The Wind Rises in the East

November 8, 1900. Qing Dynasty, Ningbo Western Learning School.

A young man, still boyish but with a resolute look on his face, sat beneath a tree, engrossed in a newspaper.

The autumn air had turned chilly. A gust of wind swept past, and he casually wrapped his clothes tighter without taking his eyes off the paper.

The young man was He Yujie. He was eighteen, bright and studious from childhood. After losing his father at eleven, he had devoted himself even more diligently to his studies. He excelled especially at classical poetry and prose, and had passed the xiucai examination at fifteen.

But the First Sino-Japanese War had shaken him, and he had also lived through the revolutionary tide of the Hundred Days' Reform. He believed the Qing Dynasty was rotten to the core, and that the eight-legged essay only shackled people's minds and served no purpose.

So He Yujie decided to abandon the imperial examinations and study Western learning. He would investigate the Western art of studying the natural world, serve Huaxia, and prepare for the day the Qing Dynasty was overthrown.

That was why he had joined the Ningbo Western Learning School two years earlier, becoming one of its first students.

Since 1895, when Zhang Zhidong submitted the Memorial on Establishing Schools and advocated opening modern schools, people across the country had begun building new-style academies, much like high schools in later generations.

The Ningbo Western Learning School had been established in 1897 against this backdrop. More than a decade later, Sun Yat-sen would give a speech there.

At that moment, He Yujie was reading a conference report discussing Li Qiwei's Quantum Theory.

In fact, he had first heard of Li Qiwei two months earlier, after the publication of the Quantum Theory.

He had even made a special trip to Guangzhou to meet Li Qiwei, only to be told by Li's family that he was temporarily in Britain and had not yet returned.

With no other choice, He Yujie had gone back the way he came. But from then on, he had kept a close eye on Li Qiwei.

That someone from Huaxia could achieve such great things in science in this era filled He Yujie with admiration and longing.

After physics class that day, Mr. Davis, one of the instructors, had given him a newspaper and told him to read it carefully.

He Yujie was an exceptionally diligent student at school, especially in physics and chemistry, where he often ranked near the top.

That was why many of the foreign instructors liked this young man from Huaxia and believed he would accomplish great things.

Only after taking the paper did He Yujie realize it contained a detailed account of a conference discussing Quantum Theory—and Li Qiwei's name was in it.

He was so absorbed that he seized the newspaper and hurried over to Davis. "Sir, can you tell me what the Photoelectric Effect is?"

Davis gave a wry smile. "Sorry, He. Back home, I'm only an undergraduate myself. I couldn't even explain Quantum Theory to you properly last time."

"I understand even less about the Photoelectric Effect. This is already cutting-edge physics research."

"Probably fewer people in the world can understand this formula than there are people at this school."

"But Li Qiwei, the author of Quantum Theory, is an indescribable genius. Even in Europe, he'd count as a physicist."

Hearing Davis's praise, He Yujie felt as sweet as if he'd eaten honey. It wasn't praise for him, but he still felt proud to be associated with it.

Li Qiwei! The name engraved itself in his heart, like a totem.

Who said everyone in Huaxia was ignorant and backward? We Han Chinese could produce a scientific genius seen only once in a century, too.

He decided then and there to go to Guangzhou again.

A few days earlier, Old Man Li had sent someone with a letter. Li Qiwei wanted to invite him to study in Britain, and had already arranged everything there. He wouldn't need to prepare a thing.

If he was willing, he could go to Li Residence in Guangzhou and wait within the month.

Such an opportunity stirred He Yujie's heart, though he still had a few reservations.

But that day's newspaper made up his mind at last. He would go!

After all, he wasn't the only son in his family. He had two older brothers, so even if he was away for three to five years, it wouldn't make much difference.

He could return home and care for his mother after completing his studies.

As if fate had ordained it, young people like He Yujie were all receiving news at that very moment of the events surrounding Li Qiwei's Quantum Theory conference.

Elsewhere, in Hangzhou, sixteen-year-old Xia Yuanli was arguing with his father, Xia Zengyou.

Wearing Western spectacles, still with a boy's face, Xia Yuanli said angrily, "Father, why won't you let me study science? You make me memorize the pre-Qin Hundred Schools every day. Will that help us defeat the Eight-Nation Alliance?"

