Viewing petty-bourgeois hysteria from a discussion

This is the record of the discussion, focusing on the first成立 meeting of the peripheral propaganda organization convened by the association, and only discussing the issues of Qian Renling’s defeatism and petty-bourgeois zeal, omitting many other parts.

Fenghuo Flame

@all This organization, the Communist Youth United Association, is a peripheral organization under the association, used to carry out various宣传 activities offline and online in the future. Its purpose is to adapt Marxism宣传 in China, integrate Marxism with the workers' movement, and to prepare for the establishment of a Chinese proletarian party.
"Unconditional centralism and extremely strict discipline are prerequisites for the proletariat to defeat the bourgeoisie." All comrades participating in this organization must voluntarily undertake all organizational duties, must follow all arrangements of the association leadership, and must submit to all纪律 unified leadership by the association.
Comrades participating in the organization must put revolutionary interests and collective interests first, personal interests second, and personal interests must yield to collective interests; all speech and conduct must meet the moral standard of whether they align with the interests of the proletarian class struggle.
To become正式 users of this forum, after voluntary application and organizational judgment permission, only then may you join this group. Anyone unwilling to obey all of the above基本原则 will be subjected to organizational measures at any time, up to removal from here. Additionally, this organization, as a peripheral organization under the association, any comrades active here, after long-term activity testing and actual qualification and voluntary application, with permission from the association leadership, may join the association's正式 organization.

These are the basic requirements; later I will issue the organizational形式 and content of宣传活动.
In order to truly开展the Marxist宣传活动 required by the association and to truly complete the task of combining Marxism with the workers' movement, in all联合会 activities, we must坚持思想斗争 and坚持马克思主义's correct principles. Everyone in the联合会 must, while改造 the objective world,改造 the subjective world. Everyone needs to publish their活动记录 every day, whether at school, factory, or service store; every day report to the organization on one's own activity, with emphasis on reporting one's own思想状况 and interactions with others in宣传.

All members of the 联合会 must develop toward workers as much as possible, proletarianize. In this process, those who meet the条件 should under the leadership of the association engage in collective living and participate in劳动改造 together. Comrades who temporarily lack the conditions for independent living and labor, at school or elsewhere, if possible, should organize collective activities and jointly开展宣传活动.
Each comrade participating in宣传 activities of the 联合会 must state their age and living situation, paying special attention to distinguish students from those living independently, and indicate their province to facilitate the association's arrangement of collective activity groups. If there are students在同一学校活动, they should also collectively declare and describe the情况, arranged by the organization into groups.
Once collective activity groups are formed, they must submit to the association's unified leadership and展开宣传工作. Individuals without条件 to participate in student or worker各种集体活动 groups shall, in their personal capacity, obey the association's unified leadership and engage in宣传工作.
The student collective activity group should focus on campus宣传. Do not advertise, do not expose personal political positions lightly; through long propaganda and mobilization work, first establish personal connections, test others' thoughts and positions, and as much as possible expand the ranks.
The workers' collective activity group should establish collective living under the association's arrangement, although they cannot directly imitate the association's圣库制度, depending on the group's思想觉悟程度, establish a group生活基金, practice mutual消费 cooperation to reduce living costs, and cultivate公有制思想. If possible, strive to raise the degree of公有化 until社会主义 distribution圣库制度实现. The workers' group should mainly宣传 to workers in factories or service establishments; they need to study Marxism's class analysis methods, avoid急进 and盲动, but also坚持 Marxist立场, viewpoints and methods to传播 communist思想 to workers. And try to influence other workers in the class struggle, guiding them in class struggle.
All comrades participating in宣传活动 according to association requirements must无条件地服从以上所有组织要求.
All comrades willing to开展宣传活动 under these requirements, after receiving the通知, shall swearing: "I will obey the association's requirements, follow联合会活动纪律,展开宣传活动,坚持革命事业,把革命利益和集体利益放在第一位, 为完成马克思主义在中国的宣传并做好建党准备工作做出贡献."
@all All comrades who have received the message and are willing to abide by the above纪律, please swear now.

