151: Chapter 151 Treating Others as They Treat Us

"Pu Kaiji, the grandson of our clan's Pu Hengyuan, received an extremely important task at this time: find a way to obtain the early Ming Dynasty's firearm casting technology and gunpowder formulas."

"In Quanzhou, Pu Kaiji used commercial connections to get to know a craftsman working at the Bureau of Ordnance named He Zhu. This man was responsible for supervising the casting of firearms and knew the manufacturing processes for all types of firearms like the back of his hand."

"Pu Kaiji bribed He Zhu with a large sum of money, ordering him to secretly transcribe the core processes of firearm casting and the gunpowder formulas. He Zhu was greedy, and because he had a grudge against his superiors and harbored resentment toward the imperial court, he agreed to Pu Kaiji's request."

"He Zhu spent half a year compiling all the firearm casting technology and gunpowder formulas he knew into thirteen manuscripts, which he secretly handed over to Pu Kaiji."

"Pu Kaiji hid these thirteen manuscripts in batches on merchant ships departing from Quanzhou, which were then transferred to Europe."

"This batch of firearm technical data later became an important reference for the development of European firearms. On this foundation, the Europeans made improvements and innovations, eventually developing what they called 'modern firearms'."

Hu Tian remembered the record on the list from before: thirteen types of gunpowder formulas, already transmitted to the West; seven types of firearm casting technology, already transmitted to the West.

So that was how those thirteen gunpowder formulas came to be.

He gave a bitter smile and continued reading.

"By the mid-Ming Dynasty, our clan's business in Quanzhou had grown tremendously, and we had also opened branches in Guangzhou. By this time, the scale of the Silver Cross had also expanded significantly, with stable contact networks in Europe, the Middle East, India, and various parts of the Orient."

"The most important operation during the mid-Ming Dynasty was obtaining China's textile technology."

"China's silk weaving technology, especially the technology for jacquard looms, had already developed to an extremely high level at that time. The silk produced was far beyond anything Europe could achieve, both in terms of the intricacy of the patterns and the weaving craftsmanship."

"Pu Ruogu, the son of our clan's Pu Kaiji, acting on the orders of the Silver Cross, got to know an official in Suzhou who was specifically responsible for the affairs of the Weaving Bureau, named Lu Wenbin. This Lu Wenbin was greedy for money and lustful, making him very easy to manipulate."

"Pu Ruogu enticed him with large sums of money and beautiful women, and also secretly obtained evidence of several instances of his corruption, forcing him to submit."

"Using the convenience of his position, Lu Wenbin ordered several craftsmen from the Weaving Bureau to draw up blueprints of the core construction and operating methods of the jacquard looms, which, along with detailed explanations of the textile processes, were handed over to Pu Ruogu."

"Pu Ruogu secretly transferred this batch of blueprints and technical data to Europe via the sea route from Guangzhou."

"According to later reports, this batch of textile technical data had a profound impact on the development of the European textile industry and became one of the important technical foundations for textile mechanization during the later European Industrial Revolution."

Hu Tian looked at these words in silence, unable to describe the feeling in his heart.

How many of those things referred to in history textbooks as the "great achievements of European civilization" were built upon this kind of shameless theft?

He continued to turn the page.

"In the late Ming Dynasty, missionaries entered China in large numbers, and the operations of the Silver Cross entered a new phase."

"During this period, our clan's most important collaborator was a German missionary named Adam Schall von Bell."

"Adam Schall von Bell appeared to be a devout missionary on the surface, but in reality, he was also a member of the Silver Cross, responsible for collecting various technical classics in China, especially materials related to astronomy, the calendar, metallurgy, and firearms."

"After entering China, Adam Schall von Bell, with his talent in astronomy and the calendar, quickly gained the trust of the Ming court and was appointed to an important position in the Imperial Observatory."

"The person in charge of our clan at this time was Pu Changde, the grandson of Pu Ruogu, who continued to operate between Guangzhou and Macau and was also an important contact for Adam Schall von Bell in China."

"Adam Schall von Bell's most important operation was his contact with Song Yingxing."

Hu Tian's gaze stopped on this line of text.

Song Yingxing.

He knew this name.

One of the greatest scientists of the late Ming Dynasty, the author of the Tiangong Kaiwu.

It was an encyclopedic work that covered almost all the important industrial and agricultural production technologies of the time, and was referred to by later generations as the "Chinese Encyclopedia of Technology of the Seventeenth Century."

He held his breath and continued reading.

"Song Yingxing, courtesy name Chang Geng, was a native of Fengxin, Jiangxi, and a famous scientist of the late Ming Dynasty. The Tiangong Kaiwu he authored was the most important technical classic in China at that time, covering almost all important technical fields such as agriculture, handicrafts, metallurgy, gunpowder, textiles, and ceramics, and was of immeasurable value."

"Acting on the orders of the Silver Cross, Adam Schall von Bell managed to make contact with Song Yingxing to obtain a detailed copy of the Tiangong Kaiwu."

"After the Tiangong Kaiwu was published, Adam Schall von Bell immediately purchased a printed copy through his contact in Jiangxi and secretly translated the entire book into latin, sending it back to Europe."

"However, the Silver Cross believed that the content in the printed copy was still insufficient, as many technical details were not exhaustive, so it was necessary to make direct contact with Song Yingxing himself to obtain more complete technical data."

