Chapter 29 prison

Chen Duxiu was arrested four times in his life, and was sentenced to eight years in prison by the Kuomintang government in 1932.Chen once had a famous saying: "Our young people should aspire to go to prison when they leave the research laboratory, and enter the research laboratory after leaving the prison. This is the most noble and beautiful life in life." This is Chen's self-proclaimed words. After the May 4th Movement broke out, Chen Duxiu wrote the "Beijing Citizen Manifesto" and distributed it as leaflets. On June 10, Gao Yihan and Chen Duxiu went to Central Park (now Zhongshan Park). When the tea-eaters left the teahouse, they put the "Declaration" on an empty table and pressed it with a teacup.When the tea drinkers came back to the original table and saw the leaflet, they applauded loudly and clapped their hands for joy after reading it.

At 7 o'clock in the evening on June 11, 1919, Chen Duxiu, Gao Yihan and others went to a restaurant near Xinshijie for dinner. Chen took more than a thousand leaflets with him.After dinner, at about eight o'clock, Chen went to the New World Amusement Park in a suit and leather shoes, wearing a white hat, and waited for the opportunity to distribute leaflets.After arriving in the New World, Chen saw that there were electric lights shining in the theater, bookstore, and billiards court. It was like daylight, and it was hard to let it out. So he sneaked into the roof garden on the fifth floor. There were neither tourists nor electric lights here.It was nearly ten o'clock, and it happened that an open-air movie was playing on the fourth-floor building. Chen Yi raised his hand, and the leaflets floated towards the crowd.

A few days ago, the police station seized a leaflet saying that a bomb would be planted in the New World, so the police station immediately sent additional plainclothes detectives to the New World to conduct close investigations every night.Chen Duxiu in a white hat and suit caught the detective's attention because he went up and down the stairs frequently and his pockets were bulging.When Chen was about to throw leaflets again in the roof garden on the fifth floor, the police hiding in the dark immediately stepped forward and arrested Chen.Because New World is located in a bustling downtown area, in order to avoid attracting public attention, a detective took off his gray coat and covered Chen, and secretly escorted him to the police station.

On the way to escort Chen Duxiu, the infantry commander Yamen had a dispute with the police station, and they both wanted to send Chen to their own department for processing.Chen Cai was sent to the police station because there were more plainclothes police officers in the district police station.Later, in the handling of Chen, the infantry commander Wang Huaiqing and the police chief Wu Bingxiang had another dispute. Wang wanted to obstruct the military law with public security, and Wu wanted to be punished for violating the police law.The dispute between the two went to President Xu Shichang, and Xu ended the dispute by sending it to the court for judgment.Wang Huaiqing was one of the six people in Chen Duxiu's leaflet "Declaration to the Citizens of Beijing" who called for removal from office and expulsion from Beijing.Thanks to Wu Bingxiang's insistence, otherwise, if Chen fell into Wang Huaiqing's hands, the hope of surviving would be very slim.

After Chen Duxiu was arrested, various forces issued statements and called for Chen Duxiu’s release: On the 15th, thanks to the efforts of Peking University students, the Beijing Secondary School Student Union took the lead in sending a letter to the Jingshi Police Department; the next day, Peking University professors Liu Shipei and Ma Yuzao , Ma Xulun, Cheng Yansheng, Wang Xinggong and other well-known professors (many of whom are old scholars who opposed the New Culture Movement) jointly wrote a letter to the police chief; 29 people from schools such as Beijing University, Peking University, and Xinhua Business School wrote to the police chief; on June 22, Zhang Shizhao called Gong Xinzhan, Wang Kemin and other political leaders, declaring that he was willing to serve as a guarantee and asked for Chen's release; on June 26, Anhui Governor Lu Tiaoyuan also called Wu Bingxiang; Cen Chunxuan, Chairman of the Guangdong Military Government, called the authorities to demand the release of Chen Duxiu.

Sun Yat-sen, who was far away in Shanghai, solemnly raised the matter of Chen Duxiu's arrest in Beijing when he met with Xu Shiying, Xu Shiying, Duan Qirui's peace negotiator representative.He said to Xu Shiying: "You have done a 'good thing', which is enough to convince the people of the country that it is good for me to oppose you." He also said: "You don't dare to kill him (Chen Duxiu). If one dies, you will be killed." Add fifty or one hundred more. Just do it!" Xu Shiying heard about it, and said again and again: "No! No! I'll send a telegram back."

