In the summer of 1921, a group of people walked out of an alley in Shanghai in twos and threes. Some of them were wearing gowns, some were wearing ties and suits. They spoke dialects from various places and disappeared into the dark night on the outskirts of Shanghai. A few days later, this group of people gathered together again on a cruise ship in Nanhu, Jiaxing, Zhejiang. There was drizzle on the lake, and a low voice suddenly came from the exquisite boat: "Long live the Communist Party! Long live the Third International! Long live communism!" The weak shouts were quickly drowned in the water. Amidst the sound of rain, however, on the land of China, an unstoppable historical torrent is rapidly gathering, which will push the red ship of the Chinese revolution to set sail.
The Communist Party of China was proclaimed. In modern Chinese history, this is——
Shikumen—the place where red fire spread
On May 22, 2001, the morning light first appeared, and the shadow of the sun was cast on Shanghai. On top of a famous Shikumen house. This house was built in the autumn of 1920. It faces south and has a brick and wood structure. The exterior walls are staggered with green and red bricks, and it has a strong combination of Chinese and Western colors. This is the site of the "Big" Conference of the Communist Party of China, which is famous both at home and abroad. It was originally No. 106 Wangzhi Road in the French Concession (now No. 76 Xingye Road).
The alum-red semicircular lintel with colonial color presents a Baroque scroll-shaped water plant pattern. Under the thick granite doorway, crowds of people are pouring in from all over the country to pay homage to the place where the red fire spread. Knocking on the shining copper rings on the pair of black stone warehouse doors, the flow of people and history are intertwined here, solemnity and admiration condensed into a kind of power. The yellowed books in the display cabinet are the key to opening the curtain of history, and the continuous flow of people is constantly exploring the footprints of history, leaving behind a long list of reverence.
Following the crowds of people who came to pay homage to the meeting site, reporters filed in from Shuli, Baylor Road (now Lane 374, Huangpi South Road). 80 years ago, was this where 13 representatives of the “big” Chinese Communist Party from all over the country entered the venue?
The architectural layout of the venue has been restored to be the same as it was 80 years ago. On the eve of the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Party, this place underwent another large-scale renovation. Liu Shaling, deputy secretary of the meeting site memorial hall, told reporters: "This old revolutionary house had been lost for nearly 30 years. When it was rediscovered after liberation, it was not what it is now. It had become a 'Hengrifu Noodle House.' It’s beyond recognition.”
In April 1951, after half a year of investigation, the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China found and determined No. 76 and 78 Xingye Road as the “big” meeting place of the Communist Party of China. The Shanghai Municipal Party Committee organized relevant departments to carry out comprehensive renovations according to the original appearance of the year. All furniture and furnishings were copied according to the memories of the parties concerned. From the moment it was discovered, its protection and restoration have never stopped. "One major repair every five years and one major repair every ten years" maintains the integrity of this revolutionary holy land.
Under the Shikumen, inside the solid black wooden door is a long and narrow patio. An 18-square-meter living room is blocked behind 6 floor-to-ceiling glass windows. The central long table is covered with snow-white tablecloth. On the table are a copper ashtray, a copper standing matchbox, a white porcelain tea set, and a pink vase with ruffles. The table is surrounded by fifteen chairs.
Shudli - the historical conference was held here
On the evening of July 23, 1921, behind the dark door of No. 106 Wangzhi Road, Shanghai, the epic of the Chinese revolution was written The first sentence of "," has a deep and solemn rhythm... The reporters of the interview team took this as a starting point to explore the past footprints of the revolutionary pioneers.
In the summer of 1921, representatives of communist groups from all over the country, who spoke with accents from Hubei and Hunan, Jiangxi, Shandong, Guangdong, and Guizhou, took Yangtze River cruises and long-distance trains. The same destination - Shanghai Hui Lun. Their actions were secretive and silent. In 1952, when recalling the scene of that year, Xie Juezai said: "One night, with dark clouds covering the sky, I suddenly heard that Comrade Mao Zedong and Comrade He Shuheng were about to leave for Shanghai. I quite felt that they were Suddenly, they refused to send us on the ship. Later we found out that they were going to attend the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China - the meeting where the great Communist Party of China was born.
