Cancer?
"The writing of the Westerners is truly fascinating."
"Excuse me?"
"Come here and take a look."
Sejong, calling Hyang to his side, continued while tracing the Latin sentences with his hand.
"These words seem to appear repeatedly, indicating the subject's case in the sentence. And from what I see, this part represents the beginning sound of the word, this part is the middle sound, and this part seems to mark the ending sound. So, when combined, they form a single character. However, the characters indicating the middle sound appear to be these, these, and these. Seeing how words and sentences are formed this way, the Westerners have not shaped meaning but rather shaped pronunciation. Am I correct?"
"Yes, yes, that's right!"
Hyang, answering hesitantly, was half lost in thought. 'What a true genius! No, a monster!'
In a short time of reading, Sejong had grasped not only the definite and indefinite articles of Latin but also the structure of words and the concept of phonetic characters.
It was a moment where he truly felt the genius of Sejong, which he had only known through textbooks.
As Sejong resumed reading the book in his hands, he turned to Hyang.
"Do all Westerners use this script?"
"No, they use this script as a base, but it varies slightly."
Hyang selected books from France and Germany and placed them on the writing desk.
"Hmm... Hmm..."
As Sejong alternated between the books from France, Germany, and the Latin texts, he stroked his beard.
"The shapes of the characters are quite similar. There are some noticeable variations in the characters that determine how to pronounce them... Hmm..."
Sejong looked at Hyang with a serious expression.
"Crown Prince."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"What do you think about creating a script unique to our Joseon?"
'Here it comes!' Cheering inwardly, Hyang quickly replied, "I believe a script unique to Joseon is absolutely necessary! How many of the noble class truly understand the Chinese characters they revere as the true script? And among those who do, how many can use them properly? If the Chinese characters are the true script, then why do we use Idu?"
"It seems you had a hard time writing sentences?"
"Hehe!"
Seeing Hyang's childlike demeanor, Sejong chuckled and nodded.
"Haha! I also remember struggling when I first wrote sentences. I spent over a whole day pondering to write poetry, and when my father and grandfather read it, they burst into laughter."
As Sejong reminisced about his childhood, he looked at Hyang.
"Indeed, the language of China and our Joseon is completely different, which is a problem. It makes it difficult for the common people to express their grievances through petitions. The issue is that creating a script is not an easy task."
"There are many wise people around Your Majesty, so if you make up your mind, it will be an easy task."
At Hyang's words, Sejong shook his head.
"If I publicly declare that I will create a script, the Hall of Worthies will become my enemy at that moment."
"Your Majesty."
Seeing the expression on Sejong's face that seemed to have much to say, Hyang called out to him.
However, Sejong did not continue speaking and stood up.
"The night is deep. It is best to sleep now."
"Yes, Your Majesty. You should also rest. Your well-being is essential for the stability of Joseon."
"That boy..."
Chuckling, Sejong was about to leave the room but paused and looked back at Hyang.
"I hope you grow up quickly and reach the age of learning."
"Excuse me?"
"Go to sleep."
After seeing Sejong off, Hyang prepared for bed.
As he lay down on the blanket laid out by the court ladies, he suddenly sat up and muttered.
The words Sejong had said before leaving kept lingering in his mind.
"Why do I feel a chill down my spine?"
As preparations for inoculation against smallpox for those living in the palace and the residents of Hanyang were underway, the palace, especially around the inner quarters, was bustling with activity.
The head of the inner quarters, Jeong, was checking the situation with the physicians.
"Are the needles for the inoculation ready?"
"One hundred have been prepared."
"One hundred is not enough! Prepare two hundred more!"
"What about the cows?"
"Five have been prepared!"
"How many people can that accommodate?"
"If all goes as expected, we can inoculate all those in the palace and the six ministries who have not contracted smallpox, and there will still be plenty left."
"Good! Make sure to record how long the pus taken from the infected cows lasts!"
"Understood!"
"And how much disinfectant alcohol do we have secured?"
"We are still in the process of distilling."
"It must not be insufficient, so prepare adequately."
"Yes, sir."
After organizing the situation to some extent, Jeong let out a small sigh.
"Hoo~. Disinfecting... this has multiplied the work several times. The Crown Prince has assured us, but will there really be any results?"
At that time, the concept of disinfection was almost nonexistent.
It was common not to wash hands when treating patients, and reusing needles was a daily practice.
However, all these practices were overturned with the implementation of smallpox inoculation.
"Cleaning the cows? And we need to boil the needles too?"
At Jeong's question, Soedol bowed his head and answered immediately.
"Yes. As you can see, the cows are covered in dung, right? If we're not careful, we could get dung poison."
"I understand the dung poison, but why the needles?"
"When we first inoculated, there was one cow that had severe scabs. After using the needle on that cow, I used the same needle on another, and the scabs transferred. From that time on, we boiled the needles after each use and cleaned them with a cloth that had been boiled and dried."
"I see."
Jeong nodded at Soedol's words and recorded the relevant details.
Hyang, who had been watching from the side, chimed in.
"May I add a word?"
"I will listen attentively to the Crown Prince's words."
"I have looked at some of the Western medical texts. They gathered the knowledge of the military physicians of the great nation of Rome."
At Hyang's words, Jeong prepared to write down the information with a brush dipped in ink.
It was well-known that the Crown Prince had many valuable medical texts that they did not possess.
Although they wanted to see those texts, no physician had the audacity to ask the Crown Prince to lend them.
While everyone else was left with only their fingers to suck, Hyang's direct words made it impossible to miss the opportunity.
"In that text, it says... 'The tools used for treating patients must be boiled in boiling water and then wiped clean with a cloth before being used on the next patient. The cloths used to cover or dress the patient's wounds must be boiled after each use and dried thoroughly in strong sunlight before being used again.'"
"... dried thoroughly before use."
"Oh! And to add another point, 'Physicians must always keep their hands clean when touching patients. After touching one patient and before touching another, they must wash their hands thoroughly and wipe them with a clean cloth. When treating patients' wounds, the area must be cleaned with disinfectant.'"
"... must be cleaned. Is there really any efficacy in this?"
"According to the person who recorded that text, there is a definite effect. Therefore, it seems we would not be wrong to use the same method."
"I will think deeply about the Crown Prince's words."
Hearing Hyang's words, Jeong bowed his head in response.
The physicians who read the documents recorded from Hyang's words were divided in their opinions.
"While cleanliness is good, isn't this a bit excessive?"
"No. I know from experience that when the cloths and bedding are clean, recovery is significantly faster."
"Can we really trust the Westerners' medicine?"
"They too are people who strive to save lives. There is no need to dismiss them outright."
As the physicians argued back and forth, they eventually reached a tentative agreement.
- For now, since the Crown Prince has spoken, they will prepare as much as possible and verify the results on-site.
While the physicians of the inner quarters were making that decision, Hyang was sorting through the books filled with Latin.
"I added a little MSG, but the medical texts from the Eastern Roman Empire were unexpected."
Among the Western books obtained through the envoys, a considerable number were from the Eastern Roman Empire.
However, what was surprising was that while many books in other fields were translated into Chinese, very few medical texts had undergone translation.
The reason for this was written at the end of the few translated texts he managed to find.
- The medical practices of the Westerners do not consider the mutual generation and restriction of the five elements when using medicinal materials, and they do not hesitate to use knives when treating external and internal injuries, making their methods extremely violent.
Therefore, there is no need to take an interest in the medical practices of the Westerners.
Reading the sentence that made such a definitive statement, Hyang couldn't help but chuckle.
"Just wait five hundred years."
Contrary to the Chinese evaluation, Hyang held the medical texts from the Eastern Roman Empire in high regard.
"The level is higher than expected. Is it because they are descendants of the Roman Empire?"
What particularly caught Hyang's interest was the book on public health.
As he examined the book filled with content about the installation of water and sewage systems and the layout of cities to prevent fires, he muttered softly.
"Since the city of Hanyang is still incomplete... should I try my hand at city planning?"
Considering that it was during the time when Munjong was the Crown Prince and had indeed reformed the city of Hanyang, it was a remarkable coincidence.
"That aside..."
Hyang murmured as he surveyed the books filling the room.
The books that the envoys had brought back were truly diverse and plentiful.
With a significant number of Confucian classics as well, Hyang converted one of the rooms in the East Palace into a study.
Bookshelves were set up along the walls of the room, and a large desk and chair were placed in the center.
What puzzled Hyang was that there were so many Western books in China.
Considering the vastness of the Chinese continent, the books in that room were surely just a small fraction.
"To be precise, even with so many books, it doesn't seem like they have had a significant impact on Chinese industry or science and technology."
While pondering 'Why is that?', Hyang recalled a review he had read about a medical text.
"Is it the pride of the Chinese?"
Hyang's speculation was confirmed when those who had gone on the Eastern mission returned.
"These are new books, excluding those on the list you provided."
The Minister of Revenue, who had been asked by Hyang, brought back three large wooden chests filled with books.
"That's quite a lot. Thank you for your hard work."
"Not at all."
"Looking at the quantity of the books, it seems that the Ming Dynasty has been consistently receiving Muslim traders?"
"While there are still exchanges if you go south of the Yangtze River, there are no public exchanges."
"Yet there are so many books."
"Most of them are what the Ming Dynasty's scholars have put out."
"Why are the scholars putting them out?"
"The Ming is doing its best to erase the remnants of the Yuan."
Nodding at the explanation from the Minister of Revenue, Hyang said, "I see. Thank you for your hard work."
After seeing off the Minister of Revenue, Hyang looked at the books contained in the wooden chests and muttered softly.
"As expected, it wasn't a zero base."
- The explosive growth during Sejong's reign did not fall from the sky! It was the result of absorbing as much technology as possible that flowed out during the transition from Yuan to Ming! The problem is that after that, it all fell apart.
Recalling the words of Teacher Samcheongpo, Hyang nodded repeatedly.
As the Eastern mission was returning from Ming, the preparations for smallpox inoculation for the residents of the palace and Hanyang were also nearing completion.
"Make sure to check that everything is well prepared!"
"We have confirmed each item twice."
"We should be able to finish before the spring famine period, right?"
At Jeong's question, the physician nodded.
"We can finish!"
"Then I must report to the Minister."
"Make sure to finish the inoculations before the spring famine period."
Receiving the report from the Minister of Personnel, Sejong issued a similar command.
At Sejong's command, the Minister of Personnel bowed his head.
"I will do my utmost."
< Chapter 22: Sprouting...
Cancer? > End