Chapter 68 4. Jiang Menglin

When Jiang Menglin was young, Jiang Menglin wrote a short essay, which contained the words "China and Japan share the same language and same species", but his Japanese teacher Nakagawa criticized mercilessly: "No, no, China and Japan are not of the same species, your country will be divided up by the big powers, Poor, poor!" These words pierced into Jiang Menglin's heart like a sharp sword.It was late, and he shed tears for the future of the country. In 1907, Jiang Menglin planned to go to Anqing with his friends Feng Ziyi and Chen Boping to participate in the revolutionary movement led by Xu Xilin.After the cousin who was the manager of Shanghai Dingfeng Bank learned about it, he scolded Jiang Menglin and gave him 400 yuan to go to Japan to participate in the exhibition.In the subsequent Anqing Uprising, Xu Xilin, Feng Ziyi, and Chen Boping were all arrested and killed by the Qing court, while Jiang Menglin, who went to Japan, escaped and survived.

In Japan, Jiang Menglin was so ashamed to see the Chinese military flags, military uniforms and weapons captured in the Sino-Japanese War in a military record museum where the trophies were exhibited. "At night, the entire park was illuminated by tens of thousands of electric lights, and the jubilant Japanese marched in the park with lanterns, shouting long live. Two years ago, they were intoxicated by the victory over Russia, and they are still ecstatic." 22 years old Jiang Menglin stood alone on the top of a rockery and looked at the parade. Feeling emotional, he couldn't help crying.

In 1909, Jiang Menglin, who was studying in the United States, worked as the editor-in-chief of Datong Daily, an organ of the revolutionaries in San Francisco.After that, under the guidance of Sun Yat-sen, Jiang and Liu Chengyu wrote editorials for Datong Daily for three consecutive years.In the beginning, the two took turns writing every other day, often driving late into the night.After the Revolution of 1911, Liu returned to China, and Jiang Menglin alone took on the heavy responsibility of daily editorials. On the afternoon of January 28, 1932, Jiang Menglin, who was about to return to Peiping by train from Shanghai, was stranded in Shanghai because the train was suspended due to the Battle of Songhu.It was night, Jiang was awakened by a burst of gunfire, and then heard a burst of machine guns.He jumped up from the bed and ran to the roof to watch with the people in the hotel.The sky was reddened by the artillery fire from near the station, the rumbling of cannons and the crackling of machine guns continued throughout the night.The next morning, Jiang climbed onto the roof again, and saw black smoke rising from the Commercial Press bombed by the Japanese in turn, and papers flying all over the sky, and the words "Commercial Press" could still be seen on some scraps of paper. out sad.

The Japanese regard Peking University as the center of the anti-Japanese movement. The Japanese fifth column often visits Peking University disguised as scholars, and some Japanese scholars also come here from time to time, hoping to win the "friendship" of Peking University.A Japanese scholar once talked endlessly about Sino-Japanese cultural relations to the professors of Peking University. Jiang Menglin resolutely said: "Except for Japan's military ambitions, we can't see any cultural relations between China and Japan. As long as you are willing to Give up the ambition of military aggression, and China and Japan will naturally be able to work together.”

When the July 7th Incident happened, Jiang Menglin was in Hangzhou.On a cloudy afternoon, Jiang was sitting under the shade of willows admiring the fish swimming back and forth in the shallow water by the lake, when he heard faint bursts of thunder coming from outside the city.Someone called Jiang Menglin: "Hey! Did you hear that?" Then there was another burst of thunder.Jiang replied: "Yes, it is thundering." "No, the enemy is bombing our airport!" Only then did Jiang Menglin know that the Japanese army was attacking.The next day, the Japanese began bombing Nanjing.Refugees flooded from Shanghai to Hangzhou like a tidal wave, and the temples were full of women, children, and children.Jiang Menglin recalled: "The small thatched hut in the mountain area has also become a temporary boudoir for the modern lady in the clothes. They still talk and laugh as before, and it seems that nothing has happened. We Chinese have this ability, even in times of crisis. , and can often deal with it calmly.”

In January 1943, Jiang Menglin wrote to Hu Shi, talking about the construction policy of Peking University after the war, and also talked about his own ideals, saying that because his family has a tradition of longevity, he estimated that he could live for another twenty years. In the book, he wanted to do three things, one is to study calligraphy, the other is to run a school, and the third is to write books. The purpose is to "enable the West to truly understand China".The book written by Jiang Menglin is "Western Tide" written in English under the gunfire of Kunming.

In the 1950s, after Jiang Menglin attended a reception given by a professor at the University of California, he said to Shen Gangbo: "When I was studying here, when Americans saw Chinese people, they asked: where is your laundry? (Where is your laundry) Now change to where is your laboratory? (Where is your laboratory) The words have changed a word, but in the mind of the questioner, the Chinese are regarded as coolies earning US dollars, is it not the same? What is even more lamentable is In the past, when Chinese students heard about the laundromat, they felt indignantly ashamed; today, when scholars studying in the United States mention the laboratory, most of them are complacent! Chu talents are promoted, and they forget to return for a long time. Once they return to China, they will also Unable to adapt to the environment and express their talents! Talents like this overflow, what should we do if we return to the mainland in the future?" He said several times: "I always want to go back to the mainland, but I am afraid of going back to the mainland every day!" Shen Gangbo didn't know What does this mean, I only understood after hearing Jiang Menglin's words.

Jiang Menglin said in the introduction of "Xin Chao": "This book is about the experience of a person, a nation, and an era. Experience is precious; but precious experience is bought at a heavy price." He also said : "My intention in writing this book is to pass on decades of experience to modern youth and future generations. I hope that the infinite pain experienced by our generation can serve as instructions and lessons for the next generation: Avoid what is to be avoided, preserve what is to be preserved, improve what is to be improved, and overthrow what is to be overthrown.”