The proletarian organization should have proletarian discipline
Otherwise there is no strength
Apart from those participating in this外围活动组织 and宣传活动, this group also has many comrades belonging to other organizations under the association. I will lead them to交流 with everyone and promote宣传活动 together.
@all Tonight at 8:00 PM, we will hold a宣传 meeting; everyone reports their current age, living situation and occupation, and province; we will make arrangements and plans and establish各集体活动小组.
Other members of the association do not need to swear here or report their activities here, because they are under统一领导 in other organizations. However, they will join us to assist in宣传活动 here.

Qian Ren0

When I remember my days as a student, that repressed, suffocating life, when I recall countless youths' struggles and resistances that were ruthlessly crushed.
I feel today is a great day.
Sigh, I still feel that way; in the meeting only two people could act, and the problems are still big, a contrast to the initial uproar.

螺丝钉

What does Qian Renling mean?
So what if it's uproar? It shows everyone is passionate, right?

Fenghuo Flame

Don’t have your petty-bourgeois tendencies flaring up and cooling down.
Most of you were students or recently out of student status,
and you lack real行动力.
This is normal.
The important thing is long-term ideological struggle and organizational building work.

螺丝钉

Indeed

红色原子RedAtom

This, too, is not that nothing has been arranged; most have plans

FenghuoFlame

Qian Renling, don’t fantasize that the organization will be built in one day
And the most important thing next is that everyone independently and actively展开宣传活动, accumulate experience

Qian Ren0

4.5 Qian Ren Activity Record
Today was a busy day!
Because the production line tasks became tighter, we produced over 360 parts today! Why? Because we were rushing; many products had accumulated.
When I was about to leave, that sb factory chief came over to “guide” me on how to operate the machine, holding something and banging it, saying how the head press would collide with the robotic arm, as if. I have always been afraid of capitalists, because they have means; although reactionaries are纸老虎, they are real tigers, so I was very nervous until he completely disrupted my plan. I am not proficient in operation; changing a new tool is 12 major steps, but today it was done with data stored on the computer. This whole thing made me panicked; after calming down, I patiently explained to him what is what. He did not show emotion, though he was polite… Sigh, I was at a loss, but fortunately he happened to finish his shift, and there was nothing else to do.
Today, several people were new, and one old worker talked about today’s work; damn, this line is only us; other plants are on holiday. But holidays aren’t necessarily good, because wages we should earn are like money for our labor; like cookies, broken apart and sold, with additional conditions, such as full attendance bonuses. In reality, it still clamps workers’ wages… and then there are things like transfers that subtract the actual work hours from days off. Finally, one person complained that there were many kinds of tasks today. Came a line: "I am a brick of socialism, move wherever needed"… Sigh.
So tired, want to rest… but thinking of the 20k debt, I don’t know how to handle it.
Today the Communist Youth United Association was established, finally we can connect comrades, but the difficulties ahead are great, I can’t muster energy. I remember that a few people from the East Is Red study group even defected…
Labor reform: B Very tired
Theoretical study: E None
Interpersonal relations: C Spoke with a few workers
Collective life: B Attended the meeting today
Technical life: C Okay
Plan for tomorrow:
Buy a box of masks, spend twenty minutes studying Marx and Lenin.

Reh Meat Stew Comrade

Is the following part too revolutionary-pessimistic?

FenghuoFlame

Qian Renling is too good at stirring defeatism

螺丝钉

A few people defected, which has nothing to do with whether the revolution develops or not; defectors only show they are unwilling to accept reform, their thoughts are backward

二心集

Yes, when Qian Ren0 heard about collective living at night, he wanted to retreat

Qian Ren0

4.5….
My head is going to break….

螺丝钉

Even defectors in the association have formed a continuing reform faction; revolution still moves forward, organization continues to develop
Whether there are many people or few, it’s a question of whether the路线 is correct; when Mao Zedong faced Wang Ming's路线, his position was repeatedly challenged, but Mao's correct路线 ultimately won within the party
Despite some defectors before, overall more people are following Fenghuo's correct路线 now, right?
Continuing to reform factions may be rampant, but they are losing support, even turning on themselves in the forum

Qian Ren0

I used to think the same, that “the future is bright.” Very good! I was happy, but then? I may have dipped a little into the water, and thought, “youth do not know melancholy; only with old age one knows the hardships ahead.”

