Chapter 59 The "Spirit of Independence" at Independent Review

In May 1932, Hu Shi invited Ding Wenjiang, Jiang Tingfu, Fu Sinian, Weng Wenhao and other friends to initiate the establishment of the "Independent Review" agency and founded a weekly magazine "Independent Review" devoted to politics.The first issue published Hu Shi's "Introduction", which flaunted the so-called "independent spirit" and said: We call this publication "Independent Review" because we all hope to maintain a little independent spirit forever, not relying on any party, not superstitious about any prejudice, and using responsible speech to publish the results of our own thinking:

This is the spirit of independence. ① Later, Hu Shi repeatedly emphasized and promoted this "independent spirit" and accused others of not being independent.He said: Today there are many people who cannot be independent simply because they cannot use thinking and facts to break their prejudices; another kind of people cannot be independent simply because they cannot resist the temptation of fashion. ... We don't speak fashionable words, we don't sing fashionable tunes, as long as people put aside their prejudices and look at the facts, because we are convinced that only facts can give us truth, and only truth can make us independent. ②

They emphasize facts and truth, and emphasize "independent spirit", which is obviously good.The publications run by their society do not require any party subsidy, nor does it require any boss to care about it; instead, members donate 5% of their salary as a fund, and members do not get paid for writing articles, and they are also financially independent. ③So, how does "Independent Review" talk about facts and truth, and how does it carry out the "independent spirit"? When the "Independent Review" was first published, it was a serious moment after the "September 18th" and "January 28th" incidents, when Japanese imperialism aggressively invaded China.However, Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang government insisted on not resisting Japan, stepped up the policy of "suppressing the Communists" internally, and put forward the slogan "to fight against the outside world, we must first settle down at home." The fourth "encirclement and suppression" campaign was launched, and in 1934, the fifth "encirclement and suppression campaign" was launched with all efforts.In China at that time, Japanese soldiers invaded the "frontier", and Japanese planes bombed in;

In the "hinterland", Chinese soldiers fought in and Chinese planes bombed in.It's really bombarded, and mourning is everywhere! So, how did the group of liberal intellectuals gathered around the Independent Review view these basic facts in China at that time? In fact, their thoughts and political opinions were not completely consistent.Among them, there are those who sincerely yearn for "independence", while others have to put on a facade of "independence".For example, the article by Hu Shi and Ding Wenjiang also said something "fair" between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, and did not recognize the Communist Party as a "bandit."they said:

Everyone knows that the so-called bandits by the Nationalist government are the armed Communist Party.Since the Kuomintang's anti-communism, the terms of anti-communism have undergone several changes.At first it was "Qing the Communist Party", later it was "discussing the Communist Party", and recently it was "suppressing the bandits".However, the Communist Party did not lose its qualifications as a political party just because the Kuomintang changed its name to them; nor did it reduce its armed forces because it was "discussed" and "suppressed" by the "Qing".

. . . In fact, it was the Yangtze River Basin that produced a second government. ④ This is indeed true.They even called on the Nationalist government to "officially recognize that the Communist Party is not a bandit, but a political party." , and "stop all plans and actions to suppress bandits by force."This is indeed a little "fair".However, they also said that "for self-defense, the national government wants to use military force to eradicate such political enemies who threaten its own existence. This kind of mentality is something that a government cannot live without."This is naturally for the sake of the Kuomintang regime, and "communist suppression" is still necessary.After all, they appear as a third party, with a little "independent" color.

Some authors of articles disapproved of the Communist Party’s use of military force to carry out the revolution, but they also used the opportunity of returning to their hometowns to investigate the situation of the Communist Army everywhere, inquired about the “suppression of the Communist Party” from old classmates who had nothing to do with the Communist Party, and occasionally reported certain facts to readers. Some practical situations, such as how the Kuomintang local government "can levy unlimited additional money and food under the pretext of suppressing the Communists and preventing bandits"; how the Kuomintang officials and troops "harass or harass" the people; Day", "because the army sent by the government to suppress the bandits sold them firearms"; for the poor people, communism is "really a so-called light in a dark room" and "is bound to be like a prairie fire." ⑤ These situations are reflected in a relatively objective way, and they do have a bit of "independence".

Some of Hu Shi’s articles, when praising modern China’s heroes who generously sacrificed their lives for various revolutions, even praised those “countless young people who died for the communist revolution” and believed that “their goals of their generous devotion to management are far greater than Donglin’s. The goals of the gentlemen are really incomparable, and their goals are "the liberation of the whole nation, the freedom and equality of the whole country, or the freedom and equality of the whole human society they dream of." ⑥Hu Shi did not deny that "Soviet Russia's progress is changing with each passing day", and said that "Soviet Russia's great experiment has gradually gained the recognition and understanding of the world in the past two years." A little "independent" color.

However, it didn't take long for this "independence" signboard to hang up, and phrases such as "the Qing Communist Party suppressed the bandits" and "suppress the bandits first, then resist the Japanese" gradually appeared in the publications. ⑧ In September 1932, Ding Wenjiang published a political essay titled "Anti-Japanese Bandit Suppression and the Central Political Situation". The article said: On September 18, the Central Executive Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang published a "Letter to the People of the Country".It can be divided into three sections...there are three things: resisting Japan, suppressing bandits, cooperating with foreign parties (according to, referring to some small parties following the Kuomintang), and seeking fundamental construction.In principle, the majority of people in the country can probably agree. ... "There is no one who can resist foreign aggression without getting rid of the confidant's troubles in the country", this is of course common sense, and no one can deny it. ⑨

These remarks are obviously to justify and explain Chiang Kai-shek's policy of "suppressing the outside world first", which implies an anti-communist spirit, but no "independent" spirit can be seen. From 1934 to 1935, the Kuomintang government succeeded in the fifth "encirclement and suppression".The Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army was forced to withdraw from the southern revolutionary bases and embark on a long march.At this time, the "Independent Review" published a series of articles in support of "bandit suppression", such as Ren Shuyong's "Sichuan Issue in Suppressing Bandits", Song Yiqing's "Return from Sichuan Bandit Area" and so on. ⑩In the following article, for example, the word "bandit" is full of words, and it is said that the places where the Communist Army is stationed "have bone clusters", the county Soviet is located "the murders are particularly concentrated, and there are as many as 70 mass graves", and the Security Bureau " There are many mass graves nearby,” portraying the Red Army and the Communist Party as murderous demon kings.In the "Editor's Postscript", Hu Shi actually praised this anti-Communist article as "a text with great historical value", and also praised the "historical spirit" of this anti-Communist author.Since then, the attitude of supporting Chiang and opposing the Communist Party has become quite clear.Hu Shi himself, in his "Miscellaneous Memories of a Journey to the South", couldn't help but directly came out to praise the victory of "communist suppression", saying:

When we travel in Guangxi, we cannot fail to feel that the Wuhua spirit of the people of Guangxi is indeed much higher and more common than that of people in other provinces. …Last year when Xiao Ke fled to the west, only the sixth regiment of Guangxi's troops to suppress the imperialists was the provincial army, and the rest were militia regiments. As a result, Xiao Ke's main force was almost wiped out.Last winter, when Zhu Mao fled westward, the provincial army sent by Guangxi only had 11 regiments to fight, and the militia regiment joined 15 regiments, with a total of about 20,000 people. As a result, Zhu Mao was defeated and fled, with more than 3,000 dead and 7,000 prisoners many. What a sharp contrast between the praise for the provincial army and the militia, and the description of the failure of the Communist Party and the Red Army, and the feelings expressed between the lines! For Chiang Kai-shek of the Kuomintang, the basic tendency of the "Independent Review" group is to sympathize with and support, but they also keep a little distance, and there are also some moderate contradictions.Fu Sinian once said: The Kuomintang has been the star of the Republic of China for several years; but because of its own organizational disorder, it has a situation where it cannot be taken up and let go today. ...The Kuomintang is indeed too sorry for the people...We who have been sympathizing with the Kuomintang and its predecessors for more than 20 years are the most sad. His remarks are quite characteristic, quite frank, and quite representative. The witty line "The suffering of dumb people eating Coptis chinensis" perfectly expresses the complex feelings of some people in the "Independent Review": They don't believe in the Communist Party, but they complain that the Kuomintang is not up to date.They are high-level intellectuals, unlike ordinary politicians and partisans, let alone snobbish third- and fourth-class slaves.Seeing the Kuomintang's unbearable situation, although it sympathizes with and supports it, there are many unspeakable resentments and sorrows. Because of this, they also criticize and offer some advice to the Kuomintang, and sometimes their words are even sharp.For example, he criticized the "Party-oriented education" of the Kuomintang, saying: "Party-oriented and education cannot stand side by side: with party-oriented, there will be no education; conversely, if there is education, first cancel party-oriented." He also criticized the Kuomintang. The government "restricts the freedom of speech and news" of newspapers, "stops mailing, or arrests reporters, or closes newspaper offices. This kind of incident really reduces a modern government to the same level as the old government of Zhang Zongchang's generation", And hope that "leaders and princes should stop all dreams of 'controlling culture' as soon as possible."The arguments are quite sharp, but they all hope that the Kuomintang government will improve its rule. In March 1933, Premier Wang Jingwei sent a letter to Hu Shi asking him to be the Minister of Education.Hu Shi made up his mind not to be an official, so he replied to Wang Xin and said: After thinking about it carefully, I finally believe that I can serve the country more by staying outside the government than joining the government.The reason why I want to preserve this independent status is definitely not to seek a little fame, nor is it to cherish feathers. I really want to develop an impartial and non-party body. Sometimes when it is critical, I may say a few words for the country. Powerful words of justice.A country should not have such people; the more such people there are, the more sound the foundation of society will be, and the government will directly and indirectly benefit from them.I firmly believe in this principle, so although I can't get there, I really yearn for it.For this reason, I very much hope that my husband will allow me to stay outside the government, to be a good minister for the country and a good friend for the government. This is Hu Shi's true confession, and it can also represent the aspirations of some people in "Independent Review".They flaunt the "independent spirit" and want to maintain a little "independent" facade in order to better speak for the government and be "critical friends" and "critical ministers" for the party and the country! ① Contained in the first issue of "Independent Review", published on May 22, 1932. ② Hu Shi's "The First Anniversary of Independent Review", contained in "Independent Review" No. 51, published on May 21, 1933. ③ Zhang Xilu, who lived in Hu’s house and helped Hu Shi to transcribe and sort out manuscripts, recorded in his diary that when the “Independent Review Society” was first launched, the list of members who donated 5% of their salaries was as follows: Ding Zaijun (a total donation of 240 yuan) Ren Shuyong (360 yuan) Bamboo Yaosheng (330 yuan) Wu Taomin (340 yuan) Hu Shi (360 yuan) Weng Yongni (240 yuan) Chen Hengzhe (240 yuan) Fu Mengzhen (200 yuan) Jiang Tingfu (240 yuan) Gu Zhanran (520 yuan) Zhou Meisheng (180 yuan) Zhou Jimei (50 yuan) Wu Jingchao (30 yuan) ※Zhang Xiruo (570 yuan) ※Cem Crozier (300 yuan) A total of 4,200 yuan above is the basic fund of the independent society.Zhang Xiruo and Cem did not make donations, but returned the hard work (Zhang) and other funds (Cem). (Third Edition Note) ④ Ding Wenjiang, "The Problem of the So-called "Suppressing Bandits"", contained in "Independent Review" No. 6, published on June 26, 1932.At the end of the article, there is Hu Shi's "note" saying: Mr. Ding wrote this article and gave me full rights to modify it.From the fifth paragraph onwards, I rewritten everything.It was too late to send Mr. Ding for review, so I had to declare myself responsible. It can be seen from this that the views in this article are not only agreed by Hu Shi, but some of them were modified by him, which are of course his views. ⑤Mao Zishui's "Miscellaneous Notes on the Southward Journey", "One About the Suppression of the Communist Party", contained in "Independent Review" No. 18, published on September 18, 1932. ⑥ "Writing after Confucius' Birthday", contained in "Independent Review" No. 117, later included in the first episode of "Recent Works on Hu Shi's Studies", published by Shanghai Commercial Press in 1935. ⑦ See "Collaborative Diplomacy Turns out to be Scorched Earth Diplomacy" (in "Independent Review" No. 98), and "Independent Review" No. 101 "Editor's Postscript". ⑧Refer to Ye Shuheng's "Now We Must Concentrate the National Knowledge and Capabilities to Solve National Defense Issues" (in "Independent Review" No. 16, published on September 4, 1932), Jiang Tingfu's "The Unlost Territory Is Our Way Out" (in "Independent Review" No. 16, published on September 4, 1932) Independent Review No. 47, published April 23, 1933). ⑨Ding Wenjiang's "Anti-Japanese Bandit Suppression and the Political Situation of the Central Committee", contained in "Independent Review" No. 19, published on September 25, 1932. ⑩Ren Shuyong's "Sichuan Issue in Suppressing Bandits", contained in "Independent Review" No. 119, published on September 23, 1934; Song Yiqing's "Return from Sichuan Bandit Area", contained in "Independent Review" No. 120, September Published on March 30. See Editor's Note, Independent Review No. 120. "Four Impressions of Guangxi" in "Miscellaneous Memories of Journey to the South", contained in "Independent Review" No. 164, published on August 12, 1935. The whole book "Miscellaneous Memories of Journey to the South" was published by the National Publishing House in October of the same year. Fu Sinian, "September 18th One Year!", contained in "Independent Review" No. 18, published on September 18, 1932. Ren Shuyong: "Is Party-oriented Education Possible?" published in Independent Review No. 3, June 5, 1932. (Third Edition Note) Hu Shi: "Freedom mentioned in Wang Jiang's telegram", published in "Independent Review" No. 131, published on December 1, 1934; (Third Edition Note) Hu Shi wrote a letter to Wang Jingwei on April 8, 1933 (draft), see "Hu Shi's Correspondence and Correspondence", Beijing Zhonghua Book Company, May 1, 1979, volume 1, page 208.