Meaning: The entire Chinese people were silent and indifferent to the demise of Liu Hezhen and other young students, and even regarded these as after-dinner talk. Liu Hezhen and others broke out in silence, while the ignorant people perished in silence.

Appreciation of the original sentence:

1. This is an angry accusation against the crimes of the reactionaries. This is not to praise "silence", but to express great indignation at the dark silence caused by the high-pressure policies of the Chinese reactionaries. Judging from the connection with the latter sentence, the first "Silent" is deeply emotional and has a strong exclamation element; the second "Silent" is more emotional and has more prominent anger.

2. In order to awaken the people, the author points out two futures of "silence" at the end: one is to explode, and the other is to perish. Judging from the sentence pattern, it is a choice of complex sentences, indicating that there is only one possibility. On the surface, the author is not sure which one, and seems to objectively point out two different development prospects for declining nations, but in fact it implies that only "explosion" is the only way out.

Extended information:

1. "Silence, silence! If you don't break out in silence, you will perish in silence." From "In Memory of Mr. Liu Hezhen".

2. Creation background:

(1) The article "In Memory of Mr. Liu Hezhen" was written after the March 18th Massacre. In March 1926, the Feng Faction warlords invaded the pass with the support of Japanese imperialism, and the National Army led by Feng Yuxiang fought against the Feng Army. The Japanese imperialists openly aided Feng's army, sending warships to Dagukou and shelling the Nationalist Army, killing and wounding more than ten defenders. The Nationalist Army fired back in self-defense and drove the Japanese warship out of Dagu Pass.

(2) Afterwards, Japan believed that the National Army had violated the "Xin Chou Treaty", and together with the envoys of eight countries including Britain, the United States, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Spain, on the 16th, they reported to the Beiyang warlord Duan Qi The Swiss ruling government issued an ultimatum, making various unreasonable demands such as demolishing defense facilities in Dagukou, and ordered a reply within 48 hours, otherwise it would be resolved by force. At the same time, various countries sent warships to gather in Dagukou to threaten the Beiyang government with force.