Zhang Jing: Chen YiZi’s spiritual legacy- conscience and belief

Mr. Chen YiZi is dead. Another name is added to the list of Chinese exiles that died in a foreign country.

The uncorrupted Chen YiZi left us a precious spiritual legacy; an intellectual’s conscience and belief.  His conscience and belief is mainly reflected in these three aspects:

First,  he is an intellectual with with social responsibility. He does his duty for the society: imparting knowledge as a university professor, led economic and political reform. His plans have succeeded to benefit the Chinese society.  Especially during the student movement against the military suppression of his students, he issued a “six-point statement on the current situation” very commitment. He deserves to be a model for Chinese intellectuals, he had conscience.  He isn’t afraid to leave his homes, exile for 20 for his life. His mind hasn’t change even till he die.

Second, he was a proud and tenacious struggle with the disease, and would rather give up the first-line treatment of returning hope. He refuse to write a guarantee, and decided to stick to his own moral. He said: “As a Chinese citizen, I ​​can not sell my soul. The government can investigate me and interview me but I will not accept the government to ask me to write a guarantee.” From what point of view was he wrong? When he faces the difficulties of the Chinese authorities, he did not change his moral, did not lose faith, do not tarnish the dignity of exiles. He has no regrets even if he has to die in a foreign land.

Third,  he is chivalrous. Chen YiZi has a lot of friends from different levels of society, whether officials or mason bricklayer scholar, whether high or low status, as long as they are righteous they are his guest of honor. He broke the traditional of being “with the same class of people, things and clustering” frame, all friendship is important. An immigrant from Fujian, lastname Gao, is miserable when they talked about Chen YiZi, he said: My knowledge and status simply can not be compared with him, but we are good friends, we talk about national issues, but also to talk about household chores, and when I have a issue he will resolve it happily, he really was a great man! As many years have pass after the escape with sea route, Chen YiZi sees LiuGe (Sixth Brother) as his benefactor. It is understood that as Chen YiZi wrote his last wishes he decided to leave a part for LiuGe in his book “Memoirs.”

In today’s China, there aren’t much intellectual that has conscience. Intellectuals that spoke about their opinion is either arrested or has been missing. It is the 25th anniversary of the June Fourth Incident at Tiananmen Square, many exiles haven’t been home for ages. Every Mid-Autumn Festival moon, the heart feels so empty, from exiles Wang Ruowang, Zhao Pinlu, Ge Yang, Liu Binyan, Fang Lizhi, Qing Huang to today’s Chen YiZi, we all understand that the Communist regime is a rogue regime, China has no political and institutional changes, we will not have the return date, in exile on this road of no return, we rely on what? Conscience and faith, is our own moral bottom line! Dead exiles have kept their conscience and beliefs, since we live in will treasure their spiritual heritage, let conscience and faith to accompany us to continue to live, and, as always, to promote democracy, freedom and human rights in China, I believe the the solution is in not far from us. ‘