Chapter 11 Beijing-Shanghai Tiandi (1918-1921) - "Three Heroes"

Shortly before his 26th birthday, Mao Zedong left his hometown of Hunan for the first time. There are three heroes in the book, and two other students of Mao Zedong and Professor Yang also called themselves the "Three Heroes".These two classmates, one is Xiao Yu and the other is Cai Hesen.Cai is a young man with a fighting spirit who lives in the same hometown as Mao Zedong's mother. Yang Changji left Changsha in 1918 to teach at Peking University.He wrote to the "Three Heroes" in the capital about how to go to the West to work and study in order to save China. The Xinmin Society discussed the letter. Beijing, at first on foot, then by boat to Wuhan, and then by train to Beijing.

Mao Zedong's residence when he first came to Beijing: No. 8, Ji'an East Jiadao, Sanyanjing, Jingshan East Street. Mao Zedong had long wanted to go to Beijing.With Yang Changji as the bridge and the "New Youth" magazine as the medium, he initially intervened in the New Culture Movement.When Mao Zedong later talked about this publication in Beijing with Xiao San, he said: "It has two purposes, one is to oppose ancient Chinese, and the other is to oppose old ethics." [1] Mao Zedong's personal situation was the exact opposite of Beijing's grandeur.Like any college student who jumps from a small pond to a big fish, he now feels the pain of being a small fish again.No job, no money.

At first, he shared a hut with the gatekeeper at Professor Yang's house near the back door[2], and later rented a small room with seven other Hunan youths at a place called Sanyanjing.Eight people crowded on the kang like sardines.Mao Zedong later recalled: "Whenever I want to turn over, I have to greet the people on both sides first." [3? Shaking] Beijing costs more than Changsha.Buying coal to burn the kang made them hard-pressed, and it was a problem for each of them to have a coat.The eight of them had to jointly buy a coat (people in Hunan never wear coats, just like people in Florida never wear fur jackets), and they took turns wearing them to resist the severe cold that was soon sweeping across Beijing.

How to find a job in an unfamiliar place?He went to ask Professor Yang for help.Although Mao Zedong was poor, he met many people in those good schools in Hunan and learned to communicate.Yang Changji wrote a short letter to the director of the Peking University library, asking if he could find a job for a student who had participated in the work-study movement and was in a difficult situation. After reading "New Youth", Mao Zedong admired the two authors the most. "They once became my role models," he said.One of these two people was Professor Li Dazhao, who was then the director of Peking University Library.

Li Dazhao, Director of Peking University Library.Hu Shi, a famous figure in the New Culture Movement. Mao Zedong got a job, managing the periodical reading room, with a monthly salary of 8 yuan, which was relatively low.But there are not many things to do, just clean up the bookshelves, clean the room, and register the names of readers. For a 26-year-old youth with a diploma from a normal college, this is not work. The Red Building of Peking University. During Mao Zedong's stay in Beijing from August 1918 to March 1919, he worked as a library assistant here. At Peking University, Mao Zedong was not some Changsha wit, but an employee who sorted books and periodicals with his pale hands.Mao Zedong recalled: "Because of my low position, people are reluctant to associate with me." [4]

Either busy at the three-drawer desk under the big window, or shuttling between the bookshelves, wearing a faded blue gown and a pair of cloth shoes, his big eyes never let go of anything.Mao Zedong met some leading figures of the New Culture Movement through his autograph book, "I tried to talk to them about political and cultural issues," he recalled sadly, "but they were busy people and didn't have time to listen to a lecture What a librarian in a southern dialect has to say." [5] On various occasions at Peking University, Mao Zedong's status is also low, and he can only attend lectures when he keeps silent.Once, he ventured to ask Hu Shi a question (Hu Shi was a well-known radical at the time, and later became a well-known liberal, and Chiang Kai-shek's ambassador to Washington).Hu Shi asked which one was asking the question. When he learned that Mao Zedong was an unregistered student, this radical and free-spirited professor refused to answer.

However, Mao Zedong stared at all good things around him like a leech, and he was eager to set foot in the door of the intellectual world.He attended the Journalism Institute and the Philosophy Institute, fittingly, since newspapers and ethical issues were his passions at the time. Among his new acquaintances was Zhang Guotao, a young man from a landlord family east of Shaoshan, though they did not become close friends. There are many differences between North China and South China. Mao Zedong lived and lived in the South until he was 25 years old.The lifestyle in Hunan is as different from Beijing as Florida is from Montana.In addition to environmental problems such as severe cold in winter, different accents, and different diets, Mao Zedong also faced more important psychological problems.

The north is the fertile ground of bureaucratic traditions, and at the same time the world of dignitaries.In the eyes of the rich and powerful, sweaty coolies have no brains, and they simply cannot understand the thoughts of a person who once farmed in Shaoshan. In 1918 and 1919, Mao Zedong had a narrow sphere of activity, and that winter he developed an ambivalence about life in Beijing that he both loved and hated.However, Mao Zedong had another Beijing in his heart. He was independent and dignified, and he built a small world for himself. Mao Zedong liked Beijing's ancient culture and long history.He roams the parks and palaces.In Xishan and the Great Wall, he expresses his nostalgia for the past.Facing the icicles on the weeping willows in the North Sea, he recited famous lines from poets of the Tang Dynasty, and experienced the admirable artistic conception of crystal clear ice and snow described by Cen Shen. [6] This young man from rural Hunan saw the inner harmony of the declining Chinese civilization.

The capital is in constant political turmoil, but Mao Zedong seems to be more absorbed in small things: "The countless trees in Beijing have aroused my admiration and admiration." At this time, the rebel from Changsha temporarily forgot his Mission, obsessed with poetry and ancient traditions, lingering between mountains and rivers. Mao Zedong decided not to go to France.Cai Hesen and some other friends from Changsha weighed anchor and sailed away, and Mao Zedong found it difficult for him to go with them.One of the preparations for studying abroad is to learn French, and Mao Zedong does not know French.Although funding is available for studying abroad, each student has to spend some travel expenses.Mao Zedong had long been in debt and could no longer open his mouth to borrow money from wealthy acquaintances. *

* An incident at a seminar of the Young China Society reflected Mao Zedong's financial difficulties.Mao Zedong said in a speech: "It is useless to always sit and talk, you should put it into action. Give me your clothes, and I will wash them... Regardless of size, the price is the same. After three days, you can pay and pick up the goods." No one reaction.Later, a student's wife joked: "As a gentleman, Mao Zedong doesn't know how to dry-clean clothes." Laundry, I want to see if you can do it.” Mao Zedong actually did it, and of course he got the money.