When people broke away from the ancient era of animal behavior, when people began to understand the use of intelligent production tools, when they used their legs to explore the vast land, civilization was born, and like a spark, it began to develop and evolve for a long time in different regions and different environments.
Year after year, day after day, the civilizations of the East and the West grow together like two different plants, but they grow completely different fruits, and when the two civilizations collide, there are only two kinds of results: war and integration.
More than a century ago, there was a worker who crossed the ocean from China to the United States, but was just an illiterate bottom-class poorman, but with a strong enough ideological realm to merge the two civilizations of the East and the West, tolerating huge differences, and even made great contributions to the exchange and development of the East and West civilizations.
Image: Stills of a ship crossing the ocean
First, a low-level worker from humble origins
1. Tragic fate
In 1857, Ding Long was born in Taishan, Guangdong Province, to a poor family, and at this time, the land of China had been ravaged by the Western powers for many years and had become a semi-feudal and semi-colonial situation. The Qing government was repeatedly defeated, the land was cut off and compensated, and the greedy hearts of the great powers could never be satisfied, which made all the Chinese suffer bullying and destruction, and lived in fear on the brink of life and death every day.
Ding Long, as a member of the poor masses, from a small family of disciples, there is no reason to learn, at the age of 18, reduced to "selling piglets", the so-called "selling piglets", is to be sold abroad to do coolies, not only far from their hometown, but also to bear heavy work and difficult living environment, every year a large number of Chinese laborers die in their hometown, it can be said that it is a road of no return.
Ding Long, who became a "piglet seller", had no idea where his future lay, or even how long he could live, and he and many laborers of similar age drifted on the sea for several months before finally arriving in California, the United States, across the ocean, and his next job was to build a railway.
As the old saying goes, "The sword blade comes out of the grinding, and the plum blossom fragrance comes from the bitter cold", the dilemma makes countless people despair, but it also allows people with courage and dreams to move forward all the way and finally achieve nirvana rebirth, and Ding Long is undoubtedly the latter.
Image: Screenshot of Ding Long's old photo data
2, never give up to usher in a turning point
After being sold by his parents, Ding Long, who became a "pig seller", was penniless, he was not bound by the difficulties in front of him, nor was he cynical by the injustice of secular society, but always silently examined the changes in the surrounding environment, he wanted to change his life by hard work and wisdom, and rushed out of this seemingly lifeless swamp.
When other workers gradually lost their fighting spirit and became self-destructive, Ding Long stumbled to learn English, although he did not go to school, nor could he read, but by relying on daily communication with foreigners, he gradually mastered the way of communicating in English, with this talent, he successfully got rid of the work of building railways and was recruited into a rich family as a servant.
Image: Ding Long is recruited as a servant comic
Second, the solid friendship that shakes things
1. Friendship blooms
Carpentier was originally born into an ordinary working family, and under the hard education of his parents, he was finally admitted to the world-class university - Columbia University, and during his college years, he continued to study hard and finally graduated with honors.
At that time, the Western world was at the fixed point of the industrial revolution, a college student who was not deeply involved in the world had various challenges in front of him, but also a variety of opportunities, you may be rich but lose to the pants overnight, but it is also possible to get rich overnight from only one pants!
Carpentier was ambitious and confident, he wanted to find his wealth, he joined the "gold rush" brigade when he was in California, successfully dug the first bucket of gold, and then had a smooth career, and became a famous rich man within a few years, and Ding Long's owner was him.
Image: Screenshot of Carpentier's old photo
Influenced by Western culture, Carpentier looked down on the yellow-skinned, diminutive Chinese, and his attitude towards Ding Long was also very cold, and as his wealth grew, he himself began to become violent and rude, and even many servants were beaten and scolded.
One day, the drunken Carpentier lost his temper, fired all the servants, and then fell asleep, and when he woke up, he found that there was really no one around, but when he went downstairs, he found only Ding Long silently cleaning up the messy room.
Carpentier was curious: "Everybody's gone, why don't you?" Ding Long said: "Confucius in China taught us to pay attention to the way of loyalty and forgiveness, and as servants, we cannot walk away at this time." Carpentier was deeply touched by this sentence, and he did not believe that it came from the mouth of a Chinese servant who could not read a large character.
Image: Servants leave the stills
2. Epoch-making significance
Since then, the relationship between the two has deepened, Carpentier no longer regards Ding Long as a servant, more like an incomparably trusted butler, no matter where he goes, Carpentier has rich social relations and business experience, and Ding Long also has Chinese unique diligence and bravery, the two people in this way absorb different knowledge from each other, the relationship becomes harmonious and beautiful.
On a long trip by boat, Carpentier and Ding Long were sitting in the first class, which caused some rich people to be dissatisfied, asking Ding Long to go to the lower class, and as a result, Carpentier directly stood up and said: "You know what, this is my secretary, the wisdom of the East, where I am he will be."
It can be seen that at this time, the two are no longer employed superiors and subordinates, but more like equal good friends and relatives who learn from each other.
Image: Screenshot of carpentier and Ding Long comics
Ding Long learned a lot of business methods, and Carpentier also learned about the profundity of Chinese culture, and the two worked closely together, and their careers became bigger and bigger. In fact, Ding Long has always been worried about the motherland that is in deep trouble, and he hopes that Westerners can truly understand China, help China, and change the inherent discrimination and slander.
With Carpentier's help, Ding Long donated $12,000 of his life savings to Columbia University to create the Department of Sinology, while Carpentier also donated $100,000 to his alma mater to support his friend's feat, and asked for the name "Ding Long Chair Professor of Sinology".
The Department of Sinology settled in the West and successfully opened a door for Westerners to understand China, which is of epoch-making significance, after which Ding Long returned to his hometown and has not been heard from since.
Image: Screenshot of Ding Long's return to his hometown
In 2007, The official website of Columbia University published a "search notice", the owner is Ding Long, yes, for a hundred years, Westerners have been trying to find his figure.
Article author: Dahui
The entire graphic was produced by the team of the Big Cafe Say History Studio!