Chapter 132 captivity

In the autumn of 1898, after the failure of the Reform Movement of 1898, Zhang Taiyan advocated the revolution. Shi Cai Yuanpei invited Zhang to the Patriotic Society to give a speech on the anti-Manchurian revolution.It happened that Zou Rong wrote the book "Revolutionary Army" at that time, and Zhang Taiyan was asked to write a preface for it.The Qing court sealed up the Su Bao and the Patriotic Society and confiscated their property.Because Zhang Taiyan unceremoniously called Emperor Guangxu "Zaitian Clown" in the preface, the Qing court took Taiyan to court for the crime of treason and immorality.One country sues one person. In modern times, there is no second person.

Because the lawsuit took place in the Shanghai Concession, at that time, the Manchu Qing government had promised the privileges of the Shanghai-Nanjing Railway to the western powers and the extradition of Zhang Taiyan and Zou Rong with 100,000 taels of silver. , should be handled in the concession.” The cases of Zhang Taiyan and others were still tried by the joint trial court of the great powers, so they were not extradited by the Qing court. At that time, there were six people wanted by the Qing government: Cai Yuanpei, Zhang Taiyan, Zou Rong, Wu Zhihui, Chen Fan, and Zong Yang.When other people heard the news, they fled one after another. Cai Yuanpei took refuge in Qingdao, Wu Zhihui fled to Europe, Chen Fandong went to Japan, and Zong Yang hid in Hartong Garden in Shanghai.But Zhang Taiyan didn't go anywhere. This night, someone told him that the police came to arrest people. Zhang Taiyan didn't care, just said "small troubles", and then went back to sleep.He also advised Zou Rong not to hide. He said: "There is no revolution without bloodshed. I was arrested by the Qing government, and it is now the seventh time." My own nose said to the police: "Zhang Binglin is me." Then he was happily captured by the police.At that time, Zou Rong had successfully escaped through the back door, but Zhang Taiyan wrote a letter in prison to persuade him to surrender.Zou Rong couldn't bear the suffering of his sworn brother alone, so he surrendered himself the next day.

After Zhang Taiyan was arrested, there was an article in Shanghai's "News", mocking Zhang Taiyan for taking the initiative to deliver to his door, "Don't go to be a fool."After seeing this article, Zhang wrote the article "Responding to the News in Prison", which was published in the last issue of "Su Bao".Zhang said in the article: In today's era, revolution must be carried out, and "our generation of scholars, who have not had the ability to contend with an inch of blade, ruler, and dagger, have been imprisoned one after another. It can be done to 40 million people!" Finally, Zhang Taiyan mocked the reporter of "News" and said: "If you scold the quail frog, you will know the ambition of the Kunpeng!" , Is the bronze statue standing tall on the cloud surface me? Or you? Just sit and wait, there is no need to say anything!" From this article, it can be seen that Zhang Taiyan had the idea of ​​killing himself and becoming a benevolent at that time.

On the day of the trial court, Zhang Taiyan had long hair and shawls, and was wearing his "Han family kimono".Zou Rong cut off his braid and put on a suit and leather shoes.After the trial was over, they went back to the arresting house in a carriage. The streets of Shanghai were filled with empty alleys, fighting to see Zhang and Zou Zhirong. Along the way, Zhang Taiyan recited a poem aloud: "The wind blows the shackles and the city is full of incense, and the market is fighting to see Yuanwailang." Zhang Taiyan was sentenced to three years in prison, and Zou Rong was sentenced to two years in prison because of the "Su Reporting Case".Although the two did not live in the same cell, they worked as tailors in the same "studio".Zhang Taiyan was short-sighted and slow to mend, and was often beaten by the police.At first Zhang resisted a little, but after being beaten to death several times, he went on a hunger strike in protest.He went on a hunger strike for seven days, but was told by his inmates that he would die after a hunger strike for about 40 days, and Zou Rong persuaded him to give up.However, Zou Rong fell ill. A year later, Zou Rong died suddenly in prison at the age of twenty, and Zhang Taiyan was very sad.Because of Zou Rong's death, Zhang Taiyan's situation in prison was greatly improved. Zhang Taiyan later wrote in "Yu Huangxi Book Prison Stories": "Weidan (Zou Rong's character) died, and the white people were a little more kind. Envoys who are in charge of Cuan (cuan, burning fire and cooking rice) can eat (dan, eat) food freely. The rest of the life, the death of the prestige is also for it.”

