Lecture | Zhang Baoming: "New Youth" and the "Spiritual Shareholding System" to create a golden signboard

This article is compiled from a lecture by Professor Zhang Baoming of the School of History and Culture of Henan University in the History Department of Fudan University, "Gong Tong Ren": The "Golden Signboard" Created by the Spiritual Shareholding System". The lecture was chaired by Professor Ma Jianbiao of the Department of History of Fudan University, and co-chaired by Professor Xiong Yuwen of Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications and Dr. Hu Mengying of the School of Humanities and Communication of Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics.

Keynote Speaker Professor Zhang Baoming (School of History and Culture, Henan University):

As a famous magazine, New Youth magazine is one of the most important innovations in the history of ideas in the 20th century. Some people call it the "first issue", and I think it is worthy of the name from the story of the ideas it portrays, such as the iron horse and the drums and horns. In 2005, I wrote an article entitled "The Formation of Enlightenment Sentiments from the Perspective of Knowledge Economics", discussing the publication of "New Youth" from an economic and material point of view, and in 2015, I also wrote ""Gong Tong Appointed": The "Golden Signboard" Created by the Spiritual Shareholding System - Thinking of the Ideological World of "New Youth"", which is the topic I am talking about today. Looking back at history, the operation of this magazine not only has the component of "material shareholding system", but also is full of the meaning of "spiritual shareholding system". In the editorial department of "New Youth" under the "public and common-appointed", the rules of enlightenment operation under the spiritual shareholding system have enabled the magazine colleagues to fully interpret and reflect their respective ideas on the issue of the development of modernity, thus forming a rare situation of theoretical controversy and ideological complementarity in the history of ideas. After the May Fourth Movement in 1919, the editor-in-chief Chen Duxiu was arrested by the military police for distributing leaflets, and then he left Beijing to go south, and this situation of "public and common office" also subsided. More colleagues have begun a new round of ideological disputes for the survival of this "golden signboard". Today, I mainly choose this time period to discuss the story of the spiritual joint-stock system to create a "golden signboard".

New Youth, Vol. II, No. 1

I. Introduction: A Generation of Famous Magazines "New Youth"

First, let me introduce the ins and outs of New Youth. In September 1915, Chen Duxiu returned to Shanghai from Japan. Through the introduction of his compatriot Wang Mengzou, the general manager of Yadong Library, he met the owners of Qunyi Book Club, Chen Zipei and Chen Zishou brothers, thus founding "New Youth" magazine, holding up an umbrella as the main author, winning an independent sky and opening up a beautiful landscape in the history of Enlightenment thought in the 20th century.

In 1936, the Yadong Library and the Qunyi Book Society jointly reprinted "New Youth", which was widely publicized in a "Tongqi": "In the past forty years, there have been two major movements in China, whose influence has spread throughout the country, and it is related to the national fortunes: one is the Wushu coup and the other is the May Fourth Movement. These two major movements originated because they were first advocated by two powerful magazines, the former being the Xinmin Cong Bao and the latter being the New Youth Magazine. ”

Hu Shi advertised New Youth in 1936: "New Youth is a publication that divides an era into the history of Chinese literature and thought. The literary movement and ideological reform of the last two decades have almost always proceeded from this publication. Although Hu Shi was trying to sell New Youth, he was not exaggerating. As early as October 1923, Hu Shi wrote in his "Letter to the Editorial Board of "Effort Weekly": "In the past twenty-five years, only three magazines can represent three eras, and it can be said that three new eras have been created: one is the "Shi Ji Bao"; the other is "Xinmin Cong Bao"; and the other is "New Youth". ”

Whether it is a positive or negative party, whether it is a scholar who holds any kind of view, whether it is a thinker or a publishing historian, it cannot but applaud the miracle of creating a win-win social and economic benefit on the platform of "New Youth". Even today, a hundred years later, whenever academic colleagues mention "New Youth", they have an undisguised, heartfelt, and heartfelt respect: first, the arrangement of words that have appeared in the history of ideas has combined into a most magnificent spiritual sunrise, stirring and accelerating our heartbeat; second, the popular miracles that have occurred in the history of publishing cannot stop our curiosity. Today, we have been wondering, why can "New Youth" go from being unpopular at the beginning to being famous in the later stage?

Therefore, we must think about the historical world built by the "New Youth Faction" intellectual group, there are many stories, leaving aside its twists and turns, we dig up its most prosperous "colleague" period as the object of our touch: in the editorial department of "Gong Tong", the enlightenment operation rules under the "spiritual shareholding system" deduce a twisty and melodious story in the history of ideas. A century later, the feelings of home and country and the mission of that generation are still the lingering historical memories of humanistic intellectuals.

II. The Gate Offinch: The "Past Life" of a Man"' "Master Writer"

Next, I will tell the story of the beginning of the founding of "New Youth". In September 1915, New Youth magazine was founded, its original name was "Youth Magazine", which was later changed to a widely known name because it touched the copyright of the publication of the same name. At that time, there was already a religious newspaper called "Youth Magazine", and Chen Duxiu immediately decided to rename it "New Youth".

