The Rise of the Writers of the Republic of China

Xiamen, Old Taikoo Wharf.

Lu Xun stepped off the ship carrying the suitcase and saw Lin Yutang waving at him from a distance.

"Yucai, I've been waiting for you." Lin Yutang greeted him happily.

Lu Xun wiped his sweat with his sleeves up, and complained: "The weather in Xiamen is so hot. It's only this morning, and it's so hot that my vest is covered with sweat."

"I'll get used to it after staying a few more days," Lin Yutang said with a smile, "Let's go, I'll take you to school."

Lin Yutang and Lu Xun have been friends for many years, and they have not fallen out yet. Lu Xun was recommended by Lin Yutang to come to Xiamen University.

The two walked on the pier for more than ten minutes, and there were densely packed small sampans in front of them. Lin Yutang boarded the boat first, turned to Lu Xun and said, "Come on, be careful where you land."

Lu Xun was used to riding on a black awning boat since he was a child, and he stepped on the sampan very easily and steadily. He asked curiously, "Why do you ride this? Isn't Xiamen University in the city?"

"On the beach." Lin Yutang explained.

The boatman steered the boat swiftly and set sail. After a short time, he could vaguely see a barren beach and a row of bungalows on the barren beach. Lu Xun felt cheated and asked, "Is this Xiamen University?"

Lin Yutang laughed and said, "The teachers' dormitory has not been built yet. The school arranges for you to temporarily live in the showroom of the National Academy. It's on the third floor. It's very suitable for overlooking the scenery. You can see Gulangyu Island from afar."

It has been seven years since Xiamen University was founded, but it only officially opened five years ago. The teaching buildings and dormitories are still under construction one after another. Now that the students are on vacation, there is no sound of reading in the school, just like a large construction site isolated from the world.

Lu Xun followed Lin Yutang to the showroom of the Academy of Chinese Studies. The beds had already been prepared. He put down his luggage and felt a little stuffy, so he went to the window and looked into the distance.

At this time, Gulangyu Island has been reduced to the common land of all nations, and the island is full of Western-style buildings. Only the remains of Zheng Chenggong can still find a trace of China. Lu Xun felt extremely depressed watching it, and he had a very bad impression of this place, which prompted him to leave Xiamen after four months.

Lin Yutang walked over and said, "The library and newspaper reading room are always open, and there are still some teachers and students who haven't left the school. You can go and get in touch with them."

"Also."

Lu Xun took another look at the public concession on Gulangyu Island, then turned and followed Lin Yutang to the newspaper reading room.

The two slowed down and pushed the door open. The newspaper reading room, which was thought to be quiet, was actually talking loudly at this moment. I saw a student standing on a table, holding a newspaper and reciting passionately: "...I have a dream. One day, every province, every state, and every village in China will become a city full of tall buildings. , a civilized world full of factories... We are free, we are strong, we are rich, we no longer suffer from war, we no longer suffer from poverty. Our children can sit in bright schools and learn the most Advanced cultural knowledge; our children and grandchildren can talk, laugh and drink with foreigners without looking at anyone's faces; our country is no longer the object of ridicule, and no longer needs to sign humiliating contracts. Any overseas Chinese , can straighten their waists and shout loudly: I am Chinese! I have a dream..."

A dozen or so students gathered together and looked up at the classmate who was reciting, with tears in their eyes.

"I Have a Dream" is so contagious, as long as it is a Chinese with a conscience, it will definitely be moved by it, because it expresses everyone's aspirations.

Lu Xun only heard the second half, and asked in surprise: "Who wrote this article?"

Lin Yutang went over to ask a few words, and quickly took a copy of "Declaration" from the newspaper rack, handed it to Lu Xun, and said, "It's Zhou Hexuan's speech on the train."

"Hehe, "Shenbao" also publishes patriotic articles?" Lu Xun said with a disdainful smile. He never subscribed to Shenbao, not because the newspaper was unavailable in Beiping, but because he felt that Shenbao was too philistine.

"Shenbao" took the commercial route, and the number of pages of the newspaper continued to increase, and I got a thick stack in my hand. Moreover, there is no price increase for increasing the quantity, and each copy is only sold for 3 cents, which is far lower than the 3 cents and 6 cents of "News", which is very affordable for ordinary people. In fact, the news content has not increased, because a large number of pages are printed with advertisements.

Many intellectuals, including Lu Xun, were extremely annoyed by this. In their view, "Shenbao" is just a pile of useless advertising paper, and if you want to read news, you can only find it between the advertisements.

"Mr. Zhou said it very well. Our generation should do our best, work hard and sacrifice, and realize the great dream of all Chinese people!" A student shouted.

"Study hard and realize your dreams!"

"Down with the great powers and make China prosperous and strong!"

"..."

The students shouted slogans, but Lu Xun and Lin Yutang left the newspaper reading room and began to read silently in the corridor.

