Chapter 55 Song Yingxing

Electric four-wheeler?

Song Changgeng muttered softly.

His gaze drifted toward the senior scooter parked nearby.

This object was vastly different from the horse-drawn carriages in his impression.

Without carriage shafts, it meant no horses were required.

Connecting this to the name "electric four-wheeler" the shopkeeper had just uttered, Song Changgeng turned his head to look at Zhang Bo.

"Shopkeeper, could this vehicle be driven by thunder and lightning?"

Zhang Bo had to admit that Song Changgeng had an extremely sharp mind, able to deduce this much simply from a name.

"It is not the power of thunder and lightning, but a type of electricity known as direct current."

Direct current?

Song Changgeng's eyes lit up instantly.

"Shopkeeper, please tell me all about what this direct current really is."

This...

How was Zhang Bo supposed to explain this?

To explain direct current, one had to explain electricity. To explain electricity, one had to explain electric charges and a series of other physical terminology.

How easy was it to make a man of the Ming Dynasty understand these terms?

After a moment of silence, Zhang Bo decided to use a layman's explanation that was easy to understand.

"So-called direct current can be understood as a stable, usable form of thunder and lightning."

Although direct current and lightning had nothing to do with each other, Zhang Bo figured explaining it this way would make it understandable to the other man.

However, upon hearing Zhang Bo's explanation, the confusion in Song Changgeng's eyes deepened.

To summon thunder and command electricity—was that something mortal hands could ever accomplish?

After pondering for a long time without coming to any logical conclusion, Song Changgeng looked helplessly at the young man opposite him and shook his head.

"Shopkeeper, forgive my dullness. Does this mean you can summon thunder and command electricity?"

Command thunder and harness electricity? He was no Zhang Jiao.

Seeing the man's lingering doubts, Zhang Bo spoke up.

"That is rather troublesome to explain. I wonder how Uncle Changgeng views electricity in his own mind?"

"The Western Han text *Huainanzi* states, 'The interaction of Yin and Yang creates thunder, and their agitation produces electricity.' Furthermore, as the Eastern Han dictionary *Shuowen Jiezi* says, 'Electricity is the dazzling flash of colliding Yin and Yang.' Therefore, in my view, electricity is the product of the collision between Yin and Yang."

Did he really have to make it sound so mystical? How did the collision of Yin and Yang even get dragged into this?

Looking at the silent Zhang Bo, Song Changgeng watched the young man sitting before him with great curiosity; he wanted to see what kind of different perspective this young man might offer.

"I wonder what the shopkeeper's understanding of electricity is?"

Although Zhang Bo knew nothing of Yin and Yang philosophy, he was someone who had gone through nine years of compulsory education and naturally understood the meaning of electricity.

"Uncle Changgeng, electricity is actually just a physical phenomenon."

A physical phenomenon?

Song Changgeng was not unfamiliar with the word "physics." The *Huainanzi* states: "Just as the burning glass draws fire from the sun, the lodestone attracts iron, the crab dissolves lacquer, and the sunflower turns toward the sun—though one may possess brilliant wisdom, none can alter these laws. Therefore, the observation of the eyes and ears is insufficient to distinguish physical principles, and the deliberation of the mind is insufficient to determine right and wrong."

Yang Quan of the Three Kingdoms period had also written a book titled *Physical Discourse*.

Summarized in a single sentence, physics referred to the underlying principles of all things.

Yin and Yang naturally fell under the category of things, so classifying electricity under physics seemed to have nothing inappropriate about it.

However, why did the shopkeeper mention mastering electricity with such a completely nonchalant expression?

Song Changgeng had lived for the better part of his lifetime, yet he had never seen anyone capable of harnessing thunder and lightning.

Just as Song Changgeng was marveling, a question from Zhang Bo pulled him back to reality.

"Uncle Changgeng, with your inquisitive attitude, it shouldn't be difficult for you to attain official rank through the imperial examinations. Why have you never tried taking them?"

