Chapter 73 Traveling to the United States and Europe for national diplomacy

In September 1937, Hu Shi was ordered to go to the United States and Europe as an unofficial envoy to conduct national diplomacy. On September 8, he took a boat west to Hankou.On the boat, I wrote a letter to Zheng Tianting, secretary-general of Peking University, and please pass it on to all colleagues in the school.At that time, Beijing had fallen, so I believed in the tone of a businessman, saying metaphorically: The younger brother, Duan and Ying, planned to travel from Hannan to Hong Kong to take a boat to do business abroad.Knowing that the situation is unfavorable, I just do my best. ... So I became a monk halfway and temporarily worked as a businessman, seeking a small profit, which was definitely laughed at by my brothers. However, the poor family has a large population, and they are all in poverty. ①

Although Hu Shi's thoughts are still somewhat pessimistic, "knowing that the situation is unfavorable", but he still has to "do his best" and work hard for the affairs of the country. He flew from Hankou on September 13, passed through Hong Kong, the Philippines, Guam, Midway, and Hawaii, and arrived in San Francisco at 10:00 on the 26th. When he arrived in the United States, Hu Shi became very busy.After lunch that day, he went to the Greater China Theater to give a speech on the topic "Can China Win?" (Can China Win?) On the 30th, he attended the reception of the president of the University of California and gave a speech. On the evening of October 1, he went to Columbia Radio to give an English radio speech entitled "What China Expects of America in the Present Crisis" (China's expectations of the United States in the current crisis).At that time, the United States was in a period of isolationism, and the whole country hated war.Therefore Hu Shi tactfully criticized their isolationism and said:

What China expects from the United States is a practical and active leader for international peace and justice.A leader who prevents war, deters aggression, works and schemes with the democracies of the world, and promotes collective security so that the world is at least safe for human habitation. ② There was a bit of twists and turns in this speech.On the evening of September 30th, Hu Shi returned to his apartment from the University of California. It was already midnight, so he had a quick supper, and started writing a radio speech at one o'clock in the morning.At that time the news in the US seemed to check too.In the afternoon, someone came to report that the radio station thought Hu Shi's speech was too powerful and asked him to revise it.Hu Shi was very angry when he heard this, and told the people on the radio station: "I would rather cancel the broadcast than revise it." After insisting on this, the people on the radio station became more polite, and the manuscript did not ask for revisions, and it was broadcast on time at 7:45 p.m. out.When he returned to his apartment at 10:00, he received congratulatory messages from Wang Zhengting, the Chinese ambassador to the United States, and his American friend, MI Brown, congratulating him on the success of his speech. ③

On October 8, Hu Shi arrived in Washington. On the 12th, he and Wang Zhengting went to the White House to meet President Roosevelt and report on the actual situation of China's resistance to Japanese aggression, hoping to gain sympathy and support from the United States.Roosevelt was very concerned about the war situation and asked whether the Chinese army could support the winter.Hu Shi replied that he would definitely support it.Roche also talked about the difficulties of the Nine-Nation Conference and the American Neutrality Act; when he parted, he asked Hu Shi not to be pessimistic, and his attitude was very sincere.From then until July of the following year, Hu Shi gave speeches on tour in the United States and Canada, explaining the atrocities committed by Japan in aggression against China and China's determination to resist the Japanese War, so as to win the sympathy and support of the American ruling and opposition parties and the public opinion of the world.

Hu Shi's speeches and activities in the United States were quite influential.According to Yang Honglie, who lived in Japan at the time, wrote to Hu Shixin: In the eyes of the Japanese, Mr. (click, refers to Hu Shi) is their "aggressiveism" arch enemy... Japanese newspapers have published in detail everything Mr. said and done in the United States.The Japanese may think that the gentlemen deliberately slander their imperial army's false "kingly politics" of using force in our country; or think that the gentlemen are good at organizing propaganda, and at the same time the government is willing to allocate huge publicity funds, unlike the Japanese representatives. The technology is already clumsy, and the government is too stingy (apparatus), so the atmosphere of the United States is very strong, and so on. ④

In July 1938, Hu Shi went to Europe to lobby again, explaining the significance of China's war of resistance to Britain, France, and Switzerland. On August 4th, while staying in a hotel in London, he suddenly remembered that his good friend Zhou Zuoren in China was still trapped in the Japanese-occupied Beiping, and he was very worried, so he wrote a poem, the word cloud: Mr. Zang Hui had a dream last night. He dreamed that an old monk drinking tea in the Kuyu Nunnery suddenly put down the tea clock and went out, flying southward with a stick. Isn't it too hard to go all over the world?

