Chapter 12 In the fourth quarter, Hu Shi moved forward amidst swings

In late July 1937, Fu Sinian, who was invited by Chiang Kai-shek to attend the Lushan Guling National Defense Conference, returned to Nanjing and began to handle various affairs of the Academia Sinica, especially the Institute of History and Philology. Since the establishment of the Institute of History and Philology in Guangzhou in 1928, following the success of the Kuomintang’s Northern Expedition and the changes in the domestic situation, it has been continuously relocated. First, it moved from the “revolutionary center” Guangzhou to the cultural center of Beiping, and settled in Beihai Jingxinzhai.Then it was moved from Beiping to Xiaowanliu Hall in Caojiadu, Shanghai, and finally to the Building of the Institute of History and Philology in Beiji Pavilion, Nanjing, where it lived in the same compound as the head office of Academia Sinica.

In the spring of 1936, Ding Wenjiang, the director-general of Academia Sinica after Yang Xingfo, unfortunately died of gas poisoning in Changsha. The dean Cai Yuanpei asked Fu Sinian and several other directors to help him and invited Zhu Jiahua to take over as director-general.According to the charter and power division of the Academia Sinica, under the dean, the director-general holds the real power and takes over the overall situation.As a member of the Central Committee and a member of the Central Political Conference, Shi Zhu reluctantly agreed.In the winter of that year, Zhu was appointed chairman of Zhejiang Province by the national government, and he was even less interested in the post of director-general of Academia Sinica, so he resigned repeatedly, but to no avail.Soon, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident broke out, and the Japanese army was about to attack Shanghai and approach Nanjing, and North China and East China fell into a comprehensive crisis.Facing the crisis, Zhu Jiahua, who holds multiple positions, obviously can no longer take care of the affairs of Academia Sinica, so he had to ask Fu Sinian to act as an agent.Taking into account all aspects of the situation, Fu resolutely provoked this burden.Therefore, Fu Sinian, who returned to Nanjing from Mount Lu, began to handle various affairs of the Academia Sinica as the de facto director-general, and the Institute of History and Philology was only a part of his overall control.

Just as Fu Sinian was running around and was extremely busy, the "August 13" Songhu War of Resistance broke out. On August 13, 1937, the Japanese army stationed in Shanghai and the Ninth Army of Zhangzhi Central China had friction and exchanged fire due to the "Dashan Brave Man" incident at Hongkou Airport. The Japanese army took advantage of the momentum to attack the Chinese garrisons in Jiangwan and Zhabei. The Songhu Anti-Japanese War kicked off. On August 14, Chiang Kai-shek appointed Feng Yuxiang as the commander-in-chief of the third war zone, in charge of Shanghai's war against Japan.At the same time, Zhang Zhizhong, commander of the Beijing-Shanghai garrison and former commander-in-chief of the enemy, was ordered to launch a general attack on the Japanese army.Since then, China's great rivers and rivers, both inside and outside the Great Wall, have been completely shrouded in the flames of war.

On August 15th, the Japanese government mobilized two divisions to send to China, and set up a combat base camp. The Sino-Japanese war machine was fully activated, and thus embarked on a journey of either dying or breaking the net. road. On August 17, the highest meeting of the National Defense Council was held in Nanjing. Hu Shi, Fu Sinian, Jiang Menglin, Mei Yiqi, Zhang Boling and other academic figures attended the meeting (some sent representatives to attend).At this meeting, Fu Sinian urged the research institutes of Academia Sinica and key universities in Pingjin to move inland to cities around Changsha and Nanchang for temporary shelter.This request was responded and supported by the majority of the meeting, and a government resolution was quickly formed.Affected by the anti-Japanese passion of the whole people, Chiang Kai-shek made up his mind to fight the Japanese invaders.In view of the current situation that China's military power can be supported for up to six months, and hoping to gain the sympathy and support of Britain, the United States and other countries in diplomacy, it was decided to send Hu Shi to the United States; Jiang Baili to Germany; Sun Ke to the Soviet Union to win the sympathy and support of the international community. aid, to suppress Japan's arrogance.

