Ding Ling
When Hu failed to return home, Ding Ling and Shen Congwen searched frantically for him. A day later, Shen received confirmation that Hu had been arrested by the British police and extradited to the Kuomintang, and was imprisoned in Longhua, suburban Shanghai, where many Communists were held. Shen and Ding sought help from prominent intellectuals including Hu Shih, Xu Zhimo, Cai Yuanpei, and Shao Lizi, who lobbied Chen Lifu and the Shanghai mayor Zhang Qun for Hu's release, all to no avail.