Xinhua News Agency, Shanghai, June 15 -
Title: Listen to the Silent Thunder - CPC National Revisited
Xinhua News Agency reporters Jiang Wei, Yang Jinzhi, Wu Zhendong, Guo Jingdan
Shanghai, the Memorial Hall of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China, a vigorous and powerful calligraphy works quietly displayed——
"The beginning of the work is also simple and the end is also great."
Signed: "Dong Biwu February, 1956".
In February of that year, Dong Biwu, a representative of the First Congress of the Communist Party of China, came to a conference site. After helping the staff to recall the relevant historical details, Dong Biwu, who was in his seventies, sighed with emotion and wrote these 8 characters.
The site of the First Congress of the Communist Party of China taken on June 1.
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Ying
"This character is our'treasure of the town hall.' The more the party and the people's cause moves forward, the more we can feel the weight of this sentence." said Xue Feng, the curator of the First Memorial Hall of the Communist Party of China.
"The beginning is also simple, and the completion is also great" comes from "Zhuangzi", the original text "the beginning of the writing is also simple, and the completion will be great." People extend its meaning as: any career with great prospects, even in the start-up Time is trivial, and when it is about to be completed, it will inevitably develop very hugely.
Many historical events are like this.
Standing in the present, looking back at a hundred years, we focused the long lens of history on 1921.
The First National Congress of the Communist Party of China—this meeting that was held on an ordinary day without any reports in the newspapers at the time, silently but powerfully, exploded a world-breaking thunder in the stormy land of China, and it was a magnificent one. The epic of struggle has written a glorious beginning.
In the old newspapers, in the yellowed archives, in the memories of the witnesses, we restore the details that were once vague, and explore the meaning that has become clearer after a hundred years.
Dong Biwu's inscription taken in the Memorial Hall of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China (photographed on June 1st).
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Ying
(1) "There is some burnt paper ash in the patio"
On July 23, 1921, during the heat, the air in Shanghai was humid and sultry.
At night, a house in the French Concession was lit up with dim lights.
Inside the house, 31-year-old Li Hanjun is waiting for his guests.
This Shikumen house at No. 106 Wangzhi Road, with blue brick walls and red window lattices, was rented by brothers Li Shucheng and Li Hanjun a year ago. The outside world called it "Li Mansion".
In the impression of Li Shucheng’s lover Xue Wenshu, his younger brother Han Jun is very busy every day, and he often has friends looking for him. After moving here, more friends come, and there are often foreigners.
Next to Li Hanjun, a dozen carved teacups, a copper ashtray, and a pink vase are placed on a table. There is a circle of stools around the table, and a coffee table and two are placed on the east and west walls. A chair.
This arrangement makes this room a little cramped.
After a while, the guests came one after another. Most of them were young, but they were all dressed differently. Some were wearing long gowns, some were wearing tunic suits, some were wearing suits, some were wearing beards, and some were childish... Two foreigners have high nose bridges and sharp eyes.
Outside Shikumen, under the night, Shanghai, the "largest city in the Far East," looks stagnant as usual.
Foreigners and dignitaries of all kinds are still drunk and obsessed, and the common people work hard as always.
News of warlords fighting such as "Shen Pao" and "Recent War in Guangdong and Guangxi" are "serialized" daily, occupying a large section of domestic news.
Internationally, the "Pacific Conference" (the Washington Conference) led by the United States is about to open.
On the same day, a piece of "Pacific Conference and China" was published in the newspaper, describing the expectations and "optimism" of some people for this meeting-"The public sentiment is very excited about the United States' invitation to China."
In the following days, the same people came to the "Li Gongguan" several times, during which they had many "powerful arguments", but they did not see any unpleasantness when they met again.
Until the evening of July 30, the gathering between Li Hanjun and his friends was interrupted when a strange man suddenly broke in.
"I just remember one day, when I got home, I found some burnt paper ash in the patio as soon as I walked in. Chef Lao Liao told me that a French patrol had searched Mr. Er's room (referring to Han Jun) and said there was no Catch people." Xue Wenshu later wrote in his memoirs.
The wind rises at the end of Qingping, and the waves become between the waves.
At that time, the vast majority of Shanghainese and Chinese people would never have thought that a group of lofty people with an average age of 28 had quietly formed a political party when they were stuck in hardship.