Under the milky white ruffled lampshade, a yellowish light was emitted on July 23, 1921. It was a heavy night outside the house, and it seemed to guide passers-by in the dark. Facing the front door of the apartment on Wangzhi Road is a vegetable patch, surrounded by overgrown grass and few pedestrians.
No. 106 Wangzhi Road is the residence of Li Hanjun and his brother Li Shucheng. Li Shucheng followed Sun Yat-sen in his early years, participated in the Revolution of 1911, and served as the Beiyang Warlord Army Chief. The special background of "Li's Mansion" and the cold environment around his residence made it possible for the "National Congress of the Communist Party of China" to be held here without unnecessary arousal. trouble.
Under nightfall, the delegates arrived at the venue one after another and sat around the long table. After 8 o'clock, the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China officially opened. On this day, it was less than a year since Chen Duxiu established China's first communist group in Shanghai.
Representatives attending the "First Congress" included Mao Zedong, He Shuheng, Dong Biwu, Chen Tanqiu, Wang Jinmei, Deng Enming, Li Da, Li Hanjun, Bao Huiseng, Zhang Guotao, Liu Renjing, Chen Gongbo, Zhou Fohai, ***13 people , representing more than 50 party members across the country at that time, and representatives of the Communist International Marin and Nikolsky also attended the meeting. Two famous communists, Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao, were unable to attend.
Twenty-four-year-old Zhang Guotao was elected as the host of the meeting, and Mao Zedong and Zhou Fohai took the record. After Zhang Guotao reported on the preparations for the conference, he proposed the topics of the conference, namely formulating the party's program, practical work plans and electing central agencies. He also read the letter that Chen Duxiu gave to Chen Gongbo, which discussed four points: "1. The development and education of party members; 2. The application of the party's democratic centralism; 3. Party discipline; 4. The masses route".
Beijing representative Liu Renjing sat next to Ma Lin, translated Zhang Guotao's words into English, and told Ma Lin. At the meeting, Marin delivered a speech on behalf of the Communist International: "The formal establishment of the Communist Party of China is of great world significance. The Communist International has added an Eastern branch, and the Soviet Bolsheviks have added an Eastern comrade. "Marin talked endlessly at the meeting and spoke for a long time.
After the meeting, the representatives walked out of the "Li Mansion" in batches. Like most Shanghainese, the front door of the residence at No. 106 Wangzhi Road was closed, and the delegates left the venue through the back door, Baylor Road Shuli (now Lane 374, Huangpi South Road). According to relevant sources, this is the only meeting of the National Congress of the Communist Party of China in which all representatives are present.
Bowen Girls' School - the former residence of the representatives
Except for Chen Gongbo and his wife who lived at Dadong Hotel on Nanjing Road, most of the representatives lived at No. 389 Baier Road (today's No. 127, Taicang Road) Bowen Girls' School. After several efforts, the reporter was allowed to go to the original site of Bowen Girls’ School for interviews. The reporter walked more than 100 meters forward from Shudli on Baylor Road (now Lane 374 of Huangpi South Road) and turned right. It was also an old-fashioned Shikumen house with one floor and one bottom. Nowadays, it is the exhibition department office of the Memorial Hall of the National Congress of the Communist Party of China. Liu Rongzhu, a staff member, said: "In order to protect this building, the memorial hall uses the vacant Bowen Girls' School site. There are people living in the house and it can also do some daily maintenance." Bowen Girls' School is not large in area. At the end of the curved corridor on the second floor , the second room you enter represents the house where Mao Zedong and He Shuheng once lived. It has been restored to its original state: there is an old-fashioned small desk by the window, two wooden wooden beds covered with straw mats, placed in a T-shape, with a bamboo table in the middle. Bookshelves, the room is spotless. Liu Rongzhu said: "When I recognized this house from an alley in Shanghai, the former Bowen Girls' School was already the staff dormitory of the local Cultural Bureau. A few days ago, the old residents here came back to see it and took pictures."