In 1906, Zhang Taiyan was released after serving his sentence and went to Japan as the editor of Min Bao.As soon as Zhang took over Minbao, it immediately caused panic in the Qing government.The Qing government immediately sent Tang Shaoyi to negotiate with the Japanese government, so Min Pao was banned. Zhang Taiyan went to the police station several times to negotiate, and wrote to the Japanese Minister of Internal Affairs three times, but all failed. On November 26, 1908, a trial was held in the Judicial Hall of the Tokyo District Court. Zhang Taiyan argued impeccably with his arguments.The Tokyo District Court subsequently fined him 150 yuan or served 150 days.Zhang's students Lu Xun, Xu Shoushang and others paid the fine on his behalf, and Zhang Taiyan was released.

In 1913, after the failure of the Second Revolution, Zhang Taiyan, who was newly married, left his new wife behind and ran from Shanghai to Beijing to settle accounts with Yuan Shikai, regardless of his honeymoon.Before leaving, his wife and friends dissuaded him, but Zhang said: "If you don't enter the tiger's den, how can you catch tiger cubs." It was winter, and the weather was extremely cold. Zhang Taiyan wore a pair of ripped cotton boots, a sheepskin jacket with a greasy collar, a goose feather fan in his hand, and a large cloisonne medal hanging from the fan, and went straight to the presidential palace.The receptionist of the Presidential Palace asked him to show his business card. He rolled his eyes and said loudly, "Who doesn't know, who doesn't know? I am a 'Zhang Nervous' who has been in Shanghai for three years!" He waited patiently. Walking up and down the room, I saw that Prime Minister Xiong Xiling and Vice Minister Xiang Ruikun had talked. Yuan Shikai didn't see him, so he scolded: "Xiang Ruikun, a young child can see it, can't I see it?" After finishing speaking, he went straight in, but the guards stopped him, and the two sides immediately clashed.Zhang Taiyan picked up the vase on the table and threw it at the portrait of the President.

Afterwards, Zhang Taiyan was forcibly taken into the carriage by the guards. That night, he could only spend the night at the gendarmerie coach.He was full of anger and anger, and he named Yuan Shikai by name and yelled at Yuan Shikai as a "thief of the country" and a "thief of the people".Repeatedly yelling all night, the guards guarding him were frightened, so they quickly found cotton and plugged their ears. There is another version of Zhang Taiyan breaking into the presidential palace. It is said that after Zhang Taiyan arrived at the presidential palace, he threw in a one-foot-five-inch business card with only three large characters written on it: Zhang Binglin.Yuan Shikai never dared to see Zhang, but sent his subordinates to prevaricate, but Zhang Taiyan scolded him back.In order to express his anger, Zhang Taiyan smashed the reception room of the presidential palace to pieces.Seeing that Zhang Taiyan was furious, Yuan had no choice but to send Lu Jianzhang, the director of law enforcement.It is said that Lu bit the bullet and came out to meet Zhang Taiyan, bowed and said, "The president has a business, Mr. Lao, I am sorry for waiting for a long time! Send me to meet Mr. Zhang today." Zhang Taiyan did not suspect that there was fraud, so he followed Lu Jianzhang. The carriage was deceived all the way to an abandoned military school, and then moved to Longquan Temple.

It is said that Zhang Taiyan was transferred to Longquan Temple to be imprisoned, and Lu Jianzhang, known as "The Butcher Lu", who killed people like hemp, led the way on horseback to show respect. People were surprised, and they had never seen such a courteous treatment of a prisoner.Asked Lu, Lu replied: If Taiyan can make a call for me in the future, I can save 100,000 soldiers and horses, and I don't respect it. As soon as the news of Zhang Taiyan's arrest spread, an old friend of the Tongmenghui went to the presidential palace to comfort him: "President Yuan has a hundred thousand elite soldiers, why should he be afraid of a scholar and not restore his freedom?" Yuan Shikai replied: "Taiyan His writing style can sweep thousands of troops away, and it is also a terrifying thing!" In order to explain to the public, but it was not easy to accuse Zhang Taiyan, Yuan Shikai set Zhang Taiyan under house arrest under the ridiculous title of "prohibited by a madman's disease".