This political party will completely change this city, this country, and the general pattern of the world to this day.
The gates of No. 106 and No. 108 Wangzhi Road (now No. 76 and No. 78 Xingye Road) were taken on April 8.
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Ying
(2) "Take a trip to the whole country"
A hundred years of vicissitudes.
The boundary where the "Li Mansion" was located has long since changed from a foreigner's "country within a country" to a new world of people's city. It is a very characteristic commercial district in Shanghai.
Passed down for a hundred years.
Under the shadow of the phoenix tree, the appearance of that simple and solemn small building has not changed, and the copper ring on the black lacquer gate is shining. More and more young people come here to realize their sincere heart.
"When you see the colorful streetscape and stylishly dressed pedestrians outside the meeting site, you sometimes feel that the contrast is huge. But again, this modern city and the people living and working in peace and contentment are exactly what the pioneers of the party are thinking about. "A young visitor sighed with emotion.
The sincere emotions traveled through a hundred years and resonated with the youth of that time.
In 1921, the 23-year-old Wang Ruijun wrote "Zhao Zao Hua-Giving Friends": "The rich and the poor see the battlefield, perfection is only liberated. The sand of Wei Cement enters the sea, and Qiao Youlu sees the vicissitudes of life."
With this vision in mind, he changed his name to Wang Jinmei, aiming to realize the "perfect beauty" of the country and the nation.
The way he hoped was to awaken the workers and overthrow the rule of the bourgeoisie through revolution.
In June 1921, on the banks of the Xiangjiang River, 28-year-old Mao Zedong received a "conference notice" in which he asked the Communist parties in various places to organize two representatives of various factions to come to Shanghai for a meeting as soon as possible.
Mao Zedong was so excited that he immediately planned a secret journey with He Shuheng.
"At six o'clock in the afternoon, Shuheng went to Shanghai, and the travellers run it and go to the whole country." Xie Juezai, who worked with He Shuheng in the "Hunan Popular News", wrote in his diary.
Xie Juezai later explained that the five circles refer to "communists", so they were replaced by circles for fear of leaks.
A bronze statue of a representative group in the Memorial Hall of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China, taken on June 1.
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Ying
This "meeting notice" was issued by the early Shanghai Communist Party organization. This was the first Communist Party organization in China. It was established in August 1920 at No. 2 Laoyuyangli (now No. 2 of Lane 100, Nanchang Road), Shanghai. Chen Duxiu As the secretary.
"This is not a local party organization in Shanghai. It is a sponsoring group of the Chinese Communist Party. It actively promotes the establishment of the early Communist Party organization by writing letters and sending people to guide the country and the world where there are Chinese working people." Said Xin Ping, president of the Shanghai Society of CPC History.
Letters were sent out from Shanghai, and "messengers" walked out of Shanghai, and the fire of revolution spread.
In the following year, the early organizations of the Communist Party of China in Wuhan, Changsha, Jinan, Guangzhou, Tokyo, Paris and other places were established one after another.
This not only wrote a vivid continuation of "South Chen and North Li, meet to establish a party", and laid an important foundation for the official establishment of the Communist Party of China.
Shanghai’s "invitation" has received responses from all sides.
From the end of June to mid-July 1921, nine foreign representatives arrived in Shanghai one after another.
They secretly rented the Bowen Girls’ School at No. 389 Baier Road (now No. 127 Taicang Road) under the name of the "Peking University Summer Tour Group", and slept on the floor of the empty classroom with their clothes.
Here, it only takes a few minutes to walk to the "Li Mansion"; at this moment, thunder is brewing in the sultry air.
From the outbreak of the Opium War in 1840 to the official founding of the Communist Party of China in 1921, China's national fortune has been declining in the past 100 years and has fallen into the quagmire of a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. The dream of countless people with lofty ideals for a powerful country seems even more distant.
On August 3, 1921, the English-language newspaper "Zi Lin Xi Bao" published a report of "Dam bursting: large swathes of villages turned into oceans and hundreds of villages flooded": "In recent years, various natural disasters have occurred in China. Including earthquakes, floods, droughts, and plagues spreading among people and livestock... Those in power should wake up, start taking action, and do something for this country."
Those in power will not be awake, they are pretending to sleep.
Hot-blooded young people take the initiative to take up the important task of moving forward with the country.
