The Research On Zuo Shunsheng’ Social And Political Activities On The Republic Of China Era

Zuo Shunsheng was an important leader of Chinese Youth Party(CYP)of the Republic of China,along with Zeng Qi and Li Huang,were considered as "CYP’s three carriages ".Zuo Shunsheng was also a well-known politician,social activist and historian,had a prominent position and put an important influence and far-reaching influence in political,social,cultural and other fields in his time.But for a long time,the domestic academic circles didn’t pay enough attention on Zuo Shunsheng,lacking systematic research on Zuo Shunsheng.Taking time as longitude and taking society and political activities as latitude,the paper makes systematic and rational analysis on Zuo Shunsheng’s social and political activities and thoughts on the Republic of China era,interspersed the academic activities of Zuo ShunSheng in each chapter of this article,with the purpose of striving to restore a true Zuo Shunsheng as well as making an effort to enrich the study of republic figures of the Republic of China,and to promote the development and deepening of the study of the people in the Republic of China.Zuo Shunsheng was born in 1893 and grew up in a typical farming family.Zuo’s family education,the private education,the new education,community activities and the influence of Huxiang Culture,all of which were of influential factors of his academic style and personality taste.As a typical character of Hunan Province,in the fierce confrontation of old and new ideas of the times,Zuo Shunsheng was consciously seeking the road of salvaging his country and his people and choose nationalism as his political belief,lifelong pursuited the idea of democracy and freedom,and didn’t take off the original color of the scholar’s discussion of politics.With the unique historical opportunity,Zuo Shunsheng had participated in the social activities of the China Youth Association(少年中国学会)and had participated in editing the modern periodical(" Yong Chia"(少年中国)).Zuo Shunsheng served as the director of the review department.He was eager to deal with the various affairs of the members of the society and became the liaison center of the society.He published his opinions and opinions on the hot issues such as " small organizations " and " family education",and gradually established his political decisions through participating discussing on the issue of academic debate and whether or not one could participate in political activities.Zuo Shunsheng’s organization ability,social activity ability,editing ability and issue ability,the academic research ability,social status and fame had been significantly improved,and had accumulated a considerable friend sourcing which laid the foundation for later social activities,especially political activities.Zuo Shunsheng had stayed in the Zhonghua Book Company(中华书局)more than ten years and he had published a series of books such as " New Cultural Series "," Education Series","Young Chinese Society Series,and so on,which made an important contribution to the dissemination of new culture during the Republic of China.These publishing activities had earned him a good reputation as well as for Zhonghua Book Company.Taked the New Book Department of Zhonghua Book Company as the center,Zuo Shunsheng had published a series of theoretical works of nationalism and provided a great deal of convenience to the dissemination of the theory of nationalism in the CYP.These publishing activities also laid an important foundation for his personal political pursuit.During the employment of Zhonghua Book Company,he began the academic research of modern Chinese history,collecting and collating historical materials and publishing historical works.In the early activities of the CYP,Zuo Shunsheng undertook the important task of the CYP’s party building of public opinion,the dissemination of Party’s purpose and the training of cadres.He had made a considerable contribution to the development of the CYP.He served as minister of propaganda,and was responsible for party ’s propaganda,comrade liaison and organization work,etc.Successively he had participated in the periodicals such as Chiinese Education Circles(《中华教育界》),Xingshi weekly(醒狮周报),Eradicate Communist semimonthly《铲共半月刊》,Voice of the People Weekly(《民声周报),Shenjiang Daily(《申江日报》),etc.He undertook these periodicals’founding or editing,advocating anti-Soviet and anti-Communist and opposing Kuomintang’s one-party dictatorship.Zuo Shunsheng had created a college named Zhixing College(知行学院)to train CYP’s cadres,while he engaged in teaching the lessons of Chinese modern history at Fudan University and Daxia University.In the series of magazines and periodicals Zuo Shunsheng founded,the lion weekly undoubtedly was the most important one and most influential one.He published a series articles advocating nationalism in the CYP’s official organ periodicals.In addition to the extreme anti-Communist and anti-Soviet Union,he also wrote a series articles that argued against the Western imperialist powers’ military,economic and cultural invasions in China,safeguarding the integrity of state sovereignty,claiming the right to regain education,opposing foreigners running schools in China and advocating equal diplomacy.In a league bipartisan debate,Zuo Shunsheng published a series of commentary,actively advocating nationalism,opposing class struggle and communism.After the September 18th Incident,Zuo Shunsheng actively participated in the Anti-Japan national salvation activities.He supported the Nineteen Route Army in the war of resistance,and he lobbied Zhang Xueliang and Wu Peifu on the North to fight against Japan unsuccessfully.He advocated the war of resistance and rescue of the country.He founded the several newspapers and magazines,such as Country of Issue(国论月刊),Country Semi Monthlyon(国论半月刊)Guoguang Quarterly(国光旬刊)and so on,propagated war of resistance to save the nation.He adjusted and rectified the party affairs of the CYP,made friends with Huang Fu,inter-mediated with the other CYP’s chiefs to interview Chiang Kai-shek in Mount Lushan,to promote the joint cooperation of the two parties in the war of resistance against Japan,and finally reached the cooperation between the two parties.After the Xi’an Incident,he paid close attention to the development of the situation and made a quite accurate prediction,reflecting his keen insight.After the outbreak of the Lugou Bridge Incident,Zuo Shunsheng has served as Defense Council of the Senate(国防参议会)and the National Political Council Assemblymen(国民参政会),and introduced proposals repeatedly as the opposition party.He advocated saving the nation by the Anti-Japan War,advocating democratic constitutionalism.He took part in the aftermath of the Southern Anhui Incident(皖南事变),initiated the preparation of Chinese Political Group Democratic Union(later renamed China Democratic League).He took the secretary general of this party and participated in the reconciliation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party.In the meantime,Zuo Shunsheng threw himself into the first and the second constitutional movement,and tried to advocate the war of resistance to the country and the democratic constitutionalism.After the victory of the war of resistance against Japan,Zuo Shunsheng concerned about the postwar situation,involved in mediation negotiations between the Kuomintang and Communist Party.He advocated the peaceful founding of the nation and opposed the civil war of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party.On the occasion of the failure of mediation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party,he turned to "right" to the Kuomintang.He withdrew from the League of Democracies and led CYP’s representative to participate in the National Congress of the Kuomintang.He took the representative of the first National Congress and took part in the government served as Minister of Agriculture and Forestry and had realized identity conversion from the field to the government,from discussing politics to political participation.But with the fierce upheaval of the political situation in the Republic of China,Zuo Shunsheng’s political brilliant flashed in the pan.Zuo shunsheng ultimately acted as the national government’s political vase and he was unable to achieve the political ideal with his academic identity.By observing his social and political activities including his thought and personality,we can draw a conclusion that Zuo Shunsheng was a figure well marked by the times and the nationalism.He took up the journalist,scholar and statesman,etc.He was multi-faceted,who was progressfull and reactionary,radical and conservative,and anti-Chiang Kai-shek and hold-Chiang Kai-shek.To evaluate his social practice and political,we must adhere to the basic principles of Marx doctrine,which analyzes problems practically,concretely and specifically.We cannot completely negate Zuo Shunsheng’s historical achievements of the progressive significance just bacause Zuo Shunsheng upheld the nationalism doctrine and practice of anti communist.We can’t ignore any wrong ideas and reactionary acts just because Zuo Shunsheng played a role in saving the country by education and learning,his resisting the war and saving the country,and opposed the one party dictatorship of the Kuomintang and advocated the democratic constitutionalism and so on.We have to give him an objective and impartial evaluation in the face of his merits and faults,radicalism and conservatism,progress and retrogression.