His father, Xia Zengyou, looked at him as if he were a hopeless disappointment. "You unfilial son! For three generations, the Xia family has been steeped in poetry and learning. We're skilled in painting and poetry, and our grounding in the classics and eight-legged essays runs deep. Why, out of all of us, must you study those strange and useless tricks?"

Xia Yuanli was fed up with his father's stubbornness and argued back, "You're always calling other people's work strange and useless. Then why do they have steamships and cannons while all we can do is take a beating?"

"Do you know what a tremendous stir Li Qiwei's paper has caused? He's the idol in my heart."

"Say what you like. I'm going."

His mother, standing nearby, seemed to age several years in an instant. She sighed. "Fuyun, even if you want to study Western learning, can't you go somewhere else? Why must it be England? Wouldn't it be enough for your father to send you to a foreign-run school?"

Looking at his parents' aged faces, Xia Yuanli wept as he spoke. "Father, though the old saying goes, 'While your parents are alive, do not travel far'..."

"But Huaxia now faces a crisis unlike any in thousands of years. Foreigners run rampant, and the Qing Dynasty is incapable. It will fall sooner or later."

"Are we supposed to cling to our eight-legged essays and save Huaxia, opening up a new future?"

"Besides, I have an older brother and a younger brother. They can take my place for now and fulfill their duty to you both."

"Forgive your unworthy son. Once I return with my studies complete, I'll make sure you both enjoy a comfortable old age."

With that, Xia Yuanli dropped to his knees before his parents with a thud. He kept his head bowed and didn't look up.

After a long while, Xia Zengyou regained his composure and said softly, "Fine. Go."

Xia Yuanli lifted his head, his eyes blurred with tears. He vowed to learn real knowledge and skills.

In Hubei, the fifty-five-year-old director of the Baoshan Powder Bureau, Xu Jianyin, sipped tea as his nineteen-year-old youngest son, Xu Qitai, spoke with impassioned fervor.

"Father, I'm not exaggerating. Li Qiwei is truly astonishing. He published Quantum Theory in physics, then proved it with the Photoelectric Effect."

"They say his achievements are on a par with Newton's. You know Newton, Father—the Western sage of science who was hit by an apple."

"So, could I trouble you to give your blessing? I want to go to Britain and study under him."

Xu Jianyin took a leisurely sip of tea. "Is he really that impressive? I suspect that's just a rumor that's grown in the telling. Those foreign devils love to boast."

"When it comes to Western learning, I can say without the slightest immodesty that our Xu family is the foremost family in Huaxia. Your grandfather even published a paper in Nature."

"Is there really anyone from Huaxia who could surpass the Xu family?"

Xu Jianyin's father was the renowned Xu Shou, a pioneer who introduced modern chemistry to Huaxia, a founder of its modern shipbuilding industry, and the man who established the Chinese names for the chemical elements in the Periodic Table.

Huaxia's first steam engine, first steamship, first warship, first school to teach scientific knowledge, first public lecture on science, and first science journal had all been connected to him.

Seeing that his father didn't believe him, Xu Qitai hurriedly said, "Oh, Father, I asked the foreigners myself. They said it's absolutely true. Li Qiwei's standing in British physics circles is extraordinary."

"So I want to study under him. When I come back, I'll be able to take over your mantle."

Xu Jianyin laughed and scolded him, "You little brat, cursing your own father! But things are turbulent at home right now. Going to Britain would be a good way to stay clear of the trouble."

"But remember, you must learn real skills. The little bit of physics and chemistry you know won't amount to much among the foreigners."

Xu Qitai's face lit up with excitement. He clapped his hands, then eagerly poured his father another cup of tea.

What Xu Jianyin didn't know was that this decision would change his otherwise tragic fate.

In real history, on March 31 of the following year, he would be mixing ingredients at a pharmacy when the gunpowder suddenly exploded, killing him.

(Note: He Yujie and Xia Yuanli were early Chinese physicists and educators who trained the first graduating class of Chinese physics undergraduates. I couldn't find any information on Xu Qitai, so I made up the name. His father was Xu Jianyin, and his grandfather was Xu Shou. Look them up if you're interested.)

Thanks to [Morning Star Pupil] for the monthly ticket, and thanks to all the new and longtime readers for their recommendation votes. The female lead appears in the next chapter.