Jiang Qing and Jin Jingmai
I
When Jin Jingmai’s Song of Ouyanghai was published in October 1965 by the PLA Literature and Arts Publishing House, it immediately caused a sensation. Bookstores all over the country, including the Xinhua Bookstore in Wangfujing, Beijing, saw long lines of people lining up to buy the book. Its hot purchase and competition for purchase were unprecedented in the book market after the founding of the country.
Liu Shaoqi, the first-ranking vice chairman of the CPC Central Committee and president of the country, asked: How many copies were printed? After hearing that 150,000 copies had been printed, he said: 15 million copies of such a good book would not be too many.
One day in the early spring of 1966, Chen Yi, Vice Premier of the State Council and Minister of Foreign Affairs, accompanied by Tao Zhu, Vice Premier of the State Council and First Secretary of the Central and South Bureau, received Jin Jingmai and praised “The Song of Ouyanghai” as a very attractive and good novel. He said, “It is the first long novel that depicts characters in the socialist era that is as well written as The Song of Ouyanghai. The subject matter of troops in peacetime is not easy to write, so we can say that this is an epoch-making work. It is a new milestone in the history of our literary creation.” (See Jin Jingmai, A Good Moon, A Good Sky, Time International Publishing Co. 2005, p. 6, only the page numbers are noted where the book is cited below)
Chen Yi, a distinguished state activist, poet, and literary literate, was very valuable and rare in giving such a high rating to Song of Ouyang Hai!
Tao Cast also gave full recognition to the novel and hoped that Jin Jingmai would write more and better works. He said that a document should be issued in the name of the Central and South Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, calling on all Party members, cadres and the masses in the Central and South regions who have the ability to read, to read this book properly. Tao also asked Jin Jingmai, what are the reflections and opinions on this book. Jin Jingmai reported that the General Political Department had issued several briefings and collected many opinions from inside and outside the military, which were basically positive and affirmative of the work. In addition the General Administration Department of Culture Minister Xie Bengzhong conveyed the instructions of the head of Jiang Qing: one, do not write Ouyang Hai as a professional beggar. Beggars do not work but get, is “parasites”, and the poor and peasants have the essence of the difference. We can not glorify the rogue proletarians; Second, Ouyang Hai’s brother should not be pulled by the Kuomintang to be a strong man. If he became a soldier of the Kuomintang, wouldn’t Ouyang Hai become a relative of a reactionary soldier? Can we sing the praises of the reactionary soldier’s family! The description of “the last four seconds” is not good, very bad, must be changed. Tell Jin Jingmai that this has to be changed! (pp. 6-7)
Jiang Qing’s “instruction”, that is, his opinion, was very different from that of several major central leaders (including many people “inside and outside the army”).
Jin Jingmai was reluctant to change it, especially the “last four seconds”, which he considered to be his “best work”, and many people praised the description. Jin Jingmai know not to change can not, and can not “cut”, very difficult.
Tao Cast smiled and looked at everyone, said: “the last four seconds of the description is very good, I see very wonderful, why change it?”
Including Chen, everyone shook their heads, saying they did not understand what was wrong with the description of the “last four seconds”.
Tao Chuang looked at Chen Yi: “Chen Laozi, tell me.”
“It’s not possible to get involved in her affairs.” Chen Laochang said ……
Tao Cast after a pause, said very clearly: “Do not change, do not change as soon as you hear any opinion. How can a work of literature and art be perfect? In the future, about the revision of the book, you have to go through me first. You are my soldier, I have the final say!”
When Jin Jingmai heard Tao’s words, he was very excited and felt saved. (pp. 7-8)
Let’s move on to Jiang Qing’s summoning of Jin Jingmai for her opinion – no, “instruction” – on the Song of Ouyang Hai.
On April 5, 1967, Jin Jingmai was informed to come to Beijing from Guangzhou immediately and wait for the head to summon him. He waited until the 11th to be summoned. The gathering was spectacular, with the following participants: Zhou Enlai, Chen Boda, Kang Sheng, Jiang Qing, Zhang Chunqiao, Wang Li, Guan Feng, Qi Benyu, Yao Wenyuan, and Xie Fuzhi, Ye Qun and others. Except for Mao Zedong and Lin Biao, almost everyone who had power and authority in the proletarian command at that time (including the third, fourth and fifth Standing Committee of the Central Political Bureau) was present. Jiang Qing sat right in the middle.
