At 00:10 on September 9, 1976, it was a moment of shock and mourning for the whole world — Chairman Mao Zedong passed away in Beijing.
The great leader Chairman Mao is gone, and despite all his reluctance, the most urgent thing is to discuss how to resolve the matter behind his old man's family.
Immediately, the Politburo held an emergency meeting in Zhongnanhai. The meeting first discussed the very urgent and special issue of how to deal with Chairman Mao's body.
Chairman Mao had instructed him during his lifetime that after his death, his body would be cremated. However, some people in the Party Central Committee, taking into account chairman Mao's significance to new China, the profound feelings of the broad masses of the people for Chairman Mao, and the complicated political situation at home and abroad, proposed that his body should be preserved permanently.
The two opposing opinions were debated for a while, and in the end, everyone unanimously decided to adopt a "two-step" approach:
The remains are first protected to facilitate mourning, mourning, etc., and then the decision is made whether to be cremated or preserved.
The protection of Chairman Mao's body is undoubtedly a task of great importance and extraordinary urgency and specialness, so who can give it to reassure the people of the whole country?
Dr. Xu Jing was in danger
At four o'clock in the morning of the 9th, after the beloved Chairman Mao stopped thinking for nearly two hours, there was a rapid knock at the residence of Dr. Xu Jing, secretary of the party branch of the basic medical group of the Medical Academy.
Dr. Xu Jing opened the door and found that the person coming was Jiang Huanbo, the secretary of the duty room of the Ministry of Health.
"I'm sorry to disturb The Doctor rests, but there is a task that Dr. Xu Jing needs to take with me now."
Originally, after consultation with Liu Xiangping, minister of the Central Ministry of Health, and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, it was decided to entrust the task of protecting the chairman's body to Dr. Xu Jing, who had stayed in Suzhou for further study.
At that time, Dr. Xu Jing did not know the news of the chairman's death, but looking at Jiang Huanbo, who had a serious face, Xu Jing also guessed that the situation must be very urgent.
So Xu Jing immediately boarded the car and rushed to an unclear destination.
The black car sped through the deserted night, and the people in the car did not say a word and looked solemn.
Dr. Xu Jing guessed in his mind about the various tasks he was about to accept, but after thinking about it for a while, he did not come to a conclusion, at this time, a sudden sharp turn interrupted Xu Jing's thoughts, Dr. Xu Jing fixed his eyes on it, and the car turned to the gate of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.
Liu Xiangping and the others seemed to have been waiting for a long time, and as soon as they saw Xu Jing, they immediately let her change into their own car and rushed all the way to the west.
This time, Xu Jing was carried directly all the way to Zhongnanhai.
The car slowly drove in from the north gate of Zhongnanhai and stopped in front of a row of gray houses.
Liu Xiangping and Xu Jing stepped out of the car, one after the other, striding through the corridor and into a room that was not particularly large.
In the room, a group of central leaders were waiting, and when the two of them entered, they immediately got up and said: "Now I have to announce to you the unfortunate news that the great leader Chairman Mao has passed away in the early hours of this morning, and in order for the people of all nationalities throughout the country to pay homage to the chairman's remains, it is necessary to protect the remains of the body for about 15 days." ”
"Is there anything you need help with?" The central leading comrades asked Xu Jing.
Although Xu Jing was still shocked and saddened by the death of the chairman, after hearing the task, she quickly forced herself to calm down, and she thought about it for a while and told the leaders what she thought:
First of all, it is necessary to go back to the hospital and study the plan together with other experts in the same industry. The stakes were high, and before that, China had little experience in that regard, so she hoped to be able to work with you to develop a perfect plan that would be foolproof.
Second, take a look at Chairman Mao's body. First, we will have some knowledge and understanding of the remains of the Chairman.
Finally, she expressed hope to give her some time to prepare the necessary medicines and instruments.
These points are really needed in the work, and the central leading comrades express their support and understanding for this.
