When Chen Yi was twelve, his father and uncles separated.
After the separation of the family, Chen Yi's family consisted of six members: his father Chen Changli, his mother Huang Peishan, his older brother Chen Mengxi, his younger sister Chen Shifang, and his younger brother Chen Jirang and Chen Yi.
Chen Yi's brother Chen Mengxi
Chen Changli is only good at poetry, writing, playing chess, and the peasants, industrialists, and merchants are not good at it. The burden of the family's life was almost entirely picked up by Chen Yi's mother. Although Huang Peishan is a rich girl, he does not have the squeamishness of a rich lady. She is kind, gentle, able to endure hardships, scheming, and very good at tutoring.
On the one hand, she entrusted people to seek help for her husband, and on the other hand, she personally farmed the land and subsidized the family. The small amount of silver dollars that were distributed had to spend on food, clothing, and shelter, and to provide for the children's schooling, so they could only be extremely meticulous and painstaking.
Soon, Chen Changli found a small clerk position in the Chongqing Salt Bureau, doing work such as copying, earning a few yuan a month, although he tried to save as much as possible on his own food, he could only remit three or five yuan a month to go home.
Despite this, her mother still let Chen Mengxi and Chen Yi enter the "Huadegao" (Huayang County DeshengXiang Higher Primary School) and Ji Rang entered the Fahua Temple Primary School. "Huadegao" is a famous primary school in Chengdu, the teachers are well educated, and the top three in each class can be free.
The mother had a strong desire to give birth to both sons for free.
Starting from Shanghua Degao, Chen Yi officially used the name "Chen Yi, Zi Zhonghong". The same is true of Meng Xi and Ji Rang. The abandonment of the Chen family's genealogical lineage name can also show that the feudal nature of the Chen family at that time has been further reduced, and the concept of personal struggle and independent development has dominated.
Walter's name is well known. There are many teachers, many students, buildings, and a large playground. The lineup of teachers is neat, and there are not a few who have studied abroad. There is a physical education instructor surnamed Zeng who studied in Tokyo, is enthusiastic and lively, and plays a role in cultivating Chen Yi's interest in sports.
Principal Feng Zhan'en is a famous person in Chengdu, not only good at teaching, but also handsome and beautiful, is a number of local ancient writers, and is promoted as one of the "Five Old and Seven Sages" in Chengdu.
It is said that once, Feng Zhan'en and Xu Zixiu held an essay contest in Wangjiang Lou and wrote eight strands of essays, with the title of "Zilu Staying at Shimen".
Feng Zhan'en wrote more than a dozen articles in the blink of an eye, Xu Zixiu only wrote six or seven, and there were no wonderful articles by Feng Zhan'en. The reviewer's friend gave Feng Zhan'en a nickname of "Feng Brush Handle" on the spot, comparing him to writing articles as fast and clean as a stone printing brush. What made Chen Yi even happier was that Chen Mengxi was in the first class, he was in the second class, and their Chinese teacher was Principal Feng.
Chen Yi, who was strictly trained by the teacher, had a strong interest in classical Chinese literature, and now that he had such good conditions, he naturally had to study angrily. Therefore, although it is a seven-mile walk from home to school, although their lunch is often only two "pot helmets" (that is, burnt bread), although they leave early and return late, they have to participate in some agricultural labor when they return home, but they do not think it is bitter and learn very hard.
However, the humiliation that poor students often encounter also fell on the Chen Yi brothers. A group of rich children in the school taunted them as "from the other side of the mountain" and "grew up eating red amaranth", and often looked for forks. At first, they tolerated it, but the other side thought it was deceitful, and the insult was even worse.
Chen Jiazu had produced Wu Xiucai, and his temper naturally did not get any better, Chen Mengxi first got up with them, and then the brothers went up together and answered with a fierce punch and foot.
In this way, those people are honest. Later, they found that Chen Yi's homework was good, and some people turned around to please Chen Yi and begged him to help do his homework during his lunch break.
Once, President Feng's essay title was "Karma is good at diligence and absurdity", Chen Yi's essay was very appreciated by Feng Zhan'en, and he publicly praised his article for its clear theme, relevant metaphor, in-depth and thought-provoking, and instructed to post it on the classroom wall for everyone to observe.
Before another essay test, many people asked him to help, asking for a knife ghostwriting, Chen Yi was difficult and proud, and repeatedly pushed the result, promising to help only this time. During the two hours of the test, he first helped others write six articles in one go, risked being detected, and then wrote his own.
