On September 9, 1976, Chairman Mao, the great military, strategist, and leader of the greatest founder of the People's Republic of China, died in Beijing at 00:10 at the age of 83. In the years since the president's death, no one has raised the issue of inheritance.
It was not until 1981 that the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was engaged in the matter of the inheritance of Chairman Mao, during which it sent someone to visit Li Min to understand her living conditions and needs.
Chairman Mao and Li Min pose for a group photo in Zhongnanhai
Chairman Mao's salary
In the perception of most people, will Chairman Mao' living conditions as the founder of new China and the leader of the country be very superior?
In fact, as long as we have a deep understanding of Chairman Mao's thought and life, we will find that chairman's thinking is not only outstanding, but his life is no different from that of ordinary people, his life is poor, and he needs to rely on his salary to take care of his daily life, and even sometimes his life will be very poor. Until his death, there was not much property left behind, and there was very little left for his daughter Li Min.
He came to Chairman Mao's house in 1964 until the death of the chairman, taking care of Chairman Mao's family for 12 years, from salary management to daily expenses in life, chai rice, oil and salt, water and electricity bills, and tedious things in life fell heavily on the head of "big housekeeper" Wu Liandeng.
Chairman Mao and Wu Liandeng in a group photo
According to Wu Liandeng's recollection: "The chairman never touched the money, and when he paid his salary every month, he asked me to collect it back, and all of it was kept by me, and all the monthly expenses of the family were also responsible for me." After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the chairman's salary was originally 510 yuan per month, but in order to shorten the gap between the rich and the poor, the chairman also took the initiative to reduce the salary to 404.8 yuan, and Jiang Qing's salary was 243 yuan, but both of them have always been AA system, and the salary has not changed until the death of the chairman...."
Once, when Wu Liandeng was delivering dishes to Chairman Mao, he found that the chairman was picking up the grains of rice on the table with his hands to eat, and Wu Liandeng hurriedly said: "Chairman, don't eat if you fall on the table, it is unhygienic!" ”
However, Chairman Mao ignored it and continued to pick up and eat the grains of rice, saying while eating: "It is not easy for peasants to grow grain, but it cannot be wasted, and we must not underestimate these grains of rice, maybe we can save a person." We must promote a spirit that cannot be wasted. ”
From Wu Liandeng's recollection, we can know that although Chairman Mao is the leader of the country, he also receives the same monthly salary as ordinary people, not only spends money on food, clothing, housing and travel, but also takes the initiative to lower wages, shorten the gap between the rich and the poor, and cherish the hard-won now.
At the beginning of the founding of New China, the mainland began to gradually improve the social system, wage system, and so on, during which the supply system and the wage system coexisted.
The supply system is a distribution system for the free supply of daily necessities implemented by some staff. The scope of supply includes personal clothing, food (large, medium, small stoves), necessary supplies such as housing, travel, and study, and some petty allowances, as well as living expenses and childcare expenses for children married in the revolutionary ranks.
However, with the development of the national economy, the gradual supply system has also exposed many drawbacks, so the wage system also needs to be reformed again!
In 1955, the state civil servants completely ended the system of coexistence of the supply system and the wage system, and began to implement hierarchical wages. The leading group headed by Premier Zhou began to simulate the preparation of the plan and implemented the "four determinations", that is, to determine posts, grades, titles, and salaries.
According to the simulated salary plan at that time, the administrative level was divided from 1 to 24 levels, and the salary of the first level was set at 600 for Chairman Mao's Grand Marshal; the second level was 550 yuan for the vice chairman and prime minister; and the third level was the marshal for 500 yuan.
Mao Zedong (first from right) with Zhu De, Liu Shaoqi and Zhou Enlai at Huairen Hall in Zhongnanhai
When Chairman Mao saw this report, he said to the people at the meeting: "It seems to me that it is unstable for you to set wages in this way. This is not conducive to unity, or to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor! ”
In the face of the title of Grand Marshal, Chairman Mao even more did not recognize it, and said at a certain meeting:
You made me a Grand Marshal, and you put me in the fire and roasted me! I am the only cadre at the first level, and you are the second and third level, so I Mao Zedong is too uninteresting. Then I have decided to give the first level to Marx and Wengers, and the second to Lenin and Stalin, and I will receive the third level of wages like you!