Three months before the convening of the Chinese Communist Party Congress, Li Hanjun faced the visiting Japanese writer Akutagawa Ryunosuke, expressing his bluntness: "The seed is in hand, but thousands of miles are barren. Or we can't catch it. Is our flesh worthy of this work? Those who have to worry too." He finished, frowning.
Although I am worried about my lack of power, I still have to move forward.
Facing the disaster-ridden situation, these young followers of Marxism, even if they give up their lives, let the seeds sprout!
Six years later, in 1927, Li Hanjun, who used to "furrow his brows", and Li Hanjun, who was only 37 years old at the time, fell under the butcher's knife of the reactionary warlord.
"In this group of the earliest Chinese Communists, the patriotic struggle of that generation of Chinese youth, the responsible spirit for the benefit of the people, the pioneering and enterprising spirit of innovation are embodied in the concentrated form of that generation of Chinese youth." Xin Ping said.
"New Youth", Volume 8, No. 1 (photographed on June 1st) displayed at the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Ying
(3) "Your letter is very perceptive, and I don't agree with a word of it."
"Clothes do not have winter and summer, only a piece of torn sacks, covering their lower body. In summer, the red poplites have their heads undressed, each with a broken bag to cover their heads. If the rich man wears a hood... But eaters, hungry and unbearable, dive to the end of the alley and often in the garbage dump, picking up the rotten fish and stinky meat discarded by others..." In September 1920, Chen Tanqiu wrote compassionately in the article "The Condition of Hankou Coolies".
The following year, Chen Tanqiu attended the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China as a representative of Wuhan.
This is a China whose national fortune is declining and suffering a lot.
In the end, where is the way?
This is Li Dazhao and his "Victory of the Common People" and other articles (data photos).
Xinhua News Agency
In November 1918, at Tiananmen Square, Li Dazhao delivered a speech "The Victory of the Common People".
He enthusiastically told the world: The victory of the Russian October Revolution is a victory of democracy and a victory of socialism!
No one is born to believe in Marxism, but the victory of the October Revolution allowed the Chinese advanced intellectuals who were struggling to find their way to truly see a hopeful picture.
Chen Duxiu published an article "Talking about Politics" on the 8th volume No. 1 of "New Youth" published in September 1920.
At the end of the article, he solemnly declared: "I admit that using revolutionary means to build a country of the working class (that is, the production class) and to create a political law that prohibits all plundering both internally and externally is the first need of modern society."
Scholars believe that this article is a watershed in Chen Duxiu's thinking.
Since then, the leader of the Chinese New Culture Movement has completely transformed from a bourgeois democrat to a communist.
In the years before attending the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Mao Zedong, in his 20s, saw the people's hardships and bureaucratic numbness in his hometown, and determined to reform everything.
He founded the "Xiangjiang Review" and issued a shocking cry in the launching manifesto: "What is the biggest problem in the world? The problem of eating is the biggest. What is the strongest? The power of people's unity is the strongest."
Under the influence of Li Dazhao, Chen Duxiu and others, Mao Zedong established his belief in Marxism and Communism in the summer of 1920, and determined that this was the last choice of "there is no way to go through all the roads and mountains."
In January 1921, Mao Zedong replied to Cai Hesen, and stated clearly: "This letter of yours is very accurate, and I do not agree with a word of it."
For this group of young people, mastering Marxism is like finding a "searchlight" to see the mystery of current affairs, and a "scalpel" to dissect ailments.
At the time when people had illusions about the "Pacific Conference," Li Hanjun pointed out in July 1921 in the monthly "Communist Party" that the essence was nothing more than a meeting in which Japan, Britain and the United States divided the spoils of China.
He called on his compatriots: "Don't hope that the Pacific Conference will speed up the social revolution!"
When the thinking of Chinese intellectuals changed, the social structure of China was also changing.
On the eve of the May Fourth Movement, the total number of Chinese workers reached more than 2 million, and Shanghai alone had 560,000.
Severe economic exploitation and political oppression have forged extremely strong resistance from the Shanghai working class.
At the end of 1920, the "Communist Party" monthly magazine made an optimistic forecast of the labor movement that was emerging at that time: "If this continues, within three to five years, Shanghai's labor sector will surely be able to perform the earth-shattering cause of overthrowing the capital system."
