A Fund-Raising Notice for the Shanghai
Work-Study Mutual Aid Society (March 5,1920)75
In Chinese society today, educated people cannot do manual labor, and laborers
cannot get education. Because those who are educated do not toil, education has almost
become something that creates hooligans. Because the laborers are not educated, an
occupation has almost become something that creates slaves.
The current Chinese educational system does not allow students to earn a living
while going to school; and once one starts working, he cannot go back to school. If you
cannot work during the time you study, knowledge becomes formalistic and mechanical;
if you cannot go to school when you are working, knowledge is neither continuing nor
progressive.
Thus, education and occupation clash with each other, and living and study clash
with each other. How then can they be considered rational education and proper living? In order to find a method for combining education and occupation, learning and
livelihood, we are establishing this mutual aid society so that all young Shanghai men
and women imbued with the new thought can shake off the various economic and ideological fetters placed on them by the old society and the old family system. In their
stead, there will emerge a new life and a new organization, to carry out the method of
part-work, part-study, and of mutual aid. This is our only purpose as the initiators of
this project.
But at this preparatory stage, we need 1,000 yuan for expenses. If you agree with
our purpose and are willing to help ordinary young people, we would greatly appreciate
it if you could show your support in economic terms!
SUMMARY REGULATIONS OF THE SHANGHAI
WORK-STUDY MUTUAL AID SOCIETY
1. Purpose — This society has as its purpose part-work and part-study to provide
mutual help and assistance.
2. Membership — All those who volunteer to join us need three members’ recommendations, and need to be approved by the entire body of the society in order
to be admitted as members.
3. Service — Every member must work six hours every day. If the living expenses
cannot be covered by this, the number of hours worked may be increased temporarily after discussion by the members.
4. Privileges — Members’ daily needs for clothing, food, lodging, and tuition, as
well as medical and book costs are provided by the society, but books will be
owned by the collective.
5. Kinds of Work — These can be classified for the time being under four headings:
6. A restaurant for ordinary people;
7. A laundry;
8. A lithographic printing shop;
9. Selling goods and books and magazines.
10. Work — All income will be held in common by the society.
11. Facilities — A reading room and a club will be set up.
12. Organization — Several officers will be elected to discuss important
business of the society. Among them, there will be a chief accountant in charge of
the finances of the society as a whole; several business accountants in charge of the
finances of each section; several officers in charge of general affairs, responsible for
purchases and sales and various matters of each section. The officers are to be elected
once a month.
1. Regulations — If any member is found to be lazy at work, aside from private
admonitions, the officers may call a general meeting and reprimand him as a
body. If he still makes no effort to perform his duties after three admonitions, he
will be asked to leave the society.
2. Leaving the Society — Members are free to leave the society upon submitting a
statement of reasons.
3. Number of Members — This is temporarily limited to forty, but when funds
allow, we will consider increasing the number.
4. Supplementary Articles — These summary regulations may be added to or
changed by a joint decision of the members.

--- Notes

75 Regarding Cao Kun, see the note to Mao’s letter of July 18, 1916. As indicated there, Cao was
a leader of the Zhili clique. Since Zhang Jingyao was a protege of Duan Qirui of the rival Anfu clique,
it was hoped that Cao’s sympathies would lie with the delegation to oust Governor Zhang. In fact the
Hunanese were successful in gaining the support of Cao Kun’s principal subordinate, the commander
in chief of his best troops, Wu Peifu. Cao had recently been given the resounding ancient title of “high
commissioner (jinglueshi) of the four provinces” by Duan Qirui, in a futile effort to conciliate him.