Chapter 79 Where Is My Home?
"Where is my home? My home is in China, and I have always quietly said this to myself. Today, I proudly say it again. What am I? I am a Chinese person, with yellow skin and black eyes, an unchanging descendant of the Yan and Huang emperors, a child of the Huaxia nation, with a heavy heart full of China."
"For five thousand years, the majestic China has weathered every storm and turmoil, yet our nation's backbone remains unbroken. We bear painful memories: the Five Barbarians' invasion of China, the Three Massacres of Jiading, the Ten Days of Yangzhou - still, we descendants of the Yan and Huang Emperors have endured through the tempests to reach today. Our bodies carry too much of the past: Zhuge Liang's star fell at Wuzhang Plains, the grandeur of the Han Dynasty's heroic spirit gradually fading into the distance. Zhang Xun gave his life for the city of Luoyang, defending the dignity of the Tang Dynasty."
"Rather be a southern ghost than a northern king", from Shi Kefa to Zhang Cangshui, among the Chinese nation, there are not only six great treacherous kings who crave for vanity, but also heroes of majestic mountains and rivers. One can destroy a nation, but cannot make a nation surrender, this is our Chinese nation.
"Lu You's sorrowful and hateful gaze at the Central Plains". Dead, I know all things are empty, but what I regret is not seeing the unity of the nine provinces. Even a scholar can still have a bloodthirsty nature; "Shi Hu goes on an envoy to Bianliang day". With a heart that must die, defend the dignity of the Chinese nation. The bridge north and south of the city is Tianjie, every year the old folks wait for the return of the carriage, holding back tears and asking the envoy in a trembling voice: when will there truly be six armies coming?
"Sighs of Wu Mu's Wind and Wave Pavilion". A generation of famous generals dedicated their loyalty to the country, how can Yue Fei's heart be sighed? "One battle at Cliff Mountain, no more China". The fall of a nation and the fall of the world, one battle at Cliff Mountain, what was lost was the Han people's world. Over 100,000 Han people died at sea, from then on, there was no more China, only the fusion of Huaxia afterwards. "Sorrow and hatred continue, exhausted and worn out", defending the dignity of Huaxia until death in a foreign land, can two heroes like Li Dingguo be called fighting against the Qing dynasty?
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Inside the Industrial University, Zhang Yu had his first face-to-face exchange with many students. At that time, in this coastal province where public sentiment was surging against the powerful enemies, at a time when the Chinese nation was united and vowed to take back its dignity, when imperialism trampled on China's dignity, people within the autonomous region also inevitably resonated with it.
"I believe many people do not fully understand the terms 'Zhonghua' and 'Huaxia'. What exactly does China refer to? What are Zhonghua and Huaxia, after all? I believe everyone present thinks that a country is a nation composed of Han people, an ethnic group is a big family composed of Han people. I must admit that the Han ethnicity is indeed an important part of this great nation of Huaxia, but not the entirety..."
"Fellow students present here, there are Zhuang, Yao, Miao and many more ethnic groups. Are we to say that you are not a branch of the Chinese nation? A member of the descendants of Huaxia? We have even more provinces, Yunnan, Guizhou, Gansu, Xinjiang and so on, these places also have many more ethnic groups, these ethnic groups are naturally also members of the Chinese nation, because in the five thousand years of integration, we no longer distinguish between you and me, we have a common script, common ancestors, common language, we are the masters of this land, we are one family!"
Zhang Yu did not discuss with his classmates how to respond to the contempt of imperialism towards China, but instead sat down and talked about internal issues within the nation. Countless facts have proven that there is no country or nation that can destroy China, and the only possibility that can lead to the decline of the Chinese nation and make it suffer from bullying is that problems arise within the nation itself.
"Japan is just a clown in Asia, the United States is only a country of speculative dreamers, England and France are all appearance without substance. They want to suppress our country and make our nation lose its dignity, just to find the self-importance they can't get from themselves. They are afraid that China will become strong and threaten their hard-won status, because once China becomes strong, they will not be able to feel a sense of self-success, but instead will feel ashamed in front of China."
"So, they hope that the Chinese nation will always be in internal turmoil and never stop, to eliminate the high sense of national self-esteem and pride in the bones of the Chinese nation, and let the second generation, third generation and more Chinese descendants slowly shrink down, willing to live a life without dignity or sovereignty. But what they did not expect is that we Chinese are getting stronger when encountering strong opponents!"
"I acknowledge the students, workers and merchants in provinces and cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. As members of the Chinese nation, they are all good people who have made the loudest calls for the rise of the nation, but I do not agree with their methods."
Zhang Yu also used to be a university student, and the green years of university life, that impulsive life, is unforgettable. Of course, he can also better understand the hearts of many students in the hall today.
"We must make it clear why we read books today? Is it for ourselves to live a good life? Or to fulfill our responsibilities as citizens? And another point, why does our government implement free education? I want to hear from you, who can express why they read books, why they struggle, and how to become a member of China and contribute their abilities to make the country rich and strong, and the nation rejuvenated..."
As soon as Zhang Yu finished speaking, hundreds of people in the venue raised their hands to speak. "Why don't we ask one male and one female student to represent the only two major different 'groups' among our Chinese children?" Zhang Yu made a timely joke, then gestured for a boy and a girl from the first row to come on stage to speak, with the boy voluntarily letting the girl go first according to the principle of ladies first.
Wearing a clean white long dress, it's clear that she is also about to graduate from university. In the final year of study, there are more considerations besides learning, and waiting for job assignments has become another important point after studying. However, these are not important yet. The female student bowed slightly to thank everyone, smiled faintly, and prepared to begin her speech.
"Hello everyone, I am Yan Yan from the Accounting Department of the School of Economics and Management, class of 1921. I'm very happy to share with you our understanding of the issue of Commander Zhang. Here, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to our government, our party, and our military. Without them, we wouldn't be able to study in such a great environment. As a party member now, I will continue to carry on the great cause of the party..."
"Firstly, I regret that I am unable to provide good answers to General Zhang's series of questions. But I deeply understand that without dignity and freedom, what is the point of existence for an individual, a nation, or a country? Without science and democracy, without education that symbolizes progress for all people and an army that defends national sovereignty and interests, how can our Chinese nation continue to exist until today? It is impossible for one person to never make mistakes in their lifetime, and it is also unrealistic for a nation to prosper forever. However, we can correct our mistakes and move towards a better and more stable life, and our nation can reflect on past mistakes and rise again to achieve greater prosperity."
"So, my point is that as a member of the Chinese people, what we should do is to cherish the current stability and peace, make good use of our advanced scientific knowledge, and play a better role in our own posts. To arm people with advanced knowledge, guide people with progressive public opinion, lead people with correct thought... This is what our party is doing, and it's also what we should do. Every individual should give out their light and heat, and when the 400 million people are connected together, they will emit dazzling brilliance, and unity of mind will inspire awe!"
"We were born destined to be a member of the Chinese nation, with the blood of Yan and Huang flowing through our veins. In times when the country is poor and weak, we should read books for the rise of China and strive for the revival of China. Remembering the disasters and humiliation that our nation has suffered, let these injustices inspire us to move forward even more bravely... Finally, I also believe that the party and government's implementation of free education is aimed at cultivating a large number of useful talents for the cause of China's revival, so that more Chinese children can contribute their talents to this common motherland, rather than going out to parade and waste time. Why not take this opportunity to study hard and reflect on why the imperial powers humiliated China?"
The female student bowed again to thank everyone, this is the courtesy that should be in a country of etiquette, and it is also the concept followed by the autonomous region's education department. Respect for teachers and equality between men and women are not only advocated by Gongda, but also required by all schools under the jurisdiction of the entire autonomous region's education department. In 1921, there will be 102 female students graduating from Gongda, although the number is far less than that of male students, but looking at the students receiving compulsory education, in some counties and cities, the proportion of girls is even higher, all of which prove that the autonomous region is step by step building a more beautiful modern education.
"I am Rongke Ying from the Mechanical Design and Manufacturing 21 class of the School of Mechanical Engineering at Gongda. I'm very grateful to have the opportunity to stand on this stage and discuss some issues with you all at the time of graduation. In this testing time for our nation, I even more agree that we should be more radical in dealing with problems rather than retreating and yielding."
"Although this proposal of mine may not be agreed upon by many people present, indeed! In the eyes of many of us, students, workers, and merchants marching, demonstrating, striking, and boycotting are all futile actions. To the imperialist powers, we are nothing but a group of weaklings making a farce, they can shut their doors and close their eyes to refuse our righteous demands, and ignore our cries, but whether they listen or not, see or not, is of no consequence to me, what's important is that we should let the world know that we Chinese are clear-headed, our contemporary youth are wise, have backbone."
"No matter whether our demonstrations and strikes have the desired effect, no matter whether our boycotts can intimidate the powerful forces. As long as we can fight for China's rightful sovereignty, as long as we can run and shout for the dignity of our nation, this is a patriotic act, this is the hope for the rise of our nation. Even if all our actions have little effect, at least let the whole world see the united image of the Chinese people, let the world hear the united voice of the sons and daughters of China, this is a heartfelt cry, this is the unyielding spirit and self-respect in our bones. We may be poor, but we cannot lose our dignity and sovereignty entirely; our nation may be backward, but that does not mean we will always be sunk..."
"So, my opinion is the same as that of Yan just now. However, I hope that when we are lying on sticks and tasting gall, we should also take corresponding actions to prevent imperialist powers from trampling on our national dignity at will. Because this is a contempt for our entire Chinese nation, it is an insult to all young people in contemporary China!"
Like the female classmate, after finishing speaking, Rong classmate also bowed to the audience again to express his gratitude, and then retreated to sit down. His words were obviously more infectious than Yan's words earlier, and many people applauded enthusiastically, clearly many people had the same idea as Rong Ke Ying, lying in wait can be tolerated, but it is absolutely not allowed to swallow one's breath.
"I'm glad that our classmates can express their true thoughts. The views of Yan and Rong are very clear. For a national issue like this, there is no right or wrong answer, only one criterion: whose opinion is more beneficial to the nation? That's the good suggestion. When thinking about this issue, consider carefully whether your own view, once implemented by the government, would be beneficial to the country in the long run or short term."
Standing on the podium again, Zhang Yu did not comment on the speeches of his two classmates. In fact, just as he said earlier, a simple scientific question must have a correct answer, but this time it was a national issue, and different people would definitely have different opinions. Everyone has patriotism and a strong desire for their country, so it's impossible to say who is right or wrong, only whether it is more conducive to solving the problem and beneficial to the nation.
"At present, most parts of China are still in a state of warlord division. The so-called central government is actually a puppet of the Northern Warlords, used to enslave the people and serve as an intermediary for the imperialist powers to issue orders. It has long lost its function as a central government. If the government could strongly face the national problem, how would students dare to go on strike, workers dare to go on strike, and merchants dare to close their shops? But we sadly see that the so-called central government has thoroughly become the running dog of imperialist powers, from signing the Twenty-One Demands to compromising at the Paris Peace Conference. Their actions can no longer be tolerated by the people!"
"I really want to lead everyone to think about why our China has become what it is today? Why have our country and nation been bullied repeatedly? Why doesn't our country feel like a home? Zhang Yu, although also an impulsive person, has clearly changed with age and experience, and is no longer a young hothead. He knows that some problems can't be solved by impulse, as impulse is a devil that can make things even more troublesome."
"Many people think that the Qing government is the culprit behind all this. If it weren't for their policy of isolationism, China would not have fallen behind the rest of the world in its development. It was their incompetent and benighted rule that allowed feudalistic and backward thinking to spread among the Chinese people, and how could a good China be developed with such ignorant and stubborn people?"
"Some people think that this is the result of imperialist powers' brutal invasion, causing China to lose its sovereignty completely. It was their barbaric interference that made it difficult for China to rise... But the Qing dynasty has long since become a handful of yellow earth and turned into a past in history, we cannot be mired in the debate about the merits and demerits of people in the past. We should not dwell on the suffering and disasters inflicted upon us by others either. Reality is cruel, the strong bullying the weak is an inevitable law of the jungle. So we should lift our heads up, look at the present, gaze into the future, think about how we should move forward now and how to develop in the future..."
"Our great Chinese family has many ethnic branches, our vast territory of China has many provinces. What we can do is naturally unite as one and respond to and solve problems together, and struggle against all evil forces, and carry the revolution through to the end. The imperialist powers' occupation of China's sovereignty, trampling on the dignity of the Chinese people, this will be temporary and not permanent, it will be a driving force for us to move forward, a whip that keeps us awake at all times, and also the pain of transformation we will experience on the road to our resurgence. After the storm, we will see the triumphant sun!"
On February 1, 1921, the People's Autonomous Government issued a telegram stating that the Beiyang government must quickly address the unjust cancellation of the Paris Peace Conference delegation's qualifications, release the detained protesters and students, punish those in the government who are traitors seeking personal gain, and restore order in major cities. Otherwise, the People's Autonomous Government would take necessary measures to protect the interests of the vast majority of Chinese people. After the telegram was issued, the Third Division of the People's Army within Shaanxi Province declared a state of third-level combat readiness... Later, the Guangzhou Military Government also issued a telegram expressing support for the People's Autonomous Government.
On February 4, 1921, President Hsu Shih-chang announced his resignation. Chou Tzu-chi, as the Premier of the State Council, declared that he would temporarily act as the President and announced that a commission would be set up to investigate the policies made by the government during the Paris Peace Conference under President Hsu's administration. He also promised to make appropriate responses based on the results of the investigation and public opinion, and soon released all detained student protesters...
PS: Today China's Olympic football team finally won, the thrilling match was almost fatal. A little excitement.