The newly born "New Youth" once had an unknown and unpopular encounter, not as Chen Duxiu said in the early days, "as long as ten or eight years of hard work, it will definitely have a great impact." At that time, Chen Duxiu, who was positioned as the "main writer", was not famous, and Zhang Shizhao was not yet famous, and the fame of "Jiayin" was far above that of "New Youth". After the failure of the Second Revolution, Chen Duxiu fled to Japan and ran around for his livelihood. The pressure on publishers was no less than that of publishers in today's Internet age. In the merchants, "hard currency" is the last word. To make the business of enlightenment bigger, it requires the cooperation of multiple elements, of which several basic elements are imminent: one is the basic operating expenses; the second is the high-quality manuscript source; the third is the editorial team; and the fourth is the issuer's hand. Among them, the former two are the most important.

Therefore, Chen Duxiu never forgot two development themes during the period of one-man responsibility: one is capital, and the other is talent. The first is to go north to raise funds and run for the operation of the magazine. Wang Yuanfang once recalled: "Between 1915 and 1916, a 'big bookstore' project was brewed. At first, there were three joint proposals between Qunyi Book Club, Yadong Library and Popular Book Bureau, but it was unsuccessful. Later, he planned to merge Qunyi and Yadong to change the company, and thus Zhongfu and Meng Zou went north. Chen also raised funds from many sources, as evidenced by his letter to Hu Shi:

"Brother and Brother Meng Zou for the book office prospectus, at the end of November last year to Beijing to stay for more than a month, about ten can get tens of thousands of yuan, there are 200,000 yuan in cash, combined with Yadong, Qunyi old property of about 300,000 yuan, can also be temporarily reluctantly established, the big expansion still has to endure for two or three years. After the establishment of the bookstore, the compilation matter has yet to be a pillar, and the monthly fee can be at least one hundred yuan. "Youth" and "Jiayin" both seek to be full of texts. It can be seen that Chen Duxiu has put himself in it from the very beginning of the brewing of "New Youth" and has become a bundled "shareholder".

At the same time that Chen Duxiu was "recruiting wealth", he was also "recruiting talents". As mentioned in the letter above, the "prospectus" is to extend the "pillar", and the "pillar" can provide brand support for the market-oriented operation. Another letter from Wang Mengzou to Hu Shi shows the eagerness of the master to write "prospectus" and "recruitment" in parallel: "Chen Jun hopes that my brother's words are like the hope of the great drought, and when there is a gift in the New Year, why is it still lonely, please ask my brother to write and send it one after another." Although it was a word of transmission, Chen's anxious mood of seeking talents jumped on top.

On the title page of Volume 2, No. 1, the two "Circulars" expose the logical composition of people and things as "mutual appearances". Circular (I) Yun: "With the help of contemporary celebrities, such as Wen Zongyao, Wu Jingheng, Zhang Ji, Ma Junwu, Hu Shi, su Manshu, all the kings allowed the publication of texts about youth by Benzhi." The following content is especially wonderful when compared to the previous one. This is not only the selfish fortune of the book, but also the fate of the readers' words. This self-proclaimed "more exciting after advertising" seems simple, but in fact, it is a bundled sales of "a famous person" as a selling point. Although it is impossible for these authors to sign a buyout agreement, the "notice" that "the text is published by benzhi" gives people the feeling of having exhausted the net. This kind of strategic vision of holding up the brand by famous masters is not difficult to glimpse from his gentleman's agreement with the big-name author Hu Shi: "If there is no deep friendship between those who have an appointment elsewhere, there is no need to respond." The implication is, "Don't talk to strangers."

Here, we can touch the pain points of the main writer Chen Duxiu's overstretched elbows: the economic dismal operation, the manuscript is high-grade rice under the pot. The double pressure of money shortage and manuscript shortage makes "New Youth" face yellow muscle thin, occasionally red halo, advertising is doing well, but it is just fat after grease and powder. This is the case during the period of "master writer" in which one person is alone.

III. The Gate of the City: The "Present Life" of "Gong Tong"

The gorgeous turnaround of "New Youth" was at the end of 1916, when Chen Duxiu's Beijing "prospectus" was not successful. Under the repeated bombardment of Cai Yuanpei, in early 1917, Chen Duxiu took the magazine and became the dean of liberal arts at Peking University, and the editorial office moved to Beijing. Since then, "New Youth" has changed the coldness of the door, and both the author, the reader and the editorial team have begun to tend to be in the market. From "New Youth" stationed in Peking University to "rotating editing", from "accommodating foreign languages" to "not buying separate manuscripts", from "lack of selection" of authors and manuscripts to practical "particularly wonderful", the sales of "New Youth" have gradually expanded, "at most 15,000 or 6,000 copies can be printed a month (at first, only 1,000 copies were printed per issue)".

