SCALAPINO, R and G.T. YU. The Chinese Anarchist
Movement -6- ANARCHISM AND THE NATIONALIST
REVOLUTION
Shih-fu and His Movement
Before Marxist-Leninist-Maoism, Anarchist banners had already been planted in
China proper and a much larger circle of Chinese intellectuals had gained some
acquaintance with Anarchist theory. One of the first to take the ideas of Hsin
Shih-chi into China was Liu Szu-fu, better known as Shih Fu. [
1] Liu came to Anarchism
from Sun’s T’ung Meng Hui. Born in 1884 near Canton, he developed into an
excellent classical student, but one showing revolutionary tendencies even
before leaving China. In 1904, he went to Japan to continue his education, and
the following year, he took an active part in the establishment of the Tokyo
T’ung Meng Hui. Nor were all of Liu’s studies academic. He also studied the art
of manufacturing explosives, although as we shall soon see, perhaps he did not
master the subject.
- Liu Shi-fu
In 1906, learning that Sun would attempt an uprising in Kwangtung, Liu along
with many other students left Japan for home. Upon reaching Hong Kong, however,
Liu accepted the editorship of a local journal and remained there. The following
year, it was decided that a successful revolt in Kwangtung would be facilitated
by the assassination of either the governor or the naval commander. The latter,
Li Chun; was chosen as the target and Liu volunteered to serve as executioner.
Due to Liu’s carelessness, however, an accident occurred and the bomb exploded
prematurely. He was severely wounded, and lost all the fingers on his left hand.
This incident also resulted in his arrest, and while the police were unable to
determine his exact mission, he spent nearly three years in prison, and was
released then only because his literary efforts were so admired by local
officials that they petitioned higher authorities on his behalf.
Following his release from prison in 1909, Liu returned to Hong Kong. During
his confinement and afterward, he had moved steadily toward anarchism, finally
becoming a full disciple of the
Hsin Shih-chi doctrines. In Hong Kong,
Liu and others organized an assassination group dedicated to anarchism and
having no contact with the T’ung Meng Hui. [
2] This group was planning the assassination of the
Prince Regent, Tsai-li (Wang Ching-wei’s intended victim) when the Revolution of
1911 broke out. After the revolution, the group picked another target, Yuan
Shih-k’ai, but according to Liu, "a certain person" asked them not to act in
haste. [
3]
About this time, in 1912, Liu and his followers founded the Hui-Ming
Hseh-she, "The Society of Cocks Crowing in the Dark," in Canton. The objective
of the new society was to propagate Anarchism at the mass level, to move from
"destructive" to "constructive" work. And for the next three years, until his
premature death of tuberculosis in March 1915, Liu was one of the pillars of the
active movement. In addition to the Hui-ming Hsueh-she, Liu and his comrades in
1913 founded the Hsin-she, "Heart Society, " in Canton. It was intended to be a
preliminary organization to a full-fledged Anarchist Movement. The Hsin-she had
twelve conditions for membership:
1. No eating of meat.
2. No drinking of liquor.
3. No smoking.
4. No use of servants.
5. No marriage.
6. No use of a family name (thus Liu changed his name to Shih Fu).
7. No acceptance of government office.
8. No riding in sedan chairs or rickshaws.
9. No acceptance of parliamentary seats.
10. No joining of political parties.
11. No joining of an army or navy.
12. No acceptance of religion. [
4]
The Society to Advance Morality and its Impact
The Hsin-she had an earlier and more significant model. In January 1912, the
Chin-te Hui, "Society to Advance Morality, " had been founded by Wu Chih-hui, Li
Shih-tseng, Chang Chi, and Wang Ching-wei. [
5] Most of the Paris group
had returned to China shortly after the 1911 Revolution. They were making their
political impact felt in a variety of ways. None was more interesting than the
Chin-te Hui. In propagating their Society, Wu and the others argued that basic
social reform had to accompany political change. The reason for the corruption
of the Ch’ing regime, they argued, was due to the corruption of Chinese society;
its most common forms being prostitution, gambling, and the concubine system.
Hence China must build a new morality attuned to the new society that had to be
created.
As befitted an Anarchist-inspired movement, the Chin-te Hui had no president
or other officers, no regulations, no dues or fines. New members were simply
introduced by old ones, and had their names recorded on a membership roll. And
if a member was discovered to have violated the Covenant of the Society, other
members were supposed merely to "raise their hats," indicate their unhappiness,
and "respectfully implore in silence." [
6] The full Chin-te Hui
regulations were very complicated. There were five types of membership, with
increasingly rigorous requirements at each level. "Supporting members, " the
lowest level, agreed not to visit prostitutes and not to gamble. "General
members" agreed in addition not to take concubines. Beyond this, however, there
was a special covenant that established three special divisions of members. The
Special A Division members accepted the above restrictions, and in addition
agreed not to become government officials. "Some one has to watch over
officials" noted the covenant. [
7] Special B Division
members added to the above prohibitions the agreement not to become members of
parliament and not to smoke. "Legislators watch over officials ’but someone has
to watch over the legislators." [
8] Finally, Special C
Division members accepted all previous stipulations and also promised not to
drink liquor or eat meat. [
9]
The Paris rules, refined, were being brought home. It is almost startling to
discover how widely the new anarchist morality was permeating the "new" Chinese
intelligentsia. For example, its influence was apparent in the Chinese Socialist
Party, a party established by Chiang K’ang-hu (Kiang Kang-hu), shortly after the
1911 Revolution. Chiang, who had close ties with Sun Yat-sen, was strongly
criticized by Liu and other Anarchists, as we shall note. However, he coined the
phrase, "The three no’s and the two eaches, " and even organized a 3-2 Study
Society. The "three no’s" referred to no government, no family, and no religion
The "two eaches" were from each according to his ability and to each according
to his need. In abbreviated form, this was Anarchist-Communism, even if Chiang
was not really faithful to that creed. In an effort to be more faithful, one
branch of the Chinese Socialist Party headed by Lo Wu and Fen Fen broke away,
and proclaimed itself an advocate of Anarchist-Communism while retaining the
label Socialist Party. Yuan Shih-kai suppressed both branches shortly, but
during their brief life, they were further testimony to the rapidly expanding
influence of anarchist thought within Chinese "progressive" circles. There is
also an account of Ts’ai Yuan-p’ei founding a Liu-pu Hui, Six No’s Society, with
rules akin to the Chin-te Hui, possibly its offshoot: no prostitutes, gambling,
concubines, meat, liquor, or smoking. All members were supposed to observe the
first three rules; the latter three were optional. [
10]
There is some indication that the widespread impact of anarchist thought,
combined no doubt with the historic "reluctance for power and glory" so deeply
implanted in traditional Chinese ethics had a definite effect in limiting the
political leadership available to the new revolutionary era. According to the
Min-li Pao, both Sun and Yuan Shih-k’ai were willing to have Wang
Ching-wei as Premier, but since he was a Special B Division member of the
Chin-te Hui, he declined. [
11] And on another occasion, a most interesting
letter from a Fukien province comrade was published in
Min-li Pao. [
12] Conditions were very difficult, he
reported, and one Wang Tzu-yuan was needed to take over the educational system
in the province However, Wang, being a Special C Division member of the Chin- te
Hui, refused. Could not Wang’s membership be changed temporarily to the general
category, and then, when his task was finished, revert to Special C Division
status asked the writer? Wu Chih-hui answered the letter with a flat refusal to
consider any such request. He did assert, however, that if Wang wanted to aid
the Fukien educational program, he could serve as the head of an educational
society, or act as an adviser. In these capacities, a few of the anarchists did
begin to assist the Nationalist government, but there can be little doubt that
many refused to play the kind of political role that was so desperately needed
in a period when trained personnel were extremely scarce in comparison with the
tasks at hand. To some extent the anarchist movement must share the
responsibility for the rapid collapse of Nationalist aspirations after 1911.
Anarchist-Communist Themes
By 1913, a number of intellectual groups were cultivating Anarchist theories
and values, especially in south China. But the most active movement, and the
great bulk of publications during this period, came from Shih Fu and his
Hui-ming Hsueh-she. As its organ, the
Hui-ming-lu, "The Voice of the Cock
Crowing in the Dark," began publication on August 20, 1913. [
13] It used the Esperanto
name,
La Voco de La Popolo, and after the first few issues, changed its
Chinese title to
Min Sheng, "The Voice of the People." In this journal
and also in separate pamphlets, were reprinted various original articles and
translations from Hsin Shih-chi. In this manner, Anarchist thought was widely
disseminated. The names of Proudhon, Bakunin, Kropotkin, and Malatesta - and
some of their theories - were now introduced into the main stream of Chinese
"progressivism." In mid-1914, a Society of Anarchist-Communist Comrades was
established in Canton. [
14] Anarchist
associations were also formed in Nanking, Shanghai, and several other centers.
Communication was established with the international anarchist movement; indeed,
in August, 1914, Shih Fu wrote a report to the International Anarchist Congress
on the past history and current condition of the Chinese Anarchist Movement. [
15] Exchanges were
established with such foreign Anarchist Movements as those in Japan and the
United States. [
16] To facilitate this
international exchange and to support universalism in all respects, the
Esperanto movement was strongly pushed, and Shih Fu actually became an officer
in the International Esperanto Association.
While the Anarchists may have benefitted occasionally from the near-chaotic
conditions in China, this was scarcely an era of political freedom. Shih Fu and
his comrades were kept almost constantly on the move. When the southern armies
were defeated and Lung Chi-kuang entered Canton, the Hui-ming Hseh-she was
closed. Shih Fu, whose arrest had been ordered by Yuan Shih-k’ai, moved his
operation to Macao. Here the third and fourth issues of his journal were
published, but heavy pressures were put upon Portuguese officials, and once more
Shih Fu was forced to move. Shanghai, and especially the International
Settlement, provided the greatest safety for subversive movements during this
era. Min Sheng continued to be published there until its final demise, with
issue number twenty-nine, on November 28, 1916. [
17]
The Hui-ming-lu opened with a declaration that it would be the voice of the
people, speaking as their organ. [
18] Having set forth this
ambitious goal, Shih Fu proceeded to assert that the evil nature of social
organization was responsible for public misery, and that only by carrying out a
basic world revolution and destroying all present social authority, would the
people attain the true happiness of freedom. "Our principles are communism,
anti-militarism, Syndicalism, anti-religion, anti-family, vegetarianism, an
international language, and universal harmony. We also support all the new
scientific discoveries which advance man’s livelihood." [
19] The Anarchist-Communist creed could not have
been put more succinctly. In the first major article, Shih Fu attempted a simple
explanation of Anarchism, drawing upon Hsin Shih-chi and such Western sources as
Kropotkin. [
20] By the abolition of government and
the institution of communism, classes will be equalized and the struggle for
money will cease. Then life will be free, and the society of contention will
become one of mutual love. If we could eliminate the struggle over property and
over lust by wiping out the institutions of private property and marriage,
argued Shih Fu, 80-90% of all killings could be eliminated. Evil and immorality
were due to society not to man. Only through Anarchist-Communism, asserted Shih
Fu, could the fruits of science be properly utilized for the benefit of all. If
education could be available to everyone without patriotic and militaristic
indoctrination, then every man could have a knowledge of science and it would no
longer be a monopoly of the few, to be used for capitalistic material gain. [
21]
Another significant article seeking to define Anarchist-Communism was written
by Shih Fu in April, 1914. [
22] Since both the terms
"Anarchism" and "communism" were new to the Chinese language, many
misunderstandings had resulted, he stated. Anarchism advocated the complete
freedom of people, unrestrained by any controls, with all leaders and organs of
power eliminated. "The great teacher of Anarchism, Kropotkin had put it simply:
’Anarchism means no authority.’ " And, said Shih Fu, the most dangerous
authority in modern society was capitalism, hence Anarchists must also be
Socialists. "Socialism advocates that the means of production and its products
must belong to society. " Two major Socialist factions existed, according to
Shih Fu, communism and collectivism. Communism advocated the common ownership of
production and products? with each working according to his ability and taking
according to his needs. Collectivism advocated the public or state ownership of
production, but private ownership of the basic essentials of livelihood [like
the word "communism", the word "collectivism" also has a different literal
meaning in Chinese than when it is commonly used in English: In Chinese, the
word for a "collective enterprise" (Ji-ti Qi-ye) literally means an assembly of
people in a bureaucracy (a "tree of people") - very different from our
understanding of Michael Bakunin’s Collectivism or a workers collective - more
like Bolshevism or Fabian Socialism - Shih Fu substantiates this translation by
identifying Karl Marx as the father of "collectivism."]. Shih Fu took his
position with communism. [
23]
The Anarcho-Communist society spelled out more fully by Shih Fu in one of his
last major articles. [
24] All means of
production would be socially owned, but producers (presumably everyone) would
have the right to use them freely. This would be a classless society where all
would work. There would be no government, no armies, no police, and no jails; no
laws or regulations, only freely organized groups to adjust jobs and production,
to supply the people with their needs. There would be no institution of
marriage. Mothers and children would be taken care of in public hospitals. All
children from six years to the age of twenty or twenty-five would receive free
education. Upon graduation they would work until the age of forty-five or fifty,
and then be taken care of through public old-age homes. Religion of all types
would be abolished, and in its place, "the natural morality of mutual aid" would
be allowed to develop fully. Each person would work between three and four hours
daily. Education would be given in Esperanto; "native languages" would be slowly
eliminated. How was this Utopia to be achieved? First, all media of public
communication were to be used to spread these ideas to the people — newspapers,
books, speeches, and schools. During the period of propaganda, several
additional methods were to be employed: resistance to taxes and military
conscription, and also strikes. Assassination was also to be employed. When the
time was ripe, a popular revolution to overthrow the government and capitalism
should be produced. And a popular revolution had to mean a world revolution This
world revolution would start in Europe, in such areas as France, Germany,
England, Spain, Italy, and Russia where the ideas of Anarchism were already
widely advanced. Then it would spread to South and North America, and finally to
Asia. China had to hasten and catch up, lest she become a drag on world
progress.
Shih Fu first tackled the problem of backsliders. He was shocked by the fact
that Chang Chi had allowed himself to be elected to parliament, and even
accepted the office of parliamentary president under the Republic in 1913. Chang
had violated the Chin-te Hui agreement, wrote Shih Fu, in querying Wu Chih-hui
about this matter. [
25] Wu defended Chang Chi
in his reply by asserting that since Chang had already been a member of
parliament when the Chin-te Hui was organized, he had become only a Special A
Division member of the society and therefore had not broken any rule. [
26] Shih Fu was not satisfied with
this answer, insisting that a true Anarchist could not legitimately accept any
public office. [
27]
Shih Fu’s main battle, however, was against Sun Yat-sen and Chiang K’ang-hu,
especially the latter. [
28] He admitted that most
people believed that these were the two leading Socialists of China, and he
proclaimed himself touched that they had the courage to speak out. But he denied
that either was a bona fide Socialist. Sun was principally a political
revolutionist, and the study of socialism was not his speciality. [
29] "But his heart is
drunk with the teachings of Henry George and he wants to put the single tax into
practice in China." [
30]
Georgism, said Shih Fu, was social reform, not socialism. He acknowledged
that Sun claimed to advocate "collective" Socialism, and that at a meeting of
the Chinese Socialist Party, Sun had paid great homage to Das Capital by Marx,
the father of "collectivism." But Shih Fu insisted that Sun’s attempts to fuse
George and Marx, his assertion that their theories were mutually compatible,
were erroneous. Sun had confused social reformism with Socialism.
Chiang K’ang-hu, according to Shih Fu, was also a social reformer rather than
a Socialist. To be sure, Chiang had written some laudatory passages about
communism. But Chiang’s program called merely for legal reforms’ arms
limitations, the land tax, and equal education; it did not involve public
ownership of the means of production. Shih Fu argued that in reality, Chiang was
closer to Saint Simon. He regarded him as hopelessly confused, and sprang to the
attack more than once. [
31] Nor was Lo Wu’s "Pure
Socialist Party’’ acceptable. While its constitution might advocate
Anarchist-Communism, the very fact that it acted as a conventional party barred
it from orthodoxy. "We have no work except that of overthrowing the present
authority," asserted Shih Fu:
"We are not like other political parties which have plans and
policies Following the overthrow of governments and the attainment of Anarchism,
there will be no Anarchist party." [32]
Later, Wu Chih-hui was to write:
"Since the death of Shih Fu, the Anarchist Party of China has been
scattered and indifferent it seems as if Shih Fu’s death from tuberculosis has
caused the Chinese Anarchist Party to suffer also from this disease." [33]
The death of Shih Fu removed a dynamic figure from the Chinese Anarchist
Movement and certainly damaged it severely However, organizational efforts not
only went forward between 1916 and 1920, but in some respects, anarchist thought
had its greatest influence upon young Chinese intellectuals during this period.
Anarchist societies continued or were formed in Peking, Nanking, Shensi, and
Shanghai. [
34] During this period,
anarchist thought and writings penetrated deeply into student circles at Peking
University and elsewhere. Student journals such as Chin-hua (Evolution), Hsin
ch’ao (New Currents ), and Kuo-min (The Citizen), carried the admixture of
Anarchist, Socialist, and democratic ideas that were now flowing into China. [
35] A lack of funds and governmental restrictions
made it difficult to keep the student and intellectual journals alive It was
possible, however, to have study groups, reading circles, and individual
correspondence. And Peking [Beijing] was now unquestionably the center of such
activities. Through these channels. Anarchism was a strong force, perhaps the
dominant one, among the radical avant garde as World War I ended. Indeed, when
the Bolsheviks made their first overtures to the Chinese intellectuals, it was
inevitable that they would have intimate contact with the Anarchists in China,
just as they did in Japan. [
36]
[
1] A brief biography of Shih Fu appears at the
beginning of his collective works,
Shih Fu wen-ts`on (Collective Works of
Shih Fu), Canton, 1927. See also his biography in the Anarchist publication
Ko-ming hsien-ch’ (the Vanguard of Revolution), Shanghai, 1928. For a
sketch in English, see H. E. Shaw, "A Chinese Revolutionist,"
Mother
Earth, Vol.X, No.8, October, 1915, pp.284-5.
[
2] Shih Fu wen-ts’un, op. cit.
[
3] Ibid.
[
4] Ibid. See also Feng Tzu-yu, op. cit., Vol.II,
pp. 207-211.
[
5] For a detailed description of the Chin-te Hui,
see Chang Hsing yen, "On the Chin-te Hui",
Min-li Pao, February 26, 1912,
p. 2, and the special Chin-te Hui section which was subsequently carried in that
newspaper. See also Wu Chih-hui’s reply to Shih Fu in
Min Sheng, No. 2,
August 27, 1913, p.10.
[
6] "Covenant of the Chin-te Hui",
Min-li
Pao, February 26, 1912, p. 2
[
7] Ibid., p. 2
[
8] Ibid., p.2.
[
9] From time to time, lists of members were given
in
Min-li Pao. General members included Ts’ai Yuan-piei, Chang Hsing-yen,
and according to a new list of March 1, 1912, Hu Han-min among others. Special A
Division members included Chang Chi, Chang Ching-chiang, Tai Chi-tiao and many
others. B Division members included Wang Ching-wei and Chiu Min-i. C Division
included Wu Chih-hui and Li Shih-tseng.
[
10] Ibid., March 2, 1912, p.3.
[
11] Ibid., March 6. 1912, p.3.
[
12] Ibid., April 21, 1912, p.2.
[
13] A complete set of these papers is available and
has been used by the authors.
[
14] For its declaration, see "Declaration of the
Society of Anarchist Communist Comrades," Min Sheng, No.19, July 18, 1914, pp.
6-9.
[
15] See Shih Fu’s "Letter to the International
Anarchist Congress,"
Min Sheng No.16, June 27, 1914, pp. 4-8. This is a
valuable source, especially for current developments.
[
16] For example, in
Min Sheng, No. 21,
August 2, 1914, the receipt of one of Emma Goldman’s books is acknowledged, and
her picture is printed. In the same issue, is a note stating that despite the
seizure and suppression of Osugi Sakae’s new journal,
Heimin Shimbun (The
Commoner Newspaper), Min Sheng has secretly received a copy of issue No.1.
Scarcely an issue of
Min Sheng, moreover, was without news of some
foreign anarchist party or movement. In issue No.13, an advertisement appears on
p. 12 for a Chinese socialist and Anarchist journal published in Burma called
Cheng Sheng (The Voice of Justice).
[
17] Shih Fu lived until after the publication of
issue No. 22. It is reported that after every issue, he became ill from
over-exhaustion. Following his death, Min Sheng was changed to a bi-weekly, and
the last few issues were published very irregularly. At a later point, the
Anarchists began to publish the magazine again
[
18] "Declaration, " Hui - ming -lu,No. 1, August
20, 1913, pp. 1 - 2.
[
19] Ibid., p. 2.
[
20] "A Simple Explanation of Anarchism," Ibid., pp.
2-8.
[
21] Ibid.
[
22] "Explaining the term ’Anarchist-Communism’,"
Min Sheng, No. 5, April 11, 1914, pp.1-5.
[
23] Ibid.
[
24] "The Aims and Methods of the
Anarchist-Communist Party," Ibid., No.19, July 18, 1914, pp. 6-9.
[
25] "First Letter of Shih Fu to Wu Chih-hui,"
Ibid., No. 2, August 27, 1913, pp.9-10.
[
26] "Wu Chih-hui’s Reply," Ibid., No. 2, August 27,
1912, p.10.
[
27] "Shih Fu’s Letter to Chang Chi," Ibid.,
pp.10-11.
[
28] See especially "The Socialism of Sun Yat-sen
and Chiang K’ang-hu," Ibid., No. 6, April 18, 1914, pp.1-7, and Chiang
K’ang-hu’s "Anarchism," Ibid., No.17-18, July 4-11, 1914, pp.6-7; 5-7
[
29] "The Socialism of Sun Yat-sen and Chiang
K’ang-hu," op. cit., pp.1-7.
[
30] Ibid.
[
31] "Argument Against Chiang K’ang-hu," Ibid.,
No.14, June 13, 1914. pp.159-167, continued in No. 15, June 20, 1914,
pp.171-177. See also "The Anarchism of Chiang K’ang-hu," Ibid., No.17, July 4,
1914, pp.6-7, continued in No.18, July 11, 1914, pp. 5-7.
[
32] See Shih Fu’s "In Answer to Lo Wu," Ibid.,
No.7, April 25, 1914, pp. 9-11; and his "On the Socialist Party," Ibid., No. 9,
May 9, 1914, pp.1-6.
[
33] Wu Chih-hui, "Remembering Mr. Shih Fu," in Wu
Chih-hui ch’an-chi (The Complete Works of Wu Chih-hui), Shanghai, 1927. Vol.8,
pp.115-117.
[
34] See Yang Ch’uan, "Social Reform Thought of the
Last Thirty Years in China," Tung-fang tsa-chih, Vol. 21, No. 17, September 10,
1924, pp. 50-56.
[
35] Ibid.
[
36] See Liang Ping-hsien (using the pen-name Hai-y
Ku-X’e) "Special Memoirs of the Liberation," Tzu-yu Jen (The Freeman), Hong
Kong, Nos. 73-86, Nov. 14 - Dec. 29, 1951. Liang was a member of the Hui-ming
Hseh-she and these are an exceedingly valuable series of articles pertaining to
such questions as the origins of the Chinese Communist movement, and the
relation of the Anarchists to its opening stages.
