Hu Shi's revolutionary slogan

First, "depth charge, the first to raise the banner of justice"

The rise of literary revolution as a movement is not accidental, but has its profound social reasons. Although the Revolution of 1911 overthrew the Qing Dynasty and established the Republic of China, it did not accomplish the task of bourgeois democratic revolution. The fruits of the revolution fell into Yuan Shikai's hands, and the feudal economic structure and most of its superstructures remained untouched. With the development of China's national economy and the emergence of new political forces, it is necessary to have an ideological emancipation movement to expose the feudal moral culture that still dominated at that time and publicize the scientific and democratic ideas of the bourgeoisie. The new cultural movement marked by ideological revolution has become an inevitable trend of the times. The literary revolution is an inevitable product under this historical condition. Hu Shi's demand for "literary revolution" has its ideological and theoretical basis, and it has gone through a stage of brewing practice. As early as during his stay in the United States, he argued about the literary revolution among overseas students and kept close contact with Chen Duxiu and others in China. From the point of view of literary evolution, he believes that "the requirements of the new era", literature must be revolutionary. New words are needed to express new ideas and new things. The old literature of "writing carries Tao" cannot shoulder the heavy responsibility of this era. Old literature is only kept by a few literati, and it is not easy for "most people to accept" to express new ideas in classical Chinese. Only the new literature that expresses new ideas in vernacular Chinese can be appreciated by "most people" and truly appreciated by "both refined and popular". Until Hu Shi wrote China New Literature Series? Construct a theoretical set? Preface ",still hold this view. He said: "The function of words is to express meaning, and the most successful range of expressing meaning is to reach the maximum number." It can be seen that Hu Shi's slogan of "literary revolution" has some truth, and it is a literary liberation movement based on the requirements of the times.

As early as 19 16, when Hu Shi was in the United States, he had the ambition to launch a new literary movement in China. In April of this year, Hu Shi wrote a half-finished "Qinyuanchun", which wrote: "Who do I want to do new literature for Greater China?" Poetry material, a new world for me to gallop! "In the same year 10, Hu Shi wrote to Chen Duxiu, published in New Youth, and put forward the slogan of" literary revolution "for the first time. The letter said: "After years of thinking, I think that if we want to talk about the literary revolution today, we must start with eight things. "19 17/month, New Youth published Hu Shi's critical article" My humble opinion on literary improvement ",and then Chen Duxiu published another famous article" On literary revolution ",which officially raised the banner of literary revolution. He said: "The fate of the literary revolution has been brewing for a long time. The first deep-water bomb to raise the banner of justice was my friend Hu Shi. I am willing to risk the enemy of the national pedant and hold high the banner of the' literary revolutionary army' as my friend's solidarity. "

Although Hu Shi's articles are not as firm and clear as Chen Duxiu's, he is determined to gain an authentic position in vernacular literature. He said: "Vernacular literature is the authentic literature of China and a necessary weapon in the future." Hu Shi's assertion itself is a challenge to feudal literature and a revolution. Because the feudal literature with classical Chinese as a tool lasted for thousands of years, it still dominated at that time. Hu Shi dared to "assert" that vernacular literature would take its place, which was regarded as a big violation by the official and retro school at that time. As vernacular literature has a broad mass base, once it becomes "the authentic literature of China", feudal literature is doomed to perish.

Therefore, Hu Shi's On Literary Improvement and Chen Duxiu's On Literary Revolution are companion pieces of the literary revolution, marking the beginning of the new literary movement in China. Hu Shi and Chen Duxiu are both in-depth leaders who took the lead in raising the banner of literary revolution. As pioneers, their contribution to the new literature movement in China is an objective historical fact.