When the "First Year" was held, there were 9 representatives living in Bowen Girls' School. It was summer vacation at that time, and teachers and students had all left school. Bowen Girls' School was founded in 1917. The chairman is Xu Zonghan, Huang Xing's wife, and the principal Huang Shaolan. The accommodation of the representatives was specifically arranged by Mrs. Li Da and Wang Huiwu. At that time, Wang Huiwu joined the Shanghai Women's Federation, served as the editor of "Women's Voice", and had a good relationship with Xu Zonghan and Huang Shaolan. In the name of "Peking University Summer Tour Group", she rented classrooms from President Huang Shaolan as a place to stay for the delegates. Huang Shaolan agreed immediately.
The meeting adjourned for two days on July 25 and 26 to draft the program and work plan of the Communist Party of China and other meeting documents. According to Ma Lin's proposal at the first conference, a committee to draft the program and work plan was elected and established, consisting of Zhang Guotao, Li Da, and Dong Biwu. After two days of intense work during the adjournment, the party's program and resolutions were drafted.
However, in the exhibition hall of the memorial hall at the meeting site today, there are no Chinese originals of the party’s first program and resolutions. Some party history experts told reporters: "The Chinese documents of the program and resolutions drafted by the Party's 'First Congress' are extremely precious. Unfortunately, because our party has been in a war environment for a long time, these original Chinese documents have been lost since then. The only ones that exist are in Russian and English. The Russian translation was originally stored in the Communist Party of China. In the 1950s, it was handed over to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China as an archive of the Chinese delegation of the Communist Party of China. Appendix to the paper "The Communist Movement in China" written by Gongbo at Columbia University in the United States in 1924.
On the evening of July 30, the sixth meeting of the "First Congress" of the Communist Party of China was held. . The meeting will still be held after eight o'clock. Marin and Nikolsky attended the meeting. The original agenda was for Communist International representative Marin to express his opinions on various issues discussed at the meeting, and then discuss and adopt the party's program and resolutions.
Among the representatives, only Zhou Fohai did not come. It is said that he had a stomachache at that time and could not go out, so he had to lie alone on the floor upstairs of Bowen Girls' School.
Shortly after the meeting started, a middle-aged man wearing a bamboo cloth suddenly burst into the ajar door behind the venue (according to relevant sources later, this man was Cheng Ziqing, the inspector of the French Concession Patrol Room). ), he looked around. The delegates asked him what he was doing, and the man said vaguely: "Looking for President Wang of the Federation of Socialist Associations?" He then said, "I'm sorry, I'm looking in the wrong place." Then he hurriedly exited. The third house from Li Hanjun's apartment is indeed the clubhouse of the Shanghai Federation of All Trades, but the Federation has no president and no one named Wang.
Marin asked the representatives if they knew this person, but they all said no. Marin, who has rich experience in secret work, made a decision immediately: "It must be a spy. I suggest that the meeting be stopped immediately and everyone leave separately."
Meeting The meeting was forced to be interrupted, and everyone present at the meeting, except Li Hanjun and Chen Gongbo, immediately left the venue. Ten minutes later, the French police station sent nine people, including a French chief inspector, two French detectives, two Chinese detectives, a French soldier, and three translators, to surround Li Hanjun's home and enter the room for search and questioning. They rummaged through the boxes and cabinets for more than an hour. Except for some books introducing and promoting socialism, they found no suspicious items. There was a draft of the party's program in a drawer in the room. Because it was messily edited and the handwriting was blurry, the people in the patrol room regarded it as insignificant waste paper and stepped on it. The intruders found nothing, and after leaving, they set up hidden sentries around the house to monitor the movements of people entering and exiting.
