The Life of Chen Duxiu -- A Biography of a Figure

Author: Ren Jianshu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-05-01
Features: Chen Duxiu is a very worthy historical figure to study, as well as a person full of charm yet difficult to grasp. Recently, some local Party history experts gathered at Tongji University for a symposium to discuss and study "The Grand Biography of Chen Duxiu" by Ren Jianshu. They unanimously agreed that the book is one of the highest-level academic works in Chen Duxiu research to date. How to properly evaluate the right and wrong, achievements and shortcomings of Chen Duxiu's life? The attending experts believed that "The Grand Biography of Chen Duxiu" (published by Shanghai People's Publishing House) begins with Chen Duxiu's family background and childhood, objectively introducing his youth, the Xinhai Revolution, the May Fourth New Culture Movement, the Kuomintang-CCP cooperation, the Northern Expedition, the Great Revolution period, the Trotskyist period, the War of Resistance Against Japan, and Chen Duxiu's later years. The book interweaves narration and commentary. "The Grand Biography" points out that Chen Duxiu founded "New Youth," raised the banners of science and democracy, launched the New Culture Movement, and fiercely criticized old rituals and old culture, playing a tremendous enlightening role. He promoted the epoch-making May Fourth Movement, so Mao Zedong called him the commander-in-chief of the May Fourth Movement. After being tempered by the May Fourth Movement, Chen Duxiu quickly transformed into a Marxist. In the early years of the 20th century, he, along with Li Dazhao and others, founded the Communist Party of China, becoming one of its main founders. The experts said that "The Grand Biography" fully affirms Chen Duxiu's historical achievements during this period, being realistic and objective. Of course, the book also objectively examines and analyzes Chen Duxiu's mistakes, especially the fact that he was expelled from the Communist Party and became the leader of the Trotskyist faction. "The Grand Biography" points out that at this time, Chen Duxiu opposed both the Communist Party and the reactionary politics of the Kuomintang, while also facing criticism from the Communist Party and suppression from the Kuomintang. After the September 18th Incident, he mainly opposed the Kuomintang's reactionary policy of "prioritizing internal security over external defense" and once advocated a joint anti-Japanese alliance with the CCP. When the War of Resistance Against Japan broke out, he spent five years in prison before being released. After his release, he opposed the Trotskyist faction's views on the war and broke ties with the organization, firmly advocating mobilizing the people to fight a desperate battle against Japanese imperialism. How to properly evaluate Chen Duxiu's Trotskyist issue, "The Grand Biography" presents facts, neither "knocking Chen Duxiu off a cliff" nor arbitrarily praising him. The experts believed that Professor Ren dared to enter this "forbidden zone," objectively and fairly commenting on Chen Duxiu's Trotskyist issue, which was truly not easy. Professor Ren Jianshu is a researcher at the Institute of History, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, specializing in modern Chinese history. At the meeting, he said that in the late 1980s, he wrote the first volume of "The Biography of Chen Duxiu." "The Grand Biography" was written after his retirement, when he had never had such free time as now. He was so idle that he felt restless and lost, probably a sense of loss common among retirees. Encouraged by friends, he revisited past materials, writing, erasing, resting, and then writing again. To collect more materials on Chen Duxiu, he visited many elderly people and went to libraries in Anhui, Sichuan, Guangdong, and other places. Many experts said that Professor Ren is rigorous in his scholarship, meticulous in every detail, and goes to great lengths to obtain any materials related to Chen Duxiu. Therefore, "The Grand Biography" is rich in historical facts, laying a solid foundation for his arguments.