On December 21, 1949, Stalin celebrated his 70th birthday.
On this day, just over two months after the founding of the People's Republic of China, Mao Zedong appeared in Moscow, not in Beijing, at the banquet of Stalin's 70th birthday, sitting on Stalin's right hand side.
For the newly founded new China, good relations with the Soviet Union were a big thing, and Stalin's 70th birthday was a perfect opportunity. In order to show respect for Stalin, Mao Zedong really put a lot of effort into preparing a birthday gift for Stalin, and he personally drafted a telegram and made special instructions: Shandong prepared 5,000 kilograms of cabbage, 5,000 kilograms of turnips, 5,000 kilograms of green onions, 5,000 kilograms of pears, a total of 20,000 kilograms, as a gift for Stalin's 70th birthday.
This instruction made many people feel inexplicable, the Soviet Union did not cause famine, Stalin is not rare these things, why is Mao Zedong so "ingenious", giving Stalin 20,000 kilograms of cabbage, radishes, green onions and pears? This article takes you back to the before and after of Mao Zedong's birthday celebration for Stalin and his first visit to the Soviet Union in 1949, revealing the "meaning" behind 20,000 kilograms of vegetables and fruits.
Mao Zedong works in Zhongnanhai
< h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" >'s first trip to the Soviet Union: Mao Zedong repeatedly demanded that good things happen</h1>
On December 6, 1949, Mao Zedong began his first trip to Moscow, the first time in his life that he had visited the Soviet Union only twice, and he had never been to any other country.
Mao Zedong's current visit had two purposes: one was to wish Stalin a happy birthday, and the other was to sign a new Sino-Soviet treaty.
For Mao, a visit to Moscow was a long-cherished wish.
From the time of the agrarian revolution, the senior leaders of the Communist Party of China continued to visit the Soviet Union and met Stalin, with the exception of Mao Zedong. In January 1949, Mao Zedong repeatedly sent signals to Stalin that he could personally visit the Soviet Union, but at that time, Chiang Kai-shek's regime was still on the mainland, and Mao Zedong's visit to the Soviet Union was somewhat "unjustified", and Stalin politely refused Mao Zedong's request.
On October 1, 1949, the People's Republic of China was founded. The next day, October 2, the Soviet Union recognized New China and decided to establish diplomatic relations, the first country in the world to recognize New China.
Although to be expected, Mao Zedong was still very excited, and for the new People's Republic of China, the support of every country was extremely valuable, let alone the big brother of the socialist camp, the Soviet Union. This also revived Mao's unjust visit to the Soviet Union.
By this time, Chiang Kai-shek's regime had been completely overthrown, Mao Zedong had become chairman of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China, and Stalin's feared identity problems no longer existed, and he said that "Mao Zedong is always welcome to Go to Moscow." ”
Mao Zedong pinched his fingers, December 21 is stalin's 70th birthday, when the communist parties of all countries in the world will go to Moscow to wish Stalin a happy birthday, so he expressed to the Soviet Union that he hoped to go to Moscow in early December to wish Comrade Stalin a happy birthday.
After some consultations, Mao Zedong's first visit to the Soviet Union was officially confirmed, and the date was set for early December 1949.
Mao Zedong's long-cherished wish finally ushered in the opportunity to end.
Stalin, the supreme leader of the Soviet Union, is in office
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > to celebrate Stalin's birthday: Mao Zedong personally ordered the birthday ceremony and took pains</h1>
Mao Zedong put a lot of thought into this visit, especially to give gifts to Stalin, and he arranged for Ren Bishi, one of the secretaries of the Five Congresses of the Central Committee, and Yang Shangkun, director of the General Office of the Central Committee, to be responsible for preparing the congratulatory gifts, demanding that they be "both beautiful and practical."
Yang Shangkun convened everyone to discuss the gift list, and everyone brainstormed and put forward many suggestions, such as Xiang embroidery, Hangzhou embroidery, cloisonné, Jingdezhen ceramics, Longjing tea, Jiangxi bamboo shoots, ivory carving, and special agricultural products such as duck pears from Beijing.
It should be said that these gifts are very representative and have national characteristics, and basically meet Mao Zedong's requirements for gifts.
A few days later, Yang Shangkun submitted a gift slip to Mao Zedong and asked him to decide it himself.
Mao Zedong read the gift list several times, crossed out some items that he thought were inappropriate, then picked up a pen and added several items.
Yang Shangkun took a look at the gift sheet and was a little stunned.