When summoned, before Jin Jingmai sat down, Jiang Qing spoke: “Jin Jingmai, what, you won’t change those few comments I made? You are really a big writer! So big-headed?”
These first few words scared Jin Jingmai silly. He felt baffled and aggrieved at the same time. Jiang Qing’s opinion she did seriously considered: when I wrote Ouyang Hai as a “professional beggar”? I used so much space to describe Xiaohai chopping wood, burning charcoal to sell charcoal, followed by his mother once to ask for food, the landlord’s dog bit him on the way home, he hid in the woodshed, broke the dog bat, said starvation not to ask for rice. How is this a glorification of rogue proletarians! Besides, Xiaohai’s brother was pulled by the Kuomintang to be a strongman, but not as such, he ran away on the way and has been hiding in the field as a long-time laborer. The long-time workers are the peasants we want to glorify, what does he have to do with “reactionary soldiers”?
Jin Jingmai did not dare to argue.
“I’ll tell you,” Jiang Qing continued, “the last four seconds of your film is ‘The Flying Geese’! It’s a Chinese remake of the Soviet film “The Flying Geese”, you know? …… I asked Xie Bingzhong to tell you, this must be changed! Why don’t you move a single word. I see that you are still a liberation army, want to protect a bail you out, also just did not tell the Red Guard juniors the main point of this depiction. If only I had said something, they would have come and seized your people and burned your books!”
Jin Jingmai thought, “I’ve seen “South of the Yan”, a Soviet film depicting the Patriotic War. Before the main character died, the director took a lot of empty shots, the sky was spinning, the trees were also spinning, the main character looked at the spinning sky spinning trees, slowly and slowly fell down. According to critical articles at the time, this was written about the hero’s lingering love for life before he died, a great poisonous weed of revisionism ……
Jin Jingmai then thought, at this moment, I understand the meaning of “must change”: “the last four seconds” description, write what the hero saw, heard, thought and said, and the spinning sky spinning tree, is written Ouyang Hai The “fear of death” and “lingering on life” is a smear of the hero, a great poisonous weed of revisionism. –A piece of painstakingly crafted “winning strokes” turned out to be “the same as revisionism”, a “dark psychology The great exposure of “dark psychology”!
Jin Jingmai said: “I was ready to revise it. But I didn’t fully understand what you meant.”
“This person Xie Bengzhong is really useless!” Jiang Qing said with dissatisfaction, “He can’t even convey a meaning clearly, and he’s still some kind of ‘culture minister’!”
Jin Jingmai hastened to affirm, “It’s not Minister Xie’s fault, it’s mine.” He dared not say that he could not let go of the “last four seconds” of the description, and dared not argue that the “last four seconds” of the description had nothing to do with “Flying South of Yan”.
Before Jin Jingmai could get over it, Jiang Qing said again, “How did those two paragraphs of ‘black cultivation’ in the book come about? Did you write them yourself, or who asked you to add them? You dare to say. Don’t be afraid.” She paused, “Hum, you do not say I can guess, I’m afraid it was your ‘Tao political commissar’ idea again! I tell you, Tao Cast this person is very bad, is a ‘two-faced faction’. Every time I go to Guangzhou, he is superficially enthusiastic, but in fact secretly send people to follow me, nominally what ‘protection’, in fact, is to watch my tails, monitor me …… comrades, I am not only no freedom in Guangzhou, even personal safety is not guaranteed ah . I’m not only not free, but I’m not even safe. The first thing you need to do is to tell me if you were told by Tao Cast to add it.”
Jin Jingmai hurriedly replied, “I wrote it myself, I wrote it myself.”
Jiang Qing, still angry, rushed at Jin Jingmai and said, “You wrote it yourself! I think you are too deep in the poison of ‘black cultivation’. You are a monument for Liu Shaoqi to establish a biography! You are blatantly engaged in ‘two commanders’ well! Tell me, which ‘command’ are you from?”
