His forehead hit the wall with a big plump face, and he was still smiling as he whipped his whip. A dragon swims in the shallow water and is teased by a shrimp; a tiger falls down and is bullied by a dog. Zhou Zuoren's life in Peking Prison was generally like this. Four white walls, darkness, no sky, no earth, no self, no future.
The young master of the Zhou family, who used to be so prosperous in the past, finally ended up in a prisoner's situation. Zhou Zuoren's life in Peking Prison can be described in one sentence: "Regard all damage and insult as floating clouds."
Staying in jail for one day seems like a hundred years have passed in this world. There is nowhere to hide the loneliness and despair, and the tall walls around it seem like a cage at the end of life. The prison is dark and damp, and there are always rats and cockroaches passing by from time to time. Looking up, he could only see a sliver of light coming from the window. Zhou Zuoren never thought that one day he would fall to such a point.
Zhang Dang is in jail, and people are leaving with tea.
In December 1945, Beijing was in the twelfth lunar month of winter. The sky was a clear blue, and the bright afternoon sunlight was shining through the gaps in the window sill, leaving behind mottled shadows on the ground, turning into golden spots. The deafening whine of a police siren outside the door broke the afternoon tranquility. The surrounding people had never seen such a large battle, and the door of Zhou's house at No. 11 Badaowan was already bustling with people.
It is difficult for the dawn moon to be light, and it is difficult for people to be sad. Zhou Zuoren was eventually imprisoned for the crime of traitor. As one of the leading figures of the New Culture Movement, he always had a large number of followers around him, but today he has fallen into disarray. Zhou's house, which used to be extremely prosperous, was ransacked, and all the valuable items in the house were taken away, and the servants, wives and concubines were dispersed in a rush. Husband and wife are originally birds of the same forest, and they fly separately when disaster strikes.
Zhou Zhai, which used to be bustling with traffic, is now quiet and silent. A storm was about to come, but no one ran away without thinking about themselves. The door to Zhou's house at No. 11 Badaowan has been tightly closed since that day, and the once-unparalleled glory and glory have finally come to an end.
"Cultural traitor" - Zhou Zuoren
In 1885, Zhou Zuoren was born in Shaoxing, Zhejiang. His elder brother is Mr. Lu Xun, the famous Chinese thinker Zhou Shuren, and his younger brother is Zhou Jianren, a famous modern biologist. Zhou Zuoren also made outstanding achievements in his early years. He was a famous essayist in China and was proficient in many languages, especially good at translating ancient Greek. It is precisely because of this that he relied on this to save his life in the rest of his life.
When he was young, Zhou Zuoren followed his elder brother in a private school to receive traditional Chinese education. In 1903, after Zhou Zuoren obtained a major in naval management, he went to Japan and studied there for many years. It was also during this period that Zhou Zuoren became particularly proficient in Japanese and other foreign languages. It was probably at this time that the seeds for later becoming a traitor were planted.
Peking Paoju Hutong Army Prison
Since the victory of the Sino-Japanese War of Resistance, all traitors who were famous during the war have been settled by the Nationalist government and arrested one by one and sentenced to death. Even Yin Rugeng and others who had close contacts with Chairman Chiang were no exception. How can the Chinese nation continue to tolerate such collaborators and traitors?
Zhou Zuoren was taken to the Nanjing government for trial. During this period, many former classmates and students rushed around to intercede for him. In November 1946, the Supreme Court convicted Zhou Zuoren of being a traitor and was imprisoned in the Peiping Paoju Hutong Army Prison. He will be sentenced to death by firing squad in the near future. After learning such news, Zhou Zuoren shed tears all day long, and his heart was filled with regret.
Everything is rough and down, and half of my life has been scattered. Zhou Zuoren's life in prison was indeed very difficult. Every day in the prison passes very slowly, and every day is spent waiting for execution and death in panic. Every day outside the hospital, the cries, shouts and curses of the condemned prisoners can be heard, just like the life-threatening curses in the Palace of Hell. They don't know if it will be their turn next.
In addition to enduring psychological torture, Zhou Zuoren also had to endure endless abuse and torture from the jailers every day. The long whip covered with barbs fell on him one after another, and he was beaten to pieces, leaving no intact part of his body. From time to time, he was interrogated by the government, and several military police officers came in to drag Zhou Zuoren out of his cell.
The only hope turned into despair little by little
After Zhou Zuoren spent two long months in Peking Prison, his former friend Hu Shi came to visit. "If you don't behave like a good Chinese, you have to be a traitor. All this happened today is your own fault, you can't blame others. I just ask you, is this feeling good or not?"
When Zhou Zuoren talked about his life in Peking Prison, his eyes were full of emptiness and despair: "Now I regard all damage and insult as floating clouds. I just watch the flowers blooming and falling in front of the court, and the clouds roll and relax in the sky. I I am already sentenced to death. How can I ask for anything when I am about to die? I just hope that for the sake of our past friendship, you can plead for me in front of the chairman of the committee. ”
Zhou Zuoren burst into tears, feeling extremely upset. How could such a pampered person in the past endure such torture in prison?
After not seeing him for a long time, Hu Shi saw that Zhou Zuoren's body was covered with scars and dried blood, his lips were white, his face was sallow and his muscles were thin, the wrinkles on his forehead and corners of his eyes were becoming more obvious, and an unbearable stench was scattered by the wind in the humid air. .
There is a good saying: "Regard all damage and insult as floating clouds." If Zhou Zuoren had this awareness when the enemy invaded, why would he end up in such a situation today? Seeing his former friend suffering here, Hu Shi finally couldn't bear it and promised Zhou Zuoren that he would intercede for him in front of the Chairman.
"Now that the country is employing people, you are a rare cultural person. I will try my best to plead for you in front of the chairman of the committee and save you from the death penalty." Such solemn words once again Zhou Zuoren's hope of survival was ignited, and he could only keep repeating the words "Thank you" in his mouth.
The snake swallows the elephant when the people are weak
In November 1946, with the efforts of Hu Shi and others, Zhou Zuoren was commuted to 14 years in prison. After learning this news, Zhou Zuoren not only did not feel grateful and repented, but instead made a fuss by appealing again and again. People's hearts are not as good as snakes swallowing elephants, and that's probably it.
Zhou Zuoren kept jumping around based on his wishful thinking, but the prisoners and guards in the prison no longer tolerated him. Every time he went to court, the prison guards would shackle Zhou Zuoren's hands and feet, then knock him unconscious and forcefully drag him out. Many inmates in the prison were jealous that Zhou Zuoren had such an opportunity, so they invariably harassed and beat him.
In December 1947, after many twists and turns, Zhou Zuoren's sentence was repeatedly reduced and reduced, and finally the sentence was changed to ten years in prison. During this period, Zhou Zuoren wrote several "confession letters" detailing his past mistakes. He was eloquent in his words and refused to admit his crime of being a traitor, with a strong and unreasonable attitude.
Zhou Zuoren was a rare translator. At that time, there were very few literati in the country who were proficient in Greek, so the central government decided to let him serve as a Greek translator. For this reason, Zhou Zuoren saved his life.
Conclusion
In January 1949, people with fixed-term imprisonment could be released on bail. Under this circumstance, Zhou Zuoren was temporarily free and walked out of this nightmare-filled Peiping. Paoju Hutong Army Prison. People today cannot see the moon of ancient times, but today's moon once illuminated the ancient people. After returning to the world, Zhou Zuoren seemed to have walked on the edge of hell. He suffered from physical and mental pain, and was deeply moved.
Zhou Zuoren’s fate today has a lot to do with his personality and character. Being a scholar and being a human being are two different things, but Zhou Zuoren became a slave of the enemy country and survived. As the old saying goes, you can't have your cake and eat it too. Zhou Zuoren finally paid such a painful price for his dirty soul.