Ding Zhang (Family Book Museum, Chinese Min University)
Some time ago, the TV series "The Age of Awakening" was a hit, which focused on the great role of "New Youth" magazine in enlightening young people and awakening the people, as well as the ideological evolution process of Chen Duxiu, Li Dazhao, Hu Shi and other editors of "New Youth" from cooperation to division. A century has passed, and in addition to the vivid historical scenes reproduced on the screen, the letters exchanged by these pioneers of thought and culture have left traces of their exchanges and communications, and have become historical witnesses to the evolution of their ideas.
The New Youth
Originally known as Youth Magazine, New Youth was founded in Shanghai in September 1915 by Chen Duxiu, and changed to New Youth a year later. Chen Duxiu published an article entitled "Greetings to Youth" in the inaugural issue, in which he put forward the six criteria of the new national nature, that is, the new youth: "Autonomous rather than slave; progressive rather than conservative; enterprising rather than retreating; worldly rather than closed-minded; profitable instead of fictional; scientific rather than imaginary." Point out that the basic spirit of these six standards is "science" and "democracy", and pin China's hopes on young people. As a result, Chen Duxiu united a group of intellectual youths and took "New Youth" as the front to fiercely criticize old ideas, old ethics, old education, and old literature, and opened the prelude to the new cultural movement.
Chen Duxiu, Hu Shi, Li Dazhao
From its inception to 1917, the first three volumes of The New Youth were edited and written by Chen Duxiu, and the main contributors during this period were Gao Yihan, Yi Baisha, Wu Yu, Liu Shuya, Xie Wuliang, Gao Yuhan, Li Dazhao, Liu Bannong, and Hu Shi. In January 1917, as soon as Cai Yuanpeifu, the president of Peking University, took office, he asked the Ministry of Education of the Beiyang Government to appoint Chen Duxiu as the dean of liberal arts at Peking University. Chen Duxiu went north to take office, and "New Youth" moved to Beijing, with the editorial office located at 9 Jianjian Hutong, his residence. Chen Duxiu absorbed Qian Xuantong, Liu Bannong, Shen Yinmo, Tao Menghe, Li Dazhao, Gao Yihan, Hu Shi, Zhou Zuoren, and Lu Xun, who were teaching at Peking University, into the editorial department. Since the fourth volume of 1918, "all the translations of the New Youth have been written by the editorial department, and the public is the same" ("Benzhi Editorial Department Notice", "New Youth", vol. 4, No. 3, 1918) Adopted a collective discussion system for each issue of the manuscript. Starting from the first number of the fifth volume, It was changed to Chen Duxiu, Qian Xuantong, Liu Bannong, Gao Yihan, Hu Shi, Li Dazhao, Shen Yinmo and other editors in turn. In this way, "New Youth" gathered a group of scholars with new ideas, mainly Peking University, who wrote articles one after another to criticize the old culture, publicize the new culture, and lead the development of the national ideological culture.
The fifth issue of the fifth volume of "New Youth" was edited by Li Dazhao, named "Marx Studies", and published a number of articles promoting Marxism, which caused Hu Shi's dissatisfaction, and the two had a dispute over "problems and doctrines", indicating that the new cultural camp had begun to split. (Tang Baolin: "The Historical Record of Chen Duxiu and Hu Shi Inseparable- 13 Letters to Hu Shi on the Newly Discovered Chen Duxiu and Others") Therefore, starting from volume 7, "New Youth" was re-edited by Chen Duxiu. In February 1920, Chen Duxiu left Beijing for Shanghai, and the editorial office of the New Youth was also moved to Shanghai, and the editorial office was located at No. 2, Yuyangli, Huanlong Road, Shanghai French Concession, Chen's apartment. On April 26, on the eve of the publication of the "Labor Day Special Issue" in the sixth volume of the seven volumes, Chen Duxiu wrote a letter to Li Dazhao, Hu Shi, and 12 other Beijing editors, asking for their views on the editorial issue: "(1) The people in Beijing will take turns; (2) one person in Beijing will serve; (3) the brother will serve in Shanghai." (Edited by the History Group of the Republic of China at the Institute of Modern History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences: Selected Letters of Hu Shi, Vol. 1, Zhonghua Bookstore, May 1979 Edition, p. 89) I ask them to reply as soon as possible.
