The Way of Hope: More than Just "Past and Present Lives"

It's not just "past lives and this life"...

- After reading "Wangdao: The Past and Present Life of the First Chinese Complete Translation of the Communist Manifesto"

Wen 丨 Pan Kaixiong

Frankly speaking, when I began to "sit upright" in the university classroom at the end of the last century, Mr. Chen Wangdao's name was completely blank to me, and there was no way, most of the stubble like me who "enlightened" in that "crazy decade" was so stupid. The teacher of the Cpc Party History Class proudly told us that "Mr. Chen Wangdao, the first translator of the full translation of the Communist Manifesto Chinese, was our first principal after the founding of New China." When the teacher of the Modern Chinese Class listed the books to be read outside the classroom, he also proudly introduced: "The author of this "Rhetoric Study Fa Fan" that we recommend that everyone read outside the classroom is Mr. Chen Wangdao, the first principal after the founding of New China." Chen Wangdao, the famous name of Chen Wangdao, began to be deeply imprinted into my mind. Therefore, when I got Xu Jingeng's book "Wangdao: The Past and Present Life of the First Chinese Full Translation of the Communist Manifesto", I immediately read it with great interest and secretly shouted "addiction".

"The Way of Hope", the title of this main book is good! However, at the same time, I also thought "badly" that if Mr. Chen had not "unauthorized" renamed himself from "Sanyi" to "Wangdao" in 1918, would the main title of Jin Geng's new work still be the word "Wangdao"? Moreover, the subtitle of this book is called "The Past and Present Life of the First Chinese Full Translation of the Communist Manifesto", which is small, and the content of the whole book can be much more than this!

The title of the main book "Wangdao" is well-known, not only mr. Dao and his people, but also the "Wangdao" group. Whether it is "looking at the Tao" or "looking at the Tao", it is inevitable that they are tightly clinging to the keyword of "Tao", which has the ambiguity of morality, path, method, law and so on.

Let's start with "Looking" first. The work does not revolve around Mr. Chen Wangdao's life experience in an all-round way, but only takes his translation of the "Communist Manifesto", which is both his personal experience and the major experience that affects the entire process of Chinese history, as the axis, and selects his lifelong lifelong struggle course and distinct personality characteristics such as "destroying Buddhism and running a school", "going to Japan to study", "taking up a zhejiang first division", "participating in the brewing of the party", "parting ways", "returning to the original heart", etc., up and down, back and forth, and reproducing his lifelong struggle course and distinctive personality characteristics in pursuit of truth 3. Tireless curiosity, frank personality, a "party spirit + people's nature + personality" Chen Wangdao three-dimensionally presented in front of the reader, which is amiable and credible, respectable and respectable.

Let's talk about "the hopes" again. This "we" is to take Mr. Wangdao as the fulcrum and stretch out in both international and domestic directions: the international direction is that Jin Geng uses the first two chapters to move his gaze forward to the European continent in the 19th century, in which there are two revolutionary teachers, Marx and Engels, who jointly created the "Communist Manifesto" and guided the international communist movement from utopian to scientific, as well as their sincere friendship and their respective struggles. The domestic direction depicts a group of "fellow travelers" of the same period as Chen Wangdao, of which two groups of people are quite interesting: first, why Chen Wangdao became the first Chinese translator of the Communist Manifesto—from Li Dazhao to Chen Duxiu to Dai Jitao to Shao Lizi to Chen Wangdao; second, Li Hanjun, Shen Xuanlu, Dai Jitao, Chen Wangdao, Li Da, and Shao Lizi, who were written successively in the eleventh chapter of the work, "Ups and Downs". Although the characters placed on these two chains have similarities and differences, especially their respective life path choices are not identical, and some of the former group of common "looking at the Tao" later parted ways, some lost their way, and some returned to the same destination, but the reason is nothing more than because of their different beliefs, morals and personal personalities. What is even more interesting is the different attitude of Comrade Mao Zedong, who is the core of the party's first generation of leadership collectives, toward these people, as long as the faith remains unchanged and only because of personal character reasons and once left the party, such as Li Hanjun, Li Da and Chen Wangdao, the attitude of the old people is tolerant. Such a broad, inclusive and democratic attitude and style may also be an important part of the SUCCESS OF the Chinese Communist Party.