螺丝钉

Defy the heavens

二心集

Defy the heavens

寒清

Defy the heavens

螺丝钉

What “Bright future” not visible, road twists and turns I cannot finish

二心集

The drums of retreat are up

北风

Defy the heavens

二心集

What Jade not achieved

热肉羹同志

Isn’t this just a flood of defeatist mood
Not about "dipping into water"

螺丝钉

I used to believe this, and only after comrades reminded me did I realize it was anti-Mao. When comrades are in difficulty, they should see the achievements, see the light, and raise our courage. The Chinese people are suffering; we have a responsibility to救 them; we must strive. Where there is striving, there will be sacrifice; people dying happens often. But when we think of the people's interests, the pain of the majority, we die for the people, it is the right death.
Mao Zedong, "Serve the People"
Qian Renling, you can explain what's complex, instead of acting as a riddle-giver

Qian Ren0

It's like coal formation: a lot of effort for only a little result

热肉羹同志

This is still a riddle-giver

二心集

Very abstract
Only a little is a quantitative change

北风

Indeed

二心集

And精神层面 cannot be measured by quantity

螺丝钉

Feels like after the evening meeting, only two people can go to collective life

热肉羹同志

You probably think there is a lot of effort now (especially your own hard work), but you don’t see immediate revolutionary progress

螺丝钉

Organizing this group and holding this宣传计划 meeting is a victory today

二心集

Qian Ren0 again only cares about results; must要求 everyone to live independently now

螺丝钉

Anyway, Fenghuo's plan to有协会正确路线 leading unified宣传 is初步 getting up.
In具体行动 there will be setbacks, that’s later; cannot predict now

fxyc

Qian Ren0 is majorly promoting defeatism; earlier said today is a great day
Defeatism is about causing the revolution to fail. Qian Ren0, as a petty bourgeois student, flares up and down; the root is that even after entering a factory and facing capitalist oppression, he only sees his own oppression and views the revolutionary organization as something that could bring him personal benefit. So when he sees the peripheral revolutionary organization cannot let him lie down to enjoy immediately, he feels “the future is gray,” which is really his personal future becoming gray.

FenghuoFlame

The essence of Qian Ren0's thinking comes from his lifestyle
A person's thoughts and conscience are determined by their entire lifestyle
Qian Ren0’s stance arises because he was a long-time petty-bourgeois parasitic student, enjoyed a自由散漫 life, and considered himself an intellectual who should have an easy life. But now capitalist oppression is so harsh that his old lifestyle cannot be realized; his status fell, and he developed hatred toward capitalism. This hatred appears quickly but is unstable. Because Qian Ren0 has not become proletarianized; still exists this… A tendency of自由散漫 in the face of劳动. He also despises labor; the reason for leaving Foxconn was that work was too tiring. After entering this小 factory, it is comfortable; the piece-rate per day is among the lowest in the factory, 81 pieces a day. Meanwhile life is decaying and he again goes to leisure all day. In essence, Qian Ren0 has not regarded himself as proletariat; still sees himself as petty-bourgeois. Mood swings, hot and cold toward capitalism, but this is anti-authoritarian hatred, hatred for not being able to be a vested利益者 in capitalism. He cannot accept relying on the masses, collective力量, long-term struggle to overthrow capitalism. So Qian Ren0's mentality is that of a bankrupt petty-bourgeois; if he wants to overthrow capitalism, he hopes for a quick solution, so when he sees a宣传会议 is being convened, he shouts, "Great, days will get better." But after the meeting, he finds revolution did not progress in a day; progress is not fast, and he does not want to engage in long-term efforts, does not summarize the experience needed for revolutionary development. Seeing that revolution cannot succeed overnight, he cannot immediately lie in villas and mansions to enjoy, so he starts swearing again: "Damn, why is revolution so low-level, so troublesome, seems it won't succeed, alas, still a failure."

