History Mystery Unveiled (Collectible Edition)

Author: Du Zhengzheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-03-01
Features: In the 1930s, Tao Xingzhi and his students helped Jiang Qing, and they first met in 1933. That summer, Jiang Qing, whose original name was Li Yunhe, came to Shanghai from the north after her cohabitant Yu Qiwei was arrested. She was introduced to the Morning Dawn Work-Study Group, which was organized by Tao Xingzhi and his students, under the name Zhang Shuzhen. Tao Xingzhi, who founded the Xiaozhuang School and gained fame both domestically and internationally, was dissatisfied with the actions of the Nanjing government and supported progressive young students. His school was closed in the spring of 1930, and he was placed under arrest. After experiencing life as a refugee and being by the September 18th Anti-Japanese Movement, his thoughts became more progressive. In the autumn of 1932, to explore new paths for China's educational revolution, he proposed the principle of "Work for sustenance, study for enlightenment, and unity for protection," advocating the integration of workshops, schools, and society to seek the rebirth of the Chinese nation. He first established the Shanhai Work-Study Group between Baoshan County and Shanghai. That winter, he sent Xu Mingqing and Wang Dongruo, students from Xiaozhuang, to establish the Morning Dawn Work-Study Group in Chen Zaicun, Beixinjing Town, Shanghai. Tao Xingzhi fully entrusted the Morning Dawn to Xu Mingqing, a Communist Party member, making it a secret base for the Party in Shanghai. Under the leadership of the "Cultural General Union," organizations such as the "Education League," "Left-Wing League," "Drama League," and "Social League" actively conducted activities here. Against this specific background, Jiang Qing was introduced to the Morning Dawn through the "Drama League" and was protected by Tao Xingzhi and his students. In a sense, Jiang Qing received her first education in revolutionary collective life at the Morning Dawn. At the Morning Dawn, about a dozen members lived a collective life with a touch of wartime communism. They inherited and carried forward the practices advocated by Tao Xingzhi at Xiaozhuang. They set up schools for school-age children and kindergartens for female workers and peasant women. In the mornings and evenings, they also organized reading classes for workers on day and night shifts. They organized "little masters" to deliver education to homes and villages, set up singing teams, and staged small satirical dramas, shadow puppet shows, and Shanghai folk songs to promote anti-Japanese patriotism. Their daily lives were also well-organized. Morning meetings were held, they worked separately in the morning, labored in their own vegetable fields in the afternoon, and in the evening, they took turns participating in rich collective learning activities, including study groups on Marxist-Leninist theory, current affairs discussions, literary discussions, and foreign language classes. They took turns cooking and eating communal meals, with soybean sprouts and pumpkin soup being common dishes. In addition to three meals a day, they received no salary, and their lives were quite hardship, but their work morale was very high. Jiang Qing, who had just arrived in Shanghai, quickly integrated into this special revolutionary collective. externally, she and Wang Dongruo were responsible for teaching dozens of primary school students and giving classes to shop assistants. internally, she taught everyone to sing and learn the phonetic symbols of the national language, and together with Tian Yuan, she presided over current affairs discussions. She also studied Japanese together with Wu Fusheng under Tian Yuan, and according to those involved, she even purchased a Japanese dictionary published by the Commercial Press for this purpose. It is not difficult to understand that in such a collective living environment, Jiang Qing, who had few social connections when she first arrived in Shanghai, would inevitably establish a close relationship with Tao Xingzhi and his students. According to those familiar with the situation, Jiang Qing had several occasions to discuss matters with Tao Xingzhi through Cao Jianpei, the head of the "China Popular Education Promotion Society" in the city. It is particularly worth noting that Jiang Qing's relationship with Xu Mingqing and Wang Dongruo was not ordinary. Xu was the leader of this small group and also Jiang Qing's most important female partner. She was from Linhai, Zhejiang, and after the failure of the Great Revolution, she had nowhere to hide. Admiring Tao Xingzhi's progressive educational methods, she took the entrance exam for Xiaozhuang. In 1928, she served as the Communist Youth League secretary at the school and later succeeded in