Yan Zhiyi, the son of Yan Fansun, a pioneer of modern education, took his father's handwritten letter to find President Xu Shichang, who had a deep personal relationship, to intercede for Chen Duxiu. Xu began to evade it by saying "this is a matter of the Ministry of Justice".Yan Zhiyi said: "Chen Duxiu's speeches and thoughts in his life are one thing, and Chen Duxiu's arrest for suspected leaflets is another thing. He cannot be judged by his daily words and deeds...Universities are the birthplace of new ideas, no matter what ideas you have. He came to study... how can he interfere with him? Taking advantage of the undercurrent of old and new ideas to promote the "literary prison" is really hindering the future of education." Xu Shichang was "very moved" after hearing this, and agreed to "maintain".

After Yan Zhiyi left the presidential palace, she lobbied Zhu Shen, the Chief Justice. Zhu declined and said: "The case has not been handed over to the judiciary, so we cannot intervene."After Yan repeatedly explained the severity of the "literary prison", Zhu Shen finally agreed to "maintain". After many rescues, Chen Duxiu only admitted to distributing leaflets from beginning to end, but not to authoring the contents of the leaflets. Therefore, on September 16, the police department agreed with the Anhui Township Association to release Chen Duxiu on bail on the grounds of stomach problems.Before he was released from prison, Chen made a statement: "Since he was arrested, he has become quite enlightened. From now on, he will study at ease and work properly in Beijing to make a living. He will never do anything beyond the scope of the law." On the day he was released from prison, the Peking University Student Association held Welcome party, welcome Chen Duxiu to be released from prison.

After he was released from prison, Chen Duxiu's whereabouts were still closely monitored by the police station.According to the archives, a police officer surnamed Shi once received a call from his superiors asking whether Chen Duxiu was in Beijing, and was given a major demerit for "negligence of duty" because he didn't know. In October 1921, Chen Duxiu was arrested for the second time in Shanghai, along with Gao Junman, Yang Mingzhai, Ke Qingshi and Bao Huiseng who were playing mahjong in Chen's house.Zhou Fohai was also playing mahjong, but he was spared because Bao Huiseng was replaced after he arrived, and he left Chen's house with his lover Yang Shuhui to go to French Park.

After being arrested, the patrol room did not know Chen Duxiu's true identity, because Chen called himself Wang Tanfu, and Bao Huiseng, Gao Junman and others also used pseudonyms.But after that, Chu Fucheng, president of the Shanghai court, and Shao Lizi, editor-in-chief of "Republic of China Daily Juewu" visited Chen's house, and were taken to the police house by the police who stayed at Chen's house.When Chu Fucheng saw Chen, he blurted out: "Zhongfu, what's the matter, you brought me here as soon as I arrived at your house!" So Chen Duxiu's identity was exposed.

