This year (2021) marks the 110th anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution, triggering my imagination to remember the gunfire of the Wuchang Uprising on October 10, 1911, which pierced the dark night sky, destroyed the decadent Qing Dynasty, ended China's more than two thousand years of feudal monarchy, established a republic, and opened up a new era in the process of Chinese history. Talking about the Xinhai Revolution also reminds me of two famous works of the Xinhai Revolution that have been collected for decades: the historian Chen Xulu's "Xinhai Revolution" and the old revolutionary Wu Yuzhang's "Xinhai Revolution." Although the two books have the same title and the theme is also the history of the Xinhai Revolution, the content of their narrative horizons and narrative techniques have their own characteristics.
Chen Xulu's "Xinhai Revolution" is the first historical monograph written in New China using the Marxist view of historiography as the guiding ideology
"Xinhai Revolution", by Chen Xulu, Shanghai People's Publishing House, June 1955, 1st edition, cover
Portrait of Mr. Chen Xulu
I remember that as early as 47 years ago, in the spring of 1974, when I was studying at the Shanghai Institute of History (No. 40 Caoxi North Road), I listened to Mr. Chen Xulu give a lecture on the history of the Xinhai Revolution. At that time, Mr. 56 was already a professor of history at East China Normal University, a well-known professor in Shanghai, and I was a 23-year-old young student. At that time, the stormy situation of struggle had basically ended, but the phenomenon of no culture, no knowledge, and no books to read still pervaded society. But knowledge is like sunshine and rain for young people, always attractive. Therefore, young students have the opportunity to listen to the lectures of famous professors, which is like a blessing from heaven and is naturally cherished.
At that time, 16 of our young trainees came from industrial and mining enterprises and suburban farms, and there were also correspondents recommended by Wen Wei Po, and the author was one of the recommended correspondents. Listening to historian Yang Kuan teach the history of the pre-Qin Dynasty, Fang Shiming teach the history of the Two Han Dynasties and three kingdoms, Tan Qijun teach the history of the Southern and Northern Dynasties of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, Tang Zhijun teach the history of classics, and Chen Xulu teach modern history at all opportunities in history is a very rare learning opportunity in life, and it also makes many of our students fall in love with historiography all their lives and even change their fate. Listening to their lectures was like drinking nectar for a long time, enjoying the delicious food of historiography. I remember the impression of seeing Mr. Chen Xulu in the first class: he looked full of heaven, his eyes were shining, he was wearing a blue cloth zhongshan suit, and he knew at a glance that he was a simple and dignified teacher. Mr. Xiangxiang, Hunan, also speaks a strong Hunan township tone in class, so that I grew up in Shanghai, it was a bit difficult to listen to his lectures for the first time, but this did not affect the attractiveness of his lectures to me. He taught us the modern history of China, mainly centering on the context of major historical events such as the Opium War, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Second Opium War, the Foreign Affairs Movement, the Sino-French War, the Sino-Japanese War, the Penghu Revolution, the Xinhai Revolution, and the Beiyang Warlords, among which I was deeply impressed by the history of the Xinhai Revolution. Why the Xinhai Revolution? Because the Xinhai Revolution led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen was a very powerful event in China's modern history, Mr. Chen was the leading expert and scholar in the field of Xinhai Revolution research. In my early years, I had a habit of always looking for relevant reading materials to preview before listening to lectures, so that I could have more numbers in my mind when listening to lectures. On that occasion, I also borrowed Chen Xulu's "Xinhai Revolution" (Shanghai People's Publishing House, June 1955, 1st Edition) from the research institute's data room in advance, so I knew that Mr. Chen had in-depth research on the Xinhai Revolution as early as the 1950s and had extraordinary academic achievements. The whole book of "Xinhai Revolution" has five chapters, including "The Gradual Formation of bourgeois democratic revolutionaries," "The Founding of the League and Its Struggle," "The Sharpening of Social Contradictions on the Eve of the Xinhai Revolution," "The Rapid Victory of the Xinhai Revolution," and "The Counter-Revolutionary Offensive and the Abolition of the Revolution." It is a monograph on the Xinhai Revolution of great academic value, and is praised as "the first famous book in New China to use the Marxist view of history to explore and study the history of the Xinhai Revolution." Therefore, I listened to his lectures with the mood of looking up to the famous teachers, and I felt that the content of his lectures was like large beads and small beads falling into the plate, pleasant to the ear, beaded words, into the ears into the brain, and a special sense of harvest.