No. 2, Laoyuyangli - the central work department in the lane
At about 12 o'clock that night, the representatives came to the editor of "New Youth" at No. 2, Laoyuyangli. It is also the residence of Chen Duxiu.
Laoyuyangli No. 2 is not far from the venue. On May 22, the reporter spent some time looking for it among the narrow and busy roads in the old city of Shanghai. At the fruit stall facing the street on Huaihai Middle Road, a fat aunt in her sixties was sitting in the lane enjoying the cool air. She didn't know where No. 2 in Lao Yuyangli was, but she asked, "Are you looking for Chen Duxiu's old house? Hey, there is a sign at the door over there." The old lady smiled. After only ten steps, the reporter saw the birthplace of China's first communist group - the editorial office of "New Youth". The black door was closed tightly, with a rusty door knocker attached to it. It looked like an ordinary old-fashioned wall door in a Shanghai neighborhood. Only a white marble commemorative plaque on the left can still indicate that this is the editorial office of "New Youth" and Chen Duxiu's residence. The reporter knocked hard on the door knocker, and a sleepy-eyed woman appeared in the door. She said: "There are too many people coming to visit." She pointed to the room where she lived and said: "There is also a commemorative plaque inside." Five The six-square-meter room is filled with some household items. On the couch, a white marble sign tells people that this humble room was once the location of the Central Work Department and Mao Zedong also worked here.
After the representatives of the "First National Congress" disappeared into the night, they gathered in this room and decided to move the meeting location. A few days later, the Communist Party of China was born on a cruise ship in Nanhu, Jiaxing.
History is like an old man, arranging everything calmly. Although the delegates did not suffer direct losses due to the intrusion of French patrols, both the delegates and the meeting venue were under surveillance, and the meeting could no longer continue in Shanghai. For safety reasons, the location of the meeting must be changed. Some people proposed to move to Hangzhou to continue the meeting, but everyone felt that Hangzhou was too prosperous and easily exposed. Later, Li Da’s wife Wang Huiwu suggested that the conference could be moved to her hometown of Nanhu, Jiaxing, Zhejiang. Jiaxing Nanhu has a quiet environment with few tourists. It is also close to Shanghai and has convenient transportation. Deputies followed her advice.
The vast Shanghai—searching for the descendants of representatives
The interview with the “Big One” of the Communist Party of China has been going on for two days. The reporter shuttled through the bustling streets and lanes of Shanghai, Finally, we were able to interview all the old sites and many insiders. But there is a thought that has been lingering in our hearts: "One big" means whether there are still descendants alive? Although it has been 80 years since the "Big One" today, we seem to have a hunch that in the vast sea of ????people in Shanghai, we will definitely find the descendants of the "Big One" representatives. It turns out our hunch was correct. Just when we were about to leave Shanghai, we met Chen Shaokang, a researcher at the memorial hall at the conference site. He revealed that among the 13 representatives of the "First National Congress" of the Communist Party of China, the children of two representatives live in Shanghai. One is Wang Jinmei’s son Wang Jie, and the other is Liu Renjing’s daughter Liu Wenlan. With Mr. Chen's unswerving help, and after many twists and turns, the reporter finally got their home phone numbers. The two old men heard that they wanted to talk about their fathers and readily agreed.
On the night of May 22, the reporter drove to Kangping Road to look for Wang Jie, the son of Wang Jinmei, the “big” representative of the Chinese Communist Party. When the taxi driver in Shanghai heard that he was going to Kangping Road, he was in awe: "This is what people live there." He gave a thumbs up. 80 years have passed, and the nights in Shanghai are still cool and humid. However, the concession is gone. Along the way, the foreign office buildings along the street tower into the sky, but it is already a different world. Wang Jie is already over seventy years old. He was still in his mother's womb when Wang Jinmei rushed to Shanghai to attend the "Big One" of the Chinese Communist Party of China. The old man was a cadre who went south with the army, and was later transferred to the Shanghai Transportation Bureau as director. Today he still maintains the habits of a soldier: wearing military trousers and cloth shoes, he is easy-going and approachable, with a Shandong accent and a loud voice. Talking about Wang Jinmei, the old man nodded and smiled: "I was only three years old when my father passed away. I don't know everything about it. I mostly listened to what my grandma told me." Wang Jinmei's portrait hangs prominently on the wall. Wang Jie said that this photo was saved by his grandmother after hiding it in the earthen wall of her hometown. Wang Jinmei has been away from home for a long time to carry out party activities in Jinan. The reactionary army knew that Wang Jinmei was a member of the Communist Party and often harassed his ancestral home in Ju County. On one occasion, they even kidnapped Wang Jie's grandmother. Fortunately, the neighbors raised some money to redeem her.