Jin Jingmai did not dare to answer which “command” he was from. He said, “I …… I will definitely return to Chairman Mao’s revolutionary line ……”
Zhou Enlai saw Jin Jingmai’s red face and embarrassed face, turned a corner and said, “You should correctly understand Comrade Jiang Qing’s criticism, this is Comrade Jiang Qing’s concern for you, love you, hurry up and do what Comrade Jiang Qing said …… There is a report from the General Political Department, recently another 500,000 copies of “Song of Ouyanghai” were printed. But the situation has changed, can only be pressed in the warehouse (press: in fact, not 500,000 copies, is 650,000 copies, see page 63 – the author). It could not be issued without deleting the two paragraphs of Liu Shaoqi’s “Cultivation”. The backlog in the warehouse is also a waste of state property.”
“No, just deleting it won’t do!” Jiang Qing said, “To sterilize, to criticize! You can’t let the poison go and walk away!”
“The impact of your book is great.” Zhou Enlai said, “I see that the work of criticism and disinfection must also be done. Otherwise the masses won’t get through. In addition, we must also consciously obey the Central Committee’s overall strategic deployment. Or do as Comrade Jiang Qing said.”
“How to change the novel, you have to listen to the Premier.” Jiang Qing said politely.
“No, no, no,” Zhou Enlai said, “listen to Comrade Jiang Qing, listen to Comrade Jiang Qing.”
The Premier said, smiling, and stood up, “Of course listen to Comrade Jiang Qing.”
The other leaders followed suit and stood up. Only Jiang Qing remained leaning on the sofa.
Zhou Enlai nodded to Jiang Qing again, and only then did Jiang Qing stand up with an unhappy face: “I tell you, Jin Jingmai, if the Premier hadn’t mentioned you several times, I wouldn’t have been so polite to you today. How to change the novel, or to listen to the Premier.”
Then Jiang Qing like a different person, looking at Jin Jingmai said, “Come, come, come, today it is the Premier invited you to dinner, we ……” she looked around at the leaders, “we all as company. ” (See pages 11-16)
The show is over. Isn’t it wonderful?
The first thing I want to talk about here is Jiang Qing’s false accusations against Tao Cast, who said that she went to Guangzhou and Tao Cast sent people to monitor her and follow her on the pretext of “security”, and that she did not even have personal safety. This was her usual tactic during the Cultural Revolution, and she did this to all the people she wanted to fix, without exception. When Jiang Qing arrived in Guangzhou, Tao’s wife Zeng Zhi said that Mao Zedong “gave special instructions to Tao to take care of Jiang Qing” (see “The Historical Witness of a Revolutionary”, Guangdong People’s Publishing House, 1999, p. 320) and offered to “take care of Jiang Qing from the beginning to the end”. Can Tao Cast, who was loyal to Mao Zedong, not do his best? Jiang Qing is completely slandering Tao Cast with his conscience.
Let’s go back to the play where Jiang Qing summoned Jin Jingmai. The main character of this scene is Jiang Qing – she is an actress and a “star”. Zhou Enlai, the No. 3 person in the CPC Central Committee not only in name, but also in name, is the supporting actor, and in this scene only the two of them sing together, although Zhou Enlai’s words are more moderate, but the main idea is to take Jiang Qing’s will as the will, that is, to implement Jiang Qing’s opinion – “instructions “, to persuade Jin Jingmai to accept Jiang Qing’s opinion – “instructions”. Not to mention the other leaders present, even the two No. 4 and No. 5 figures of the CPC Central Committee at that time, namely Chen Boda and Kang Sheng, did not say a word, not even a “runner”, just a bystander! Who was Jiang Qing? At that time, she was the first deputy head of the Central Cultural Revolution Group, an administrative grade 9, not even an alternate member of the Central Committee, but her power and prestige were so great! Jin Jingmai said profoundly and to the point that Jiang Qing was a “special person” who was “no less than the number two person”! I don’t think I’ve seen any book or article about Jiang Qing’s power, so I’ve proposed this title for my article: “Jiang Qing’s Powerfulness in the Cultural Revolution” – which is probably “true to its name”.
II
Where did Jiang Qing’s authority come from? Jin Jingmai not only describes Jiang Qing’s great power during the Cultural Revolution in great detail, but also reveals profoundly where it came from. Or rather, how did it come about?
To answer this question, Jin Jingmai quotes Jiang Qing’s words when she met with the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution: “I am also a very ordinary person, an ordinary person, but I have done more work for the Party and the revolution. This is also the right thing to do. Don’t think of me as some great person. I am not. First of all, I am a Communist Party member, secondly, I am a staff member of the President, and thirdly, I am his wife ……” (p. 95)
Jin Jingmai explains this passage of Jiang Qing’s: Her “one, two, three”, what is a Communist Party member, what is a staff member, and what is the third one? This is the best exegesis of the idiom “There is nothing here but three hundred taels of silver”. (p. 110)
“The 800 million people know that she cannot be touched, cannot be touched, and cannot be messed with. The people understand, and the officials also understand, and the bigger the official, the higher the status, the more the words are counted, the more specific they know: her fear does not lie in her ‘first’ is so and so, nor in her ‘second’ is so and so, her fear, her can’t touch can’t touch, her can’t afford to mess with, lies in her fear. Her awfulness, her inability to touch, her inability to mess with, lies in her ‘third’ is a so-and-so.” (p. 117)
“Let’s leave aside literature and art. How many old comrades who are more qualified than you (Jiang Qing), whose level is higher than yours, whose contribution is greater than yours, and who still have shrapnel scars on their bodies, have to give up three points to you and fear seven points! You are not a member of the Communist Party, but you are a ‘third person’, and you say ‘this person is very bad’ and ‘that person is always against me’. That person has always opposed me’, or else who has ‘bitter hatred’ for you and who is ‘incompatible with you’, and then arrested and thrown into prison one by one. How many people have you driven to madness, how many people have you forced to throw themselves into the river and hang themselves?” (p. 117)
Is Jin Jingmai very profound and to the point? I think it’s very profound and spot on.
I’ll add a few words. Jiang Qing often says that this is a “spy” and that is a “spy”. I myself was falsely accused of being a “spy” by her. I served as her secretary for one year (January 9, 1967-January 9, 1968), and she put me in Qincheng prison for seven and a half years (January 1968-May 1975), and exiled me to a farm in Xidongting, Hunan for five years. In November 1975 (when she was still in power), the task force concluded that I had “tried to frame the comrades in charge of the Central Committee with false materials”, which actually meant that I had presented Jiang Qing with a letter from the public, and she was not satisfied with it, thus asserting that I was a “spy” planted by Wang (Li), Guan (Feng), and Qi (Benyu) at her side. (See Jiang Qing’s speech on January 24, 1970, when he met with representatives of the military propaganda team of the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Education and other units directly under the Central Government)
Two more examples. Sun Yang, son of the martyr Sun Bingwen (a close friend of Zhu De, both of whom were introduced to the CCP by Zhou Enlai) and former secretary of Zhu De, and vice president of Renmin University of China, listened to the radio in the middle of the night and immediately hanged himself when he heard Jiang Qing call him a big spy. It turned out that Sun Yang was coping well, thinking that there were files and censorship conclusions, and that sooner or later he would be clarified. Jiang Qing spoke, he still may be rehabilitated? And then there is Sun Yan’s sister Sun Weishi, who is the orphan of a martyr, Zhou Enlai’s goddaughter and a famous director, was imprisoned for studying in the Soviet Union and Jiang Qing slandered her as a Soviet agent. It is said that Zhou Enlai had advised Sun Weishi to persevere in prison, like swimming, and that she would surely swim to the other side. Sun Weishi wrote to Zhou that she couldn’t hold on any longer and committed suicide. How many people were killed by Jiang Qing during the Cultural Revolution?
It should be noted that Jin Jingmai’s opinion is not his alone, but a rather common one.
