Why Did Mao Zedong invite Snow to Tiananmen Square at the 1970 National Day Ceremony

Snow's tombstone was drafted by Zhou Enlai

　　On the hillside of the unnamed lake of Peking University, there is a white tombstone that is easy to overlook. The inscription reads: The Tomb of Edgar Snow, the American friend of the Chinese. The inscription was drawn up by Zhou Enlai himself and inscribed by Ye Jianying. So, as a friend of Chinese, what is Edgar Snow's contribution to U.S.-China relations?

　　Born in 1905 in Kansas City, Missouri, Edgar Snow worked as a journalist after graduating from college. In 1928 he came to China as assistant editor of the Miller's Review in Shanghai. In 1930, he became a foreign correspondent for the New York Sun.

　　On Christmas Day 1932, Snow married Helen Snow (l907-1997) in Tokyo and traveled to China, Japan, Korea, Burma, india and other places. In the spring of 1933, Mr. and Mrs. Snow settled in Beiping (now Beijing) at No. 13, Dongcheng Armor Factory Hutong. In early 1934, Snow was also a lecturer in the journalism department of Yenching University as a reporter for the New York Daily in China. He bought a house on Haidian Road, outside the southwest gate of peking university. It was here that Snow fell in love with the quiet unnamed lake, and when he was busy, he often strolled with his wife on the beautiful unnamed lake.

　　Take Song Qingling's secret letter into Yan'an

　　During this time, Snow asked many questions about the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, the Soviets, and the Communist Movement. Some say that there is no Red Army at all, and some deny the existence of soviets, saying that they were all fabricated by the Communist Party.

　　At this time, Snow became acquainted with Lu Xun and Sun Yat-sen's wife, Soong Ching Ling, who was the first to introduce Lu Xun's works to the West, and he also wanted to introduce the mysterious Yan'an to the West.

　　In June 1936, Snow risked his life and went to the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region for an interview. Because Snow carried a secret letter from Soong Ching-ling to Mao Zedong, he not only successfully entered the border areas, but also interviewed many CCP leaders, including Mao Zedong, Zhu De, Lin Biao, and ordinary Red Army soldiers. Then, Snow wrote a large number of articles to let the outside world know about the Chinese Communist Party's anti-Japanese ideas. His later publication of "The Red Star Shines on China" (the Chinese translation of the book is "Journey to the West") caused a great sensation in the West. Snow thus became the first Western journalist to interview a Ccp leader.

　　In July 1937, after the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the fall of Peiping, Snow firmly sided with China in resisting aggression, sheltered many progressive students in his residence, helped them evacuate Peiping, joined the anti-Japanese guerrillas or rushed to Yan'an.

　　Mao Zedong: I don't tell you lies

　　During World War II, Snow served as a war correspondent for several newspapers in the United States, and went to China, India, the Soviet Union and other front-line interviews.

　　In 1949, Snow broke up with Helen in the United States and later married actress Lois Wheeler Snow. In 1959, Snow was forced to move his family to Geneva, Switzerland, because he was considered a dangerous person by the FBI.

　　After the founding of New China, Snow has always looked forward to revisiting China. In June 1960, he finally came to Beijing and met his long-lost friend Mao Zedong. In 1964, Snow visited New China again.

　　After the "Cultural Revolution" in China began, Snow wanted to come to China very much, but he never got his wish. Reluctantly, he wrote a letter to Mao Zedong. Snow later said to Mao Zedong, I often want to write to you, but I only wrote a letter to disturb you this time. In the fall of 1970, Snow and Lois Wheeler finally arrived in China, where he was the first Western journalist to enter China during the Cultural Revolution. Mao Zedong said at the end of the long talk with Snow: "In short, the sentence I have repeatedly told you is that from 35 years ago to the present, the basic relationship between the two of us has not changed, and I do not tell you lies, and I see that you do not tell lies to me." ”

　　At the National Day ceremony on October 1, 1970, Mao Zedong deliberately talked to Snow from the top of Tiananmen Square, and a large and intimate photo of them was published on the front page of the People's Daily. This was a signal from Mao Zedong to the United States that Nixon was welcome to visit China, because the new PRESIDENT of the United States, Nixon, repeatedly publicly expressed his desire to visit the People's Republic of China, but americans could not grasp the deep meaning of this Chinese-style implication for a while.

　　Jiang Qing's secretary recalled the scene

　　The reporter interviewed Yu Yunshen, who was Lin Biao's secretary, and Yang Yinlu, who was Jiang Qing's secretary. According to Yang Yinlu's recollection: On National Day in 1970, he saw Mao Zedong talking to his old friend Snow with great pleasure on the upper floor of Tiananmen Square. Photos of their conversations were published in the People's Daily, where photojournalists stood on shelves set up under the city tower.

　　Yu Yunshen also recalled that on National Day in 1970, he was watching TV in Maojiawan (Lin Biao's residence in Beijing) and saw Mao Zedong smiling and talking to Snow. In his impression, Mao Zedong rarely treated foreign guests with such an intimate attitude.

　　Send the best doctors to Switzerland to treat Snow

　　On April 30, 1971, Life magazine published an article by Snow revealing what Mao Zedong had told him: "If Nixon visits China, he will be welcomed both as a tourist and as president." On February 21, 1972, U.S. President Richard Nixon arrived in Beijing to begin his visit to China. Unfortunately, on February 15 of that year, Snow died of cancer in Geneva, Switzerland, and could not see this important scene in the history of Sino-US relations. It is worth mentioning that during Snow's illness, China sent top medical teams to Switzerland to treat Snow specifically.

　　Snow left a will: "I love China, and I would like to leave half of me there when I die, just as I did when I was alive." Every time Snow goes to Beijing, he has to revisit the unnamed lake of Peking University. So Snow's wife, Lois, also fixed his grave by the lake. As a result, half of Snow's ashes were buried in the United States and half in China.

　　On October 19, 1973, the burial ceremony of some of Snow's ashes was held on the shore of the unnamed lake of Peking University. Zhou Enlai, Li Fuchun, Guo Moruo, Deng Yingchao, Liao Chengzhi, Kang Keqing and representatives of Peking University students attended. In front of the monument is a wreath sent by Mao Zedong, and on a ribbon it reads: Dedicated to Mr. Edgar Snow.