After everything was basically agreed, Xu Jing was led to Chairman Mao's bedroom.
The temperature in the bedroom was low, the heavy curtains were drawn and the light was dim. Chairman Mao lay peacefully on the bed, covered by a long white towel.
Xu Jing walked to the chairman's bed, gently lifted the towel quilt, and carefully observed and recorded the chairman's body.
After that, Xu Jing returned to the Medical Academy.
After some research, it was agreed that Xu Jing, Zhang Bingchang and Chen Kequan would form a special group to be responsible for the protection of the chairman's remains. The experts then discussed specific options for this work.
After the meeting, Xu Jing also went to find Professor Zhang Jian, an anatomy expert who was responsible for handling the remains of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, and another professor of pathology to discuss relevant experience.
At the same time, the medicines and the required equipment have been prepared.
After doing all this, Xu Jing, Zhang Bingchang and Chen Kequan appeared in Zhongnanhai at 10 o'clock.
Xu Jingwei briefed the central leading comrades in detail on a series of issues, including the implementation plan and the basis for the plan.
Everyone in the conference room frowned, listening carefully to every detail.
"How sure are you?" A question was asked.
"Not only can it not rot, but it must also come to life, and let the people look up to it, which we have not done and dare not think about." We can only try to explore. Xu Jing replied very seriously.
In the end, the central leadership approved the plan of Xu Jing and others.
The maintenance of the remains cannot be postponed, and the memorial service is full of difficulties
The matter could not be delayed, and Xu Jing and the three of them immediately threw themselves into the work of protecting the remains.
First of all, it is necessary to ensure the absolute cleanliness of the workplace, and the three people personally carry out the cleaning and disinfection of the site. After ensuring the cleanliness of the site, the three of them took out all the medicines and instruments and arranged them one by one.
The preparations were over and another two hours passed.
Immediately after, the specific operation officially began.
But as soon as the work began, the three of them encountered problems.
How do the arm of the body swing? Sagging or on the chest?
The three of them thought about it for a while and felt that they could not decide on their own, so they reported the matter to the central authorities.
Soon the Central Committee replied: "According to the traditional habit of the Chinese people - sagging." ”
Posing the remains as required, the three of them picked up the tools they had prepared.
After more than two hours, the three finally completed the protection work.
But none of the three dared to take it lightly, and they kept guarding the body and observing the subtle changes in the body.
Extremely careful observations and records are carried out on organs such as skin color, skin toughness and elasticity, joint mobility, and the condition of organs such as the eyes, and even the texture of the skin.
In addition, the three of them handed over the finalized size to the masters of the Hongdu Garment Factory for the first time, and the masters got the size and began to make clothes for the chairman overnight.
While the work of the three people was still in progress, the central government sent instructions indicating that the chairman's body should be preserved for a long time.
Therefore, the three people seized the time to carry out anti-corrosion work.
However, after a large amount of antiseptic fluid was injected, the body was swollen, Xu Jing was bottomless for a while, and Zhang Bing, who was good at autopsy, often said that there was no need to worry too much, and it could subside after 24 hours and return to normal.
During this time, the costume was rushed out. A total of two sets of Zhongshan suits were made, one set was dark gray, and the clothing fabric was thicker. One set is light gray, and the clothing fabric is thinner. Combined with the opinions of multiple departments, in the end, the light gray set was selected.
After that, The barber Comrade Xiao Zhou and the technician Ma Yanlong of Beijing Hospital did a very meticulous makeup and plastic surgery for the chairman.
When all was said and done, the Chairman lay there as if he were asleep.
According to the instructions of the Central Committee, Chairman Mao's body will be placed in the Great Hall of the People from 11 to 17 Days to facilitate the people to come to mourn and pay respects.
At 3:20 a.m. on the 11th, the central leadership escorted the chairman's body all the way to the Great Hall of the People.
Sure enough, as Zhang Bingchang said, the chairman's body also returned to normal levels on this day, achieving a basically satisfactory effect.
