Chapter 5 The Significance of the Revolution of 1911 and the Optimism of the Ten-Year Double Tenth Festival (October 10, 1921)

Today, the entire academic community in Tianjin celebrates the National Day, and I am honored to be able to participate in the event.I have two thoughts on today's National Day: first, it is the significance of the Revolution of 1911; second, it is the optimism of the ten-year Double Tenth Festival.Please explain in sections, and ask for your advice. The word "revolution" really counts as a common meal in Chinese history. From the Tang and Yu Dynasties to today, no less than thirty or forty families, large or small, have been emperors, even if they have gone through thirty or forty revolutions.It's like a red-faced man on the stage fooling around for a while, but was beaten down by a yellow-faced man;Looking at the past from the perspective of history, I really don't know why.Liu Bang, Cao Cao, Liu Yuan, and Shi Le had this attitude more than a thousand years ago, and so did Zhao Kuangyin, Zhu Yuanzhang, Kublai Khan, and Fulin more than a thousand years later.The route he took was completely "circling", so it can be said to be absolutely meaningless.I think there were only three meaningful revolutions in Chinese history: the first was the revolution of the Zhou Dynasty, which broke the tribal political situation since the Yellow Emperor, Yao, and Shun; situation; the third chapter is the Revolution of 1911 that we commemorate today.

What is the significance of the Revolution of 1911?simply say: On the one hand, it is the result of the self-consciousness of modern Chinese people. On the one hand, it will be the self-reliance of the Chinese people in the future. Self-awareness, what do you feel? First, I feel that anyone who is not Chinese has no right to manage China's affairs. Second, I feel that all Chinese people have the right to manage China's affairs. The first is called the awareness of the national spirit, and the second is called the awareness of the democratic spirit.These two spirits were originally inherent to the Chinese; in the last twenty or thirty years, influenced by the foreign environment and theories, the "latent instinct" of many years suddenly broke out, and this great self-consciousness was produced.

Now let's talk about the national spirit first.It turns out that a country is conquered by foreign peoples, which is also a common occurrence in the past, because all peoples with higher culture must settle down and relocate, and become weak. When they encounter nomadic and aggressive foreign peoples, they are easily trampled by them.Therefore, among the civilized countries in the world for two or three thousand years, there is no country that has not experienced this kind of suffering.But in the end, whether the nation can stand or not will depend on the strength of the nation's self-consciousness.The so-called self-consciousness, the most important thing is to feel that one is "the whole nation", which can never be divided and indelible.For example, the Jews are a whole but not a nation; the Romans are a nation but not a whole; the Indians are neither a nation nor a whole.Therefore, although these countries used to have brilliant cultures, once they were conquered by foreigners, it was difficult to get back.Speaking of our China, this kind of suffering is really enough.Since the Wuhuhuahua era, the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Northern Qi Dynasty, the Northern Zhou Dynasty, the Liao Dynasty, and the Jin Dynasty have followed, making the Central Plains, where our culture originated, shattered.Later, Mongolia, Manchuria, and even more so, the whole of China was completely swallowed up by him.Even so, we finally kicked them out.The family property left by our ancestors four or five thousand years ago is still in our hands after all.Gentlemen, don't take this matter so easily!Please look around, where are all the countries of the same generation as us in the world going now?The countries that are famous now are several generations behind us.We are like the immortal gods who have lived for thousands of years and have gone through thousands of disasters. Now we are still like children, with a childish attitude in everything.What is the reason for this?Because we have had an awareness since ancient times that we feel that our family members are like brothers and cannot be separated even with a sharp knife; One point means the expansion of human happiness by one point.This kind of concept, no matter whether others say that we are conservative or arrogant, in short, we absolutely refuse to underestimate ourselves, and firmly believe that we are the outstanding members of the human race in the world and cannot submit to other nations.This is the fundamental spirit that has allowed us to stand on our own for thousands of years.More than two hundred years before the founding of the Republic of China, didn't the Manchurians become emperors?In the end, even though it appeared that the Chinese were conquered by the Manchus, in essence it was the Manchus who were conquered by the Chinese. Because the Manchus were gradually assimilated into China, they had already lost their qualifications as a nation.Even so, we absolutely cannot bear the name of alien domination.This is not a matter of fighting for face, because under this name, the spirit of self-reliance of the people will inevitably shrink a bit.Therefore, late Ming relics such as Gu Tinglin, Huang Lizhou, Wang Chuanshan, and Zhang Cangshui passed on a very profound national concept to their descendants for more than two hundred years, and it has not been cut off.In the Sino-Japanese War of 1999, we lost a war with Japan. We felt that it was not the Chinese who defeated it, but that the Manchurians dragged the Chinese to defeat it.It happened that Europe was also the era when nationalism was the most prosperous, and their theories gave us great stimulation. Therefore, the national spirit that has been majestic and smoldering for many years has been fully revealed, full of revolutions, and has become the belief of the people of the whole country.The character is not only political, but almost religious.

The second thing is to talk about the spirit of democracy.Although we are an ancient autocratic country for thousands of years, we have never recognized that the monarch is a divine right or a divine right.All countries in the Middle Ages of Europe believed that the monarch was the master of the country, and the country was the property of the monarch.We have never had such a paradox in our minds.The doctrine we believe in is what Mencius said, "The people are the most important, the society is second, and the king is the least."Take a shop as an example, the people are the shareholders, and the emperor is the shopkeeper; although the shareholders are sometimes too lazy to take care of things, when they are happy to take care of things, it is only natural for them to drive out the inappropriate shopkeeper.Another thing is that we have always disliked the government's expansion of power and interference with the people. We have to take care of our own affairs.Although we are the most tolerant citizens, if the government invades our freedom beyond a certain limit, we absolutely cannot tolerate it.We have not had any class system for two thousand years, and the 400 million people in the country are all of the same height and the same size.As long as he has the ability, it is not surprising for a poor man in the countryside to be the prime minister for a few years; the prime minister resigns and goes home, just like ordinary people, under the rule of Qipin magistrate, and he is not allowed any privileges in law .Therefore, the two major principles of political freedom and equality can be regarded as the public creed of us Chinese for two thousand years.In fact, the degree to which it can be obtained varies from era to era, but this creed is sacred and inviolable in the hearts of the people.Recently, I have often met foreigners who wondered how we could implement a republic without the foundation of democracy.I told him that I am afraid that the root of Chinese nationalism was developed earlier than Europeans, not later; it was deeper than theirs, not shallower.We were originally the most "democratic" citizens, but recently we have communicated with foreign countries, and we have come to see the benefits of "democratic" more and more. Naturally, his nature has played a great impulsive role.Looking back at the politics at the end of the Qing Dynasty at that time, everything was contrary to our creed. Wouldn't Ann serve tea bowls to see off guests?

Between Guangxu and Xuantong, there was no intellectual and bloody person in the country who was not a revolutionary party, but although the doctrines were the same, the methods were slightly different.One group focused on racial revolution, saying that as long as the Manchus were driven away, there would be no worries about political clarity;The two factions are going on independently, although on the surface they appear to be at odds, their goals are always focused on one point.On the one hand, the members of the Tongmenghui engaged in assassinations and riots, and performed many heroic deeds by secret means; on the other hand, the members of the constitutionalists in the provincial council bureaus, engaged in petitions and impeachments, and carried out many mass movements in public.This has been going on for several years, sacrificing many people's lives and properties, until today, ten years ago, by chance, a large joint movement was launched.With the sound of a cannon in Wuchang, the councils of the provinces each held a meeting and issued a declaration for ten days. The shopkeeper who had occupied the store for more than two hundred years obediently handed over everything. The Republic of China was born out of nowhere.Whose credit is this?It can be said that no one has contributed, and it can be said that no one has contributed.To be honest, this is the result of the self-consciousness of the people of the whole country, which will emerge together at that time.Now in the Republic of China, although we are only a ten-year-old child, we believe in everything, and if we believe in him, he will live the same life as the sky.From now on, no matter how barbaric, civilized, Japanese, European, American, monopolized, or co-managed he is, if he wants to come up with the bad idea of ​​ruling China, he will definitely not be able to do it.No matter who you are, Yao and Shun, Jie and Zhou, Liu Bang, Li Shimin, Zhu Yuanzhang, Wang Mang, Zhu Wen, and Yuan Shikai, if you want to be the emperor of China, it will never happen.This revolution, like the revolution between Shang and Zhou, will not return to the world of tribal chiefs; just like the revolution between Qin and Han, it will not return to the world of aristocrats.So from a historical point of view, it has unprecedented significance, and it is completely different in nature from the trick of the red face defeating the black face.Gentlemen, we commemorate Double Tenth every year. What do we commemorate?It is to commemorate this meaning.Why commemorate this meaning?In order for us to further develop and popularize these two self-conscious spirits, we often remind them not to forget them.If not, treat this Double Tenth Festival as the Empress Dowager's Longevity on the tenth day of the tenth month of the lunar calendar in the previous Qing Dynasty, take a day off for nothing, and hide for a day of laziness. Is our time so worthless that we can waste it at will?You guys think about it!