The old man still remembered the last words Wang Jinmei left when he passed away. Although the suicide note did not mention his family, it expressed the most sincere wish of a Communist Party member "to realize the great ideal of communism." struggle".
When we said goodbye, Mr. Wang Jie stubbornly wanted to go to the door of his house and watch us leave.
On May 23, the last morning of our reporter’s stay in Shanghai, we visited Liu Renjing’s daughter Liu Wenlan. The name felt so familiar. The community on Anshun Road is surrounded by green trees and the birds are singing. Not long after Liu Wenlan moved into his new home, the house was fresh and bright. She looks very much like Liu Renjing in the photo. Liu Wenlan and her husband Chen Liangting have collaborated on the translation of books such as "Gone with the Wind" and "The Godfather", so it is not surprising that their names are familiar to others. When it comes to engaging in translation work, Liu Wenlan said: "It was influenced by my father." Liu Wenlan told many interesting things in Liu Renjing's life with great interest. Liu Renjing once went to Shanghai with his wife to visit his daughter and son-in-law. He and his son-in-law Chen Liangting were sitting on a tricycle, and while they were talking, Liu Renjing asked coldly: "Are you a party member?" Chen Liangting said: "No." Liu Renjing stopped talking. Liu Wenlan said with a smile: "Later, my wife said that my father was unhappy when he heard that he was not a party member, but he still believed in the party." Regrettably, on August 5, 1987, the 85-year-old Liu Renjing While going out for exercise in the early morning, he was unfortunately hit by a bus and died. Liu Wenlan said: "My father's memorial service was held in Babaoshan." When we said goodbye, we saw Liu Renjing's granddaughter Chen Zaorong creating a watercolor painting with the theme of the "Big One" of the Chinese Communist Party: against the background of apricot yellow, Reflecting the faint background of the "Big One" meeting place, a ball of bright red flames set off the sickle and hammer, ready to burst out. She said: "This was created to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the founding of the Party."
Nanhu Huafang - the cradle of the Communist Party of China
It was nearly noon on May 23, In front of the venue of the National Congress of the Communist Party of China, there is a huge flow of people. Dong Biwu's inscription "The beginning is simple, the end is huge" is hung at the end of the exhibition hall. Facing it is the exquisite painting boat on the South Lake.
Jiaxing South Lake is connected to the Grand Canal and is divided into east and west parts. It is shaped like two birds crossing their necks, so it is elegantly called Yuanyang Lake. Compared with Hangzhou West Lake, Jiaxing South Lake looks small and exquisite. The lake area is not large. It was falsely claimed to be 800 acres back then, but now it is accurately measured to be 624 acres through aerial photography. Looking around, the lake is surrounded by a circle of weeping willows.
On July 30, 1921, after the Shanghai Wangzhi Road venue was damaged, Wang Huiwu and some representatives rushed to Jiaxing in advance, rented two rooms at the Yuanhu Hotel in Zhangjialong in the city, and I asked the hotel clerk to hire a boat. Another group of representatives went to Shanghai North Railway Station the next day and took the bus south. Chen Gongbo, because of the unexpected events during the meeting on the evening of the 30th, and another murder case at dawn on the 31st at the Dadong Hotel where he was staying, he avoided Hangzhou with lingering fear and went to Lingyin Temple to rest in peace. It was inconvenient for Marin and Nikolsky to continue attending the meeting without them.
