On this day, 38 years ago, on December 17, 1987 (October 27, 1987, the lunar calendar), Jiang Chunfang, founder of China's Modern Encyclopedia, passed away. Jiang Chunfang died of pancreatic cancer due to overwork on December 17, 1987. "In the Magic Valley, good news is heard frequently, and the most unforgettable speaker in the era of darkness and lonely lights; in the Cultural Park, spiritual seedlings are widely planted, and they are not only the founders of the encyclopedia cause." This is an elegiac couplet written for him by Mr. Zhao Puchu, and it is also the most pertinent evaluation of his life. A few days ago, I received the book "The Biography of Jiang Chunfang, the Founder of China's Modern Encyclopedia-" co-authored by my father's colleague Yang Zhe and former editor of the People's Publishing House. The book was published by China Federation of Literary and Art Circles Press. Yang Zhe once participated in the compilation of "Encyclopedia of China" and served as the editor of "Foreign Literature" and "China Literature" volumes. Jiang Chunfang was a veteran cadre who joined the Party in 1932 and served as the propaganda minister of the Communist Party of Manchuria. For the convenience of underground work, he moved 13 times and experienced ups and downs. Like the movie "Revolutionary Family", his parents fully supported his revolutionary activities. For quite some time, his home was the best place for meetings of the main leaders of the Manchuria Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, and his mother was a secret transportation officer. General Yang Jingyu, who was once secretary of the Harbin Municipal Party Committee of the Communist Party of China, lived in his home and had a great influence on him. In 1933, Yang Jingyu received instructions from his superiors and returned to Nanmanchuria to organize an anti-Japanese coalition team. Without travel expenses, he sent the long gown and thin mattress he was wearing to the pawnshop and exchanged for his ticket. After leaving, he handed the pawn ticket to Jiang's mother for safekeeping, saying that he would redeem it next time he returned to Kazakhstan. Unexpectedly, he would end up forever. Hearing the news of the general's death, Jiang's mother pooled money to redeem the relics, which are now in the Northeast Revolutionary Martyrs Memorial Hall. After the liberation of the country, Jiang Chunfang served as deputy director of the Central Manres Compilation and Translation Bureau. As the authority on Russian translation, he presided over the translation of Lenin and Stalin's works for more than ten years. Later, he translated "Selected Works of Mao Mao" and "On the Cultivation of Communist Party Members". We can see how heavy the burden is. They are both veteran cadres and university scholars, and there are very few such talents in the party. However, during the Cultural Revolution, he was imprisoned in Qincheng Prison. In prison, he thought repeatedly: Why did this catastrophe occur? The conclusion is that the country's culture is backward, its thoughts are ignorant, and its blind superstition make democracy and the legal system useless, allowing bad people to do whatever they want. He believes that China urgently needs to popularize cultural knowledge and improve the quality level of the entire nation. He was inspired by the French Encyclopedia School's publication of "Encyclopedia Française" and criticizing feudal ignorance with materialism, and believed that China should have its own encyclopedia. After being released from prison, Jiang Chunfang ran around, cheering for the publication of the Encyclopedia of China, but she was frustrated and considered unrealistic. With the fall of the Gang of Four, Jiang Chunfang actively negotiated with relevant departments on this matter and received support. The "Request for Instructions on Editing and Publishing the" Encyclopedia of China "he personally drafted was submitted to the central government for approval. Comrade Deng Xiaoping also approved the establishment of China Encyclopedia Publishing House to be responsible for this work. It can be said that "those who work hard will never live up to them; where there is a will, things will succeed." Without an office, he borrowed the publishing bureau's dispatch office as a contact point. Without funds, he borrowed 40 yuan from the publishing bureau. The edition library vacated three bungalows in Beizongbu Hutong where debris was piled up and lent them temporary offices. At the end of 1978, Jiang Chunfang was