The history circle in 1943 was very lively. Not only did Zhou Hexuan publish a book, Wu Han published a book, Chang Kaishen also published a book.
Chang Kaishen published a book in March, called "China's Destiny", which discusses politics under the guise of history. This book is printed on the best paper, and in order to make it affordable for ordinary people, the price is very, very cheap.
In just one month, 150,000 copies of "China's Destiny" were published. With the promotion of governments at all levels, sales quickly reached 1 million copies. However, the more sold domestically, the more losses were incurred, because they were all made at a loss.
Yell.
Compared with domestic losses, overseas copyrights have made a lot of money.
After all, China at this stage is a major country in the anti-fascist alliance after the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom. The works of Chinese leader Chang Kaishen have aroused great interest from British and American publishers. They don’t even read the content, and buy them at high prices.
Obtain overseas copyright.
Then these British and American publishers vomited blood.
After "The Destiny of China" was published in the United Kingdom and the United States, sales were so-so at first, but it soon received unanimous criticism from political circles, academic circles and the public. Because the book unabashedly expressed authoritarian and racist views, these topics were very popular during World War II.
During this period, Britain and the United States were extremely sensitive.
Chiang Kai-shek originally wanted to write a book to enhance his influence at home and abroad, but he did not expect that his reputation would be ruined internationally.
In the past, politicians, scholars and ordinary people in the United Kingdom and the United States had a very good impression of Chang Kaishen because of China's tenacious resistance to Japanese aggression. A book "The Destiny of China" directly exposed his true colors. It turns out you
This is Chang Kaishen!
The same is true at home. The Communist Party, democratic parties and liberal scholars were shocked. They never dreamed that Chiang Kai-shek would dare to write a book and "defeat himself" so thoroughly.
According to scholars, the publication of "The Destiny of China" was Chiang Kai-shek's biggest mistake during the Anti-Japanese War, and it was even more disgusting than the indiscriminate issuance of banknotes. The indiscriminate issuance of banknotes was very expensive, and it was still barely acceptable. After all,
This is sacrificing personal interests for the sake of the war of resistance, but "The Destiny of China" can only make people feel chilling.
There is a saying that Chang Kaishen completely offended most democratic parties and liberals with his book "The Destiny of China" and successfully pushed countless patriots to the side of the Communist Party.
Wen Yiduo said: "The publication of "China's Destiny" is a very important key for me. I was simply shocked by the Boxer spirit in it. Did our wise leader originally think like this? May Fourth
It had such a profound impact on me that "The Destiny of China" openly declared war on the May Fourth Movement, and I couldn't stand it no matter what."
The meaning of this passage is very clear. Wen Yiduo finally embarked on the path of opposing Chiang Kai-shek because he read "The Destiny of China".
In early 1942, Wen Yiduo once said to his son Wen Lihe: "(Chang Kaishen) has experienced many hardships and twists in his life. During the Xi'an Incident, he was calm and composed, turning danger into safety. His personality is great and touching. With this leader in the war of resistance, his future is bright.
Victory is possible.”
In other words, in early 1942, Wen Yiduo was still a fan of Chiang Kai-shek, and he could ignore even the Wannan Incident. He sincerely respected Chang Kaishen and had high hopes for Chang Kaishen's personal charm and persistence in the war of resistance.
I have a good impression and believe that Chang Kaishen can lead China to victory in the Anti-Japanese War.
In just one year, the salary increase incident, the Qu Yuan incident, the disaster relief incident, the book publishing incident... Lao Jiang's glorious image in Wen Yiduo's heart was directly shattered, and he changed from an idol leader to a dictatorial warrior.
The book "China's Destiny" has many errors and nonsense. Even the American John Fairbank can clearly see the discussion of China's history and current situation. Fairbank made it clear: "This book is written by a person in power. It is an insult to the professors who said it to the book... It is really a shame for a politician to write such a pamphlet. Now I understand why everyone involved in the English translation of this book seems to have caught cold and fever. Symptoms are normal."
The "cold and fever syndrome" that Fairbank referred to were the counselors of the Supreme Committee of National Defense of China at that time, who were solely responsible for the translation of "China's Destiny".
