After the end of the Korean War, Premier Zhou Enlai, sensing the plight of intellectuals, wanted to improve their situation and tried a more enlightened policy. Vinnie and Henry were able to be assigned to a more spacious apartment on the first floor, which was near where I lived. There were also fewer constraints on work. Vinnie often came to my house to borrow some of the magazines and books I could import from the Hong Kong and British offices, or to enjoy some stereo music records.
In 1956, Mao Zedong proposed the “Double Hundred” policy, and leaders at all levels encouraged the people to give their opinions to the Party and help it improve its work. Thousands of intellectuals and the people made suggestions and complaints to the Communist Party. But Winnie and Henry restrained themselves and said nothing. So in 1957, when the struggle against the right was underway, they were not affected. At that time, many of those who made suggestions became rightists, and many of them lost their public positions and were sent to labor reform as enemies. Some were demoted in rank and salary, which emboldened all intellectuals and left China’s culture essentially in a state of stagnation.
When Vinnie and I arrived home, before I raised my hand to ring the bell, the door had opened and it turned out that old Zhao had been waiting anxiously for me at the door. He told me that my daughter had called and said she would not be home for dinner.
“Please take care of the cook, Mrs. Huang is having dinner here tonight.” I instructed Lao Zhao, while taking Vinnie upstairs.
Old Zhao arranged a Western dinner for two at the table, which was covered with a white linen embroidered tablecloth. In the middle of the table was a white-colored bottle of Dutch gypsophila.
“The chef said the dish is fried salmon and fresh salad, is that okay?” Lao Zhao asked me. I usually rotate between Chinese and Western dishes, deciding the day’s menu by what the chef can get at the food market.
I turned to Vinnie for her opinion, and she said, “Great, I’d love the ‘salmon’.”
As we took our seats at the table, Vinnie looked at my large, light blue painting by Lin Fengmian, a famous painter and former director of the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts. This painting is the centerpiece of my blue-and-white dining room. It matches, in shape and color, the blue and white blue and white porcelain and Kangxi vases I have on display in the sideboard.
“Have you heard that Lin Fengmian has serious problems?” Vinnie said to me.
I was incredulous. I knew that the painter had earned a lot of foreign currency for the People’s Government, which bought his paintings at low prices and then sold them in Hong Kong for twenty or thirty times the price.
“He was accused of promoting corrupt Western literature and art. But even more serious was that he was a mole and passed information to the captains of foreign ships visiting China. The cadres in the lane where his house was located saw that foreigners often went up to his house.”
“Heh! His wife and daughter are in Brazil. I am sure that the captain came to his house to buy paintings.” I said.
“Many painters are having problems. Your teacher, Miss Bao, was also criticized. It was said that once she painted a wax plum tree and she made all the flowering branches on it hang down and not climb up, which insinuated that the Communist Party was going to perish.”
I put down my knife and fork and said to Vinnie, “They’re just crazy. Ancient painters depicting plum trees always hung from the cliffs and hung down. It wasn’t invented by her.”
“You really don’t know, and they’ve probably never seen a painting by a famous artist. Many of the leaders in the art department don’t even know how to paint; nor are they required to have the ability to distinguish between watercolors and lithographs.”
Our conversation was of unpleasant matters, thus affecting our appetite and preventing me from doing justice to the delicious dinner my cook had prepared for me.
While we were drinking tea in the sitting-room, I told Vinnie about attending the criticism meeting today. She mused for a moment and said, “Now that the Shanghai office of Asean is closed, perhaps you will have to be treated the same as us. Because there won’t be a single overseas person who will know about you.”
“What do you see as the purpose of the meeting they want me to attend?” I asked her.
“To intimidate you, of course.”
“I’m not that answerable to be intimidated.”
“I don’t think they know you. All they know is that you’re rich, pampered, and have never experienced a political movement. They think you might be scared. Probably they underestimated our guts.”
“What are they trying to intimidate me about? What is the purpose?”
“At this point in time, it’s hard to say. In any case, you should always be prepared to think the worst. Be careful, keep your mouth shut, and no matter how much you are provoked, you must not speak carelessly.”
“What about yourself? How do you cope with it?” I asked her.
“I’m exhausted! I’m exhausted! I’ve been holding meetings and writing big posters all day long. Schools have been closed. Several professors and experts have been arrested. The situation seems to be worse than the anti-rightist situation in 1957.”
“So you will be the target of criticism?” I asked her.
“I don’t know. But I don’t think I’m a priority. I have been an ordinary lecturer for sixteen years and have never been promoted or had my salary increased. I was always humble enough to report to the party branch, and I never took the lead in indulging in the bourgeois lifestyle. I always did what the leader instructed me to do, even if I knew he was wrong. I also never spoke at political study meetings unless they named me, and I simply repeated the words of the group leader or branch secretary. I don’t think there is anything wrong with my performance, and my analysis results in the belief that the higher the position, the more trouble there will be. As the saying goes, ‘a big tree attracts the wind’!”
“What about Henry?”
“I’m worried about him. I think he’ll be beaten up like the other professors for ‘taking the fight’ from the bulls and ghosts.” Vinnie said helplessly, then closed her eyes and sighed.
“I think he usually just sulks and teaches, and never says anything nonsense.” I said.
“Really, he learned his lesson from his friends who were beaten to the right. But for one thing, he’s a first-class professor, and he comes from a rich family, and Ji’s sister is in Taiwan.”
“But it’s not like you guys have any dealings with her sister and you don’t correspond with her.”
“That doesn’t matter. She’s in Taiwan, she’s Henry’s sister, and if they want to make it a political issue, there’s nothing we can do about it.”
Lao Zhao came in to make us tea.
“The cook said he wanted to have a word with you before he went home.”
“Okay, invite him in.”
Old Jo and the cook came in together.
“Just before you came back, Chi, the vice president of the Asean union, came by again and he asked me to pass on a message.” The chef said.
“What did he say?”
“To ask you to be careful in speaking to the leaders. After you left today, they were blaming you for your rude attitude. Chi wanted me to tell you that the leader is angry.” The cook said.
“Chi is a good man.” Old Zhao interjected.
“A good man? You did not see him just in the criticism of the General Assembly to expose Tao Fang that look of viciousness, I still remember the vivid.”
“If someone instructed him to do so, he can not help it! If he is not a good person, why should he ask for trouble to warn you.” Old Zhao defended him.
“That’s right, Zhao. I do have to beware. It’s hard for Chi to inform me, and thank you both for coming to tell me about it.” I said to them. When the two servants left, Vinnie said, “They were right. You must be careful not to anger these heads in a political movement. They have the power to decide your fate. If they send you to reform through labor, you will have to go.”
“How can they send me to work? Winnie.” I said, “I don’t work for the people’s government, and I haven’t broken the law!”
“You’re so naive! If they really wanted to do that, it would be OK. You live here, you haven’t left the country. The only good thing about not being employed by the People’s Government is that they can’t cut your salary.” Vinnie got up to say goodbye, and I walked her to the door.
“Why didn’t you go and settle in Hong Kong when Asia applied for closure last year?” Vinnie asked me.
“How could I propose it? The general manager needed me during the negotiations. He didn’t know Chinese and all the business was conducted in Chinese. I can’t leave him alone to deal with this alone. Asean has always treated me well, and I can’t abandon them when they need me.” I said.
“I hope they appreciate your sense of responsibility. Now that they can’t help you, you should get out of here early.” Vinnie said.
“I hope that you and Henry both, will get through it in peace, like you did during the anti-right.” I said to her.
“I have a bad feeling that a big disaster is coming.” Vinnie said with a sorrowful look, “Think of all the years we’ve lived, just to survive!”
We said goodbye to each other at the door. Vinnie took a few steps, then turned back to me and said, “I probably won’t be able to see you again until I get to the bottom of this. We’ll talk on the phone if necessary.”
“Okay, take care.” I said.
“You take care, too.” She waved at me.
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