These items are: Chinese cabbage, green onions, radishes, pears, and specially indicated: Shandong, 5,000 pounds each.
Jiaodong cabbage, Zhangqiu scallions, Weixian radish, Laiyang pear, needless to say, these four specialties, the best quality is in Shandong.
Mao Zedong even personally drafted a telegram to the Shandong Branch of the Communist Party of China, which read: "Comrade Stalin is celebrating his seventieth birthday on the 21st day of December this year, and the Central Committee has decided to send the yellow sprouts, turnips, green onions, and large pears produced in Shandong as birthday gifts, and it is necessary to purchase 5,000 catties of each one before December 4, for a total of 20,000 catties." Pay attention to choosing the best. The central government will send a chartered plane to Jinan to pick up the transportation. ”
Visit Mao Zedong of the SOVIET Union
On December 1, the list of gifts congratulating Stalin on his 70th birthday was completed in the names of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese People's Liberation Army, the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China, and chinese peasants, including:
1. Catalogue of gifts from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
Grand Marshal (Stalin) silk statue (Xiang embroidery) two frames
A pair of blue-flowered porcelain vases from the Qing Dynasty
Two sets of Cloisonné Roasted Blue Tea Set (10 pieces in total)
A pair of burnt porcelain life plates
Ivory carvings (large vases, pagodas, dragon boats, carved balls, eight fairies, heroines)
Keemun black tea, fine green tea, Longjing tea
2. Chinese people's liberation army gift catalog
Grand Marshal (Stalin) silk embroidery like a frame
Grand Marshal (Stalin) ceramics like a pair
3. Catalogue of gifts of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China
Grand Marshal (Stalin) like a ceramic plate ten
Two sets of five-colored porcelain furniture in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi (99 pieces per set)
4. Catalogue of special vegetables and fruits donated by Chinese farmers
Duck pear, Sydney pear, green-skinned round carrot (from nearBy Beijing)
Tianjin radish (green skin slender)
Jiangxi produces small kumquats
Green onions in Zhangqiu County, Shandong
Shandong Jiaodong cabbage (large)
Shandong Laiyang pear (green, four thorn basket)
Shandong Weixian radish (large green skin)
Shandong specialty Zhangqiu green onion
Judging from the above gift list, in addition to ivory products, other gifts are all Chinese characteristics.
Mao Zedong was the supreme leader of a country and the nation, and congratulating Stalin on his birthday did not represent his personal feelings with Stalin, but represented the relationship between the two parties and two countries. In Mao Zedong's view, even the "worthless" cabbage and turnips are stronger than rare treasures, reflecting his strong sense of national pride and self-confidence.
So, does Mao Zedong particularly add cabbage, radish, green onions and pears to the gift list, what is the special meaning?
At first, Mao Zedong did not make this clear, and many people speculated.
The first is to consider the practicality of vegetables and fruits.
The Soviet Union was founded on industry, heavy industry is strong, light industry and agriculture are very underdeveloped, coupled with cold weather, not suitable for grain, vegetables and fruits to grow, vegetables and fruits varieties are pitiful, most of the Soviet people's staple food is bread, milk, potatoes, beef, pork, vegetables are mainly potatoes (both as grain, but also as vegetables), most of the dependence on vegetables are imported.
In contrast, China's industrial base is weak and its production capacity is poor, but traditional agriculture is developed, and the output of vegetables and fruits is large, and giving vegetables and fruits to Stalin as a birthday gift is undoubtedly a favor on the practicality of vegetables and fruits, reflecting China's traditional agricultural advantages. As the saying goes, the real gift should be "only sent to the right and not expensive", what the other party lacks, what you send, reflects your intentions and seriousness.
The second is the special meaning of politics.
Most of the gifts in the gift list have unique meanings. Xiang embroidery is one of the "four famous embroideries", highly artistic, at the same time Hunan is Mao Zedong's hometown, both reflect the national characteristics, but also represent Mao Zedong's personal wishes; Jingdezhen ceramics is the representative of Chinese ceramic art, since the Song and Yuan dynasties have enjoyed a high reputation, is one of the most popular Chinese crafts in the world; cloisonné is China's unique handicrafts, famous for exquisite luxury, in the Qingming period is the royal family, is a symbol of status and status; Longjing tea is China's best tea, the representative of Chinese tea culture; Jiangxi small kumquat, Beijing is the capital of New China, Jinggangshan in Jiangxi is one of the revolutionary holy places of the Communist Party of China, symbolizing the sweetness of Sino-Soviet friendship, and so on.
