Kang Youwei[1], incensed by the news that Guangzhou was demolishing the Minglun Hall[2] to make way for a new road, sent a telegram to Cen and Wu[3], denouncing their action as “insulting the sage and destroying moral principles.” He declared, “Having traveled extensively throughout various countries, I have never heard of such a thing.” Indeed, Mr. Kang’s words ring true: one may travel the globe and still find no trace of Confucius—let alone any Minglun Halls.

Printed in the inaugural issue of the Xiangjiang Review on July 14, 1919, under the signature Zedong.

Notes

[1] Kang Youwei: see note [4] on page 10 of this book.

[2] Minglun Hall: the main hall of Confucian temples across China in former times.

[3] Cen refers to Cen Chunxuan (1861–1933), originally named Chunze and styled Yunjie, a native of Xilin County in Guangxi. He had previously held government posts in Beijing and at the time served as Chairman of the Executive Council of the Constitutional Protection Military Government in Guangzhou. Wu refers to Wu Tingfang (1842–1922), styled Wenjue and known by the pseudonym Zhiyong, a native of Xinhui in Guangdong. At that time, he was one of the seven chairmen of the same government, concurrently serving as both Foreign Minister and Finance Minister.