1946 165438+1October16 in the morning, a police car roared through the main street of Nanjing and came to an abrupt end in front of the capital high court set up by the Kuomintang government in Chaotian Palace, Nanjing. Several bailiffs escorted a skinny prisoner in a suit from the car to the court. He is the famous writer Zhou Zuoren.
Scholars and writers help each other.
1September 2, 945, China, Japan; The Missouri II warship signed the surrender document. Under the pressure of the people all over the country, the Kuomintang authorities began to rape Dai Li, the leader of the military system, in September, and went to North China with the task of catching traitors. Zhou Zuoren was naturally included in the list of big traitors. Like other traitors, he lives in panic. In the same year1October 6, 10, Zhou Zuoren received an invitation signed by Wang Yintai, Chairman of the North China Committee, which said, Please come to the Philippines. At 5o'clock in the afternoon, Zhou Zuoren arrived as promised, and other traitors arrived one after another. At 8 o'clock in the evening, the banquet officially began. Just as everyone raised their glasses frequently, Dai Li, who had already been ambushed, suddenly appeared, arrested all the people attending the banquet and escorted them to the prison of Beijing Artillery Bureau. Six months later, these people were taken to Nanjing and detained in Nanjing Tiger Bridge Prison.
During his detention, Shen Jianshi, Dean of the School of Literature of Fu Jen Catholic University, visited Zhou Zuoren in the detention center, saying that he had contacted Zhang Huai, Professor Dong Xifan, President Hu Shi of Peking University, Professor Yu Pingbo and other people 14 to prepare a collective statement and asked the court for a light sentence. Zhou Zuoren was moved to tears by his old friend. He sobbed and said, in order to save Zhou Zuoren, you are as kind as a mountain!
1June, 946 18, Shen Jianshi presented Zhou Zuoren with a certificate of commendation to the Capital High Court, indicating that Zhou Zuoren had made achievements in maintaining culture and education and passive resistance during his tenure in the puppet government. Zhou Zuoren is a hero of the New Culture Movement, and his participation in the pseudo-organization is not out of his true will. Thirteen famous university professors and literary celebrities signed a petition demanding leniency.
Trials in the three courts are very complicated.
1946 June19, the capital high court held its first public hearing, and the court appointed lawyer Wansheng to defend Zhou Zuoren. During the trial, Zhou Zuoren confessed his false position. When the judge asked why he wanted to join a pseudo-organization, Zhou Zuoren said that he didn't want to be an official, but he struggled to maintain education and resist slavery.
In his reply, he strongly refuted the allegations in the lawsuit; Slavery education in accordance with the aggressive plan; Not in line with the facts. Before the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, when Zhu Jiahua, Minister of Education of the Kuomintang government visited Beiping, he gave a lecture to all the teaching staff in Zhongshan Park, clearly acknowledging that education in North China had never been enslaved. Zhou Zuoren provided a report published in North China Daily1945165438+10 17, in which Zhu Jiahua claimed that education in North China was not enslaved, and the speech entitled "Students are Real" made by Chairman Jiang Zemin in Peiping on June 3 of the same year was particularly sufficient evidence. Zhou Zuoren thinks that his education in North China has nothing negative to the country, and he is lucky to express himself to the world. He also believes that he has covered underground workers in education, such as Professor Yang He from Women's College, Shen Jianshi, Dean of the School of Arts of Fu Jen Catholic University, and Dong Xifan, Dean of Fu Jen Catholic University. And rescued Professor Lu Zhiwei, President Ye Hong of yenching university and others. And provided the corresponding witnesses to request the court to investigate. Later,
During the trial, Professor Yang from Fu Jen Catholic University, Professor Yang from Northwest University, Professor Yang from yenching university and Professor Yang from Sanjiang University testified that Zhou Zuoren had rescued and sheltered underground workers and cultural figures. Zhou Zuoren also pointed out that when Peking University moved to the mainland after the fall of Beiping, Jiang Menglin, the president of Peking University, appointed him to stay, as evidenced by a telegram. Jiang Menglin, then Secretary-General of the Executive Yuan, wrote to the court to prove that he had sent the late Meng Sen, Feng Zuxun, Ma Yuzao and Zhou Zuoren to keep the property of Peking University. On August 9th, 1946, Professor Cai Yingfan and Professor Zhang Peihu of Northwest University reported to the court that Yang was Zhou Zuoren's son-in-law, and the evidence was doubtful.
