Editor's Note
The united front is an important magic weapon for the CPC to win victories in the cause of revolution, construction, and reform, as well as an important magic weapon for realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
In July 1921, the Communist Party of China was held in Shikumen Lane, Shudri, Xingye Road, Shanghai, and the Communist Party of China was proclaimed. A year later, in July 1922, the Second National Congress of the Communist Party of China, held in Shikumen lane in Lifu Delhi, On the old Chengdu Road in Shanghai, formulated the "Resolution on the "Democratic United Front", and the party's united front policy began.
From Shikumen to Tiananmen, the united front led by the party has gone through a journey of nearly a hundred years. History has repeatedly shown that the more weak the Communist Party of China is, the more it attaches importance to, needs, and relies on the united front; the more powerful it becomes, the more it radiates the mighty strength of the united front.
The hundred-year journey is magnificent, and the original intention of the hundred-year journey has lasted for a long time.
As the birthplace of the party, the birthplace of the party's united front policy, and the main fortress of the revolutionary cultural movement and the patriotic democratic movement led by the party, Shanghai's Shikumen Lane contains rich historical and cultural resources for the united front. On the occasion of celebrating the centenary of the party's anniversary, the United Times and the CPPCC headlines plan to launch a theme report celebrating the centenary of the founding of the party, "A Hundred Years of United Front in Shanghai," revisiting the Shanghai imprint of the centennial united front with a pure feeling of innocence, reliving the scene of the centennial united front in Shanghai in the form of media integration, and aiming to guide the broad masses of CPPCC members and people from all walks of life to profoundly understand that the leadership of the Communist Party of China is the most reliable backbone of Chinese the people when the storm strikes, and profoundly understand that the socialist system with Chinese characteristics is the fundamental guarantee for resisting risks and challenges and realizing national rejuvenation.
Bathing in the sunshine of the new era and paying tribute to the centenary of the United Front, we are very proud.
Statue of the Five Martyrs of the Left League
With Lu Xun shouting loudly in the Jingyunli parade, listening to Ding Ling and One of the "Five Martyrs of the Left Alliance" Hu Yepin 'soul dialogue"...
On May 4, 2021, Shanghai's first immersive interactive red cultural sitcom "Youth for Sacrifice" premiered on Duolun Road. The drama tells the story of the five martyrs of the Left League before and after their arrest and sacrifice, and reproduces the mental journey of the martyrs and revolutionaries. The play is laid out in real scenes, using real-life resources such as Jingyunli, Gongbei Cafe, and the Memorial Hall of the Chinese Left-Wing Writers Alliance Site, so that the audience can walk through Jingyun step by step in a highly immersive experience, walk into the memorial hall of the Chinese Left-Wing Writers' Union Site, and approach the fiery years 90 years ago.
"Bear with watching your peers become new ghosts, and angrily look for small poems in the knife bush." Talking about the scene where Lu Xun took the lead in the parade, Shi Lei, lu Xun's actor, said: "Walking on this street soaked in the vicissitudes of history, I clearly feel the deep grief and strong resistance of Mr. Lu Xun. ”
Jingyunli, an ordinary Shikumen Lane, only sits on the north and south of the 3 rows of 3-story buildings, but in the 1920s and 1930s, it gathered a large number of cultural celebrities such as Lu Xun, Chen Wangdao, Mao Dun, Ye Shengtao, Feng Xuefeng, Zhou Jianren, Rou Shi, etc., and it also became a strong fortress for the Chinese Communist Party to unite progressive people in the cultural circles and establish a united front in the cultural circles.
Ignite the red culture fire
After the defeat of the Great Revolution, the progressive youth in the country generally fell into a depression. In the winter of 1927, a group of communist party members united with revolutionary writers such as Guo Moruo, Cheng Fangwu, and Jiang Guangci of the Sun Society, put forward the slogan of "revolutionary literature," which was quickly warmly responded to by the vast number of young people and swept the Chinese literary circles in a short period of time. At the same time, a "left" trend also began to affect the literary world. From 1928 onwards, a controversy over revolutionary literature broke out within the left-wing cultural ranks, some of which pointed the finger at Lu Xun.