Located at No. 20 Jiangan Hutong, Beichizi Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing, Chen Duxiu's former residence and the former site of the editorial office of "New Youth"
On May 7, Chen Duxiu wrote a letter to Hu Shi and Li Dazhao, urging new youth to adopt an editorial method and publicly disclosing his contradictions with the Qunyi Book Company, which is responsible for publishing and distributing New Youth. This is also the earliest of the 13 letters of the editor of the "New Youth" collected by the Renren Book Museum, and the full text is as follows:
The second brother of The Appropriate and Shou Chang:
Because of the pricing of "New Youth" No. 6 and the announcement of the announcement, I clashed twice with Qunyi in one day. This kind of businessman wants to make a windfall and is afraid of the storm, it is really difficult to work with, "New Youth" or suspended publication, or independently changed to the Beijing Office, or in Shanghai by me to try to take over (I plan to list a book office), brother and other opinions, please give quickly.
Russell's complete collection of events, I hope to tell Shen Fu and Zhi Xi that the two brothers are still continuing, and the Southwest University Compilation Office will not succeed, and I must also try to publish it myself.
The series of books on social issues drafted by Shou Chang Brother Qian and Chen Boshengjun, I don't know if it has been in progress?
For all these reasons, I must initiate a bookstore myself, and I have already prepared and printed the statutes, and when they are printed, I will send them, and ask my brothers and others to help them succeed, so that we readers will not be suppressed by the capitalists in the future. When this bookstore was established, it was planned to invite Brother Luo Shengnan to be the manager of the distribution department, but I don't know what his opinion is, please ask Brother Shi to ask him.
Brother Zhongbai
May 7
Reply to the letter and hope to send directly to the brother's apartment, can no longer be transferred by Qunyi or Yadong. White again.
Subsequently, Chen Duxiu wrote a separate letter to Hu Shi on May 11, May 19, May 25, and September 5, Gao Yihan on July 2, Gao Yihan and Hu Shi on December 21, and Hu Shi, Gao Yihan, Zhang Weici, Li Dazhao, Tao Menghe, Lu Xun, And Zhou Zuoren on January 9 of the following year, all seeking the opinions of colleagues on the editorial issues of "New Youth", such as whether to do it in Beijing or In Shanghai, whether to talk about academia or politics, and urged colleagues in Beijing to send the manuscript as soon as possible. Strive to maintain the unity of the new cultural camp.
At this time, Chen Duxiu was preparing for the Communist Party organization in Shanghai, and his thinking was changing from a democrat to a communist. As the person in charge of "New Youth", he is responsible for both the editing of each issue and the publication and distribution of the journal, the editorial group has actually split, the source of manuscripts is not good, and the publishing and distribution work is also on fire in the backyard, which is bound to start another stove. As a position of ideological and public opinion with wide influence, Chen Duxiu could not give up "New Youth", so in his letter to Hu Shi and other colleagues in Beijing, he maintained the friendship of comrades-in-arms and insisted on his independent ideas. Between paper and ink, all kinds of contradictions, wisps of warmth, it is difficult to hide helplessness and regret.
Beginning with the first issue of the eight volumes on September 1, 1920, The New Youth has in fact become the organ publication of the Shanghai Initiating Group of the Communist Party of China. Li Hanjun, Chen Wangdao, Shen Yanbing, and Yuan Zhenying, members of the Shanghai initiating group, successively joined the editorial department, dissolved the original relationship with the Shanghai Qunyi Book Society, established the New Youth Society, independently ran its own printing and distribution, opened a column on "Russian Studies," and Chen Duxiu publicly published "On Politics" to propagate Marxism. (Ouyang Zhesheng, "Historical Examination of the Editorial Evolution of the New Youth:A Discussion Centered on The Fan Letters from 1920 to 1921," Historical Research, No. 3, 2009) Until the first few issues of the ninth volume, "New Youth" basically maintained the pattern of the participation of the north and the south. After that, the living environment deteriorated, was repeatedly banned, and with the support of the Comintern, eventually became a theoretical journal of the CCP, until it ceased publication in July 1926.
From a comprehensive fandom magazine, New Youth has become a theoretical organ publication of the CPC Central Committee, and is an intriguing landmark event in the history of the New Culture Movement, the May Fourth Movement, the history of Marxism spread, and the history of the founding of the Communist Party of China. Among them, the ideological flow of the editorial department of "New Youth" is an important entry point for in-depth exploration. The correspondence between them during this period provides us with a special path of interpretation. (Qi Pengfei, "Important Historical Documents with Both Cultural Relics Value and Historical Value: Discussion on "Chen Duxiu et al. to Hu Shixinzha" in the Museum Collection of Chinese University, Journal of Chinese University, No. 1, 2012)
Editor-in-Charge: Zhong Yuan
Proofreader: Ding Xiao