On August 23, Japanese general Matsui Iwane led the 3rd and 11th divisions to land in Wusong, and the strength of the Japanese army increased greatly. On September 11, the Japanese 9th, 13th, and 101st elite divisions arrived in Shanghai, joined forces with the vanguard to launch a full-line attack on the Chinese army, and the Chinese defenders desperately resisted.In the battle between Yunzaobang and Suzhou Creek, both sides suffered heavy casualties, piles of dead bodies blocked the waterway, blood flowed into rivers, and the river was red. In the face of the enemy's powerful offensive, the Chinese army's deputy chief of general staff Bai Chongxi and the head of the combat team Liu Fei and other generals proposed to Chiang Kai-shek that the Battle of Songhu should be "enough" and that the weapons and equipment of the Chinese and Japanese armies are very different, and our army should not make unnecessary sacrifices Therefore, we should take a long-term plan and order all ministries to transfer to the Wufu line defense fortifications.Chiang Kai-shek hesitated again and again, and after a few days of swinging between offense and defense, he heard that reinforcements drawn from all over the country were arriving on the Songhu battlefield one after another, so he decided to fight the enemy to the death. On September 10th, Chiang Kai-shek's diary said: "Most of the ministries were killed and injured, and they were exhausted. If they didn't support to the end, how could they deter the Japanese pirates and complete their mission?"

After September 18, the enemy's offensive intensified again, and the Chinese army was exhausted, and was forced to switch from a strategic offensive to a tenacious defensive battle. When the Songhu battlefield was full of artillery fire, Chiang Kai-shek specially summoned Hu Shi, Fu Sinian, Qian Duansheng and others in the gap between commanding operations, and Hu Shi visited Europe and the United States as an unofficial envoy to conduct national diplomacy.Everyone believed that Hu's mission this time would benefit the national government's war of resistance.But at this time, Hu Shi was full of worries and said that he could not follow orders.Since the "September 18th" Incident in 1931, the situation of war has become increasingly imminent, and the question of whether to fight the Japanese aggressors or to make peace has suddenly appeared in front of the Chinese government and people.At this time, there are those who are the main fighters, there are those who are the main peacemakers, and there are those who are peacemakers.Among the many noisy and complicated discussions, Jiang Menglin, President of Peking University, and Hu Shi, Dean of Literature, also publicly expressed their views, believing that China's military power is far from being able to compete with Japan, and that China should find ways to avoid war, "beg for peace" and openly communicate with Japan. Negotiations to resolve outstanding cases between the two countries in order to seek ten years of peace.At the same time, he warned the government that "it is better to seek peace than to seek peace before the war." According to Hu Shi's vision, in this decade of peace, China will fully develop modern military industry to prevent Japan's attempt to conquer China by force.

Because of Hu Shi's lofty reputation in the academic and cultural circles and in the minds of young people, his voice spread far and wide, and his views attracted special attention. However, this voice was criticized by many people, especially college students.As the Japanese army pressed forward and North China was in a hurry, the anti-Japanese and national salvation movement became more and more popular day by day. At this time, Hu Shi still insisted on the Ibsenism of his youth when he was studying at Cornell University in the United States, and called on young students to fight against the dangers of the country. At this time, you should be more calm, and you should seize the opportunity to pursue knowledge hard. That is what Ibsen said: "Your greatest responsibility is to cast your material into a tool", thinking that it will be the basis for saving the country in the future.For this reason, Hu Shi received a lot of curses, including Peking University students.A Peking University student named Li Zuyin recalled the school-wide teacher-student meeting held in the auditorium of the Third Academy of Peking University in the fall of 1934 many years later, saying: The weather was fine that day, and there were quite a number of people present. The story of "Lesson 1" is used as an opening remark. The main purpose is to persuade students to study at ease and not to meddle in state affairs. The students restrained patience and let him finish calmly. He immediately announced that Mr. Hu Shi would be invited to give a speech. Like a thunderbolt, there were boos everywhere, coupled with the noise, which lasted for a long time. At that time, I was standing by the podium and saw Hu Shi with a red neck and a thick neck on the stage. He said something, and there was a lot of boos. Yu Duo couldn't hear the fallacy. Hu Shi was wearing a bronze silk robe and a gray velvet scarf. He held it with both hands and danced sharply from side to side, trying to suppress this unimaginable dismount. Just listen to him say: "You are not students of Peking University." , the students of Peking University are sensible, Peking University students should stand up to protect the 'truth'. As soon as this remark came out, it was like adding fuel to the fire, and the sound of anger and scolding became more and more severe, and Hu Shi had to get off the podium , and left with his head in his arms. From then on, Hu Shi seldom appeared in public at Peking University.”

Although he was reviled by his students, Hu Shi seemed to have not changed his original intention. He still insisted that he could not go to war with Japan for the time being, and that there must be a long preparation period before he could speak of war.Later, according to Hu Shi himself, the formation of this view was related to a conversation he had with Chiang Kai-shek in the spring of 1933.In this two-hour conversation, the speed of Chiang Kai-shek and the Japanese exceeded his expectations: "I have intelligence every day, and I know that Japan has not mobilized, so it is expected that Japan's attack on Rehe is just false and frightening." That’s all. Unexpectedly, Japan knows more about Tang Yulin’s and Zhang Xueliang’s troops than we do!” When Hu Shi asked whether the Chinese army could resist, Chiang Kai-shek said that a three-month preparation period was needed.When asked whether war could start in three months, Jiang replied: "Modern-style war is impossible. We can only defend a few places with elite soldiers, and retreat without allowing any one to survive. This way, people around the world may know us. Not afraid of death." That's all.

