Chapter 28 Night of Insomnia, Benefiting Greatly

My friend Xiao Huijian:

Recently, I came across a series of great works, which are extraordinary in their writing and delve deeply into the rise and fall of world civilizations, making them exemplary works of sociology.

I found myself unable to sleep at night, benefiting greatly from them.

...

George Bernard Shaw read the telegram sent by Rudolf Chełmowski with a sense of wonder.

He didn't expect that "The Manchester Guardian" had even made its way to Gothenburg, which was quite unexpected.

Moreover, according to the telegram, Chełmowski seemed to be planning to go to England, saying that he wanted to meet the author Lu and, if possible, become close friends with each other. As a fallback, if they couldn't become friends, he was even willing to be Lu's apprentice.

Shaw couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Chełmowski must have seen Lu's writing as sophisticated and thought of Lu as a prominent member of Parliament at Westminster, which made him willingly act as a lackey.

If only he knew that Lu was just a young Chinese student studying abroad, what would he think?

Of course, the idea of becoming Lu's apprentice was unrealistic because Lu already had enough "students" by now.

As time went on, the influence of "Guns, Germs, and Steel" gradually fermented. Students of London's political and economic affairs began to compile clippings from "The Manchester Guardian," and some even started circulating handwritten copies. At this rate, Lu's influence would surpass Shaw's position as headmaster.

Shaw put away the telegram and looked to his right.

On his right, a dozen or so copies of "The Manchester Guardian" were neatly arranged, occupying two-thirds of his desk space, with each newspaper filled with pencil annotations.

During this time, he had also been reading through them, increasingly amazed by Lu's erudition.

A scholar of such high caliber, with interdisciplinary expertise, was more than capable of teaching at a university. But Lu's identity...

Shaw felt troubled. For a moment, the office seemed stiflingly hot, so he decided to go out for a walk to clear his mind.

The universities of 1900 were entirely different from modern universities, with a vastly different environment: no manicured lawns, no statues of great men, and certainly no cafeterias serving pig feed.

The only thing worth mentioning was the office buildings, lecture halls, and library.

Shaw walked towards the library.

Along the way, groups of students gathered together, wearing thick coats, sitting against walls or under trees, engrossed in reading handwritten booklets, completely ignoring the headmaster's inspection.

Shaw slowed his pace and listened to what the students were discussing.

"Lu believes that cultivated plants, rather than wild ones, are actually detrimental to the growth of wild individuals. Why is that?"

"It's simple... Well... take wheat, for example. Wheat has a low efficiency in spreading seeds itself, but precisely because of this, it's conducive to human collection, cultivation, and breeding."

"So, what Lu means is that natural selection is driven by the will of nature, but human will makes this natural selection non-existent, so the definitions of 'superior' and 'inferior' are not so absolute."

"Hmm... why do I feel like your twisted logic makes some sense."

...

The discussion was getting too abstract, and Shaw was struggling to keep up.

After listening for a while, he finally couldn't help but step forward and say, "When you're thinking about a problem, try not to anthropomorphize things."

The students looked up, seeming a bit puzzled.

Shaw continued, "For example, when you talk about 'the will of nature,' that's anthropomorphism. Nature has no will. Natural selection is a cold, hard process, and there's no need to dress it up like that."

He felt strange saying this himself.

A playwright telling others not to embellish things was quite absurd.

The students exchanged glances.

Suddenly, one of them asked, "Did you just say those things Lu thought of?"

Shaw wasn't a mind reader of Lu's thoughts, of course.

"Well... I can't say for sure."

As soon as he finished speaking, the student directly retorted, "Then what you said is meaningless."

Meaningless...

Absolutely meaningless...

Meaning...

Shaw almost fainted on the spot and was on the verge of reaching for some fast-acting heart pills.

But the fatal blow was yet to come.

The student continued, "Headmaster, you are beloved and admired by everyone because you are a towering playwright. As for biology, geography, history, and sociology, it's better if you refrain from making high-level statements."

A colleague nearby whispered, "Be careful what you say."

The former didn't care.

"The headmaster is a gentleman and won't mind these things."

Shaw was bleeding internally, but he had no choice but to appear very magnanimous.

He smiled and waved his hand, saying, "It's okay. Academic discussions inevitably involve some collisions in language."

With a slight tone of humility, he added, "But to correct you, I am not good at biology or geography. However, I still have some say in history and sociology."

This statement was tinged with a hint of humility, as if he were trying to regain some dignity for himself.

The students exchanged glances.

Someone said, "Then... Headmaster, I have a question."

A sense of foreboding rose in Shaw's heart, but the words had already been spoken, so he had to bite the bullet.

He said, "Go ahead, and I'll try my best to answer."

The student immediately spoke, "Lu mentioned in his article how geographical factors shape societies, using examples of Spain and the Inca Empire. Headmaster, I am Spanish, and I myself am not clear about those..."

It was clear that he was about to ask about the history of Spain's conquest of the Inca Empire.

This was something Shaw couldn't answer.

His eyes flickered.

"Right, you've come to London from Spain to study, and I remember your name is... Ni... Ni..."

The student took over, "My name is Santiago Nieto Nicolich, and this is my friend, Terry Solomon."

Shaw smiled with relief and patted the shoulders of the two young men, saying, "Well done! You two are excellent! With such a spirit of learning and an inquisitive thirst for knowledge, you are sure to succeed in the future."

Nieto Nicolich and Solomon looked puzzled.

"Headmaster..."

Shaw waved his hand, "Alright, continue your discussion. I won't disturb you here."

With that, he hurried back to his office.

Back in his office, Shaw sank into his armchair, took out his pipe, and took a deep puff before wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Phew~"

He heaved a sigh of relief, having made up his mind.

Regardless of anything else, he had to keep talents like Lu in Great Britain!

Shaw took out pen and paper and drafted a telegram:

"Respected Sir John Ward House..."

John Ward House, 1st Earl of Kimberley, had been serving as a hereditary peer in the House of Lords since 1847 and gradually accumulated political capital, becoming a prominent politician in the Liberal Party.

At the same time, he was the honorary chancellor of the University of London.

Generally, Shaw didn't like to associate with people from the House of Lords, but now personal preferences couldn't dictate decisions.

His students needed the headmaster to set aside his dignity!

Shaw's penmanship was sincere:

Respected Sir John Ward House:

Recently, I happened to come across a series of great works, which are extraordinary in their writing and delve deeply into the rise and fall of world civilizations, making them exemplary works of sociology.

I found myself unable to sleep at night, benefiting greatly from them.

...

"Achoo!"

Chełmowski, who was crossing the ocean, sneezed.