When these counselors were translating, it was as uncomfortable as eating shit. All they had to do was translate a pile of Chinese-flavored shit into foreign-flavored shit, and during the translation process, it was equivalent to eating shit twice. .
Although the ideas in this book come from Chang Kaishen, they were written on behalf of Tao Xisheng, with Chen Brai also partially participating.
Tao Xisheng was so nervous when he wrote the book that he broke into a cold sweat. He knew the consequences of publishing the book, but he could only bite the bullet and write it. Fortunately, he did not have to sign the cover, so no matter how harshly the readers scolded him, it had nothing to do with him.
Taizu's evaluation of "China's Destiny" was: "This is a declaration of war against the Chinese people, and it is the ideological preparation and public opinion preparation for launching a civil war."
Faced with unanimous criticism from foreign readers, Chiang Kai-shek himself said in his diary: "It was expected, but I didn't expect the disgust to be so great."
Nonsense, can British and American readers not feel disgusted?
"The Destiny of China" not only talks about dictatorship and nationalism, but also blames all China's backwardness on imperialist aggression, and blames everything on unequal treaties, which is just a slap in the face of the British and American powers.
If we say that China's backwardness in national strength can still be attributed to the imperialist aggression against China. But if China's backwardness in cultural development can also be blamed on imperialist aggression, what kind of weird idea is this? Doesn't it mean that the great powers would not be backward if they did not invade China?
Moreover, China and the United Kingdom and the United States are now allies, and the world anti-fascist war is reaching a critical juncture. What is Chiang Kai-shek's motive for publishing such a book attacking allies?
Let us summarize the thoughts expressed in "The Destiny of China". Generally speaking, it is: the Chinese nation is great, and the prosperous times of the Han and Tang Dynasties show that the Chinese are the best nation. And there is only one ethnic group in China, the Han, Manchu, Mongolian and Hui ethnic groups, but It is a major branch of the Chinese nation. China was completely destroyed and regressed at the hands of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and then fell into the abyss under the aggression of imperialism. If China wants to regain strength, it can only be under the leadership of the great leader Chang Kaishen. Only under the rule of the Party and the instructions of the Three People's Principles can it be completed and the inherent greatness of the Chinese nation restored.
At first glance, it seems that the writing is not outrageous. However, the views are often self-contradictory, the arguments used are full of errors, and the contributions and sacrifices of the people to the country are completely ignored. China's progress since the late Qing Dynasty and the results achieved since the Anti-Japanese War are All thanks to Chiang Kai-shek, all to the wisdom of the Kuomintang and the Three People's Principles.
Chiang Kai-shek didn't say it clearly in his book: I want to be dictatorial, and everyone must listen to me. I want to overthrow the world's great powers, and I want to clear away the shame of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, so that the Chinese nation can achieve a comprehensive and great rejuvenation!
The image of Chiang Kai-shek exposed in the book is that of a dictatorial version of those who opposed the Qing Dynasty and restored the Ming Dynasty, a Boxer-style peasant nationalist who is very similar to a certain type of netizens in later generations.
Not long after the first batch of six visiting scholars left, Zhang Daofan came to Zhou's residence with a copy of "The Destiny of China". He said to Zhou Hexuan: "Mingcheng, have you read the president's masterpiece?"
"Read it." Zhou Hexuan said.
Zhang Daofan asked: "How do you feel?"
Zhou Hexuan said: "The shock is indescribable."
Zhang Daofan said: "There are many critics of this book in China now. Please Mingcheng write an article to rectify the name of "China's Destiny". By the way, the president asked me to tell Mingcheng that he thinks you have made great achievements in studying history in the past six months. No need to
I won’t be able to reflect behind closed doors anymore.”
This is equivalent to an exchange. Zhou Hexuan helped Lao Jiang to praise his masterpiece, and Lao Jiang allowed Zhou Hexuan to regain his freedom.
Zhou Hexuan thought for a while: "I think my academic accomplishment is not enough, so I'd better continue to study hard behind closed doors."