The day after moving to Longquan Temple, Yuan Kewen, the second son of Yuan Shikai, came to deliver brocade quilts in person, but he didn't dare to meet Zhang Taiyan, so he just asked people to hand them over.Zhang Taiyan felt that there was someone peeping outside the window, and pulled up the curtain to see that it was Yuan Kewen. He immediately entered the room, lit a cigarette, burned many holes in the bedding, and threw them outside, saying: "Take it!" Zhang Taiyan was placed under house arrest by Yuan Shikai in Longquan Temple, and Lu Jianzhang was in charge of execution.Lu said that Yuan Zeng handed out eight rules to protect Taiyan: no matter how much money is spent on food and daily life;Lu said to others: "Mr. Taiyan is Zheng Kangcheng today. The yellow scarf passes through Zheng Gong's township, but I will avoid it. I am ordered by Jifeng, no matter how weird my husband's temperament is, I must respect and protect him; otherwise, he will not be as good as the yellow scarf."

After Zhang Taiyan was placed under house arrest, Yuan Shikai asked Zhang's family members to live with Zhang in Beijing. Zhang thought it was a "trick", and Tang Guoli also suspected that Yuan had some conspiracy, so he declined.Yuan Keding, Yuan Shikai's eldest son, once visited Zhang Taiyan and asked Zhang to live in his home. Zhang Taiyan kept silent and finally gave up. Zhang Taiyan didn't know about his house arrest at first.One day, when he was going out to a banquet in a car, the military police also jumped into the car, acting as front and rear guards, and when he returned after the banquet, the guards remained the same.Zhang felt strange and asked Wu Zongci, but Wu did not tell the truth.The next day, he went to visit Hu Peide, and Hu said to him: "This is the protector sent by Yuan Shikai." Zhang Wenyan was furious, picked up his cane, and beat the gendarme until he ran away.Zhang was in a good mood, and said to Wu Zongci: "Yuan Gou was driven away by me!" Wu Zongci could only agree with him.After being driven away by Zhang Taiyan, the gendarmes came in plain clothes and negotiated with Wu Zongci and Zhang Yanong, saying that they were ordered by their superiors to protect Mr. Zhang.It was inconvenient for Wu and Zhang to refuse, so they could only agree to keep Zhang Taiyan from knowing about it.

