usatvline Chapter 82 Cameras, Food, and Ordinary People
Chapter 82 Cameras, Food, and Ordinary People
Chapter 82 Cameras, Food, and Ordinary People
At noon on the 25th day of the sixth month of the second year of the Hanchang era, it was lunchtime again at the Gewu Academy.
In the western area of the main hall of the Gewu Academy, Faraday, Morse, Lusac, and a few others who were working in the electromagnetism and chemistry-related laboratories went to the nearby western dining hall for a meal with the surrounding Han craftsmen and scholars.
Talbot and Daguerre, along with several burly craftsmen and workers, each carrying two sets of their improved cameras, stood guard in front of the canteen, ready to take some photos of the people in action.
The camera technology was a project that the emperor paid special attention to, and the Imperial Academy of Natural History invested a great deal of personnel and resources in it.
Two large teams were organized around Talbot and Daguerre, the two main inventors of photography, to work on and improve camera-related technologies in parallel.
The technical logic of photography has long been established; the most crucial issue now is finding suitable developing materials.
For half a century in the history of photography, the search for suitable developing materials has been ongoing.
Under the direct authorization of the Han imperial power, and with a concentrated effort and no expense spared in the research, photographic technology quickly completed the longest stage of material search.
Over the past two months, the two teams have tried every available material.
The most suitable imaging material at present has been found: silver bromide synthesized by Guy-Lussac combined with silver iodide, and then dissolved in gelatin, a traditional biological material.
Now it can take very clear photos, even achieving true "detailed detail".
The exposure and development time has also been reduced to less than one minute.
In bright outdoor environments, the exposure and development time can be reduced to less than one second.
The two teams are now designing a practical camera while searching for more suitable film materials to solve the problems of convenient and quick shooting and transfer.
Today, both teams deliberately chose to take photos of the busy cafeteria during mealtime to further test the imaging speed and quality.
Some inconspicuous little things happened in the cafeteria today.
All the canteens at the Gewu Institute have the same layout, with the main part resembling a modern school or factory canteen.
There is a row of kitchens, with display windows connecting to an enclosed hall filled with chairs.
Most artisans, scholars, and officials usually ate in the main hall.
However, the Han Dynasty at that time was not a modern society, and there were obvious differences in class and status between people.
Therefore, at both ends of the hall, there are two rows of separate small restaurants.
That was where a select few high-ranking artisans and officials ate.
There is a large open-air tent outside the hall.
Ordinary workers, who are rotated every three months, can only eat under this open shed.
The identities of visiting scholars from Europe and America, such as Faraday, Morse, and Lussac, are somewhat ambiguous. Whether they usually eat in the lobby or in a small restaurant depends on who they are with before eating.
Today, the three of them came out of the processing workshop and followed several burly craftsmen into the hall.
Each person carried a wooden tray, went to the kitchen window to get two or three servings of stir-fried dishes, and brought rice or steamed buns as staple food, then found a place to sit and eat in the hall.
The canteen didn't provide forks, but they did provide spoons. However, these European and American scholars and craftsmen didn't make do with spoons; they gradually learned to use chopsticks.
Although Morse designed Morse code, which is considered the basic encoding method of modern telegraph, Morse code is still in use today.
But Morse was actually a painter by profession, and his research on electromagnetism was a later development. He was more emotional than other scientists.
Morse was having dinner with several companions today, sitting by the window in the lobby.
He carefully picked up a piece of braised pork with alternating layers of fat and lean meat using his chopsticks, and held it up to his face to examine the texture of the meat.
Looking at the sunlight shimmering on the translucent surface of the meat, Morse murmured with deep emotion, "Compared to the science, technology and art of the Han Dynasty, the food of the Han Dynasty is also the most amazing thing."
"I never imagined that pork and potatoes could be made so delicious —"
"If research weren't so important right now, I would definitely want to create a series of paintings about these foods —"
Faraday, smiling, said from across the table, "Now you can go find Talbot and the others, take lots of pictures of the food and save them so you can look at them anytime—"
Morse swallowed the piece of meat in one gulp, then continued to mutter with a melancholy expression: "The photos are so clear that you can even see individual strands of hair and the texture of the fabric."
"In the future, we may not need portrait painters anymore; we can just take pictures with a camera."
"At most, we take black and white photos and then have artists color them."
"However, I am now an electromagnetism researcher, so the loss of the illustrator has not had a significant impact on me."
"My biggest worry right now is that once I go back to America, I won't be able to eat these things anymore."
Faraday casually retorted, "There don't seem to be any Han Chinese immigrants in the Americas? So there aren't any Han Chinese chefs either?"
Morse shook his head: "I've never heard of that. The east coast of America is far too far from the Great Han."
"Visiting might be feasible, but immigration is too difficult. Those willing to live in such a remote place are unlikely to be very capable chefs."
"It's convenient for the Great Han to go to the West Coast, but the West Coast is still a wilderness."
The two were chatting when Babbage, Erikson, and several others who worked in mechanics, along with Irving, who was observing and summarizing management experiences from various places, also came to the cafeteria.
Upon seeing several familiar Westerners, Babbage and the others brought their plates and came over to eat.
Faraday greeted them and casually replied to Morse, "Have you considered staying in the Han Dynasty long-term? His Majesty the Emperor and his secretaries would probably be willing to hire you to do research at the Institute of Natural Sciences."