As a result, popular magazines such as Japan and The Sky have also inadvertently shown the original form of "former congratulations and later concubines". To find out, "New Youth" has entered the period of "public and common-minded" colleagues, which is what I call the "shareholding system" period. The "shareholding system" method mentioned here is not the "material" we usually say about plant, equipment, funds and so on, but the "new youth" submitted as shares in the spiritual products such as their respective knowledge, thoughts, concepts, and beliefs, which is the "spiritual shareholding system" indicated by our title. They planned a series of columns, including the Labor Day commemoration, Marx Research, and so on.

The operation of the "shares" of "New Youth" is based on the spiritual signal of the editorial department". First, from the 4th volume No. 1, "Mr. Chen Duxiu's main author" retired as a preview, and then there was the "Benzhi Editorial Department Notice" of No. 3 of the 4th volume officially announced: "Since the fourth volume of the first volume, the submission charter has been cancelled, and all the translations are served by the editorial department and are not purchased separately." If the manuscript has not been recorded before, whether he can return the book, Shang Xi submitted a statement of letters from the kings, and will not be consulted one by one. Thereafter, those who have seen the great deeds will not be rewarded. Whether it is recorded or not, the original manuscript will not be returned, and it will be published. ”

The "Editor's Table of The Sixth Volume of this Magazine" has developed the "New Youth" from a main writer to a multi-headed main writer or public responsibility: the first issue of Chen Duxiu, the second issue of Qian Xuantong, the third issue of Gao Yihan, the fourth issue of Hu Shi, the fifth issue of Li Dazhao, and the sixth issue of Shen Yinmo. The fact of taking turns to sit in the village has changed the decision-making model of personal will of the main author of the "package", and at the same time introduced a "democratic" mechanism for running periodicals. Although there is still a residual temperature of "concentration", a federal"public space" with a certain degree of freedom is gradually getting better.

It is unique in that, unlike the formation process of "public space" in the West, the news media led by "New Youth" has become a key factor in the growth of "public space". In the "New Youth" community, people with close but harmonious and different positions, formed by "the public sphere formed by private aggregation", after the inevitable rapid separation of the state and society in the late Qing Dynasty, quickly constructed a huge radiation public opinion field with the media as the carrier. This space of ideological and cultural criticism has become the backbone of the independent force involved in the construction of the overall nation-state within a certain historical stage. It should be noted that in modern China, without the social foundation of civil society, it is inevitable that various intractable problems will arise in the "public space" that is only a temporary combination of the foresighters. Whether or not the underlying tension of the "New Youth Faction" intellectual group in the public space can be transformed into open and transparent cooperation is not only a test of the original writer, but also a collective torture of each participant. Needless to say, this test stems from tension between public and personal. Further, it is the tension between democracy and centralization in the meta-proposition of intellectual history.

A solid and strong team of authors is the dream of the publisher, but it is also a difficult point in integrating the team to make it "obey the orders". Chen Duxiu is a "returnee" with a good academic foundation, but the editors in "Gong Tong" are all "returnees", and all intellectuals have maverick characteristics. In an era when thinkers are fighting their own battles, how to make the team of authors "scatter their hearts and minds" is the key to Chen Duxiu's presidency of this public opinion platform. "Taking the same step" and "listening to the general's orders" are the eternal original intentions of the editor-in-chief. At this point, Chen Duxiu's ease of retracting and holding can be glimpsed from Lu Xun's memoirs: "The editor of "New Youth" has come and gone again, urged several times, I will make one, here I must remember Mr. Chen Duxiu, he urged me to say the most focused one. ”

In addition, the uniqueness of the public space of "New Youth" lies in the fact that the literary "public space" and the political "public space" are mixed together from the beginning. The result of the efforts of the "New Youth" group has become that the "New Youth" pioneered by colleagues is not only a literary "public space", but also an ideological "public space" or a political "public space". Hu Shi had an unwritten rule with Chen Duxiu when he first joined the company, that is, he would not talk about politics for 20 years, and in order to retain Hu Shi, Chen Duxiu also agreed to this request. But he agreed to it, and Chen Duxiu had strong political feelings in his heart, so he still talked about politics in a roundabout way.

In the public space of "New Youth", everyone can say their own words, but one thing has not been biased: around the high degree of consistency and unity in the goal of the modernity of the Chinese nation, discussing where China should go at present, full of strong feelings of home and country. In this sense, "New Youth" is a "strange" idea poured out of the "spiritual shareholding system". Under this "spiritual shareholding system" rule, the editorial colleagues of "New Youth" who are "publicly appointed" and act as public opinionists to bear the "morality" of human core values and ultimate care such as democracy, independence, prosperity and strength, freedom and harmony of the nation and the country, and release the feelings of home and country. They can be wise in editorial policy, wise in the content of the selection, or they can fight their own battles in the path of discourse, but the evolution of modernity in China is the only problem of great wrong and great wrong. In this regard, we can find the goal of the common struggle of our colleagues from the "revolutionary" big line of Chen Duxiu's intention to break and establish.

However, the attack on Chen Duxiu has never been broken, the rumors of catching wind and shadows are everywhere, and "New Youth" is also facing an embattled dilemma, which is related to Chen Duxiu's new ideas and new morality. Because "New Youth" advocates personal freedom, independent marriage, etc., and its views are more radical, some people deliberately write "Chen Duxiu" as "Chen Poisonous Beast" and insult him. In June 1919, Chen Duxiu was open and honest, and did not hide the high degree of consistency in the attitude and goals of his colleagues in "opposition" and "support". The most spontaneous "declaration" was issued: "We now believe that only these two gentlemen can cure all the darkness of China politically, morally, academically, and ideologically." If because of the support of these two gentlemen (Mr. De and Mr. Sai), all the government pressure, the attack and ridicule of society, even if it is severed and bloody, it will not be resigned. ”

In the evolution of modernity, the "new youth faction" with the editorial department as the main body has never doubted the direction it has identified. All the divergences are ultimately focused on one center: "There are now two paths in the world: one is the godless path of light toward republican science; the other is the dark path to the authoritarian superstitious theocracy." This is the purpose of the "new youth" generation of intellectuals in the 20th century on the road to China. On this "issue" of breaking the old and establishing the new, there is no ambiguity among colleagues, so there is also a tacit understanding and commitment to fight together on the same front and rebuild China.

By 1919, although the editorial board had reached the point of recovery, the Benzhi Manifesto, which was produced in Chen Duxiu's caliber, was more rapid and more determined: "The Benzhi concretely advocated, and has never been fully published." The members of the society have different opinions, and they often cannot agree. Readers may not be able to avoid suspicion that there is quite a misunderstanding in society. Now that the seventh volume has begun, I dare to make the common opinion of all members clearly announced. Even the members who joined later also shared the responsibility for this declaration. "All" and "common" sweep away the internal tension, and they jointly chase the looming Chinese dream of the future. Unfortunately, however, the declaration of the "New Youth Faction" also heralds the imminent "dispersal" of a well-known group. What is cruel is that the era of "spiritual shareholding system" of "public and common-stock" will also become a knot in the hearts of colleagues who are difficult to let go.

Fourth, the "golden signboard": the power of spiritual "shares"

For a "public space" like New Youth, "publicity" is both order and principle. The reason why the "spiritual shareholding system" of "public and common-duty" can form a "golden signboard" cannot be ignored by two factors. For the intellectuals of the new group of young people, the first is the freedom and ability to openly use their reason, which is the premise of publicity; the second is the consensus reached between the critically conscious public, which is the bottom line of enlightenment. This one is indispensable.

As a result, rationality, order, and publicity have become the core concepts of "public responsibility", which is also the guarantee for the glory of "New Youth" and its intellectual group. However, the homogeneity of this "public space" has gradually faded over time, and there has been a division within the Enlightenment community. Of course, the inevitability of this differentiation can be said to be innate. In this regard, we can find a solid historical basis from Chen Duxiu's strong interest in politics and his control of the right to speak in magazines. Chen Duxiu is a man who dares to speak and dare to do things, and even works with Cai Yuanpei to develop explosives, but Hu Shi's concept is to create a "public space" of "public office", so the conflict between the two has been laid.

The "discourse hegemony" hidden in the public opinion of the Enlightenment discourse of "New Youth" is not only manifested in the squeeze of traditional culture and religious discourse, but also includes the conflict genes hidden by the imbalance of discourse power within the "public space" of "New Youth". The theme of the new youth in the rotation of editing has different changes, in Hu Shi's editing, mainly philosophical and translated works, such as "Doll's House" and so on, while when Chen Duxiu edited, it revolved around politics. Therefore, homogeneity is by no means monolithic, and once there is a split, it will inevitably bring about the consequences of the collapse of the building.

The benevolence of "New Youth" lies in its open and transparent characteristics, open and inclusive temperament, and the atmosphere of dedication. Perhaps, it is the flower of enlightenment watered by the "spiritual shareholding system" that makes them cherish it, so that they can circulate complex emotions with different mentalities and words intertwined with love and hate. In this regard, it is not difficult for us to taste the love and hatred in the colleagues' sustenance about where the "golden signboard" goes.

The course of events should start from Chen Duxiu's personal encounters. On April 8, 1919, Cai Yuanpei announced the abolition of the senior system. Chen Duxiu was quietly dismissed as dean of the liberal arts, but remained a professor. On June 11, 1919, Chen Duxiu was arrested for distributing anti-government leaflets, and his promise not to talk about politics with Hu Shi for 20 years was also extinguished in an instant. Chen Duxiu no longer talks about politics in a roundabout way, but bluntly says: I just like to talk about politics, even if you flee politics, politics will find you; even if you flee to the deep mountains and old forests, politics will still find you. We are political people, and we cannot be separated from politics.

On September 1, 1920, also the day of the establishment of the "New Youth Society", Chen Duxiu published an article entitled "On Politics". The "Advance Statement" of "Avoiding Misunderstandings" in the "Special Notice of the New Youth Society" of "On Politics" is also published in the public text of "On Politics", and the "Advance Statement" of "Avoiding Misunderstanding" in the "New Youth Society" is clear at a glance: "Since the first of the eighth volume, the editorial department has organized the New Youth Society by itself and directly handled all the affairs of editing and printing. The cover of the magazine was adjusted from "Shanghai Qunyi Book Society Printing" to "Shanghai New Youth Society Printing", marking the end of the cooperation between Chen Duxiu and Qunyi Book Society in 7 volume 42.