In order to buy Zhang Taiyan, Yuan Shikai once sent Lu Jianzhang's secretary Qin (who used to be in the Imperial Academy of the Qing Dynasty) to send money to Zhang.Just as Qin took out the five hundred yuan from his bosom and put it on the table, Zhang Taiyan stood up, threw the money in Qin's face, and reprimanded, "Yuan Nu, go quickly!" Had to run away. Zhang Taiyan once wrote to Yuan Shikai, asking Yuan to release himself, but Yuan ignored it.After Li Yuanhong entered Beijing, Zhang wrote to Li.After Li received the letter, he knocked on Yuan's bedroom at night to ask for an interview, but he was not interviewed when Yuan was asleep.The next day, Li met Yuan again and interceded for Zhang.Yuan then planned to give Zhang a vacant position, and planned to order Zhang to be in charge of Kaowenyuan, but Zhang asked Yuan to set aside more than 200,000 yuan for the start-up fee, and asked him to hire famous scholars at home and abroad to serve as professors. Yuan Shikai was only willing to give 150,000 yuan. give up. Later, Huang Kan, Zhang Taiyan's proud disciple, went to Peking University to teach and came to accompany him. Zhang Taiyan dictated the lecture notes of "History of Chinese Literature", which Huang Kan carefully sorted out. According to Xu Shoushang's recollection, after Zhang Taiyan was placed under house arrest, "he wrote 'Yuan Thief, Yuan Thief' every day to vent his anger, and he also liked to drink peanuts, and when he ate them, he removed the stalks of peanuts and said, 'Kill Emperor Yuan's head'. He made fun of it." He also dug tree roots from the back garden, repaired them into human shapes, and wrote "Yuan Shikai" on them, burned them, dug a hole and buried them, and then he was so happy that he ran all over the yard, while running While shouting: "Yuan thief is burned to death! Yuan thief is burned to death!" Later, Zhang Taiyan gave lectures in the temple and preached revolutionary principles.Yuan Shikai's plainclothes mixed with the students to conduct reconnaissance.Zhang Taiyan was particularly good at eloquence, and several plainclothes men were infected by Zhang's impassioned demeanor. They remembered the notes happily and asked questions frequently. In his residence in Qianliang Hutong, Zhang Taiyan could read and write, and his relatives, friends and disciples could also come to visit him, but he was not allowed the freedom to go out.Zhang could only try to vent his anger, cursing Yuan Shikai in various ways to relieve his anger.He first wrote the word "quick death" on eight-foot rice paper and hung it in the middle of the hall; then he pasted the words "Yuan Shikai" all over the room, and beat him hard with a stick, calling it "whip corpse".When eating glutinous rice balls, he jokingly said: "Tangyuan is also called Yuanxiao, and Yuanxiao is Yuan Xiaoye." He ate the glutinous rice balls in one bite, which made everyone laugh.He filled the room with couplets of "kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy". Zhang Taiyan's eldest daughter went to Beijing to accompany her father. In order not to burden her father, she hanged herself in Qianliang Alley.Tang Guoli, Zhang Taiyan's wife, recalled the death of Zhang's eldest daughter: "My daughter Zhang went to Beijing to visit her father in April 1915. Later, she learned that she had fallen into Yuan's trap unintentionally. Not only would her father die, but she would also die. In a desperate situation, he hanged himself in September and died." After Zhang Taiyan was imprisoned, Yuan Shikai took great care of Zhang Taiyan in his life.Zhang's wife, Tang Guoli, also said that Zhang Taiyan's monthly expenses were 500 yuan during his imprisonment (at that time, a policeman's monthly salary was about 4 yuan, and the professor with the highest salary in the university was only 400 yuan per month).But Zhang Taiyan didn't feel grateful to Yuan Shikai for this. When he scolded Yuan, he made fun of the policemen in custody.Zhang Taiyan has always been simple, but during the period of house arrest, he hired more than a dozen cooks and servants (many of them were disguised as policemen), and issued a regulation: servants must address their masters as "adults" and treat guests as "Master". Calling "adult" or "master" is not allowed to be commensurate with "Mr."; every time you see the master, you must raise your head and chest, with your arms drooping;If you dare to violate the regulations, you will be fined to kneel if it is light, and you will be fined money if it is serious.He even forced these servants to bond with him in accordance with the treaty, and sign and pledge. Someone asked why Zhang made this regulation?Zhang replied: "I made this name for no other reason, only because 'adult' and 'lord' were both titles in the Qing Dynasty. As for 'Mr. It is a place occupied by the remnants of the imperial system, how can it be worthy of the title of 'Mr.'? This is still the world of 'Master' and 'Master'. Isn't it reasonable to let them kowtow?" During his imprisonment, Zhang Taiyan insisted on eating with silver tableware, saying that it was to prevent Yuan Shikai from being poisoned.In winter, he did not allow people to light a fire in the house, saying that he was afraid that Yuan Shikai would poison him to death with gas.In order to keep out the cold, he wore several layers of thick clothes on his body. After Zhang Taiyan was imprisoned, he thought there was no hope of returning to his hometown in this life, so he sent a telegram to Tang Guoli saying: "Justice is not humiliated, and I am determined to die. There is no need to mourn, and there is no need to try. To tell Zhexian, I prayed next to Liu Wencheng's tomb in Qingtian. One penny is enough." Every time he writes to others, he must sign it "Zhang Mou, waiting for the dead". Zhang Taiyan went on hunger strike twice and resisted with death. He sent an old dress he wore in Japan to his wife Tang Guoli, and said in a letter to his wife: "Living in seclusion for a few days, I worry less and sleep less.  … Knowing that you still have thoughts, I send you the old clothes today as a record, and it is as good as my ears. The clothes are made in Japan. In the past, I advocated righteousness with my colleagues and called Japanese sewing people to do it. Japanese clothes are all marked with compasses, so Marked with Chinese characters, this is ten years old. Read it and I share more troubles, and always hide the box as a commemoration. Although I died, my soul should be in Siyi. After my death, there are still books and manuscripts left in the capital. Fortunately, If you can come to the north for a caress, the concubine will not be dissipated with the clouds and smoke. I have spent my life, and my volunteers have failed, but I have been in the eunuch for two years. After the completion of the Republic of China, what can I say! After my death, the Zhongxia culture will also die. If I say so much, Linying is sad and indignant." Tang Guoli was deeply worried after receiving Zhang Taiyan's letter.One month later, she received a letter from Zhang Taiyan again, and she couldn't help laughing at what she said in the letter: "Mrs. Tang was starving for half a month and only ate four meals, but she couldn't die. The love is still there, and there is no way to die on a hunger strike." .” After Zhang Taiyan went on a hunger strike, everyone was helpless.All the disciples went to persuade Zhang Taiyan, Zhu Xizu said to Zhang Taiyan: "Yuan wants to kill Mr. You just need to order his minions to do it with one move. The reason why he dare not do this murderously is because he is afraid of Mr.'s reputation. For example, Mr. died of a hunger strike. It's what you like." Zhang thought his words were reasonable, but he still didn't eat. His disciple Wu Chengshi came to visit and asked him: "Sir, how are you compared to Mi Heng?" Zhang replied: "How can Mi Heng compare to me?" Wu then said: "Liu Biao wants to kill Mi Heng, but I don't want to be called a killer. , so it was done by Huang Zu. Now that Yuan Shikai is better than Liu Biao, he doesn’t need to bother Huang Zu, but let Mr. kill himself!” Zhang Taiyan was shocked when he heard this, and immediately stopped his hunger strike. According to Tang Guoli's recollection, it was Ma Xulun who persuaded Zhang Taiyan to eat: "Mr. Ma Yichu (Xulun) went to visit Taiyan. He got up and said goodbye, and said he would come to visit again in a few days. Taiyan said: "It's not too late, we can talk again." Ma said: "Because I haven't had dinner, I'm hungry, so I want to go back for dinner." Taiyan said : "This problem is easy to solve. I also have a kitchen here, and it can be eaten faster than going home." Ma said: "I know you have a kitchen here, but when you think of facing a hunger striker and chewing according to the record, how can you feel embarrassed?" What's more, you are on a hunger strike for the survival of the Republic of China. I am facing a friend who gave his life for the country. It is not only selfish, but also cruel. If you die on a hunger strike, I will eat here tonight Can this meal not be despised by the people of the world?" Taiyan thought for a while after hearing this, and said, "How about I eat with you?" Ma Yichu was very happy, and ate two boiled eggs with Taiyan. " Many years later, Tang Guoli once asked Zhang Taiyan: "How did you feel when you died on a hunger strike for nearly half a month in Beijing?" Zhang Taiyan replied: "I feel very dizzy!" When Zhang Taiyan was under house arrest by Yuan Shikai, Yuan asked Zhang to support him and proclaim him emperor. Zhang wrote the "Letter of Encouragement", saying: "Someone remembers the oath made on April 8th of the first year, and the words are still in my ears. The public has suddenly become ambitious and presumptuously usurped the throne. But the rebellion of the Republic of China is also the sinner of the clean house. A certain prisoner in the capital, life is worse than death! But Ji Gong read my letter and sentenced him to death, which is more honorable than dying at the hands of the evil bureaucrats of the Qing Dynasty that day!" It is said that Yuan Shikai After watching it, he was so angry that his seven orifices smoked, but then he laughed at himself: "That lunatic, why should I be serious with him!" At that time, people called Zhang Taiyan "You Heng of the Republic of China". In 1915, Zhang Taiyan wrote "Zulong will die next year", and Yuan Shikai died in the second year.After Yuan's death, Zhang Taiyan regained his freedom.