When Nixon first came to China in 1972, the gifts he prepared were very heavy, and the most special and meaningful gift was a list of gifts, which listed the names and quantities of the huge assets on the previously sunken "Awa Maru", as well as many other important information materials. In addition, Nixon also prepared a lot of personal gifts, all of which were very careful.
Mao Zedong finally preserved Nixon's signed business card and the goblet he used at the banquet. The business card is a piece of cardboard embedded in a piece of colorless transparent plexiglass, with the U.S. national emblem on the upper part and Nixon's signature in English on the lower part. On the back, on the left is english, on the right is Chinese, and the hand body is carved out - "Commemorating the Visit of the President of the United States of America to the People's Republic of China in February 1972".
The business card, packed in a yellow gold-foil carton, was handed to Mao by Nixon himself after the two men first met and shook hands.
The goblet was used by Nixon at the farewell banquet, because Mao Zedong could not attend due to physical reasons at that time, Nixon felt some regret, so he signed the goblet with his name, and then gave it to Mao Zedong.
As a return gift, our country also prepared many gifts, and Nixon happily accepted them. But before Nixon returned home, Mao Zedong also wrote three banners himself, each with four words on it. Nixon had long heard that Mao Zedong was a first-class calligrapher, so he was surprised and excited by the three ink treasures he gave.
But when Nixon read the words written on it, he was confused. Before his visit to China, Nixon had specially read some very representative poems of Mao Zedong, and also did some understanding and research, but he really did not understand this gift from Mao Zedong, and he never understood it. Later, when Mao Zedong was in Wuhan, he said to a group of military cadres: "Nixon did not understand what I wrote. ”
Mao Zedong wrote down three banners, the content of which were: "Lao Shu Sits on the Stool", "Chang'e Running moon", and "Walking Horse and Watching Flowers", and the content of each banner has no interrelated meaning. After Nixon returned to the United States, Mao Zedong's gifts aroused strong interest from all walks of life. In this regard, many people have speculated and explained, and everyone wants to solve the mystery of these three banners.
Trier, an American who has written "The Biography of Mao Zedong" and "The Second Half of Mao Zedong's Life," once made his own explanation to the outside world: "The old man sitting on the stool" means that the old man sitting on the stool is imperialism; "Chang'e Running Moon" refers to China's artificial satellite, indicating that China's scientific and technological strength is getting stronger; and "walking around the horse and watching the flowers" alludes to Nixon's visit to China is very short, and the itinerary is like walking around the flowers.
From a literal point of view, his explanation seems to be quite reasonable, and it was also approved by many foreign scholars at that time. But later, many Chinese people felt that such an explanation was too simple, and they also regarded Mao Zedong as too simple. Therefore, some people have analyzed that what Mao Zedong gave to Nixon is a metaphor for the past, present, and future of Sino-US relations.
But because Mao Zedong did not give any explanation for this, there has never been a true statement, and the world can only do some speculations that conform to Mao Zedong's style:
The "old man sitting on the stool" may not refer to Nixon, but to Mao Zedong. At that time, Mao Zedong was 79 years old, and Nixon was only 59 years old at the time, so he may be laughing at his own age, and at the same time, in the face of the constantly changing forms of the outside world, he can be indifferent and fearless, and the side also shows his self-confidence and strength and strength of the country.
"Chang'e Running Moon" does not necessarily refer to China's artificial satellites, and judging from the time period at that time, it is likely to refer to the "Apollo Program". In 1969, Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked the lunar surface for 2 and a half hours and successfully achieved "a big step for mankind."
In this regard, despite the success of other countries, Mao Zedong's heart is affirmative and praised, which undoubtedly brings the relations between the two countries closer and expresses his expectations for the further improvement of relations between the two countries.
Nixon's visit to China was only a week, which was indeed a hasty and short visit to the two countries. During this period, the two sides also met and discussed several times together, but on many deep-seated issues, there was still no formal communication, and even some were formal, not in-depth enough, and could not enable the other party to truly understand China. So this is a pity for both countries.
However, these four-word cross poems are vivid in image and very profound in meaning, and also reflect Mao Zedong's broad mind, rich experience and profound education, and there is no lack of poets' free romance and the majestic atmosphere of the leader of a big country. Therefore, it is obviously not enough to understand the meaning of these 12 words literally.
At the same time, it can also be felt that Mao Zedong really regarded Nixon as a rare friend, and he also attached great importance to the relationship with him and the two countries.