"The Party Central Committee was aware of the problem in time and in October 1928 issued an instruction to establish a revolutionary group with a unified cultural circle." Ge Wei, deputy director of the Shanghai Zuolian Memorial Hall, said, "In June 1929, the Central Committee decided to establish the Central Cultural Work Committee of the Communist Party of China, that is, the 'Central Cultural Commission', with Pan Hannian as the secretary. After the establishment of the Central Cultural Commission, it vigorously promoted the unity of the left-wing literary and artistic circles and cultural circles under the banner of Lu Xun, respected and listened to Lu Xun's opinions on the development of progressive culture, and created conditions for the brewing and establishment of the Left League. ”
The Chinese Communists who came out of the New Culture Movement have a natural connection with the cultural circles. After the new Kuomintang warlords seized power, while carrying out "encirclement and suppression" of the base areas and the armed forces of workers and peasants, they also launched a "encirclement and suppression" of revolutionary culture, persecuted progressive cultural groups and cultural workers, and suppressed the left-wing cultural movement. The Communist Party of China united progressive figures in the cultural circles to form a new cultural army and broke through the cultural "encirclement and suppression" of the Kuomintang reactionaries.
Lu Xun delivers a speech at the inaugural meeting of the Chinese Left-Wing Writers' Union (printmaking)
After the party's suggestions and planning, at 2 p.m. on March 2, 1930, in a classroom of more than 20 square meters on the left side of the ground floor of the Shanghai Chung Mo Art University on Duolun Road, the inaugural meeting of the Chinese Left-Wing Writers' Union was officially held.
At this time, the small classroom was crowded with people. On the 3 chairs under the podium, Lu Xun, Xia Yan, and Qian Xing estate sat; then there were two rows of benches, each row of 4 benches, and there were about 20 people sitting, all of whom were well-known figures in the cultural circles at that time, such as Feng Xuefeng, Tian Han, Feng Naichao, Rou Shi, Yang Hansheng, etc. Lu Xun published "Opinions on the Left-Wing Writers' Union" on the spot, clearly pointing out: "If the purpose is all the workers and peasants, then of course the front will be united." ”
Under the leadership of the Central Cultural Commission, left-wing cultural groups such as the China Social Scientists Alliance (hereinafter referred to as the "Federation"), the Chinese Left-Wing Dramatists Alliance, and the Journalists' Alliance were established in Shanghai. In order to facilitate unified leadership, in October 1930, the Central Cultural Commission established the General League of Chinese Left-Wing Culture (hereinafter referred to as "Wenzong") in Shanghai.
There were a total of 8 left-wing cultural revolutionary groups participating in the "General Cultural Association", the most influential of which were the Left League and the Federation of Social Associations. In just a few years, the members of the Left Alliance founded a large number of newspapers and periodicals and created a large number of excellent progressive cultural works. In terms of literary creation, the members of the Left Alliance also achieved fruitful results: Lu Xun's battle essays and other literary works, Mao Dun's "Midnight" and other short masterpieces, which were not only popular at the time, but also had a long-lasting artistic charm. From 1930 to 1936, more than 480 members of the League and hundreds of works showed the weight of the Left League in the history of Chinese literature and the history of the Chinese revolution.
The SPS is a contingent of left-wing social science workers who are equally effective. They published books, organized societies, gave lectures, founded schools, and propagated Knowledge of Marxism and the Social Sciences. They translated and published a large number of Marxist works, including Capital. A group of influential Marxist theoretical workers such as Li Da and Ai Siqi gradually matured, and they used their rich revolutionary theories to enlighten many young students and urge them to join the revolution.
As the number of left-wing cultural groups continued to grow, so did the area of activity, from Shanghai to Beiping, Tianjin, Wuhan, Guangzhou, and as far as Nanyang and Tokyo, Japan.
Stimulate the great power of the whole people to resist the war
On February 9, 1932, in Zhabei, Shanghai, the cannon rumbled. The 19th Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army was engaged in a bloody battle with the Japanese army. Between battles, the soldiers received many condolences from all walks of life. Among them, there are 30 handkerchiefs and a Jinggong banner with 4 big characters written on the "Anti-Japanese Pioneer", from an organization called the "Shanghai Writers Anti-Japanese Association".
The Shanghai Writers' Anti-Japanese Association, which was just established the day before, is an anti-Japanese united front organization in Shanghai's cultural circles with anti-imperialist and anti-Japanese resistance as the link. Among its more than 200 members, more than half of the writers of the Left Alliance system account for them. Writer Ding Ling also serves in it. It was her idea to organize consolation teams to deliver consolation supplies to the front line.
Beginning with the 1931 "918" incident, the focus of Shanghai's left-wing cultural circles began to shift to the establishment of an anti-Japanese united front in the cultural circles. On September 26 of that year, in the name of the Shanghai Anti-Japanese Salvation Association, the left-wing cultural circles launched a citizens' meeting at the Nanshi Public Stadium, which was attended by more than 5,000 left-wing cultural groups and citizens. On September 28, the Literature Herald, an organ of the Left League edited by Lu Xun and Feng Xuefeng, published the Left League's "Letter to the International Proletarian Working People on The Cultural Organization" to strongly protest Japan's aggressive acts.
