Voltaire, the forerunner of the French Enlightenment, dies. The Five Swords Massacre occurred. The French heroine Joan of Arc died.
1. Voltaire, a pioneer of the French Enlightenment, dies.
Voltaire (November 21, 1694 – May 30, 1778), born François-Marie Arrouet, was a French Enlightenment thinker, philosopher, and literary scholar, a recognized leader and mentor of the Enlightenment, known as the "father of French thought".
His discourse was marked by irony, often attacking the dogmas of the Catholic Church and the French education system of the time. personal philosophical and scientific works "Metaphysics", "Newtonian Principles of Philosophy"; plays "The Death of Caesar", "Muhammad", "Son of Debauchery", "Herop"; philosophical novel "Chardiger", etc.
Voltaire's writings and ideas, along with Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, influenced the main thinkers of the American Revolution and the French Revolution.
Voltaire died on 30 May 1778.
After Voltaire's death, he was still persecuted by the Church, so much so that his body had to be secretly transported to the Champagne department. Placed in a small chapel.
It was not until the French Revolution of 1791 that his body was transported to the capital with the inscription on his casket: "He taught us to freedom". His ashes have since been buried in the Panthéon in Paris, forever honored and admired by the people of all over the world, who affectionately call him the "Spiritual Prince".
Voltaire was a fighter for enlightenment, who fought all his life for freedom of thought and expression, living an independent life with his own pen.
2. The Five Swords Massacre occurred.
The Five Sà Massacre (also known as Five Swords Blood Case, or Written Five ▪ Swords Massacre) occurred on May 30, 1925. On May 30, more than 2,000 students from Shanghai distributed leaflets and gave speeches in the concession to protest the suppression of the workers' strike by the Japanese spinning factory capitalists, the killing of worker Gu Zhenghong, and their solidarity with the workers, and called for the repossession of the concession.
In the afternoon of the same day, more than 10,000 people gathered at the gate of the Nanjing Road Gate in the British Concession to demand the release of the arrested students and shout slogans such as "Down with imperialism." The British police actually opened fire, killing 13 people, seriously injuring dozens of others, and arresting more than 150 people on the spot, causing the "Five Swords Massacre" that shocked China and the world.
3. The sacrifice of the French female national heroine Joan of Arc.
Joan of Arc (6 January 1412 – 30 May 1431), known as the "Maiden of Orléans", was a French national hero, military strategist, saint of the Catholic Church, and the goddess of liberty in the hearts of the French.
During the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453), she led the French army against the English invasion, supported the coronation of Charles VII and contributed to the victory of France. She was eventually captured and burned at the stake by the Inquisition for heresy and witchcraft.
After Joan of Arc's death, many French politicians used her great image to promote it. Major writers and composers including Shakespeare, Voltaire, Tchaikovsky, Twain, George Bernard Shaw, and Brecht wrote about her, and a large number of films, plays, and music based on her continue to develop to this day.