Chen Duxiu was arrested this time on charges of editing radical books and publishing radical publications.Ma Lin spent money to hire a French lawyer for Chen Duxiu, and Chen was released after only two days of detention.On the day of the trial, Li Da, Zhang Tailei, Zhang Guotao and some youth league members who had just returned from Moscow hired a car and drove to the trial court.When Chen Duxiu got on the bus, several members of the Youth League sang "The Internationale" in Russian.After Ma Lin's efforts, Chen was only fined 5,000 yuan. On the morning of August 9, 1922, Sidner, chief inspector of the special agency of the Shanghai French Concession General Patrol Office, and inspector Huang Jinrong surrounded Chen Duxiu's residence and arrested Chen on the charge of hiding prohibited books in his home.According to Chen, some people made rumors to slander, "saying that we got a huge sum of money from Russia", so he believed the rumors, "Yang, a Chinese agent... told my friends Dong and Bai Erjun that he would be ripped off... poor people who have no money were ripped off. I was I just have to stand up and arrest him." During the trial, Chen Duxiu’s lawyer, Bole, defended: “The arresting house said that Chen Duxiu was a Communist Party, and there is insufficient evidence. Chen Duxiu’s mention of the Communist Party in his writings is just talk, and there is no reality of the Communist Party...Chen Duxiu’s home does have "New Youth "magazine, but his family only has this book and no printing equipment, so it does not violate the French Concession Regulations." The French vice-consul took a note and asked: "Last time we searched Chen Duxiu's 40,000 yuan receipt at Chen's house. Can you clarify the purpose of this fund?" Bole said: "The fund is used by the Guangdong government for education. Chen Duxiu is the former chairman of the Education Committee of Guangdong Province, and he allocated it to the school." In the end, the judge sentenced Chen Duxiu to Dayang 400 yuan, which will be released by the guarantor, and all the copied books will be destroyed. On the evening of October 15, 1932, Chen Duxiu, who was bedridden at home with gastric ulcer, was arrested by the Kuomintang government.Song Fengchun recalled that after Chen Duxiu was arrested, he was taken to the detention center of the Concession Patrol House. Seeing Peng Shuzhi, Song Fengchun and others who were arrested first, he joked, "Hey, I thought I was arrested alone, but I didn't expect you all to come. Now I have a companion, so I can take it easy." When talking about Xie Shaoshan who betrayed him, Chen said: "This kid is timid, and he was flustered and immature when he was arrested last time." After Chen Duxiu was arrested, the "Party Headquarters" of many provinces, cities, counties, and townships of the Kuomintang called the central authority of the Kuomintang one after another, demanding that Chen be "severely punished", "death penalty", "decorative punishment", and "quick execution". "Central Daily" also published an editorial, declaring that "those who oppose and attempt to subvert the Kuomintang are treasonous." There are also many people who rescued Chen Duxiu: "Shenbao" published "Express Mail on behalf of Telegram" co-authored by Cai Yuanpei, Liu Yazi, Yang Xingfo, Lin Yutang, Pan Guangdan, Dong Renjian, Quan Zenggu, and Zhu Shaoping; Fu Sinian published an article "Chen Duxiu Case", saying that the government There is absolutely no reason to "kill this blazing comet in the history of Chinese revolution!" Jiang Menglin, Liu Fu, Zhou Zuoren, Tao Lugong, Qian Xuantong, Shen Jianshi and 12 people called Zhang Jingjiang and Chen Guofu to intercede Hu Shi, Weng Wenhao, Luo Wenqian, Bai Wenwei, etc. either called Jiang or ran privately in order to be lenient; Hu Shi also gave speeches everywhere, speaking highly of Chen Duxiu's contribution to Chinese literature and the Chinese revolution, in order to seek the support of public opinion Einstein, British philosopher Russell, and American educator Dewey also sent telegrams to Chiang Kai-shek one after another, demanding the release of Chen Duxiu. After Chen Duxiu was escorted to the Military Justice Department, he asked to read books. The people in the Military Justice Department said that they had not received orders from their superiors and could only read Sun Yat-sen's books, so Chen asked them to find several Sun Yat-sen pamphlets.After He Yingqin interrogated Chen, Wang Zhennan of the Military Justice Department agreed to lend Chen Duxiu a set of "Water Margin". After the Kuomintang found out that Chen Duxiu had no contact with the Central Soviet Area and the Central Red Army at this time, Chiang Kai-shek adopted the opinions of Weng Wenhao, Hu Shi and others, and handed Chen Duxiu's case to the Jiangning Court in Nanjing for public trial. On April 26, 1933, the Jiangsu Higher Court made a judgment and sentenced Chen to 13 years in prison for the crime of "writing as treasonous propaganda".Chen Duxiu stood up and protested loudly: "I am a traitor to the Kuomintang, not a traitor to the country." He appealed.On June 30 of the following year, the Supreme Court of the Kuomintang made a final judgment, still finding Chen Duxiu guilty of "using words as propaganda for treason", but changing Chen's sentence to 8 years. When Chen Duxiu was put on trial, he needed a defense lawyer.Chen said: "I am poor and have no money." When the news spread, Zhang Shizhao, Zhang Yaozeng, Dong Kang, Zheng Yuxiu, Peng Wangye, Wu Zhiping, Wang Youling, Guo Weiran and other famous lawyers volunteered to be volunteer defenders. Finally, Chen Duxiu chose Zhang Shizhao was the defender. After Chen Duxiu's self-written "Statement of Defense" was written, Shanghai's newspapers were frightened by the high pressure of the Kuomintang and dared not publish a single word. The unique "Shenbao" was ingenious and published it in the form of "Suzhou Newsletter" in the "Local Newsletter" column. Key points of the plea. After Chen Duxiu