In the old town of Jiaxing City, the reporter found the road that was called Zhangjialong at that time. Now Jiaxing has widened it and renamed it "Qinjian Road". According to local chroniclers, Zhangjia Along was the busiest place in Jiaxing City in the old days, with opera singers, magicians, and storytellers all gathering together. The Yuanhu Hotel that Wang Huiwu rented back then had a relatively high "star rating" in the local area. However, its prosperity can only be seen in the exhibition hall of Nanhu Memorial Hall: a two-story cloister-like structure, quite impressive. In the 1950s, the old city of Jiaxing was renovated, and the Yuanhu Hotel soon disappeared. After asking the older generation, I found out that its location was the People's Theater on Qinjian Road today. On the morning of May 25, reporters found a group of theater staff removing and washing seat covers at the back door of the People's Theatre. An old worker in his fifties said that the Yuanhu Hotel is here, and its history is long. It used to be opposite the Wufangzhai Zongzi Shop, which was very busy, but was later demolished.
The representatives of the "big" Chinese Communist Party who rushed to Jiaxing City may have walked slowly from the reporter's position to the Shizihui Ferry in Nanhu, creating a great history. The Yanyu Tower on the island in the middle of the lake in Nanhu has now become a place for sightseeing. The exquisite boat in the southeast is parked on the shore. The staff of the Nanhu Revolution Memorial Hall said: "The red boat was docked about a hundred meters in front and behind here. At that time, this place "It's very secluded."
At around 10 a.m. on July 31, 1921, the representatives arrived at Jiaxing Station. After taking a short rest at the Yuanhu Hotel near Nanhu Lake, they borrowed a small boat and boarded the rental car. The medium-sized boat below. It was a cloudy day with occasional light rain. There were four or five cruise boats on the lake. The representatives asked the boat owners to moor the boats in relatively secluded waters and use poles to anchor them. The mooring boat faces the Yanyu Tower on the central island of Nanhu Lake diagonally to the southeast. The drizzle on the lake is like silk, and it sounds like a sergeant rushing away. Wang Huiwu sat on the bow of the boat and watched the wind. During the meeting, he also deliberately poured the mahjong tiles he brought on the table to hide them from others. The cabin is resplendent with gold and gold, and every pillar is engraved with a golden coiled dragon. The four walls are carved with golden flowers, cattle, figures and birds. The horizontal plaque is engraved with "Lake Guangming Yue".
Get rid of the following spies, far away from the hustle and bustle of people and cars, Shanghai is so peaceful and beautiful, with emerald green water chestnut leaves floating on the light green lake, the last meeting of the "Big One" of the Chinese Communist Party It's held right here. In the afternoon, there are more and more small cruise boats, and the lake is filled with the sound of gramophones singing Beijing opera, wine, dragons, poems, and tigers, and Hulu drinking pheasants, making it all noisy.
At around 5 o'clock, a small boat appeared on the lake. The representatives thought it was a government patrol boat and temporarily stopped the meeting. When they learned that it was a private yacht, the meeting continued as usual. The "waste paper" ignored by the secret agent became a document that the representatives carefully considered every word. The meeting adopted the "First Program of the Communist Party of China". The first article of the "Program" is: The party shall be named "The Communist Party of China." The party platform clearly states the political propositions of the Communist Party of China, and stipulates the goals, organizational principles and relations of the Communist Party of China with other political parties. The Communist Party of China was theoretically established based on Marxist theory. Then on the cruise ship in Nanhu, the "First Resolution of the Communist Party of China" was also passed and the party's central body was elected.
At 6 p.m., the epoch-making "First National Congress" of the Chinese Communist Party came to a successful conclusion, and the representatives left Jiaxing City that night.
The Communist Party of China was proclaimed.
The painting boat swaying gently in the waves became the cradle of the Communist Party of China