In January 2021, on the stage of the "Classic Arias" hosted by CCTV, singer Tan Weiwei choked up several times because of a family letter from more than 70 years ago, and almost burst into tears. Although the paper has long been yellowed and the letter is stained, from Juanxiu's handwriting and moving words, we can still feel the author's feelings when he lifted the pen.
Unfortunately, however, Chairman Mao never received these letters from his wife. Why is that? In that difficult revolutionary era, what kind of touching story did the revolutionary couple experience?
In 1901, Yang Kaihui was born in Bancang Village, Qingtai Township, Changsha County, Hunan Province. Many years later, in honor of this hero, the local government renamed the place Kaihui Town and Kaihui Village.
Yang Kaihui's father, Yang Changji, was a well-known university scholar in China at that time, an ethicist and educator in modern times. It is precisely because of this that Yang Changji, who is ideologically progressive, is very attentive to the education of his children. He often taught his daughter to abandon the backward ideas of the old times and not to believe in the absurd saying that "a woman's talentlessness is virtue".
Under the guidance of her father, Yang Kaihui began to read and study very early. Yang Kaihui was born smart, and her father's friends often praised her as "transparent and intelligent".
In 1913, Yang Changji went to teach at the First Normal School in Hunan Province, and Yang Kaihui and his mother came to Changsha with their father. It was here that Yang Kaihui met Mao Zedong.
Yang Changji happened to be teaching Mao Zedong's class, and Mao Zedong became his student. At this time, Mao Zedong was already well-known in school, and he was diligent in his studies and good thinking, and often made some words in class, so Yang Changji was quite appreciative of him.
Yang Changji knew that Mao Zedong's family was not well-off, so he asked him to come to his home to read books and discuss problems. One afternoon, Yang Kaihui, who returned from school, broke into the study and wanted her father to help her with her homework. Yang Changji just went out, and there was only Mao Zedong in the room who was immersed in the book and could not extricate himself. Seeing that he was so focused, Yang Kaihui, who was young, was not embarrassed to disturb, and stood at the door with his homework book and waited for half a day.
After a while, Mao Zedong realized the little girl at the door and asked, "Are you Yang Kaihui?" Yang Kaihui nodded, then asked, "Which one are you?" Mao Zedong replied, "I am a student of Teacher Yang, Mao Runzhi." Mao Zedong probably guessed Yang Kaihui's intentions and asked, "Is there anything I can do to help you?" ”
Hearing this, Yang Kaihui seemed to have found a life-saving straw, and rushed over to mao zedong and put the homework in front of Mao Zedong. This was the first acquaintance of the two, when Yang Kaihui was still very young, and Mao Zedong treated her like a sister, and did not involve the love between men and women.
In 1918, Yang Changji was transferred to teach at Peking University, and the 17-year-old Yang Kaihui came to Beijing with her parents. At this time, Mao Zedong had organized a work-study trip to France in Changsha. Due to various reasons, the work of the group to France has not been promoted, so Mao Zedong went to Beijing to ask Yang Changji for help.
During this period, Yang Kaihui and Mao Zedong had more contact. It was the most chaotic period in Chinese society. Domestic warlords are divided and conquests are not stopped, and foreign powers are eyeing the tiger. Although the Xinhai Revolution overthrew the feudal monarchy, it did not lead New China to the imaginary path of light.
As a new woman with progressive thoughts, Yang Kaihui could have chosen to live a good life. However, after seeing the suffering of the people and the humiliation of the country, she resolutely and resolutely threw herself into the cause of national salvation.
Because the two were like-minded, after Mao Zedong came to Beijing, Yang Kaihui often asked him to discuss issues. Coming and going, the two became more and more acquainted. Gradually, the two were gradually attracted to each other and fell in love.
In 1920, Mao Zedong and Yang Kaihui were married in Changsha. It was in this year that Mao Zedong joined the Communist Party of China and became one of the first ccp members. Two years later, Yang Kaihui followed in her husband's footsteps and joined the party, becoming the second woman in the history of the CCP to join the party. Since then, Mao Zedong and Yang Kaihui have not only been husband and wife in the same breath, but also comrades in arms in life and death.
After the collapse of the first cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communists, in order to escape Chiang Kai-shek's "Great Purge", in 1927, Mao Zedong and his wife returned to Yang Kaihui's hometown of Bancang with their three sons. In the same year, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued instructions at the 1987 Conference, ordering Mao Zedong to lead the autumn harvest uprising on the border of Xianggan and Gansu.