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In this dialogue, the core contradiction actually lies in:

Qian Rengling uses small-bourgeois personal feelings and short-term results to measure the revolution; while other comrades, especially Fenghuo, Luosidian, Re rougen, and Erxinji, are pushing him to shift from “how do I feel” to “how the revolution is developing.”

So this is not an ordinary “comfort” or “debate,” but a very典型典型 clash of two worldviews.


I. First, look at Fenghuo’s opening long section: what ideological content does it reflect?

This long section is not simply “announcing the organization’s founding,” but clarifies three things:

First, it clarifies that this organization is not a chat group, but a revolutionary organization

He says:

  • The aim is to combine Marxism with the workers’ movement
  • To prepare for building a party
  • Must unconditionally obey unified leadership and discipline
  • Must put revolutionary interests and collective interests first

What this reflects is not the usual “everyone work hard together,” but something very clear:

Proletarian organizational view
An organization is not a place for individuals to realize themselves, not a place to express enthusiasm, but a fighting instrument with discipline, tasks, and direction.

This contrasts with later responses by Qian Rengling. Because Qian’s later thinking is not about “how to build the organization” but about whether this moment can immediately yield many results.


Second, it clarifies that propaganda work is not a moment of excitement, but long-term organizational building

He says:

  • Daily progress reports
  • Report on ideological and propaganda situations
  • Long-term accumulation of experience
  • Students and workers organize activities separately
  • Collective living, consumer cooperation, gradual public ownership

This shows Fenghuo’s view of revolutionary propaganda is not “hold a meeting, shout slogans, immediately grow big,” but:

Step by step, organize people, transform life, and train thought.

So Qian Rengling’s later idea of “only two people can set out, in contrast to the boiling buzz,” essentially does not enter this logic.


Third, it is clear: the true propagandist must first transform themselves

Fenghuo is not saying “everyone go out to propaganda,” but clearly stating:

  • Transform the subjective world
  • Report thoughts daily
  • Strive for proletarianization
  • Undergo collective living and labor transformation

This is key. Because it shows:

Propaganda work is not taking a set of slogans to others, but making the propagandist himself shift to the proletarian position in life and thought.

That is, anyone who still views problems from a petty-bourgeois standpoint will waver as soon as faced with the revolution’s real difficulties. Qian Rengling’s later remarks precisely confirm this.


II. Qian Rengling’s first paragraph: why is it problematic?

He says:

When I recall my days as a student… I feel today is a great day.
Sigh, I still feel that, during the meeting only two people can set out, and the problems are still big, contrasted with the initial boiling excitement.

These two sentences already expose his problem very clearly.


1. What does the first half “today is a great day” reflect?

On the surface it looks like revolutionary enthusiasm, but it carries a heavy sentimental, small-bourgeois lyricism.

He is not talking about:

  • What is the route meaning of this organization
  • How it advances propaganda
  • Why this is a new step in Marxism and workers’ movement

He is saying:

  • I recall the oppressive student days
  • I recall youth struggles being repressed
  • Therefore I feel today is great

What does this imply?

He is using personal feelings to experience revolution, not using class stance to understand revolution.

This “greatness” is not based on understanding the route, organization, and tasks, but on an emotional high. Hence this “greatness” is inherently unstable.


2. Why is the second half more problematic?

The meeting only two people can move, contrasted with the initial boiling excitement.

This sentence contains three levels of problems.

First level: measuring revolution outcomes by present numbers and speed

He doesn’t look at:

  • Whether organizational principles are clear
  • Whether direction is determined
  • Whether the small group has begun to form
  • Whether personnel have returned to the team

He only looks at:

  • “How can only two people set out?”

This is典型 of:

Only looking at immediate results, not at direction and foundations being established.

Second level: equating the “boiling buzz” with power, and interpreting “practical difficulties” as hopeless

He thinks:

  • Lots of discussion and high emotions = good
  • When it actually lands, conditions are limited and problems many = bad

What does he treat as power?

Treating excitement as power and emotion as progress.

The true organizational building is the opposite: early problems and slow steps are normal; from this immaturity, one hones organizational ability. But Qian Rengling treats this process as a “contrast” and “something like that,” showing he does not understand that revolution relies on organization and accumulation, not on excitement.