On that day, he gave a lecture on the Xinhai Revolution, which unfolded in the chronological order of the outbreak of events, that is, from the outbreak of the Road Protection Movement in Xiang, Hubei, Guangdong, Sichuan and other provinces in 1911, he recounted and taught the historical process of the revolutionaries of the Eighth Battalion of the New Army Engineering firing the first shot of the Wuchang Uprising and the rebel army's control of the three towns of Wuhan, the establishment of the Hubei Military Government, and the election of Li Yuanhong as the governor and the change of the name of the country to the Republic of China. Later, after the victory of the Wuchang Uprising, 15 provinces, including Hunan and Guangdong, announced their independence from the Qing government; under the impact of the national revolutionary torrent, under the struggle of revolutionary groups such as the League led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the Qing government was forced to issue an abdication edict on February 12, 1912. At this point, the imperial system, which lasted for more than 2,000 years, came to an end in Chinese history. In my notebook at that time, I also carefully recorded three meanings of my summary of the Xinhai Revolution: First, the Xinhai Revolution ended the ancient feudal autocratic system of more than two thousand years and brought a new breath of "fraternity, equality, and freedom"; second, the Xinhai Revolution not only marked the success of the bourgeois democratic revolution politically, but also brought favorable factors to the development of capitalism in the economy; third, the Xinhai Revolution launched a democratic revolutionary movement in ancient China, waged a struggle against the old system, and also dealt a blow to the imperialism that supported the old system. Two historical lessons: First, the defeat of the Xinhai Revolution proved that imperialism helped the reactionary forces to suppress the revolution and was the greatest enemy of the Chinese revolution; second, the defeat of the Xinhai Revolution proved that the weak bourgeoisie could not lead the Chinese revolution to success. It can be said that Mr. Li's lectures are clear in context, there are narratives and arguments, there are inductions and summaries, and the style of a famous teacher is still unforgettable.
In his later years, on the basis of his research on the Xinhai Revolution, he also deeply examined the changes in the modern socio-economic structure and political structure and the social changes triggered by unequal treaties. It not only studies the internal factors of social changes in modern China, but also looks for changes in social habits caused by external shocks; it not only discusses the changes in politics, thought, philosophy, literature, etc., but also analyzes the changes in social mentality under the influence of European wind and rain, constructs a new historical framework for metabolism, and has an in-depth interpretation of the major historical event of the Xinhai Revolution, which once again surpasses the research level of other scholars of the same era. When I bought "Xinhai Revolution" in the late 1980s and read the book carefully, I found that it was inevitable that the book would have the imprint of the 1950s era, but this did not affect reading and understanding the background, context and historical significance of the Xinhai Revolution. In the book, he travels all over the place, searching up and down, talking about politics, economy, and culture, which attracts people's attention.
Zang Kejia, a modern poet in our country, said: "Some people are alive and he is already dead; some people are dead, and he is still alive." This sentence points out the distinction between the value of human beings. Mr. Chen has long since driven the crane to the west, and it has been 33 years since then. But many people are still reading Mr. Chen's books, and those who have interacted with him continue to talk about and miss him. This shows that his academic thinking and personality still inspire people, making people feel that he has never left, which shows the excellence of Mr. Chen Xulu's academic thought and the loftiness of his character.
Wu Yuzhang's "Xinhai Revolution" is a memoir written to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution
"Xinhai Revolution", by Wu Yuzhang, People's Publishing House, September 1961, 1st edition, cover
Portrait of Mr. Wu Yuzhang
"Xinhai Revolution" People's Publishing House, September 1961, 1st edition, the volume has Wu Yuzhang's "On the Xinhai Revolution" article, which through the analysis and argument of the social and historical background before and after the Xinhai Revolution, fully affirms that "the overthrow of the absolute monarchy is a great victory of the Xinhai Revolution", pointing out the great historical significance of the Xinhai Revolution; the title of the main text: "Memories from before and after the Sino-Japanese War to before and after the Xinhai Revolution", the whole book has "The defeat of the Sino-Japanese War, shocking people's hearts" and "the restoration and change of law." There are 23 chapters in total, including "The Founding of the League", "The Struggle Between the Revolutionaries and Reformists", "The Failure of the Armed Uprising", "The Storm of Assassination Activities", "The Guangzhou Uprising of March 29 in Xinhai", "The Railway Tide", "The Independence of Rong County", "The Wuchang Uprising", "The Provisional Government of Nanjing", "The Failure of the Second Revolution, The Continued Pursuit of Truth", and so on. In the book, Wu Yuzhang tells the historical background and deduction process before and after the Xinhai Revolution in the tone of a person who witnessed the Xinhai Revolution, and also depicts the deeds he saw and heard and participated in the Activities of the Xinhai Revolution with delicate words, and also cleverly reflects Wu Yuzhang's life. Therefore, Wu Yuzhang's memoirs of the Xinhai Revolution are both a monograph on the memoirs of the Xinhai Revolution and an autobiographical monograph, which has high historical and documentary value.