History has proved that this is a very foresighted judgment-once the working class, which represents advanced productivity, is combined with Marxism, which represents advanced culture, it will burst out with immense power!
This is Mao Zedong and "Xiangjiang Review" (information photo).
Xinhua News Agency
(4) "That bridge is our true life"
The secret meeting held in Shanghai in July 1921 was surrounded by undercurrents.
Bao Huiseng, who attended the meeting, recalled that on the evening of July 30, less than half an hour after the meeting was announced, a strange middle-aged man broke into the meeting place.
"We asked him what he was doing? He glanced at us and said, "I'm sorry, I found the wrong place." Then he hurried downstairs. Marin said very alertly: "It must be an inquiry. We will disband immediately, and then regularly. Meeting.'"
Sure enough, ten minutes later, the French Concession patrol surrounded the venue.
Fearing that their residence was searched, the delegates immediately went to the editorial office of "New Youth" to take shelter.
About two hours later, Bao Huiseng couldn't worry about the "left behind" Li Hanjun and Chen Gongbo, and returned to the "Li Mansion" to take a look.
Li Hanjun told him that there was a party program in the drawer of the writing desk, and it was not found. It was a fluke!
Researchers believe that this change is related to the concession police's monitoring of the Communist International delegate Ma Lin.
At this point, the meeting in Shanghai had to come to an end. The delegates set off from Shikumen and boarded a cruise ship on the South Lake of Jiaxing. The meeting continued in a tense atmosphere...
During the meeting, Li Da's wife Wang Huiwu had been sitting on the bow of the boat, but she had no leisure time to appreciate the scenery.
"If a ship approaches, I will knock on the door of the ship to remind them to stop the meeting." Wang Huiwu recalled in his later years.
For cover, she even placed a set of mahjong tiles on the conference table in advance.
From Shanghai to Jiaxing, for more than a week, the delegates enthusiastically discussed ways to transform the country with their accents.
Inside and outside the venue, there are two Chinas, one dim and painful, and the other proclaiming her youth and dreams.
On July 27, 1921, the "Republic of China Daily" published the news of the strike by the Chinese workers of the British American Tobacco Company in Shanghai Pudong.
The article listed the conditions put forward by the workers: the replacement of the supervisor who abused the worker; the worker is not allowed to abuse the worker in the future; in any case, the worker’s representative is not allowed to be fired...
It was on this day that the delegates began to discuss the "First Program of the Communist Party of China."
The first article of the program is a clear-cut: "The revolutionary army must work with the proletariat to overthrow the power of the capitalist class, and must support the working class until the time when the distinction between social classes is eliminated."
Look again at the "Republic of China Daily" on July 28, a news about "Anhui Provincial Election Strange", which directly pointed to the hypocrisy of the bourgeois government "the city wall collapsed to hold the election" and "more than a hundred people took turns to vote for more than a thousand". act.
The author bluntly said: "If things go on like this, how can elections be imagined?"
The deputies are determined to draw a clear line between such abuses and make their party a proletarian party with clear goals and a well-organized structure.
They clearly stated in their program: "Alternate party members must accept the inspection of the committee where they are located, and the inspection period is at least two months. After the expiration of the inspection period, they can only be full party members with the consent of the majority of party members..."
Many representatives later recalled that there were many "powerful arguments" in the venue.
For example, on the issue of whether or not to support party members who can serve as government members or members of parliament with the party's special permission, the program left a tail in the notes: "This clause caused fierce controversy, and it was finally left to the second meeting in 1922. Decided."
Disagreements and disputes reflect the true state of the party in its inception.
Before accepting Marxism, some of the 13 representatives advocated “industry to save the country”, some believed in “reformism”, and some advocated “anarchism”. Even if they later accepted Marxism, everyone's understanding was different.
The deeper reason is that these young people have taken on the responsibility of rescuing the nation without waiting.
"Once you master Marxism, you want to use it to transform the world immediately." Xu Jiangang, executive vice president of the Shanghai Municipal Party School of the Communist Party of China, said that a distinctive feature of Chinese Communists is that they always pursue truth and have the courage to correct mistakes, and ultimately make the party from immature to maturity.
Focus again on this group of young people-8 of the 13 representatives have a university degree, 4 of them are studying in Japan and 3 are studying at Peking University. At that time, less than 1% of the country's population could receive modern education.