The New Youth, Vol. 1, Vol. 8, shows the dual signal of intensifying and imminent division between "economic" (independent) and "political" (color), which makes the magazine fall into a tangled and chaotic entanglement and anxiety in internal and external troubles, and at the same time faces economic and political discord. This is an unavoidable "inflection point", and all of this revolves around the "golden signboard" that they have carefully created.

On May 1, 1920, The New Youth, Vol. VII, No. 6, was "Labor Day Commemoration". In view of the increase in length to more than 400 pages, the book club proposed a price increase, and the two sides were at loggerheads. Perhaps it is the rise in the awareness of "laborers" to "capitalists", and most of the distribution targets of "New Youth" are lower-class proletarians, so despite Wang Mengzou's mediation, Chen Duxiu was still embarrassed and angry and "slapped the table", and finally broke up unhappily. Chen Duxiu, who has always liked to make his own opinions, is still confident this time: "running a bookstore by himself" and "having to publish it." Therefore, in a letter to Hu Shi and Li Dazhao on May 7, Chen Duxiu handed over his ideas and the original commission of the matter to his colleagues: "We must not start a bookstore ourselves, I have already drafted and printed the charter, and when it is printed, I will send it, and ask my brother and others to help them succeed, so that we readers will not be suppressed by the capitalists in the future... Now, because of the pricing of "New Youth" No. 6 and the announcement of the announcement, I and Qunyi clashed twice in one day. This kind of businessman wants to make a windfall, but also afraid of the storm, it is really difficult to work with, "New Youth" or suspended, or independently changed to the Beijing Office, or in Shanghai by me to try to take over (I plan to list a bookstore), brother and other opinions, please quickly give you. ”

Repeated questioning and even a bit of a relentless pursuit of this "independence" issue is somewhat inconsistent with Chen Duxiu's character. It turned out that the famous and popular "New Youth" was a "golden signboard" in exchange for "knowledge" and "thought" as the spiritual price. In today's business discourse, naming rights are a remarkable number, not to mention that their social value and benefits cannot be measured in money.

I think that in that year, starting from the fourth volume, the "from two yuan to five yuan per thousand words" was abolished and changed to "all the writers and translators are jointly served by the editorial department", which also greatly reduced the cost of running the journal. At that time, although colleagues paid for it themselves, the "dry stocks" that relied on "intelligence" could not but be said to contain a high gold content, and in a sense, they were also "real money and silver" in the spiritual field. At present, it is only after the cost is reduced that it is necessary to face problems such as typesetting and printing, business distribution, etc., not to mention that with the dilution of the colleagues of "New Youth", the magazine has slowly returned to the original way, and the content is monotonous, the style is single, and the space is shrinking. Further, the question of cost and pricing among New Youth colleagues and merchants is only a real side of history, and the dislocation of content and its distribution targets is also an important factor.

Helpless, Chen Duxiu thought of the method of the year: "IPO". In addition to the double pipe of "finance" and "talent" last time, this offering also has an additional layer of "internal and external" changes. Chen Duxiu put forward very direct conditions to his Colleagues in Beijing in Shanghai: First, the colleagues were generous and generous; second, "it is not possible for colleagues in Beijing to make more trouble." Unfortunately, when it came to shares, no one responded; when it came to manuscripts, almost all of them were speeches to deal with errands. In the end, the "outside shares" were invalid, and the "prospectus shares" were fruitless. In the end, the practice of "including the contribution fee in the share capital" can only be a drop in the bucket. You know, Hu Shi's entry into the game at that time can be called a real "shareholder": "Yesterday I was busy for a day and made a 10,000-word article for "New Youth". This article is not for sale. However, because this is our own newspaper, we cannot but write articles. Yesterday, it was only done at 3:30 o'clock in the middle of the night. This text will be very powerful in the future, so although I have a little hard work, I am willing to eat. At this time, Hu Shi is no longer what he used to be, no wonder Chen Duxiu sighed: "For a long time, "New Youth" will be invisibly canceled." how! ”

In this regard, the divisions of the New Youth, which we usually attribute to differences between problems and doctrines, enlightenment and revolution, culture and politics, are now exaggerated, or at least incomplete. In fact, the above argument can precisely illustrate the publicity and freedom of the "public space" of the new youth, as long as it is limited to the category of "the more the truth is argued, the clearer it is". However, when Chen Duxiu could not wait to break the commitment of his colleagues not to talk about politics, the "color" accelerated and thickened, which was bound to break the original order, and the pattern of "shareholding system" and "public office" also went with the general trend.