What I want to talk about in the second half of the paragraph is the optimism of the ten-year Double Ten Festival.Thinking that you all suddenly heard this title, you couldn’t help but feel a little surprised, saying that now that the people are suffering so much, you are still optimistic, aren’t you heartless?But after careful research from all directions, I feel that apart from politics in the Republic of China in the past ten years, there is not one thing that cannot be optimistic.Regardless of politics, yes, it is very pessimistic at the moment, but this kind of pessimistic data is not difficult to sweep away. As long as the people work harder, they can immediately turn sorrow into joy.Please be patient and listen to me.

The general source of optimism is the old saying just now: "The discovery of national self-consciousness." Because with self-consciousness, it will naturally be automatic; if it is automatic, it will naturally be self-reliant.When a person can stand on his own feet, there will be one more outstanding member of the nation; if every individual can stand on his own feet, the country will of course stand on its own.Over the past ten years, this optimistic phenomenon has been most evident in the fields of industry and education.Now I would like to cite a few specific examples from the industrial aspect; in the third year of Xuantong, the number of spindles spinning in the whole country was less than 500,000 spindles; in the tenth year of the Republic of China, it exceeded 2 million spindles.The import of Japanese yarn has been decreasing year by year, and has now reached the point of complete closure.In the third year of Xuantong, the national coal production was only 12 to 3 million tons; in the tenth year of the Republic of China, it increased to 20 million tons.There is another thing that should be paid special attention to. In the past, the coal mine business was entirely Chinese capital, and the Chinese were the general manager and the Chinese were the engineers. None of the mines met these three conditions. No; by the 10th year of the Republic of China, 4 million tons of coal were produced under these conditions, accounting for almost a quarter of the total output.In addition, such as silk production, flour production, tobacco production, sugar production, salt production, farming, fishing and animal husbandry, and various other industries, I don’t need to list many comparative figures on the statistical table, lest you listen Trouble, to put it simply, it is the same as spinning mills, coal mines and other industries, with a considerable percentage of progress.Just think about it, gentlemen, in the past, all kinds of goods were imported from abroad or managed by foreign capitalists. We bought them every year and spent tens of thousands of dollars to inflate foreigners. How much money has been saved now?How much does it take to feed the workers?As for the financial industry, in the three years since the reign of Emperor Xuantong, there was only one Bank of Qing Dynasty and one Bank of Communications run by the Chinese, which was ridiculously naive; when it comes to private banks, there were only two or three in the country, and the capital was less than 100,000.The financial lifeline of the whole country is held in the hands of several foreign banks in Shanghai and Hong Kong, which can be flattened and rounded according to their own convenience.By the tenth year of the Republic of China, there were 60 to 70 large and small public and private banks, and nearly 10 banks with a capital of more than 5 million. The financial center gradually returned to the hands of the Chinese.Like the Sino-French banks with foreign governments standing behind them, they are declared bankrupt, and they still rely on Chinese bankers to rescue them. The opinions of the Bank of China Association cannot but be respected by the Bank Group of the Five Nations.Gentlemen, please don't misunderstand me and think that I am advocating for capitalists.Now some capitalists will inevitably use improper means to plunder improper profits. I originally hated them deeply; and there is no guarantee that they will not fail in their careers.But these plots don't need to be dealt with for the time being.I always feel that the current good idea is indeed developed from the national self-consciousness: "Why do Chinese people have to rely on foreigners for what they use?" This is the first step of self-consciousness; Can’t we manage it?” This is the second step of self-awareness; “Why do foreigners manage well, and where did we fail to catch up with them?” This is the third step of self-awareness.With these three kinds of self-awareness, a fact will naturally arise, that is, "Using modern methods, the Chinese will automatically set up the production businesses that China should have." Host large-scale undertakings.Recently, I have obtained a lot of counter-evidence, which reduces my doubts and fears day by day.I feel that Chinese people, no matter how they look at it, are not weaker than foreigners; the only difference is their old knowledge, which cannot cope with the complex modern society.For example, in the case of the company, as many as eight failures were established in the former Qing Dynasty, but in the past ten years, the number of successes has exceeded the number of failures.This is not surprising. In the past, companies were run by old officials or old compradors, and they had no new knowledge. Nowadays, young people in the prime of life either have special knowledge about the business they run, or have received a considerable education and rich knowledge. When entering the industrial world, even the seniors in the old company have to recruit a few new people as their arms.To put it simply, new people and new methods in the industrial world have come to replace the old ones.Therefore, there are a few companies that are running exceptionally well, not only not allowing foreigners in everything, but also being newer and more advanced than them.What I just mentioned is the organizational aspect, as for the technical aspect, it is also the same evolution.A few days ago a friend told me a piece of news. I was very touched when I heard it. If you are not tired of trouble, please listen to me to repeat it.It is said that there was a wine-making company in Beijing recently, which was founded by a few foreign students. They paid a lot of money and invited a master wine-making master from Shaoxing.The old master set up a tablet for the Immortal of Wine on the first day, and he wanted to lead them to pay respects and pray.Naturally, dozens of international students in this class were unwilling, but the old master said that if he didn't worship the wine fairy, the wine would not be made.Later, the master craftsman worked hard to make wine there every day, but every time he made wine, he always failed; on the one hand, these students studied it for several days, and knew that it was caused by the north-south climate and various other relations. Invented various remedies, and told the master, the master always didn't believe it.Later, these students used a microscope to show the fermentation situation, showed it to the master, and explained the reason to him. The master had never heard of it, and suddenly realized: "I always only blame myself for being dishonest in worshiping the wine fairy, or what do you have? Collisions, now I understand that it is not the same thing at all.” From then on, the master master and this group of students taught and learned from each other, and used his experience to apply the theoretical principles of the students, making very good wine.This piece of news sounds trivial and irrelevant, but it is the real evidence of "the victory of science over non-scientific".It can also be seen that it is not difficult for young people to avoid the resistance of the elders and get their help in doing things.As long as you have real knowledge and put your enthusiasm into it, there is never anything impossible in the world.Regarding the phenomenon of production in the ten years of the Republic of China, I think there is one trend that is most gratifying, that is, science is gradually winning.Scientific organization, scientific management, and scientific technology have gradually gained ground in our industry.From then on, all non-scientific undertakings must follow the trend of the times and be improved. If not, they will be eliminated.This phenomenon is entirely the result of self-consciousness and expansion, and it is completely a new atmosphere in the ten years of the Republic of China.Come to think of it, gentlemen, this is good material for optimism.