Everyone was a little surprised and helpless to hear this, and finally Premier Zhou came up with a way to not move at the original administrative level, but only to let the salary be transferred.
The salary for the first level is 594 yuan, and the second to fifth levels is 536, 478, 425 and 387 yuan.
However, in the face of this matter, the chairman is still not very satisfied, he feels that the wage gap is still a bit large, because different regional categories, cadres of the same level, there may be a difference of 10 to 40 yuan in wages.
Chairman Mao felt helpless about this matter and could not think of a two-pronged solution for the time being, after all, everyone had just come into contact and there was no other good way.
Until the national wage reform was implemented again in 1956, some cadres were dissatisfied all the time, making trouble about rank and treatment. When Chairman Mao learned of this, he was genuinely upset. A group of people forgot the original intention of the Communist Party, and after the victory of the revolution, everyone's spirit disappeared. The chairman then made a stern criticism: "Some comrades, the spirit of service to the people in the past is gone, and now it is better than fame and fortune, than salary, and more pomp and circumstance. Our original intention! Have we all forgotten? We! It is to serve the people, and those who have lost their will need to reflect carefully, otherwise it is very dangerous. ”
In the face of the wage system, chairman Mao once again stressed at the Second Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee, and then put forward a severe criticism of the existing wage system: "Now the money received by our senior cadres is too big compared with the living standards of the people, and I suggest that the salary be reduced some more." ”
Mao Zedong talked to workers during an inspection in Anhui
Chairman Mao took the lead in setting an example and repeatedly took the lead in demanding that his salary standard be lowered, and the State Council quickly reformulated the salary reduction plan: the first administrative level was reduced to 504 yuan; the second level was reduced to 454 yuan; and the third level was reduced to 405 yuan.
According to Li Lisan, who presided over the work of the central authorities in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China:
"Our wage system is basically learning from the Soviet methods. The difference between the highest and lowest salaries of Soviet government workers was 100 times higher. In addition to their salaries, their leading cadres also have a "paper bag" (that is, allowances, bonuses, etc.) that are paid in addition to wages, and the actual gap between high and low is even greater. When we carried out wage reform in this way, the Chairman made many comments. In order to further narrow the gap between high and low salaries, so as to facilitate closer relations between leading cadres and the masses. The chairman has repeatedly proposed to reduce the salaries of party members and leading cadres, and even reduce his salary to 300 yuan, but for various reasons it has not been possible.
From beginning to end, the chairman has a yardstick in mind for the construction of the wage system: what he wants is to continuously narrow the gap between high and low!
Again and again, national leaders have taken steps to close the gap between high and low. The broad masses of cadres and masses see it in their eyes and remember it in their hearts. Although everyone's salary is not high, but everyone sincerely loves the Communist Party, supports the leadership of the Communist Party, and has one heart and one heart, until September 26, 1960, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to reduce the wage gap between high and low, and once again implemented a salary cut, after discussion at the meeting, the salary of Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou was stable at 404.8 yuan, and it remained unchanged until the death of Chairman Mao in 1976.
At that time, the price of eating a large pot of rice was not as high as it is today, and the average urban resident was only seven or eight yuan, and the salary of thirty or forty yuan a month could also support a family of five. In this way, the chairman's monthly salary of 404.8 yuan is not low, but for various reasons, their lives are not rich.
Chairman Mao's great butler
Wu Liandeng was an administrator at Mao Zedong's house from 1964 to 1976. According to his recollection, Mao Zedong's average monthly expenses included party fees of 40 yuan; his house, including furniture, was rented at 125.02 yuan a month; daily consumption was 92.96 yuan, liquefied gas was 9.6 yuan; and food expenses were 659.13 yuan.
