Chen Duxiu’s Origins

Chen Duxiu was born in the town of Anqing in Anhui province in 1879. His father, a scholar-official and member of the local gentry, died when Chen was an infant leaving Chen in the care of his strict, traditional grandfather. Chen followed the normal course of Confucian Studies for you and passed the local level of the imperial exams in 1896.

Chen traveled to Nanjing in 1897 to attempt the next level of exams, but was completely disgusted by the experience. Spending nine days living in a small dormitory with fellow test takers, he saw the psychological damage the test was doing to his neighbors and began to doubt the effectiveness of the exam system. After failing himself, Chen decided to leave the exam system behind for good.

He turned his studies instead to the work of Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao.

Anqing in Anhui Province

Map by Croquant via Wikipedia.

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