Time back to a certain day in 1911, the location of Shenyang Dongguan Model Primary School.
Principal Wei, who was teaching, was pleased and asked the students impromptuly, "Why are you reading?" The answers are varied. Some say that they are for the sake of becoming officials, some say that they are for the sake of getting rich, some say that they are for the sake of honoring their ancestors, and some say that they are trying to repay their parents... Principal Wei listened and shook his head slightly, obviously, he was not satisfied with these answers.
At this time, a handsome teenager stood up and said loudly: "Read for the rise of China!" Principal Wei was shocked and said excitedly, "Those who have aspirations, be an effective Zhou Sheng." It was Zhou Enlai who spoke, who was 13 years old at the time.
Zhou Enlai, the prime minister of the great power
Why did Zhou Enlai, who later became the premier of a big country, have such lofty ambitions when he was a teenager? Why did Zhou Enlai, who was born in Huai'an, Jiangsu Province, study in Shenyang, northeast China? What kind of childhood did Zhou Enlai have?
First, the adoptive father died, the two mothers taught by example, and Zhou Enlai knew the book in childhood
On March 5, 1898, Zhou Enlai was born in Huai'an, Jiangsu Province, with the name "Da Luan". The great luan is a legendary divine bird, as long as the big luan appears, the world will be peaceful.
Zhou Enlai's father had four brothers, and the youngest uncle was named Zhou Yigan. When Zhou Enlai was less than one year old, Zhou Yigan was seriously ill, "no filial piety has three, no queen is greater", and in order to "rush to joy and eliminate disasters", Zhou Enlai, as the eldest son of the family, was passed over to his uncle and became the son of Zhou Yigan. Unfortunately, zhou Yigan, the adoptive father, died when Zhou Enlai was one year old.
Zhou Enlai's heir apparent mother, Chen Shi, the wife of Zhou Yigan, was educated, well-read and polite, and preferred to be quiet. After Zhou Yigan's death, the Chen clan did not go out of the door, the second door did not go out, and carefully taught Zhou Enlai at home. Chen often told stories to Zhou Enlai, taught him to recognize and learn the culture, and sent him to a private school to study, and Mr. Private School gave him the scientific name "Enlai", the character Xiangyu. Zhou Enlai's studious, knowledgeable and rational personality is closely related to Chen's words and deeds.
Premier Zhou's childhood photo
Zhou Enlai's biological mother, Wan Dong'er (Wan Dong'er, known as Wan Shi'er), was born in a family of eunuchs, and her father Wan Qingxuan served as the commander of Huaiyin County in the Qing Dynasty. Wan's is kind, cheerful, beautiful and dignified, shrewd and capable, and has a strong ability to solve difficult problems, and disputes within the family are often mediated by Wan's. Wan's personality and ability to do things had an important impact on Zhou Enlai's personality formation of being good at human relations, presiding over justice, and being serious and meticulous.
He lost his mother at the age of two or ten, the middle way of a wealthy family declined, and Zhou Enlai experienced hardships in his childhood
Although Zhou Enlai's grandfather was a master and his grandfather had been a county order, his family was not well-off. Moreover, Zhou Enlai lost his "father" at the age of one and his mother at the age of ten, which is really a great misfortune in life!
Zhou Enlai's grandfather, Zhou Qikui, was a scholar of Shaoxing, the same sect as Lu Xun, and moved to Huai'an when he was a master. Master Shaoxing is famous, and the saying goes, "No Shao is no ya". When Zhou Enlai was born, his grandfather Zhou Qikui had already died. Because he did not produce before his death, when he reached the generation of Zhou Enlai's father, he could only rely on real estate and meager income to survive. Zhou Enlai's father, Zhou Yineng, was a reader, and when he was young, he was a talented person in the examination, and he wandered away for many years out of livelihood, did paperwork, served as a receiver, lived a hard life, and could not make ends meet.
The zhou enlai family is in a weak position in the family, and the family income sometimes can not maintain a livelihood, so in childhood Zhou Enlai once followed his birth mother Wan Shi to the Wan family to live for a year or two, and also followed his adoptive mother Chen shi to live in the Chen family for a year or two.