Judging from the bill, the chairman's salary is 404.8 yuan in January, and Jiang Qing's salary is 243. The two added up, in addition to the expenses, proper "Moonlight Clan". Fortunately, at that time, in addition to the salary, the chairman also had his own writing fees that could be used for emergency family expenses, but these contributions must be approved by the chairman himself before a small amount of writing fees can be spent, because he said: "My contributions are the people's, not mine, and will eventually be used on the people." Therefore, in the face of additional expenditure on the cost of the manuscript, the chairman will also specifically tell Wu Denglian: This money should be saved, this is the people.
For the expenditure of the manuscript fee, there are three main sources of going: daily life, purchase of books, and fixed expenditure of 2,000 yuan per year.
Bills recorded by Wu Liandeng
The winter in Beijing in 1970 was cold and bone-chilling, and one night, the north wind whistled outside the window, and the sky also fell hail, cold and bone-chilling, and from time to time hit the window. The chairman, as usual, immersed himself in the fragrance of books, was unmoved by the voices of the outside world. But the chill struck, and I couldn't stop shivering a few times.
Chairman Mao's great housekeeper Wu Liandeng saw the situation, so he brought a pot of stove to bake the chairman, looked at the chairman's tightly closed legs, and said: "Chairman, the weather is really too cold today, I will go and get you a pair of cotton pants." Chairman Mao listened and nodded.
After Wu Liandeng found the cotton pants from the wardrobe, he touched the patch around the cotton pants, out of concern for the chairman, Wu Liandeng said: "Chairman, this cotton pants are not warm, I will give you a new one." ”
The chairman put down the book, turned around and shook his head, and said, "No, the cotton pants are worn inside anyway, and the pants are put on outside, which is no big deal." ”
Among the many leaders, Chairman Mao's family life is still like this, while the lives and salaries of other leaders are not much different, such as the well-known Liu Shaoqi, Premier Zhou, and so on. Although personal affairs are not much off, Premier Zhou has never cared about material enjoyment. He also advised the chairman many times to eat better, but every time the chairman would say: "If you can eat enough, there are too many places where the country needs to spend money, and if you can save a little, you can save a little." ”
It can be seen that the chairman is also very frugal in life, and according to the recollections of those around the chairman, the chairman was very frugal long before the revolution was liberated, and the bad cotton pants and clothes were made up and made up. With the blessing of the body, the clothes and cotton pants could not be worn, so they left it to Mao Anying to wear.
Mao Zedong and his heir Mao Anying
During the period of the War of Resistance Against Japan, Chairman Mao often wore patched clothes to make reports, and when the all-round revolution was victorious, the living conditions gradually improved, but the chairman still did not change his simple style!
It is precisely because of Chairman Mao's frugal and simple style that when selecting butlers, the diligent and hard-working Wu Liandeng was selected. Wu Liandeng came to the chairman's house at the age of 22 and was responsible for the daily life. With that down-to-earth and energetic energy, the chairman handed over all his income to Wu Liandeng to manage.
The young Wu Liandeng came to the chairman's house for the first time, and he was immediately shocked. In the BTV record file, he recalled: "As soon as I entered the house, there was nothing, nothing, all books. Including the chairman's bedroom bed, on the table, on the coffee table, and in the study, in the hallway, in the toilet, there are books. ”
The books owned by Chairman Mao are not only huge in number, but also very complete in categories. In addition to Marxist-Leninist works, he also has a variety of reference books, which are widely covered, including literature, history, and geography. Natural sciences and so on..., such a complete collection of books, making the home almost like a library.
Regarding reading, Chairman Mao once said: "You cannot go a day without eating, you can sleep for a day, and you cannot go a day without reading a book." It is precisely the chairman's mentality of being sensitive to learning and thinking, constantly learning and making progress, not only becoming a national leader with both ability and political integrity, but also dedicating his life to the construction of the motherland!
As for reading, Wu Liandeng spent about 8,000 yuan on books for the chairman in the past twelve years from being a competent housekeeper to the chairman's death, which is equivalent to the chairman's salary for more than two years.