Only for the wise to know the weight and lightness. When I woke up from the dream, I put on my clothes and opened the window to sit, who knows that I am a little lovesick at this time. ⑤ Hu Shi was very friendly to Zhou Zuoren. A gentleman loves others with virtue, and advised him to understand "heaviness and lightness" , not to be used by the Japanese.But Zhou Zuoren at that time, "Not long after the incident, he declared to people that he was 'ready to go out' on the pretext of rice, salt, vegetables and bamboo shoots." ⑥ After reading the poems donated by Hu Shi, I seem to feel ashamed and regretful. I once wrote a poem in Canghui style, and the words say:

The old monk pretended to eat bitter tea, but the real situation was still bitter rain. Recently, the house leaked and the floor was flooded, so he had to change his name to live in hardship. In the evening, I put together the futon and wanted to sleep, when I suddenly received a message from afar, "Sea and Sky Ten Thousand Miles Eight-line Poetry, thank you Layman Zanghui for your inquiry." I thank you for your great affection, but unfortunately I can't do it while traveling; It's not that being a monk is particularly busy, because there are many young and old living in the nunnery.

I can only close the door and knock on the wooden fish to chant scriptures, go out on alms rounds to raise some rice noodles,—— The old monk is always an old monk, and he hopes to meet lay people in the future. ⑦ Although Zhou Zuoren made such a statement at the end of the poem, and tried his best to spread the gift poem between him and Hu Shi to his friends, he seemed to want to express his repentance; but he still failed to follow Hu Shi's sincere advice on the pretext of rice noodles. , and finally became a traitor! History is so harsh and merciless! ① Hu Shi wrote this letter on September 9, 1937, and it was published in the "Special Issue Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Peking University".Quoting from Wu Xiangxiang's "Hu Shi's "But Opening up the Ethos and Not Being a Teacher"", contained in the first volume of "Biography of a Hundred People in the Republic of China", published by Taipei Biographical Literature Publishing House, pp. 175-176.

②This speech was published in Volume 1, Issue 1 of "Far Eastern Magazine" (The Far Eastern Magazine V.1, N1.), with a translation by Mr. Guo Boxin.Quoting from Hu Songping's "Mr. Hu Shizhi's Chronicle Long-Edited First Draft", Volume 5, p. 1619. ③For this speech, please refer to Hu Shi’s diary on September 30 and October 1, 1937, see “Hu Shi’s Diary”, Beijing Zhonghua Book Company, January 1, 1985, volume 2, pp. 591-592. ④ Yang Honglie sent a letter to Hu Shi on July 16, 1937, contained in "Hu Shi's Correspondence and Selected Letters", Beijing Zhonghua Book Company, May 1, 1979, volume 2, pp. 375-376.

⑤ This poem was circulated among some friends at that time; it was later included in "Mr. Hu Shizhi's Poetry Handwriting" (published by Taipei Commercial Press in December 1964) and "After Trying" (published in February 1971 by Taipei Hu Shi Memorial Hall), both The title is "Sent to a Friend in Peking". ⑥Refer to Deng Guangming’s letter to Hu Shi on November 30, 1938, see the volume 2 of "Selected Correspondence of Hu Shi", pp. 388-389. ⑦ Zhou Zuoren's "Reminiscences of Zhitang" (published by Hong Kong Sanyu Books and Stationery Company in 1974) No. 161 "Peking University Feelings Old Records (7)"; there are also poems donated by Hu Shi.