If "New Youth" has a bottom line, it is nothing more than saying that the results of the "spiritual shareholding system" need to be shared: we see that when the "New Youth" led by Chen Duxiu reorganized the "joint-stock system", the sensitive nerves of the colleagues tensed up. Originally, although there were "political" differences, "color" discord, and so on, in the eyes of colleagues, they were all trivial and harmless, and it was completely possible for "New Youth" to complete the return of "where it came from and where it went". After all, political overtones are a cliché, discordant and escalating from the start. At the same time, it is not a matter of whether to go south or north to stay, this is only a matter of space, not to mention that the original "New Youth" is in Beijing. Who to let go, or who has the right to speak, is the crux of the big right and wrong, and where to go. It is precisely such a tug-of-war tension that clearly reflects the deep psychology of colleagues who are difficult to give up and old feelings.

From his release from prison in September 1919, Chen Duxiu experienced three steps in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Every step you take, you are estranged from your colleagues. The central issues of correspondence between Beijing and Shanghai during this period were basically about the beginning, inheritance, transfer and integration of the New Youth. On April 26, 1920, Chen Duxiu wrote to 12 people, including Li Dazhao, Hu Shi, and Zhou Zuoren, to solicit opinions openly and extensively, showing the democracy and fairness that should be expected as a "buddy". Under careful reading, it is not difficult to find that "consultation" is nothing more than a kind of cutscene in front of and behind the stage, to put it bluntly, it is a question of (decoration) and setting (of) questions. Judging from the fact that he successively invited Chen Wangdao and Shen Yanbing to participate in the editorial work and writing work of "New Youth", Chen Duxiu in Shanghai has already made up his mind. As everyone knows, these are the escalation points of the conflict between shanghai "comrades" who annoy their colleagues in Beijing. Therefore, such a confident request for "please give it back quickly" can only get a blank piece of paper.

When "New Youth" was "amphibious" in Beijing and Shanghai, Hu Shi repeatedly wrote to Chen Duxiu to negotiate with Chen Duxiu on the issue of "color" in the magazine. On December 16, Chen Duxiu said in a letter to Hu Shi and Gao Yihan: "Chen Wangdaojun can be responsible for the editorial department of New Youth, and Su Xinfujun can be responsible for the distribution department. The color of "New Youth" is too bright, and my brother does not think so. Hu Shi was impatient, but Chen Duxiu "didn't think so", and at the same time hit a rake upside down: "Colleagues do more articles" is. The practice of leading the way to strangers has already made colleagues dissatisfied, not to mention that Chen Duxiu has also paid salaries to those newcomers, such as Shen Yanbing, Li Da, Chen Wangdao, etc.: Not only will the family foundations held during the colleagues' period flow into the pockets of outsiders, but outsiders will control "New Youth" with one-sided ideological tendencies. Leaving aside the solicitation of opinions from the middle Feihong shuttle, the "golden signboard" created by the spirit shareholding system has become the focus of discussion on who you push and shove.

After Hu Shi learned that Chen Duxiu was emotional when he heard the news, he quickly sent an urgent letter to his colleagues in Beijing to resist "color" and "division" in the name of "soliciting opinions." At this time, the question of "color" has been replaced by whether it is "divided" or not, and the question of "division" or "unification" is for a "name". Hu Shi once comforted his colleagues Li Dazhao, Lu Xun, Qian Xuantong, Zhou Zuoren, Wang Xinggong and others in order to dispel Chen Duxiu's anger: "The editor of "New Youth" in Beijing may be able to force his colleagues in Beijing to make more articles. Otherwise, it is not easy to urge the draft of duxiu fashion in Shanghai, let alone in the hands of people who have never known each other at this time? This is Hu Shi's real thought, and it is also a "compromise" step that worries about rupture: "New Youth", which is the "golden signboard" of the sun in the sky, who is the bottom card in the hand.

Hu Shi asked his colleagues for "soliciting opinions" and proposed that he wanted to move "New Youth" to Beijing for editing. However, when Chen Duxiu was in a hurry, Hu Shi quickly withdrew the threat of "starting another stove" and took a 180-degree turn in attitude, saying that "our group of people is definitely not enough to run two magazines." When Chen Duxiu said in anger that "this matter (referring to the new stove) has nothing to do with the New Youth", Hu Shi held a threatening tone and method: "Is it really irrelevant?" In addition to the threat in the tone of this question, there is also a bargaining meaning for the colleagues who have worked hard for many years. Here, Hu Shi's attitude of not wanting to split has never been so clear-cut, and he even took the initiative to accommodate Chen Duxiu: "A public purpose seems to be more certain in comparison, so why should we start another stove and take the ridicule of splitting ourselves?" ”

Nine Beijing colleagues, including Hu Shi himself, including Zhang Weici, Gao Yihan, Tao Menghe, and Wang Xinggong, explicitly supported "moving back to Beijing"; while Lu Xun, Zhou Zuoren, and Qian Xuantong explicitly stated that they "simply let him split", "do not have to argue for the title of "New Youth", and "do not care about the golden signboard of the three words of "New Youth"; Li Dazhao "advocates the first method of the past" with the attitude of "reconciling". As spiritual shareholders, the board of directors of New Youth is conducted in the form of Feihong's book, they are often not on the scene, but they are circled, everyone is responsible, and they are never absent. The "reconciliation", "consultation", and "harmony" of positive energy are a kind of regrouping echo; and the seemingly negative energy of "so-on", "unnecessary" and "do not care" is a kind of sour grape psychology. This reflects the nostalgia, cherishing and regret of colleagues for this gold medal magazine from different aspects.