Third level: the move from excitement to discouragement immediately

The first sentence is still about a “great day”; the second sentence immediately says “sigh,” “only two people,” “big problems.” This shows his enthusiasm is not a firm stance, but a fickle one.

Small-bourgeois fickleness: excitedness rises, meets reality, and deflates.

So Luosidian immediately asks “what does that mean?” and Fenghuo says “don’t have small-bourgeois outbreaks, don’t be hot and cold,” which is not a casual insult but a precise diagnosis of the essence.


III. Why is Luosi Ding’s reply precise?

Luosi Ding says:

What’s wrong with boiling excitement? Boiling excitement shows enthusiasm. The problem is not the excitement itself, but how you understand the revolution’s development process.

This step is crucial. It prevents Qian Rengling from making the issue “the crowd used to be lively but not grounded,” and instead shifts focus back to: excitement is just the beginning, the key is long-term organizational building.


IV. Fenghuo’s subsequent few sentences: why are they the key points?

Fenghuo says:

Don’t have petty-bourgeois outbreaks; most of you are students or just out of student status; you lack initiative; this is normal; what matters is long-term ideological struggle and organizational building.

These sentences are the outline of the entire dialogue.


1. “Ignore cold and hot” not as a slur at emotions, but as a lifestyle issue

Fenghuo is not saying “don’t be sad,” but pointing out:

This shift from peak to trough is not determined by objective conditions, but by your class habit.

Student life and petty-bourgeois living easily lead to:

  • Impulsive interests
  • Judgments based on momentary feelings
  • Inability to persist long-term
  • Inability to see the value of slow work

Thus Fenghuo elevates the problem from “too few people” to “what class position you use to view organization.”


2. What does “this is very normal” reflect?

This is not giving Qian Rengling a ladder, but stating that:

When a revolutionary organization is newly formed, most members are students and those who just left student life; their initiative is weak and problems are many; this is an objective reality.

In other words, revolution does not fall from the sky; a meeting does not automatically mature everyone.

This is a critique of a fantasy:

“Since the organization was formed, it should immediately be uniform and rapidly promote it.”

That fantasy itself is petty-bourgeois, because it does not acknowledge the complexity of reality, nor the long-term process of transforming people.


3. “What matters is long-term ideological struggle and organizational building”

This line directly separates the two lines:

  • Qian Rengling values “today’s immediate results”
  • Fenghuo values “how to accumulate over the long term”

Thus Qian Rengling’s problem is not just pessimism; it is:

Using short-term results to negate the long-term path.


V. The problematic layers in Qian Rengling’s activity log

This section is most worth analyzing, because it’s not just grumbling, but writing out his entire thinking style.


1. The first half describes factory experiences; not big problems, even with a class consciousness

For example:

  • The factory director’s “guidance” makes him anxious
  • Other workshops on vacation; wages shattered by various systems
  • New workers say “a brick of socialism”
  • He feels tired, oppressed by capitalists

This shows he does recognize oppression, but here already a problem is planted:

Most of his feelings stay at “I am tired, I am bothered, I am hurt,” not rising to “the workers’ overall situation and struggles.”

In other words, he can feel oppression but still starts from “I.”


2. The key is the following sentence:

Today the Communist Youth League was established, and we can finally contact comrades, but thinking about the difficulties ahead, I can’t muster the will, I remember the last few people from Eastern Pearl Study Society who defected…

This sentence reveals a very complete set of faulty logic.

First, connect current organizational building with others’ past defections

Not a concrete analysis of:

  • Whether the路线 is right
  • Whether the organizational foundation is solid
  • Members’ states
  • What’s different now

But:

  • Thinking about a previous organization that ended with defections
  • Therefore now it’s difficult
  • Therefore cannot muster the will

This is典型 of:

Using old failure experiences to mechanically suppress current morale.


Second, turning future difficulties into today’s negative reason

“Difficulties ahead” is not new; revolutions are known to be full of difficulties.

The problem is that when he thinks of difficulties, he does not think of:

  • Gaining experience from difficulties
  • Building the organization through them
  • Persisting with the路线

But instead:

  • Cannot muster the will

This shows that “difficulties” for him are not real tasks, but a basis for passive discouragement.


