Chapter 307 Chinese Speech
These people include staff from the Nobel Prize Committee who need to communicate with Zhang Xingjiu about the award-winning process, and representatives from the wireless telegraph company who are planning to use Zhang Xingjiu's reputation for publicity.
Zhang Xingjiu had no objection to how to receive the award, but during the speech session, he made the staff very embarrassed because when they asked Zhang Xingjiu what language he was going to use to give his acceptance speech, Zhang Xingjiu chose Chinese without hesitation.
The staff member was very confused. "Sir, we all know that you are fluent in many languages, including English, French, and Latin. You can speak in French so that the guests present can understand you more easily."
Starting from the era of Louis XIV in the 17th century and throughout the 18th century, France occupied an absolute dominant position in the cultural circles of continental Europe and was a center of culture and fashion. French also became the common language of diplomacy and the court.
This habit has continued to this day. During this period, the UK has also tried to enhance the influence of English through politics and diplomacy, and has achieved certain results, but has not been able to successfully challenge the status of French.
It was not until more than 40 years later that the United States relied on its unrivaled industrial production capacity to spread English culture through industrial products and economic influence, which allowed English to replace French.
What the staff said was reasonable. First, French is the current universal international language. Second, Zhang Xingjiu studied in France for a long time. However, Zhang Xingjiu still insisted, "I think it is more appropriate to speak in my mother tongue in such a formal occasion. I also think that using Chinese can also illustrate the great influence of the Nobel Prize and highlight the fairness of the award."
Hearing these compliments, the staff member was very happy and his attitude softened a bit. "Of course, this is your right. It's just that it's difficult for us to find an excellent Chinese translator to translate your speech to the guests present."
Since they had already agreed to his request, Zhang Xingjiu also took a step back and said, "It's okay. I can speak in both Chinese and French."
After discussing this, the staff of the wireless telegraph company hurried in and told Zhang Xingjiu about the publicity plan they had prepared. After listening, Zhang Xingjiu made some modifications.
After hearing this, they were half worried and half happy. "Professor, your plan is undoubtedly more shocking, but is there still time to prepare now?"
"When I left Shanghai, I had already communicated with them and brought the relevant equipment with me. You can go back and contact them via telegraph now and ask them to be prepared. Then we will conduct a private drill first. If it succeeds, we will follow my plan. If it fails, we will continue to use your plan."
The staff member breathed a sigh of relief. "That's no problem. We will immediately prepare according to your plan. Once the private rehearsal is successful, we will immediately contact more reporters to come and report. Now reporters from all over the world have gathered in Stockholm. This is a great opportunity for publicity."
"I also think this is a very good opportunity, so I rushed to produce these new devices. According to the agreement we signed previously, the patents for these devices can also be shared with you." Zhang Xingjiu came to Stockholm this time not just to receive the award.
After a night's rest, Zhang Xingjiu woke up the next day and visited Stockholm with other winners such as Van Tohof and Belin. They also took a boat to the sea to enjoy the beautiful scenery.
Zhang Xingjiu stood on the deck and took out a telescope to admire the seaside town of Dune Baden, southeast of Stockholm. A few years later, Kang Youwei would come here and praise the local beauty, "Sweden is the most beautiful scenery in the world, and Dune Baden is the most beautiful scenery in Sweden."
He then spent a huge sum of 36,000 Swedish kronor to purchase a small island, and built a large-scale project on the island to create his own Chinese-style back garden - "Beihai Thatched Cottage".
Kang Nanhai not only has this Beihai Thatched Cottage, he also has properties all over the world. No wonder some people in later generations gave him the nickname Kang Guangxia.
In the next few days, Zhang Xingjiu and his colleagues either went to universities to give speeches or participated in various social activities. Just when the scientists were gradually getting bored, the day of the award ceremony finally arrived.
On the afternoon of December 10, all winners and guests gathered in the Concert Hall of the Stockholm Academy of Music. The ceremony officially began at 4:30 p.m. King Oscar II of Sweden took the stage to deliver a speech, praising the great significance of the Nobel Prize, announcing the official start of the award ceremony, and welcoming the winners and their families.
The awards were then presented in order, with the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine being the first to be awarded. Emil Adolf von Behring, a German physician and professor at the University of Marburg, won the award for his serum therapy for the prevention and treatment of diphtheria and tetanus.
He accepted the 23K gold medal and award certificate from Oscar II and gave his acceptance speech in German. It seemed that he and Zhang Xingjiu had the same idea in this regard.
The second one was Zhang Xingjiu. It took several minutes just to read out his awards and honors, which was much longer than that of Berlin. After receiving the certificate and medal, Zhang Xingjiu stood on the podium and began his speech.
"First of all, please allow me to thank the Nobel Foundation and the Swedish Academy of Sciences for their warm hospitality. Mr. Nobel was not only an outstanding scientist and a successful entrepreneur, but he also left a huge fortune to the world before his death. The establishment of the Nobel Prize will greatly enhance the social influence of scientists, writers and social activists, and encourage them to promote the development of human civilization."
"Perhaps many people were very surprised when they heard that I won the award. They did not expect that such a great honor would fall on an Oriental. Here I want to say that China has made many important contributions to the history of human natural development over the past 4,000 years. Although our nation is now at a low ebb, I believe that Chinese civilization will definitely make greater contributions to the progress of human civilization in the future. I am just the beginning."
"I would like to say that I am proud of my Chinese ancestry and background, and I am also proud to be committed to modern science as part of human civilization."
"My current achievements are the result of exchanges between Eastern and Western civilizations. I hope that exchanges between human civilizations can continue in the future and jointly promote the progress of human civilization."
Zhang Xingjiu first spoke it in Chinese and then repeated it in French. There was warm applause at the scene, which gradually died down until Zhang Xingjiu returned to his seat.
Looking at the medal in his hand, Zhang Xingjiu was very happy. He created a record today that would not be broken in the next hundred years.
He is not only the first Nobel Prize winner in Physics, but also the first Asian and Chinese winner, and the youngest Nobel Prize winner.
(End of this chapter)
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