Second, the advocates of vernacular literature

The literary revolutionary movement should not only vigorously break the old, but also actively establish new ones. Therefore, around the May 4th Movement, Hu Shi wrote a lot of articles on vernacular literature, discussed, studied and practiced what vernacular literature was, and put forward many new opinions. But some comrades think that what Hu Shi advocates is not vernacular literature, but vernacular literature. It is formalistic to limit the scope of literary revolution to the form of language without touching the content of feudalism. Some comrades also believe that this is a conspiracy of Hu Shi to lead the New Literature Movement astray. Whether Hu Shi's literary revolution is formalism, let the facts speak for themselves;

In his letter to Chen Duxiu in 19 16 10, Hu Shi put forward that "the literary revolution must start with eight things", among which "what must be said is substantial" was put in the last one. However, two months later, in the Improvement of Literature, "What needs to be said is substantial" was listed as the first article. This shows that Hu Shi not only did not ignore the content, but also put it in the first place. Hu Shi expounded that "words have substance". He said: "When I say' things', I don't mean' words carry Tao' as the ancients said." The "Tao" of "literature carries Tao" that Hu Shi opposed is exactly the Confucian and Mencius' Tao advocated by feudal culture. As early as 19 14, Hu Shi opposed Yuan Shikai's respect for Kong Ling. 1 1 month16th, he denounced Kong Ling as "verbal slander, ridiculous and deplorable"! 19 18, in the article Ibsen Doctrine, Hu Shi objected to describing "the society of thieves and prostitutes" as "the state of sages and proprieties". He denounced "politics of corrupt officials" as "singing a hymn". The article advocated by Hu Shi should have feelings and thoughts. It is put forward for the eight-part essay and has specific content. 19 16 years, Hu Shi put forward in "On the Translation of Books to Chen Duxiu" in "Reading Notes of Canghui Room": "If you want to create new literature for the motherland today, you should start with the introduction of European and Western classics." 19 16 July, he was in "Reading Notes in the Submerged Room"? In Jinzhuang's criticism of Yu Xin's literature, it is clearly pointed out that The Scholars, Ibsen, Bernard Shaw and other works are "meritorious literature". 19 18, Hu Shi also advocated that "today's poor society, such as male and female workers in factories, rickshaws, farmers in the mainland, big negative vendors and small shops everywhere, should have a place in literature." That is, as one of the contents of new literature.

Hu Shi's advocacy of vernacular Chinese is based on the requirements of new content. He saw that the old form of classical Chinese bound new ideas, which was innovative at that time. 19 19, Hu Shi said in "Talking about New Poetry": "Form and content are closely related. Formal constraints hinder the free development of spirit and the full expression of good content. If there is new content and new spirit, we must first break the shackles that bind the spirit. " It is in line with the requirements of the times to advocate vernacular Chinese before and after the May 4th Movement, and it cannot be regarded as formalism.

The victory of the vernacular movement was achieved in the struggle against the feudal retro school and the maintenance of classical Chinese. The new literature movement also developed in the struggle. During the climax of the May 4th Movement, thousands of leaflets and declarations were written in vernacular Chinese, which greatly expanded the influence of vernacular Chinese, and more and more people wrote in vernacular Chinese. By 1920, the vernacular has replaced the classical Chinese and become the national language. With the victory of the vernacular movement, Chinese literature has achieved real status. This is a great achievement of the new literature movement, and this victory has far-reaching historical significance, which has a wide impact on ideological and academic exchanges, education popularization, and text reform. Practice has proved that Hu Shi's "judgment" is correct and realized. Hu Shi's advocacy of vernacular Chinese was dismissed as formalism, and Hu Shi's Improvement of Literature was listed as a negative textbook, which not only denied Hu Shi's historical role in the early stage of the New Literature Movement, but actually belittled the achievements of the New Literature Movement itself.

Hu Shi is a very active "new figure" who advocates vernacular Chinese. It is true that vernacular literature existed in feudal society, but as a literary revolutionary movement, it began with the new literature movement advocating and proposing to replace feudal literature with vernacular literature. Hu Shi is an advocate of the vernacular movement. It is precisely because of the victory of the vernacular movement that new literature has a broad mass base and can flourish. Therefore, in the history of modern literature in China, Hu Shi's contribution to advocating vernacular literature should be fully affirmed.