In 1963, I was a young doctor at Taibai County Hospital in Baoji City who had just graduated from medical school. I was sentenced to three years of reeducation through labor (1979) because the unit had to fulfill the target of the number of “right-leaning elements” in the anti-rightist movement, and was qualified as “anti-Party and anti-socialist”. (completely rehabilitated in 1979). Nearly three years later, in 1966, I was assigned to work in the Cuijiagou coal mine. The reason I didn’t complete three years (two months short) was that the mine was desperate for people. I remember seeing the Cultural Revolution written on the blackboard in the mine when I went there. At that time, the Cultural Revolution had just started. Since we didn’t participate in the Cultural Revolution, we only heard that the society was cutting hair and trouser legs. It was the summer of ’66, and I remember I was still wearing a single coat when I went to Jiao Ping to take pictures.
According to the policy at that time, most of them could not go back to their original work units or their original life after being released from labor reform and reeducation through labor, but the state agreed to arrange “employment”, so some places had the name of “second labor reform” and special “employment” units. Therefore, some places have the name of “second labor reform” and special “employment” units. Sometimes, after completing the sentence on the farm, the “employment” was on the farm where the sentence was originally served, but with more freedom and wages.
The Cuijiagou coal mine at that time was not a local state-owned coal mine under the Bureau of Mines, it was a labor reform employment unit under the leadership of the Labor Reform Bureau of the Shaanxi Provincial Public Security Department. But there were no power grids, military police, guard towers, or high walls, but more calm and silence, which was rare in the crazy era of the Cultural Revolution.
Cuijiagou coal mine is located in the northwestern mountains of Tongchuan City, Shaanxi Province, the border with Xunyi, Huangling three regardless of the land. This coal mine was formerly known as Yuejin Mine, a unit of reeducation through labor, and was known as Box 101 to the public. Later, because the reeducation-through-labor members served their sentences, it was changed to an employment mine, and the name was also changed to Cuijiagou coal mine because of the region. The entire mine to the brigade as a unit, divided into 13 brigades, in addition to 13 teams stationed in the porcelain waist belongs to the old disabled team, the remaining 12 brigades including digging, back mining, transportation, mechanical and electrical, ventilation, rescue and other first-line team. There are also propaganda room, design room, bathing place, mine light room, machine processing workshop, canteen, etc.. Each team is headed by an employed person, except for the positions above the junior team leader, which are held by cadres. First-line team group below and sub-stubble, actually called the work surface, each stubble 4 to 6 people, with the person in charge (miners self-deprecatingly said stubble head).
I just came to the mine from a farm in Maban, and was assigned to the mining squadron, where I first worked as a coal overshooter, and was soon promoted to the position of head of the stubble where the eye was placed. Set a crop progress of 3m high record, more than the original miner from the employment of Qi Changjing. Had made the then Public Security Department to the mine squatting cadres amazed, special asked my past, learned that I used to be a physician, he felt even more incredible. By saying in the General Assembly: “you are all dry manual work origin, how such can not, Huang Changming is an intellectual origin, how strong people do, I said Huang Changming labor off has passed”. In fact, at that time, I was more than 20 years old, it is a strong age, due to the theoretical basics of geometric triangle, choose to hit the eye angle more accurate and itself. At that time, the monthly wage of 37.4 yuan to go down the well, down the well fee a shift 0.5 yuan, in addition to work clothes, helmets, rubber boots, and no subsidies. Food standard 54 kg (month), 30 percent coarse grain, mainly fine grain, I still have a lot of coarse grain tickets left every month.
A crop of four people, mining angle specializing in hitting the eye and releasing the gun. It is best to blast the coal down on or near the skid (belt conveyor), but not all on the skid, otherwise the pressure skid will be a problem. You also have to ooze coal downward, which should be no more and no less than the machine load. It is best to be on the side of the skid to ease the labor of the oohs and aahs of coal workers. This requires the eye of the mining angle, to master the right angle. There are also rules about how much to charge, all depending on experience. There is also a person called a support worker, responsible for the support of the space after the release of the gun. We were using wood (now changed to metal brackets), and it was very tiring to move the brackets. The other two people are coal miners. Picking corner to pay attention to the roof, found danger immediately shouted to avoid. We are wall back mining, safety factor is big. There is another type called cavern type back mining, which is productive, wasteful, and unsafe.