was imprisoned, he still kept in touch with Trotskyist organizations outside the prison.Zheng Chaolin's wife, Liu Jingzhen, volunteered to serve as a traffic officer, running between Shanghai and Nanjing once a month without interruption.According to Liu Jingzhen, sometimes the search was very strict, and sometimes it was a little sloppy. She always tied the documents on the menstrual belt so that they could not search. Nanjing Laohuqiao Prison specially applied for a large sum of money to renovate the cell where he lived in order to take Chen Duxiu into custody.At first, the prison guards were very strict, and he was not allowed to read books or newspapers, and he was not allowed to visit the prison.Chen protested: "You enforce the evil law, and I will fight against it with all my life." The warden said: "The evil law is better than nothing." Chen Duxiu said: "The evil law will be overthrown." The warden said: "I You have no right to bring it down." Chen cursed and protested with a hunger strike.The prison authorities finally succumbed, and the three prohibitions became the three permits. Chen Duxiu turned the cell into a library and a reception room. Chen Duxiu lived in a single cell. He met with relatives and friends every day without interruption. In addition, two large bookshelves were placed in the cell as an exception, allowing Chen's friends to bring in books from outside the prison, including Marxist books, so that Chen could read and write.From 1934, Chen's girlfriend Pan Lanzhen moved to Nanjing. With the permission of the prison, she went to the prison to take care of Chen's daily life from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.Because of their illness, the prison authorities agreed that in addition to medical treatment, Pu Qingquan and Luo Shifan, who were also in the same prison, could go to nurse once a week, and there was no such restriction when they became ill. Chen Duxiu’s friends helped Chen from various aspects: Cai Yuanpei mainly rescued Chen politically; Gao Yuhan mainly helped Chen deal with family affairs in Shanghai; Zhang Shizhao not only defended Chen, but also introduced doctors to see him; Yuan Fang was mainly to find and send various books listed by Chen for Chen; Duan Xipeng, Chen’s student and then director of political affairs of the Ministry of Education of the Kuomintang government, came to visit the prison after Chen was arrested and brought out books for Chen to other friends. Letters, clothing and food were presented many times. Later, when Pan Lanzhen came to Nanjing, he also stayed at Duan's house; Chen Gongbo, Jiang Menglin, Yang Lianggong and others also came to visit and donated clothing and food. In 1936, Chen Qichang, a Trotskyite, hoped to bring Lu Xun, who was at odds with the Left League, into the Trotskyist camp. He wrote to Lu Xun to support him against Zhou Yang.Lu Xun was extremely disdainful of Chen Qichang, and mocked him in his open letter.After Chen Duxiu learned about it, he wrote a letter in prison asking the Trotskyites why they had fantasies about Lu Xun, saying: "Lu Xun is to the Communist Party, like Wu Zhihui is to the Kuomintang. Apart from being praised, he is grateful for his pictures. gone." One day, Duan Xipeng, Director of Political Affairs of the Ministry of Education of the Kuomintang, visited Chen Duxiu in prison.Duan Xipeng and others stated that they will try their best to deal with the government in order to release him from prison on bail as soon as possible.Chen replied: "Although I am serving a fixed-term imprisonment, it is actually a life sentence. I am old now, how can I wait until the expiration of the sentence to be released? I really don't want to go out now. It is as quiet and comfortable as this place." Duan He also asked him if he needed cotton-padded clothes to keep out the cold in winter, and he said happily, "I have received as many as fourteen leather robes as gifts to me, and I am struggling to send them away." After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, the Japanese army attacked Nanjing, and Chen Duxiu's cell was blown down.Hu Shi happened to be attending the Lushan Talks in Nanjing. When he heard about it, he became very anxious. Together with Zhang Boling, Chen Zhongfan and others, he ran around calling for the release of Chen Duxiu.Hu Shi also wrote to Wang Jingwei, asking the Judicial Yuan to release Chen Duxiu. On August 21 (8 days after the bombing of the prison), Ju Zheng, President of the Judicial Yuan, submitted the official document "Please commute Chen Duxiu's sentence" to Lin Sen, Chairman of the Nanjing National Government. Instructions from the National Government", the Judicial Yuan immediately issued an "order" to the Minister of Justice and Administration Wang Yongbin, and the Ministry of Justice and Administration immediately published the decree of Chen Duxiu's release in the newspaper, and the whole process was completed within one day.As a result, Chen Duxiu was released from prison. When Chen Duxiu was released from prison, Ding Mocun (formerly a member of the Communist Party), director of the third division of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, came to the prison.Ding told Chen that he was ordered by his superiors to prepare a special car to take Chen Duxiu and his wife to the guest house of the Central Party Headquarters of the Kuomintang.Chen resolutely refused, and told Ding that he had accepted Fu Sinian's invitation to settle in his house temporarily, and Ding could only sigh. On the day Chen Duxiu was released from prison, Tianjin's "Ta Kung Pao" published a short commentary entitled "Chen Duxiu Commutation of Sentence", placing high hopes on his release: "When the country is in great danger, everyone's thoughts and actions have been unified in one emotion. Under the current situation, there are no other problems other than the War of Resistance against Japan. We welcome this old fighter to come out of prison and work hard for his motherland!"