A group photo of a Chinese delegation visiting the Soviet Union at the train station
The third is to create a special sense of intimacy.
Chinese cabbage, radish, green onions, pears and other specialties are all things that the Chinese people often eat, Mao Zedong gave Stalin these common gifts, there are also ideas to get closer to Stalin, so that Stalin has a sense of intimacy, these gifts are given in the name of the peasants of the People's Republic of China, that is, Stalin feels that not only the leaders of the CPC Central Committee attach importance to him, but the ordinary people of China also have special admiration for him, and send their best things - cabbage, radish, green onions, pears for birthday gifts.
But mao zedong's choice of cabbage, radish, green onions and pears really stemmed from these considerations? At one point it was puzzling.
Later, on a trip to the Soviet Union with Mao Zedong, Yan Mingfu, then head of the translation team at the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, recalled this special gift list and talked about the meaning of Mao Zedong's use of cabbage, radish, green onions and pears.
On December 6, Mao Zedong and his party stepped on a special train heading north, crossed the country, and headed for Moscow.
Along the way, Mao Zedong was in a good mood and laughed with the staff from time to time. Yan Mingfu took the opportunity to ask Mao Zedong why he pulled two wagons of radish, cabbage and green onions as a birthday gift.
Mao Zedong smiled and said, "Haven't you heard the jokes of the Shandong people?" Shandong people love to eat green onions, to what extent? Shandong people are angry and fighting, and it doesn't work to persuade them to fight, but if you give them a green onion, the two people immediately stop and don't fight. Why, because they both had to eat green onions, and they were immediately not interested in fighting. ”
Yan Mingfu and others laughed, Shandong people love to eat green onions, he knows, but he has never heard of this joke, but what does this joke have to do with Stalin's birthday?
Mao Zedong sold a pass, "When you get to the Soviet Union, you will know it!" ”
Mao Zedong and the Chinese delegation on the special train
< H1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > moscow talks: Mao Zedong insisted on his position, Stalin succumbed</h1>
The journey from Beijing to Moscow is an extremely long journey.
In order to show respect for Mao Zedong, Stalin sent his own special train to Manchuria to greet Mao Zedong, which was specially equipped with Chinese cooks, and The Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Lavrendev and others accompanied Mao Zedong to board the special train and embarked on a journey to Moscow.
After a full 10 days of travel, at noon on December 16, the special train finally entered moscow North Railway Station.
Entrusted by Stalin, Molotov (equivalent to vice president), member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee and vice chairman of the Council of Ministers, Marshal Bulganin, Minister of Defense, Minister of Foreign Trade Menshkov, and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Gromyko came to the railway station to greet him and held a concise welcome ceremony.
At 6 p.m. that day, Stalin met Mao Zedong at the Kremlin, the first meeting between the two leaders of the international communist movement, the hands of the two giants clasped together, an exciting moment in history.
Stalin looked at Mao Zedong and said, "I didn't expect you to be so young, tall, and strong." ”
Mao Zedong's answer was humorous, "I am a person who has been ostracized for a long time, and I have nowhere to say." ”
On December 18, Mikoyan and others came to visit the villa and accompanied Mao Zedong to dinner, and the two sides talked happily.
In January 1949, when Mikoyan was commissioned by Stalin to secretly visit Xibaipo, Hebei Province, Mao Zedong gave Mikoyan a warm hospitality, and he "drunk" mikoyan with 35 peppers, which impressed mikoyan.
During the meal, Mikoyan said to Mao Zedong: "Comrade Chairman's gift list for Comrade Stalin's seventieth birthday has been presented to Comrade Stalin, and Comrade Stalin is very grateful. ”
Mao Zedong nodded, "Comrade Stalin is happy, that means that our minds have not been wasted." ”
On December 21, 1949, Mao Zedong attended the celebration of Stalin's 70th birthday
This morning, Mao Zedong got up early, spread out the rice paper, dipped it in thick ink, and wrote a pair of shou lian: Fu Ru Donghai, Shou Bi Nanshan, as his personal birthday gift to Stalin.
On the same day, the Bolshoi Theater held a grand birthday celebration, Stalin showed special respect for Mao Zedong, arranged to place some of the gifts sent by Mao Zedong in the first exhibition hall of the Pushkin Museum for people to visit, gifts from other countries can only be placed in other exhibition halls, and Mao Zedong's handwritten Shoulian "Fu Ru Donghai, Shoubi Nanshan" was placed in the most conspicuous position.