According to Hu Shi's understanding: "In fact, this means that we cannot resist." Hu Shi, who got the hole card, said in a letter to Wang Shijie on the night of June 27, 1935: "From my point of view, Mr. Jiang only has the abacus of 'wait until I'm ready', and he doesn't seem to have the idea of ​​'desperate everything and sink the boat'." Determined. When I met him in Baoding after the fall of Rehe in 22, he said, "We can't fight now." There is a further requirement that he is not allowed to calmly organize the army. Because the enemy is not a fool, they will not allow us to be 'ready to fight them'. To be honest, we will never be ready enough to win the battle no matter in terms of sea, land and air day."

Influenced by Chiang Kai-shek's strategic thinking that "we cannot fight now" a few years ago, Hu Shi, a scholar, also believed that the poor and weak China could not fight for the time being, so he had the idea of ​​making peace with Japan and made it public.This proposition brought Hu Shi the title of "Peacemaker". In addition to the curses of the students, he was also strongly condemned and attacked by the main fighters.At that time, Sun Ke, Ju Zheng and other Kuomintang leaders all advocated the arrest of Hu Shi, and sent him to the prison to be served with chili soup or tiger stools, so as to set the record straight.Sun Ke was a pro-Soviet main fighter. He had the idea of ​​using the power of the Soviet Union to help China check and balance Japan.

In July 1936, Hu Shi was invited to participate in the sixth annual meeting of the Pacific International Society held in the United States, and was elected as the vice president, and his reputation in the international academic circle was once again enhanced. After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in 1937, Hu Shi believed that although the Kuomintang government was still not fully prepared militarily, the matter had come to this point, and a major war was inevitable and inevitable.It is just that before the war, we must make a final peace effort and give the authorities a reminder that "the diplomatic line cannot be broken". On July 31, Chiang Kai-shek invited Hu Shi, Mei Yiqi, Zhang Boling, Tao Xisheng, Chen Bulei and others to have lunch. Hu Shi, who felt that it was inconvenient to speak, was quick to say when he left: "The diplomatic line cannot be broken, and diplomatic affairs should seek a higher level." When Zong Wu talked, this person is responsible and knowledgeable.” Chiang Kai-shek repeatedly praised Hu’s suggestion, and said: “I know him. I want to talk to him.” On August 5, Hu Shi suggested to Chiang Kai-shek , give up the three eastern provinces, and recognize "Manchukuo", in order to resolve all "unsolved cases" between China and Japan, in exchange for long-term peace in East Asia. On August 6, Hu Shi submitted another written proposal to Chiang Kai-shek, emphasizing three points: 1. The Konoe cabinet can talk with him, and the opportunity should not be missed; 2. Japan has basic financial difficulties and hope for peace; The embryonic form is actually built on the new central military force and cannot be easily destroyed.In the future, the country will disintegrate, and there will be no hope for peace.According to Hu Shi's vision, through diplomatic efforts, peace can be maintained between China and Japan for 50 years. Unexpectedly by Hu Shi and all those who advocated peace, the tough posture of Japan and the fierce and murderous aggressiveness of the army finally led to the severance of the road to peace. The Chinese government gritted its teeth and gave it a go. It is a dangerous road to fight for the whole country and the whole country. After the outbreak of the Songhu Anti-Japanese War, the Chinese defenders rose up to resist with flesh and blood. The war lasted for more than a month and was still in a stalemate. The morale of the soldiers and civilians across the country continued to increase.Facing such a tragic war scene and the spirit of the Chinese army who would rather die than surrender, Hu Shi was greatly moved, and at the same time changed his mood. He believed that the Chinese defenders were not as bad as imagined. Heavy, is battleable.And the little Japanese devils are not copper peas that cannot be crushed, crushed, or boiled.Affected by this situation and emotions, Hu Shi's thoughts turned accordingly.I also heard that during the May 4th Movement, Cao Rulin, a pro-Japanese activist who hid in Zhaojialou and was burned out by Fu Sinian and other students, was also invited to Lushan to participate in the meeting and said that China must fight Japan today. Even Cao Rulin, who was denounced as a traitor by the people of the country, said so, which shows the situation China is facing and the support of the people.After some deliberation, Hu Shi Nai completely abandoned the original point of view, clearly expressed his support for Chiang Kai-shek's anti-Japanese policy, and came up with a new point of view that "peace is a hundred times more difficult than war".In view of Hu's prestige among the intellectual and cultural class in the United States, Chiang Kai-shek came up with the strategic idea of ​​letting Hu Shi go to the United States as an informal diplomatic envoy to dredge international relations and win the sympathy and support of the American government and opposition for China's War of Resistance.But at this time, Hu Shi felt that going abroad at this critical moment would incur criticism that he was greedy for life and afraid of death, and he didn't know "what to do" after going out, so he declined the mission extremely emotionally, saying: "At present, "the war has come to an end." In a hurry, I don’t want to leave Nanjing, I am willing to live and die with Nanjing.” Hu Shi's insistence made the bureaucrats very embarrassed. When Chiang Kai-shek's personal persuasion was ineffective, Chiang asked Fu Sinian to talk to Hu Shi alone, urging him to go abroad to serve the country.Fu Sinian was ordered to come to persuade him, but Hu Shi still refused.In the end, Fu Sinian wept anxiously and said: "If you want to say that I have the reputation and status of my husband, I will go. In order to resist Japan..." Hearing this, Hu Shi was deeply moved, and also shed tears, so he said " Now the country is in wartime, and the government recruited me during the wartime, and I dare not refuse” to agree to go to the United States. On September 8 of the same year, Hu Shi left Nanjing, where a bloody battle was about to take place, as a scholar, and transferred from Wuhan to Europe and the United States.Before leaving, he made it clear to Wang Jingwei, Gao Zongwu, Tao Xisheng and other peace leaders who came to see him off: "My attitude has completely changed. I have since embarked on the view that 'peace is a hundred times more difficult than war'." And Advise the other party not to be too hasty and pessimistic. The work we did in early August to "make the biggest peace effort before the war" was good.But we have to admit that this month's fighting has proved that we were not unavoidable back then.This month's battle at least shows externally that we can fight and internally shows that we are willing to fight. This is a big harvest.You can't be careless in planning a country, but taking risks also has its uses.In his diary that day, Hu Shi wrote: "At 8:30 p.m., when cooking was on board, the air raid alarm sounded again. There were Weng Yongni, Chen Bulei, Meng Zhen, Meisun, Zhichun, comforters and our father and son. The two of us sat together in the dark and waited until the flute sounded "relieve"—I went outside alone, sat under the stars, and listened to our planes in the sky, feeling a little reluctant to leave this capital city with many friends." Although Hu Shi was reluctant to leave his war-torn homeland, he had to go far away for the mission of the nation. On September 23, 1937, Hu Shi finally arrived in Honolulu and San Francisco on the 26th, and began his unofficial diplomatic envoy career as a "pawn crossing the river". When Hu Shi arrived in Washington and accompanied Wang Zhengting, the ambassador to the United States, to visit President Roosevelt for the first time, Roche asked about the war situation in China with concern, and asked, "Can the Chinese army survive the winter?" Although the old man is so contemptuous of China, the situation in China is really worrying.Hu Shi gave an affirmative answer with some excitement, and said emotionally: "China needs the support of the United States. I think the president will judge right from wrong with a clear eye soon!" Through Hu Shi's advice, Roosevelt learned more about China's military situation I understand the urgency of the Chinese people who need the US government to "pull the brothers".It's just that the United States at that time pursued a "neutralism" policy, that is to say, no matter how you China, Japan, or any other East Asian or South Asian countries started fighting, to what extent, you die or I live, whether it is justice or injustice, the final fight What kind of name is it, the United States all adopts a stand-by attitude and absolutely ignores it, and lives its own stable life comfortably.This policy made it difficult for Roosevelt, who was at the top of the presidency, to answer the questions raised by Hu Shi.When parting, Roosevelt held Hu Shi's hand tightly, said some words of comfort in a very sincere manner, and told him not to worry, which moved Hu Shi deeply. In September 1938, the national government recalled Wang Zhengting, an incompetent ambassador who had run into walls everywhere in the United States, and issued a letter of appointment for Hu Shi as ambassador to the United States on the 17th: "Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States of America Wang Zhengting submitted his resignation, and Wang Zhengyan was approved to be removed from his post. Hu Shi is specially appointed as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of China to the United States. This order." On the same day, Hu Shi received a telegram, and he wrote in his diary: Today, September 17, 1938, I received an external telegram, saying that the government announced my ambassador to the United States today.This afternoon Wang Liangchou called to congratulate me. Twenty-one years of independent and free life, starting today, sacrificed for the country.