Chapter 996

When Zhou Andong mentioned the Four Great Inventions, the young man's spirit lifted, and he shouted mockingly.

"Chairman Zhou, you're quite proud to bring up things invented a thousand years ago; don't you find it ridiculous?"

"You think it's ridiculous?" Zhou Andong looked at the young man.

"Of course it's ridiculous." The young man smiled slightly, thinking he had the upper hand: "I'm talking about current Western civilization, you're talking about the Four Great Inventions from a thousand years ago; what does this have to do with anything?

I think you're at your wit's end, making far-fetched connections here, using the inventions of the ancients; isn't that ridiculous?"

"In my eyes, you are even more ridiculous." Zhou Andong sneered: "The inventions of gunpowder, the compass, printing, and papermaking powerfully pushed forward the progress of human civilization.

As early as 400 years ago, in 1620, the British thinker Bacon pointed out in his book 'Novum Organum': papermaking, printing, gunpowder, and the compass changed the whole world.

So much so that no empire, no sect, no famous figure could have exerted greater power and influence on human affairs than China's Four Great Inventions."

Having said this, Zhou Andong sighed: "Zhuo Qihua's ignorance and stupidity are because he lives in a colony and received Western education; he doesn't acknowledge himself as Chinese at the root.

And your ignorance and stupidity are the result of the failure of Chinese education; you actually don't know that our Four Great Inventions played the most important and critical role in pushing forward the development process of world civilization. Tell me, aren't you even more ridiculous, and even pathetic?

Papermaking was a great revolution in writing. Printing was another major contribution to the dissemination and preservation of human culture. And gunpowder, introduced to the Arab world and Europe in the 13th century, changed the mode of warfare in the Middle Ages and was an epoch-making revolution in military affairs.

Finally, there is the compass; without our compass, the European Age of Discovery would have been delayed for I don't know how many years. Do you still think our ancestors' Four Great Inventions are ridiculous now?

If there were no papermaking and printing, Western history would be missing, and the continuation of civilization would be broken. If there were no gunpowder and the compass, we wouldn't have suffered over a hundred years of humiliation. If there were no Four Great Inventions from our ancestors, there wouldn't be the West, the so-called advanced civilization you speak of."

Boom!

Applause erupted enthusiastically; the young man's face turned red from Zhou Andong's words, and he was speechless.

Zhou Qianyi stood up and clapped desperately; a layer of fine sweat appeared on her excited, pretty face.

Miss He also stood up, gave Zhou Andong a thumbs up, her face full of admiration and appreciation.

A proud smile appeared on Jian Qiu's face, as if she were telling everyone that the man on the stage belonged to her.

He Jingyuan clapped while asking Jian Zhengrong beside him: "Is Zhou Andong a Party member?"

"He should be." Jian Zhengrong said: "He is a university student; during the early stages of the Jiangzhou Winery reform, he even briefly served as the Deputy Secretary of the Factory Committee, and he is a legitimate official at the division level."

He Jingyuan nodded: "If there's a chance, invite him to give a lecture at the Party School."

Jian Zhengrong was stunned, then nodded: "Okay, I'll find a chance to tell him."

Zhou Andong looked at the red-faced young man: "Besides papermaking, printing, gunpowder, and the compass, we also have a Fifth Great Invention; do you know what it is?"

The young man didn't speak. First, he really didn't dare to speak recklessly now, and second, he really didn't know what China's Fifth Great Invention was.

Zhou Andong smiled slightly: "Our Fifth Great Invention is the abacus."

He didn't intend to let the young man off just like that; he actually dared to carry a gun for Zhuo Qihua—if I don't roast you to death, I won't be called Zhou Andong in the future.

"Do you know why the abacus wasn't passed on to the West?"

The young man still didn't speak, thinking to himself, I won't fall for it.

Zhou Andong looked at the crowd below: "Does anyone know?"

Everyone shook their heads, and Zhou Andong smiled slightly: "Because Westerners can't even figure out the multiplication table; the abacus is too profound, and with their IQ, they simply can't figure it out."

The scene burst into laughter, all thinking Zhou Andong was joking.

"Do you think I'm joking?"

Zhou Andong raised his finger and shook it: "If you don't believe me, we can make a bet. In the future, when you meet foreigners, test them with multiplication and division within nine; without paper, pens, or calculators, if three out of ten can answer correctly, I'll treat everyone to drinks."

There was a lot of discussion below; could what Zhou Andong said be true? Westerners can't even figure out the multiplication table, and they have to use calculators for multiplication and division within nine?

Even the leaders below were muttering in their hearts, still somewhat disbelieving.

At this time, Lu Qing's secretary whispered: "What Chairman Zhou said is true; when I was studying abroad, they really used pens to calculate multiplication and division within nine."

Lu Qing opened his mouth slightly, and the other leaders were also incredulous when they heard it; the words of Lu Qing's secretary really overturned their perception of the West.

Zhou Andong said with a smile: "So, the IQ of the Chinese people is the highest in the world. And Westerners, they are just savages with half-opened wisdom."

"Chairman Zhou!" At this time, another young man raised his hand to speak; he looked about twenty-three or twenty-four: "Just now you said that Chinese civilization has fallen behind because we abandoned traditional culture ourselves and blindly believed in Western learning.

I don't think so; we didn't abandon traditional culture, we only abandoned the dross and learned from advanced Western civilization; isn't that right?"

Zhou Andong asked: "Regarding our traditional culture, what is the dross you perceive, and what is the advanced Western civilization you want to learn?"

The young man said: "Let me give you an example; our sacrificial culture is dross. Look, when paying respects to ancestors, all kinds of food are placed, and some even place a whole table of dishes; can the ancestors eat them?

And the West is different; their sacrificial culture is very civilized, just placing fresh flowers in front of the grave; isn't that worth learning from?"

Zhou Andong smiled: "When we pay respects to our ancestors, we place a table of dishes, and the ancestors really can't eat them. But, when Westerners place fresh flowers in front of their ancestors' graves, can their ancestors smell the fragrance of the flowers?"

"Uh!"

The young man opened his mouth, but couldn't say a single word, because he didn't know how to refute it.

Zhou Andong snorted coldly: "I suddenly discovered a phenomenon: some people have been talking about how good the West is and how bad their own country is; I call these people the 'Hate-Country Party.'

They deliberately create cognitive confusion among the Chinese people to justify the blind worship of foreign things. If this wrong ideology is not corrected, it will cause ideological division, and this internal friction will eventually harm the country's vitality.

Once hostile forces push the waves and take advantage of the situation, the fate and future of our country may face big problems."