Stalin also deliberately arranged for Mao Zedong to sit on his right hand side, which was the most honored guest position.
Mao Zedong issued an enthusiastic congratulatory speech, saying that "Stalin was a mentor and friend of the people of the world, and also a mentor and friend of the people of the Chinese ... He has made an extremely outstanding and broad contribution to the cause of the world communist movement.". Finally, mao zedong, on behalf of the Communist Party of China and the people of Chinese, wished Stalin "health and longevity" and shouted "Long live the great Stalin!" ”
In the warm and grand celebration, Stalin's vanity was greatly satisfied.
But Mao Zedong was not really happy, and in a photo of the scene, Mao Zedong had a calm expression and no smile.
During this visit to the Soviet Union, the first task was to sign a Sino-Soviet treaty of friendship and mutual assistance, and secondly, to wish Stalin a happy birthday. If there was no need to win Soviet support, with Mao Zedong's temperament, he would never have personally come to the Soviet Union to give Stalin a birthday.
Mao Zedong was such a person, he would not deliberately pander and curry favor with anyone he did not appreciate, but for the sake of the national and national interests, he would do something wronged himself, including pandering to the object he did not want to please, Stalin. Mao Zedong himself did not want to celebrate his birthday, and every birthday was simple, but this time he solemnly wished Stalin a birthday, which was the case.
But in the five days after arriving in Moscow, Stalin only met with Mao Zedong once, and no substantive agreement was reached, which made Mao feel that it was a waste of time, and it is no wonder that he did not seem so happy at the birthday ceremony.
On December 21, 1949, Mao Zedong celebrated Stalin's 70th birthday
On December 22, another birthday banquet was held in Moscow, and Mao Zedong was still sitting next to Stalin. During the banquet, Stalin proposed to "toast to the representatives of the People's Republic of China who appeared in the hall, to Comrade Mao Zedong, the leader of the Chinese people!" ”
But Mao Zedong was still not happy, and the banquet lasted from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. the next day, and Mao Zedong was already exhausted and in a terrible mood. After returning to the villa, Mao Zedong said to Wang Dongxing: "I don't know how the Banquet in the Soviet Union is so long. I didn't eat well, I didn't look good, and I clapped my hands all night. We can't go back and learn this. It's delicious to eat, and it's good to watch a play. ”
On December 24, at Mao's repeated requests, Stalin finally held a second formal meeting with Mao.
The five-and-a-half-hour talks lasted, and Stalin talked from Vietnam to Japan, from India to Western Europe, looking forward to the global situation, but he did not say anything about the Sino-Soviet treaty of friendship and mutual assistance that Mao Zedong was most concerned about.
Mao Zedong was very annoyed, knowing that Stalin was worried about the views of the Western world led by the United States, and was reluctant to "tie the interests of the Soviet Union and China together" so quickly. In a fit of rage, Mao Zedong simply closed the door and "slept" in the villa every day.
Kovalev, a liaison on the Soviet side, came to invite Mao Zedong to visit, and Mao Zedong slapped the table and made a fire, scolding Stalin with pointing at the mulberry and scolding the locust, saying that he now had only three tasks: One is to eat, the second is to sleep, and the third is to. ”
Kovalev was embarrassed, and thought that Mao Zedong was dissatisfied with the hospitality, so he quickly said, "If there is any need, we will do our best to meet it." ”
Mao Zedong was still angry and said angrily: "I came to Moscow not only to wish Stalin a happy birthday, but also to do some work!" You still have to keep the treaty with the Kuomintang, and you keep it well! I'll be gone in a few days. ”
Kovalev saw that Mao Zedong was so angry that he slipped away.
On December 16, 1949, Mao Zedong was warmly welcomed by the Soviet Union at moscow station.
In the next few days, Mao Zedong was unusual, no longer taking the initiative to ask for a meeting with Stalin, nor seeing other Soviet leaders, refusing to participate in any public activities, and the high-level of both sides felt the tension: Stalin and Mao Zedong, two political leaders with strong personalities, were secretly competing! I don't know who made the concessions first?
At the critical moment when the two sides "wrenched their wrists", the Western media came to a divine assist.
