The magnificent original heart of the sunrise in the East

The magnificent original heart of the sunrise in the East

——Reading the reportage "Dawn: 1921"

Author: Ding Xiaoyuan (Vice President of China Reportage Literature Society)

Xu Jian's novel Dawn: 1921 (published by the Ten Thousand Volumes Publishing Company in December 2021) is a reportage tribute to the party's centennial anniversary. The author hooks and explores the history of the sunrise in the East, highlights the original mission of the Chinese Communists, reproduces the difficult years of the storm, and composes a lofty and magnificent song of faith.

This work focuses on the historical reality and the arduous struggle course of the Yanlu Blue Wisp in the early days of the founding of the party in 1921, and confirms the purpose and mission, original intention and belief of our party with informative pen and profound thinking through the trajectory of the fate of the main party builders and the major deputies who participated in the party. "The October Revolution brought Marxism to China with the sound of a cannon," and the general trend of the international revolution accelerated the historical process of the birth of the party. Through close-ups, we follow the author into No. 2 Yuyangli, Shanghai, and see what Chen Duxiu once lived, the place where a new idea took place. In "No. 106 Wangzhi Road", you can feel the breath of "Shikumenli Communist Party 'Birth Bed'". Personnel are drifting away, but the light and shadow are long-lasting. "Dawn: 1921" pushes the time and space of special significance in the history of the founding party to the reader in the form of meaningful shots. Reading the works is like watching a historical series that breaks new ground and reveals a big narrative in the morning, and in returning to the historical scene of a hundred years ago, it evokes a sense of inner solemnity and the majestic power to move forward.

"Dawn of Heaven: 1921" writes about the struggle of the blue wisps of the yanlu road in the early days of the founding of the party. The picture shows the theme sculpture of "Southern Chen Bei Li, Meet to Build the Party" in a major memorial hall of the Communist Party of China. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Ying

The most valuable thing about "Dawn of Heaven: 1921" is that the author picks up the fine particles that have fallen into the folds of history, and interprets the original mission and faith and belief of the communists in the observation and perspective of the intertwined fate of the participants in the great cause of the founding of the party and the history of the evolution of modern China. In 1920, Mao Zedong went from Beijing to Shanghai to send off the wanderer who had gone to France for work-study, and at the same time met Chen Duxiu, whom he revered in his heart, and "discussed with Chen Duxiu the Marxist books I had read, and Chen Duxiu talked about the words of his own faith." Faith and the confidant of faith forge a lasting and firm belief. He Shuheng was the eldest of the party's major deputies, a "former Qing dynasty veteran who spent his whole life rushing to take the exam" and eventually dedicated himself to the revolution. The author searched for the former residence of the martyrs and was "amazed by the hundred-year-old mansion and a large courtyard in front of him." The author clearly informs the reader that the greatness of these revolutionary martyrs lies in the fact that all actions are not for personal self-interest, but for the salvation and strength of the nation and the well-being and happiness of the masses of the people.

The most important thing is to strengthen the faith and move people's hearts. The "Southern Chen and Northern Li" who met to build the party erected a monument of faith among the communists with their own lives. In the chapter "Betrayer, Loser", "Jinling, The Absolute Pen Heaven Sighs Without Tears", "Cliffs Thousands of Feet, Yuanjiang Is Silent", "Lonely Hong Chu Heaven Is Difficult to Return", and other sections of ink and ink, such as "The Betrayer, the Loser", with several sections of ink such as "Jinling, The Absolute Pen Sighs Without Tears", "The Lonely Hong Chu Heaven Is Difficult to Return", etc., narrates the alternative life and discolored fate of Chen Gongbo, Zhou Fohai, Zhang Guotao, Liu Renjing and others in the great waves of the revolutionary red boat. History is an authoritative witness, verifying the truth that does not forget the original intention and is always there. In the contrast with profound meaning, the author capitalizes the original intention of the Chinese Communists and its great significance, and deeply understands the theme of party building in the new era. Thus, in a sense, Dawn: 1921 is a vivid and convincing history textbook for educating on the faith of the original heart.

The historical narrative of reportage is naturally different from the narrative in history, but the writer of reportage should also abide by the internal logic of historical truth and uphold the writing ethics of recording history. At this point, Xu Jian's consciousness was self-conscious. The historical materials in the early days of the founding of the party are not much written records at that time, and even fewer have survived. Subsequently, the parties' recollections and the researchers' writings have been omitted and untrue for various reasons. In this regard, the author pays attention to combing through a large number of readings, and dialectically according to the possibility of historical context. Many controversial details and links, the author spent effort to comb through the historical materials to examine, based on the examination and then adopt a view close to historical facts. There are some special figures in the history of the Party, and many of the existing accounts are unknown, and the author has tried every means to collect historical materials and blow away the dust of history, so that readers can understand the specific situation of historical figures who were once enigmatic. Such efforts make the narrative of the work rich and full. For some doubtful historical details, the author tried his best to verify to restore the truth, such as the specific time when Chen Duxiu left Shanghai and went to Guangdong in 1920, some say November, some say December, the itinerary is said to be 3 days, and there are 12 days. The author consulted the reports of the Republic of China Daily and the Declaration at that time and determined that Chen Duxiu left Shanghai on December 17 and arrived in Guangdong on the 26th. All this shows the respect of Dawn: 1921 for the nature of history. Therefore, the narrative of the work is more rigorous and credible, and has the corresponding historical character and value.

Of course, Dawn: 1921 is a literary work based on history, not just history, reflecting the author's dynamic and poetic expression. The title of the work is a huge image, which not only gives the grand historical aura contained in the subject matter, but also opens the poetic field of the text construction of the work. Mo Daojun traveled early, and the East wanted to know. The great cause of the founding of the party in 1921 wrote a new chapter in which the long night of an ancient nation will end and the sun will rise in the east. The poetic setting of the title as the poetic narrative of the work provides the possibility and necessity. In the intertextual construction of objective objects and subjects, Xu Jian formed his distinctive writing style. In fact, the subject reaction and its expression generated by the activation of the object are also an important part of the authenticity of reportage, and it is also an element of reportage for reportage.

In the work "Dawn: 1921", the author is often unable to help himself in the face of some historical situations and character situations, stirring up words, or allegory in the scene, or making a strong argument, or filling in the words. The organic generation of this subjective language is a kind of adjustment to the objective narrative, but also a kind of nourishment, which effectively enhances the appeal of the text. In addition, the structural treatment of the work is also self-explanatory. The author is good at finding characters or events with structural value from scattered writing materials, and setting them as the perspective and viewpoint of the narrative. As a participant in a major party meeting, Wang Huiwu is such a structural figure, "She feels like an old record player, the needle of memory is released, embedded in a circle of tracks, and the final landing point is still the ten days before and after the first congress of the CCP." In this way, the narrative is unfolded, and the work acquires a historical mode that is suitable for the object of writing. In such a structural baseline, the scheduling and placement of materials is orderly, and the information is abundant and integrated.

Guangming Daily (December 29, 2021, 14th edition)

Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily