Why Xu Jilin and Lu Xun are Great: Five Personality Types of China Intellectuals

A hundred years of modern history is the pride of China intellectuals. Because it gave birth to a group of "maverick people" represented by Lu Xun, and also produced a large number of "maverick people" with shortcomings but without losing their correctness.

Xu Wenyi, Jilin

In recent years, scholars at home and abroad have touched on the particularity of China intellectuals at different levels and in different degrees when comparing Chinese and Western cultures and exploring why the feudal society in China is so long. It is thought-provoking that many researchers have mentioned such a historical phenomenon: China intellectuals lack independent personality in the modern sense. Analyzing this phenomenon is a way to understand the intellectuals in China. Why do traditional intellectuals in China lack independent personality in the modern sense? To what extent did the intellectuals in modern China inherit the personality heritage of their predecessors?

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The so-called independent personality in the modern sense contains multiple connotations of philosophy, ethics, psychology, history and politics. From the historical and political point of view involved in this paper, it mainly refers to individual autonomy and social critical spirit. Specifically, it does not depend on any external spiritual authority or any realistic political force; Have independent value judgment ability in the identification of truth, and act freely according to the inner norms; In social practice, actively participating in politics has become an independent critical force to transform society.

Obviously, such an independent personality is extremely scarce among traditional intellectuals in China, but on the contrary, it shows another personality image: dependent personality. That is, relying on the ancients ideologically, sticking to the classics, being keen on official career politically and devoting to imperial power.

The formation of dependent personality of traditional intellectuals in China is closely related to the traditional patriarchal social structure in China. In ancient times, intellectuals were usually called scholars. The gentry class came into being in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. In the emerging unified feudal dynasty, as a super-organizational force, it coupled the ideological structure with the political structure and realized "integration". In addition, the long-standing patriarchal clan system and the unified national system have existed for a long time, resulting in isomorphism effect, forming the particularity of traditional China social structure: the patriarchal clan system integration structure. Because the soil layer performs the social function of organization and connection in this structure, this function in turn affects the structure of the subject and shapes the dependent personality that adapts to this function.

▲ feudal patriarchal clan system

Let's see how the integrated structure of patriarchal clan system closely covers the body and mind of intellectuals through Confucianism, imperial examination system and patriarchal clan system, making it a personalized tool attached to bureaucracy.

The first network: the Confucian classic theory of "respecting"

One of the characteristics of a unified society is a highly unified ideological structure. Only in this way can we turn millions of scholars into stereotyped state bureaucrats with unified thinking patterns and realize the management of the whole social life according to the same national theory and ethical principles. Confucianism was only a school of thought in the pre-Qin period, and was favored by the rulers after Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and regarded as a sacred and inviolable feudal classic. One of the secrets lies in its contribution to the independent personality needed for the reunification of Tao Zhu.

As far as its political content is concerned, Confucianism is a philosophy of joining the WTO. Both Confucius and Mencius advocated that intellectuals go into politics, and they themselves practiced it and repeatedly expressed their aspirations that were useful to the world. "Confucius knows the king's way and worked for more than 70 kings. He doesn't need it. " Mencius once boasted: "Who else will rule the world today?" In the professional values of Confucius and Mencius, "governing the people" is the superior way and the cause of hardworking scholars; "Managing affairs" is a skill of riding a horse, and it is the duty of workers and people. Confucius once called Fan Chi, a student who asked for "learning crops" and "learning to be a nursery", a "villain" with no promise. Mencius even bluntly said: "The official of the soil is also the cultivation of the farmers." It is the highest ideal personality of Confucianism to be an official, "cultivate one's morality" and then "rule the country and level the world", assist the emperor and formulate the policy of governing the country. Inspired by such an ideal personality, many traditional literati are crowded into the narrow channel of "learning to be excellent and becoming an official". With the ambition of being an emperor's teacher, I am diligent and tireless in my long career.

▲ The Way of Confucius and Mencius

Confucianism is another ancient theory in terms of its way of thinking. Just like the Confucian scholasticism in the Middle Ages in Europe, "authority is its knowledge principle, and worshipping authority is its way of thinking", idolatry with "sages" as the goal, the theoretical principle of cultural authenticity with "Six Classics" (four books after Song Dynasty) as the standard, and the ideal world of respecting heaven and learning the ancient with "three generations" as the standard constitute the unique "trinity" thinking mode of Confucianism. Even Confucius himself, who is regarded as a "saint", has repeatedly stressed that he "keeps his words without deeds, and believes in the past." This made the post-Confucianism even more afraid and dared not cross the boundaries of ancient sages and sages.

Xue Xuan, a famous philosopher in the early Ming Dynasty, said: "It is because my husband regards Confucius as a great sage and still talks without doing anything, so he doesn't talk about the words of sages, but wants to make his own words. Is that okay? " For thousands of years, it has taken scholars a lifetime to chew Confucian classics and learn what their predecessor Chen said. Speaking for saints has become the only essence of traditional scholarship. In the space of thinking, there are so many old sayings everywhere, where there is still half an inch of space for independent thinking and free play!

Through the above two principles, Confucianism closed the multiple channels of intellectual's spiritual innovation of external display and internal development, and consciously cultivated the dependent personality of committing to the imperial power politically and relying on the ancients ideologically.

The second big net: the imperial examination system of borrowing soil to "prevent unfavorable parties"

Contrary to the spirit of Confucianism, since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the system of selecting scholars in imperial examinations has been gradually improved. The reason why the feudal dynasty spent a lot of manpower, financial resources and energy on the imperial examination, and even the emperor personally presided over the palace examination, was to kill two birds with one stone: First, to recruit talents for the feudal bureaucratic machine and constantly draw fresh blood from the society, so as to maintain the vitality of the state machine and the natural renewal of the bureaucratic team. The second is the ability of Emperor Taizong to make "the heroes of the world are in our country". Just as Feng Guifen, a scholar in A Qing Dynasty, quoted his predecessors as saying, "If you lose one subject every three years, you will get one subject now, and you will get another. In a blink of an eye, he was too old to suffer for me, but the wish of Ming Zuhui came true. It is intended to corrupt the talents in the world, not to create talents in the world. " Borrowing soil in this way will not only make the heroes in the world only want to succeed in their careers, but also make all the ideas of Tuzi become the standard model set by the king, killing their personality and heresy in the bud.

▲ Ancient imperial examination room

In order to attract scholars to take the imperial examination, the government did not hesitate to lure them with fame and fortune. One day, you will enjoy all kinds of preferential treatment different from ordinary people, just like a special social class. The choice between rich and poor officials is so severe that few people are indifferent to the temptation of fame and fortune. Since the Tang and Song Dynasties, among intellectuals, the values that only those who have graduated from science and technology are the right path have been formed: "No matter whether they are civil or military, they always attach importance to science and technology, which is called the right path; Otherwise, if you learn heaven and man, your eyes will be different. " Reading is to be an official. This vulgar style of study is bound to cause scholars to read only classics and have no intention of reading, and it is even more impossible to "read the so-called modern text without reading the classics of saints, read the notes of former Confucianism, and read the history of the previous generation." How can we expect them to be open-minded, sharp-minded, enterprising and pioneering after entering the officialdom?

Under the imperial examination system, public and private schools all over the country aim at educating people and promoting them. Official learning "tests its learning, and there is nothing else except the imperial examination;" Look at his ambition. He has no ambition except seeking fame. "Private schools advertised as free lectures were bound by the government in many ways, unable to withstand the impact of the imperial examination and experienced ups and downs; By the end of the Ming Dynasty, the imperial examination quota had been carved up and became a vassal of the imperial examination. By the Qing dynasty, it was not much different from official school. As for the family school and the church, they are the preparation places for the imperial examination.

▲ Imperial examination paper of Li Jiaju, a scholar in the 22nd year of Guangxu reign of Qing Dynasty.

Intellectuals have little shelter except the imperial examination. In traditional China, there are only three ways for a native to pursue his career: up, middle and down. On the road, entering the business is an ideal realm and a dream; It is a last resort to act as an aide to the powerful in the middle; The last way is to set up libraries to teach students, which is even more regrettable. No matter whether he went to the temple or went to the countryside, his actions were directly or indirectly attached to and served the feudal bureaucrats, and leaving the latter was like unemployment.

The third net: the ethical and political relationship of feudal patriarchal clan system.

In traditional China, feudal hierarchy and patriarchal clan system are intertwined, forming a patriarchal ethical and political relationship network in social relations, which is embodied in the concept of "Jun Jun, minister, father and son". Every traditional intellectual, like a knot in this huge network, has to rely on various relationships to survive, forming an inseparable connection from top to bottom. Be filial to your parents at home, obey your husband when you study, be loyal to the monarch when you are an official, and even fulfill your obligations as a gentleman to your family and place when you retire. Few people can break this patriarchal ethical and political network and the corresponding discipline concept in action and consciousness. There is a strong vulgarity among intellectuals, and relational studies have become the secret of settling down. "So there have been few failed heroes in China, few tenacious resistance, few warriors who dare to fight alone, and few diners who dare to call traitors."

It can be seen that in the social structure of patriarchal clan system integration, due to the restriction and influence of these three nets, the occupation of traditional intellectuals in China Mining Company is highly single, and their personal attachment in economy and politics is very serious. In the ideological field, they have never gained real freedom of thought and have not shown the spirit of innovation. In the ancient ci forest, the words "scholar", "Confucian scholar" and "rural doctor" have similar meanings, which vividly illustrates the situation of traditional intellectuals' single occupation and unified thinking. Therefore, they didn't and couldn't show their personality independence in the modern sense, and they could only be dependent personalities who lost their self-awareness and were alienated by imperial politics.

In particular, it should be pointed out that these three networks are not only an ideology or a secular form, but their existence is based on state power and their functions are backed by state violence machines. Anyone who wants to deviate from orthodoxy slightly, try to show some independent desire, or resist alienation will be regarded as a challenge to the existing social order, thus paying the price of blood. The murder of Li Zhi and He in the late Ming Dynasty, the suppression of the Lindong Party and the Fushe Society, and the creepy "literary prison" in the Qing Dynasty-although the victims were far from independent personalities in the modern sense, their ending was enough to scare off most natives. The "sword and fire" in history, in blood shed, are mostly slaves who have lost their personality or distorted their humanity.

Of course, among the feudal local doctors, there were not only a large number of slaves who prostrated themselves at the feet of imperial power, but also some ambitious and outspoken Confucian idealists. They tried to rule by saints and transform real politics with Confucian political ideals, which reflected some individuals' autonomy, initiative and enterprising. People like Wei Zhi, Liu Zongyuan, Fan Zhongyan, Wang Anshi, and Hai Rui do have the spirit of high morality and integrity, but this is only an independent personality in the traditional sense, lacking modern flavor. Their thoughts failed to break through the barriers of Confucian classics and stick to the traditional mode of "speaking for saints". What they did, they dared not jump out of the pattern of "monarch, minister and son" and indulge in the ideals of "serving the emperor" and "helping the slaughter". Upright mind, awe-inspiring remonstrance and feudal ignorance are sadly mixed together. In the final analysis, it is still a dependent personality: the ideal of peaceful rule is pinned on the emperor, and a certain balance of power is achieved between the monarch and the minister. Outside the unified politics, the independent power of intellectuals has never been thought of.

▲ Emperor Taizong and Wei Zhi

In ancient China, there were only two ways for intellectuals to get rid of the dependence on the unified imperial power politics: one was to go to the green forest and join the peasant uprising; The second is to live in seclusion in the mountains and be a mountain man who entertains himself with Zhuang Zen. However, it seems doubtful whether these two ways really lead to the independence of personality and get rid of the pain of attachment. Those who defected to "rise up", such as Sean, Wei Zhi and Li Yan, broke off relations with the real feudal court, but they did not necessarily break with the feudal order in their minds. They broke away from a fatuous tyrant, but attached themselves to another "real dragon emperor" who changed dynasties and made suggestions for the latter. Therefore, they are not so much dissidents in the patriarchal clan system as genes that repair and copy this structure. They didn't get rid of the dependence of personality in the end. As for those who hide in the mountains and retreat to nature, most of them are Confucian idealists who actively joined the WTO before they were born.

The darkness of reality and the frustration of ideals forced them to find their spiritual home in the philosophy of Laozi and Zhuangzi, and the conflict between ideals and reality turned into the opposition between nature and society. In fact, it must be compensated by the principle of "harmony with everything". The pastoral poet "picking chrysanthemums under the east fence" realized the passive resistance to the imperial power, but his leisurely life of "seeing Nanshan leisurely" was quite mixed with the meaning of being happy and know life. In that case, how many independent personalities? At least half price.

Under the social background of the patriarchal clan system integration structure, no matter how subjectively traditional China intellectuals want to surpass themselves and the environment, they can't escape the personality tragedy in the end. Independence is really out of touch with traditional literati.

What about this situation in modern times?

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After the closed unification of China and the Opium War, it was forced to open at gunpoint of western powers. The gap between China and the West revealed by humiliating unequal treaties awakened the China people who were sleeping in the late Qing Dynasty. Since the Reform Movement of 1898, modern China began a long and difficult process of identifying with the West and changing the traditional social model. The feudal autocratic dynasty collapsed, the orthodox position of Confucianism was shaken, and the unification was weakened. All this has brought two changes to the status and destiny of modern intellectuals. The first is the diversification of intellectuals' career choices. 1905, the abolition of the imperial examination system, which lasted for more than 1000 years, marked the end of the era of intellectuals' single development channel from local to official. With the rapid development of social division of labor, publishing, education, news and science and technology have emerged one after another. A large number of intellectuals have become publishers, educators, journalists, scientists and engineers. For the first time in history, they got their own shelter instead of relying on others. The second is the diversification of intellectuals' belief choices. Western learning has flooded into China, and the theories of "natural selection", freedom and equality, experimentalism, anarchism, Nietzsche's superman theory and Bergson's philosophy of life are overwhelming. In this modern age, when the old and the new are contending with each other in hundred schools of thought, the minds of intellectuals become active, rich and open. They are no longer confined to narrow circles, but compare and choose according to their own understanding and needs, and enjoy charming spiritual freedom. It can be said that independent personality in a strict sense only had the social and spiritual premise of birth in modern times, and in fact it was born.

However, the changes of social structure in modern China were limited, and the deep-rooted oriental tradition stubbornly resisted the assimilation of the western world. Through the modern veil of the Republic of China, a kind of "quasi-unification" is faintly discernible. As if competing with the above two changes, modern intellectuals under "quasi-unification" are faced with two traditional dilemmas: the first is the semi-independence of cultural structure. The cultural circle in which intellectuals live has not achieved legal and factual independence, and has always been in the shadow of political power interference and intervention.

After the establishment of the Kuomintang Nanjing government, Cai Yuanpei followed the example of France and presided over the establishment of an educational administrative system, hoping that education would be independent of politics and completely academic. As a result, it attracted criticism and censure from all sides within the Kuomintang. Someone proposed the establishment of the Ministry of Education at the Central Plenary Session and asked Cai: "Is education independent and must be independent of the National Government?" In just one year, the college that Cai Yuanpei painstakingly managed aborted. Not only education, but also other cultural undertakings. For example, in the early years of the Republic of China, although Beijing's journalism was prosperous, every folk newspaper was attached to a group of warlords and politicians in order to survive. No wonder Huang Yuansheng, a famous journalist, lamented bitterly that after the Republic of China, although I "decided not to be an official or a member of parliament, I fled to a newspaper office and a lawyer, but the taste was exactly the same as that of an official." The second is the non-liberalization of ideological structure. Since the demise of the Qing Dynasty, especially after the death of Yuan Shikai, no ruler has been able to truly unify China. But they all regard the reconstruction and reunification as their highest political goal. The mystery of great unification lies in the unity of ideology first, so the rulers of past dynasties tried their best to stifle the pluralistic ideological situation. If the northern warlords could not determine "one respect" because of frequent regime changes, then the Kuomintang declared that "the Three People's Principles are the only thought of the country" after the succession of the regime, and "anyone who violates the Three People's Principles is not allowed to operate under the party's rule". "Education of the Three People's Principles" or "Education of Party Righteousness" has become a compulsory course for college and middle school students. The realization of this "one ism" must be maintained by bayonets and whips. In modern China, pirated "literary inquisition" is common, especially in ancient times. Shen Zhou, Shao Piaoping, Lin Baishui and Shi in the press were all killed for freedom of speech. Mr. Lu Xun once wrote with deep feelings: "It will be thrilling to compare the great events of the Five Dynasties, the Southern Song Dynasty and the late Ming Dynasty with the current situation, and see how similar they are, as if the passage of time has nothing to do with us in China."

▲ Cai Yuanpei's inscription

On the one hand, it has achieved certain professional freedom and economic independence, on the other hand, it does not enjoy the actual guarantee of political independence; On the one hand, it is the free liberation of spirit and soul, on the other hand, it suffers from the cruel oppression of the external environment. These extremely unharmonious fates aroused nervous psychological conflicts in the minds of intellectuals in modern China. Therefore, there is a contradictory mentality that both wants to get rid of humiliating attachment and seems unable to get rid of it, but also longs for personality independence and seems to be afraid. If traditional intellectuals have no pain because of their self-awareness, how sad and cruel it is for modern intellectuals to become insensitive and self-restrained once they wake up to human dignity, consciousness and autonomy! However, the choice of personality is realistic in front of you. Unless you commit suicide, you can't shirk or prevaricate. But suicide is also an option. The realistic choice is so cold: or attaching to dark politics means not only the perfection of life, but also the reputation, glory and bright future; Or the independence of perfect personality may be accompanied by poverty, loneliness, depression and blood.

The personality choice of modern intellectuals can be divided into two categories and five levels. There are two levels in a big category of independent personality: "maverick" and "outside"; There are three levels of dependent personality: "helping slaves", "helping idle literati" and "wandering souls".

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"maverick"

This is a group of tough, rare and unflattering excellent land produced in semi-colonial and semi-feudal soil. They "spoke boldly and bravely, forgot all interests, pushed away the ancients and published their sincere words" in the dreary air with bloody smell, and turned a "silent China" into a "vocal China". Lu Xun is naturally the most prominent and outstanding representative. These maverick people all have such personality characteristics:

First, there is a strong sense of social responsibility and moral obligation. Their hearts are always filled with the pain of the nation, the country and mankind, which makes them often restless and consciously bear the cross of history. Like Lu Xun, if he hadn't experienced the extremes of love and hate, I'm afraid he would have lived longer. They often look at themselves mercilessly and realize spiritual sublimation in the process of turning over a new leaf. For example, Wen Yiduo, a literary hermit who is detached from the secular world, once he stepped out of the academic ivory tower and faced up to the dark reality, he severely lashed himself: "When Lu Xun suffered, we were all enjoying happiness. At that time, if we all had Lu Xun's bones, we might have only a little, so China wouldn't be like this. Those who have scolded or looked down on Lu Xun should think about it. We pretend to be lofty, but we are actually accomplices! " Second, pursue the spiritual realm of "telling the truth". There are many lies in the world, but whether you tell the truth or not is a measure of how much a person can decide himself and get rid of alienation. Therefore, they all regard telling the truth as a perfect realm: "Only the real voice can touch people in China and the world; You must have a real voice to live in the world with people in the world. "Telling the truth is a responsibility, a responsibility to conscience and society, even if you give up your life for it. During Zhang Taiyan's difficult days in Beijing, it was so quickly that he "took the Grand Medal as a fan pendant, approached the door of the presidential palace, and criticized Yuan Shikai for his ulterior motives"! Zhang Taiyan has a lot of stains in his life, and his speech may not be accurate, but he dares to say what he wants to say, and others dare not say it. It is really worthy of being a model for future generations. "