Yang Kaihui originally wanted to go with Mao Zedong to participate in the Autumn Harvest Uprising, but at this time she had three underage sons around her, and her elderly mother was worried about her. So she had to give up on this idea.
One night in 1927, Mao Quietly left a letter and a few silver dollars on the table, turned and walked out of the house. Yang Kaihui, who woke up in the middle of the night, found that her husband was not there, and immediately got up and went out to look for her husband. Fortunately, Mao Zedong had not gone far, Yang Kaihui chased all the way, and finally saw her husband.
Mao Zedong comforted his wife, and after the success of the uprising, he came to pick up their mother and son. Of course, Yang Kaihui knew the difficulties involved, and the revolution would have been so easy to succeed. But she didn't want her husband to worry, so she took his hand and told him:
"I'll wait for you to come back, you take good care of yourself, don't worry about us."
On the occasion of farewell, Yang Kaihui took advantage of Mao Zedong's lack of attention and stuffed several silver dollars back into Mao Zedong's pocket.
Mao Zedong also did not expect that this farewell to Yang Kaihui would become a farewell forever. After her husband left, Yang Kaihui, who was alone in her hometown, did not relax, and she has always insisted on mobilizing the masses to do underground struggle.
After the success of the autumn harvest uprising led by Mao Zedong, it caused a lot of influence in the Xianggan region. Therefore, the Kuomintang reactionary government in Changsha, knowing that Mao Zedong's wife was in Hunan, began to arrest Yang Kaihui everywhere. In order to avoid the children being implicated, Yang Kaihui asked his three sons to change their surname to "Yang" and take refuge in relatives' homes.
During this period, Yang Kaihui always remembered Mao Zedong thousands of miles away. Late at night, she often sat alone in her study and wrote letters to Mao Zedong. However, the letters were never sent. Because Yang Kaihui was worried that sending a letter to Mao Zedong would expose his whereabouts and affect revolutionary action.
In order not to let the enemy find out, Yang Kaihui hid his letter to Mao Zedong in the wall. It was not until 1982, when workers were renovating Yang Kaihui's former residence, that these "red family letters" were able to reappear.
In 1930, the Hunan warlord He Jian, in order to suppress the communist forces, formed the "Qingxiang Brigade" and the "Shoveling Communist Volunteer Brigade" into the "Qingxiang Brigade" and the "Shoveling Communist Volunteer Brigade", which were specifically responsible for hunting down and killing the Communists. In order to catch Yang Kaihui, He Jian offered a reward of high silver money, saying that if anyone could catch Yang Kaihui in front of him, he would be able to get 100 pieces of ocean.
On October 24, 1930, a group of "Qingxiang Troops" broke into Yang Kaihui's secret residence in Bancang and arrested her and her son Mao Anying to the Changsha Army Prison Bureau.
After being arrested, the enemy repeatedly persuaded Yang Kaihui to surrender. However, whether it was coercion or inducement, they could not make this Huxiang female Jie shake. In the face of the enemy's torture, Yang Kaihui was not afraid:
"I don't care about my own life for a long time, revolutionary — if you don't succeed, you become a benevolent person!"
After the persuasion was fruitless, He Jian finally lost patience and ordered Yang Kaihui to be "shot" and "exposed for three days.". On November 14, 1930, on the Literacy Ridge outside Liuyang Gate, Yang Kaihui's blood stained a wild grass red. Soon after, the news of Yang Kaihui's sacrifice reached Shanghai. When Mao Zedong learned the bad news of his wife's righteousness, he was so sad that he could not restrain himself: "Kaihui's death is difficult to redeem. ”
Many years later, when Mao Zedong recalled the "Qia Classmate Boy", the bits and pieces about Yang Kaihui always came to mind first. Husband and wife love is still separated by yin and yang - such an ending was the most common and regrettable in that era.
Text/Genki Girl QMQ
Resources: 1. "A Red Family Letter That Was Not Sent: A Letter from Yang Kaihui to Mao Zedong", Wang Lei 2. "Yang Kaihui: Sacrificing the Small Self, Succeeding the Big Me", He Yong 3. "Yang Kaihui of the Fragrant Lake Xiang Towel", Wang Jiahong