In order to keep abreast of the situation of the chairman's body, Xu Jing's three-member group also moved to the Great Hall of the People.
At the beginning, the chairman's body was laid out in the hall.
In order to better prevent corrosion, the room temperature dropped so low that people who came to mourn had to wear coats when they arrived in the hall. However, after observing the situation for a while, Xu Jing and the others became worried.
"It won't work like this!"
The indoor temperature is still far from the level of preserving the remains, and the people who come to mourn and the people of the military band will continue to raise the temperature, and even the lights in the hall have become the conditions for heating up.
What exactly should I do? The Body Protection Team immediately convened an emergency meeting.
At the meeting, it was proposed to directly stop condolences and visits, or to directly replace the body with photos to say goodbye, but this method is obviously not advisable, and it may cause some adverse effects at home and abroad.
In the end, after everyone studied, it was unanimously decided to withdraw the military band and use mourning recordings instead, and the lights only retained the headlights on the top of the remains, and all other lights were avoided as much as possible. In addition, some other physical measures for cooling have been added.
Fortunately, at midnight on the 11th, the plexiglass coffin specially made for the chairman's body that can cool down and oxygen insulation was finally made. At this point, all the problems were finally solved perfectly.
Chairman Mao's body has been preserved for a long time, and the people have not forgotten the great leader
The memorial service ended on the afternoon of 17 September.
The Chairman Mao Memorial Hall was not officially inaugurated until August 1977, so where was the Chairman's body placed before that?
Xu Jing and others had already screened the address, and after some careful investigation, they finally selected the underground operating room set up by a hospital for combat readiness.
Later, according to the requirements, the Beijing Freezer Factory transformed the basement into a sealed, oxygen-insulated, low-temperature environment in a week.
In the early morning of the 20th, the central leading comrades transferred the chairman's body into the protective room.
Since Chairman Mao died in September 1976, comrades also called it the "769" protection room.
Under the instructions of the central authorities, the protection of remains is responsible for the scientific research leading group for the protection of remains, including Xu Jing, several members of the health group and leaders of various medical science colleges.
In order to complete the goal of long-term preservation of the remains, Xu Jing and others will focus their usual work on the "six defenses", that is, anti-corrosion, anti-mildew and bacteria-
In addition, after careful study, it was decided that the entire protection scheme should adopt a combination of gaseous and liquid methods. That is, the protection work is usually placed in the gaseous state, and the annual large protection is carried out in the liquid state.
Under the protection of this programme, the condition of the remains has been good and stable.
In August 1977, chairman Mao's memorial hall was successfully completed, and Chairman Mao's body was also transferred to the memorial hall.
Since then, Chairman Mao's body has been placed here.
Xu Jing and others are seriously studying how to make the work of protecting the remains more perfect, and now everyone has the opportunity to pay homage to the chairman's remains, in fact, thanks to the careful study and protection of Dr. Xu Jing and others.
In December 1983, on the eve of the 90th anniversary of Chairman Mao's birth, Xu Jing disclosed for the first time that chairman Mao's body was well preserved and was in a completely stable state, and the broad masses of the people were welcome to come and visit.
The news soon spread throughout the country, and fathers and fellow villagers in the north and south of the great river rushed to visit the chairman's remains.
However, due to the limited viewing situation, many people have not been able to achieve their wishes after running thousands of miles many times. Some of them just bowed far in front of the memorial hall and then turned away regretfully.
Xu Jing and others look at this situation every day, the heart is also sad, she and the group of personnel after careful analysis and research, boldly proposed, eliminate the previous "according to the mouth, with the ticket to visit" reception method, instead of "with work permits and ID cards to enter."
After the trial implementation of this method, it was officially approved by the central government, and this method has been used to this day.
Chairman Mao is a kind of spiritual sustenance and a kind of faith support for the people of the Chinese, and the people will not forget the great leader! The people will always look up to the great Chairman Mao!