officially appointed by the State Council as the editor-in-chief of "Encyclopedia of China." The people he invited can be called elites from all walks of life. In addition to Zhu Yujin and Zeng Yanxiu as deputy editor-in-chief, there are also a group of experts and scholars such as Yan Mingfu, Zhou Youguang, Liu Zunqi, Ni Haishu, Wang Jihua, Tang Shouyu, Jin Changzheng, Lin Bingyuan, and Wang Guming. There is no name, no profit, no enjoyment, no "peach" to pick here; what everyone carries is a sincere loyalty to promoting China's cultural undertakings. There are no "officials" here, so they call each other by their surnames. As order has just begun to be rectified, some comrades have not yet been completely rehabilitated. Some people solemnly proposed that for the sake of academic seriousness and maintaining a rigorous style of seeking truth from facts, they are not afraid of going to jail again, let alone being beheaded. Seeing this, the author couldn't help but shed tears. What a group of conscientious intellectuals they are! They are the backbone of China and the hope for the motherland to take off. Through brainstorming, everyone clarified their ideas and adopted Jiang Chunfang's "dividing volumes according to major categories, compiling one subject after another." He believes that first of all, the country is in urgent need of encyclopedias; Second, due to the interference of the "Cultural Revolution", scientific, technological and cultural talents were cut out, and the older generation of experts and scholars were severely reduced. Those who were alive were already elderly. If the knowledge in their hearts was not "rescued" as soon as possible, it would bring irreparable losses to the compilation of the book. Facts proved his foresight. He knows that to compile an encyclopedia that represents China's academic achievements, it must rely on the participation of the entire intellectual community, especially first-class experts in various disciplines in China. In order to realize his ambition, Jiang Chunfang relied on martyrdom piety to drag her sick and disabled body around. In order to discover talents, they traveled all over the world. Among the talents were both "farmers" who were "demoted" to Xinjiang and "Beidahuang people" who were exiled to the Northeast during the "Cultural Revolution". Especially Comrade Yan Mingfu, in order to mobilize someone, especially those who still had "remaining problems", he often had to travel a long way and get things done with relevant units. Through large-scale recruitment and "promotion of people," a large number of China's best experts and scholars, such as Ji Xianlin, Qian Weichang, Hou Wailu, Zhong Jingwen, Zhang Youyu, Hua Luogeng, Su Buqing, Mao Dun, and Ba Jin, were gathered in the work of "China Encyclopedia." At the end of 1984, with the help of his daughter, he personally delivered appointment letters to the deputy director and members of the Editorial Committee. Some people saw that he was in poor health and suggested asking other leaders to deliver it. Jiang Chunfang said: "What I sent was not just an appointment letter, but also a gratitude and respect on behalf of the entire editorial board. No one else can replace it, so I will go even if I climb!" Physicist Wang Zhuxi died of illness, but Jiang Chunfang still sent him. Wang's mother was moved to tears. Peking University professor Zhu Dexi lived on the fourth floor. At that time, Jiang Chunfang's vision was very poor and she was almost blind. However, she did not need anyone to help and grabbed the handrail and went upstairs. Watching Jiang Chunfang slowly downstairs, Zhu Dexi's eyes became moist, and he resolutely decided to take on all the work of the Encyclopedia's "Language and Character" volume. Jiang Chunfang's notebook is filled with the names of those who have sent letters of appointment: Yu Guangyuan, Bei Shizhang, Wu Jieping, Song Shilun, Ji Xianlin, Zhou Yang, Mao Yisheng, Wang Li, Zhao Puchu, Xia Yan... It can be said that when the Gang of Four was first smashed, many experts and scholars were exhausted; They have not even implemented the policy yet, and they are unable or unwilling to undertake such heavy work. They were able to stand up because they were completely moved by Jiang Chunfang's sincerity. Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that without Jiang Chunfang's cohesion and his efforts, there would be no Today's Encyclopedia of China. Comment that he is the well-deserved founder of "Encyclopedia of China" and people will always miss him.