After a long time, Lin Yutang sighed and quietly returned the newspaper. Lu Xun lit a cigarette and smoked, silent, not knowing what he was thinking.

...

"Shenbao" has a wide range of distribution areas, with branch libraries in more than 20 cities across the country, and even overseas regions such as Singapore.

Sichuan Provincial Government.

Not long ago, Li Zongwu, who had just served as a member of the provincial editorial committee, walked into the office wearing a long gown. He came to his office, made a cup of tea, smoked a cigarette, and began to read the newspaper leisurely.

There are seven newspapers, and the top one is the local "Huaxi Daily" in Sichuan. Li Zongwu browsed quickly one by one, and only read carefully when he was interested, and soon read "Declaration"-I have a dream.

Li Zongwu read the entire article, shook his head and smiled bitterly and said to himself: "Dreams? I don't have dreams yet, but unfortunately I can only dream (daydream)."

He soon saw the small characters in the back frame, which was the introduction to Zhou Hexuan: Zhou Hexuan, a native of Zhili, was born in China, grew up in Southeast Asia, and traveled in the West. He once wrote the book "The Rise of Great Powers", which tells the story of the rise and fall of great powers. Recently established the China Hope Education Foundation, dedicated to basic free education.

"Hope Education Foundation? The name is familiar." Li Zongwu hurriedly searched for the old newspapers in the corner, and quickly found the foundation's recruitment notice from the outdated "News".

Li Zongwu's famous work is "Thick Black Studies", he believes that successful people in ancient and modern China and abroad are nothing more than "thick-skinned and black-hearted". But he himself is not thick-skinned, and his heart is not black. Instead, he is extremely clean and honest, and he is passionate about education. He has served as a school inspector and principal in Sichuan Province. Just last year, he led a Sichuan education delegation to investigate the education situation in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

It's a pity that Sichuan has been fighting bad battles, and Li Zongwu's ambitions cannot be displayed at all.

After reading the article "I Have a Dream" and looking at the recruitment notice in "News", Li Zongwu suddenly had an idea: Is it possible to bring the China Hope Education Association to Sichuan? Start a Sichuan Chapter!

...

Beiping, Xishan.

Hu Yepin looked at the scenery in a depressed mood. Although he had not yet joined the Communist Party, he worked as an editor for the supplement of the Beijing News.

Since Zhang Zuolin seized the "Beijing News" and frantically arrested the red elements, Hu Yepin not only lost his job, but also faced the risk of being arrested. These days he can't stay in seclusion.

There was a sound of footsteps behind him, and Hu also turned his head and smiled frequently: "Are you here?"

"Chongxuan, look at this." His wife Ding Ling came to him, holding a copy of "Declaration".

Hu Yepin finished reading silently, his heart became extremely heavy, and he suddenly got up and said, "Let's go, let's go to the south, where there is hope for our dreams to come true!"

...

Guangzhou, Sun Yat-sen University.

Guo Moruo laughed and walked into the teacher's dormitory: "Hahahaha, Yu Wen, the sun is already drying your ass, you haven't woken up yet?"

Yu Dafu got up from the bed rubbing his sleepy eyes, and asked in surprise, "Why did you come to school?"

"I saw a good article, and I sent it here specially for you," Guo Moruo said excitedly, throwing the "Declaration" on Yu Dafu's face, "This article can definitely be used as a call for the Northern Expedition!"

...

Heilongjiang, Hulan County.

Zhang Naiying, who graduated from elementary school and was imprisoned at home, faced her father's constant forced marriages, and she was worried all day long. She doesn't want to succumb to feudal marriage, she wants to study, and she wants to serve the country!

Early in the morning, Zhang Naiying slipped into her grandfather's study, picked up a pile of newspapers and ran away.

Half an hour later, Zhang Naiying stared at the "Declaration" in front of her, folded it silently, and planned to leave home.

...

Shanghai, a factory.

A worker leader stood at the door and read aloud to hundreds of workers: "I have a dream..."

...

Thanks to the well-established distribution network of "Shen Bao", "I Have a Dream" quickly spread throughout the country, and Zhou Hexuan once again became a man of the hour among intellectuals.

The content of this speech is too passionate and sensational, even if you only read it once and listen to a few sentences, it will leave a deep impression on people.

It doesn't support anyone, doesn't oppose anyone, and doesn't have a clear political position. It just shouts from a Chinese perspective. Even some warlords would sigh with emotion after seeing it. In the following years, this article has been used by people to speak in various public occasions, and everyone said that they were for the country.

Even during the Anti-Japanese War, the government printed and distributed this article as leaflets again and again when recruiting troops.

For the majority of ordinary people, they don't know anything about "The Rise of Great Powers", but they do have dreams. Zhou Hexuan is well-known by the general public, and it is because of "I Have a Dream", which makes him dumbfounded.