Wang Zhen

Wang Zhen

Wang Zhen (1916-1966) was born in Jiangdu, Jiangsu Province. Chen Yinke, a contemporary Chinese historian, was a professor of history at Peking University. He died at the beginning of the cultural revolution. He devoted all his life to the study of the history of Sui and Tang Dynasties. The rest of the treatises are compiled by Tang Changru, Wu zongguo, Liang Taiji, song Jiayu, Xi Kangyuan and other scholars, with a total of 22 articles.

Character experience

Wang Zhen and Chen Yinke

In 1953, the CPC Central Committee decided to set up a historical research committee, and Mao Zedong personally appointed Chen Boda as its director. The History Committee founded the academic journal historical studies in that year. Guo Moruo wrote an article in the inaugural issue of "study and apply the stand, viewpoint and method of Marxism Leninism, and seriously study the history of China." the History Committee also decided to set up a history research institute composed of three institutes. In this preliminary list, Guo Moruo, Chen Yinke and Fan Wenlan appeared. The Committee initially decided that these three persons would be the directors of one Institute (Ancient History Research Institute), two institutes (Middle Ancient History Research Institute) and three institutes (Modern History Research Institute) respectively. This is the message that "the government wants Mr. Chen to return to the north". How to make Chen Yinke, who is far away in Guangzhou, accept the appointment has become a problem. Wang Zhen, an associate professor of history at Peking University, was entrusted with the task of persuading Chen Yinke to return to the north. He used to be Chen's student and assistant. Wang Zhen joined the Communist Party of China in Peking University in February 1950. The next year, he became a student in charge of Beijing Marxism Leninism College (the predecessor of the Central Party School) and received Marxism Leninism education. In November 1953, Wang Zhen, who had not graduated from Marxism Leninism college, went south to Guangzhou with two letters from Guo Moruo, President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Li Siguang, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, to meet Chen Yinke, a teacher. On the evening of November 21, 1953, he handed two letters to Chen Yinke. The next morning, Chen Yinke gave a reply written by his wife Tang yuan. After that, the saying that "Chen Yinke openly proposed not to study Marxism Leninism" circulated in the academic circles all over the country came from this morning's reply. In the last 20 years of Chen Yinke, Lu Jiandong described the academic ecology of the 1950s: "in the early 1950s, there was a great upsurge in learning from Marxism Leninism, and everyone said that he would call Marxism Leninism. He was proud to quote the original words of Marxism Leninism and Mao Zedong's works. The most influential group of well-known experts and scholars wrote that they broke with the old self. The ideal of "only asking about academics, not politics" pursued by many scholars for half of their lives began to be destroyed. Dialectical materialism and historical materialism began to establish an authoritative position in academic research. " Wang Zhen didn't give up immediately. He tried to find out the teacher's condition from his mother. Tang Yuan told him that Chen Yinke was the last person to see other people mention Marxism Leninism in their articles, which was painful at first sight. However, he "never satirized the government in class or at ordinary times.". Ten days later, on the morning of December 1, Chen Yinke had a long formal talk with Wang Zhen. Wang Zhen truthfully recorded Chen Yinque's final reply to the Academy of Sciences: "my thoughts and opinions are completely reflected in the memorial to Wang Guowei I wrote. After Wang Guowei's death, Liu Jie, a student, asked me to write a memorial. At that time, when the Kuomintang was reunified, the date of the monument can be traced. At that time, the president of Tsinghua was Luo Jialun, who was sent by Er Chen (CC), as we all know. At that time, I was a tutor of Tsinghua Research Institute. I thought that Wang Guowei was the most important person in the modern academic circles, so I wrote an article to show the people who studied knowledge in the future. Especially those who study history. I think the most important thing in academic research is to have free will and independent spirit. Therefore, I say that "the scholar's study and scholarship will break away from the shackles of his will to be secular.". "Vulgarity" at that time refers to the three people's principles. Only when we get rid of the shackles of popular truths can truth be brought into full play. Without free thinking and independent spirit, we can not carry forward truth or study scholarship. Whether there are any mistakes in the theory is negotiable, and that's what I do with Wang Guowei. There are also mistakes in Wang Guowei's theory, such as some problems in the history of Mongolia, which I think can be discussed. There are also mistakes in my theory, which can also be discussed. There is no need to be unkind in personal quarrels. You and I should be. When I wrote Wang Guowei's poem, I scolded Liang rengong and showed it to him. Liang rengong only laughed and didn't think he was a bad guy. I also scolded Hu Shi. But for the spirit of independence and free thinking, I think it is the most important, so I say "only the spirit of independence and free thinking, which have been worshiped for thousands of years, are the same as the earth and heaven, and have three lights and eternal light.". In my opinion, Wang Guowei's death is not related to the enmity with Luo Zhenyu, nor to the destruction of the Qing Dynasty, but to his independent and free will. The spirit of independence and free will must be fought, and they must be fought with life and death. As the words say, "thinking without freedom is better than hearing.". It's the essence of the ancient and modern benevolent sanctuary to die together. How can I dare to look forward to it? " Everything is a little thing, but this is a big thing. The purpose of the inscription has not been changed. I will never oppose the regime. I read the original text of capital in Switzerland in the third year of Xuantong. But I don't think it's possible to preserve Marxist Leninist views before studying scholarship. The people I want to invite and the apprentices I want to bring should have free thinking and independent spirit. No, it's not my student. I don't know if your previous views are the same as mine, but they are different. You are not my student any more. Whether you are Zhou Yiliang or Wang Yongxing, I say you are my student, otherwise you are not. In the future, I will take my apprentice with me. Therefore, I put forward the first one: "the Institute of middle ancient history is allowed not to follow Marxism Leninism and not to study politics." The idea is not to have shackles, not to have Marxist Leninist views first, then to study academics, and not to study politics. I'm not the only one. I want all of them. I never talk about politics. I have nothing to do with politics or any party. That's all there is to investigate. Therefore, I put forward the second article: "please give me a permit certificate as a shield." It means that Mao Gong is the highest political authority and Liu Shaoqi is the highest person in charge of the party. I think the highest authority should share my view, and I should say so. Otherwise, there will be no academic research. Even if the actual situation is the same, a move is not as good as a silence. The Academy of Sciences is not good at accepting the conditions I put forward, nor is it good at not accepting them. be in a dilemma. I'm very quiet in Guangzhou. I don't have this dilemma when I do my research work. There is a dilemma in going to Beijing. It's difficult to move. I'm not in good health. I have high blood pressure. My wife is ill again. My heart is enlarged. I vomited blood yesterday. You have to bring my opinions to the Academy of Sciences. Take the inscription to Guo Moruo. Guo Moruo saw my poems by Wang Guowei in Japan. I don't know if the monument is still there. If you don't do it well, you can knock it out. Ask Guo Moruo to do it. Maybe it's better. Guo Moruo is an expert on oracle bone inscriptions and one of the "four halls". He may have a better understanding of Wang Guowei's theory. Then I'll be Han Yu and Guo Moruo Duan Wenchang. If someone does another poem, he'll be Li Shangyin, which is also very good. My inscriptions have been handed down and will not be forgotten. Chen Yinke's reply, in China in 1953, was shocking. At that time, there was a saying that there were two Chens in the north and the south. He was often compared with Chen Yuan. They all experienced "Three Dynasties", and Chen Yuan was also included in the list of key students in the KMT's "rush to transport" plan at the end of 1948. The KMT's special plane was also under fire, waiting for Chen Yuan to get on the plane several times, but Chen Yuan did not leave. In an open letter to Hu Shi, he wrote: "young students tell me with their actions that they are waiting for the light and they are welcoming the new society. I know that new forces have grown up and are destroying the old social system. There is no reason for me to leave Peiping." Chen Yuan's turn is considered to be a typical example of the great changes of the times. The tide of the times is overwhelming. People who live in it believe that no one can stay out of it.

