The first object of struggle was the capitalists, which had a profound impact on his life. Born and raised in a quiet village of Shaoshan Chong in Xiangtan County, Hunan Province, China, it was a festive day for the Mao family, who gave their third son the nickname "Shi San Yanzi".
However, his great name *** will be known to the whole world many years later. Although his family was poor, he spent 17 years of his formative years here, which was an important stage in his development as a Marxist and in the formation of his early cultural character.
His father's name was Mao Yichang, and his grandfather's name was Mao Enpu, and they were both croppers. Due to the poverty of his family, Maunmp had to give up his ancestral fifteen acres of land.
Mao Yichang owed many debts when he was young, and in order to pay them off, he served as a soldier in the Hunan army for five or six years. Although he was not promoted to a senior officer, he always carefully saved the salary issued by the army and did not spend a penny.
At the age of 17, he had accumulated some oceans and gained a lot of knowledge. After being discharged from the army, he returned home to become a farmer and started a small business. At that time, his family only had six or seven acres of thin fields.
In order to improve his life, Mao Yichang got up early every day and worked greedily at night, not only to farm, but also to feed pigs and cattle, catch fish and chop firewood, and did not return home until the sun went down. At night, he would not rest, and he planned to make straw sandals under the dim kerosene lamp.
He worked hard, budgeted, thrifty, and finally made a small surplus. He not only paid off his debts, but also redeemed the land that his father had sold, and the family life gradually improved.
Now, the Mao family has a total of 15 acres of land, and can collect 60 loads of grain every year. A family of five has an annual ration of 35 quintals, and there can be a surplus of 25 quintals. Although rural China was very poor at that time, as long as a person could save more than food and clothing, he could be considered a "middle peasant" or even a "rich peasant".
Therefore, at this time, the Mao family had already entered the ranks of middle-peasant families. Mao Yichang's business acumen was not accidental, because after two years of private school, he could use two hands to hit the abacus at the same time, and he was a well-known abacus master at that time.
He often said to his son.
Mao Yichang was an industrious farmer, he milled the surplus rice into rice every year, picked it up and sold it at the market, and the remaining rice bran was used to feed the pigs, and after the pigs were fattened, he rushed to the market to sell.
This method of distribution and trading made Mao Yichang accumulate a lot of money, and he soon purchased seven acres of land from elsewhere. After all these years of hard work, Mao Yichang's family has become a wealthy family in Shaoshan Chong, and can harvest 84 quintals of grain every year.
His success is not accidental, but has been achieved through unremitting hard work and perseverance. This spirit of his also deeply influenced his son *** after the founding of the People's Republic of China to put forward the demand for improving the lives of poor peasants.
When his cousin Mao Jusheng was in trouble, Mao Yichang took the opportunity to buy his seven acres of land, which left a deep impression on ***, and many years later he still criticized his father, believing that his behavior was immoral.
The teenager was dissatisfied with his father's selfish behavior, disgusted with the feudal ** idea, and was determined to transform the old society. Although his father was a hardworking, intelligent, and strict father, he could not change his determination to pursue a liberal and democratic social system.
Wen Qimei***'s mother's character is deeply respected by the villagers and neighbors, she treats the poor and the poor generously, devoutly believes in the Buddha every day, and prays to God to bless her third son.
This kind of kind, humble and helpful spirit has deeply affected the growth of teenagers. From an early age, he was full of compassion and a sense of justice, and he loved this loving mother.
Compared with Wen Qimei, **'s father's personality is diametrically opposed, but Wen Qimei's personality has influenced ***'s life. It makes him have a deeper understanding and experience of life.
The 15-year-old *** mother was sick in bed, and he got up early every day, and he hiked to Hengshan to pray to God and worship Buddha, and he only had sincerity and filial piety to his mother in his heart. But gradually, ** began to have some doubts: Is there really a god in the world?
My father never believed in Buddhism, but he was free from illness and disaster, and his business was prosperous. The more the young man thought about it, the more angry he became, and he unconsciously picked up the tea and splashed it on the statue. When the mother came back and saw the wet incense case, she was so angry that she reprimanded *** fiercely.
Interestingly, my father, who had always been strict, was silent and indifferent, as if he didn't see it. According to traditional Chinese ethics and morality, Wen Qimei is definitely a standard good wife and mother, she has never entered a school in her life, she is completely illiterate, and only knows how to silently manage housework and raise children.
But on the issue of children's growth, she showed an advanced nature that was ahead of the times. She advocates going with the flow, and let him develop freely what kind of person her son will grow up to be in the future.
Whenever there is a verbal conflict between the father and son, Wen Qimei always plays the role of a mediator, and most of the time she is on her son's side. For the young ***, this maintenance is of great significance.
He cherishes his mother's love for him and is a source of strong self-confidence. Many years later, ** commented on his mother in his autobiography: "There are three kinds of people in the world: those who harm others and benefit themselves, those who do not harm others, and those who can benefit others at the expense of themselves."
My mother belongs to the third category. Note: While the core idea of the new copy hasn't changed, I've added some details and descriptions to the copy for a better understanding.
In 1909, ** began to study at a private school on the south bank of Shaoshan at the age of 8, and his enlightenment teacher was Zou Chunpei. At that time, the school curriculum was all traditional Confucian scriptures, but most of the students did not seek to understand them.
According to the order of "Three Character Classic", "Hundred Family Names", "Kindergarten Qionglin", "Analects", "Mencius", and "Book of Songs", the teaching content is the same. However, soon, Mr. Zou Chunpei discovered the difference between *** and other children.
Every morning reading, the teacher would ask everyone to read aloud, and shake their heads while reading. The schoolchildren all shouted at the top of their voices, wave after wave, only *** never made a sound.
After Zou Chunpei found out, he deliberately named him to get up and memorize the text. Unexpectedly, *** didn't panic at all, stood up and said seriously: It turned out that before entering the private school, he had already taught himself how to use the "Kangxi Dictionary", and the daily texts had not been taught by Mr. Wen, so he had previewed them at home.
When it comes to writing class, everyone has to follow the calligraphy to draw red. At this time, *** is different again, but I have to write it on a blank paper. At first, Mr. Zou was puzzled, but when he finished writing and took a look, he was surprised to find that the writing was more neat than what other schoolchildren had drawn.
After a long time, the husband turned a blind eye. After all, what teacher doesn't like such a bright and hardworking student? Once, Zou Chunpei went out for something, and the international students sat in class to warm up the class.
** I had already memorized the melons and was bored, so I called a few classmates to play in the pond. When the gentleman came back, his beard was crooked, but he did not have a seizure at that time.
He rolled his eyes and gave these naughty mischievous people a question, asking them to be on the right track, and if they can't get it, they will definitely be punished. In this way, salute first and then soldier, so that they are convinced.
**Reading, all of them are not in the Four Books and Five Classics, but are obsessed with popular topics such as "Journey to the West", "Water Margin" and "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". Although he didn't like the lessons he took in class, his grades were always at the top of his class, and he had no trouble learning.
His love of reading has given him a wide range of knowledge, and he has quoted scriptures and classics. However, this habit of reading was seen as a waste of time by his father, and many quarrels broke out between father and son.
** When he was young, one day at noon, his father asked him to go to the field to pick fertilizer. At five o'clock, he went down to the ground to see that Shi Sanzi was gone again. The father walked straight to the back of the ancient tomb, and sure enough, he saw *** He was looking at the book intently, and an empty flat pole was hanging aside.
Mao Yichang was very angry and immediately reprimanded. "Boy, have you gone mad? Do you take your father's words as a deaf ear? "No, Dad, I listen to you. I'll do whatever you tell me to do. ”
You know exactly what I'm calling for. Concentrate on the field, work in a proper manner, don't fiddle with these broken books! "I'll work hard, but I'll also read the book."
I promise to finish my work before I read the book. "How many loads of fat did you pick up in the afternoon to hide from this laziness? "I've carried fifteen loads. I don't believe you, go to the field and count them, and figure out that you will come again.
Now let me read the book. Angry and angry, my father was stunned for a moment, pouted and didn't choke anymore. Sneaking to the field to count, there are really fifteen loads of fat, which is hard enough for a child.
I blamed him indiscriminately, and a wave of regret and sadness welled up in my heart. From then on, as long as *** finished his work, his father would never interfere with his free time again.
What needs to be reflected on is that historical ** such as "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "Water Margin" have their inevitable limitations from the perspective of ideological enlightenment.
"Romance of the Three Kingdoms" runs through the whole text with a strong color of "respecting Liu and suppressing Cao", which implies traditional Confucianism; Even "Water Margin", which praised the peasant uprising, only criticized the harsh government, and did not break free from the shackles of the imperial system.
However, for *** who is less than ten years old, compared with the Four Books and Five Classics in the private school, these so-called "miscellaneous books" are simply a door to a new world.
At the age of thirteen, forced by his father, he dropped out of school to work as a farmer at home. From his cousin Wen Yunchang, ** gradually came into contact with current reading materials such as "The Danger of the Prosperous Age" and "Xinmin Cong Bao".
On the one hand, these publications condemned the attitude of the people of Shanghai towards the Chinese, and on the other hand, they also called on the state to vigorously promote technological and economic modernization and implement a constitutional monarchy. It was these two books and periodicals that greatly broadened his horizons, and he read and read it again and again until he could memorize it.
At that time, Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao often wrote articles on it, ** they were highly respected by them, and they also inspired the idea of further study. In 1904, a large number of imperial court ** gathered in Changsha to celebrate Cixi's birthday, and Huang Xing tried to assassinate him, but unfortunately he was defeated and fled.
At the end of 1906, a great uprising against the Qing Dynasty broke out on the border between Hunan and Hubei.
In the spring of 1910, there was a food shortage under the Empress Dowager Cixi, which led to popular discontent and revolt, and unfortunately many lives were lost.
** and his classmates had a long discussion about the incident, and they were saddened by what happened to those innocent people, believing that they did not deserve such cruel treatment.
At the same time, ** spoke highly of the executed leaders of the uprising, considering them real heroes. At the age of 16, despite his father's opposition, he was successfully admitted to Dongshan Higher Primary School in Xiangxiang County, his mother's hometown.
At first, his father was adamantly opposed, until *** assured him that this school was no longer a private school in the countryside, but in a busy city with countless good books. One of them is called "The Legend of the World's Heroes", which tells the life stories of a number of ** leaders, such as Peter the Great, Napoleon, Rousseau and Lincoln, etc., which makes *** deeply inspired.
In particular, he was deeply moved by the perseverance and tireless efforts of George Washington, the founder of the United States. China also needs such figures, he said, to avoid suffering the doom of North Korea and India.
However, he would not have imagined that he was the savior of the future. In addition to reading biographies of leading figures, I also read Restorationist books. A copy of the "Anthology of the Ice Drinking Room" was turned over by him, and the bourgeois reformist ideology had a very profound influence on him.
By chance, he read a humble pamphlet, and the first sentence of the first page shocked him. After reading this book, he was worried about the future of the entire country for the first time, and finally understood the true meaning of "the rise and fall of the country, the husband is responsible".
At that time, most of his classmates were the children of landlords, and they were well-dressed and well-behaved. And the *** in the countryside only has a set of shabby clothes and pants, plus the reason for dropping out of school, he is five or six years older than others, which makes this shabby-dressed tall man look out of place.
However, ** didn't expect that he was quite admired by his classmates in the private school, but after coming to Dongshan High School, his status plummeted, and his classmates didn't seem to have a good impression of him.
In the end, after only studying here for a year, I decided to go to a more prosperous place - the provincial city of Changsha to continue my studies. And it was in Changsha that his political ideas began to develop.
In 1916, **'s mother, Wen Qimei, suddenly contracted lymphadenitis, and he was very concerned when he was studying in Changsha. He wrote frequently to his mother, and although he had been busy with his work-study at school, he rushed back to his hometown to visit her whenever he had time.
In 1918, her mother's illness worsened, and she was directly taken to the provincial capital**, where she waited in front of the bed every day, and even cooked and fed medicine to her mother herself.
On October 5, 1919, 53-year-old Wen Qimei died of illness in Shaoshan. Wen Qimei's death brought a heavy blow to ***. Only three and a half months later, his father, Mao Yichang, also died of typhoid fever.
In front of his mother's grave, the grief-stricken Shi Sanyanzi wrote a touching "Sacrifice to the Mother" and two spiritual couplets. One of them reads: "The grass is still calling, infinite care, and all the hatreds must be mended; Immortal and new Buddhism, can't live in the world, where to find mercy. ”
**Early cultural character, which was closely linked to his home and school education during his teenage years. His many conflicts with his father shaped his rebellious spirit and questioning of authority; His mother's kindness and kindness made him learn to think from the perspective of a peasant; Reading extensively in school allowed him to absorb the ideological essence of liberalism, democratic reformism, and utopian socialism.
All these became important factors in his later success in guiding the revolutionary struggle in China.