Between Gathering and Dispersing: The Revelation from "Monologue" to "Polyphony"

As a historical philosophical concept, the essence of "polyphony" is "the dialogue of consciousness interaction and mutual understanding between different subjects", and its root is "the dialogue of human life itself". The core semantics of "polyphonic consciousness" are: to confirm the rationality and necessity of the existence of the "polyphonicity" of perspective and thought; to confirm that various views and sounds are "neither integrated nor inseparable", opposite and related to each other, coexisting and coexisting in complementarity, mutual verification, interaction, and mutual understanding. It can be said that one of the core concepts of traditional Chinese culture, "harmony and difference", is an accurate summary of the core essence of Bakhtin's "polyphony theory".

Taking this theory as the "support" of this research, it is not difficult to find that "New Youth" has developed from an ordinary publication written by "Chen Duxiu" to a "fan publication" with Chen Duxiu, Hu Shi, Qian Xuantong, Shen Yinmo and others "serving as public colleagues" and "rotating editors". Mao Zedong, the young author of "New Youth", said that "all kinds of frost and heaven compete for freedom" said that there was a taste in it. "Competition" is natural and inevitable, but in the face of the narrow and vast earth, the feelings and questions of the "Lord" of "who is the lord" are man-made and necessary. The historical mystery in this is fundamentally dependent on the needs of the logical development of the times.

Discussion session

Moderator Professor Ma Jianbiao (Department of History, Fudan University):

I have been friends with Teacher Zhang for a long time. As early as my university days, I had read Professor Zhang's enlightenment and revolution: The Dilemma of the May Fourth "Radicals" (1998 edition). This book refreshed me, because Teacher Zhang's writing is very spirited and vivid, the writing is beautiful, and the words are full of the penetrating power of thought, so since then I have been particularly interested in "New Youth". After graduating with my Ph.D. in 2008, I went to the Institute of Modern History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences as a postdoctoral fellow, and the first thing I did was visit the former site of the editorial office of New Youth. The Institute of Modern History is located in Dongchang Hutong on the north side of Wangfujing Avenue, just a stone's throw away from Chen Duxiu's former residence, Arrow Pole Hutong, the address of the editorial board of New Youth. All I saw, however, was a dilapidated building covered with cobwebs. The glory of Chen Duxiu and his "New Youth" magazine during the May Fourth period has long been lost in the dust of history. However, Chen Duxiu's former residence in Arrowpool Hutong has now changed its old appearance, which is really gratifying.

In the history of modern Chinese thought and culture, "New Youth" has always been a hot topic of research, in order to have academic breakthroughs, we need bold imagination, that is, Hu Shi said "bold assumptions, careful verification", and Professor Zhang can study "New Youth" from the perspective of "spiritual shareholding system" is obviously very innovative, which makes us refreshed.

I have a question I would like to ask Teacher Zhang for advice. From Chen Duxiu's solo writing of "New Youth" to Chen Duxiu, Hu Shi, and Lu Xun's "public office", a "public space" was created during the period, and colleagues all adhered to the core concepts of rationality, order, and publicity, but after the May Fourth Movement, this "public space" broke down. Can we understand that although "New Youth" later took turns to serve as a public official, Chen Duxiu actually always believed that this publication was founded by him purely, so it should be up to him to decide. And Chen Duxiu's consciousness, did others such as Hu Shi notice it?

There is also a question, can we think that through the division and integration relationship of colleagues in the editorial board of "New Youth", to a certain extent, the division of China's ideological circles before and after May Fourth is reflected? This division is related to the complex situation in China and even the world in 1919. In 1919, the Paris Peace Conference was held in Paris, France, and the North-South Peace Conference was held in Shanghai, China, both of which involved the fate of China. The Paris Peace Conference involved China's international status and national sovereignty, and the North-South Conference in Shanghai and the unification of China's internal affairs. However, both of these peace conferences, in the eyes of the Chinese public, have "failed.". Therefore, Chen Duxiu criticized that "the two peace meetings are useless." Chen Duxiu was not a truly pure scholar, and his interest in politics showed that he was more like a revolutionary, and his unique spiritual temperament should deserve our attention.

Indeed, Chen Duxiu has such a mentality: "New Youth" was sponsored by me and brought to Beijing by me, and he has a relatively strong psychology, and Hu Shi and others also realize that Chen Duxiu has such a consciousness.

On your second question, Chen Duxiu, as an intellectual, wrote it by himself in the past, and later formed a group that made great contributions to the early stage of China's new-democratic revolution, which shows that Chen Duxiu played a crucial role as the greatest spiritual pillar.