In education, it's becoming easier to see.Schools were run in the late Qing Dynasty, and the tuition, board, and book fees were all paid by the school, and they also subsidized tuition fees for students.How are you doing now?Sending an elementary school student to school costs a hundred dollars a year, and college students two or three hundred. However, the better-run schools are not overcrowded.why?This is a very deep self-awareness of the fathers and brothers of each family, who feel that the children of modern times cannot survive without learning.In terms of students, elementary school students used to force him to go to school, like pulling a cow to a tree, but now he has to go to school to be unhappy; out of ten college students, there are always six or seven who know that they work hard and don't need to rely on their parents to supervise them.When I was fifteen or sixteen years old, I felt that it was wrong to rely on my family, and I was always thinking about how I would be self-reliant in the future.The common idea in the past was to go to school only if you want to be an official. Although it is not certain how the current student will change after graduation, if he said he planned to use his knowledge to earn a living in the officialdom while he was in school, I dare Guaranteed to find no one in a thousand people.The phenomena mentioned above may seem normal today, but they would never have happened ten years ago.why?Because most people can only get it after some self-consciousness, so it is absolutely not allowed to make excuses.As far as learning itself is concerned, the spirit of faithful research is growing day by day.Although it was influenced by the advocacy of many predecessors, as for the fundamental reason, it is because the level of the national academic circle has improved. If you want to learn what most students were like ten years ago, you must rely on the knowledge of "three tricks" and "half a bottle of vinegar". Deceive yourself, I'm afraid you won't be able to stand up.With this kind of self-awareness, students will naturally tend to study faithfully.With the spirit of research, the interest will naturally become longer and longer, and the degree will naturally become deeper and deeper.In the past two years, the voice of "knowledge hunger" has permeated the youth society.It must be known that anyone who is sick will never feel hungry. We young people feel hungry for knowledge, which proves that his "appetite for learning" has a strong digestive power;Who can limit the future of our academic circle?Someone said: "It is extremely pessimistic that the recent importation of new ideas has led to the degeneration of many young people's morals." When old gentlemen mentioned these words, they often frowned.In my humble opinion, it is quite possible to persuade them not to worry about it in vain.Human beings are originally animals, not sacred, and "imperfection" is his true nature.There are certainly many young people who are not making progress, but will there be fewer dirty seeds for young masters and ladies who have received old education?But their ugliness is covered up, and many people can't see it.When a society is in a transitional era, it is inevitable that good and bad people will be in a mixed state. At this juncture, there will naturally be a few people who go the wrong way and become victims of the times.But in the general ledger, a culture of innovation is always beneficial and harmless in society.Because this kind of person who takes the wrong path has no understanding of the new culture, even if he does not promote the new culture, he will degenerate.Those who can really understand the new culture will naturally have ways to spur and discipline themselves so as not to degenerate.Not only that, but those who use the new culture as a mask will not be able to stand up in society for a long time. Even if they are in the limelight for three or two years, after all, they will be screened out of the circle of social activities.The remaining people who are able to stand up in society always stand on their own feet and have some roots. The construction of a new society in the future depends on these people, not those people.Therefore, I feel that we can be purely optimistic about the current phenomenon in the youth community.Materials that others consider pessimistic are not a problem in my eyes.

The above is just an argument from the two aspects of industry and education, and I can't give too much other things in today's short time.To sum up, our Republic of China in the past ten years has indeed made great progress.The predecessors often said: ideals run faster than reality.Judging from the experience of the past ten years, the reality is faster than the ideal.Because there are many things, when we were Xuantong for three years, we never dared to say that we would be able to do it within ten years, haha!It has already been realized.What is especially gratifying is that the path taken by social progress is not wrong at all.You see, hasn't Japan been running fast in the past fifty years?It's a pity that the road has gone astray. I'm afraid the farther I run, the more I can't turn back.What we are walking now is a smooth and flat road to the new world in the future; because our nation is originally rich in the spirit of freedom and equality, so when we go under the flag of the Republic, we will unleash our latent instincts for many years, and we will not know what to do. It is just in line with the new trend of the world.Now everything is in the early days, naturally there are many incomplete places, and many problems often arise, this is also needless to say.But the direction is good, the ability is not lacking, and the ambition to move forward is not lacking. Do you think that a citizen like this will stay under others for a long time?One more thing, gentlemen, please don’t forget; the progress of our society in the past ten years has been achieved by barely struggling under the extremely dark and chaotic political situation.Other people's politics is used to develop society; our politics is used to destroy society.To be honest, the people of the Republic of China in the past ten years have only been regarded as the country's lonely ministers and evil sons.Under such circumstances, they can still earn the land they are today. If the politics are a little clearer, can his progress be limited?

