The Book Of Yesterday | May 4
NICK JOAQUIN WAS BORN
May 4, 1917
Today is the 104th birthday of writer, journalist, historian and one of the former National Scholars of the Art of Literature Nicomedes Marquez Joaquin or better known as Nick Joaquin. He was born on this day in 1917 in the Paco district, Manila city.
Nick Joaquin is said not to go into too much detail or mention his birthday because he does not want to celebrate his birthday. Nick is the fifth of 10 children of Don Leocadio Joaquin, a revolutionary and general of former President Emilio Aguinaldo, and Doña Salome Marquez, an English language teacher. The Joaquin family's prosperous life did not last long because of Nick's father's failure to invest in an oil exploration project, he fell into debt and was forced to rent a place to live.
Nick was orphaned early on, however he was still able to study from elementary to third year of high school, because he felt he would learn more outside of school. He entered the bakery as an apprentice and later went to the publishing company Tribune-Vanguardia-Taliba. Nick also enjoys reading books, among which he reads the works of Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald and others.
At the age of 17 he began to write, where he composed an English poem about Don Quixote dela Mancha, and later he would use the pen symbol Quijano de Manila. He also produced the first short story for Sunday Tribune Magazine "The Sorrow Of Vaudeville", and an essay for La Naval de Manila, for which he was honored by the University of Santo Tomas, and given the privilege of being a scholar and seminarian. in st. Albert's Convent in Hong Kong.
While in Hong Kong it was thought that one could become a disciple of God and of mankind through writing. When the Tribune closed during the Japanese occupation, he continued writing, where he translated Jose Rizal's Mi Ultimo Adios into English. After returning to the Philippines, Nick worked for the Philippine Free Press as a writer of poetry, plays and short stories.
Nick inspired Jose Rizal to write, offering him his writings The Storyteller's New Medium - Rizal in Saga, The Complete Poems and Plays of Jose Rizal, and A Question of Heroes: Essays in Criticism on Ten Key Figures of Philippine History. Nick Joaquin's other writings deal with national culture, history, Filipino society and religion. But one of the most critical and controversial writings of Nick Joaquin was his essay "A Heritage of Smallness" in which he criticized the shortness of memory and smallness of the minds of Filipinos that caused the slow development of society.
Nick Joaquin was awarded the Order of the National Artist in the Literature category in 1976 and the Ramon Magsaysay Awards for Literature in 1996. He passed away at the age of 89 on April 29, 2005 in the city of San Juan, Metro Manila.
THE MAY FOURTH MOVEMENT IN CHINA
May 4, 1919
Just as happened in Germany after the First World War, China also had bad sentiment towards the Treaty of Versailles because of its unfair provisions. On this day in 1919, a massive protest action was led and participated by more than 3,000 Chinese students in the city of Beijing, Republic of China. Students from various Chinese universities flocked to Tiananmen Square to protest the Chinese government's lack of reaction to unfair provisions in the Treaty of Versailles, including Japan's transfer of rights to the former colony. defeated Germany to China, including Tsingtao and Shandong.
Like Germany, protesters in Beijing also hated what they considered to be Chinese traitors who signed the Treaty of Versailles, which reflected the government's inability to protect their country's interests in the treaty, as well as the alleged betrayal of the countries. Allies in China.
The student demonstration in Beijing was dubbed the May Fourth Movement, and it rekindled feelings of nationalism in China, which in turn gave rise to new political systems far removed from the traditional and elitist system of the previous Chinese dynastic government.
KING FERNANDO VII OF SPAIN REPEALED THE 1812 CONSTITUTION
May 4, 1814
On this day in 1814, the Spanish Cadiz Constitution was repealed by a Royal decree. This Constitution stipulates that Spain is a constitutional monarchy, meaning that the King is still the head of state but the parliament or the Cortes has the power to rule the government. This Constitution also stipulates the separation of powers of the monarchy and parliament, freedom of the press and media, abolition of certain privileges of the nobility, national sovereignty and free trade.
The Constitution of Cadiz was passed on March 12, 1812, and the provisions of the Constitution of Cadiz were adapted from the provisions of the Napoleonic Code at the time the French Empire occupied Spain, which allowed for liberal rule in the kingdom and administrative reform in its colonies including the Philippines.
After the brief victory of the Allied forces against Napoleon in 1814 Fernando VII was restored to the throne in place of King Joseph Bonaparte. King Fernando VII of Spain ordered the repeal of such a Constitution, and through it Spain once again returned to the era of monarchical absolutism, supported by conservatives and monarchists in government and the Catholic church. At the same time, the Cortes or the parliament was dissolved for the first time.
Six years later, the Constitution of Cadiz will be re -enforced. Throughout the history of the Constitution of Cadiz, it has twice been repealed and it has also twice been revived in government, thanks to the absolutist regime of King Fernando VII.
References:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Constitution_of_1812
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Fourth_Movement#:~:text=The%20May%20Fourth%20Movement%20was,Beijing%20on%204%20May%201919.
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