Searching for Light: Reflections and Recollections Before Marx’s Birthplace

In the summer of 2022, I participated in a delegation from Chinese and European vocational colleges, and the final stop of the inspection tour was Germany. As an old-line industrial power, Germany is a country with highly developed vocational education, and its high-quality training of skilled personnel has contributed to its advanced modern manufacturing industry. Although we only stayed in Germany for two days, the delegation members unanimously proposed that we must find time to visit Marx’s birthplace. For every Chinese person, Marx is a great revolutionary pioneer of the proletariat worthy of eternal remembrance and reverence; his brilliant ideas not only influenced the world but also changed China. Therefore, Chinese tourists visiting Germany all have a complex about Marx’s birthplace. According to German media, Chinese people have a sentiment that one has not truly been to Germany without visiting Trier. Naturally, we were no exception.

2022年夏，我参加了中欧职业院校考察团，考察的最后一站选在了德国。作为世界老牌工业大国，德国是职业教育非常发达的国家，高质量的职业技能人才培养成就了德国先进的现代制造业。尽管在德国只逗留了两天时间，但考察团成员一致提议挤时间也要探访马克思故居。对于每个中国人来说，马克思是值得永远追思和景仰的伟大无产阶级革命先驱，他的光辉思想不仅影响了世界，更改变了中国。所以，到德国的中国游客都有马克思故居情结，按德国媒体的说法，中国人颇有些不到特里尔，不算去过德国的情怀。当然我们也不例外。

We set out in the morning from our base in Saarbrücken, taking a train to Trier, the city where Marx’s birthplace is located. Along the way, we enjoyed the rural scenery, which added a touch of pleasure to our visit to Marx’s birthplace. Outside the window, low, dark mountain ranges stretched in the distance; in the open areas, sparse clusters of small trees dotted the soft, tender green slopes. Residential buildings gathered in twos and threes, their white walls, red or blue-gray tiled gabled roofs, and the blue sky complementing each other, giving the villages an ancient, elegant, yet fresh and bright appearance. An hour and a half later, we arrived at our destination. Trier is situated in the Moselle River valley basin on Germany’s southwestern border and was once the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire. The city has a history of more than 2,000 years since its founding and is the German city with the most surviving relics from the ancient Roman era. The clear Moselle River flows through the city, and the clusters of buildings, squares, and streets, bearing deep historical memories, reflect Germany’s oldest urban character. Marx’s birthplace is located on Brückenstrasse in the city center. As the place of Marx’s birth, the house carries a history closely intertwined with that of this ancient city. It not only represents classic 18th-century German Baroque architecture but has also become a site of remembrance and visitation for tourists and scholars from around the world. Marx’s birthplace has the typical style of an 18th-century European residence: a three-story circular building with a small courtyard in the middle, cream-white walls, a dark gray roof, brown doorframes and window sills, and flowers placed on the windowsills—warm and elegant. In 1818, Marx’s father, Heinrich Marx, rented the house here, and on May 5 of the same year, Marx was born in it. The Marx family lived here for a year and a half before moving to nearby Simeonstrasse. After Marx’s death in 1883, due to a lack of written records and the passage of time, people could no longer ascertain the house where Marx was born. Fortunately, in 1904, Friedrich Schüttel, an activist of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, while flipping through local newspapers from 1818, happened upon a moving notice from Marx’s father: “I have moved into Frau Peyers’ house, Brückergasse 64, on May 1. Attorney Marx.” Frau Peyers’ house was undoubtedly Marx’s birthplace. In 1928, the Social Democratic Party of Germany, in preparation for establishing a Marx and Engels memorial, allocated nearly 100,000 marks from its funds to purchase this building. However, shortly after the memorial opened, it was confiscated by the local Nazi government, and the artifacts and facilities within were stolen or damaged. After the end of World War II, the West German government returned the residence to the Social Democratic Party and supported the establishment of the museum. The renovated Marx Birthplace Memorial was reopened to the public in 1947.

我们上午从驻地萨尔布吕肯出发，乘火车前往马克思故居所在地特里尔市，一路欣赏了沿途的乡村美景，为探访马克思故居平添了几分愉悦。车窗外远处低矮的墨色群山连绵起伏，开阔处稀疏的小树丛点缀在柔和的嫩绿色山坡上，居民楼三三两两聚在一起，白墙、红或青色瓦片的人字屋顶与蓝天交相辉映，使村庄显得古老典雅而又清新明快。一个半小时后，我们抵达了此行的目的地。特里尔市地处德国西南边陲摩泽尔河谷盆地，曾是东罗马帝国的首都。特里尔建城距今已有2000多年的历史，也是德国现存古罗马时代遗迹最多的城市。清澈的摩泽尔河穿城而过，带着深厚历史记忆的建筑群和广场街道体现了德国最古老的城镇风貌。马克思故居坐落于市中心的布吕肯街，作为马克思的出生地，故居承载着的历史与这座古老城市的历史紧密相连，不仅代表了18世纪德国经典巴洛克建筑，更成为世界各地游客和广大学者缅怀探访的场所。马克思故居具有典型的18世纪欧洲民居的风格，一座环形的三层小楼，中间带个小院，乳白色墙壁、深灰色的屋顶、棕色的门楣和窗沿、窗台上摆放了鲜花，温馨而雅致。1818年，马克思父亲亨利希·马克思租居于此，同年5月5日，马克思在此诞生。马克思一家在这里住了一年半便搬往不远处的西蒙大街。1883年马克思逝世后，因缺乏文字记载且时间久远，人们已无从知晓马克思出生的居所。幸运的是，1904年德国社会民主党积极分子费里德里希·施内特尔在翻阅1818年的当地报刊时偶然发现一条马克思父亲的搬家公告，“我已于五月一日搬进佩耶夫人的房子，布吕克尔巷64号。马克思律师启”。佩耶夫人的房子便是马克思的出生地无疑了。1928年，德国社会民主党为筹建马克思和恩格斯纪念馆，从基金中抽取近10万马克购得这座建筑，但纪念馆开馆没多久便被当地的德国纳粹政府没收，场馆中的文物设施也被窃走或损毁。二战结束后，西德新政府将居所还给社会民主党并支持建馆，修缮后的马克思故居纪念馆于1947年重新对外开放。

Entering the birthplace and observing the residence of this great thinker up close, one feels a solemn and reverent atmosphere, with excitement and respect welling up in the heart. On the right side of the first floor is the reception room. The sole staff member in the reception room plays multiple roles, acting as both ticket seller and souvenir vendor. Here, one can buy postcards of the birthplace and local scenery, posters, and reprints of Marx’s original works, and can pick up a free electronic audio guide. Opposite the reception room are the former living room and kitchen of the Marx family, as well as the office where Marx’s father worked. The living room is furnished with classical furniture, and family photos hang on the walls, sketching out the warm scenes of Marx’s youth. In Marx’s youth, although his family was that of ordinary urban townspeople, his parents held a relatively high socioeconomic status. His father, Heinrich Marx, was a well-known local lawyer; his mother, Henriette Pressburg, came from a wealthy Dutch family. The Marx family also owned a vineyard along the Moselle River, placing them in the middle class at the time. Like many older-generation proletarian revolutionaries in our country who came from well-off family backgrounds, Marx could have lived a life free from worries about food and clothing, but he resolutely broke with his family’s “predetermined” arrangements and chose a thorny path of striving for the “unity of the proletariat of the world.” From his youth, Marx aspired to change and benefit society. In his 1835 high school graduation essay, Marx expressed his views on young people’s career choices with a strong sense of social responsibility: “If we choose the profession that works most for the welfare of humanity, then no burden can overwhelm us, because it is a sacrifice for everyone.” In his later years of exile, Marx never experienced a lasting and glamorous career throughout his life, but he opened up a vast field of struggle for the ideals and freedom of the world’s底层 working people. As Marx himself said, “I am a citizen of the world.” He endured the hardships of displacement throughout his life for the cause of communism, yet he never changed his original aspiration or wavered in his commitment.

进入故居，近距离观察这位伟大思想家的居所，感受到的是庄严肃穆的氛围，心中的激动和敬意油然而生。故居一楼的右手边是接待室，接待室里唯一的工作人员充当着不同角色，既是售票员又是纪念品售货员，在这里可以买到故居及当地风景明信片、海报和马克思原著的翻印品，可以免费领取电子导游讲解器。接待室的对面就是当年马克思家的客厅和厨房及其父亲用来办公的场所，客厅摆放着古典家具，墙壁上挂着家庭照，勾勒出马克思少年时代温馨的生活场景。在马克思的少年时代，尽管处于一个普通的城镇市民家庭，但父母的社会经济地位相对较高。父亲亨利希·马克思是当地有名的律师，母亲亨利埃特·普莱斯堡出身于荷兰富裕之家，马克思家在摩泽尔河畔还拥有自己的葡萄庄园，在当时属于中产阶级，一如我们国内众多拥有殷实家境的老一辈无产阶级革命家，马克思原本可以过上衣食无忧的生活，但他却毅然地与家庭“既定”的安排相决裂，选择了一条为“全世界无产阶级联合起来”奋斗的荆棘之路。少年时期的马克思便立志于改变和造福社会，在1835年的中学毕业论文中，马克思以强大的社会责任感抒发了自己对年轻人择业的看法：“如果我们选择了最能为人类福利而劳动的职业，那么，重担就不能把我们压倒，因为这是为大家而献身。”在后来的流亡生涯中，马克思一辈子都没有体验过持久光鲜的职业，但却为世界底层劳动人民的理想和自由开创了一片广阔的奋斗天地。正如马克思自己所说“我是世界公民”，他一生为共产主义事业饱尝颠沛流离之苦，但仍初心不改、矢志不渝。

The second floor was originally the bedroom of the Marx family. The first room near the staircase is where Marx was born. After being converted into a memorial, the second floor mainly presents the biographies of Marx and Engels and the background of the international communist movement of the time. Display cases contain some of the works of Marx and Engels, along with historical materials, documents, and manuscripts related to their work and lives. Marx was diligent throughout his life and produced a wealth of writings. His experience of exile in multiple countries gave him a dialectical perspective for observing and analyzing problems that transcended any single country, nation, or era. Therefore, as a system of thought, Marxism is not confined to the historical past but holds great significance for addressing contemporary social problems in a way that keeps pace with the times. In today’s world, amid changes unseen in a century and the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, Marxism can help us understand the contradictions and crises within the changes in the world economic system and consider how to establish a more just and sustainable model of social governance. The relationship between Marx and Engels can be regarded as a model of comradely cooperation; they deeply appreciated each other and were pillars for one another. Engels deeply respected Marx from the bottom of his heart, praising Marx as a genius. In their struggle for a common cause, he described Marx as the first violinist and himself as the second violinist, while Marx always felt that he was advancing in Engels’ footsteps. The friendship established by these two revolutionary giants transcended ordinary familial bonds and comradely affection. The monumental work *Capital* became the brilliant crystallization of their sincere cooperation. In the early history of the international communist movement, Marx was not only an outstanding theorist but also a courageous practitioner, playing a huge role in promoting the early practice of the international workers’ movement.

二楼原为马克思一家的卧室，靠楼梯口的第一个房间就是当年马克思诞生的地方，辟为纪念馆后二楼主要用以介绍马克思和恩格斯的生平以及当年国际共产主义运动背景，展柜中陈列着马克思和恩格斯的部分著作和有关工作生活的历史资料、文件、手稿。马克思一生勤勉，著作颇丰，流亡多国的经历使马克思具有放眼世界、不囿于一国一民族及一时的辩证观察分析问题眼光，所以马克思主义作为一种思想体系不仅仅局限于历史的过去，而有着与时俱进地解决当代社会问题的重大意义。在世界百年未有之大变局和人工智能飞速推进的今天，马克思主义可以帮助我们理解世界经济体系变动中的矛盾和危机，并思考如何建立更加公正和可持续的社会治理模式。马克思和恩格斯的相处堪称同志合作的典范，二人惺惺相惜且互为支柱。恩格斯从心底十分敬重马克思，夸赞马克思为天才，在他们为共同事业的奋斗历程中形容马克思是第一提琴手，自己是第二提琴手，而马克思也总是认为自己是踏着恩格斯的脚步前进。两位革命伟人所建立的友谊已经超越普通的亲情和战友情，鸿篇巨制《资本论》成为两人精诚合作的光辉结晶。在世界早期国际共产主义运动史中，马克思不仅是一个卓越的理论家，还是一个勇敢的实践者，对早期国际工人运动实践起到了巨大的推动作用。

The third floor of the birthplace is an attic, where the exhibition layout is simpler and more open. On the walls of the exhibition rooms, besides photographic materials, excerpts and commentaries on the *Communist Manifesto* are displayed. Glass cabinets contain various editions of Marx’s works, manuscripts, and letters; the most precious are the first edition of the *Communist Manifesto* and the first volume of the paperback edition of *Capital*. What is gratifying is that the earliest Chinese edition of the *Communist Manifesto*, translated by Chen Wangdao from the Japanese edition, is also included. The reason these two works are given prominent display is that Marx’s great discoveries are, first, historical materialism, and second, surplus value. Marx was not a born materialist; his transition from historical idealism to materialism underwent a lengthy cognitive process. The publication of the *Communist Manifesto* marked the public announcement of Marx’s scientific worldview and the birth of Marxism. Thereafter, Marx studied the laws of capitalist operation from an economic perspective; once *Capital* was published, the fundamental contradictions of capitalism were clearly revealed. Since the publication of the *Communist Manifesto* in 1848, communism, as an ideal social system, has always been the distant goal pursued by the development of human society. As a path toward this distant goal, Marx founded scientific socialism. Scientific socialism originates from utopian socialism yet transcends it; historical materialism reveals the succession and evolution of social systems, and the fundamental contradictions of capitalism foretell its inevitable demise and the inevitable victory of the proletariat. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, influenced by the peaceful evolution strategy of Western countries and social reforms in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe underwent drastic changes and the Soviet Union collapsed within a short period; socialism suffered major setbacks, and Marxism entered a low ebb. However, socialism with Chinese characteristics, which adheres to the guidance of Marxism, has achieved remarkable successes that have attracted worldwide attention, holding high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics across the globe. Scientific socialism has radiated strong vitality and dynamism in 21st-century China.

故居第三楼是阁楼，展览布局上更显简单通透，展室墙壁上除了照片资料外，还展示了《共产党宣言》的摘要及述评，玻璃橱柜里陈列着马克思各种版本的著作、手稿、书信，最为珍贵的是第一版《共产党宣言》和第一卷平装本《资本论》。令人欣喜的是，陈望道根据日文版翻译的最早中文版《共产党宣言》也列在其中。这两部著作之所以重点展示，是因为马克思的伟大发现一是历史唯物主义，二是剩余价值。马克思不是一个天生的唯物主义者，从历史唯心主义转为唯物主义经历了一个较长的认知过程。《共产党宣言》的发表，标志着马克思科学世界观的公开问世和马克思主义的诞生。之后，马克思从经济学角度研究资本主义运行规律，《资本论》一经发表，资本主义基本矛盾便得以清晰地呈现。1848年《共产党宣言》发表以来，共产主义作为理想的社会制度，一直是人类社会发展所追求的远大目标。作为奔向远大目标的路径，马克思创建了科学社会主义。科学社会主义来源于空想又超越空想，历史唯物主义昭示社会制度的更替演进，资本主义基本矛盾预示其必然灭亡和无产阶级必然胜利。20世纪80年代末90年代初，受西方国家和平演变战略和苏联社会改革影响，短时间内，东欧剧变、苏联解体，社会主义遭受重大挫折，马克思主义进入低潮。然而，坚持以马克思主义为指导的中国特色社会主义却取得举世瞩目的巨大成就，在全世界高高举起了中国特色社会主义伟大旗帜，科学社会主义在21世纪的中国焕发出强大的生机和活力。

The brief visit soon ended. This trip to Marx’s birthplace has become an unforgettable memory for me, allowing me to truly feel the place where Marx grew up and lived. Nearly a century and a half have passed since Marx’s death, and the world has undergone earth-shaking changes, yet people still remember Marx. Today, his name is even more resounding, and his theoretical doctrines still shine with the light of truth. The scientific, revolutionary, practical, people-centered, and developmental qualities of Marxism will surely make it an eternal beacon for human progress and development! Before leaving, I solemnly wrote in the guestbook: “Salute to the great revolutionary leader of the proletariat, Marx!”

短暂的参观很快就结束了，此次参观马克思故居之行成为我终生难忘的记忆，让我真真切切地感触到马克思成长过、生活过的地方。马克思逝世已近一个半世纪，世界已经发生翻天覆地的变化，但人们依然记得马克思。在今天，他的名字更加响亮，他的理论学说依旧闪耀着真理的光芒。马克思主义的科学性、革命性、实践性、人民性、发展性特质，必将使其永远成为人类进步和发展的灯塔！临别时，我在留言簿上庄重地写上：“向伟大的无产阶级革命领袖马克思致敬！”

Online editor: Paul

网络编辑：保罗