The chairman also spent an additional 2,000 yuan on fixed expenditures every year to send people, and it turned out that in the revolutionary years, Zhang Shizhao, the former chief of education of the National Government, once gave Chairman Mao hundreds of silver dollars as revolutionary funds. After the victory of the revolution, Chairman Mao was deeply grateful and would give Zhang Shizhao's family 2,000 yuan every year, which was paid out of his personal writing fees.
The legendary friendship between Mao Zedong and Zhang Shizhao
For this money, the chairman has always been very cautious in using it, and it is easy not to use it, and this money has been sent to Zhang Shizhao's death. But the money was already paid off. Wu Liandeng couldn't help but inquire during the period, but the chairman replied without hesitation: "The principal is repaid, and the interest will be repaid!" ”
In the daily life of the chairman, it is three meals a day, there is no mountain treasure overseas, and the chairman never eats supplements. But as the leader of the country, Chairman Mao still had a small stove, but he never allowed his children to eat. He said: "The small stove was arranged for me by the people, and you have no right to enjoy it." ”
At Chairman Mao's table, there are generally four dishes and a soup, a meat dish, and a fish head, but the most common is still vegetables. Regarding staple food, he rarely eats fine rice, basically coarse rice.
Sometimes, Wu Liandeng will feel that the chairman's diet is too light, hoping to add some meat dishes to the table. In this regard, Chairman Mao said: "This is very good, there are still many people in China who do not have enough to eat, the country does not lack me to eat, but I can not take the state's money, if I take it, then the governor, mayor, village chief can take it." ”
Chairman Mao's daily diet is so common, his old man is busy with work every day, often to the point of sleeping and forgetting to eat, Wu Liandeng has worked with the chairman for several years, and has always had two difficulties: it is difficult to eat, and it is difficult to sleep.
During the meal, if the chairman tells you to wait, but this meal is fixed and cold, but you can't call the chairman repeatedly, so it will interrupt the chairman's thinking, so Wu Liandeng specially made a porcelain, and add a cover to the plate, that is, keep warm and hygienic. When the chairman is finished, he can still eat a warm meal.
In Chairman Mao's life, he did not pay for a cup of tea, he did not take anything from the masses, and he paid according to the price for food.
For children, the chairman is also strict, whether it is a son or a granddaughter, the chairman asks them to study well, be a good person, do good deeds, work hard, and become useful to society.
Whenever Wu Liandeng talked about the children of the chairman's family, Wu Liandeng was very excited: "They can all see the shadow of the chairman in their bodies.
All kinds of things tell us that Chairman Mao has never been on top of the world, he loves the people, is close to the people, always considers the interests of the people, and always regards "self-denial and public service" as his life criterion.
Daughter's memories of her father
If chairman Mao's heirs have any similarities with him, apart from their appearance, they are the belief in serving the people.
In the spring of 1949, Chairman Mao, who had just arrived in Peiping, received a letter from himself, opened the envelope and found that the paper was full of crooked Russian, and he could not understand a word. Therefore, the Chairman specifically asked for an interpreter, and the letter translated into Chinese reads as follows:
Everyone says you are my father, I am your own daughter, but I have not seen you in the Soviet Union and do not know this. Are you my own father, am I your biological daughter? Please write to me quickly.
Chairman Mao laughed when he saw the translation of the letter, and he immediately asked people to write a reply:
It is a pleasure to see your letter, you are my biological daughter and I am your biological father. You haven't seen each other in the Soviet Union for 8 years, you must have grown taller, right? Dad misses you and likes you very much, and hopes to come back to Dad soon. Dad has asked Comrade He Yi to go to the northeast to pick you up, and Dad welcomes you to come.
It turned out that Li Min (formerly known as Mao Jiaojiao), who was born in Shaanxi in 1936, was only a few months old, and He Zizhen went to the Soviet Union and left his daughter in Yan'an. At the age of 4, Li Min was sent to the Soviet Union to live with He Zizhen. The life with his father is quite vague, only to know that the auditorium of the International Children's Institute of the USSR hangs a portrait of a Chinese leader, which depicts his father.