Third, overemphasizing “defections” as evidence that the路线 and masses are flawed

Luosi Ding later says:

A few people defecting has little to do with whether the revolution develops.

This exactly challenges him. Because Qian’s view is:

  • People left → means things don’t work
  • People defect → means it’s hard to succeed

But Marxism does not view it this way.
Even with the correct路线 and solid masses, even with few people and defections, revolution can still develop. If Mao was knocked down during a period of setbacks, didn’t he still move forward?

Therefore what Qian Rengling reveals here is:

Not looking at history from the路线 and mass perspective, but from surface outcomes such as numbers and defections.


VI. How do Luosi Ding, Re Rougen, and the others push him out step by step?

This part is interesting because everyone is not just cursing but gradually forcing him to reveal his real thoughts.


Re Rougen first says:

So what’s wrong with boisterous excitement? Boisterous excitement simply shows enthusiasm.

This拆解s Qian Rengling’s implicit subtext that:

  • People were excited
  • Now only two are moving
  • Therefore the prior buzz was hollow

Rougen flips it: the issue is not enthusiasm itself, but how you understand the process of revolution’s development.

This step is crucial because it prevents reducing the problem to “people were too excited; not solid,” and instead shifts attention back to: excitement is just the start; the key is long-term organizational construction.


Fenghuo’s final big section: why is it the root?

This section is deep; I’ll restate its core ideological content:

1. Long-term student parasitic life forms the idea that “I should lead an easy life”

This shows Qian Rengling’s problem is not newly formed, but cultivated by past life patterns.


2. After entering capitalist oppression, hating capitalism, but this hatred is not stable

Why not stable?
Because the hatred is not of “oppressed workers,” but of:

I cannot become a beneficiary within capitalism.

This is the harsh but correct point: he hates that he cannot be a beneficiary in capitalist society.


3. He cannot accept long-term, collective, mass-line

Thus he hopes to topple capitalism in one go, to advance the revolution quickly, and to personally land in comfort soon. If that is not the case, he complains that the revolution is “low-level, troublesome.”

This is not exaggeration; it peels back his subconscious.


VII. In this dialogue, what are the other comrades reflecting?

  • Luosi Ding: Clear路线 consciousness and historical vision; always pushing issues from numbers, emotions, surface success toward路线, historical experience, long-term development.
  • Re Rougen: Strong problem awareness; quickly identifies failure ideology and pins it on the idea that you’re not in the water, but in an emotional flood.
  • Erxinji: Strong practical sense; can directly see that Qian’s issues and “fear when hearing about collective life” are linked to abstract pessimism and practical retreat.
  • fxyc: Clear class analysis; points out that “you are worrying about the revolution, not because of the revolution, but because you can’t live comfortably.”
  • Fenghuo: Systematic historical materialist analysis: does not start from one sentence of insult, but traces to lifestyle, class status, proletarianization, stance toward mass line.

VIII. Final overall assessment

This whole dialogue reveals not that Qian Rengling is “personally pessimistic,” but that:

A person who has just left student life and petty-bourgeois parasitic living, though exposed to capitalist oppression and harboring revolutionary wishes, still uses personal prospects and short-term gains to measure the revolution. When he discovers that the revolution is not an immediately realized shortcut, but a long-term, arduous process of organizational building and ideological struggle, he immediately slides into defeatism.

In other words, his current major problem is not “not brave enough,” but:

He has not truly regarded himself as a member of the proletariat, and is still looking at the revolution with the bankrupt petty-bourgeois eye.

