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Adolescent China （1）
Between the Old and the New |
| CCTV.COM 2002-10-30 15:10:46 |
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 In the third year of the Republic of China, the Confucian Temple in Beijing suddenly attracted many worshippers. The collapse of the Qing Empire caused a spiritual vacuum. As the Foremost Teacher of emperors during the feudal dynasties, Confucius became the spiritual sustenance of many people.
Many others in despair burned joss sticks and worshipped Buddha to seek the blessings of the deities. Since those people were spiritually barren, the dregs rose to the surface. Opium addicts could be found widely in China towards the end of the Qing Dynasty and in the early days of the Republic of China. In 1915, an adverse current of “back to the ancients” flowed across the country.
The last monarch and all the imperial rites remained in the Forbidden City. Some old and young diehards tried to restore the Qing Dynasty. Puyi, the last emperor of the last feudal dynasty in China, recollected that some people called the third year of the Republic “the year of restoration.”
 In the same year, 57－year－old Kang Youwei advocated the worship of Confucius. China was in a state of lifelessness. It badly needed ideological enlightenment and baptism.
The Second Far Eastern Games were held in Shanghai in May, 1915. China won seven titles and came first in total points. China had been once called “the Sick Man of East Asia.” Now these Chinese young people showed their full vitality and held their heads high for the first time.
In Europe, World War I entered the second year. For the time being, the smoke of war blocked the view of European powers casting covetous eyes at China. National capitalism in China entered a golden period of steady development.
In Shanghai, preparations were started to establish some well－known business companies in 1915. Shenxin Textile Company, the biggest private cotton textile enterprise in China in modern times, opened for business at the end of the year. Construction of the building of Yong’an Company started on Nanjing Road. Today the business street remains the major shopping centre in Shanghai.
Guanshengyuan, a food company, was established with a capital of 500 dollars. Later it became a well－known signboard in Shanghai.
After the failure of the Second Revolution, Sun Yat－sen went into exile in Japan. He began to organize the Chinese Revolutionary Party, carrying on his revolutionary activities against Yuan Shikai.
 On November 25, 1915, Sun Yat－sen and his secretary Soong Ching Ling had a wedding party in Tokyo. The marriage was opposed by Soong Ching Ling’s parents, but it was acclaimed by many young people. They regarded the marriage of Sun and Soong as a symbol of opposing the feudal ethics, getting rid of the old customs and seeking the liberation of individual personality.
In the same year, the relations between China and Japan were the focus of the Chinese people’s attention. Yuan Shikai accepted the “Twenty－One Demands” put forward by Japan, arousing the Chinese people’s indignation.
Mao Zedong, then a student at the Hunan Normal School, edited a publication with the title “Be Aware of the Humiliation”. On the cover he wrote the characters meaning, “The Republic suffered deep humiliation on May 7. We students should take revenge.” People of the younger generation in China were expected to save the nation and enlighten the public. In June of the same year, a middle－aged man returned to Shanghai from Japan. He launched a magazine to arouse the people. He was Chen Duxiu.
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Editor: Liu Baoyin CCTV.com
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