Unexpectedly, as soon as the test was completed, Chen Yi was immediately called by Principal Feng. Feng Zhan'en looked at Chen Yi, shook his head and nodded, "Do you know that this is fraud?" You, you, you Chen brush handle is even more powerful than my Feng brush handle! ”
At the end of the first semester, Chen Yi and Meng Xi both won the first place in their respective classes, and they won a happy smile for their mother. Later, in the other three semesters of studying at Walter Heights, they also qualified as the top three free students.
In the two years that the Chen Yi brothers were studying hard, the rampant attacks of imperialism and feudal forces Chinese the fierce struggle between the people and the people against imperialism and feudalism, and constantly hit the soul of the young Chen Yi.
On January 31, 1915, Beijing's Asia Daily revealed the astonishing news that Yuan Shikai and Japan were negotiating the "Twenty-One Articles" and exposed some of the contents of the treaty. In February, the French legation in China revealed the fifth number of the treaty.
Twenty-one "appalling! Its demands are more demanding than any traitorous treaty since the Opium War! The whole country shook, and the great waves opposing the "Twenty-One Articles" immediately set off all over the country, and Chengdu was immediately involved in the torrent.
Chen Yi was angry and anxious, went to the street to participate in the parade, and shouted slogans. But this is their last semester at "Walden Gao", and the graduation ranking is very important. Chen Mengxi persuaded Chen Yi that what was revealed in the newspaper was only the request made by the Japanese side, and Yuan Shikai was not necessarily willing to agree.
On March 10, Sun Yat-sen issued a statement stating that Yuan Shikai was prepared to recognize the "Twenty-One Articles" in exchange for Japan's support for Yuan Shikai's "claim to the throne." Immediately after that, the news of the signing of the "Twenty-one Articles" also came. Chen Mengxi stammered.
Yuan Shikai stills
At Chen Yi's urging, he couldn't care less about reviewing his homework, and rushed to the street with Chen Yi.
The streets of Chengdu are already boiling. Under the large slogan of opposing the "Twenty-one Articles", there are people everywhere giving speeches and calling signs. The fiercest resistance in the streets and alleys was the hordes of students and citizens who raided Japanese goods. They closed Japanese goods shops everywhere and burned Japanese goods in the streets. Chen Yi and Meng Xi immediately threw themselves into the burning of Japanese goods.
Then, Chen Yi ran around again, constantly participating in national shame commemorations and other activities.
But when he came back with a passionate cry, he was silent again. Isn't the revolution, on the surface, a victory? Republic.
But this first republic in Asia brought to the people the same poverty and incompetence as before the revolution.
According to Chen Mengxi's recollection, Chen Yi and he both began to doubt such a path. For the first time, Chen Yi consciously considered The way out for China. Because they already feel that China's way out and their own way out are closely linked. China will not only be poor and weak, but will also be divided and destroyed, "the skin and no hair will be attached", "will there be a complete egg under the nest"?
So, where is the way out?
At that time, there were many ideas for national salvation. "Education saves the country", "science saves the country", "industry saves the country"... Others believe that only by grasping the barrel of a gun can we save the country in China by grabbing the barrel of a gun as a "gun class." Zhu De, Liu Bocheng, and Peng Dehuai consciously or semi-consciously embarked on the last road.
In 1915, the twenty-nine-year-old Zhu De was already the colonel under Cai Yi in Yunnan, and the twenty-three-year-old Liu Bocheng was already the backbone of the Chinese Revolutionary Party in the Sichuan Army. However, the fourteen-year-old Chen Yi believed in "industry to save the country" and "science to save the country", and he consulted with Meng Xi, and after graduation, he went to study industry and science and technology.
Hearing this idea, Principal Feng Zhan'en felt deeply sorry. He knew that Chen Yi's outstanding talent was in literature, and he tried his best to cultivate this proud protégé to engage in poetry. He once wrote eight pieces of Du Fu's "Autumn Xing" for the small school student Chen Yi.
Chen Yi himself also deeply felt that under the guidance of Feng Zhan'en, he had made great progress in literature. Later, he said to Zhang Qian:
During this time, he read books such as "Ancient Literature Guanzhi", "Ancient Literature and Dictionary", "Thousand Family Poems", "Tang Poetry Collection", "Journey to the West", "List of Fengshen Gods" and other books, laying the foundation for classical literature.
However, Principal Feng did not convince Chen Yi. Chen Yi insisted that at this time, for China, industry and science were more important than literature, and the king of Li Hou's main words, The Song Huizong calligraphy and painting crowned the world, but they all became the kings of the subjugated country. Principal Feng was persuaded by him instead.
In the autumn of 1915, Chen Yi was admitted to the Chengdu Industrial Training Institute. Half a year later, he was admitted to Chengdu Jiazhong Industrial School.
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