Since Mao Zedong did not have public activities in Moscow for many days, and the Soviet and Chinese media did not report on Mao Zedong for many consecutive days, this phenomenon is seriously inconsistent with the normality of the visit of the head of state, as if Mao Zedong mysteriously "disappeared" in Moscow. A British news agency keenly caught this anomaly and said: "Mao Zedong was put under house arrest by Stalin in Moscow. ”
This was an explosive news, and as soon as the news came out, it immediately triggered rumors in Europe and the United States, such as Mao Zedong was forced to cede the three northeastern provinces to Stalin and Stalin was soft and Mao Zedong... The news was extremely unfavorable to the Soviet Union, and Mao Zedong wasted no time in making a noise that Britain, India and other countries were interested in recognizing the nascent People's Republic of China.
Stalin could not sit still, he could not afford to "put" Mao Zedong under house arrest, and if he did not grasp China as an ally, once Britain and the United States made overtures to Mao Zedong and China fell to the Western world, the Soviet Union would be left alone, so Stalin softened and finally agreed to sign a Sino-Soviet treaty of friendship and alliance, and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai went to Moscow to agree on the specific terms of the treaty.
On February 14, 1950, the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance was formally signed.
Mao Zedong smiled, and the most important goal of this visit to the Soviet Union was about to be successfully achieved. In the contest of wisdom and backbone, Mao Zedong laughed to the end, this is mao zedong's victory, but also the victory of the People's Republic of China, the victory of the Chinese people.
Mao Zedong and Stalin attended the signing ceremony of the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance
On February 17, Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai returned home.
On February 26, a special train sent Mao Zedong and his party to Manchuria and transferred them to Mao Zedong's own special train. At Manzhouli Station, the Soviet Union moved Stalin's gift back to the train, which was also filled with several wagons, the most precious of which were 2 Guise cars.
Gies car is the top luxury car produced in the Soviet Union, known as the "armored car in the car", the whole car is black, equipped with an eight-cylinder 6.0 liter engine, the top speed is 140 kilometers per hour, the weight of up to 6 tons, the tire is a double-layer structure, even if it is hit by a bullet, it can still drive normally; the bottom is a thick steel plate, which can resist infantry mines, and the whole vehicle is bulletproof glass, which cannot be penetrated even at close range.
On the way back, Mao Zedong was in a better mood and talked to the staff about Stalin.
While smoking, Mao Zedong said: "I have long heard that Stalin is a man with a bad temper and will say something inappropriate whenever he is impulsive. In the early days of our Party, the Soviet Union did a lot of work to help us, but Stalin also did a lot of things that were unfavorable to the Chinese revolution, and Wang Ming's left-leaning line was influenced by him and imposed on us by the Communist International. ”
In 1949, the People's Daily published a report congratulating Stalin on his 70th birthday
The comrades in the Party knew these things, and everyone nodded.
Mao Zedong took a puff of his cigarette and continued: "Turnips, green onions, these two things are smooth, cabbage, pears, can clear the heat and reduce the fire, I gave these to Stalin, that is, to make him discouraged." But this time in Moscow, he had a bad attitude, and he was rude to me, and I was not satisfied, and there was always a stomach for both sides. ”
At this time, everyone finally realized that Mao Zedong had specially added these four Shandong specialties, and there was this intention.
In fact, I think that Mao Zedong's explanation may not be his true thoughts, and with his humorous personality, perhaps this statement is just a ridicule of the "somewhat infuriating" experience of this trip to Moscow, but no one has investigated it deeply.
In fact, the birthday gift to Stalin this time is just as Mao Zedong said in his talks with Stalin:
"I'm afraid it's going to be something after consultation between the two sides, and this thing should be both beautiful and delicious." The so-called good-looking, is the form of good-looking, to be shown to the people of the world, sounding grand; delicious is to have content, taste, real. ”
Regardless of Mao Zedong's true intentions, his meticulous preparation of birthday gifts, his personal celebration of Stalin's birthday, and his even willingness to "curry favor with this big brother against his will" undoubtedly sent a strong signal to the world to "be close to the Soviet Union" and firmly stand in the "socialist camp." Fundamentally, he was still aimed at winning soviet support and for the interests of our country and nation.
Stalin gave Mao Ghis a 115 car
It was precisely because Chairman Mao personally visited the Soviet Union this time and vigorously advocated the signing of the "Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance, and Mutual Assistance" that China and the Soviet Union formally established friendly, alliance, and mutual assistance relations. With the support of the Soviet Union, New China won a relatively stable external environment and began a vigorous War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, socialist reform, and socialist construction. All this is Chairman Mao's far-sightedness and reverence for us.
Draught does not forget to dig wells and will always remember Chairman Mao. I would like to use this document to the great leader Chairman Mao to remember his great contributions to the prosperity and rejuvenation of the country, and today's prosperous world is as you wish!