The Great Union of the Popular Masses (III)

(August 4, 1919)

The Situation of China's "Great Union of the Popular Masses"

In the previous two issues of this newspaper, we have already discussed (1) the possibility and necessity of the great union of the popular masses, and (2) that the great union of the popular masses must take the small union of the popular masses as its foundation. Now we shall proceed to discuss the great union of our nation's popular masses. Do we ultimately possess this awareness? Do we have this motive? Do we have this capability? Can we achieve success?

(1) Do we ultimately possess this awareness regarding our nation's "great union of the popular masses"? The 1911 Revolution[1] may appear to have been a union of the masses, but in truth, it was not. The 1911 Revolution was orchestrated by returned students, clamored for by the Elder Brothers Society,[2] and brought about by some soldiers of the New Army and patrol and defense battalions brandishing their swords and bows. It had no relation whatsoever to the great majority of our popular masses. Although we endorsed their ideology, we were never active. Nor did they require our activity. Yet we did gain a layer of awareness: we came to understand that even an emperor, deemed divinely wise and martial, could be overthrown. Democracy, once considered a great heresy and crime, could also be established. We had words to speak and deeds to do, and we could speak and do them at any time. After the 1911 Revolution, in the Bingchen year (1916), we once again toppled an Emperor Hongxian.[1] Although this too was accomplished by a minority, we further realized that even so majestically imposing an Emperor Hongxian could indeed be struck down. In recent years, with the outbreak of the civil war between the North and South, and the World War, things became ever more different. The outcome of the North-South civil war provided irrefutable proof that the bureaucrats, militarists, and politicians were harming us, poisoning us, exploiting us. As a result of the World War, the popular masses in various countries, tormented by existential suffering, suddenly initiated numerous movements. In Russia, they overthrew the nobility and expelled the rich; laborers and peasants jointly established the Soviet Government.[2] The Red Army dashed east and surged west, sweeping away countless enemies, causing the Allied Powers to change their countenance and shaking the entire world. Hungary rose up, and a brand-new Labor-Peasant Government emerged in Budapest.[3] The Germans, Austrians, and Czechs responded, exerting their utmost strength to fight fiercely against their domestic enemy factions. The towering waves advanced westward, then turned eastward. In Britain, France, Italy, and America, large-scale strikes unfolded, and in India and Korea, significant revolutions erupted. A new force arose suddenly; between China's Great Wall and the Bohai Sea, the "May Fourth" Movement broke out. Its banners marched southward, crossing the Yellow River to reach the Yangtze. In Huangpu and Hankou, dramatic events repeatedly played out; by Dongting Lake and the Min River, a higher tide surged forth. Heaven and Earth were revived by it, the treacherous and evil were repelled. Ah! We know now! We are awake now! The world is our world. The nation is our nation. The society is our society. If we do not speak, who will speak? If we do not act, who will act? The great union of the popular masses brooks no delay; we must actively carry it forward!

(2) Has the great union of our nation's popular masses already developed this motive? To this question, I directly answer, "Yes." If you gentlemen do not believe me, listen to my explanation—

Tracing the origins of the union of our nation's popular masses, one must point to the establishment of the Advisory Councils[1] at the end of the Qing dynasty and the formation of the revolutionary party—the Revolutionary Alliance.[2] The existence of the Advisory Councils led to the joint petition by the provincial Advisory Councils for the early convening of a national assembly. The existence of the revolutionary party led to the call to raise armies domestically and abroad to expel the Manchus. The 1911 Revolution was a play jointly staged by the revolutionary party and the Advisory Councils, a "gala at the Yellow Dragon."[3] Subsequently, the revolutionary party evolved into the Kuomintang, and the Advisory Councils evolved into the Progressive Party,[4] marking the beginning of political parties in our Chinese Republic. From then on, with the establishment of the Republic, the central government convened a National Assembly, and each province convened a Provincial Assembly. Around this time, three more types of organizations were formed in each province: the Provincial Educational Association, the Provincial Chamber of Commerce, and the Provincial Peasant Association. (A few provinces had Provincial Labor Unions; in several provinces, laborers were grouped within the Peasant Association, as in Hunan.) Simultaneously, each county established a County Educational Association, a County Chamber of Commerce, and a County Peasant Association. (Some counties lacked these.) These were very stable and powerful kinds of solidarity. Beyond these, various groups organized based on their respective circumstances and positions emerged, such as:

- Alumni associations in various schools,
- Native-place associations in cities other than one's own,
- General associations and branches for students studying abroad,
- The Shanghai Daily Newspaper Guild,
- The World Chinese Students' Association,
- The Beijing and Shanghai European and American Returned Students' Associations,
- The Beijing Sino-French Education Society,
- Various academic societies (like the Strength Society, the Broad Learning Society, the Southern Study Society, the Aspiration Society, the China Vocational Education Society, the China Science Society, the Asian Civilization Association…),
- Various trade associations (for different trades in industry and commerce, like the Bankers' Association, the Rice Traders' Association…),
- Various research societies within schools (like the Painting Research Society and the Philosophy Research Society at Peking University… there are dozens),
- Various clubs…

These are all products of the recent political and ideological opening up, things absolutely prohibited and impossible during the era of autocratic rule. Those listed above are all quite simple, equivalent to what the previous issue of this newspaper called "small unions." Recently, due to political turmoil and pressure from foreign aggression, our awareness has increased further, and thus, the motive for a great union has finally emerged. Look at organizations like:

- The National Federation of Provincial Educational Associations,
- The National Federation of Chambers of Commerce,
- The Seventy-Two Trades Association in Guangzhou, the Federation of Fifty-Three Public Bodies in Shanghai,
- The Federation of Commerce, Education, Industry, and Press,
- The National Federated Press Union,
- The National Association for the Promotion of Peace,
- The National Peace Federation,
- The Beijing Sino-French Association,
- The National Diplomatic Association,
- The Hunan Reconstruction Association (in Shanghai),
- The Shandong Association (in Shanghai),
- The Students' Unions of Beijing, Shanghai, and various provinces and treaty ports,
- The United Associations of All Circles, the All-China Students' Federation…

These various guilds, societies, departments, associations, and federations, inevitably contain many non-popular-mass "gentlemen" and "politicians." (For instance, the Parliament, Provincial Assemblies, Provincial Educational Associations, Provincial Peasant Associations, the National Association for the Promotion of Peace, the National Peace Federation, etc., are entirely gentlemen's associations or politicians' associations.) However, trade associations for various industries, various academic societies, research societies, etc., are purely assemblies of common people and scholars. The most recently produced entities, like the Students' Unions and the United Associations of All Circles, are even more purely popular mass unions formed in response to domestic and foreign oppressors. I believe the motive for the great union of the Chinese popular masses is truly embedded here.

(3) Regarding advancing our nation's "great union of the popular masses," do we ultimately possess this capability? Can we ultimately achieve success? When it comes to capability, doubts inevitably arise. Originally, our countrymen only knew how to pursue individually the most unprofitable and worthless private gains. Merchants did not know to establish companies, workers did not know to form labor parties, scholars only knew the old method of working behind closed doors, not knowing to conduct collaborative research. Our countrymen were simply incapable of engaging in large-scale, organized undertakings. Politics could not be managed well, needless to say. The postal service and salt administration achieved some results only by relying on foreigners. Though the maritime ban has been lifted for so long, we still haven't sent a single small steamer to Europa. The country's sole "China Merchants' Steamship Navigation Company"[1] and the "Hanyeping Coal and Iron Company" still operate at a loss year after year; unable to sustain the losses, they take in foreign shares. Railways under foreign management tend to be cleaner, better equipped, and have better staff. Once a railway falls under the management of the Ministry of Communications, it deteriorates; people traveling on the Beijing-Hankou, Tianjin-Pukou, and Wuchang-Changsha lines invariably snort through their noses and gnash their teeth! The rest is much the same: schools can't be run well, local self-government can't be managed well, even a single family can't be managed well, nor can an individual conduct himself well—uniformly, they are all "birds of a feather." How on earth can we successfully achieve the great union of the popular masses? How can we contend with the deeply entrenched and firmly rooted oppressors?

Even so, it is not that we are fundamentally incapable. The reason for our lack of capability is that "we haven't practiced."

Originally, for thousands of years, the several hundred million people of the Chinese nation have all lived slave lives, with only one non-slave: the "Emperor." (Or it can be said the Emperor was also the slave of "Heaven.") When the Emperor ruled, we were forbidden to practice our capabilities. In politics, academia, society, and so on, we were forbidden to have thoughts, to organize, to practice.

Now, however, it is different. Liberation is demanded in all aspects. The liberation of thought, political liberation, economic liberation, the liberation of men and women, the liberation of education—all must emerge from the deepest unjust prisons to behold the blue sky. Our Chinese nation inherently possesses great capabilities! The deeper the oppression, the greater the reaction; having been pent-up for so long, its eruption is bound to be swift. I dare to speak a strange prophecy: in the future, the reform of the Chinese nation will be more thorough than that of any other nation. The society of the Chinese nation will be more radiant than that of any other nation. The great union of the Chinese nation will succeed earlier than in any other region or for any other nation. Gentlemen! Gentlemen! We must always exert ourselves! We must always strive forward with all our might! Our golden world, our world of brilliant splendor, lies just ahead! (End)

[1] The 1911 Revolution refers to the revolution led by the United League, the bourgeois political party headed by Sun Yat-sen, which overthrew the autocratic rule of the Qing dynasty. On October 10, 1911, revolutionaries instigated a revolt by the New Army in Wuchang, Hubei. Subsequently, various provinces responded warmly, rapidly disintegrating Qing reactionary rule. In January 1912, the Provisional Government of the Republic of China was established in Nanjing, with Sun Yat-sen assuming the office of Provisional President. Thereby, more than two thousand years of Chinese feudal monarchy ended, and the concept of a democratic republic took deep root in people's hearts.

[2] The Elder Brothers Society (Gelaohui), a folk secret society existing since the Qing dynasty. Active in Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou, Sichuan, and other provinces. Its members were mostly bankrupt peasants, artisans, and lumpenproletarians, with some landlord gentry also mixed in. Initially aimed at "overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming." After the failure of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, members often participated in peasant uprisings and struggles against foreign religions. During the 1911 Revolution, some members, influenced and led by revolutionaries, participated in armed uprisings multiple times. Later, they were often manipulated and exploited by reactionary forces.

[1] On December 12, 1915, Yuan Shikai announced the restoration of the imperial system, decreeing that from New Year's Day 1916, the Republic calendar would be abolished and replaced with the Hongxian calendar, officially proclaiming himself emperor. This provoked nationwide resistance, leaving him abandoned by his followers. On March 22, 1916, Yuan Shikai announced the cancellation of the imperial system.

[2] This refers to the Government of the Russian Soviet Republic established after the October Revolution of 1917—the Council of People's Commissars. Lenin was elected Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars.

[3] This refers to the Government of the Hungarian Soviet Republic established on March 21, 1919. It was the second state power under the dictatorship of the proletariat, following Soviet Russia. Under armed intervention by foreign imperialists and sabotage by internal counter-revolutionaries, it was overthrown on August 1 of the same year.

[1] The Advisory Councils were local advisory bodies established by the Qing government in preparation for constitutional monarchy. They were set up successively in various provinces starting in 1909. Members were mostly officials, gentry, and upper-class bourgeois, serving three-year terms. The councils were nominally empowered to discuss matters concerning provincial administrative reforms, public debt, and taxation, but could practically only offer suggestions for the governor-general's consideration and could not supervise local administration. After the 1911 Wuchang Uprising, many provincial Advisory Councils instigated governors-general to break away from the Qing government and declare independence.

[2] The Revolutionary Alliance refers to the United League (Tongmenghui), founded in August 1905 in Tokyo, Japan, under Sun Yat-sen's initiative, based on the societies for China's revival (Xingzhonghui and Huaxinghui) and with the participation of the Restoration Society (Guangfuhui). Its guiding principles were: "Expel the Manchus, restore China, establish a republic, and equalize land rights." After its founding, the United League initiated numerous armed uprisings against Qing rule. In August 1912, it was reorganized into the Kuomintang.

[3] Cf. History of the Song Dynasty, "Biography of Yue Fei": "The Jin general Han Chang wished to defect with fifty thousand men. Fei was overjoyed and spoke to his subordinates, saying: 'We shall proceed directly to the Yellow Dragon Prefecture and drink heartily with you gentlemen!'"

[4] In 1913, under Yuan Shikai's manipulation, the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, and others united to form the Progressive Party. Li Yuanhong served as the nominal director, while the real power holders were Tang Hualong, Zhang Jian, Liang Qichao, Xiong Xiling, and others. When Sun Yat-sen launched the "Second Revolution" against Yuan, this party allied with Yuan Shikai and opposed the Kuomintang. After Yuan's death, the Progressive Party, under the banner of "studying the Constitution," formed the Constitutional Research Society, commonly known as the "Research Clique."

[1] The China Merchants' Steamship Navigation Company, full name Steamship Merchandising Bureau, was the largest steamship shipping enterprise established in the late Qing dynasty. Founded in 1872 through Li Hongzhang's efforts to attract merchant investment, it formally commenced operations in 1873. Its head office was located in Shanghai.