【What the Reader Says】
Xu Guangshou is vice president of the Shanghai Communist Party History Society and researcher of the Shanghai Xi Jinping Research Center for Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in the New Era
Recently, a book aimed at clarifying the relationship between the birth of the Communist Party of China and Shanghai, "The Cradle of Light", was published by the Shanghai People's Publishing House. The 250,000-word book, with "Cradle of Light" as the title, is intended to sort out the connotation and characteristics of Shanghai as the "Cradle of Light", explore the reasons why Shanghai has become the "Cradle of Light", explore the historical source of the original mission of communists, and then inherit the red gene of the spiritual blood of communists.
Why was the Communist Party of China born in Shanghai? As we all know, in the field of CCP historiography, this is a hot topic with different opinions. As the editor-in-chief of the 30-volume "General History of Shanghai" of the Shanghai Major Social Science Project and the 25-volume "Shanghai Urban Social Life History Series" of the Shanghai Philosophy and Social Science Planning Major Project, the author of this book uses his profound accumulation of Shanghai history and culture to give a convincing academic new theory. Specifically, the logic of its argument is as follows.
First, the "three spaces" theory is proposed. The "three spaces" refer to "Shanghai", "China" and "the world". Regarding "Shanghai", the book sorts out the formation, evolution and interrelationship of different spaces in modern Shanghai. Regarding "China", this book explains Shanghai's status in the whole country, including the following aspects: how Shanghai has developed from an ordinary coastal county to the largest city in China; the political, economic, cultural and social ties between Shanghai and the whole country; the proportion of Shanghai's newspapers, magazines and publications in the country as an important cultural undertaking; and Shanghai's role in translating and introducing new Western ideas, new cultures, new customs, and new habits. Regarding the "world", not only the Shanghai Concession was introduced, but also the convenient international shipping and communication system of Shanghai was analyzed.
Second, it proposes the "six pillars (six factors)" that support Shanghai as the birthplace of the party. "The six pillars are the dissemination system of advanced ideology and culture, the social foundation of the working class and advanced intellectuals, the developed water and land transportation system, the convenient postal communication system, the social organization system that can be relied on, and the safe gap of the concession that can be used. These six factors support each other and constitute the uniqueness of Shanghai, which makes the Chinese Communist Party come into being in Shanghai, and Shikumenli gave birth to a "groundbreaking event".
Third, based on the "three spaces and six pillars", the connection and difference between Shanghai and other cities in China are proposed. The book argues that Shanghai has close ties with all parts of the country, and the most prominent motivations are twofold: one is wartime neutrality and environmental security, and the other is economic development and many opportunities. More than 80% of modern Shanghainese are immigrants from all over the country. When they came to Shanghai, they relied on the path of turning to relatives and friends, and they mainly relied on blood, geography and karma. The difference between modern Shanghai and ordinary cities is that it has strong international ties, and the three spaces of "Shanghai, the whole country, and the world" are gradually expanding in concentric circles, making many events that occur in Shanghai not only have a national impact, but also always have a world impact. Important national or world events that occur outside of Shanghai will also have an extraordinary impact on Shanghai.
Fourth, the characteristics of Shanghai's red culture are summarized as hong, deep, xiong and qi. Hong refers to broad and abundant. In the 28 years from 1921 to 1949, the Communist Party of China held seven national congresses, three of which were held in Shanghai and six plenary sessions of the Central Committee; in 28 years, the leading organs of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China were located in Shanghai for 126 months. Deep means deep and far-reaching. Many important ideas and major policy decisions in the history of the development of the Communist Party of China were brewed and produced in Shanghai, and many events of great significance and far-reaching influence in the history of the Party occurred in Shanghai. Male means heroic and majestic. The May Thirtieth Movement led by the Communist Party of China in 1925 and the three armed uprisings of workers in Shanghai from 1926 to 1927 have all shown the heroic image of the Communist Party of China in fearless of strong enemies, daring to resist, and forging ahead. Odd means strange and wonderful. The revolutionary struggle led by the Communist Party of China has created many miracles by taking advantage of the special situation of shanghai with many political outputs and different powers. As far as Shanghai's urban character is concerned, Hong, Deep, Majestic and Strange, some embody magnificence, such as heroic resistance to the enemy and generous hardship, and some embody beauty, such as deep thinking, skillful maneuvering, magnificent and beautiful, reflecting each other, and together they have become a beautiful movement of Shanghai's red culture.
