In November 1920, it was the beginning of winter.
At this time, Tianjin in the north makes people feel cold, while Shanghai in the south can also deal with wearing a long sleeve.
On the 7th, in the lowest cabin of the French mail ship Bordos from Shanghai to Europe, a group of young people chatted happily, cheering twice from time to time, and were not affected by the simplicity of the bottom cabin.
They are the fifteenth batch of students from the Huafa Education Organization who went to France.
Among them, a young man is particularly outstanding, he has thick eyebrows, big eyes, three-dimensional features, when he laughs, it makes people feel that the entire cabin is lit up; when his face is calm, it is like a sculpture, cool to the extreme, this is an unquestionable cold and beautiful man.
He was Zhou Enlai, at this time, 22 years old.
He wanted to study in France, a romantic country in Europe, to understand the truth of Western society, to take its essence from its dross, and to apply it back to China.
The question is, wouldn't it be better to study abroad and go to the USSR?
In addition, where did Zhou Enlai come from for the cost of studying abroad?
Let's start with Zhou Enlai's "imprisonment."
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="10" >1. Why did Zhou Enlai go to France to study instead of the Soviet Union? </h1>
On January 29, 1920, Zhou Enlai was arrested, his first arrest.
The reason for the arrest was simple, because the Japanese militarists created the Fuzhou massacre, killing and injuring many Chinese citizens, and the whole country was full of condemnation. Zhou Enlai and a group of young people organized a "great anti-Japanese march" in Tianjin, but they were severely beaten and arrested by the reactionaries.
After entering the "prison," the revolutionary flame in Zhou Enlai's heart was not extinguished, but became more and more vigorous.
In early June of that year, Li Yuru, a good friend of Zhou Enlai, went to the "prison" to see Zhou Enlai and told Zhou Enlai that he was going to France to work and study.
Hearing this news, Zhou Enlai was also very excited, and went to Europe to follow the footsteps of the "sage Marx" and explore the truth of the revolution.
Therefore, Zhou Enlai wrote a small poem to Li, which read: After March, on the coast of Marseille, outside Paris, I may be able to see you!
It can be seen that Zhou Enlai has an endless yearning for Europe.
At that time, shortly after the First World War, Germany, as a defeated country, was in a state of twilight, and people were extremely depressed, obviously not suitable for studying abroad. The Soviet Union, which was not yet called the Soviet Union at that time, was also a newly emerging country after the October Revolution.
At that time, all aspects of Soviet Russia were not perfect, and a civil war was underway, the Red Army and the White Army were fighting each other, and multinational forces had also entered the Russian land, and the whole situation was very chaotic.
In this case, it is obviously not suitable to go.
In the eyes of Zhou Enlai and others at that time, the roots of "communism" were in Germany and France in Europe, and the most appropriate place to study in Europe was France.
There is also a very special reason, that is, the work-study class organized by the Huafa Education Association is to go to France.
In 1916, Cai Yuanpei, Wu Yuzhang, Wu Zhihui and French scholars founded the Huafa Education Association.
At first, the purpose of these benevolent men was very simple: they hoped that through their study in France, The Chinese youth would bring advanced science and technology to China, import Western civilization, and practice "science to save the country" and "industry to save the country."
At that time, the purpose of the association was to develop the communication between China and France, especially the scientific and spiritual education of France, and to achieve the development of China's morality, knowledge and economy.
From 1917 onwards, the Huafa Education Association arranged for work-study students to go to France, and by 1920 it was the fourth year.
How did Zhou Enlai, who was in prison, get the opportunity to go to France?
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="31" >2, Zhou Enlai's experience before studying in France, and the origin of tuition fees</h1>
From his arrest on January 29, 1920, Zhou Enlai always stubbornly believed that the students were not wrong, and what was wrong with protesting the government's inaction for the sake of the development of the country and the awakening of the nation?
Among the marches were not only students, but also progressives, as well as businessmen, and everyone was very opposed to the arrest and detention, and the formal trial for more than 70 days. Arrested students went on hunger strike to protest against the government.
Later, Zhou Enlai and others were transferred to the detention center of the procuratorate.
Because of the back-and-forth fighting and exerting influence, the prosecutor's office allowed relatives and friends to visit, read books here, and regularly move around the courtyard.
It was here that Zhou Enlai organized a reading group and gave regular lectures to the arrested students.
Really, life goes on and on and on!
On July 6, prosecutors initiated a public indictment against Zhou Enlai and other students, and entered the trial process. In the end, they were sentenced to a "disorderly crime", and the sentence was sentenced to about the same time as their time in the detention center.
So the judge announced: Release when the time comes.
On July 17, Zhou Enlai and other students regained their freedom. From January 29 to July 17, Zhou Enlai stayed in the detention center for half a year or ten days.
The experience of the detention center made Zhou Enlai more firm in his ideals: to study for the rise of China and to work hard for the rise of China.
After his release from prison, Zhou Enlai continued to lead the Tianjin student organization "Enlightenment Society" and continued to organize various activities.
At this end, Zhou Enlai was busy with the student movement, and at that end, there were two people discussing something.
Which two people? Yan Xiu and Zhang Boling.
Yan Xiu is one of the founders of Nankai School, and Zhang Boling is the principal.
Yan Xiu's appreciation for Zhou Enlai was incomparable, and Zhang Boling was also proud of having such a student as Zhou Enlai.
