In December 1937, the CPC Central Committee held a meeting of the Politburo in Yan’an. The photo shows some of the people attending the meeting. From left: Zhang Wentian, Kang Sheng, Zhou Enlai, Kai Feng, Wang Ming, Mao Zedong, Ren Bishi, Zhang Guotao
Wang Ming’s return to China
In November 1937, I passed by the Lanzhou office on my way to Moscow for medical treatment, just as Stalin sent a special plane to bring Wang Ming to Lanzhou. At that Time, Stalin was very protective of Wang Ming. The Soviet planes were not familiar with the terrain and would be finished if they landed at an enemy airfield. So first they had to set up markers on the ground at the landing site in Yan’an and put red flags around them or something. The central government telegraphed back that it was set up before the plane took off. It was then that Zhang Hao opened up the international route. Because the situation had changed so much and the united front had to be engaged, Dimitrov sent Wang Ming back to help the Central Committee.
Comrade Chen Yun came back together with Wang Ming. Wang Ming lived in the Soviet organ at Lanzhou airport and could not come out. He was very mysterious! More mysterious than Chairman Mao. Comrade Chen Yun could come to the office. He recruited some of us who were going to Moscow in plain clothes to a house and said that Comrade Wang Ming had returned and that he could not come out now, and asked me to condole with these comrades of the Red Army who had gone through the Long March, and gave us two or four hundred dollars, saying that it was from Comrade Wang Ming. Chen Yun had good respect for Wang Ming at that time. We then knew that Wang Ming had returned, but it was an absolute secret that could not be told to anyone. Wang Ming gave us money, indicating his high status, condolences to us! We felt that the organization was very difficult, we did not want it, and gave the money to Xie Lao.
I felt at that time that Wang Ming must have come back to Yan’an to be the leader. According to the atmosphere at that time, Wang Ming was bound to be the leader. Wang Ming had a good theoretical knowledge, because he had been in the Communist International for a long time. He was also intelligent, and his ideas came quickly, and he spoke without a script.
The Communist International at that time was sacred! Wang Ming was very active in the Soviet Union and spoke everywhere. Because he was the secretary of the International Secretariat, he had a high status. When Kang Sheng was working in the International, he shouted “Long live Wang Ming! When we were in Moscow for medical treatment, Zhong Chibing wondered why Wang Ming was shouting “Long live Wang Ming” and no one shouted “Long live Chairman Mao”. Wang Ming had prestige in the international community, and he was credited with the Fourth Plenary Session of the Central Committee, and he came back with the united front set and talked about it everywhere. Xie Lao went back to Yan’an and told about Wang Ming’s return. Yan’an was happy: the Communist International had returned! Wang Ming is back! At that time, there was a superstitious belief in the Communist International!
When I went to the Soviet Union for medical treatment, I knew that Wentian’s status had changed while I was still recovering in Moscow. When I went there, Wang Jiaxiang was the interpreter and introduced to the Comintern that Liu Ying was the wife of General Secretary Zhang Wentian, and in 1938, the Young Communist International learned that I was the Organizing Secretary of the Central Secretariat of the League. At that time we had already reorganized the Youth League into the Youth Salvation Army. They asked me what the Young Communist League Central Committee was for and what it was for to run the Salvation Congress, and asked me to make a report. Wang Jiaxiang agreed and said they had an interpreter, so I went. When Wang introduced me to the Comintern, he mentioned that the leadership system had changed a bit, strengthening the collective leadership and not having a general secretary; Luo Fu was no longer called general secretary, but was still the secretary in charge of the day-to-day work. When he spoke of Luo Fu, he even gave me a look. When I made the report, the interpreter did not translate it clearly, and I did not speak clearly, so they asked me to write a written report. I wrote the report and gave it to Wang Jiaxiang, who mentioned in his approval that Zhang Wentian was one of the secretaries of the Secretariat and told me that it seemed that Luofu was no longer the general secretary.
The matter of Wentian not being General Secretary actually happened right after Wang Ming returned to China in 1937 to hold the December meeting. In my opinion, Wen Tian’s desire to resign as General Secretary was related to Wang Ming’s return to China. Wang Ming conveyed the instructions of the Communist International at the December meeting that the Chinese Party should do everything through the united front, and that the secretary’s office should be increased with Chairman Mao as the leader. He brought back from the Communist International a list of sixteen people, the first in line was Chairman Mao, he himself ranked second, putting Wen Tian behind the old. To Wen Tian, he had the intention of replacing him.