Morse became even more distressed upon hearing this question: "If I consider the research environment and living convenience, I would certainly prefer to stay."
"But the gap between us and the Han people is too deep; this is ultimately a pagan country."
"They don't have one true God, but they have all sorts of gods everywhere—"
Upon hearing this, Erickson added, "We are clearly outsiders here, and there are secrets everywhere that make us unwelcome."
"The Han Dynasty is clearly conducting a lot of special research, but they don't allow us to understand or make contact with it at all."
Babbage added, "I also found that the scholars and craftsmen at the Great Han Institute of Natural History did not seem to have any interest in showing their research results to the public."
They also don't do any special packaging or promotion of their achievements.
"Except when His Majesty the Emperor and his successor's secretary personally intervene, they are indifferent to most other people."
When Irving heard their conversation, he smiled and offered a different observation: "There are actually people like that in Europe, who spend their lives as scholars, burying themselves in research and never getting involved in worldly affairs."
"For example, the famous Lord Henry Cavendish, and Lord Talbot, who was invited by His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Han Dynasty this time."
Several Britons around nodded slightly; they all knew Cavendish and Talbot.
Cavendish was the "man who weighed the Earth," using a torsion balance experiment to calculate the gravitational constant, and thus the weight of the Earth.
This experiment also verified Newton's law of universal gravitation.
Talbot, the inventor of photography, has now led a group of people to take incredibly detailed photographs, which will undoubtedly have a disruptive impact on painters.
Upon hearing this, Erikson couldn't help but add, "Most of them were nobles, or had inherited a large fortune."
"In other words, they possess a large amount of wealth and therefore do not need others to fund their research."
"The average British researcher seeks investment and makes money in order to sustain their research."
"Otherwise, they might go bankrupt or even end up on the streets, and they would have to find ways to gain reputation and money."
Erickson remained haunted by the bad luck of several failed investments.
Irwin nodded in agreement, saying, "Most of the researchers at the Great Han Institute of Natural Sciences are devoted to their research."
"But they themselves were mostly commoners, only the Imperial Academy provided for all their needs."
"Including everything needed for current research, and everything needed for life after retirement."
"Although they were not nobles or rich people, they were just as carefree."
"All of this was directly supplied by the Emperor of the Great Han Dynasty, so they had no interest in showing their research to outsiders like us."
"If the Han emperor requested that certain research be kept secret, they certainly wouldn't easily reveal it."
After Irving finished his analysis, the people around him fell silent, speculating and comparing the social differences between Europe and the Han Dynasty.
Morse's thinking was the most unconventional: "By European standards, His Majesty the Emperor of the Han Dynasty was the greatest nobleman and patron."
"The emperor of the Han Dynasty only had the title 'huangdi' in the Han territory, so directly translating it as 'Roman emperor' seems inappropriate."
"If expressed in the European way, it should be far more than just the title of Emperor."
"There should be at least a Chinese emperor and dictator, the master of all Chinese religious popes, and kings of all Han Chinese."
The overlord and protector of the surrounding vassal states —
"He also holds titles such as president of all associations and dean of the Great Han Academy of Sciences —"
Morse was reciting scriptures and assigning titles to the Han emperor when a slight murmur suddenly arose behind him.
Everyone turned to look at the source of the sound, which was in the direction of the restaurant entrance.
At this moment, a tall, burly young man, holding a large porcelain bowl in one hand and pointing at Morse and several other European and American engineers inside the restaurant, spoke in a rough voice to the handyman at the door: "What's going on with these Westerners inside? How dare they eat in the restaurant?"
The middle-aged janitor tidying up in the restaurant said to him, "You've just come to relieve us these past few days, haven't you? Those Westerners, although they're from Europe, are all learned scholars and craftsmen, so they can eat here with us in the restaurant—"
The young man immediately asked, "Then how can I get in to eat?"
The handyman immediately retorted, "Aren't all the people who work here from the surrounding counties? Is this your first time here? Has no one told you before?"
"During breaks from work, you should read and learn to read, and while working, you should learn a skill. You can get in by passing the exam."
After listening, the young man peered into the large restaurant again and said, "Okay, I understand. I'll have to go in sooner or later. I can't be worse off than a few Westerners."
Although Morse, Irving, and others can only understand the simplest common Chinese, similar incidents have occurred several times in the past two months.
Morse and Irving had both consulted with translators and had a general idea of what those people would say in this situation.
Ordinary workers used to eat under the tents outside. In the past, only local craftsmen and officials were in the hall, and the workers didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
Now that I see several Westerners eating inside the restaurant while I can only eat in the tent outside, I feel resentful.
If someone is more extroverted, they will confront the questioning, and most of the time the result will be a determination to study and learn a trade.
When Irving saw this happening again today, he turned to look at the few European and American scholars around him, and once again shook his head with emotion, saying, "It's different, really different. The common people of the Han Dynasty are completely different from the common people of Europe."
"It's not just that the scholars themselves are ordinary people; the key point is that even these ordinary workers feel that they have the opportunity to become scholars."
"Although there was a clear difference in status between commoners and gentlemen, there was no significant barrier between them."
"The way ordinary workers view scholars or even officials is more like the way apprentices view their masters or senior researchers, rather than the way commoners view their lords."
"Ordinary workers and peasants in Europe rarely aspire to become gentlemen —"
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