Professor Jin Chunming, who is engaged in the study of the Cultural Revolution, clearly and profoundly reveals the historical reasons for Jiang Qing’s special and frightening status, saying, “The so-called special status is clear to everyone, that is, Jiang Qing’s status as the wife of Mao Zedong, the supreme leader of the Party and the state. According to the traditional Chinese custom, the husband is noble and the wife is honored. Especially in the feudal society of more than two thousand years, the emperor and the empress of a country, the power is supreme, leaving a legacy that is both deep and strong. This also invariably affects people’s perception of Jiang Qing. Therefore, Jiang Qing’s stature is naturally different. She also took advantage of this, appearing everywhere as Mao’s representative and spokesman. It was also difficult for others to distinguish what was meant by Jiang Qing herself and what was directed by Mao, and others rarely had the opportunity or possibility to seek clarification from Mao. Especially when the cult of the individual prevailed and Mao became the supreme red sun in people’s minds, Jiang Qing naturally became worth a hundred times more.” He added: “Raising Chairman Mao at the critical moment was Jiang Qing’s biggest and most powerful trump card.” (See Jin Chunming, “The Sinking Record of the Gang of Four”, Kyushu Publishing House, 2013, pp. 25, 34)
Regarding Jiang Qing, Chen Boda, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee (number four after the fall of Tao Cast) and head of the Central Cultural Revolution Group, said in 1968, “If it weren’t for Chairman Mao, who would care about her?” (Chen Boda’s Posthumous Manuscript, Tiandi Books, 1998, pp. 89-90)
Chen Boda was absolutely right. This is his insightful opinion from his long close contact and work with Jiang Qing!
Tao’s wife Zeng Zhi once pointed out that Jiang Qing was treated as a member of the Politburo before the Cultural Revolution when she went to Guangzhou to read documents and so on. She was the deputy head of the Central Cultural Revolution Group during the Cultural Revolution, and as her secretary, I know that she had all the documents that the Standing Committee members Chen Boda and Kang Sheng had, not less than one, and other treatment (such as going out with the car, security guards, etc.) were the same, and she approved the most documents among these people. What if she became a member of the Politburo at the Ninth Congress? Although she was not in charge of specific work and called herself an “idle person,” she had to be accompanied by one or two Politburo members (Wu Fa Xian, or Wu Fa Xian and Li Zuopeng) when she went abroad for recuperation or rest. Jiang Qing acted special in every way, she was a special and special person. Why? Because she is the wife of Mao Zedong ……
The first thing you need to do is to get a good idea of what you are doing. This is a vulgar but profound statement.
Jin Jingmai has a good quote: “Didn’t the chief (referring to Jiang Qing) claim that I was just a wandering sentry of whoever was on the literary and artistic front? Sentinel, are you holding a rifle or an atomic bomb? How is it that you are so powerful that you have shocked the people of the whole country, no, not only the people, but also the cadres of the whole country, the whole army and the whole Party at all levels, including the leaders of the Central Committee?” (p. 117)
Three
Jiang Qing did rely on Mao, but Jiang Qing tried to prove to people that she did not rely on Mao, but on herself, saying that she never relied on her husband alone, like comrade so-and-so – she often said this to her staff.
She only wanted to be called “Comrade Jiang Qing”, she did not want to be called “Mao’s wife”, let alone “Mao’s wife” – something she could only sometimes say herself.
Ma Xiaoxian, Jiang Qing’s last health nurse, told of an incident after Mao’s death. She said: As soon as the news of the Chairman’s death was announced, letters came in from home and abroad. Jiang Qing divided the letters into two piles: one for “Jiang Qing, Politburo member” and another for “Jiang Qing, Mao’s wife”. She had a problem with writing “Mao Zedong’s wife”. She took the letter “Mao Zedong’s wife Jiang Qing received” and showed it to me, but after reading it, she didn’t even open it and put it aside. She said: “They treat me as a wife, I do not depend on the Chairman to eat – of course the Chairman still respects me. I don’t live off the dead like some people do.” In fact, we got the impression that she was referring to x x x when she said this, although she didn’t specify who she was referring to. I think she was always dissatisfied with xxxx, saying “she is actually a housewife. But she has a higher opinion of herself.
Jiang Qing said that she did not rely on Mao, but on herself, which is a self-aggrandizing and uncompromising falsehood. Before Mao’s death, that is, when Mao was around, although he was very sick, people (including the staff around Jiang Qing) generally hated Jiang Qing so much that even the Marshal, even Mao’s chosen successor, could not help her because “the rat was cast”, yet as soon as Mao returned to heaven, not even a month later, she was arrested and even became a “counter-revolutionary”!
Yanhuang Chunqiu, No. 6, 2014
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