The Rise of the Writers of the Republic of China

Zhou Hexuan didn't want to shout slogans, and said to the crowd: "Raise your hands and ask questions, come one by one."

As soon as he finished speaking, the students all raised their hands in unison, lest they were too late to take their turn.

"This classmate comes first." Zhou Hexuan pointed to the little fat man in front.

The little fat man didn't expect that he would be selected, so he scratched his head and said embarrassedly: "Well, I...I haven't thought about asking anything yet."

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Everyone burst into laughter.

Zhou Hexuan pointed to another tall man, the one who said before that he would use his own blood and sweat to write "The Rise of Great Powers: China Chapter".

"Mr. Zhou, my name is Chen Da, and my name is Minzhi. I am a student in the Mining Department of Nankai University." The man introduced himself first, and then asked a very popular question, "Many people now say that Chinese people are not as smart as Westerners." , is an inferior nation, what does Mr. Zhou think about this?"

Seeing that everyone was looking at him expectantly, Zhou Hexuan smiled and said: "The Chinese are said to be an inferior nation. One is our inferiority complex, and the other is the contempt of Westerners. Where do inferiority complexes and contempt come from? The history of humiliation from the late Qing Dynasty to the present. The overall backwardness in technology, military, economy, and culture, nothing can compare to Western powers, so we feel inferior, so we are looked down upon by others. Am I right?"

Chen Da nodded and said, "That's right."

"But are the Chinese really inferior? I don't admit it," Zhou Hexuan said. "From the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Song and Ming dynasties, China has been ahead of the West for thousands of years. Marco Polo praised China as a paradise full of gold, It made Westerners yearn for it, and came to China one after another to do business and study, which indirectly contributed to the rise of great voyages. Voltaire was the master of the Enlightenment Movement, known as the king of French thought and the conscience of Europe. How did he view China? ?He praised China's history, astronomy, political system, scientific law, and ideology and morality, and he said that China is a great civilized nation."

"Is that true?" Everyone asked in surprise. Many people present have heard of Voltaire's name, but they don't know that he praised China so much.

Zhou Hexuan laughed and said, "I didn't make up these words. Students who are interested can read Voltaire's "On Customs."

Chen Da asked in a daze, "Then why did China become what it is now?"

"From Voltaire's works, we can draw two conclusions," Zhou Hexuan analyzed, "First, China is not an inferior nation, and Westerners sometimes admire and learn from us; second, before the Enlightenment, Westerners There are many places that are inferior to China. Western civilization surpassed Chinese civilization in the last three or four hundred years. Today’s Britain, France, Germany and many other powers were still regarded as barbarians more than 1,000 years ago. I don’t understand writing, I don’t know etiquette. In the Middle Ages, I became more ignorant and backward. When I was sick, I was bloodletting for treatment. If I dared to say that the earth is not the center of the universe, I was burned to death. Papermaking, gunpowder, and the compass were all passed down from China. Inferior race?"

Everyone pondered silently, and some people began to smile confidently on their faces.

Lu Jingyan suddenly asked: "Mr. Zhou, why is China lagging behind now?"

"Because Westerners are making progress, while we are regressing," Zhou Hexuan said. "After the Renaissance, Westerners got rid of the shackles of thought and advocated rationality and science. Since the Yuan Dynasty, Chinese rulers have tried to use Cheng Zhu Neo Confucianism Imprisoning people's minds, reached its peak during the Qing Dynasty. The Japanese learned from China in the Tang and Song Dynasties, and from Europe and the United States for nearly a hundred years. They caught up head-on, while China is still staggering. This is why China lags behind, not because we are inferior nation, but we have delayed the golden age of rapid scientific and technological development."

Chen Da asked again: "Does Mr. Zhou think that China should learn from the West in an all-round way? For example, abolishing Chinese characters, Latinizing Chinese characters, abolishing Chinese, and switching to Esperanto?"

"How can this be unreasonable? How can Chinese characters be abolished?" Liang Suming, who had been silent for a long time, was furious, and said, "If Chinese characters and Chinese are really abolished, China will perish!"

Some young students, including Chen Da, immediately glared at Liang Suming. They thought that Liang Suming belonged to the kind of old stubborn who didn't know how to make progress.

The movement to abolish Chinese characters has run through the entire modern history of China, from the late Qing Dynasty to the 20 years after the founding of New China, it has never stopped. Whether it is the Roman pinyin, the modern Chinese pinyin promulgated by our party, or even the simplified Chinese characters, they are all preparing for the abolition of Chinese characters.

The reason here is not just as simple as total (harmonious) Westernization, but also more practical problems.

For example, with today's typewriters and printing and typesetting, Latin letters can be easily completed, but Chinese characters are extremely troublesome, which greatly hinders the spread of culture and science.

The movement to abolish Chinese characters after the founding of the People’s Republic of China was supported by the Soviet Union on the one hand, and it was also because Chinese characters were really inconvenient to use. Especially after the invention of electronic computers, Chinese characters cannot be input and displayed, which makes Chinese people feel that Chinese characters have fallen behind the times and are old things that will eventually be eliminated.

At that time, who would have thought that the input of Chinese characters on smartphones is far more convenient than the Latin alphabet?

Mr. Lu Xun said in an interview before his death: "If Chinese characters are not destroyed, China will perish." In the eyes of later generations of Chinese people, this kind of statement is too absurd and ridiculous, and even ridiculed and slandered Lu Xun, but who can understand what Lu Xun is saying The sorrow, anger and depression in your heart when you say these words?

Can you mock Newton for not knowing the theory of relativity?

