Hidden in European archives, China's winding journey towards national rejuvenation

PURSUING IDEALS

Unlike the vibrant Avenue des Champs-Elysees, the street of Rue Godefroy in Paris is usually serene and quiet. Only a commemorative plaque near an obscure hotel draws the attention of the passers-by: Zhou Enlai lived in this building during his stay in France from 1922 to 1924.

Since 1919, thousands of progressive young Chinese went to France, where they worked in factories in Paris, Lyon and Montargis to earn money for their studies in the country. Among these prominent figures were late Chinese leaders Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping.

Many of those young Chinese became interested in Marxism, and they established a communist party group in France.

In the street of Rue Raymond Tellier in Montargis, a 300-year-old building, once the residence of some Chinese students and now the Historical Museum on Franco-Chinese friendship, keeps files documenting that part of history.

A faded picture shows that Cai Hesen, an early leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC), was delivering a speech to a dozen students sitting or standing at a corner of Durzy Park, not far from their residence. Their blurry faces were hard to recognize but their passion to save their homeland was apparent.

Among the collections, a copy of a deportation order issued in 1926 shows that Deng, the chief architect of China's reform and opening-up, was deported under his previous name -- Deng Xixian, for organizing Chinese students and workers in France in support of a workers' movement in China.

Despite all the adversities, the seeds of hope started to sprout in China in 1921 when the CPC held its first national congress and announced the founding of the party.

With the fundamental purpose of "serving the people wholeheartedly," the CPC garnered immense support from the masses and powered through grueling and difficult times.

After the arduous Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, the People's Republic of China (PRC) was founded on Oct. 1, 1949, opening a new chapter in Chinese history.