"Adam Schall von Bell therefore asked someone for an introduction and visited Song Yingxing several times under the guise of discussing astronomy and the calendar. Song Yingxing was a man of open-minded character, extremely passionate about learning, and did not have much guardedness toward missionaries from the West."

"Adam Schall von Bell won Song Yingxing's favor with his knowledge of astronomy and the calendar, and the two gradually became friends across generations, often discussing various technologies and scholarship together."

"In the process, Adam Schall von Bell used extremely clever methods to extract, bit by bit, many of the technical insights that Song Yingxing had accumulated over the years but had never published, through seemingly ordinary academic discussions, and secretly recorded them."

"This included details on iron smelting technology not detailed in the Tiangong Kaiwu, improved methods for gunpowder purification, key techniques for porcelain firing, and so on, all of which were obtained by Adam Schall von Bell in this way, compiled into documents, and sent to Europe via Portuguese merchant ships from Macau."

"Song Yingxing never knew that those seemingly equal academic discussions between him and Adam Schall von Bell were, in reality, a theft operation meticulously designed by Adam Schall von Bell. He thought it was a sincere exchange between two people who loved learning, not knowing that those precious technical insights were being stolen bit by bit."

"Our clan's Pu Changde was responsible for the liaison and transfer between Macau and Europe during this operation, and received extremely generous remuneration from the Silver Cross."

Hu Tian held the diary in his hands, silent for a long time.

Song Yingxing.

That old man who lived a life of poverty and, with full enthusiasm, recorded the essence of China's technical civilization, would never have dreamed that the Western missionary he regarded as a soulmate was actually a complete thief.

He continued reading, his eyes already burning with anger.

"Besides Song Yingxing, during his time in China, Adam Schall von Bell also made contact with several other important technical talents and scholars."

"Among them, Xu Guangqi was Adam Schall von Bell's most important collaborator in China. Xu Guangqi highly admired Western learning and trusted missionaries like Adam Schall von Bell implicitly, even taking the initiative to assist them in translating Western scientific works."

"Adam Schall von Bell exploited Xu Guangqi's trust, using the name of cooperative translation to obtain a large amount of detailed data on Chinese agricultural technology and calendar knowledge from Xu Guangqi, including a large number of manuscripts of Xu Guangqi's unfinished Nongzheng Quanshu (Complete Treatise on Agricultural Administration)."

"Xu Guangqi wholeheartedly thought that introducing Western knowledge into China was for the benefit of China, not knowing that he was also being used to export China's knowledge."

"In addition, through his position in the Imperial Observatory, Adam Schall von Bell systematically organized the records of China's astronomical observations throughout the dynasties and secretly transmitted this batch of extremely precious astronomical data to Europe."

"This batch of astronomical data spanned several hundred years, and the accuracy and completeness of the records were unparalleled in the world at that time. After obtaining this data, European astronomers used it as a foundation to develop several important theories of what they called 'modern astronomy'."

"Our clan's Pu Changde and his son Pu Jishan acted as the most important intermediaries between Adam Schall von Bell and the European contacts during this period. All technical data stolen from China passed through our clan's hands and was transmitted to Europe via the sea route from Macau."

"During the transition from the Ming to the Qing Dynasty, the situation was turbulent, but our clan's operations never ceased."

"Adam Schall von Bell continued to be heavily relied upon by the Qing court, and his operations of stealing technology in China continued accordingly."

"At this time, the person in charge of our clan, Pu Jishan, had moved the family's business center from Guangzhou to Macau. Macau was already a stronghold for the Portuguese at that time and was the most important transit station for the transfer of technical intelligence between the East and the West."

"The most important operation in the early Qing Dynasty was obtaining China's metallurgy technology."

"China's metallurgical technology, especially pig iron smelting and casting technology, had already developed to an extremely mature level at that time, far exceeding Europe. Europe's metallurgical technology lagged behind China by at least several hundred years; therefore, the Silver Cross listed obtaining China's metallurgical technology as one of its top priorities."

"Through his connections in Guangdong, Pu Jishan got to know a craftsman working in an ironware workshop in Foshan named Wu Dacheng. Foshan was one of the most important metallurgical centers in China at that time, and the ironware produced there was sold throughout the country and even overseas."

"Pu Jishan purchased Wu Dacheng's ironware at a high price, and at the same time, offered a higher price to order him to secretly record the core processes of smelting and casting and hand them over to him."

"Wu Dacheng spent two years in total compiling the main smelting processes and casting technologies of the Foshan ironware workshops into eight detailed illustrated documents, which he handed over to Pu Jishan."

"After this batch of metallurgical technical data was transmitted to Europe via Macau, it played an important role in promoting the development of European metallurgical technology and became one of the important technical foundations for the rise of the steel industry during the later European Industrial Revolution."

"Our clan received extremely generous remuneration from the Silver Cross in this operation and, as a result, established a firm foothold in the business circles of Macau, with our business becoming increasingly prosperous."

On the last few pages of the diary, Pu Liangchen wrote a summary.

"Our clan has wandered between the East and the West for hundreds of years, never stopping. Our ancestors once said: Our clan has no homeland, no attachments, only interests. Wherever there is profit, that is our clan's home."

"For hundreds of years, our clan has collected and transferred countless technical classics and knowledge materials for the Silver Cross, profiting immensely from it. Our clan's business has also spread to many important port cities in Southeast Asia and Europe because of this."