As the end of this essay, it is also necessary to discuss its style. It seems reasonable to classify Wangdao as non-fiction documentary literature, but I noticed that the state publishing administration classified it as "Communist Manifesto-IV". Thinking about it carefully, this positioning seems to be more rigorous and accurate. Whether it is the birth of the Communist Manifesto or the birth of its first full translation of the Chinese, its subjects or witnesses are no longer alive, and the interviews necessary for documentary literary creation, especially those who have experienced it, cannot be discussed. Indeed, the creation of this book is also the author's use of literary ink and ink on the basis of a large number of references, comparisons, excavations and analysis of a large number of direct or indirect written materials. Therefore, whether it is classified as documentary literature or research writings, it has its own reasons and basis, which does not seem to be particularly important, but more important is the basic attitude that the author presents when creating. In my opinion, in this process, at least the following two points are very valuable: First, for the writing of "Wangdao", Jin Geng did consult a large number of relevant original literature and the research results of other experts and scholars, and tried his best to find the first-hand first-hand version of the original materials, in this regard, although I dare not say the word "exhaustion", but it is not too much to say that he has worked hard; second, the author's efforts are not limited to exhausting the relevant materials that can be found as much as possible, and there are further comparisons and studies on them. Then frankly admit your views and judgments. For example, in 1920, when there was almost a consensus in the domestic historians about "Southern Chen Bei Li, meet to build the party", Xu Jingeng clearly said bluntly and bluntly according to his own materials after careful analysis; for example, the publication time of the first edition of Chen Wangdao's translation has always existed in April, May and August 1920, and the author has made it clear that he chose to support the August 1 theory after careful comparison and calculation. These assertions require not only courage but also courage, which comes from the author's solid and honest style of study. In this sense, no matter how the style of "Wangdao" is positioned, this solid style of study and style is more commendable.

"Wangdao": the organic unity of history, records and biographies

Wen 丨 Li Chaoquan

Launched in 2021 on the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, Xu Jingeng's "Wangdao" is indeed a good book about the early history of the Chinese Communist Party, and has also been selected as a monthly "Good Book of China".

"Wangdao" mainly tells the story of Chen Wangdao's translation of the Communist Manifesto, writing a red memory that reflects the past and present lives of a red classic. The Communist Manifesto is the founding work of Marxism, establishing a completely new proletarian world outlook and undoubtedly a red classic. As the author writes in the book, "a book has influenced a group of people, and a group of people have changed the fate of China", giving birth to a political party and nourishing generation after generation. In fact, this thin book directly affected the birth of the Soviet Union led by Lenin and the new China led by Mao Zedong, and changed the fate of these two great powers. For example, Mao Zedong once said: "I have read the Communist Manifesto no less than a hundred times, and when I encounter problems, I will read Marx's Communist Manifesto,...... Every time I read it, I have new inspiration. Therefore, the past and present lives of such a red classic are undoubtedly worthy of a big book. In 2014, the author collaborated with Tieliu to create a long documentary "National Memory - A Chinese Legend of the Communist Manifesto", which won the 13th "Five Ones Project" Award. On this basis, he carried out in-depth re-excavation and re-excavation, tracing and describing the process of the "Communist Manifesto" from conception, creation to translation and dissemination, focusing on the ins and outs of Chen Wangdao's translation of the book. It can be seen from this that "Wangdao" is a "sequel" or "prequel" to the book "National Memory", and it is a further in-depth excavation of the history of the creation and dissemination of the "Communist Manifesto".

The biggest feature of "Wangdao" is that it is a long documentary that organically combines history, records, and biographies, writing history for the country, leaving notes for the nation, and establishing biographies for characters. This is a red history, which not only narrates a section of the history of the international communist movement and the history of the development of scientific socialism, but also reflects a part of the history of the Communist Party of China, the history of Marxist ideas represented by the Communist Manifesto entering China and shaping China. At the same time, it is also a true record of the creation, translation, dissemination and influence of the Communist Manifesto, and is the birth, translation and dissemination of the Communist Manifesto, which can also be called a red memory, national memory and national memory. More importantly, this chronicle combines biographies or biographies of specific people and revolves around the life experiences of the founders of Marxism and early members of the Chinese Communist Party. Therefore, it can be said that this documentary work is a great promotion of the Tradition of Chinese History and Biography, and organically combines history, record, and biography.

In terms of biographies, the author not only describes the life story of the main character Chen Wangdao and his tortuous life, but also describes the fiery passion and firm belief of two classic writers, including Marx and Engels, the creators of the Communist Manifesto, who devoted themselves to the revolutionary cause, and wrote about the close relationship and sincere and touching friendship between these two great comrades-in-arms. The author also tells the fate of many characters, especially the 13 party members who attended the big party in the early days of the Communist Party of China, including Li Hanjun and Li Da, as well as their different paths and destinations. Including the two-faced life of Dai Jitao, who later became a rightist member of the Kuomintang: he helped recommend Chen Wangdao's translation of the Communist Manifesto, and the translation of the Communist Manifesto should be said to have contributed, but its subsequent transformation is disgraceful. The author has made an objective description of this, and the content is credible. Excellent historical documentary works should be the organic unity of history, memorization and biography. At this point, "Hope Road" did.

The theme of this work is the original intention of "looking at the road", that is, the original intention of looking after the road and pursuing the truth, that is, to seek unity for the world, for the well-being of the people, and for the rejuvenation of the nation, and in the early stage of the revolution, it was to achieve national liberation, national independence, and people's happiness. In the book, the author explains the "Wangdao": First, this book is to write about the "Wangdao", that is, a group of people of insight who, like Chen Wangdao, seek the truth for national independence and the liberation of the people; second, Wangdao is to follow the Avenue of Hope, to follow the Avenue, that is, to follow the Marxist truth represented in the "Communist Manifesto" to solve China's practical problems. The author affectionately shapes the image of Chen Wangdao, highlighting Chen Wangdao's firm revolutionary ideals and convictions that do not forget his original intention and are unswerving. Although he also had a period of experience of leaving the party in the course of his life, this person who had tasted the sweetness of truth when he was young has never changed his original intention throughout his life, and his pursuit of truth and adherence to faith have never changed. Secondly, the author organically links the original intentions of individual individual members of the early days of the Communist Party of China with the original intentions of this political party, not only showing the original intentions of specific individuals, including Chen Wangdao and Mao Zedong, but also showing the original intention and belief of the great political party of the Communist Party of China, and organically combining the two. Therefore, it is also a way to relive the original intention of our party's founding, which is actually a powerful promotion of the great spirit of party building.

The book "Wangdao" was created in the form of archaeological excavation, which is written in the form of research evidence. For example, it provides an in-depth examination of the Chinese translation of the Communist Manifesto: who first began to introduce this great red classic, including some passages in Liu Renjing's translated works, which Li Dazhao once recommended; and the translations of other translators after Chen Wangdao, the whereabouts of the earliest red-cover mispublished edition of the surviving collection, etc., were also thoroughly examined, and the spread of the Communist Manifesto in China was also thoroughly examined, combed, and analyzed. This kind of in-depth description and revelation not only has historical value, but also has academic discovery value. This makes the value and significance of the work overflow with literature and documentary, and makes it worth educating party members and the public on ideal beliefs, as well as the value of in-depth study of the history of the dissemination of red classics.

Red publishing interprets the great founding spirit of the Party

Wen 丨 Qin Yanhua

At the beginning of the 20th century, a number of famous translators emerged during the May Fourth New Culture Movement, which played an important role in the spread and development of Marxist thought in China. The early founders of the party, such as Li Dazhao, Chen Duxiu and Qu Qiubai, were not only the initiators of the new cultural movement in China, but also the translators, introductions and disseminators of Marxism. These advanced intellectuals who translated and propagated Marxism became a bridge for the dissemination of Marxist ideas in China.

The Communist Manifesto, co-authored by Marx and Engels, is a classic treatise on Marxism and a programmatic document of the international communist movement. It is like a beacon that provides an ideological weapon and a direction for the proletariat of the whole world, which is struggling in the long night, to shake off its suffering and to seek liberation. During the May Fourth period, Li Dazhao once translated the Communist Manifesto, and the full translation of this classic was first completed by Chen Wangdao.

Xu Jingeng's book "Wangdao" is an excellent reportage that traces back to the roots and tells the whole Chinese how the full translation of the Communist Manifesto was translated and published, and also profoundly explains how China's advanced intellectuals pursued truth and faith and embarked on the revolutionary road. This is a comprehensive, vivid and vivid masterpiece that praises the great spirit of party building around the translation and publication of the "Communist Manifesto" and the publication of this red publication event.

This work is very worthy of our careful reading. It is an excellent reportage literature that runs through literature, history and scholarship on the basis of profound learning, which is not only full of vivid and vivid artistic attraction and appeal, but also can lead readers step by step into the depths of history, appreciate the real historical and political scene of China's social turmoil in the early 20th century, and show the author's superb academic level, structural art and narrative ability.

"Wangdao" gives a panoramic account of the past and present lives of the first Chinese of the Communist Manifesto, and firmly grasps the main line of the translation of the Communist Manifesto, portraying the "Wangdaos" among intellectuals in the early 20th century, as well as the influence of the first generation of Chinese leaders and the significance brought to the Chinese revolution during the dissemination of the Communist Manifesto. In this book, the author first briefly describes the process of Marx and Engels writing the Communist Manifesto and the spread of the Communist Manifesto in Europe, and then gives a large-scale account of Chen Wangdao's translation of the Chinese full translation of the Communist Manifesto, as well as the publication process. While recounting the process of translating and publishing this classic Marxist treatise, the author also combines it with the advanced organization of the Communist Party of China. The publication of the Communist Manifesto coincided with the preparation of the founding of the Communist Party of China, which had an important impact on the growth of revolutionary pioneers, and also laid the ideological foundation for the organization and initiation of the early Communist Party of China and for the development and growth of the Communist Party of China. In the process of narration, the author closely links the two, mutual cause and effect, mutual confirmation, natural and vivid, and it is impressive to read.

Literature is anthropology, and reportage is no exception. This book uses delicate brushstrokes and vivid depictions of a large number of details to successfully reproduce chen Wangdao's full character image. Chen Wangdao is undoubtedly the protagonist of this book, and the author devotes a considerable amount of space to the legendary experience of this famous scholar. While grasping the main line of Chen Wangdao's translation of the Communist Manifesto, this book also pushes a group of benevolent people and revolutionary pioneers at that time to the reader's eyes, allowing us to see how the advanced figures of that era placed their personal choices in the torrent of the times in the context of the world communist movement and the Chinese revolution, and sought the revolution up and down, and pursued faith unremittingly. Therefore, this book not only writes about Chen Wangdao, but also paints portraits and biographies for the "Wangdaos". As the author said in the afterword: "At the beginning of the creation, I wrote Chen Wangdao. After much deliberation, I decided to write 'Hopelists'." Chen Wangdao was one of the bearers of the torch Communist Manifesto. "He is not alone, there are a lot of 'hopes' around him." Around him were "a large number of revolutionary volunteers, holding high a torch, with the ambition of change, looking for the way of truth, groping in the darkness." On the way forward, some wander, some go astray, some part ways, and some die generously. More people, unswerving and unyielding, went forward to succeed each other and relayed the torch, so that the fire of revolution in the East would eventually become a burning trend. ”

In the process of writing, the author consulted a large number of published historical materials and party history materials, and the narrative of important events was supported by rich and credible materials, and the discussion clues were clear and the context was clear. For some well-known allusions, the author has also pointed out the fallacies through a large number of studies, and it can be seen that the author has a good academic foundation. In a sense, this is also an academic research work on the early spread of the Communist Manifesto in China.

With the translation, publication, and dissemination of this historical event of the "Communist Manifesto," this book vividly interprets and carries forward the great spirit of party building by seeing the big from the small and knowing the small with the small. Comrade Mao Zedong said: "The October Revolution brought us Marxism-Leninism with the sound of a cannon. "The Communist Manifesto is Marxism that preceded the October Revolution, and they played an important role in forging the soul for the birth of the Communist Party of China and the victory of the Chinese revolution. In addition, we have also seen that Marxism is closely integrated with China's national conditions and has radiated strong vitality, creativity and appeal. In this sense, the shock that the book "Hope" gives us in the heart is undoubtedly enormous.

Narrative studies combined with analysis of historical documents

——Xu Jingeng's long-form reportage "Wangdao" reading

Wen 丨 Fu Yichen

Xu Jingeng's long-form reportage "Wangdao" (Zhejiang Literature and Art Publishing House, December 2021) takes the translation and publication story of the Chinese full translation of the Communist Manifesto" as the main line, vividly telling the journey of advanced intellectuals represented by Chen Wangdao in exploring the truth, highlighting the great significance of the dissemination of the Communist Manifesto to the Chinese revolution and the great influence on the early leaders of the CPC. Standing at the ideological height of the great historical outlook, taking the world communist movement and the course of the Chinese revolution as the background, Xu Jingeng made an in-depth comparison of the world situation with China's reality; through the screening, judgment, and study of different materials, he sorted out the origin of marx and Engels's manifesto and Chen Wangdao's translation of the manifesto, and wrote out the lofty passion of the times, the distinct political viewpoint, the firm critical stand, the strong ideological appeal, and the great spiritual force that changed the oppressed fate of the world proletariat in the "Communist Manifesto."

As a project funded by the National Publishing Fund of "Looking Back at the Centenary of the Founding of the Party" and a key work support project of the China Writers Association in 2021, Wangdao skillfully melts the history of Marx's growth, the history of marxism, the history of the international communist movement, the history of the Communist Party of China, and the history of the dissemination of the book "Communist Manifesto" in China, and places the Chinese revolution in the overall pattern of the world revolution to investigate and refine the theme of the work. Among them, there are not only grand narrative structures, but also major nodes and events in the history of the international communist movement, showing major historical events in modern Chinese history, such as the Xinhai Revolution, the May Fourth Movement, the founding of the Communist Party of China, the first Kuomintang-Communist cooperation, the Long March of the Red Army, and other major historical events; there are also many microscopic details, such as the choice of the translator of the "Communist Manifesto" and how Chen Duxiu found Chen Wangdao through the recommendation of others. The works combine the thickness of academic research with the beauty of literary narrative, and are very exciting in the description of some scenes. For example, in the last paragraph of Marx's vigorous writing of the Communist Manifesto, the last sentence was written, "He threw the quill pen backwards." The quill pen made a graceful arc in the air and fluttered to the floor. The dripping ink, along with the pen, formed a large exclamation point. "On the basis of full respect for historical facts, "Wangdao" develops a reasonable literary imagination, and passages like this that are close to the historical scene and reflect the personality and style of the characters are all over the book.

The strong language expression and solid and meticulous analysis of historical materials make "Wangdao" an excellent reportage work depicting the group portraits of the pursuers of the lofty ideals of mankind. In particular, the image shaping and portrayal of a group of early Chinese revolutionaries represented by Chen Wangdao, such as Chen Duxiu's pride, Li Dazhao's calmness, and Hu Shi's timidity, although there is not much ink, it is impressive. As the protagonist of the book, the book devotes one-third of the book to Chen Wangdao's legendary experience, placing his personal choices in the main tide of the times, showing his search for truth and his unremitting pursuit of faith. Chen Wangdao's life experiences such as studying, growing up, and doing studies are delicately combed and presented as a whole, highlighting his special contributions and style as an intellectual with ideological depth.

History-making, though inevitably characterized by literary descriptions, always relies on historical facts to seek the truth of history, no matter how complex and difficult such a search may be. Historians' narratives are undoubtedly literary, and the question is whether literary narratives lead to the revelation and fiction of historical truths or facts. In this sense, the test facing Xu Jingeng is not only at the level of historical research, but also at the level of literary narrative, and it is also a question of how to effectively integrate the two. The author needs to have accurate screening in a large number of materials, have independent analysis, and then draw his own conclusions, especially on some well-known historical details and allusions to do a lot of research, but also point out some of the fallacies in the allusions. In essence, this is a narrative study of the history of the Chinese revolution.

For the historical scene that cannot be personally experienced or even reached through interviews, Xu Jingeng shows his excellent kung fu and strong ability in combing the historical context, studying historical documents, arguing and expounding historical facts, and returns, reconstructs and re-examines the historical scene in a narrative research method combined with the analysis of historical documents, and builds a field that spans a hundred years of time and space, mutual learning between literature and history, and dialogue between the present and the ancestors. This kind of narrative research is different from the theoretical study at the logical level, focusing on and writing about the spiritual world and inner experience of individuals or groups, intended to enrich or fill the gaps in historical experience and life that have been obscured and ignored. This makes more and more fresh historical materials that overflow people's cognitive inertia be more accurately and appropriately salvaged and used, so that those individual life experiences that are not valued have left subtle but clear traces under the wash of the grand historical wave.

The broadening of research horizons and the downward shift of research focus will help to change the bias of traditional historiography on political history and economic history, so that more research fields can enter the reader's field of vision, and also make the major revolutionary historical narratives that were once dominated by the perspectives of political history, military history, and economic history have a richer cultural and ideological appearance. From this point of view, "Wangdao" not only writes the whole process of the birth of the Communist Manifesto and the translation, publication and dissemination of the first Chinese translation, but also reflects the psychological process, ideal belief and spiritual existence of the outstanding representatives of China's early revolutionaries and communists through the multi-dimensional and multi-perspective hooking and salvage of such a small incision historical event; through personal ups and downs in life experience and fate, it profoundly reveals the political, economic conditions and social and cultural changes in modern China.