Wearing a beautiful purple robe, he sat majestically in the chair. He has a complete face, young and happy, with a smile and beautiful teeth. He has a strong body and a deep, powerful and clear voice. This is a wonderful humorous speech by a man and a noble. Very French, but more China. Beneath the smiling and polite appearance, I felt his inner contempt. He knows that he is superior to us and treats the French public as children. The audience was enthusiastic, drank up the ecstasy soup and applauded warmly. "This passage is selected from the diary written by the world-famous French writer romain rolland in February 1889. The China person in the diary is Chen who was invited to give a speech at the Paris Teachers College. Romain rolland is a student in a normal university. He attended the lecture and left us a precious record.
In Europe in 1980s and 1990s, Chen was one of the most influential figures in China. Among the late Qing literati, no one is more famous than Chen in the west. His books written in French were reprinted many times in France and translated into English, German, Italian, Spanish, Danish and other languages, which had a wide and far-reaching influence in Europe. He often went to salons in European diplomatic and cultural circles, was invited to give various speeches, and made many high-class people in Germany and France. Chen's outstanding performance in Europe has written an important page in the history of cultural relations between China and the West in the late Qing Dynasty. He is also the cover of the April issue of 189 1 French Pictorial, which is now in the National Library of France.
According to Fujian Tongzhi Biography and Chen Biography, westerners who come to China by ladder sailing are usually called "Jitong".
Cheng Jitong, whose real name is Jingru, is a kind-hearted person in Fujian. /kloc-in 0/867, he was admitted to the "Pre-school" of Fuzhou Ship Administration School founded by Zuo and Shen Baozhen of the Westernization School to study shipbuilding. Most of the former schools, also called French schools, were French teachers. He studied hard and had good qualifications, so "after screening, he got the title of Cao". /kloc-at the beginning of 0/875, the first batch of students majoring in shipping management graduated. Chen, Liu, etc. He was hired by the Maritime Safety Administration as "the leader of western learning in school for many years". In March of the same year, he went to Europe with Japan and Italy as a legal person, traveled to Britain, France, Germany and Austria, and returned home one year later.
On March 30th, 1877, Fujian Maritime Bureau sent 35 international students from Fuzhou to study in Europe. This is the first time that the Qing government sent overseas students to Europe. Among these young people are later famous Yan Fu, Ma Jianzhong, Liu, Lin, Deng Shichang, Sha Zhenbing and others. Chen's position in Europe has been upgraded to copywriting, which is much higher than these international students. After arriving in France, Chen entered the French School of Political Science and Law to study public law.
From 65438 to 0878, Chen served as French interpreter for Guo Songtao, the Qing government's envoy to Britain and France. Guo Songtao, the first foreign diplomat in China's history, spoke highly of the young Chen, saying that Chen "can win an important task as long as he steps into the officialdom again". Chen didn't disappoint. A few years later, he made his mark in the diplomatic field. At that time, an article in Good News of North China said: "Before him, the embassy of China was just a figurehead, just the residence of a big man with long braids, blue robes and bald heads." Frankly speaking, from a diplomatic point of view, due to this young translation activity, China began to make its mark in Europe. '
Chen's diplomatic career started smoothly. He is lively and cheerful by nature, has a wide range of interests, treats people warmly and is good at making friends. Therefore, he is very popular with the upper class in Europe and has established friendship with some of them.
German Emperor Friedrich III liked the young China diplomat and invited Chen to ride a horse for a walk. They immediately discussed social science, politics, economy and literature. Friedrich III was inclined to liberalism at that time. Chen's discussion with him was free, and they could exchange views freely on various issues. Chen cursor's knowledge, unique oriental perspective and fluent French won the respect of Friedrich III.
German Chancellor Bismarck is also a friend of Chen. During the Sino-French War, he got the secret support of "Hot-blooded Prime Minister" Chen.
Among the European politicians who had contacts with Chen, the French politician, former Speaker of the House of Representatives and Prime Minister Gambida had a great influence on him. The founder of the Third Republic admired young China diplomats and often invited Chen to attend his political salon. He is willing to listen to Chen's opinions on politics, philosophy and literature. He gained a lot of democracy and knowledge in Gambida Chen Salon, which had a great influence on a series of reform activities after he returned to China.
Chen Qi took advantage of his extensive social relations in European political circles, played an important role in Sino-Russian Ili negotiations and the Sino-French war, and expanded China's international influence.
While studying in France, Chen married a beautiful French girl, Lai Mahua, and returned to China together. Shortly after marriage, he fell in love with an English singer. French wife Marley-he was angry and jealous when he learned that. She went to many places and finally found an English singer who lived in Hongkou Concession in Shanghai. So one morning, Marley took out her husband's pistol from the drawer, put it in a trench coat and walked all the way to the British singer's residence. At that time, the British singer was putting on makeup, while Chen Zheng was lying on her lover's sofa reading a newspaper. I saw Marley stormed in, identified himself, then pulled out his pistol and demanded a duel. British singers should know that they are wrong, but keep silent and let Marley scold them. When Chen saw the scene of the explosion, instead of mediation, he laughed and felt funny. His bohemian personality charm is obvious. After the mediation of relatives and friends, the storm finally subsided. In the later marriage life, although the romantic aristocrat Chen often cheated, she deeply loved her first French wife, Marley, and never left each other.
The result of Chen's diplomatic activities in Europe is regrettable. 189 1 year, Chen was dismissed by the Qing government because of a private debt dispute, and he suddenly returned to China. Although he was reinstated the following year, he never went to Europe again.
As a diplomat, Chen suddenly left Europe, but as a writer, his works have made brilliant achievements and stayed in Europe for a long time. Chen is proficient in French, English, German and Latin, especially in French, and is unique in China in the late Qing Dynasty. He also has a profound understanding of western culture and profound Chinese culture accomplishment. Before Chen, there were no western books written by China people in Europe, and Chen was the first China person to publish his works in western languages, which had a sensational influence. Chen Yisheng wrote eight works in French, namely China's Self-portrait, China's Drama, China's Story, China Entertainment, The Legend of the Yellow Shirt, Parisians, My Motherland, Love of Heroes and 0755-0755. All the works except the last one were first published in Paris. 1July, 884, during the Sino-French War, the self-portraits of the French were made public in Paris, and the French public was hostile to China because they didn't know China. This book directly shows French readers an ancient oriental country with a long culture, picturesque scenery and fragrant green tea, which greatly changes their prejudice against the real China. After the book was published, it caused a sensation. This book was reprinted five times a year, and it was printed in 1 1 in two years. To this end, the government of the Third Republic of France awarded Chen the "First Class Medal of National Education" in recognition of his contribution to culture. Chen's The Legend of the Yellow Shirt is the first novella written in western languages in China, which is far ahead of Lin Yutang's similar works.
From 65438 to 0897, Chen Qi and his younger brother Chen Shoupeng co-founded Qiushi newspaper in Shanghai. Since the first issue, he has been a "master of translation", introducing western learning, serializing translation classics and propagating reform ideas, which has a great influence. Published 12 articles, including French Democratic State Law, Nablus Family Law and French Newspaper Law. According to Fujian Tongzhi Biography and Tcheng Ki Tong Biography, Tcheng Ki Tong was "good at French politics and Napoleon's law, although his country's bachelor's degree in law claimed that the old tenant farmers would have no difficulty."
Under the guidance of her brother Chen, Chen Shoupeng translated a large number of western works and became an outstanding female translator in the late Qing Dynasty. His wife Xue was also a rare female translator in the late Qing Dynasty.
Chen translated and published Hugo's novel "93" and his plays "Lublan", "O 'Neill", "Accusation of a Silver Bottle", Moliere's School for Girls and Zola's "Madame Nandan and Nye", which became an outstanding pioneer in China's translation and introduction of French literature in modern times.
The author of Nie Haihua, a famous literary masterpiece in the late Qing Dynasty, said that Chen was his "mentor and friend" in studying French literature, and his activities of translating and introducing foreign literature were even the main reason for his "literary fanaticism". Most of them are caused by teacher Chen's words. Charles Zhailis, a great English sinologist, praised him for his extensive knowledge of French, saying that he talked about various French literary schools at that time and their advantages and disadvantages.
From 65438 to 0898, Chen supported the establishment of China's first modern girls' school-Shanghai China Girls' School. His wife, Lai, a Frenchman, made contributions to modern education and drafted the constitution of the daily class "Combination of Chinese and Western".
At the beginning of the 20th century, Chen presided over Nanjing Translation Bureau. According to records, he "read western languages, waved Chinese, and counted papers instantly when translating books." Manabu Nakanishi is knowledgeable and can be called a translation wizard, because he translates quickly.