyone else listened with great interest.

After reading for a while, Shi Ting stopped and said, "Just read half of it."

Then, he said to Xu Qianrang, "Teacher Xu, his level is not worse than yours. Even though his writing is mixed with other languages, there are no flaws in his reading."

Xu Qianrang smiled bitterly and said, "You think there are no flaws, but I still sound very naive."

Shi Ting's face darkened for a moment, then he immediately smiled and said, "Yes, you are professionals, and I am just an amateur."

I know that although Mr. Shi said this with a smile, he was actually very unhappy.

I saw that Mr. Shi didn't like Xu Qianrang, and he was arrogant and rude. He sat with his arms folded, as if he disdained to be associated with us. I kept silent.

Zhang Chi said, "Teacher Xu, it's better to write about life that you are familiar with. For example, if you have never been to the north in autumn, you won't be able to write about it."

Chen Ting said, "Yes, I used to think that the north was just like us in the south, with leaves still growing in the fall. But the first time I went north, it was autumn, and all the leaves fell overnight."

Xu Qianrang was not happy, feeling that he had already lost face after being lectured by a few of us outsiders. He especially didn't even look at me.

Yishu was a quick-witted person, so he said, "The character test is done, go wash your feet."

Shi Ting said, "If you want to go and relax, go ahead. I have something to discuss with Teacher Wan."

Xu Qianrang and Hua Qingcheng stood up, but no one else did. I said to Mingbai, "Go and keep the two teachers company."

Xu Qianrang clasped his fists, and Hua Qingcheng also bowed slightly. "Please, teachers," he said, "I'm more familiar with you."

After the three of them left, Shi Ting said dissatisfiedly, "Too noble."

Yishu asked, "Are you old friends?"

Shi Ting shook his head and said, "This woman is from the same place as me. She likes to write. She works at the Municipal People's Art Museum. She also comes to my house from time to time.

She brought that man to meet me once. I love reading and respect writers, so I treated him to a meal. We got along pretty well.

I never thought that deep friendships were not possible. Today they said they wanted to visit me, and I said let's have dinner together. I happened to be getting together with a few friends, and one of them knows how to tell fortunes, so I'll tell you one.

So we came together. The woman was an old acquaintance, and it was the second time I met the man. He had given me a collection of essays, and I had read his writings and was very impressed, but when we met, I was disappointed.

Chen Ting said, "Actually, we all have a dream when we're young. Like Shi Ting, I also love literature. However, this is the first time I've encountered such an arrogant writer."

I said, "There's a saying online: Just eat the food, don't meet the chef."

Yishu said, "I object. The chef in our hotel is a great cook, good-looking, and very clean."

Everyone laughed.

I said, "Writers will gradually disappear. With the advent of intelligent search, software will be able to write novels. Most writers will be out of work."

"Which industry won't lose jobs?" Zhang Chi asked.

"Tea taster, the machine takes a bite and has no idea that the tea leaves are grown hundreds of meters above sea level."

Shen Ting smiled and said, “An intelligent person’s analysis of the tea’s ingredients is more accurate than Master Zhang’s.”

Everyone laughed, and Shi Ting said, "I heard robots will be able to diagnose illnesses in the future. Doctors will be out of work, too."

Yishu said: "In the future, intelligent robots will be able to do everything, and we humans will just play and work one day a week."

Everyone laughed and chatted for a while, and I stood up: "I have something to do tomorrow, so I'll take my leave now."

Chen Ting, Shi Ting, and Zhang Chi all stood up and said, "Let's call it a day."

Yishu said, "I won't see you off. Let's go to the foot massage parlor and settle the bill for them."

It was only a little after eight when they got home. Yu'er was asleep, but the three of them were still talking about the house, probably about some things they had lived there in the past.

Seeing me coming back, my mother asked, "You're back so early?"

I said, "Let's take a look at the pictures of the party." I flipped through them one by one, showing them: This is Shi Ting, this is Shen Chu...

Xiao Lin asked: "Who is that woman?"

"The beautiful writer Hua Qingcheng."

Xiao Lin asked, "A beautiful writer? Is this what you call a beautiful woman?"

I laughed and said, "The current standard of beauty is - as long as her appearance doesn't scare a three-year-old child, she can be called a beauty."