Zhang Bo knew that age was no barrier to taking imperial examinations in ancient times; for example, Fan Jin was fifty-four years old when he passed the provincial examinations.

Hearing Zhang Bo mention official rank, Song Changgeng's face immediately revealed a trace of bitterness.

Years ago, he and his elder brother had participated in the provincial examinations, securing the brilliant rank of third place in the entire province. Together with his brother, who placed sixth, they were known as the "Two Songs of Fengxin."

However, in the six metropolitan examinations that followed, both brothers repeatedly failed, wasting eighteen years of their youth.

Perhaps it was due to their own insufficient capabilities, or perhaps the Ming Dynasty's imperial examination system during that period was simply too murky.

In the end, he abandoned the thought of pursuing the examinations further, returned to his hometown to serve as a county instructor, and took charge of teaching the scholars.

Recalling this, Song Changgeng could not help feeling a sense of desolation.

"Still, if you ask me, the imperial examinations are truly a dead end. After all, the Ming Dynasty... well, never mind. Since Uncle Changgeng is so fond of studying novel things, I know someone with whom you surely share common topics."

"Oh?"

Song Changgeng raised his head, looking eagerly at Zhang Bo.

The things he studied were considered trivial and unworthy in the eyes of the world; aside from a few close friends, almost no one supported him.

If there were such a like-minded friend, they could surely progress together.

"Uncle Changgeng, have you ever heard the name Song Yingxing?"

Song Changgeng froze.

Wasn't that himself?

Song Yingxing, style name Changgeng.

In other words, Song Changgeng.

Did this shopkeeper know him?

That couldn't be right. If the shopkeeper knew him, he wouldn't fail to recognize him sitting right here before his eyes.

"Shopkeeper, I am Song Yingxing."

"Puff."

Zhang Bo, who was drinking tea at that moment, couldn't hold it in and spat it straight out.

Consequently, Song Yingxing, sitting right across from him, suffered the full brunt of it.

"Uncle Changgeng, you... you are saying you are Song Yingxing?"

Song Yingxing wiped his face with his sleeve and silently nodded.

"Yes, shopkeeper. My name is Song Yingxing, and Changgeng is my style name. I wonder where the Song Yingxing you mentioned is from?"

Zhang Bo stared at Song Yingxing, who was dressed in traditional scholarly attire before him, unable to conceal the astonishment on his face.

Viewed in this light, Song Changgeng was none other than Song Yingxing, the author of *The Exploits of Creation* (*Tiangong Kaiwu*).

No wonder Zhang Bo wore such an expression.

The book *The Exploits of Creation* was extraordinary beyond measure.

Not only did it record various technologies up to the late Ming Dynasty, but it was also the world's first comprehensive work on agricultural and handicraft production, praised by Westerners as the "Encyclopedia of Asian Technology."

It covered numerous fields including agriculture, textiles, dyeing, machinery, ceramics, papermaking, weaponry, gunpowder, salt production, coal mining, oil pressing, and brewing, depicting the names, shapes, and procedures of more than 130 production techniques and tools, accompanied by hundreds of illustrations.

After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, *The Exploits of Creation* circulated overseas, not only influencing neighboring East Asian countries at the time but also exerting a significant impact on Europe during the Age of Discovery.

It directly promoted the European sericulture industry and sparked an agricultural revolution in Europe due to the advanced farming implements recorded within its pages, such as the seed drill and various plows.

In stark contrast, neither the Ming nor the Qing dynasties gave *The Exploits of Creation* the attention it deserved.

A certain "Emperor of Ten Perfect Accomplishments" even ordered the book to be banned because of anti-Qing sentiments detected within its pages.

To the extent that by the Republican era, not a single copy of *The Exploits of Creation* could be found domestically, and it had to be reintroduced from neighboring nations.

Thinking of this, Zhang Bo inevitably felt a wave of bittersweet emotion.

And now, the author of this epoch-making masterpiece was sitting right in front of him.

"Uncle Changgeng—oh no, Uncle Song, I believe you are the very Song Yingxing I spoke of."