Chairman Mao’s original impression of Wang Ming was good. In the opening of the Fourth Plenary Session, the fight against the AB Group purge, the Futian incident and other issues, Wang Ming supported the Central Soviet Army on the one hand. When Wang Ming came back this time, Chairman Mao also welcomed him at first, praising his return as a blessing from heaven and an increase in strength. At that time, the news was closed, Zhang Hao came back with some, Wang Ming came back with a lot of outside information, and the Central Committee was still very worshipful of the Communist International. Later on the issue of new democracy Wang Ming put forward different views and had a dispute with Chairman Mao. Although the relationship was maintained on the surface, the two had gotten into discord.
Chairman Mao and Wang Ming had a conflict to resolve. He said that Wang Ming had the support of the Communist International, so he also had to resolve the conflict with the Communist International. Wen Tian said, I simply do not have to be the general secretary, a name is not good to make conclusions, the Communist International is very powerful, in the past I can do a summary, Chairman Mao also praised me for a good summary, the views of other people all summarized in, and said I am “enlightened son of God”, now it is not easy to do.
Chairman Mao and Wen Tian could see that Wang Ming wanted to be the leader. Wen Tian proposed to give the general secretary’s seat to Wang Ming, because Wang Ming’s international status is higher than Wen Tian. Wen Tian was not concerned about any status. Chairman Mao disagreed, saying that the change of leadership should wait for the Seventh Congress, and that the reorganization should be formalized at that time. At the Sixth Plenary Session in July 1938, Wang Jiaxiang returned from Moscow and said that Dimitrov had said that Mao Zedong should be the leader and Wang Ming could not; the Chinese Party was still Chairman Mao, and he was still good at fighting guerrilla attacks; Wang Ming was theoretically good, but he left for the Soviet Union after the Fourth Plenary Session. After Wang Jiaxiang conveyed the opinion of the Communist International that Chairman Mao should be the leader, Wen Tian said again that he should not be the general secretary and let Chairman Mao be. But Chairman Mao still said that it was not time. At that time, Wang Ming was still there and Kang Sheng was still with him. He hadn’t gotten rid of Wang Ming yet! Chairman Mao said, for now, this is how it is: during the transition period, Wen Tian is still in charge, when he is not the General Secretary of the General Secretary. Chairman Mao went to talk to Wang Ming, not to fight to be the leader, saying that even he himself is not the general secretary.
So Wen Tian told the Central Committee several times that he wanted to resign as General Secretary, but in reality, he had not yet moved. The general secretary is not the general secretary, Wen Tian is still in charge, only a few additional secretaries. The secretariat is in Yangjialing, still under his control, and the pick to put the central archives is still with him. Chairman Mao was still in the Military Commission. Wang Ming was in the United Front Work Department, also in Yangjialing. Later we also moved from Lanjiaping to Yangjialing.
Wen Tian came back and told me: the meeting was transferred to Chairman Mao, he was only responsible for convening the meeting, the overall responsibility is actually Chairman Mao.
These circumstances were not known to the outside world, and many people still called Wentian General Secretary.
Wang Ming was then the secretary of the Women’s Committee and the president of the Women’s University, and he loved to make a splash, giving speeches everywhere. He always grabbed the camera, of course, this is also related to his small size. Wang Tian was reluctant to have his picture taken and always stood at the back. Wang Ming is also very good at speaking, provocative. Wang Ming’s portrait was hung at the venue of the March 8 Festival.
There was a meeting of the Central Women’s Committee members, including me and Cai, Cao Yi’ou, Meng Qing Shu, and Zhang Xiuxiang. We met to discuss the celebration of the 8th of March. The meeting lasted until very late. At that time we were not in favor of highlighting individuals in the March 8 activities. It was already 12 o’clock at night after the meeting. When we passed by Chairman Mao’s cave, the lights were still on, so I said I would go in and find him. Sister Cai and I reported to Chairman Mao about the meeting, and he listened without making a sound. I said to Chairman Mao: the Women’s Commission should participate in some other people, not all wives; work involved in the wife has different views, bad speech, trouble, more inconvenience. Chairman Mao said, the women are wives well. Although Chairman Mao did not seem to care, but the opinion is listened to. He paid attention to this issue, think Wang Ming out of the limelight, engage in his own power.
Chairman Mao was eager to immediately open the “Seventh Congress” to change the leadership. But he decided to take one step at a time. He knew at that time to open the “Seventh Congress”, may not be able to take down Wang Ming. Wang Ming with international prestige high ah! So Yan’an engaged in a rectification, the total account. The word is to engage in a gentle wind and rain, to punish the former to prevent the latter, to seek truth from facts, to summarize the past history, but engaged in the process became powerful.
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