The establishment of the Shanghai Writers' Anti-Japanese Association also came into being at the right time. After the Songhu War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Shanghai writers' anti-Japanese resistance came to an end. "Although it existed for a relatively short time, it was the precursor to the formation of an anti-Japanese united front in the cultural circles under the leadership of the party." Zhu Shaowei, a researcher of literature and history, said.
The anti-Japanese salvation has gradually become the mainstream of the times. In the spring of 1936, the Left League was automatically disbanded, paving the way for the development of the anti-Japanese united front in the cultural circles.
On November 12, 1937, after the Japanese army occupied the Huajie in Shanghai, it focused on blocking anti-Japanese public opinion. In order to break the news blockade of Japan and falsity, the party organization has successively organized the publication of "Unity" weekly, "Translation Newspaper", "Daily Translation", etc., of which "Daily Translation" is the most successful. The Daily Translation was founded on 21 January 1938, and out of a need for cover, it hired a British businessman as the issuer and set up a board of directors, with the banker Huang Dinghui as the chairman. In fact, it is an organ newspaper of the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee of the Communist Party of China, and with the assistance of the Eighth Route Army Office in Shanghai, Qian Xing estate and Chen Wangdao have participated in the editorial work.
Under the leadership of the party, the newspaper serialized the full text of Mao Zedong's "On Protracted War," exposed the indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas in Guangzhou by Japanese planes, and reported on the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression of the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army under the leadership of the party. These are unique among the newspapers Chinese shanghai concession and are very popular with readers. At its peak, the newspaper had a circulation of 30,000 copies per issue. There are two examples of how influential the newspaper was among the people: the newspaper initiated the "Save and Rescue" donation campaign, which received nearly 80,000 responses from citizens; it collected anti-war materials from the industrial and commercial circles, raising 7,000 fine cloths and more than 40,000 pairs of rubber shoes.
"More importantly, these newspapers have had a tremendous ideological impact on ordinary people, especially the enthusiastic youth, and guided them to draw closer to the anti-Japanese national united front led by the party." Zhu Shaowei said.
After the release of the "Daily Translation Newspaper", many "translation newspaper reading groups" emerged among young people from all walks of life, and later developed into many mass progressive cultural organizations such as book clubs and workshops. These scattered groups also set up many posters and mimeographed publications to sow the seeds of resistance and revolution in all corners. Chen Wangdao, Fang Guangshou, Zheng Zhenduo, Tang Tao, and other well-known cultural figures have re-emerged from the mountains and gathered under the banner of the party's united front, using pens as knives to shout for the motherland; a large number of literary and art publications led by the party, such as the Herald, Lu Xunfeng, and the New Tide of Literature and Art, have also broken ground. In the publishing world, the Fu Society, founded in 1938, published Edgar Snow's reportage "Journey to the West", which had a great influence.
In addition to the press, in those years, party organizations also actively used literature and art as a weapon to mobilize the broad masses of the people to unite against the enemy. One of the more successful is the theater industry. Zhu Shaowei believed that in the harsh environment at that time, although revolutionary drama activities could only be carried out in a tortuous and hidden way, it had a great social impact.
In July 1938, Yu Ling, a member of the Communist Party, established the Shanghai Drama Art Society in the French Concession in the name of the Sino-French Friendship Association, which included almost all the important playwrights and actors in the "isolated island". The drama art society claimed to develop Sino-French culture, but in fact it wanted to use the power of drama to encourage the anti-Japanese struggle and save the dead. Under its guidance, historical dramas that reflect the hatred of the country and the family and borrow ancient metaphors for the present were once popular in Shanghai. The small theater branch under the responsibility of Yang Fan and Jiang Chunfang actively organized anti-Japanese performance activities of amateur drama troupes in schools, workers' night schools, mass organizations and refugee shelters. Under the impetus of the small theater branch, almost all industries in Shanghai have set up amateur theater troupes, and by the end of 1938, the total number of them has reached nearly 120, mainly performing plays that resist Japan and save the country and expose the darkness of society, which are very popular with the people.
"The 'island', though dark, can't suppress the sound of progress. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, under the leadership of the Party organization, progressive people in Shanghai's cultural circles struggled unceasingly and fought ceaselessly, showing their bones and fighting spirit, and also accumulating strength and experience for the growth of the progressive cultural camp since then. Zhu Shaowei said.
Sound the clarion call for progressive culture
September 16, 1946, Snow Sound Troupe. On the stage, the Yue opera "Desolate Liao GongYue" is being performed, and the starring actor is the famous actor Yuan Xuefen. In the next corner of the stage sat a special audience member, Zhou Enlai.
