Chapter 31 transmutation

When he was young, Chen Duxiu took part in the provincial examination in Nanjing.In the examination room, a fat examinee from Xuzhou wore a big braid on top of his head, was completely naked, stepped on a pair of worn-out shoes, and held an examination paper in his hand. Shaking his head from side to side, he read his proud article with a strange voice. When he got to the point where he was most proud, he slapped his thigh vigorously, raised his thumb and shouted: "Okay! You must pass this subject!" It left a deep impression. Chen Duxiu later said: "This gentleman who's 'must pass this subject' made me stare blankly for an hour or two. During these two hours, I didn't look down on him, but he reminded me of the strange situation of all candidates. ; From those strange current situations, I think of how this group of "animals" will suffer if they get their ambitions, and how the country and people will suffer; therefore, it also thinks of the so-called "Ceremony of Talents", which is simply to move these monkeys and bears out every few years to hold an animal exhibition ; Therefore, I also think of all the systems of the country, I am afraid that there are such and such problems; Therefore, I finally feel that what Liang Qichao and his group said in "Current Affairs" has some truth! The biggest motivation of the Kangliang sect. One or two hours of meditation will determine my personal actions for the next ten years. I was reluctant in this rural examination, but unexpectedly the result has unexpected benefits for me!"

Chen Duxiu had close contacts with reformers Wang Xiyan and Wang Mengzou from Anhui Province who he met when he was taking the exam. "Yes"; and with "a young boy of a generation", he "couldn't appease his indignation at the attack on Kang Youwei, and kept defending Mr. Kang in the wide audience". Look away." Chen Duxiu, who was studying in Japan, interacted with revolutionaries Zou Rong, Zhang Ji and others, and gradually turned towards revolution. Chen Duxiu joined the revolutionary party's assassination group in his early years, but 12 years later, in 1917, Chen criticized in his article "On Assassination" that those who engaged in assassination activities "only see individuals, not society and class; the results of the assassination are not only It cannot build the goodness of the good class in society, get rid of the evil of the evil class in society, and guide the psychology of the masses, thinking that individual power can create the goodness of the good class in society, can create the evil of the evil class in society, and can get rid of the evil class in society This kind of personal tendency is enough to annihilate the social concepts and class consciousness of the masses. Therefore... I dare say that assassination is just a miracle of personal romance, not a scientific revolutionary movement. A scientific revolutionary movement must It is the class society of the people."

Chen Duxiu criticized the October Revolution on "Weekly Review" No. 4, "Using civilians to suppress the middle society, killing the nobles and opponents", but soon after, on April 20, 1919, Chen published "The Revolution in Russia in the Twentieth Century" One article said: "The social revolutions in Russia in the 20th century were all scolded by people at that time; but later historians all regarded them as the key to the change and progress of human society." After being arrested and imprisoned for the first time, Chen Duxiu had a good impression of Christianity.After he was released from prison, he wrote the article "Christianity and the Chinese", changing his usual anti-religious stance, and instead praising Christianity's "noble spirit of sacrifice", "great spirit of forgiveness" and "spirit of equal fraternity".After the First Congress of the Communist Party of China was held, Chen once again had doubts about Christianity, saying: "Looking at the history of the Christian church, the brutality of the past and the depravity of the present... There is really nothing solemn and sacred to speak of."

In the spring of 1929, Wu Jiyan, Chen Duxiu's nephew, returned from Moscow Oriental University and introduced Trotsky to Chen Duxiu.Later, Chen read a series of Trotsky’s manuscripts on the Chinese revolution, and found that Trotsky’s viewpoints coincided with some of his own viewpoints. Through repeated discussions with Yin Kuan, Peng Shuzhi, Jiang Zekai and others.After three or four months of thinking, by the fall of this year, Chen Duxiu basically accepted Trotskyism. In his later years, Chen Duxiu said in a letter to his friend Zheng Xuejia: "Len (Nin) Tuo (Lotsky)'s views are not suitable in his own country, but how can they be correct in Russia and Western Europe? My brother advocates re-evaluating the Bolshevik theory and other ideas. The value of the characters...I have estimated their value myself. I think the Nazis are a mixture of Prussia and Bolsheviks....It is hard to agree with the contempt. Read the book 'Bolsheviks and Fascism are twins', I can’t help clapping my hands and rejoicing! Di Jiu plans to write a book "Lessons of the Russian Revolution", which will completely overthrow our previous views."

In another letter, Chen Duxiu said frankly: "Recent works...advocate a reassessment of the value of the Bolshevik theory and its leaders (including Lenin and Trotsky), based on the lessons of the twenty years of Soviet Russia,... The elder brother said that the younger brother was a 'lifelong opponent', ... it is true." Chen Duxiu also said to Deng Zhongchun: "Feng Yuxiang overthrew Yuan Shikai, killed Wu Peifu's carbine, imprisoned Cao Kun, expelled Fu Zuoyi, and turned against Chiang Kai-shek. He was called a defector general. I am somewhat similar to this general. I will be an opposition all my life. Anti-Manchu Qing all the way to anti-Chiang Kai-shek.”

On April 14, 1949, when Hu Shi left the mainland, he wrote a "preface" to "Chen Duxiu's Last Papers and Letters" on a ship in the Pacific Ocean, saying that Chen's "independent thoughts" "really his enlightened insights." ", and changed the title of the book to "Chen Duxiu's Last Opinions on Democratic Politics (Essays and Letters)".