Wu Yuzhang was a contemporary of Dr. Sun Yat-sen. He was born in 1878 in Rong County, Sichuan. Since childhood, he has been loyal and sincere, tenacious and determined, likes to read history books, is knowledgeable, and has the reputation of "golden jade article". In 1903, he crossed to Japan and entered the Tokyo Castle School to seek a strategy for strengthening the country. Accepting the idea of democratic revolution, he joined the League in 1906, and was also a witness to major revolutionary events such as the Guangzhou Uprising, the Independence of Rongxian County, the Wuchang Uprising, and the Second Revolution, so he was also one of the authors most qualified to write the history of the Xinhai Revolution. In 1905, the revolutionary movement in our country was in a period of high tide, and it was in urgent need of a relatively centralized and unified leading organ. In China at that time, the party, the church and other organizations were obviously outdated and could not assume the responsibility of leading the bourgeois revolution; the emergence of the proletarian party was not at all possible at that time; only the emergence of the bourgeois party fully met the historical conditions of the time. Moreover, in fact, those small revolutionary groups with a slightly bourgeois party character, such as the Xingzhong Association, the Guangfu Association, the Huaxing Association, etc., already existed one after another, and the problem at that time was only how to unite them so that they had a clearer program and more unified action. The emergence of the League coincided with this historical mission, and therefore it can be regarded as the birth of the League. Therefore, the emergence of the League not only enabled the bourgeois revolution in our country to have its own political party, but Mr. Nakayama also gave it a revolutionary program of "expelling the Tartars, restoring China, establishing the Republic of China, and equalizing land rights."
After the Sino-Japanese War, Western bourgeois ideas were widely disseminated, and bourgeois political movements gradually developed. The bourgeois reformist political activities of Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, and others gradually became active after the Sino-Japanese War, and Sun Yat-sen and others also began their bourgeois political activities after the Sino-Japanese War. My own thoughts have also advanced with the agitation of the ideological trend of the times. The valuable thing about this book is that Wu Yuzhang recounted major historical events such as the Guangzhou Uprising, the Wuchang Uprising, and the Rongxian Uprising with the feelings and observations of witnesses. He said that after the establishment of the League, it organized many armed uprisings and repeated setbacks and battles, among which the Guangzhou Uprising had a greater impact. In November 1910, Sun Yat-sen, Huang Xing and other revolutionaries held a meeting in Penang overseas, and decided to launch an armed uprising in Guangzhou again, with Huang Xing as the commander-in-chief. Wu Yuzhang, a participant in the Guangzhou uprising, wrote: "In order to raise funds, Dr. Sun Yat-sen personally went to overseas Chinese to raise funds. The result of the fundraising of all parties is about 200,000 yuan. In order to stockpile arms, several groups of people were sent to buy from several countries. As soon as I arrived in Hong Kong, I was assigned to Japan to buy and ship guns and ammunition. Wu Yuzhang encountered many risks in the purchase and transportation of guns and ammunition, and tried every means to secretly transport the military fire into Guangzhou. At 5:30 p.m. on April 27, 1911, the Guangzhou Uprising broke out. Huang Xing personally led more than 130 daredevils to attack the Governor's Palace directly, but encountered a large number of enemy counterattacks, Huang Xing was wounded and bravely killed the enemy, and fought and walked, until he was left alone, he withdrew from the battlefield, and then declared the failure of the uprising at the cost of 86 revolutionary heroes such as Yu Peilun and Lin Juemin. Afterwards, when summing up the reasons for the failure of this uprising, Wu Yuzhang profoundly said: Although the heroes of this uprising are extremely heroic, they cannot avoid the fate of defeat without a simple military operation that mobilizes the broad masses to participate." This is the fundamental reason for the failure of the Guangzhou Uprising." In his later years, Sun Yat-sen, through the practice of repeated revolutionary uprisings and the influence of Soviet Russia and the Communist Party of China, also profoundly realized that the revolution must be launched and relied on by the broad masses of the people, so he put forward the New Three People's Principles of "uniting with Russia, uniting with the Communist Party, and supporting peasants and workers", formed an anti-imperialist and anti-feudal united front with the Communist Party of China, and realized the first Kuomintang-Communist cooperation.