Third, fearless courage in the face of death. The ruling power is always limited in playing with them. In the final analysis, it is a dead word. Beyond the persistence of life, there is no fear. Tan Sitong's detachment from the execution ground in Caishikou, Lu Xun's spirit of "strong soil will never return" when he went to Yang Xingfo's funeral, and Wen Yiduo's denunciation of Chiang Kai-shek at Li Gongpu's memorial service, ready to accept the second bullet of the spy, all seemed to show these "maverick" people in modern history, most of whom turned their backs on life and death, and even regarded death as death. Fourth, it has the independent consciousness of despising any foreign authority and the struggle toughness of going it alone. This is probably the most fundamental. If there are many upright people in the ancient "maverick" land, then people close to them are higher than the ancients in maintaining the value of integrity and not repeating the tragedy of "foolish loyalty". They look at all existing theories with a rational eye, and even if they convert, they will not give up their right to criticize. They are not attached to any "wise monarch" or political group, and have their own understanding of truth and cause, so they are often misunderstood by their peers, so that they are shot in the back and fall into loneliness worse than death. However, they did not have their cake and eat it, but struggled tenaciously in adversity alone until they gradually attracted the masses. This sincere, frank and transcendental spirit of freedom is the most precious character of the "Moro" warrior admired by Lu Xun.

▲ Portrait of Tan Sitong

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"Inside the outer circle"

Compared with maverick people, they also maintain the independence of personality, but there are different levels. The reality is so horrible and the rulers are so cruel. It is impossible for people to have no worries under the butcher's knife. For life, family and career, you can transcend life and death, which is a rare quality. For most people, the requirements are too high. As a result, many honest and wise intellectuals in modern times gradually formed the political character of "being outside the circle and being inside" in a complex and changeable environment. It's not that you are sharp-edged and do not hesitate, but that you are relaxed and measured. 1935, when Cai Shangsi wrote "The Revolutionary History of Social Sciences in China", his predecessor Ou Yangyuqian earnestly warned the young historian: "The attitude of holding a pen should naturally be solemn, but it is not appropriate to have anger ... Can criticism be included in the narrative?" He suggested that the title should be changed to "The History of China's Social Thought" to "block the arrow stack" with a pure research attitude. Finally, Ou Yangyuqian sighed: "Mr. Cai, I admire your efforts, but no one can escape the sorrow of the ideological circle." However, these intellectuals can be tactful, smooth and compromise in ways and methods and local issues, but they are unambiguous and clear-cut in their principled stand, personality and conscience concerning major issues.

Huang Yanpei, a modern professional educator and one of the leaders of the NLD, is a typical example. "Take the image from the money, the outer circle is inside" is the motto of his personal life. 1946, when he mediated conflicts between countries in the third aspect, he was "impartial" and never pulled a face with Chiang Kai-shek. When Jiang made a wish as "Minister of Education" in an attempt to lure him into the quagmire of a pseudo-China, Huang was unmoved and maintained political integrity with "I can't destroy my personality". "The outer circle is the inner side" is a subtle and superb art of life, and it is a gratifying and sad deformation of the modern independent personality of the oriental autocratic countries. It maintains the independence of personality, preserves the essence of talents, and also damages the dignity of freedom to a certain extent, making it difficult for personality subjects to measure the balance between justice and survival. At the end of 1947, Huang Yanpei was forced to reach an agreement with the authorities to automatically dissolve NLD on behalf of NLD. Although this move avoided the unnecessary bloodshed of the vast number of allies, Huang Liang's sense of loss in his heart made him extremely painful and uneasy. He sang the bitter sentence "Who knows what Huang Hua thinks, the wind and frost are proud of the shore". The inner side of the outer ring is divided, and their greatest confusion and pain is how to consciously bridge the dual personality in reality. In order to maintain individual survival and personality independence at the same time, intellectuals in eastern countries have made spiritual sacrifices that westerners can't understand and soul suffering that they can't appreciate!

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"Help slaves"