I worked underground for more than a year, but we had a relatively peaceful life because employed people were not allowed to participate in the Cultural Revolution, and my wife and I got married on December 12, 1967. One month after the wedding, because the mine cadres participated in the Cultural Revolution, the two factions of the armed struggle, resulting in more casualties, the mine hospital needed doctors, I was therefore transferred to the hospital.
When I was a mining corner, Henan native Lushengming was my support worker. Li Hua and Wang Xiaobao (from Shaanxi) were coal overs. Li Hua was still alive when I left the mine, but Lu Shengming and Wang Xiaobao were both killed by rocks falling from the roof. May their souls in heaven rest in peace.
At that time, the mine hospital was basically employed, and there were very few doctors whose status was cadre. The hospital was divided into internal, external, Chinese medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, laboratory, physical therapy, X-ray and other departments and a disposal room, an injection room, and the physicians were absolutely first-class. Basically, all of them are “rightists” and all kinds of political problems, and only a few of them are employed after reeducation through labor because of the relationship between men and women (at that time, it was called life style problem). There were 30 beds in the hospital, and it was busy every day. In addition to the medical care of the whole mine, there were also patients from the nearby villages and the city who came to the hospital.
The internal medicine department has Pang Chunqiu, Li Zhenwu, Li Kun three “rightists”, Li Hongyi (had been reeducated through labor for non-political issues), led by cadre doctor Tan Xianzhu. In the Department of Surgery, Li Mingzhi and Zhu Ziwei were “rightists,” and Ma Shichang, Lu Boyu, Sun Xiaoming and I, as well as Sun Jialiang, a nurse in the operating room, all had different political charges. In addition, there was Xie Zhenhai (who was accused of being a blind person). We were all led by cadre doctor Sun Wenhui. The three of them were “rightists” and were under the supervision of Dr. Liu Peiran, a cadre doctor. (All the above rightists were later corrected, and all those who had political charges were later rehabilitated. There were also many nurses and caregivers. Most of these people were originally the backbone of the medical community. Such a hospital with a collection of famous doctors, excellent surgery, accurate diagnosis, and a high cure rate naturally attracted patients from the community to flock to the hospital. In the hospital my salary rose to 43.5 yuan, and since I was no longer engaged in heavy physical labor, my fixed food was reduced to 30 pounds (still 30% roughage).
I had read many articles about the persecution and torture of reform, re-education through labor and employment, but I had no such experience (only a soldier kicked me during military control), and I got along with the cadres and doctors in the hospital basically in a peaceful manner. The hospital set up a correctional cadre, 2 hours of political study every night, basically do not look at each other. Except for the low salary and benefits, there was no big difference between going to and coming from work and society. Now that I think about it, it was thanks to being in the Cuijiagou coal mine during the Cultural Revolution, if I were in society, an “anti-Party anti-socialist” like me, I would have to lose my skin even if I didn’t die.
The cadres were too busy with the rebellion and the revolution to care about the employed people. I was the backbone surgeon. At that time, a popular proverb: “stethoscope, steering wheel, personnel cadres salesman”, that is, others have to beg for your occupation. I relied on “a knife” to go through many “back doors”, and often help the team cadres to go through the “back door”. But at that time, red packets were not popular, and people did not have this concept. I had more contacts inside and outside the mine, and I was able to do things smoothly. I was able to buy wood in the forest, and coal in the farmers’ small coal mines (these were all planned materials at that time). Household goods such as meat, oil, eggs and sugar were all available in limited quantities in society, but I could buy them all if I had money. At that time, the rural medical work was weak, the nearby commune, the brigade all came to the hospital if they were sick. Especially at that time, there were many small coal kilns around the mine, and the constant flow of coal trucks often resulted in casualties. Therefore, I was busy in the operating room or disposal room without any darkness, which also developed my excellent skills of trauma surgery.
In the 70s, there was a “513 incident” (coincidentally with the Wenchuan 513 earthquake). The construction of the Meijiaping-Jiaoping railway around the mine site, a group of migrant workers from the countryside to participate in the construction. On that day, a group of migrant workers came to the mine store to do some shopping. The mine store supplied sugar (limited to half a catty), which was originally supplied to the mine, but this group of migrant workers wanted to snatch it up. The other people did not say anything, in order to line up is. Who knew that this group of people did not line up and insisted on taking the lead. The back of the people said a word, they immediately opened their mouths and cursed, what “prisoners of labor have what qualifications”, “prisoners of employment also eat what sugar, you do not have to eat the shit”, “you group of Uggs son of a bitch! “The two sides argued fiercely and were at loggerheads. One by one, ten by one, immediately the whole mine shook, even the underground production personnel also went up to the well theory, a time thousands of people surrounded the store. The cadres were stunned, they knew the power of this group of green men gathered, fearing that the situation would expand, and hurriedly ordered all cadres to go out and persuade, and ordered the group of migrant workers to leave the mine immediately, it was only with great difficulty that the dispute was quelled.
In the hospital most impressive to me is our fellow department Xie Zhenhai, whose people are the patriarch of the hospital, has been in surgery. He was a snow cream seller (he was said to be very familiar with the process of making snow cream). He may have served as a health soldier in the National Army, and was a medical amateur, not knowing any medical terminology at all, so he came to the hospital by blowing off material. I remember when I was not yet transferred to the hospital. At that time, two factions of cadres fought, one was called 219 and the other 212, and the real thing started. I heard that a cadre named Wu Zhaomei belonged to 212 was shot in the back and carried to the hospital. I was young and lively and rushed to the hospital to watch. In accordance with the principles of spinal injury treatment should try to avoid moving, move to keep the injury, and then take a film in the operating room to carefully explore and release the spinal cord under pressure. But the scene I saw was a big surprise. The injured person was placed on the bed in the disposal room, and Xie Zhenhai used a straight hemostatic forceps to stuff along the ballistics and pulled outward hard, saying it was a bullet. As a result, the transverse process of the spine was pulled out from inside and the patient was immediately painless. I knew in my heart that it was over! The spinal cord must have been pulled across, leaving a lifelong paraplegia. As a matter of fact, this person was paraplegic for the rest of his life. Now I think I regret that I didn’t stop it at that time. But at that time I was digging coal in the well, not in its place, not to seek its politics. In addition, the hospital insiders did not say anything, as a coal black son of me, which is qualified to say three things. This secret I have been keeping my mouth shut, until today to say.
Wu Zhaomei’s wife is the field department correctional section cadres, very good to me, I have never confided in her. Xie Zhenhai this person is always very mysterious, origin, age, and even name is not necessarily true. He married a rural woman near the mine, and had two sons and a daughter, and lived peacefully for twenty years. After the reform and opening up, he left without saying goodbye and never came back. Guess he went back to his hometown, but where is it? Is his name Xie Zhenhai? Still a mystery.
Later, campaigns were often conducted among employed people. During the “One Hit, Three Against” campaign (not the social content), people were called upon to report and expose each other, but to no avail, so some people were criticized for their old problems.
Zhao Jingwei was also a doctor, formerly the director of the internal medicine department of Xi’an Fourth People’s Hospital, and was sent to Jiangnan Station of Maban Farm in 1957 as a “rightist” for reeducation through labor, and was sent to Cuijiagou Mine Hospital for employment after his release. Because of an affair with a cadre’s wife, he angered the cadres and was relegated from the hospital to the porcelain waist old disability team to continue working. After the start of the campaign on the steel line, said that class revenge. The General Assembly criticized, small meetings, he could not stand it, so he died at night with a blade to cut the femoral vein.
Around the mid-1970s, the Cuijiagou coal mine was expanded, and two more mines were built in succession, namely Taohuadong and Xingshuping. The focus shifted to Xingshuping, and prisoners began to be received. With the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976, the injustice cases were gradually vindicated, and after 1979, the original medical staff was almost empty. Although the hospital was moved to Xing Shuping and a hospital building was built, the level of medical care declined significantly, and there was no longer the scene of a busy and bustling market. I spent the entire Cultural Revolution era in Cuijiagou Coal Mine Hospital, and since we were not allowed to participate in the Cultural Revolution, we did not experience the social movement in full swing, nor did we have the joy of beating gongs and drums and booming firecrackers, we were more of a spectator to the Cultural Revolution of the cadres, and we were relatively calm and safe.
Now that the walls have been built and the guardhouse has been constructed, it is really Cuijiagou Prison.
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