Die unjustly

On November 10, 1965, Shanghai Wen Wei Po published Yao Wenyuan's "battle Proclamation" criticizing Wu Han's play Hai Rui's dismissal, which opened the prelude of the "Cultural Revolution". On May 25, 1966, Nie Yuanzi of Philosophy Department of Peking University and other seven people posted "what did song Shuo, Lu Ping and Peng Peiyun do in the Cultural Revolution?"? 》Big character newspaper. On June 1, Mao Zedong ordered to broadcast to the whole country the "first big character newspaper of Marxism Leninism" written by Nie Yuanzi and others. That night, the CPC Central Committee sent a working group to Peking University to replace the original leading group. Before long, colleges and middle schools across the country were closed and put into the "Cultural Revolution". The original leading group of Peking University has become a vicious "gangster" overnight and the first target of the "Cultural Revolution". Lu Ping and Peng Peiyun were dismissed and investigated. Red Guard organizations of various names rose rapidly and flourished all over the country. An unprecedented large-scale national catastrophe spread. In Peking University campus, the center and source of the cultural revolution storm, Wang Zhen, a professor of history at Peking University and a student of Chen Yinke, was the first one to be pulled out to sacrifice the flag. At that time, Wang Zhen was no longer an "expert within the party" who was "both red and expert" and a famous leader of the new historiography of Marxism Leninism. Since he went down to the South as a "revolutionary envoy" to persuade Chen Yinke to return to the north, he lost the trust of Guo Moruo and other high-level people in the field of science and education, and was generally despised by the academic circles. After Guo Moruo denounced Chen Yinke in 1958, Wang Zhen, a disciple of Chen Clan, immediately suffered a "revolution" from the same camp

Chinese PinYin : Wang Jian