What is even more pitiful is that in the spring of 1907, Zhou Enlai's birth mother Wan Shi died of tuberculosis at the age of 35 due to the hardships of family life, and his father, who was making a living in other places, did not even rush back in time. Unfortunately, zhou Enlai's adoptive mother Chen Shi also died of illness soon after, and 10-year-old Zhou Enlai, as the eldest son, handled the funeral of his adoptive mother with the help of the family. Within a year, zhou Enlai lost two mothers who loved him in his childhood, how sad!
Premier Zhou's juvenile photo
The changes in the family made Zhou Enlai understand the hardships of life from an early age, especially in order to treat his birth mother and adoptive mother, he often took the valuable objects in the family to pawn them for money to buy medicine. After the death of the two mothers, the life of the Zhou family was even more difficult, and the hardships of life made the teenager Zhou Enlai understand earlier that chai rice oil and salt were not easy to come by, as well as that people's feelings were cold and warm, and the world was cold.
Third, the turning point of life, the wise uncle generously funded, the teenager Zhou Enlai northeast to study
In September 1946, Zhou Enlai said in an interview with the American journalist Li Boman: "When I was twelve years old, I left home to go to the northeast, which was the key to my life and ideological transformation. ”
Why did Zhou Enlai go to the northeast? This is related to the financial support of Zhou Enlai's uncle Zhou Yigeng. Due to the family's poor life, his father was outside the home to earn a living, and Zhou Enlai, who lost his mother at the age of 10, was left unattended at home and had de facto dropped out of school. At this time, Zhou Enlai's uncle Zhou Yigeng found a stable errand in Shenyang, and served as the secretary (accountant of the Finance Department) in the Fengtian Du Branch, so he wrote a letter to let Zhou Enlai go to Shenyang to study, and found an errand for Zhou Enlai's biological father.
In 1910, the 12-year-old Zhou Enlai left Huai'an, Jiangsu Province, where grass and warblers flew, to the northeast of the White Mountains and Heishui, where he spent three years of study, all of which were funded by his uncle Zhou Yigeng. Later, Zhou Enlai once talked about Zhou Yigeng to the staff around him, saying: "My uncle was as kind to me as a mountain. ”
Premier Zhou's former site for juvenile reading
After arriving in the northeast, Zhou Enlai successively studied at Tieling Yingang Academy and Shenyang Dongguan Model School. During his three years in the northeast, Zhou Enlai experienced the Xinhai Revolution, came into contact with progressive teachers, read progressive books and newspapers, was influenced by revolutionary ideas, and expressed his ambition to "read for the rise of China".
Fourth, the country is in crisis, the revolutionary situation is changing, and the young Zhou Enlai is determined to save the country
In Zhou Enlai's youth, China's national crisis became increasingly serious, and the northeast was the focus of imperialist competition in China. The Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 used northeast China as a battlefield, causing hundreds of thousands of innocent Chinese to suffer the devastation of the war. In 1910, Japan annexed Korea, which was only separated from the northeast by water, and the wolf's ambition to use Korea as a springboard to invade China was clearly revealed.
During his studies in northeast China, Zhou Enlai visited the sites of the Russo-Japanese War and listened to the local old people talk about the history of the Russo-Japanese War and the suffering of the Chinese people, so that he knew the truth that backwardness would be beaten, and he had the heroic ambition to fight for the rise of China.
At that time, the domestic situation was also changing, and the revolutionary situation was surging with turmoil. Under the influence of teachers with progressive ideas, Zhou Enlai insisted on reading books and newspapers, caring about major state affairs, and successively read Chen Tianhua's "Alarm Clock" and "Turning Back", Zhang Binglin's "Refuting Kang Youwei's Book on Revolution", Zou Rong's "Revolutionary Army" and other revolutionary books.
In the spring of 1913, Zhou Yigeng's work changed, and he was reappointed as a member of the Transportation Section of Tianjin Changlu Salt Transport Division. Zhou Enlai moved to Tianjin with his uncle, entered the life of a big city, and was admitted to nankai school, starting a new journey of his revolutionary life.
Premier Zhou youth photo
The influence of his family, the influence of his mother, the study experience in the northeast, and the deep suffering of the country have all left a deep mark on Zhou Enlai's small soul, helping him to gradually form the ideal ambition of "reading for the rise of China".
A generation has a generational long march, and "reading for the rise of China" will never become obsolete. Remembering the beloved Premier Zhou, my generation is self-reliant!