Thoughts and Reflections on Watching the 1921 Film

The film begins with modern Chinese history, recounting how the Communist Party of China, under the guidance of early founders and theoretical pioneers such as Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao, gradually moved from theory to practice to establish an advanced communist party for China. This provided China with a proletarian leadership collective, driving the gradual development and progress of our nation through the New Democratic Revolution and the socialist revolution. The first national congress of our Party was originally held in a Red Building within the Shanghai concessions. Later, due to certain circumstances, it was successfully concluded on a fishing boat on South Lake in Jiaxing, Zhejiang. The convening of the first national congress marked the beginning of China's development in communism and socialism.

Reflecting on that time, Shanghai in 1921 was filled with foreign concessions, and the situation was tense. Thirteen passionate youths from all corners of the country, with an average age of only 28, set out from the plight of national peril. They transformed their youthful ideals into a conviction to save the nation and its people and to seek the truth. Breaking through the surveillance and tracking of various complex international forces, they gathered in Shanghai. Under the leadership and promotion of Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao, the first national congress of the Communist Party of China was held in Shanghai on July 23, 1921, announcing the formal establishment of a party that would change the future and destiny of hundreds of millions of citizens. From then on, Chinese history entered a new chapter.

Since 1840, we have endured over a hundred years of modern history filled with humiliation, shattering the arrogant dreams of feudalism. Yet, this also gradually opened the curtain on China's modern development and industrialization. Generations of thinkers and politicians gradually promoted different political theories across the land of China, promoting the renewal of modern Chinese thought and culture through these means.

Driven by these ideas, from tools to ideologies, and from the macro to the micro, we have come to understand that China's development is determined by the Chinese people themselves. We cannot simply copy other theories and systems; China's development must be combined with China's reality.

For us youth today, we must have confidence in our system and our theories, and possess the backbone and integrity of the Chinese people. We must persist in theoretical innovation and continue to forge ahead. We must combine our personal ideals with the great rejuvenation of our motherland and nation. With a youthful self, we shall create a youthful country, a youthful nation, and a youthful society. We youth are at a critical period in the great rejuvenation of our motherland. We believe that under the leadership of our Party, we will surely achieve basic socialist modernization by 2035 and become a prosperous, democratic, civilized, harmonious, and beautiful modern socialist power by the centenary of the founding of the People's Republic.

As the new youth of this era, we must learn from the unyielding spirit of our communist predecessors. We must be steadfast and willing to work, avoiding impetuosity. We must keep our feet on the ground, starting from the present and from the smallest details. We must insist on practical action as our standard, avoid being empty dreamers, and strengthen our study of communist theory and thought. We must strive unremittingly to become better successors to the communist cause!

We must constantly innovate while also mastering our excellent traditional culture. To be Chinese is to have the ambition, backbone, and confidence of the Chinese people. We have reason to be confident, and the Chinese nation has even more reason to be confident! Just as Liang Qichao said in "Young China": "If the youth are strong, the country is strong; if the youth are independent, the country is independent; if the youth are free, the country is free; if the youth surpass Europe, the country surpasses Europe; if the youth are powerful on Earth, the country is powerful on Earth!"

New youth, look back to 1921. Our Communist Party was founded by 13 youths with an average age of 28. Under such arduous conditions, they were brave enough to blaze new trails. It was their flesh and blood that forged the prosperous era we enjoy today, giving us the opportunity to achieve national liberation and the prosperity of the people. No matter the time, we must never forget them. Let us bury our longing for them deep in our hearts and use practical actions to embody how the youth of the new era should act and think. Let us use our actions to build the iron wall they forged with their flesh and blood.

Let us work hard together, new youth. Although we have achieved a moderately prosperous society, the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is far from complete, and the goal of becoming a strong, modern socialist country has yet to be realized. At this moment, we must not lose heart or become discouraged. We must continue to carry forward their fine traditions, inherit the red gene, continue the red bloodline, study hard, and keep striving. Let us embody the great responsibility and commitment of the youth of the new era with our body and soul!

Author's Note