taking over the party branch work in early 1930. After Xiaozhuang was closed, she came to Shanghai and was ordered by Tao Xingzhi to take charge of the Morning Dawn, continuing her underground work. Wang Dongruo was from Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, and was influenced by the ideas of the Nationalist Party while at Xiaozhuang. However, the closure of the school and the martyrdom of his classmates opened his eyes, leading him to gradually shift his political stance. At the same time, his personal frustrations in marriage were somewhat alleviated by the lively Jiang Qing's arrival. After Jiang Qing came to the Morning Dawn, they taught primary school together and had more contact. Wang Dongruo's talent undoubtedly helped deepen their relationship. In fact, it was not a secret among Tao Xingzhi's disciples that Wang Dongruo was pursuing Jiang Qing at that time. To be fair, Jiang Qing made considerable political progress during her time at the Morning Dawn. In the summer of 1933, the Shanghai West Suburban Branch of the Communist Youth League came to the Morning Dawn to recruit members and establish a branch. Jiang Qing and Wang Dongruo soon joined the league. That winter, Yu Qiwei was released and came to Shanghai to reunite with Jiang Qing. They found temporary housing in a small restaurant on Jing'an Temple Road. Yu Qiwei requested to rejoin the Party, but the Shanghai West Suburban Committee tested him by ordering him to participate in the 1934 "January 28th" anniversary demonstration. During this activity, a Morning Dawn member named "Big Wang" was arrested, and from prison, he reported that the enemy had noticed Jiang Qing in the demonstration and was about to arrest her. Under increasing pressure, Jiang Qing followed Yu Qiwei back to Beijing, ending her six-month stay at the Morning Dawn Work-Study Group. When Jiang Qing returned to Shanghai for the second time, it was in the summer of 1934. After returning north with Yu Qiwei, things did not go smoothly. Yu's Party membership issue was not resolved, and his financial situation was uncertain. In desperation, Jiang Qing came to Shanghai alone once again to seek help from Tao Xingzhi and his students. However, this time her situation had changed. Due to the influence of the "Leftist" line, the activities of the Morning Dawn were not very concealed, drawing serious attention from the authorities. Xu Mingqing was repeatedly questioned by the authorities and could no longer stay at the Morning Dawn. With Tao Xingzhi's introduction, she moved to the Shanghai Christian Women's Youth Association to engage in women's education. Soon after, the authorities conducted a surprise raid and closed the Morning Dawn, arresting Chen Qixia and four others. Therefore, Jiang Qing could no longer relive her dream of the Morning Dawn when she came to Shanghai again. In the face of all these difficulties, Tao Xingzhi extended his help once again. He introduced Jiang Qing to the women's workers' school run by the Christian Women's Youth Association to teach Chinese in the advanced class, helping her find a foothold in Shanghai. Soon after, thanks to her relationship with Xu Mingqing and Wang Dongruo, Jiang Qing joined the "Education League." At that time, in the Shanghai West Suburban Committee of the "Education League," the Party and League leaders were Sun Daseng, Xu was responsible for organization, and Wang was responsible for publicity. It was said that Jiang Qing performed well at the time, and the organization was preparing to resolve her Party membership issue and assign her some responsible work in the Shanghai West Suburban Committee of the "Education League." Just then, an unexpected incident occurred. In October 1934, Jiang Qing was suddenly arrested and imprisoned. Regarding the cause of her arrest, those familiar with the situation recalled that Jiang Qing was helping Huang Yanpei, a prominent educator, organize a play for his agricultural work-study group. She had arranged to meet a young man named A Dong, a fellow native, in Zhao Feng Park to play the huqin. A Dong had previously been in charge of the underground Party radio in Qingdao and was later transferred to Shanghai to work in the Central Committee of the League. His identity had been exposed, and he was under the surveillance of the enemy. Therefore, Jiang Qing was arrested immediately after parting with him. After Jiang Qing's arrest, Sun Daseng and others tried to use their connections to visit her in prison. A month later, the Christian Women's Youth Association intervened to secure her release. Unfortunately, we no longer know how much role Tao Xingzhi played in the process of visiting her in prison and securing her release. However, one thing is certain: after her release, Jiang Qing continued to receive help from Tao Xingzhi's disciples. P61-63