This induction and analysis shows the author's strong academic accumulation and solid academic foundation. The above four points of great innovative value profoundly explain the relationship between Shanghai and the birth of the Communist Party of China, and are the most prominent and important academic innovations. In addition, the book's analysis of the "political gap", the analysis of the "immigrant society" and the "gathering of heroes", and the analysis of the "why is the French Concession" all expound their own unique insights.
Since the Tang Dynasty historian Liu Zhiji first put forward the theory of "three chiefs of historians" of talent, learning, and knowledge, whether it is Zhang Xuecheng's "moral learning and knowledge" theory of the Qing Dynasty or Liang Qichao's "moral ability and knowledge" theory in modern times, historians of all generations have taken "historical talent" as an important criterion for judging historians.
Inheriting the style of the historian Mr. Chen Xulu, Professor Xiong Yuezhi, the author of this book, has always attached great importance to the "four chiefs of historians". Embodied in many of his scholarly works, it means that the narrative of historical events and the organization of historical materials are logical and vivid, clearly organized and concise. Whether it is the old book "Western Learning and Late Qing Society", "Shanghai Urban Life under the Interweaving of Heterogeneous Cultures", "West Wind and Eastern Gradual and Modern Society", or the new book "Cradle of Light", this style can be fully demonstrated.
First of all, make good use of clear and unobstructed organization to clarify the complicated history. Clarifying the relationship between Shanghai and the birth of the Chinese Communist Party is undoubtedly a complicated problem. All 7 chapters of the book, starting from the "three spaces and six pillars", not only unfold layer by layer, but also whip into the interior and continue to advance, showing the reader a complete historical picture with a comprehensive structure, strict logic and clear organization.
Secondly, you can express boring content with plain and concise words. The book is not only plain and concise in the title of the chapter, but also the text of the whole book is concise and concise, and it is often possible to clarify the spiritual essence in three words and two words. For example, on the characteristics of the Shanghai working class: "First, the number of people is relatively large, the second is the difficulty of life, and the third is to maintain close ties with the countryside", accurate and in place, and very grounded.
Again, comb through trivial content with a concise and clear table. The book cleverly uses tables when stating important issues, and successively produces 12 tables, such as "Some Revolutionaries Who Worked in Shanghai after Returning from Work-study in France from 1919 to 1924" and "Footprints of Mao Zedong in Shanghai Before 1949", which make complex issues detailed and simplified.
Finally, commonly used pictures as illustrations. For example, when we talk about "developed transportation in the city," we present various means of transportation such as new trolleybuses, buses, double-decker buses, horse-drawn carriages, and rickshaws at that time; when we talk about the "grand spread of Marxism," we present the cover of the "Datong Book" published by the Shanghai Guangzhi Society in 1899, the cover of "Socialist Party" and "Socialism in the Modern Era" printed by the Shanghai Guangzhi Book Bureau in 1903, and so on. Not only is it natural and appropriate, but it is also accurate and precious, and it has a finishing touch to read.
Of course, since it is an academic work, there will always be different academic views. The book has its own views on issues such as whether Mao Zedong was an introducer to joining the party and the understanding of the signs of joining the party, and the narrative of the entire process of the CCP's congress in Shanghai, but some views are still debatable academic issues.
In short, "The Cradle of Light" not only deeply explores and comprehensively answers "why Shanghai has become the cradle of light in modern China", which has a strong academic nature, but also has both quality and literature, which is a masterpiece of party history that is appreciated by both elegance and customs. Although the cover of this book reads "The First Lesson on Party History for Young People", in my opinion, it also has leading and inspiring significance for party history researchers, especially those who study the history of the founding of the Ccp.
Guangming Daily (12th edition, November 13, 2021)
Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily