Consciousness: Enlightenment and Progressive Thought Spread the Fire of Revolution

The former site of Juewu Society is located in the alley of Lilong in Sanjie Li, Hebei District, Tianjin. It is a small house composed of seven blue brick bungalows. It is not very eye-catching, and it may be missed if you are not careful, but it transmits so much energy that it is still shining brightly across a hundred years.
The word "consciousness" seems to sum up China in 1919. That year, 21-year-old Zhou Enlai returned to Tianjin after finishing his study abroad in Japan ahead of schedule, and then joined the torrent of the May Fourth Patriotic Movement. On September 2, Zhou Enlai returned to Tianjin by train with the representatives who went to Beijing to petition. In the carriage, everyone enthusiastically discussed the experience and lessons of the May Fourth Movement, and agreed that the backbone members of progressive groups such as the Tianjin Student Union and the Women's Patriotic Comrades Association should be organized as soon as possible, and a more rigorous group formed by male and female students should be established. group.
On September 16, 1919, in the office of the Tianjin Student Union in Caochangan, southeast corner of Tianjin, 20 young men and women broke through the shackles of feudal concepts and established the revolutionary group Consciousness Society, including Zhou Enlai, Deng Yingchao, Ma Jun, Guo Longzhen, Liu Qingyang, etc. Zhou Enlai presided over the establishment meeting. After discussion by all members, everyone reached a consensus: Consciousness Society promotes democracy, advocates self-criticism, in the spirit of "innovation" and "reform", with "self-consciousness" and "self-determination" as its main theme, anti-imperialism, anti-feudalism, and instilling new thoughts in the world. Own responsibility, actively explore the way to save the country and the people. Only three months after its establishment, Jue Wu Society attracted a report from Beijing's Morning Post, calling it a "little star in Tianjin".
"Consciousness" is the social journal of the Tianjin patriotic student group Consciousness Society, and it is also one of the most influential famous publications during the "May Fourth Movement". It was founded on January 20, 1920, edited by Zhou Enlai, with 32 pages, more than 100 pages, and nearly 100000 words. The most important articles published in the journal are "Consciousness" and "Declaration of Consciousness", which were written by Zhou Enlai after collective discussion by all members. Among them, the article "Consciousness" is actually the publication of the magazine. Although it is only more than 600 words, it is incisive and concise. It discusses what consciousness is, why consciousness is, how consciousness is, and the influence of consciousness, thus clarifying the profound meaning of consciousness. The article pointed out: "The biggest difference between man and all living things in the world is that man can 'enlighted '." The conclusion is that enlightenment is an evolutionary process that is constantly advancing. People who are enlightened must be dissatisfied with the status quo and go to another new way to seek endless evolution.

The Declaration of Consciousness, on the other hand, clearly states the purpose of the Consciousness Society, stating that "in order to transform society, it is necessary to demand a fundamental solution" and that "all militarism, the bourgeoisie, party lords, bureaucrats, unequal boundaries between men and women, stubborn ideas, old morals, old ethics ...... that are not in line with modern evolution should be eradicated and reformed".
The second issue of "Consciousness" has collected more than 40 manuscripts and was supposed to be published on February 20, 1920. However, on January 29, 1920, Zhou Enlai, Guo Longzhen and other key members of the Consciousness Society were arrested while leading the Tianjin student movement. The activities of the Consciousness Society turned underground, and the second issue of "Consciousness" was closed before it was printed.
Progressive young people, despite being in prison, continue to study and speak every day. Zhou Enlai and other three people were elected to host a reading group to lead everyone to learn new trends of thought. At that time, Marxist works had not yet been published in China, but Zhou Enlai spent five nights preaching Marxism to the prison system. Half a year of prison life made him rethink many Chinese social problems. Zhou Enlai later said, "thought is trembling in prison". Before he was imprisoned, he was a student who cared about the destiny of the country and actively participated in the patriotic movement; after he was released from prison, he gradually embarked on the road of a professional revolutionary.
Zhou Enlai and more than 20 young people from the Jue Wu Society pursued the truth and made progress. With patriotic enthusiasm and courage to fight, they brought light of hope to the dark old China at that time. "The Song of Members of the Consciousness Society" has gone through a hundred years and still makes people feel excited today.
"The world trend, surging, came to China. Social revolution, class struggle, we all work together. More than 20 comrades, we all join hands to be pioneers, struggle, sacrifice is the spirit, overthrow the evil forces!"
on the wall of the memorial hall of jue wu society in tianjin, there is a section of "declaration of consciousness": "we are all students, and we dare not say that we have 'awakened'. our determination is to make concerted efforts to walk on the path of 'awakened'. work hard! struggle!"
                                     

Source: New Xiang Review