Chairman with his daughter Lee Min
It was not until 1949, when He Zizhen returned to China with Li Min, that she met her father. Chairman Mao's tall, burly and amiable image is exactly the same as what Li Min has depicted over and over again in his mind.
Perhaps inspired by the affection of father and daughter, Li Min, who has always been silent and taciturn, did not feel detained when he saw Chairman Mao, but was extremely happy.
She couldn't help but plunge into the chairman's broad arms and shouted happily, "Daddy! ”
Chairman Mao couldn't help but wet his eyes, picked up Li Min, put his face on Li Min's white and tender little face, and trembled in his mouth: "Jiaojiao, my little petite, Daddy finally saw you!" ”
In the summer of 1953, on an ordinary holiday, Chairman Mao happened to go to the Ming Tombs Reservoir to inspect the work. The chairman thought that this was a good time to relax, so he took his daughter Li Min with him.
This day was clear, and when the two were enjoying the scenery along the way, Li Min glimpsed a stone monument carried by a stone turtle, and the chairman asked the driver to stop the car and walked over with Li Min.
The two looked back and forth, and Chairman Mao suddenly smiled and asked Li Min, "Do you know why Wang Ba is carrying a stone stele?" ”
Li Min looked at his father blankly with blank eyes, and there was no answer in his heart.
Chairman Mao smiled and said, "Looking east and looking west, and seeing Wang Ba's stone stele, I asked Wang Ba what crime he had committed, selling wine for cold water in his previous life." ”
Li Min couldn't catch his breath as soon as he heard it.
In fact, the chairman wants to tell her that don't be like this "Wang Ba, who sells fake wine", the most basic principle of being a person is to talk about honesty.
According to Li Min's recollection, from his father, he felt the careful teaching of his children, saw his father's profound knowledge, and also saw the spirit of selfless struggle for the people as a national leader.
According to Li Min's recollection when I was a child, in order to prevent me from having privileged thoughts, my father did not allow me to say the names of my parents when I was studying. On the school registration form, the names of the parents are filled in by the name of the health doctor Wang Hebin. And let me live in school, seven or eight people crammed into a room, living and studying exactly the same as ordinary people.
I would go home once every Saturday, but every time I came back on foot, and my father stressed that I was not allowed to pick me up and drop me off by car.
One day there was thunderstorm in the sky, and the captain of the guard, hiding from my father, picked me up once in a car, only to be discovered by my father.
For this kind of private transfer behavior, he expressed great anger, and the guard chief hastened to explain: "It is too rainy outside, I am afraid that she has a cold." ”
Chairman Mao said, "Other people's children are not children?" Why can other people's children go home alone, but not my children? Who called her my Mao Zedong's child. ”
My father often told me that I should study well, study and career should be upward, and life should be downward. He also often warned me that although I was Mao Zedong's daughter, I should learn to be more low-key.
In his later years, Li Min recalled: "My father's education made me understand two points! The first is optimism and patriotism to overcome difficulties; the second is not to be afraid of hardship and have the ability to survive independently. ”
It was not until 1981, when the General Office of the CENTRAL Committee of the Communist Party of China found Li Min and learned about her living conditions, that Chairman Mao's inheritance was mentioned during this period, and li Min said of his father's inheritance: "I have no extravagant expectations for my father's inheritance, if possible, I only want a share (8,000 yuan) that my father originally gave me."
Li min
In 1976, Chairman Mao was left with only more than 500 yuan left before his death, which was all his savings. Chairman Mao did not leave his children a single dollar, a house, or an acre of land. He taught them to be self-reliant and to serve the people wholeheartedly, not to allow them to enjoy treatment they should not enjoy. At any bank in China, Mao Zedong did not have a penny in his savings.
The remaining fees were only a little more than 1.24 million, all of which were handed over to the state and not left to any children. From this point of view, Chairman Mao has in mind the Chinese people, who have never thought of themselves.