【Everyone walking together with one heart】
Author: Wang Shulin (Lecturer, School of Marxism, China University of Geosciences, Beijing)
At the end of the 1920s, the trend of Marxist doctrine swept the country by almost every inch. According to the people of the time, in addition to the slogan of Popular Literature, it was the introduction of materialist dialectics and the materialist view of history, "at this time, a teacher or a student will always be looked down upon if there are few Marx books on the shelves." It was also at this time that Cai Yuanpei, the president of Peking University, introduced Cai Shangsi to teach at Daxia University, one of the so-called "Double Walls of Shanghai". As a young teacher and scholar, it is inevitable that I will be exposed to new trends. In particular, contacts with some of the new school's teachers and students sparked his interest in Marxism.
In the autumn of 1931, Cai Shangsi transferred to Huazhong University in Wuhan to teach. Due to the trendy and bold lecture style, many progressive students like to take his courses. During this time, he became acquainted with activists He Wei (formerly known as Huo Hengde) and Huang Haibin (formerly known as Huang Xinxue). Driven by them, Cai Shangsi began to move toward Marxism. In their spare time, like-minded teachers and students often gather in secret, eagerly talking about the way out for the country and the nation, while deeply studying Marxist works. When he read the Communist Manifesto, Cai Shangsi was particularly inspired. Thinking of the century-old humiliation of the Chinese nation, of the long-decaying National Government, of tens of millions of toiling masses who were deeply oppressed, at that moment, the revolutionary flame hidden in his heart was ignited.
Since then, his enthusiasm for Marxist theory has soared, even to the point of hunger. Whether it is the translation of the works of The Soviet Midin, the Japanese Kawakami and others, or the chinese Esqui, Li Da and others, all of them are used to study. In order to concentrate, he often closed the door alone, spread the book on the ground, and arranged it into tables to explain it, and recorded what he thought and felt at any time. For three whole years, his ideas were completely immersed in Marxist doctrine. After "secretly reading" hundreds of Marxist-Leninist works, he gradually believed in scientific socialism and grew into a Marxist. For the great change of thought, Cai Shangsi wrote a poem: "Although the thought is complex, three schools can be included: forward to Ma Shi, backwards from Shakya; there is still Kong Zhongni, who claims to be unbiased." Thoughts follow circumstances, and ancient times are helpless. As soon as the class is abolished, it no longer harmonizes. Heaven on earth, do not recite Amitabha. The final winner, not Tarzan Ganges. It can be said that from 1931 to 1934, Cai Shangsi laid a deep Marxist theoretical foundation in Wuchang.
Cai Shangsi (1905-2008), a native of Dehua, Fujian. Historian, historian of ideas. He was the Vice President of Fudan University. Profile picture
Cai Shangsi's "Wang Chuanshan Thought System" data picture
In September 1935, Cai Shangsi, who was in his inception, was hired by Hujiang University as a "special chair of literature and history". Hujiang University was a well-known church university at that time, and the standard for hiring teachers was mainly whether to study in the United States. Mr. Cai did not "drink foreign ink" but was solemnly invited because of his profound knowledge. When it comes to Mr. Cai's knowledge of the past and the present, there is a good story circulating in the academic circles. After leaving Huazhong University, Cai Shangsi came to jiangsu provincial library to study. This collection of books is second only to the National Peking Library, and it is even more new after the self-study celebrity Liu Yizheng became the director, especially the first system for readers to live and read books and the compilation and publication of the "General Catalogue of Books", which can be described as "unique". The time spent studying in the Nanjing Longpanli Library was the most bitter and happy period in Cai Shangsi's life. Saying that it is the "most bitter", from the vast sea of classics, more than 2 million words of information have been selected (later quoted by the representative works "Chinese Thought Research Law" and "General Criticism of Traditional Chinese Thought"), just like the Wenhai fishing for pearls, the difficulty can be imagined. Saying that he was "the happiest", he had the privilege of meeting "the greatest benefactor in academia" Liu Yaozheng. Mr. Liu not only affectionately compared him to a "bee picker" and a "digging miner", but also often quipped to him: "You drove away all those bookworms!" As a curator, no one has ever read so many books. For the deep academic friendship between the two, Cai Shangsi is always unforgettable, after all, from academic leadership to social history, Mr. Liu has given him the most inspiration. Even when the great historian Gu Jie first came to Nanjing to meet him, he jokingly said that "it is a job, not unemployment; it is a great fortune, not an unfortunate thing." Therefore, Cai Shangsi has regarded the library as the "Taishang Research Institute" all his life.
Cai Shangsi's proud work" "Chinese Thought Research Law" was completed on the basis of the accumulation of a large number of books in the Jiangsu Provincial Library of National Studies. In his early years, when he was admitted to the Tsinghua Institute of Chinese Studies, he asked Liang Qichao, one of the "Four Great Mentors," for advice on the study of Chinese intellectual history. Unexpectedly, after he sent the manuscript about the pre-Qin zhuzi to the Liang clan, he soon received a reply that "more qin-seeking, can become a family". Undoubtedly, Liang's encouragement made him more confident in the field of Chinese intellectual history research, which was originally interested in academic interests. After the baptism of Marxist theory, Cai Shangsi formed an overall research idea: "In general, from my ideological perspective, I have connected the most advanced ideological materials in ancient China and the most advanced and wonderful ideological methods in modern Western times, and they have become a new method and new thinking that integrates ancient and modern Chinese and foreigners. Obviously, his philosophy of governance presents the characteristics of both theory and historical materials, guided by the materialist view of history, and excavates the historical materials within the reach of the eye. Therefore, once the Chinese Thought Research Law came out, it was widely praised by the academic community. With this work, Cai Shangsi became a recognized new scholar who applied the materialist view of history.
Cai Shangsi is by no means a scholar who buries his head in a study, and he pays attention to the rise and fall of the country all the time. With the growing wings of scholarship, he became a Marxist fighter in the position of a university. In the flames and smoke of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Hujiang University once became the center of the Shanghai students' anti-Japanese salvation movement. In accordance with the instructions of the CPC Central Committee on the work of the White Area, the underground branch of Hujiang University of the CPC has adopted the policy of "concealing for a long time, preserving strength, accumulating strength, and waiting for the opportunity," and has been in a state of secret activity. As soon as Cai Shangsi entered the school, he actively participated in the Anti-Japanese War, and even used his own apartment as an intermediate liaison station for underground CCP members. In 1936, he secretly met with Old Zhi He Wei at his home. The young man with whom he had spoken out was already a member of the Chinese Communist Party and a member of the National Salvation Congress. Since then, Cai Shangsi has repeatedly helped He Wei and others to conceal documents, convey letters, and carry out secret propaganda, silently supporting the anti-Japanese activities of the underground party of the CCP.
After the Battle of Songhu, Hujiang University was occupied by the Japanese army. Cai Shangsi and his wife and children began to live a life of upheaval and displacement. At this time, he was already quite famous in the academic circles, and the Wang puppet National Government took the opportunity to win over from time to time. At first, Wang Jingwei sent his subordinates to hold an invitation card more than a foot long and invited him to attend the "solemn ceremony of reclaiming the Shanghai Concession," which he angrily rebuked; then, Wang's close associates Chen Gongbo, Lin Baisheng, and other traitors personally set up a banquet to invite him, but was again categorically rejected. Seeing that he was unmoved, some pro-Japanese elements tried in vain to co-opt him by offering a way to make a living. Some hired him as a professor at a pseudo-university, while others proposed that he be the editor-in-chief of a major japanese government publication. In the face of the "sugar-coated shells" of the Wang puppet clique, the embarrassed Cai Shangsi would rather be poor than join them. Learning of Cai Shangsi's difficult situation, the CCP underground party organization contacted him through Shi Jinglan. Shi Jinglan joined the party while studying at Hujiang University, became acquainted with Cai Shangsi, and after meeting him, conveyed the instructions of the party organization hoping that he would teach at Hongzehu University. Hongzehu University is a university run by the Communist Party of China in the Liberated Areas. For Cai Shangsi, this is the opportunity to look forward to! However, in the situation at that time, the family's life was precarious, and they had to flee everywhere, and they could not make the trip in the end. I have to say that this is a major regret in his life.
