"Socialism in Modern Times", many people don't know that there is a book now. Because the author of this book is Japanese, and it was first published in Japan, in 1903 and 1927, it was translated into Chinese. So, there really aren't many people who know about this book now.
Modern Socialism introduces the current situation of socialist parties in Europe and the United States at that time, as well as the life, writings, and theories of socialist scholars such as Karl Marx. The author of this book is the Japanese socialist thinker Junzo Fukui. In this book, Fukui Junzo praised Marx as "the great man of a generation", "The Communist Manifesto" as "a great hero", and "Capital" as "a great work of a generation".
The author was photographed at the Zhao Bizhen Memorial Hall
In 1903 and 1927, the Chinese translations of this book were published by Shanghai Guangzhi Book Company and Shanghai Times Bookstore respectively. Today, the Chinese translation has been recognized by the Central Compilation and Translation Bureau as "the first translation of the socialist doctrine in modern China", and has an important position in the history of the import of Marxist and socialist theories into China.
In this case, the work "Socialism in Modern Times" can be regarded as a seed of China's budding socialist road. In a sense, China's taking the socialist road is related to the Japanese socialist thinker Junzo Fukui.
So, who translated this Japanese version of the book into Chinese? He is Zhao Bizhen, a native of Changde, Hunan. As a result, Zhao Bizhen was praised by the academic and ideological circles as "the first person to translate Marxism in China". Therefore, in a sense, China's taking the road of socialism is also related to Zhao Bizhen.
Zhao Bizhen
Zhao Bizhen, who was born in 1873, has been excellent in his studies and progressive thinking since he was a child. In 1900, after the failure of the uprising against the Qing Self-Reliance Army, he fled to Japan, and during his tenure as editor of the Qing Yibao edited by Liang Qichao, he made friends with some revolutionaries. Influenced by the idea of democratic revolution, he soberly realized: "Only by advocating new ideas can China be saved." ”
In 1902, after Zhao Bizhen returned to the motherland, he translated and published more than 30 Japanese works, among which "Socialism in Modern Times" had a positive and far-reaching impact on the awakening of the Chinese people from feudal thinking.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Zhao Bizhen served as a member of the Hunan Provincial Cultural Relics Committee and a researcher at the Hunan Provincial Museum of Culture and History. On December 18, 1956, Zhao Bizhen, who had gone through the three periods of the late Qing Dynasty, the Republic of China and New China, passed away at the age of 84.
Today, in his hometown, Shibantan Town, Dingcheng District, Changde City, Shibantan Town, Zhao Bizhen Research Base and Zhao Bizhen Memorial Hall have been built, becoming a rare red education base.
He is the first person in China to translate Marxism
This seems to be the end of the article, but I would like to say a question that makes people think deeply, that is, "Socialism in Modern Times" was written by the Japanese and was first published and distributed in Japan, so why did Japan not take the socialist road? After the socialist ideology was imported into China, China embarked on the socialist road. The most fundamental reason for this is that the Communist Party was born in China. The Communist Party of China has always adhered to Marxism, always adhered to the socialist road, and always integrated the universal truth of Marxism with the concrete practice of China's revolution and construction, thus constantly making tremendous achievements.
At this point, I would like to raise my arms and shout: Marxism is good, socialism is good, and the Communist Party is good!