The author believes that the narrative of the leadership of the Rong County Uprising and independence in the book is particularly wonderful. After the failure of the Guangzhou Uprising, Wu Yuzhang traveled to Japan, Shanghai, and Chongqing and returned to his hometown of Rong County, Sichuan. On September 25, 1911, Wu Yuzhang and members of the League, Wang Tianjie and Long Mingjian, announced an uprising in Rong County. Wu Yuzhang led a team to open the county's cells, release the arrested revolutionaries, expel the Qing officials, successfully persuaded the township gentry and eunuchs of Rong County to hold high the banner of anti-Qing and break away from the Qing Dynasty. Rong County declared independence half a month before the Wuchang Uprising, so its influence was great, becoming the center of the anti-Qing armed struggle of the Revolutionary Army in southeastern Chengdu. This also fully shows that Wu Yuzhang is a cadre with political organizational talents, and is also an excellent organization and leader in the Xinhai Revolution.
In the book, Wu Yuzhang's account of the Wuchang Uprising is also rigorous and vivid and unique. He said that after the failure of the Guangzhou uprising, the revolutionaries decided to turn their targets to the Yangtze River Valley and prepare to launch a new armed uprising centered on Wuhan. Through the efforts of the revolutionaries, the epoch-making Wuchang Uprising was finally successfully launched on October 10, 1911. There are differences in the historical circles as to the causes of the Wuchang Uprising, which some scholars believe to be accidental; Wu Yuzhang firmly believes that "the outbreak of the Wuchang Uprising was not accidental." On the one hand, he was the result of the development of the revolutionary situation throughout the country, and the boiling railway tide in Sichuan and the armed uprising with a national character were the most important factors that prompted the outbreak of the Wuchang uprising; on the other hand, it was the result of the long and arduous work of the revolutionaries in the two lakes, and the effective activity of the revolutionaries in the new army was the most important reason for the victory of the Wuchang uprising. Through the analysis of the external macro situation of the country and the effectiveness of the propaganda work done by the internal revolutionaries in the two lakes, Wu Yuzhang accurately analyzed the main reason for the outbreak of the Wuchang uprising was the inevitable result of the revolutionaries taking root in Hubei for a long time and the ripening of melons, and clarified the historical truth. The victory of the Wuchang Uprising, which eventually led to the demise of the Qing Dynasty and the establishment of a democratic republic, was a landmark in Chinese history.
Wu Yuzhang is a firm believer and follower of the New Democratic Revolution. On New Year's Day 1912, the Provisional Government of the Republic of China was officially proclaimed, and Mr. Nakayama was appointed as the Provisional President. Wu Yuzhang was invited by Sun Yat-sen to serve as the head of the Secretariat of the Presidential Office and assist Mr. Zhongshan in handling government affairs. He was indifferent to fame and fortune, loyal to his duties, advanced and retreated with Mr. Zhongshan, and participated in the second revolution, waging a resolute struggle against Yuan Shikai's perverse behavior, safeguarding the republican system, and constantly pursuing the truth of saving the country and saving the people. During the May Fourth period, he accepted the idea of scientific socialism. In 1925, at the age of 48, Wu Yuzhang joined the Communist Party of China, engaged in the party's united front work and participated in the Northern Expedition. Later, he participated in the Nanchang Uprising and served as a member and secretary general of the Revolutionary Committee. After the defeat of the Great Revolution, he did not waver in his revolutionary faith and followed the instructions of the Party to study and work in the Soviet Union. In 1938, he returned to China to participate in the National War of Resistance, was elected as a member of the first National Suffrage Committee, served as the president of the Yan'an Constitutional Promotion Association, the dean of Lu Xun Art College, the president of Yan'an University, and the director of the Cultural Committee of the Border Region Government. In 1945, he was appointed as a representative of the Communist Party of China to attend the CPPCC session in Chongqing, and the following year he was appointed secretary of the Sichuan Provincial CPC Committee; in 1949, he attended the first plenary session of the Chinese Political Consultative Conference, participated in the preparation of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China, served as a member of the Central People's Government, and attended the founding ceremony. In February 1950, he became the first president of Chinese University until his death on December 12, 1966. Comrade Mao Zedong praised him: "It is not difficult for a person to do something good, but it is difficult to do good deeds all his life, not to do bad things, to consistently benefit the broad masses, to always benefit the youth, to always benefit the revolution, and to work hard for decades as a day. He fully affirmed Wu Yuzhang's life of "doing good things for a lifetime" for the revolution and the people.
Author: Weng Changsong
Edit: Jin Jiuchao