After the outbreak of the all-out civil war, Cai Shangsi quickly threw himself into the torrent of revolution. On the one hand, he based himself on the position of colleges and universities, directly served the War of Resistance with academics, and waged a political struggle against the Kuomintang reactionaries. Standing on a three-foot podium, he exposed the Kuomintang's shady scene of undermining peace and vigorously propagated the idea of people's democracy. Picking up the pen in his hand, he used his real name and pen name "Guo Sheng" to publish articles in newspapers and periodicals such as "Ta Kung Pao," "Wen Wei Po," "Shi Youwen," "Democracy," and "Times," criticizing the Kuomintang government, attracting praise from the vast number of readers, some compared to "the spark of stars in the lonely boat in the sea," and some compared to "in Qi Taishi Jian and in Jin Dong Fox Pen." At the same time, the enraged Ministry of Education of the Nationalist Government sent a telegram ordering Hujiang University that "Cai Shangsi, professor of general history of China at the university, is a traitor to the party" and should be "paid close attention to." Cai Shangsi is worthy of being a warrior with an iron backbone, ignoring the intimidation of the enemy and continuing to fight bravely.
On the other hand, as a progressive professor, he initiated a patriotic academic group to support the democratic liberation movement throughout the country. In 1945, he joined forces with 24 well-known personalities, including Guo Moruo, Mao Dun, Ma Yinchu, Ma Sulun, Tao Xingzhi, Zhai Bozan, Zheng Zhenduo, Ye Shengtao, Hu Sheng, Du Guoyu, and Zhou Jianren, to establish the "Shanghai Branch of the National Association of Academic Workers", strongly calling for "opposing dictatorship and stopping the civil war". The following year, together with Zhang Zhirang, Shen Tilan and Zhou Yutong, he co-founded the "Shanghai University Democracy Professors Association" (hereinafter referred to as the "Great Education Association"). The "Great Education Federation" is not only a banner of the Shanghai democracy movement, but also echoes with the democratic groups in Beijing, Nanjing, Qingdao and other places, forming a huge democratic force and closely cooperating with the Chinese Communist Party's liberation war. Years later, Cai Shangsi proudly said: "The party's evaluation of the professor movement is very high. Perhaps out of the sensitivity of historians, he personally retained many precious memories of the "Great Education Union", which also reflects that Cai Shangsi, who has served as a permanent officer for a long time, has played a role in the "Great Education Federation" that should not be underestimated.
After the founding of New China, it was imperative to reform the old-style higher education system. In order to transform the original church university into a public university under the leadership of the Communist Party of China as soon as possible, Cai Shangsi, one of the main responsible persons of Hujiang University, can be said to have spared no effort. He successively introduced nine new measures, including adjusting the purpose of running the school, re-evaluating the titles of teachers, hiring more professors of political science, and inviting CCP cadres to come to the school to help with ideological reform. This series of measures laid the foundation for Hujiang University to integrate into the higher education system of new China. In June 1952, the country began to adjust the faculties and departments of major universities on a large scale, and the departments of Hujiang University were merged into Fudan University, East China Normal University, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and other universities, and Cai Shangsi was also transferred to Fudan University as a professor and head of the History Department. Since then, he has been writing on the Fudan campus and eventually became a generation of academic masters. It is worth mentioning that in 1953, Cai Shangsi gloriously joined the Communist Party of China.
From the age of 24 to the age of 24, Cai Shangsi has been cultivating the apricot altar for nearly 80 years. Cai Shangsi, who was named "Red Professor," always cared about the safety and security of the country and the nation, adhered to the academic stand of "only the people" and "close to the people," and under the brilliant illumination of Marxism, walked in the same direction with the Communist Party of China and wrote a wonderful chapter of life.
Guangming Daily (2021-07-19 11 edition)
Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily