July 1st, Party Founding Day | Celebrating the 101st Anniversary of the CPC: Wishing the Party a Happy Birthday!

July 1st: Founding of the Party | Stay True to Our Original Aspiration and Keep Forging Ahead

After its founding on July 23, 1921, the Communist Party of China was forced to operate in secrecy under the brutal rule of the reactionary warlord governments, lacking any environment for open activity. During the Great Revolution, the Party was preoccupied with cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communists, with mobilizing the workers’ and peasants’ movements, and with supporting the Northern Expedition, leaving it no opportunity to commemorate the Party’s birth.

“Little Docents” Recruitment Notice | The fifth session of the 2022 “Little Docents – Summer Cultural Classroom” is now open!

The Diligence and Integrity Chapter of Linchuan Culture | A True Gentleman of Loyalty, Filial Piety, Benevolence, and Righteousness — On the Personal Charisma of Tang Xianzu

Tang Xianzu was a towering literary figure of the late Ming period in China. To be hailed as a true master, profound literary skill alone is far from sufficient; what truly endears one to the public is often an extraordinary, transcendent, and deeply moving personal charisma—like Su Dongpo, who, despite repeated demotions, never lost his joy; or like Liu Wendian, whose eccentricity and boldness never compromised his sense of justice. As a quintessential gentleman steeped in traditional culture, upholding loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, and righteousness, Master Tang’s character too deserves our careful contemplation. In matters of service to the ruler, he remained loyal without compromising his principles. “Loyalty” was the cardinal virtue demanded of the junzi in classical Confucian thought; Zengzi once said, “I examine myself three times each day,” with the first question being, “Have I been disloyal in my dealings with others?” Subsequent historical records likewise distinguished between the loyal and the treacherous, inscribing the names of loyal ministers in the annals of fame—for example, Yan Zhenqing and Wen Tianxiang—while those branded as traitors were condemned to eternal infamy, such as Qin Hui, who to this day kneels before Yue Fei’s tomb, enduring the scorn of passing visitors. Loyalty comes in many forms, varying in degree and wisdom; born in the waning years of the Ming, Tang’s loyalty was that of a great patriot standing resolutely against the decay of a crumbling age. This is most vividly illustrated by his memorial, submitted in the nineteenth year of the Wanli reign while serving as chief clerk of the Nanjing Hall of the Imperial Secretariat, the widely acclaimed “Memorial on the Ministers and Censors.” In it, he boldly offended the Grand Secretary Shen Shixing, laying bare the pressing malpractices of the time: “Your Majesty has governed the realm for twenty years now. During the first decade, Zhang Juzheng, firm yet ambitious, allowed private cliques to foment chaos; in the second decade, Shen Shixing, gentle yet greedy, again permitted private factions to undermine order.” Though this episode ended with Tang’s demotion to Xuwén, the very officials he denounced—Grand Secretary Shen Shixing and Vice‑Grand Secretary Wang Xijue—were soon granted retirement, while censors of the Ministries of Rites and Revenue were summarily removed. Thus, Tang’s act may well be described as a heroic stand: “Unafraid to shatter my body, so long as purity remains in this world.” Yet after the twenty-fifth year of the Wanli reign, when the emperor ordered the opening of mines in Zhejiang and dispatched tax‑collecting eunuchs to plunder the people’s wealth, Tang wrote in his letter “To County Magistrate Wu Ruzhe”: “What of the mountain‑searching envoys? Not a single place finds peace; fear grows that the land will split apart.” He further observed, “Even the rain seems troubled by the burden of taxation,” revealing the gravity of the misrule. Consequently, upon returning to the capital in the twenty-sixth year of the Wanli era to present his annual report, he angrily resigned and withdrew to his hometown. As Zou Diguang recorded in his “Biography of Master Tang of Linchuan”: “The gentleman, forthright and unassuming, could neither bow nor kowtow, nor endure the disdainful glances of high officials. Moreover, the affairs of mining and taxation were rife with irregularities; on the day of his official report, he promptly petitioned the Ministry of Personnel to resign. Though the minister in charge tried to retain him, though the selection office sought to keep him, even the imperial censor-in-chief urged him to stay, he nevertheless departed with unwavering resolve, and no force could turn back his determined march.” It is clear that, owing to Tang’s uncompromising temperament, though he was profoundly loyal, he would never compromise his integrity by acquiescing to the emperor’s corrupt policies; thus, he chose to resign rather than betray his principles.

Dragon Boat Festival Season | “Waiting for You” at the Memorial Hall — A Dragon Boat Festival Visit

The Dragon Boat Festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month each year. According to the “Jingchu Sui Shi Ji,” during midsummer, people climb high places to take advantage of the yang energy that rises upward; since the fifth month is midsummer, its first “wu” day happens to be a fine day for ascending heights and embracing the yang. Thus, the fifth day of the fifth lunar month is also known as the “Duanyang Festival.”

Public Service Sharing | Tang Xianzu was a calligrapher at the age of 18.