China is an official country, and power means everything. Although the slogan of "sacred labor" was popular during the May 4th Movement, the traditional values of "being an official by studying" were still regarded as the standard in the minds of quite a few intellectuals. The temptation of power is so strong that some people can't help flocking to it. Every year, when overseas students return to China, there are always a group of overseas students who constantly supplement the huge bureaucratic team. Some famous university professors and scholars have a good reputation and are proud of squeezing into the officialdom. Being an official has brought great fame and fortune, but also mortgaged personal freedom and personality independence. Wang Shijie, a constitutional expert with master's and doctor's degrees in Europe and a law professor in Peking University, was a western liberal ideal in the era of international students and scholars. He once published an article in Oriental Magazine, advocating workers' right of assembly and collective contract. Once upon a time, when Wang was the legal director of the Nanjing government, he wrote the War Counter-revolutionary Crimes Law, which was full of oriental autocracy, and the Labor Dispute Settlement Law, which deprived workers of their democratic rights, was his masterpiece. Over time, Wang's soul was completely assimilated by bureaucratic machines and lost himself. There are also some literati, who are originally officials and have ambitions to transform society and innovate politics. But once you enter the temple, you can't control yourself. Since you are an element in the traditional structure, you have to perform the functions specified by the structure, regardless of your subjective will. During the Great Revolution, Chen Bulei published an anti-warlord editorial in Business Daily under the pseudonym of "Fear of War". What a loud silence! When he entered Chiang Kai-shek's mansion with the ambition of governing the country and leveling the world, he was no longer the "terrorist" or the person who buried mines for himself, but Chiang Kai-shek's "literary courage". His personality, spirit, and opinions are all forced into the subconscious, which may only be encountered in nightmares. After 20 years of forbearance, I finally committed suicide by taking poison. Chen Bulei's tragedy is traditional. In ancient books, Yi Yin, Duke Zhou and Zhuge Liang, the "teachers of emperors", pestered him so deeply that he couldn't get rid of the dependence that "the soil died for his bosom friend". After the Republic of China, the bureaucratic group of Beiyang central government, especially the Kuomintang central government, was basically composed of intellectuals with new higher education, but the overall quality of its political power was still traditional. This phenomenon can well explain the irresistible alienation of bureaucracy to organization members. Intellectuals in politics eventually lost their qualifications as intellectuals and degenerated into slaves who helped the ruling class.

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"helping idle literati"

Lu Xun once distinguished between "helping" and "helping leisure": "The former participates in politics and is an important minister. The latter only asked him to make contributions to poetry, and' saving the festival' was only in the case of a jester. " In other words, the former is in the DPRK and the latter is in the opposition. Although they are attached to the ruling class together, the depth of attachment is different. As mentioned earlier, the cultural circles in modern China always had some close ties with official politics, and were in a state of semi-independence and semi-dependence. In this way, the dormant "students" certainly pursue some independence, but they can't give up their ingratitude and subservience to Nuo Nuo. In the eyes of Americans, Hu Shi is the spiritual leader of China's "liberals", but what he lacks politically is the independent spirit of the real "liberals". He can criticize the authorities lightly, but there is a vulgar bourgeois spirit in his bones that respects the existing order and worships the state power. Otherwise, it is hard to understand that such a "liberal" who has been baptized by American democracy will willingly act as a "pawn crossing the river" to "push forward desperately".

With Hu Shi's meticulous political vision, it is not necessarily impossible to see the traditional essence and hopelessness of the Kuomintang regime, but he still said that he would "support him, do him justice and give him face" until the eve of the collapse of that rotten building. But Hu Shi's cleverness lies in his "supporting leisure" rather than "helping" and refusing to join the cabinet. He would rather "stay out of the government and serve the country" in order to "be impartial and sometimes say a few words of power and justice for the country at a critical moment". This image is quite close to Lu Xun's "Erhualian": "He is not as stupid as a righteous servant, nor as simple as an evil servant. He is an intellectual class. " "So when he was raised and assigned to Yan Yu, he had to pretend that he was not the partner of this noble son." In the literary world and small parties in modern China, there are many idle people who put on airs. 1946 At the end of the year, when the pseudo-National Congress began, some "social elites" and the People's Youth Party, who usually flaunted "independence" and claimed "integrity", crowded in to join in the fun and acted as vases to whitewash democracy on the authoritarian stage. Among them, Zhang Junmai, chairman of the People's Socialist Party, couldn't stand the temptation of China's reputation as "the father of the constitution" and ruined his personality; For example, Hu, the general manager of Ta Kung Pao, had to repay the debt for stealing $200,000 in official foreign exchange from Chiang Kai-shek. Although these intellectuals live outside, their hearts are not far from the temple. For their own self-interest, how can they care about the lofty and personal dignity of scholars!