After Zhou Enlai was released from prison, Yan Xiu and Zhang Boling discussed and prepared to sponsor two students to study in France: one was Zhou Enlai, and the other was Li Fujing.
The question is, isn't it a work-study trip to France? Isn't it a government organization? What else is funded?
In fact, it is like this, the matter is done by the Huafa Education Association, and the government supports one or two, but regarding the cost and tuition fees that come and go, the main students prepare for themselves, and after going to various expenses, students can work and study half-time and work-study.
Therefore, if you want to go, you must also have money, and if you don't, you can't go.
Although Zhou Enlai's grandfather was once a county magistrate, at this time, the Zhou family had declined, and the family was too big to make ends meet.
When Zhou Enlai heard that Yan Xiu and Zhang Boling were willing to sponsor him to go to school, he was very happy and the dream became a reality.
In this year, the 16-year-old Deng Xixian family raised more than 800 yuan from many sources, and on September 10, 1920, they took the French cruise ship "Antrept" and went to France at their own expense to work and study.
Deng Xixian was Deng Xiaoping, who later became famous at home and abroad.
Compared with Deng Xiaoping's family pieced together, Zhou Enlai was too happy to meet two good teachers.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="59" > 3 or four years of studying in France made Zhou Enlai more mature and determined</h1>
On September 10, 1920, Deng Xiaoping set out from Shanghai for France.
Nearly two months later, Zhou Enlai and Li Fujing also set out for France.
After a 16,000-mile voyage, it lasted 36 days and nights, passing through Saigon, Vietnam, crossing the Strait of Malacca, and reaching the Indian Ocean. Crossing the Indian Ocean, crossing the Red Sea, crossing the Suez Canal, and entering the Mediterranean Sea. When you get to the Mediterranean, you're almost on the European continent.
In 36 days, when stopping at various ports, Zhou Enlai saw the international people's livelihood and the status of the Chinese in the world, and was discriminated against.
This sense of humiliation filled Zhou Enlai's heart again and again: China must be strong, and it must not let foreigners look down on it for a long time!
After coming to France, Zhou Enlai found that there were more than 2,000 Chinese work-study personnel in France.
At this time, Zhou Enlai wanted to look at Britain, and if he could, he was ready to enroll in Britain, which was the home of the Industrial Revolution and had many professional and long-established institutions of higher learning.
But after a spin around the UK, I found that everything was fine, but the cost was too expensive.
Therefore, Zhou Enlai still chose to study in France.
Unlike other work-study people, Zhou Enlai did not go to the factory to work in France, Yan Xiu sent him money on a regular basis, and there was basically no problem in life.
Zhou Enlai in France, in addition to studying, mainly did four things:
The first was to read a large number of books, where he read the English version of the Communist Manifesto and other books, and he was hungry and desperate to absorb the nutrition in the books.
The second is to conduct social research. Here, he observes the customs and customs of the land, understands how the institutions of Western society operate, and sees how the workers fight for their interests.
After a lot of social observation and research, he found that the European continent is not a pure land, not everyone is comfortable and enjoys a peaceful life, the impact after World War I is still very large, the living standards of the people at the bottom are still low, and the unemployed are everywhere.
He contrasted different systems back and forth between observation and research, which made his recognition of Marxism deeper and deeper.
Third, during his time in France, Zhou Enlai wrote correspondence to the Yishi Newspaper in Tianjin, sometimes translating some manuscripts.
It can be said that Zhou Enlai did some very meaningful work part-time, which was of great significance to his growth and to The future of China.
Fourth, Zhou Enlai was active among the Chinese students studying in France, actively participating in and organizing various activities.
For example, to fight for the interests of overseas workers; for example, the establishment of various positive energy organizations (in June 1922, the "Young Communist Party in Europe" was established, and Zhou Enlai became one of the main leaders); for example, to give speeches among work-study students, and so on.
In short, among those who studied in France, Zhou Enlai was like a bright star.
In organizing and participating in various activities, Zhou Enlai also met many friends, such as Deng Xiaoping, Chen Yi, Zhu De, Nie Rongzhen, Li Weihan, Li Lisan, Zhao Shiyan, etc., and even met Ho Chi Minh, a Vietnamese who studied in France.
Among these people, the younger Deng Xiaoping had great respect for Zhou Enlai, and Zhou Enlai also took care of this little brother everywhere.
Many years later, Deng Xiaoping's daughter Mao Mao asked her father, "Who did you have the closest relationship with during your time in France?" Deng Xiaoping replied: "Still Premier Zhou, I have always regarded him as my brother, and we have worked together for the longest time!" ”
While in France, Zhou Enlai joined the Communist Party of China in 1921 under the guidance of Zhang Shenfu and Liu Qingyang (husband and wife).
Who are these two people?
Zhang Shenfu was the one who worked with Li Dazhao to build a party organization in Beijing.
When Zhang Shenfu and Liu Qingyang went abroad, they were entrusted by Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao to establish an overseas organization of the Chinese Communist Party in France. Liu Qingyang was also a member of the Tianjin Awakening Society, and was familiar with Zhou Enlai before.
From the moment he joined the Communist Party of China, Zhou Enlai decided to devote all his energy and talents to the cause of communism without reservation.
In July 1924, Zhou Enlai returned to China and left France, which had made him struggle for four years, because he had more important work to do.
In these four years, Zhou Enlai has undergone a complete change, he has become a mature communist fighter, and he has begun a magnificent life.