Zhou Enlai, who came to Shanghai on official business, made a special time to watch Yuan Xuefen's performance. Earlier, he heard that Yuan Xuefen was intimidated by reactionary forces for insisting on performing a new play adapted from Lu Xun's novel "Hometown", "Xiang lin concubine". After watching the play, Zhou Enlai invited Yu Ling, who was doing underground work in Shanghai's cultural circles, to talk. He said, "We should pay good attention to this troupe. In the Kuomintang District, the performance of "Xianglin Sister-in-law" without party leadership was unexpected. You should mobilize Party members to start with the art of drama, take the initiative to approach them, respect them, help them, and patiently guide them gradually onto the revolutionary road. ”
Since then, under the guidance and support of the party, Yuan Xuefen has survived one difficulty after another and ushered in the founding of the People's Republic of China in the struggle.
After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Yuan Xuefen was not an isolated person in Shanghai's cultural circles who completed the transformation from "new and old" under the leadership and inspiration of the Communist Party. In the Case of the Shanghai film industry alone, filmmakers who used to shoot "modern films" in the old era shot many progressive films with social influence under the leadership of the Party. For example, "Distant Love", which shows the awakening of women, "Spring Dream in Paradise", which depicts the tragedy of post-war intellectuals, and "Homecoming Diary", which exposes the ugly drama of the Kuomintang robbery, etc.
Hong Minrong, director of the Shanghai Municipal Local History Office and deputy director of the Cultural and Historical Materials Committee of the Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, believes that this is first of all due to the establishment of the cultural united front organization. "In the work of cultural united front work, the work is highly professional and the work is difficult, and it is very necessary to set up a special united front organization." Hong Minrong said.
On the eve of the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Party's cultural work in Shanghai was under the responsibility of the Cultural Movement Committee (hereinafter referred to as the "Cultural Committee") set up by the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China. At the beginning of February 1946, Liu Xiao, deputy director of the Urban Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, came to Shanghai at the behest of the party to preside over the work of the party organization, and assigned Tang Shouyu and others to form a leading group of the Cultural Committee to be responsible for cultural propaganda. During the Liberation War, the Shanghai Working Committee of the Communist Party of China (hereinafter referred to as the "Shanghai Working Committee") participated in leading the united front work of Shanghai's cultural circles, mainly targeting the upper echelons of the cultural circles and industrial and commercial circles, which were directly commanded by Zhou Enlai. In May 1947, the Shanghai Branch of the CPC Central Committee was changed to the Shanghai Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, under which the United Front Work Committee for Culture, Industry and Commerce was established, and the cultural propaganda work was centralized here.
Under the strong leadership of the party organization, the development of Shanghai's progressive cultural undertakings is in full swing. "During this period, one of the key points of the party's cultural united front work was still the publication of newspapers, periodicals, and books." Zhu Shaowei said.
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to set up the main office of xinhua daily in Shanghai, but it was unsuccessful due to the obstruction of the Kuomintang authorities. In May 1946, the Shanghai Working Committee successfully founded the English newspaper Xinhua Weekly; in June, the magazine "Masses" of the CENTRAL Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was moved from Chongqing to Shanghai, and Zhou Enlai and Dong Biwu personally wrote articles for it, which had a great influence. Although both Xinhua Weekly and Mass Weekly were forced to cease publications under the suppression of the Kuomintang authorities, thanks to the efforts of the Party organizations, many progressive newspapers and periodicals survived and played a huge united front role. One of the most influential was the Lianhe Wanbao, which was launched in April 1946. This is a mass newspaper under the leadership of the Communist Party that appears as a non-governmental newspaper, and more than half of its editors and reporters are members of the Communist Party of China. In line with the purpose of "serving the people", the newspaper grasped the two things that the citizens were most concerned about at that time - democracy and people's livelihood, and reported a large number of news of peace and civil war, inflation, and people's hardships, which were deeply concerned by the citizens.
After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, a large number of progressive literary and art workers, such as Guo Moruo, Mao Dun, Ba Jin, Tian Han, and Ye Shengtao, came to Shanghai one after another to form a powerful contingent of progressive literature and art. On December 17, 1945, the Shanghai Branch of the All-China Literary and Art Association was born, and in 1947, the General Association of the All-China Literary and Art Association was also transferred to Shanghai.
"In the party's united front work, cultural united front has always been an extremely important part. It is related to the cohesion of power and the back of people's hearts. In the more than two decades before the birth of the Communist Party of China and the founding of the People's Republic of China, no matter how difficult it was, the party has always adhered to the cultural front in Shanghai, injecting vitality into the development of progressive culture throughout China. Hong Minrong said.