Obviously, with their knowledge, there is enough food and clothing to worry about.
Participating in party building, participating in the revolution, or even sacrificing their lives, what they seek is not a change in their personal destiny, but the rebirth of a suffering nation.
Just as Chen Duxiu’s discussion of life in 1920 in "Welcome to the Spirit of the People of Hunan": "Have you seen locusts, how do they cross the river? The first one went down to the water and was washed away by the water, so the second one came again. So the third, then the fourth; later, their dead bodies piled up and became a bridge, and the rest passed. In the past, people were not our true life, and that bridge was our true life. Forever life!"
Photographs of Li Da and Wang Huiwu in the Memorial Hall of the Second National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
Xinhua News Agency
(5) Ending: Because I believe, I see
On New Year's Day in 1921, the writer Shen Yuzhong published an article "Wishing the Republic of China Ten Years" in the supplement of "Shen Pao" "Freedom Tan". He wrote hopefully: "To seek the blessing of the country, Xu is slightly more popular among those in power... Desire, do not have the heart, do not try to chaos and plot... If it is, then our country will turn weak and become a strong general."
At the end of the same year, it was also "The Story of Freedom," but the writer Xu Yiou was busy "sending the Republic of China for ten years": "How much foreign debt did you borrow this year, how much rights you lost, and how much burden you added to the people, should also be explained clearly. What kind of pavilion will be formed in a year." Between the lines, I was extremely disappointed.
They didn't know that the ground fire was rushing underground and was about to break through the ground; the rain clouds were rolling over the sky, and thunder was about to explode; the gloom struggling before dawn, and a new red sun was about to soak the east!
What happened in that Shikumen house, apart from being harassed by spies and patrols, did not attract much attention from the society at the time, as if nothing happened.
The young people at the long table were gentle and warm. When they got up and fell into the crowd, no one thought that a red torrent would change the land of China.
Only through the smoke and clouds of history can we see the critical moment of destiny-the not spacious wooden door opened the grand journey of ancient China to rebirth; the red boat with not deep draft bears the Chinese nation The lofty dream of a great revival.
Standing at the intersection of the "two hundred years" of history, we should remember and always remember those who lit the fire and dedicated themselves to the light in the dark night.
We should be more confident that the reason why this great party that has gone through a century of history has completely changed China and profoundly affected the world is because it has always stood on the right side of history.
The beginning of the work is also simple, and the end is also great.
Because I believe, I see.
The site of Bowen Girls’ School at No.127 Taicang Road was taken on April 5th.
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Ying
This is the former site of the founding place of the Chinese Communist Party's initiation group (Editorial Department of "New Youth") (photographed on January 18).
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Ying
The audience visited the Memorial Hall of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China (photographed on June 6).
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Ying
The audience visited the "Sunrise in the East-From Shikumen to Tiananmen" historical group painting at the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China (photographed on June 8).
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Ying
Young people taking part in the Youth Day activities take a group photo of themselves in front of the Memorial Hall of the Communist Party of China (Photo taken on May 4).
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Ying
The sculpture on the theme of "South Chen Bei Li, Meet to Found the Party" in the Memorial Hall of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China, taken on June 1.
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Ying
This is a portrait of Li Hanjun (profile picture).
Xinhua News Agency
Li Hanjun's relics and related exhibits taken at the Memorial Hall of the Communist Party of China on June 1.
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Ying
This is the portrait of Chen Tanqiu (information photo).
Xinhua News Agency
This is the first issue of the monthly "Communist Party".
Issued by Xinhua News Agency (provided by the Great Memorial Hall of the Communist Party of China)
Xie Juezai's diary displayed at the Memorial Hall of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China (photographed on June 1st).
Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Ying
On July 27, 1921, the "Republic of China Daily" published the news of the strike by the Chinese workers of British American Tobacco in Shanghai Pudong.
Published by Xinhua News Agency (provided by Shanghai Library)
The news "Pacific Conference and China" from the "Report" on July 23, 1921.
Published by Xinhua News Agency (provided by Shanghai Library)
The news "The Strange and Strange Selection of Anhui Province" in the "Republic of China Daily" on July 28, 1921.
Published by Xinhua News Agency (provided by Shanghai Library