The Rise of the Writers of the Republic of China

"That Way We Go" is Hu Shi's last article against the Kuomintang. In his article, he put forward the "five ghosts' theory of chaos in China" and shouted: "The five enemies (in China) that need to be eradicated are poverty, disease, ignorance, corruption, and disturbance."

Then, there is no more...

The "New Moon" poetry magazine was ordered to stop printing, the New Moon Bookstore was closed down, and Hu Shi went abroad for a "study tour" in desperation.

Fortunately, Hu Shi had a good personal relationship with Chang Kaishen and his wife, and the KMT did not really order him to be arrested. After Hu Shi left China, "New Moon" Poetry Magazine and New Moon Bookstore also resumed normal operation.

Originally Hu Shi planned to go to Europe, but after receiving a telegram from his friends Zhang Pengchun and Mei Lanfang, he changed to the Pacific Ocean to the United States, and stayed in Japan for a few days on the way.

Mei Lanfang's US tour is still not over, and the audiences are crazy everywhere they go, and they receive invitations to perform in theaters in various states every day.

In Seattle, three old friends meet again.

"He Ming, Lao Jiu, I heard that you are doing very well in America." Hu Shi laughed.

Mei Lanfang thanked and said, "I would also like to thank Mr. Shizhi for his help."

Before Mei Lanfang went to the United States, he specially asked Hu Shi to make a plan to help him introduce the American customs, the appreciation habits of the American people, the layout and scenery of American theaters, etc. Hu Shi even participated in the selection of the performances.

Hu Shi waved his hand and said, "I just said it casually, I really didn't expect you to do such a good job."

"No matter how hard we try, Mr. Zhou won't stand out," Zhang Pengchun smiled and took out a newspaper and said, "Please read it if it suits you."

Here is a copy of The New York Times, with a full-page culture section reporting on the grandeur of the Titanic show: "Broadway was revived by 'Titanic', stagnant theaters thrived again with this play, and people competed Enjoy the classic love story that took place on a big ship and brought back many theaters that were on the verge of collapse."

In addition to the performance evaluation of "Titanic", there are related small news below. For example, O'Neill, the great American national playwright, sued six Broadway theaters in one go, demanding a public apology and payment of screenwriting fees.

Don't think that Yankees respect copyrights and patents. There are so many infringements these days. Among them, Broadway is the center of copyright disputes. Various literary and artistic works have been adapted indiscriminately, and most of the time they will not greet the original authors at all.

Hu Shi quickly read all the news in this edition, he laughed and said: "Mingcheng is really good, people are gone, Yankees are still crazy about him. Is this "Titanic" his new work? Really want to go See for yourself in the theater."

Mei Lanfang said: "Seattle hasn't staged this play yet, it can only go to Broadway."

"I'm planning to go to New York," Zhang Pengchun said, "China Institute can definitely rehearse "Titanic"."

"That's a good idea." Hu Shi praised. Both he and Zhang Pengchun were the founders of the China Institute in New York, aiming to enhance the folk cultural exchanges between China and the United States. "Titanic" is indeed a good tool.

The matter was quickly agreed upon, and Hu Shi and Zhang Pengchun went to New York together. And Mei Lanfang went to Japan after the performance in Seattle, and Japan was already looking forward to him.

Zhang Pengchun will not return to China in the past few years. He has accepted the invitation of the University of Chicago, and he will go to work as a professor in the summer.

To be honest, Zhang Pengchun belongs to the masters of the Republic of China who have been forgotten by later generations, and any one of his deeds is enough to become famous. This gentleman is the younger brother of Zhang Boling, the founder of Nankai University. When he was the provost of Tsinghua University, he promoted Tsinghua University to be officially upgraded to a university. He is also the teacher of the famous playwright Cao Yu. After Cao Yu's "Thunderstorm" was written, the first thing he did was to ask Zhang Pengchun for advice and correction.

Zhang Pengchun was not in vain when he came to the United States. He helped Mei Lanfang organize tours, and then went to the University of Chicago as a professor, and actively promoted cultural exchanges between China and the United States.

In 1939, Zhang Pengchun established the "Non-Participation in Japanese Aggression Committee" in the United States, successfully lobbied the US Congress, and prompted it to pass the "Act on Economic Sanctions Against Japan". After the victory of the Anti-Fascist War, the United Nations established the Commission on Human Rights. The chairman of the Commission was Roosevelt’s widow Eleanor (nominal), while Zhang Pengchun was the sole vice-chairman (actual head) of the Commission on Human Rights and led the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Knowing this, one knows why the Universal Declaration of Human Rights contains so many Confucian ideas.

The word "conscience" in the preface is actually the Confucian "benevolence", but unfortunately it was misinterpreted during the translation process. There is also a part about social and economic rights, which comes from the Datong thought of "the world is for the public".

At that time in 1947, a Chinese could actually manage the United Nations Human Rights Commission and successfully coordinate the contradictions between the two camps in the world.

John Humphrey, then director of the United Nations Human Rights Division, praised Zhang Pengchun as a "master of the art of compromise". Because capitalist countries and communist countries were fighting fiercely at that time, various contradictions made it difficult to carry out the work of the Human Rights Committee, but these difficulties were resolved by Zhang Pengchun's coordination.

At the end of April, Hu Shi and Zhang Pengchun came to New York.

On the day they arrived, they went to Broadway and bought tickets to watch the show at the Holland Theater.

At the beginning, Hu Shi lamented that Broadway was deserted and not as prosperous as it was a few years ago. But when they arrived at the Holland Theatre, they were immediately stunned. There was actually a queue to buy tickets here.

The auditorium was full, and Hu Shi and Zhang Pengchun managed to squeeze into their seats, and the surrounding audience were discussing the excitement of "Titanic" in low voices.

When the heroine came out, someone suddenly yelled "Rose", and the audience burst into applause.

Hu Shi was surprised and said: "These audiences are so enthusiastic, they don't care about the etiquette of enjoying the drama."

"It can only be said that "Titanic" is too popular." Zhang Pengchun laughed.

Hu Shi watched quietly, until the performance was over, he couldn't help standing up and applauding enthusiastically.

None of the audience left early, and they all waited for the actors to come out to call the curtain. When the male and female protagonists appeared, the audience spontaneously stood up, and the applause was mixed with wild shouts and shouts.

"Rose!"

"Jack!"

"You_jump, I_jump!"

"King of the world!"

"..."

The applause was even crazier than at the premiere, and it lasted nearly 10 minutes. The actors couldn't leave after many curtain calls, and many audience members ran up to present flowers and gifts.

Zhang Pengchun is a master of drama, he sighed: "No wonder "Titanic" is so popular, this drama is so successful, whether it is performance arrangement or story plot, it is a world-class work."

Hu Shi said with a smile: "Only by "Titanic", Mingcheng can be called a great writer."