At this point, I am afraid that you will say: "Liang's optimism cannot be supported." I can tell you clearly that I am naturally very pessimistic about current politics; Fourteen points of optimism!Whether it is sad or happy, the key lies with the people.All the people said, "Sad, sad!"That's really what the old article said, "it's so sad"!I'm afraid there will be another sentence "Alas!"!It must be known that such a thing as politics is not a mineral, nor is it a ghost. There is no politics without people, and it is only people who make politics.Therefore, when it comes to politics, the people will be fine if they want to be good, and they will be bad if they are allowed to be bad.It must be known that most of the bad politics in the past ten years have been spoiled by the people.If we want to have good politics today, first, the people must be sure that they have the power to transfer politics; second, the people are willing to use this power.As long as there is a thorough awareness of these two points, is there any difficulty in changing politics from bad to good?Take a family as an example, the master is too lazy to take care of things, so the servant is naturally domineering. After a long time of domineering, I feel that he seems to have great supernatural powers. In fact, if the master shows off his power a little, which one is not afraid?Now the presidents, patrol commanders, joint commanders, warlords, and commanders-in-chief of the north and south are all savage servants who have always controlled the housekeeping. How much power and fate can they have?Seeing that those who used to show off on the stage have fallen down row by row, you have to know what the results of the people standing on the stage are now, the people who stood on the stage before are his role models.Most of our citizens regard warlords as a kind of pessimistic material. I say that they are like children who are afraid of the dark and scare themselves with their own shadows.It should be noted that the warlord who is now a paper tiger will fall if the people push him hard, but he will fall if he doesn't push him.But if you push him, you will fall faster, if you don't push him, you will fall slower.

Their doomsday has already been registered regularly in the book of King Yama, so it is not a big problem today.Just one thing, if the master still keeps the attitude of not doing anything, then this group of bad errands will go, and another group of bad errands will be promoted, and politics will never have a clear day.Speaking of this point, many good people have recently used the sign of not talking about politics, but it is very inappropriate; it is also very inappropriate for the society to dislike people who talk about politics regardless of good or bad.Whose country is it?Whose politics is it?Gentlemen are not allowed to talk about it, and people with knowledge are not allowed to talk about it. Should it be left to the corrupt officials who died in the Qing Dynasty?Should it be left to the bandit leader?Should it be left to the hooligans to talk about?I advise the outstanding people in the country to have a new awareness: "The country belongs to me, and politics is related to my life. Talk, I will negotiate; manage, I will manage." Most good people If everyone talks about politics and cares about politics, then the bad guys naturally have no place to stand. Again, as long as the industrial and educational circles are determined to seriously supervise politics, there will never be a bright day in politics.Fortunately, according to my cold-eyed observation in the past one or two years, the people have suffered enough from politics, and this awareness has gradually matured.I can believe that the phenomenon I prayed for selfishly will soon come true.It is for this reason that I said just now that I am 24 percent optimistic about the future of politics. Gentlemen, my words are too long, I have troubled you for a few hours, I am very sorry.But I hope you will allow me to conclude with a few words.Gentlemen, you must know that hope is the second life of human beings, and pessimism is the death penalty for human beings!As is the case with a person, so is a nation.Why did many cultured nations perish without a trace in ancient times?Because once the morale of the people is lost, the nation will never turn around.When I was in Europe, I saw people from the defeated countries of Germany and Austria. The Germans still stood up, and the Austrians all lay down. The future of the two countries is self-evident.Although our ten-year-old Republic of China seems to be full of disasters at present, his endowment is very strong, and his environment is not unsuitable for him. His development in the past few years has been considerable. Is it still scary? Will he be able to support him?After making a living, are you still afraid of not being successful?I just ask the people not to look down on themselves, and not to let down their ambitions. In the future, there will be many great undertakings in the culture of all mankind.Today we are doing the first full birthday for the country at the age of ten. Looking at the achievements of the past and thinking of the hope for the future, I am so happy that I almost go crazy.I would like to shout three times in unison with all the gentlemen: "Long live the Chinese nation!"