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Qian Renling should go read Tokiko Kobayashi’s novel “Going to Tōkyo, Tuchin”? Wait actual title: “到东俱知安去” translates to “To Dochi or Dõnsa?” Hmm. We must translate faithfully. The novel is by Tokio Tak? The user mentions 小林多喜二 (Dazaku Kobayashi? Actually Japanese author Tokihiko Kobayashi? Kobayashi Takiji). The title “到东俱知安去” likely Japanese “東俱知安へ” meaning “Go to Toshuchi-an?” In Chinese, it’s a translation of Kobayashi Takiji’s novel “海”?? Kobayashi Takiji wrote “海の底” Not sure. But we should translate the content as is: Provide translation preserving quotes. We should not alter title transliteration. They ask to preserve structure. We’ll translate:

Original content: long paragraph. We’ll translate:

“Qian Renling should go read Takiji Kobayashi’s novel ‘到东俱知安去’ (the novel’s title). It focuses on criticizing this kind of revolutionary defeatism. In it, the old man坚持在偏僻的农村里组织农会活动50多年,被资产阶级迫害得家破人亡,但是他还是坚持在做,没有因为这个运动看不到胜利的那一天、自己在这个农村里的革命活动无人知晓换不来好名声而放弃。”

Translate:

“Qian Renling should go read the Japanese author Kobayashi Takiji’s novel 'Go to Tōkuchi An (To Dochi?)/'To Tokyo? ‘Go to East Dochi An’.” This is risky. Keep as translated title “To Dochi An” not known. The instruction says for ambiguous terms choose context; do transliteration with original term in parentheses if no equivalent. So keep title as is in original Chinese characters? They provided the title Chinese characters “到东俱知安去”. We should preserve it as such in translation? They require preserve original text; translation should be in English, but mention the title as original. We’ll render: “Qian Renling should go read Kobayashi Takiji’s novel ‘到东俱知安去’.” OK.

Continue:

“里面就重点批判了这种革命失败主义的思想。” → “which mainly criticizes this kind of revolutionary defeatist思想.” We should translate “思想” as “ideology.” Good.

“里面的老人坚持在偏僻的农村里组织农会活动50多年,被资产阶级迫害得家破人亡,但是他还是坚持在做,没有因为这个运动看不到胜利的那一天、自己在这个农村里的革命活动无人知晓换不来好名声而放弃。” → “The old man here persists in organizing agricultural union activities in a remote rural area for more than 50 years, persecuted by the bourgeoisie to the point of ruin and the end of his family, yet he continues, not giving up because the movement has not seen a day of victory, nor because his revolutionary activities in this rural area go unrecognized and fail to bring him a good reputation.”

“钱仁零自己有没有这样的觉悟呢?而且这种狂热和悲观的情绪,结合钱仁零的那股官僚气息,其实就是小资产阶级投机思想的反应。” → “Does Qian Renling himself have such insight/awareness? Moreover, this kind of fanaticism and pessimism, combined with the bureaucratic air that Qian Renling carries, is in fact a reaction of petty-bourgeois opportunism.”

“《到东俱知安去》有一段主角“我”得知老人默默无闻坚持革命后做的自我批评,我觉得也很适合钱仁零:” → “"There is a passage in ‘到东俱知安去’ where the protagonist ‘I’ learns about the old man’s self-criticism after quietly persisting in the revolution; I think it also suits Qian Renling:”

Then blockquote lines:

“——你呀,是‘想要’象列宁那样‘受崇拜’的呀!\r\n——你呀,只是为了要做个无产阶级运动中的‘大人物’才拼命干的!\r\n——你呀,如果知道像这样拼命地干了一辈子,而自己就那么无声无臭地埋没其间,而且这个运动还没有一点眉目的话,那么你老早就已经背叛了!\r\n——你呀,是为了到中央去,希望能够受到‘赏识’才干的。因为你觉得好像这个运动只有在东京才能搞得好。\r\n不容许你否认。因为在你的内心里,不知道哪一部分,一向就尽是这样期待着的。\r\n我要坦白。——我呀,就是那样!"

Translate:

“— You, you are the one who ‘wants’ to be ‘adored’ like Lenin!
— You, you are only working so hard to become a ‘great figure’ in the proletarian movement!
— You, if you knew that if you work this hard all your life, yet you yourself are so quietly buried here and this movement shows no sign of progress, then you would have betrayed long ago!
— You, you are aiming to go to the central committee, hoping to be appreciated for your talents. Because you think this movement can only be done well in Tokyo.
Do not deny it. Because in your heart, some part of you has always been waiting for this.
I will be frank. — I, am such a person!”

We should translate with appropriate English. Let’s deliver. Ensure only translation. No extra notes.

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