Mentioning the abolition of Chinese characters and Chinese language, Zhou Hexuan burst into laughter: "My point of view is the same as that of Mr. Liang Suming. If Chinese characters and Chinese language are abolished, China will really perish."

"Sir, I didn't expect you to be such a conservative person!" Chen Da looked at Zhou Hexuan disappointedly.

Zhou Hexuan was not in a hurry, and asked slowly: "Once Chinese characters are abolished, the whole of China will become illiterate. How does the government work? How does the company operate? How does the newspaper convey information? Have you thought about this?"

"This, these things can be done slowly." Chen Da said.

Zhou Hexuan shook his head and said: "I always believe that China is the greatest nation, Chinese characters are the most beautiful writing, and Chinese is the most elegant language." Seeing the disdain of many students, Zhou Hexuan said, "I know English, French, German Chinese, Italian, Japanese, and Russian languages, I know their roots, and I also understand our own culture. Do you understand Japan’s Meiji Restoration?”

Chen Da immediately said: "I know that Japan can develop rapidly precisely because of the overall (harmonious) Westernization, leaving Asia and entering Europe!"

"Wrong," Zhou Hexuan said with a laugh, "Japan's Meiji Restoration is actually the Chinese Westernization Movement's set of 'Chinese learning for the body, Western learning for use'." The highest program of Japanese education is to put it bluntly. Western-minded, they integrate Shintoism, Confucianism and nationalism. Some people in Japan indeed advocated a complete (harmonious) Westernization, but it was abolished in the end. In order to preserve its traditions, the Japanese government also emphasizes that all religions must be Under the leadership of Shintoism, even their weddings advocate marriage before the gods. In addition, Confucianism still occupies an important position in Japan, and their official documents are basically written in Chinese characters. Do you think Japan is behind the times?"

These words made the students even more confused. Chen Daci argued hard: "It is precisely because Japan uses Chinese characters that it is not as developed as the West!"

"You got the cause and effect wrong," Zhou Hexuan said, "China lags behind Japan, and Japan lags behind Britain and France. It is because there is not enough time to catch up, not because of Chinese characters, Chinese and Japanese. The United States also uses English, and the Americans They also speak English, but it took them more than a hundred years to catch up with Europe. How long will it take for China to catch up?"

Chen Da was finally speechless, he was not persuaded by Zhou Hexuan, but he didn't know how to refute.

At this moment, all the passengers in the entire carriage gathered around.

There are a few people who don't know the truth whispering:

"Who is that person?"

"I don't know. It might be a big shot. Look at those students who listen to him."

"It makes sense."

"For sure, a learned gentleman is different. Our ancestors only spoke Chinese, how can this thing be discarded and learn from foreigners?"

"Sir, well said, let me say a few more words!"

"..."

Zhou Hexuan stopped arguing with these passionate youths and continued:

"The train is coming into the station. Let me say a few last words. A thousand years ago, we had the most splendid civilization, the richest country, and the strongest army in the world. However, today, a thousand years later, we must Face up to the tragic fact that China lags behind the world.

Since the late Qing Dynasty, the great powers have knocked on the door of China with cannons. The Opium War, the Sino-Japanese War, and the Boxer Revolution... We have been defeated again and again, and the government has signed traitorous treaties time and time again. Our dream of being a kingdom under heaven has finally been shattered. But we must not underestimate ourselves, we must be self-confident and self-improving, not inferior and cowardly, we must strive to be strong, not depressed...

I have a dream.

I dream that one day, the valleys will rise, the mountains will descend, and the rough and winding roads will become smooth, so that the glory of freedom, equality, and democracy will shine on the earth. This is our hope. I returned to China with this dream. With this dream, we will hack a stone of hope from the ridge of despair. With this faith, we shall transform the cacophony of strife in this nation into a melody of happiness.

I have a dream.

It is a dream that one day China will once again stand among the world's great powers. Let the sound of prosperity and strength sound from the waves of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River! Let the sound of prosperity and strength sound from the fertile soil of North China and South China! Let the sound of prosperity and strength sound on the Gobi grassland in northern Xinjiang! Let the sound of prosperity and strength resound in the mountains in the northeast and southwest! Let the sound of prosperity and strength resound on every hill and every hillside inside and outside the Great Wall.

I have a dream.

Dream about one day. Every province, every prefecture, and every village in China will become a civilized world full of tall buildings and factories. Our sons and daughters, our descendants, whether they are Han, Manchu, Mongol, Hui, or Tibetan, will join hands and sing a great hymn of the Chinese nation: We are free, we are strong, we are Rich, we no longer suffer from war, we no longer suffer from poverty. Our children can sit in a bright school and learn the most advanced cultural knowledge; our children and grandchildren can talk, laugh and drink with foreigners without looking at anyone's face; our country is no longer ridiculed Object, there is no need to sign humiliating contracts. Any overseas Chinese can straighten their backs and shout loudly: I am Chinese!

I have a dream.

For this dream, we must work together, struggle together, study together, work together, and sacrifice together. Because I know that one day, our dreams will come true. This is our great motherland, and we are a great nation. When we worship our ancestors, we can proudly say to our ancestors: We have done it, we are strong! Instead of complaining to your ancestors, you have left behind a poor and weak China, and you have left behind a humble nation.

I have a dream……"

Zhou Hexuan was fooling around at the beginning, but as he talked, tears filled his eyes unconsciously, and the loud words were crying, and he was moved himself.

Everyone in the carriage, whether they are students, merchants, wealthy gentry, politicians, or journalists, all listened to him silently, looking forward to the day when their dreams would come true, and the day when China would be strong.