Reviewer Professor Xiong Yuwen (School of Marxism, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications):

I was inspired to hear Professor Zhang's lecture today. When I first saw the poster, I wondered why it was a "spiritual shareholding system" and not a "spiritual community". But after listening to the lecture, I understood that everyone is doing business together in partnership, and Chen Duxiu is the largest shareholder. Just now Teacher Zhang said that Hu Shi believes that the three magazines that influenced the times are "Shiwu Bao", "Xinmin Cong Bao" and "New Youth", and I personally feel that among them, the influence of "New Youth" is the greatest and most far-reaching, which not only affects the youth at that time, but also affects our descendants. In the international context of World War I at that time, the Scientific and Technological Civilization of the West as we Chinese understood seemed to be bankrupt, and at this time Chen Duxiu was able to raise the banner of science, which I think is very remarkable. Not only do we Chinese such as Liang Qichao believes that Western civilization has gone bankrupt, and Westerners such as Spengler also think so. Chen Duxiu's call can be said to be against the current, and it also pointed out the direction for us, if we really listened to the Westerners at that time, China no longer advocates science, perhaps we will never have the opportunity to turn over. From the first time Chen Duxiu held high the banner of science, to today we regard science and technology as the primary productive force, which shows the greatness of "New Youth".

Secondly, I personally did research on the May Fourth Movement, and my personal understanding of what the occurrence of the May Fourth Movement had to do with "New Youth" was that "New Youth" advocated vernacular language, providing a knowledge platform for mass communication at that time, and also providing everyone with a cognitive guarantee of information sources. As we all know, the May Fourth Movement did not arise because of the exchange of telegrams between the Chinese delegation and the Chinese government, but through the dissemination of the mass media. If only students can understand the text, then the vernacular text is for the public to understand.

The third point is about the new youth's admiration of nationalism, and then the spread of Marxism in the later period, which has changed our thinking and changed our spiritual realm.

Therefore, I think from the above three perspectives, "New Youth" is indeed a famous journal and a "golden signboard". This "golden signboard" seems to have been buried in the sand of history after the suspension of "New Youth", and today Professor Zhang's lecture can be described as a big wave of sand. Therefore, I would like to ask Teacher Zhang, what kind of "New Youth" is Chen Duxiu's "New Youth" to create? Did he achieve his goals?

I think Chen Duxiu has largely achieved his goal. When the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression broke out in the 1930s, a reporter asked Chen Duxiu if he still wanted to start a newspaper. In this regard, Chen Duxiu replied that he would no longer start it, because now all magazines and newspapers are willing to publish his articles and ask him for manuscripts, and in this sense he has achieved a certain degree of success. At the same time, Chen Duxiu has played its due role in the evolution of Chinese modernity, both ideologically and culturally. On the other hand, when Cai Yuanpei died in the 1940s, Chen Duxiu wrote an article in honor of Cai Yuanpei, in which he looked back at history, reviewed the New Culture Movement and "New Youth", etc., so I think that to some extent Chen Duxiu realized his ideals and sustenance.

I agree with Teacher Zhang that Chen Duxiu's founding of New Youth is generally quite successful. If viewed from the point of view of the Russians, it seems to confirm this view even more. In June 1920, when the Soviet representative Vyjingsky (Wu Tingkang) first came to China, he noticed Chen Duxiu. In his letter to the Far East Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Russia, he specifically mentioned Chen Duxiu as "a professor of great prestige and great influence." This also shows that Chen Duxiu's great influence at that time was of course related to the "New Youth" edited by him.

Reviewer Dr. Mengying Hu (School of Humanities and Communication, Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics):

I am engaged in research on the history of modern Chinese translation and the history of Sino-Japanese cultural exchanges during the May Fourth period, and I have always paid close attention to Chen Duxiu's activities in Japan. Teacher Zhang has mentioned in many articles that Chen Duxiu's agreement with Hu Shi not to talk about politics is only a stopgap measure, so for a magazine leader like Chen Duxiu who does not care about academic theory, whether he agrees with the "spiritual shareholding system" from the beginning, or whether it is only because he thinks that the magazine is not in good condition at the beginning, so he feels that the "spiritual shareholding system" is a stopgap measure, in other words, whether Chen Duxiu recognizes this kind of democratic mechanism of "confrontation", or whether he still has a kind of "spiritual shareholding system" in his heart. The idea of absolute control of the New Youth.

Another question is that Chen Duxiu introduced Chen Wangdao and others, but these people are not as famous as their colleagues in Beijing, so does Chen Duxiu have the intention of using the "golden signboard" they have already built to improve the reputation of the new comrades and thus reshape a new team?

Thank you Dr. Hu for your two questions. First of all, I summarize Chen Duxiu's "confrontation" as "spiritual shareholding system", which is actually a summary of this historical phenomenon by our descendants, and they themselves are a community in the process of gathering, but each person has his own ideas. He has no subjective consciousness or self-consciousness, which is actually summarized by our descendants' research. Chen Duxiu wants to use gold medal authors to improve the taste and quality of the journal, so as to form a famous journal, so I think this has both elements that he is willing to add and elements that are deviant.