1946 September19, the court held its second session, and the defender Wang Long was appointed to appear in court. Wang Long, a barrister in the Republic of China, insisted on appearing in court voluntarily after learning that his classmate Zhou Zuoren was arrested. After the first trial, the Capital High Court investigated the evidence. First, it was confirmed that Shen Jianshi had replied to the imperial court: his underground work in Peiping and his family were captured by the enemy, and it was unknown whether Zhou Zuoren pleaded with the Japanese. Yang was identified as Zhou Zuoren. He is my son-in-law, and his testimony is useless. Zhu Jiahua, Minister of Education, wrote back and testified that his lectures to cultural circles in Peiping were for loyal ministers, not traitors. However, the Beiping Library wrote that his books were left in Beiping, and Zhou Zuoren did not suffer any losses during his tenure; The president of Peking University also testified in court that Zhou Zuoren's books were well kept and were not lost, but only increased. After the trial, the presiding judge asked me to write to the Shanghai High Court and the Ministry of Education to investigate the testimony of Dong Xifan and Qian, and then hold regular court sessions. After the second trial, the court could not make a judgment.
On September 20th, 1946, a Beijing citizen wrote to the Capital High Court and sent a fairy tale book of a popular newspaper by express mail, proving that Zhou Zuoren enslaved not only modern people, but also children and teenagers. However, Zhou Zuoren retorted that "A Girl's Dream" was written by the author Mei Niang, just as a preface to writing.
1946165438+1October 9, the capital high court held its third session. The presiding judge read out the defense of the Ministry of Education. It is not known whether Zuo Ren was released on bail after his second arrest. The court obtained new evidence, and Zhou Zuoren delivered a speech at the Japan-China Association to express his good feelings for the Japanese. There are also newspaper clippings from the military bureau as evidence. According to the investigation by the Military Bureau, Zhou Zuoren was unfilial to his mother. Zhou Zuoren argued that he could not leave Peiping without him because he was forced by life. Participated in a pseudo-organization, served as the administrative director of education in North China and the pseudo-dean of Peking University College of Literature. Although he has done a lot of things, his original intention is not to make young people fake. At the end of the trial, Wang Wenjun, the public prosecutor, claimed that Zhou Zuoren's participation in the fake post was true, and that the defendant had no major criminal acts and had many books to protect, which could be used as a reference for sentencing.
1946 1 161October 16, the capital high court sentenced Zhou Zuoren to fixed-term imprisonment 14 years and deprived of public rights16 for treason. All his property was confiscated except his family. Living expenses.
Be kind to others.
After the court pronounced the sentence, Zhou Zuoren was dumbfounded and couldn't say a word for a long time. No matter how the presiding judge and the reporter asked questions, Zhou Zuoren remained silent. Back in the detention center, celebrities came to visit, including Shen Jianshi, former dean of the School of Literature of Fu Jen Catholic University, and Wang Long, a famous lawyer. Soon a stranger came to the prison, saying that he was entrusted by a dead friend and gave Zhou Zuoren a letter. When I opened it on Monday, it was written in blood by a student named Tan Tianci.
1946165438+1October 28th, he submitted a petition, claiming that he was 63 years old. Although he was sentenced to 14 years in prison, it still looks no different from life imprisonment, and the sentence is quite long. Can painting cakes satisfy hunger? Wang lung also applied to the Supreme Court to acquit Zhou Zuoren. 1947 12 19, the supreme court made a final judgment, holding that the applicant did have weak will, defected, disobeyed, etc., but his fake job was biased towards culture, there was no major crime, and he had helped the people resist Japan and other beneficial behaviors. Therefore, the punishment was mitigated according to law and sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment 10 years. Zhou Zuoren still refuses to accept the verdict, but to no avail. He was sent to Tiger Bridge Prison to serve his sentence.
At the beginning of 1949, the Nanking National Government moved to the south in panic. Acting President Li Zongren, under the pressure of the Kuomintang-Communist peace talks, ordered the release of political prisoners and criminals sentenced to life imprisonment, and Zhou Zuoren regained his freedom.