Author: CHUNG Yoon Ngan
Date: 01-28-12 17:05
Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping Studying in France
In August 1917, the Chinese Government in Beijing (北京) declared war on
Germany. A War Participation Board was set up in Beijing for the purpose
of working out plans on how to help the Allies militarily. However, the
Chinese Government had no troops to send to Europe to fight the Germans.
Instead, the Chinese Government dispatched a few hundred thousand workers
to help the French in maintaining their factories and helping to them in
digging trenches in the war fronts. Most of the Chinese workers were illiterate
and they did not know how to write letters home to their families. They
asked the Chinese Government for help.
http://yn.chung.id.au/ChineseWorkers.InFrance.jpg
Many Chinese students took this opportunity to go to France to help these
workers and at the same time they enrolled themselves in the French schools
and colleges to further their study. At night the students conducted classes
to teach the workers how to read and write.
When the First World War was over many workers did not go back to China
but settled down in France. Thus it had become a trend for Chinese students
to go to France for further study.
Li Huang (李璜) was one of the students who went to France to study after
the First world War. In his later life he became the chairman of the Youth
Party in China (中國青年黨) before the Liberation. In 1951, after the Liberation,
Li Huang fled to the then British North Borneo (now Sabah, Malaysia) and
lived in Jessslton or Api in Hakka (now is called Kota Kinabalu, the capital
of Sabah). While in North Borneo Li Huang wrote his memoir:學鈍室回憶錄 (Xue
Dun Shi Hui Yi Lu), which was Published by Ming Pao Monthly of Hong Kong.
The book was in two volumes and was first published in January 1982.
In volume one, on page 169 Li Huang wrote: [translation into English was
by me]
"In summer of 1920, I went to Marseilles (a seaport in France) to meet the
newly arrived Chinese students. There were more than 200 and 92 of them
were from Sichuan province (四川省). Deng Xiaoping, who was about 17 or
18 years old at that time, disembarked first from the boat and reported
to me because I was directed to meet the students by Wang Yunsong (汪雲松
) the president of the Zhongqing Commercial Association in Sichuan province
(重慶商會會長) which gave 200 silver dollars to each student who was going
to France to study cum work (勤工儉學). Deng Xiaoping was the leader of
the Sichuan students".
According to Li Huang, Deng's students report was like this:
鄧小平 Deng Xiaoping,
from Guangan county, Sichuan province (四川廣安人),
Originally Hakka from Guangdong (原籍廣東客家).
Graduated, second batch from the France Preparatory School of Zhongqing,
Sichuan.
(重慶法語預科學校)
Li Huang emphasized that , Deng Xiaoping was not called Deng Xiaoping at
that time but Kan (闞) Zegao (澤高).and his nicknamed was Xiaokan (小闞
little Kan). During his stay in France, every student either called him
Xiao Kan or Doctor of oil printing (油印博士) because he and Zhou Enlai
(周恩來) were in charge of printing a fortnightly newspaper called Chi Guang
(赤光半月or Red Light Fortnightly).
Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping were jointly running the newspaper. Zhou Enlai's
pen name was Wu Hao (伍豪). Zhou Enlai was writing the articles and Deng
Xiaoping was responsible for the printing. Deng Xiaoping was a very conscious
good printer. One day during lunch time, Zhou Enlai saw Deng Xiaoping holding
a sandwich by his left hand and his right hand was smearing oil on to the
little printing machine. Seeing his funny manner, Zhou Enlai laughed and
said to Deng Xiaoping,
"小鄧! 小鄧! 你可真是一位油印加油麵包的博士!“
From then on Deng Xiaoping was known among the Chinese students in France
as the "Doctor-Of-Oil-Printing".
According to Dr Xiao Yu's (蕭瑜) book "Mao Tse-Tung and I were Beggars"
or 毛澤東青年時代 a personal memoir of the early years of Chairman Mao,
in October 1920, 32 students and members of the Hsin Min Study Association
(新民學會) in France convened a general meeting in a forest at Montargis
in France.
http://yn.chung.id.au/YouthCCP.jpg
In the meeting the students founded The Youth of the Chinese Communist Party
(NOTE: Nine months before the founding of the Chinese Communist Party on
21st July 1921). The full details of the two-day meeting were published
in Mao Zedong's journal, Hsin Min Study Association Journal (新民學會) Issue
No 3
This is the poem, in English, written by Dr Xiao Yu on the two-day meeting:
Knowing that my return journey to China draws near,
They are happy,
And say goodbye with much sentiment.
I was at Montargis for three days to meet with dear friends.
All were intimate and sincere.
Taking the earth for a seat and the sky for a tent,
We have opened a meeting.
The trees are allowed to listen,
On the branches the birds are applauding,
From time to time they cry out to us.
NOTE: Dr Xiao Yu was the school mate of Mao Zedong . Dr Xiao was one year
senior than Mao.
On 19 August 1936, when Edgar Snow met Deng Xiaoping at Yanan (延安) in
Shaanxi province (陝西省), he told Edgar Snow that he did not attend school
in France but spent his five years there as a worker. He learned Marxism
from the French workers and became a Chinese member of the French Communist
Party. He transferred his membership to the Chinese Communist Party.
In 1925, Deng Xiaoping returned to China by way of Russia, where he studied
there for several months.
Sources
(1) 我的回憶 (My Memior)
By Zhang Guotao (張國濤)
(2) 龔楚將軍回憶錄
The Memior of General Gong Chu
By Gong Chu (龔楚)
(3) Red Star Over China
By Edgar Snow
(4) 學鈍室回憶錄
By 李璜 (Li Huang)
(5) 毛澤東與我乞記
Mao Tse-Tung And I Were Beggars
By Siao-Yu
Posted to asiawind.com
By CHUNG Yoon-Ngan (鄭永元)
All rights reserved
P/s
This article was used by the Hakka Chinese Association
in Western Australia showing a prominent Hakka person of 鄧小平.
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