The Paper's reporter Zhang Hui
Chen Wangdao sculpture The pictures in this article are all pictures of The Paper's reporter Zhang Hui
On June 11, Chen Wangdao's sculpture was unveiled in the square in front of the Communist Manifesto Exhibition Hall of Fudan University. Donated to the China Democratic League, this newly unveiled sculpture was designed and created by Wu Weishan, director of the National Art Museum of China.
Wu Weishan reversed Chen Wangdao's well-known image of living in a dark room, burying his head in a case, and immersing himself in translating the Communist Manifesto, but instead restored the scene when Chen Wangdao preached Marxism at the workers' night school.
In the square, the young Chen Wangdao stood on the "podium" and calmly explained the Marxism he believed in. On the pedestal, "The taste of truth is sweet."
Dressed in a long robe, he held a book in one hand but did not read it, and the other hand could not help but lift up. Wu Weishan said: This shows that Chen Wangdao is very familiar with Marxism and has become a bamboo in his chest. His gaze was forward, slightly upward, because "he entered the realm of contemplation in his speech, taking care of the listener on the one hand, and immersing himself in the communist world outlined by Marxism on the other."
Wu Weishan talks about the creative process
In the 1920s, after Chen Wangdao translated the first full translation of the Communist Manifesto Chinese, he went to Shanghai at the request of Chen Duxiu to preside over the editing of the New Youth, devoting himself to the dissemination of Marxism. Later, China's first communist group was formally established in the editorial office of New Youth, with Chen Duxiu as secretary, and Chen Wangdao was one of the first eight members to serve as the labor minister of the communist group.
Chen Wangdao actively paid attention to workers' education and raised workers' consciousness, set up the first workers' cram school night school, and gave lessons to workers. Chen Wangdao's sculpture shows this scene, on the podium of the workers' night school, he stood calmly, holding a book, confidently spreading Marxism to everyone, in the process of creation, Wu Weishan deliberately portrayed Chen Wangdao's facial demeanor, and strived to be realistic and convey the spirit, so that everyone believed that he "ate through" the "Communist Manifesto".
"The purpose of seizing this moment is to express the image of the young Chen Wangdao as an intellectual with faith and ideals, and I hope that everyone will remember that he is not only the translator of the Communist Manifesto, but also the disseminator and practitioner of Marxism." Wu Weishan said. In order to create this sculpture, Wu Weishan visited Chen Wangdao's former residence and saw many photos of Chen Wangdao's life.
In 1951, Chen Wangdao joined the China Democratic League, and since 1958 he has successively served as the chairman of the fourth, fifth and sixth shanghai municipal committees of the China Democratic League, and has served as vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Democratic League and chairman of the Shanghai Municipal Committee, and has done a lot of fruitful work for the implementation of the party's united front policy and the party's policy on intellectuals.
Editor-in-Charge: Gao Wen
Proofreader: Zhang Liangliang