Volume 2: The crown and the hat are all over the capital, and the spirit is full of energy and enter the foggy city Chapter 44: The Bible of Hemp
This chapter's subtitle: Winds from the southeast and northwest rise in Washington
"Oh, right, Hongjian. I haven't congratulated you on your engagement yet. You, a Western doctor, have now become the son-in-law of a wealthy family in Southeast Asia. If you become a high-ranking official in the Beiyang government in the future, it will be a perfect match! You must help me when the time comes."
The two of them had a close relationship, and Meng Xiancheng was also quite humorous, so he made such a joke.
"East, south, west, north, hahaha..." Our Master Yuan was also amused, "Then when I return to China, become a famous person, and make a fortune, I will definitely build a Da Sanyuan University and invite you to be the president!"
"Hahaha..." The two old friends looked at each other and laughed.
Yuan Yan stopped laughing and asked, "Bohong, since you mentioned mahjong, I was just about to ask you, the chairman of the Washington branch of Mahjong Club No. 144, how are you progressing now? How many members have you recruited?"
Since our Master Yuan wants to promote traditional Serian culture, he cannot limit himself to New York. Unfortunately, he does not know many people in other places, so he has to entrust President Luo Puxiang. However, he has an educator friend in Washington.
Hearing this question, Meng Xiancheng said excitedly: "We already have more than 50 regular members, and over 100 people are interested. I was just about to write to you and ask you for a few more sets of mahjong tiles."
This result is certainly nothing compared to the current four-digit membership number of the New York headquarters, but considering that there is no Chinatown in Washington, we can only rely on a few international students to serve as mahjong teachers.
Meng Xiancheng doesn't have as many friends as Yuan Yanshu, so his performance is still satisfactory.
"Hongjian, I have also compiled a set of mahjong teaching materials according to your instructions." As he said this, the educator took out a booklet from his arms.
Master Yuan was invigorated, and quickly stretched out his hand and said, "Hurry and show it to me..."
“The Art of the 144 Cards, also known as The Way of Mahjong, is the world’s first Mahjong textbook for non-Chinese speakers.”
"Its appearance has greatly promoted the development of mahjong in the United States and the West. In less than ten years, it has been translated into dozens of languages and sold all over the world. It is said that in the 21st century, the sales volume of this booklet is greater than that of the Bible. Therefore, it is also called the Mahjong Bible."
"In addition to being a mahjong textbook, this is also a Chinese textbook that teaches and entertains. One of the co-authors of this book, Mr. Yuan Yanshu, declared in the preface to the first edition that as long as you learn mahjong, you can learn everyday Chinese expressions, and as long as you master this booklet, you can travel all over China without a Chinese translation."
"Of course, his words are a bit exaggerated. But this textbook is indeed very helpful to Western Chinese learners. It allows many Western learners who originally thought that Chinese was very difficult and boring to feel the joy of learning Chinese from the very beginning."
"Because mahjong can promote children's intellectual development, it has become a common consensus in the psychology and education circles as early as the 1920s. Therefore, many Westerners have learned mahjong under the guidance of their parents since childhood, and have also learned various Chinese mahjong terms during this period. As a result, they have developed a strong interest in Chinese culture. Today, we can see so many Westerners who speak fluent Chinese, and this book has played a great role."
"As Mr. Yuan Yanshu himself said, most of the credit should be attributed to the real author of the book, Mr. Meng Xiancheng, a famous educator in my country. Of course, he wrote The Art of 144 Cards because he received a commission from Mr. Yuan Yanshu."
"They, along with the first president of Club No. 144, Mr. Luo Puxiang, are known as the 'Three Heroes of Mahjong'."
"General Joseph Stilwell praised this booklet and the method of learning Chinese through mahjong. In fact, he himself was a language genius. In August 1919, he was appointed as the first language officer stationed in China and went to the University of California, Berkeley to study Chinese. In August 1920, he came to China for the second time and officially took up the post of language officer stationed in China, continuing to study Chinese at the North China Union Language School in Beijing."
"When he first came across The Art of 144 Cards at the end of 1921, he could not help but exclaim that if he had learned Chinese and Chinese culture in this way from the beginning, he would have mastered the language twice as fast."
"Stilwell vigorously promoted the Mahjong movement among the US troops stationed in China at the time. After returning to the United States, these officers and soldiers set off a Mahjong craze in the army. In the Second World War, the US military logistics department had to print as many paper Mahjong tiles as playing cards to supply the front-line combat troops."
"Until the 21st century, the US military held an annual mahjong competition. In honor of the first person to promote mahjong in the US military, the trophy was called the 'Joseph Stilwell Award.' This is also one of the most important awards outside of the four major mahjong tournaments."
"Ludwig Wittgenstein, another famous linguist and philosopher, and a good friend of Mr. Yuan Yanshu, called mahjong the guiding light of his life. The dedication of the reprint of his Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus is: Dedicated to Neo Yuan and his 144 elves."
"In 1926, Wittgenstein, who was always proved to be out of tune with adults, left the 'vulgar and stupid southern peasants' and ended his position as a rural teacher. At that time, he received a set of mahjong tiles and a book called The Art of 144 Cards as gifts from Mr. Yuan Yanshu, and he became a loyal fan of mahjong from then on."
"In 1947, Wittgenstein, who firmly believed that being a philosophy professor was a ridiculous job, resigned from Trinity College, Cambridge, to concentrate on promoting Mahjong in European countries and became the honorary chairman of the European Mahjong Union Club."
"Russell once said that Wittgenstein and Yuan Yanshu are the perfect examples of genius. They are both passionate about life and think deeply about it, so they have a fanatical love for mahjong. This is because mahjong is life."
"Under the influence of Mr. Yuan, Yamamoto Isoroku, who was already known as a gambler, also became a mahjong enthusiast and brought this hobby into the Japanese Navy. Later, the Yamato aircraft carrier, the flagship of the Japanese Combined Fleet, was nicknamed the 'Yamato Mahjong Hall' because the air force on the Yamato used mahjong tiles as their call signs.. "
"In addition to them, there were many historical celebrities who were mahjong enthusiasts at the time, such as Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, and Roosevelt, four consecutive US presidents. It is said that Hitler, Mussolini and a group of Nazi officials also loved this sport and played mahjong together."
"Perhaps because of his hatred for Mr. Yuan Yanshu, or perhaps because of racism, Winston Churchill was the world's number one opponent of mahjong, calling it an oriental trick that corrupted Western civilization. When he was prime minister, he wanted to ban mahjong in the UK, but even the British royal family was obsessed with mahjong at the time, so the ban was eventually shelved."
——Excerpt from the preface of the Chinese version of "The Art of 144 Cards"
"Very Good!" Yuan Yan flipped through the booklet and praised sincerely: "Bohong, you have helped me a lot!"
As expected, professional matters should be left to professionals. As educators, the textbooks they write are easier to understand than mine, and more in line with the laws of human learning.
Meng Xiancheng laughed and said, "Hongjian, you said that this is to promote our traditional Chinese culture, so I dare not not do my best."
Yuan Yan patted the booklet with her hand and said, "That's right. With this book and the charm of mahjong, why should we worry that our traditional Chinese culture will not be recognized by people all over the world?"
Our Master Yuan started to complain in his heart again. Those people who are now holding high the banner of "Down with the Confucius Shop" would definitely be very angry if they saw their descendants opening "Confucius Institutes" in foreign countries and enjoying themselves so much and being complacent about it and not feeling ashamed but proud of it.
To be honest, what's so good about promoting Confucius? With this little money, it would be better to open dozens of mahjong clubs.
Since they don't want to do this, I'll do it for them.
Yuan Yan hesitated for a moment and said, "Bohong, I am not as familiar with Washington as you are, so I have to trouble you with this matter. Please find a printing factory to print this book as soon as possible. It must be exquisite, beautiful and grand, and don't be afraid to spend money!"
He said seriously: "I will need it in a few days, so the sooner the better."
Meng Xiancheng nodded and said, "Hongjian, I will arrange it right away."
After Yuan Yanshu and Meng Xiancheng finished talking about the "important business" of promoting Seris' traditional culture, they chatted about the recent situation of their relatives and friends in China and their own current situations.
Then the topics they talked about were more in-depth. After all, these two were old classmates and old friends who had known each other in China.
"Hongjian, I really don't understand why you hate President Wilson so much. You know, there are quite a few people at George Washington University who are very disgusted with your political essays. Some even say that you are... well, you are taking revenge for personal gain."
In fact, those progressive or racist intellectuals called him a crazy troll, an anti-peace warmongerer, a lackey of big capitalists, an arrogant pigtail... and so on. Meng Xiancheng still chose the lightest one.
"Hehe..." Our Master Yuan chuckled a few times, and instead of interrupting him, he sat on the sofa and smoked.
To be honest, he doesn't really care if someone scolds him, he only cares if the person scolding him is famous. If the person is famous, he will respond loudly, if the person is not famous, he can just call him a jerk in his heart.
Meng Xiancheng raised his glasses awkwardly and continued, "Well, Wilson did not speak up for our country at the Versailles Peace Conference and properly resolve the Shandong issue, but we can't blame him entirely. It was mainly because of the two unethical colonial empires of Britain and France, and Japan was arrogant and cunning and didn't care about international justice at all. Alas..."
He sighed and said, "Plus, our Beiyang government is weak and can be bullied..."
It is important to know that Chinese intellectuals had great expectations for Woodrow Wilson and his Wilsonism. Before the Versailles Peace Conference, cultural leaders such as Li Dazhao, Chen Duxiu, and Hu Shi all gave enthusiastic praise to Wilson and placed their hopes for world peace on his League of Nations.
In February 1919, Cai Yuanpei and Xiong Xiling also initiated the establishment of the "League of Nations Comrades Association" to promote the League of Nations' ideas in China.
From the perspective of Serbian intellectuals at the time, Wilsonianism was indeed worth looking forward to.
When Wilson gave a public speech in New York in 1918, he proposed five principles for a peace plan: first, national equality, second, common interests, third, the League of Nations, fourth, international economic cooperation, and fifth, open diplomacy. Sound familiar?
In any case, these seemingly wonderful plans are very attractive to Seres, who have suffered from the bullying of the great powers. So it is not surprising that this great educator of Meng has such an idea.
However, Yuan Yanshu was not prepared to make a big talk to convince him to change his mind.
The reason is very simple, the Master Ball system has not issued any tasks...this is just one of them.
Secondly, Master Yuan doesn't spend all his time complaining about everything. Talking nonsense is tiring, right?
Just like in later generations on the Internet, in order to prove that some people are idiots, people have to find hard evidence to slap them in the face. What other results does it achieve other than satisfying their desire to slap others in the face?
Thirdly, as a time traveler, he does not want to change the life trajectories of all historical figures.
For example, this "old friend" in front of us is a patriotic educator who trains educational talents for China, which is good. He can also become an "older generation educator of the Republic" in the future. So what does it matter if he is a little naive about international political relations?
"Bohong, you don't know something." Yuan Yan smiled and said, "Let me ask you, do you know why I came to Washington?"
"You didn't say that in your letter." The other party shook his head and said in confusion, "I thought you were here to accompany Minister Shi Zhaoji to watch the ceremony and came to see me by the way."
"Hahaha..." Yuan Yanshu said with a smile without hiding anything, "So you only know one thing but not the other. Actually, I came here to..."
Meng Xiancheng was greatly surprised after hearing his words, and said in disbelief: "Ah! So, Hongjian, you are going to Washington to be an advisor to the next Secretary of State?!"
He stood up excitedly, walked around the room, and stammered, "This, this, this is so, so, so amazing!"
It would be shocking even a hundred years later that Chinese students were serving as advisors to the U.S. Secretary of State.
Our Master Yuan waved his hand and said calmly, "What consultant? Mr. Hughes just wants to find a Chinese like me to learn about the situation in the Far East."
Meng Xiancheng sat down next to him, leaned close to him and asked in a low voice: "Hongjian, what are you going to say to him?"
