Beneath the shade of a tree.
Watching Little Ox and Hooke, whose words seemed to crackle with tension, Xu Yun quickly recalled what he knew of history.
Perhaps because Little Ox had interfered, the records of Hooke's life in later generations were rather sketchy, with most accounts glossing over the details.
Most of the time, Hooke was mentioned only in relation to Newton, much as people brought up Turing just to make FAKER look good: either to praise or to disparage the old Ox.
So Xu Yun couldn't think of a time when Little Ox and Hooke might have met. He could only look for clues and work it out himself.
"1665. Hooke was a professor at Gresham College, and his home on the Isle of Wight was also in southern England, in a completely different direction from Lincolnshire. And Micrographia came out in the second half of the year."
Xu Yun ran through the details of Hooke's public life, comparing each one against what he knew. As he thought, his eyes suddenly lit up.
"Wait, Micrographia was published?"
In seventeenth-century Britain, the Royal Society held a firm grip on the authority to define science, creating a kind of academic monopoly.
Anyone who wanted to publish a scholarly book first needed the Society's approval, and then had to have it printed by a publisher under the Society's auspices.
At that time, there was only one publisher affiliated with the Royal Society of London, and as it happened, it was in Lincolnshire!
At the thought, Xu Yun's gaze shifted between the two men.
"So Hooke must be getting ready to go to Lincolnshire to discuss publication. There's no reason for him to pick a fight with Little Ox now.
"Uh, unless it's because of the rivalry between Cambridge and Oxford?"
Anyone who had studied abroad at Cambridge University had probably heard the story.
Cambridge and Oxford, two of Britain's most famous universities, had a history of rivalry that went back even before their founding.
Oxford was the chief city in the Thames Valley. Legend had it that ancient cattle once forded the river there, giving the city its name: Oxford.
As everyone knew,
before the twelfth century, Britain had no universities. People went to France and other countries on the continent to study.
In 1167, some scholars returned from Paris and gathered in Oxford. With the support of the king and the Church, they formed what would become Oxford University.
Then, in 1209, a student from Oxford University accidentally killed a woman while practicing archery and fled, worsening tensions with the townspeople.
Afterward, two scholars and several students who had lived with the archer were hanged by the townspeople of Oxford without consulting the Church, which often preferred to pardon scholars.
The conflict escalated, leading to violent clashes between the university and the townspeople.
During the fighting, some teachers and students fled north to Cambridge Town. With support from the local Church, they began devoting themselves to scholarship there.
This was how Cambridge University came to be.
The two universities had been at odds from the start, and even their coats of arms stood in contrast:
Both Cambridge University and Oxford University had a book on their coat of arms, but Cambridge's book was closed while Oxford's was open.
During the English Civil War, Oxford served as the headquarters of Charles I and the Royalists, while Cambridge was a stronghold of the Parliamentary forces. Their political allegiances put them at odds as well.
So if Hooke had spotted Little Ox's university uniform while traveling and confronted him because of the rivalry between their schools—
That would make for quite a dramatic story.
Just as Xu Yun was pondering this, Hooke spoke again beside him.
"How's Barrow these days, boy?"
Hearing Hooke mention his teacher for a second time, Little Ox began to understand.
"My teacher is in good health, Mr. Hooke. Do you know each other?"
At that, Hooke's lips curled into a sneer. With his stooped frame, he rather resembled Kasimov.
"Know each other? I couldn't get my bachelor's degree back then. Never mind—it's no use telling a student about that.
"Here. Do me a favor and pass something along."
As he spoke, Hooke pulled out a sheet of paper covered in several tightly written lines.
"I don't have Barrow's address. If you know where he is, send him this problem and tell him to take a good look.
"If he can't solve it, then according to our old wager, he'll have to resign his Lucasian Professor post.
"Of course, if you can't find him, or if he pretends he's dead, that's fine too. I'll pay him a personal visit once the Black Death is over.
"He can't run forever. Slinking away in disgrace is the best he can hope for."
At Hooke's villainous-sounding words, Little Ox's face darkened.
Lucasian Professor.
That wasn't a person's name, but an honorary position at Cambridge University.
It was awarded to researchers in mathematics and physics, with only one person holding it at a time. The holder of the post was called the "Lucasian Professor."
In a sense, it was rather like the "Shadow" in the legendary tale of the Five Villages' Eye-Clan Feud:
A village might have four or five fighters at the Shadow level, but only one person could truly bear the title of Shadow and represent its highest honor.
Little Ox's mentor, Isaac Barrow, was the current Lucasian Professor—the "Shadow" of Cambridge. That's right, Little Ox's math teacher was also named Isaac.
Westerners didn't have the same naming customs as people in Xu Yun's homeland. They had relatively few given names and many surnames, so it was quite normal for people to share a name.
Little Ox and Barrow were very close. According to manuscripts deciphered after Barrow's death, he had already worked out the product and quotient of two functions, as well as the differential theorem.
Even so, he eventually passed that knowledge on to his beloved student, making a major contribution to the creation of calculus.
According to the course of history, Barrow would voluntarily resign as Lucasian Professor in 1669 and recommend Little Ox as his successor.
If William was unquestionably Little Ox's number one, then Barrow, Stoke, Lisa, and the future Halley would probably all rank together at number two.
So when Little Ox heard Hooke insulting his teacher, anger surged through him.
He glanced over the letter Hooke had handed him. After skimming a few lines, his eyes flashed with surprise and uncertainty.
Then he suddenly looked up and called after Hooke, who had already turned to leave.
"Mr. Hooke, please wait!"
Hooke stopped, hitched up his robe, which was nearly dragging on the ground, and turned to face Little Ox.
"What is it?"
Little Ox glanced at Xu Yun, took a deep breath, and said,
"Mr. Hooke, there's no need to pass your problem on to my teacher. Give me five days, and I'll solve it myself!"
Note:
The story about Barrow and Hooke is quite strange. Not only is it connected to Newton, it also involves Hooke's graduation and Barrow's resignation, yet almost no one in China has written about it.
It's a little baffling, but it definitely happened. Scratches head.
Before you continue