In 1980, Farage, an Italian female journalist known for her sharp interviews, traveled to China to ask the then-leader Deng Xiaoping about issues of concern to Western society.
Along the way from the airport to the hotel, Farage was thinking about the subject of the interview, knowing that the person she was about to face, Deng Xiaoping, had political wisdom beyond ordinary people.
Sitting in the car, Farage looked through the window at Beijing, the oriental capital of both ancient and modern. As I passed Tiananmen Square, a huge portrait of Chairman Mao caught Farage's eyes, and inspiration came to mind...
On the morning of August 21, Deng Xiaoping received an exclusive visit from Farage in Hall 118 of the Great Hall of the People.
After the greeting, Farage threw a question that made everyone present take a breath of cool air:
"Mr. Deng, as far as I know, there were a lot of portraits of Chairman Mao in Beijing before, but I saw only one from the hotel to the Great Hall. Will the portraits of Chairman Mao continue to decrease? Will the ones on the upper floors of Tiananmen City be preserved? ”
After nearly half a minute of silence, the others did not dare to speak, and everyone was waiting for Deng Xiaoping's answer.
"Always keep it"
Deng Xiaoping's body moved forward slightly, and he said seven words without hesitation: "Always keep it!"!
In response to the problem of the decline in chairman Mao's portraits, Deng Xiaoping explained:
"Due to special reasons, in the past period of time, Chairman Mao's portraits were hung everywhere, and we do not think that this is a good phenomenon, and having a large number of portraits does not show respect for Chairman Mao, which just proves people's casual and unserious attitude."
Mr. Deng's answer had piqued Farage's interest in listening, and she went on to ask, "Why does China have a tradition of hanging a portrait of Chairman Mao? ”
"Chairman Mao's existence has shortened the time for the Chinese to grope in the dark, just as a Chinese song says, 'He seeks happiness for the people, and he is the great savior of the people'; this is the people's simple love for Chairman Mao, and it is also the reason why we permanently hang the portrait of Chairman Mao."
Next, Deng Xiaoping told Farage about the history of the changes in the "Portrait of Chairman Mao in Tiananmen.".
Tiananmen Was built during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, symbolizing the stability of the world and a symbol of the imperial power of the feudal dynasty. After the Xinhai Revolution, the Forbidden City, together with Tiananmen Square, gradually faded its feudal genes and precipitated into a national demand and political symbol of "stability" and "peace".
Although the feudal dynasty has been annihilated in the long river of history, the lofty status of Tiananmen square in the hearts of the people has been preserved, just like the Arch of Triumph in France and the Statue of Liberty in the United States, which is a spiritual symbol of a country and a nation.
On January 22, 1949, Peiping was peacefully liberated. On February 12, the Beijing Municipal Government held a grand rally, and more than 200,000 Beijing people gathered in Tiananmen Square to celebrate the grand event of peace.
During the celebrations, the Tiananmen Tower hung portraits of great men for the first time. As can be seen from the old photographs, chairman Mao's portrait is located directly above the city tower, and below it hangs a banner that reads "Celebrating the Peaceful Liberation of Peiping", and on both sides of the banner are portraits of Zhu De, Lin Biao, Nie Rongzhen and Ye Jianying.
However, the 5 portraits, which were only hung for one day, were removed after the rally.
On July 7 of the same year, the 12th anniversary of the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Beijing Municipal Government held an unprecedented celebration.
At this time, the portrait on the upper floor of Tiananmen Square became Chairman Mao and Zhu Laozong, and in the middle of the two, there was a huge "red five-pointed star" in the middle.
On this day, Chairman Mao ascended the Tiananmen Tower for the first time to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the All-out War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression with the people of the capital.
Looking at the giant portrait of the great man, the beijing masses shouted: "Long live Chairman Mao!" Long live the Chinese People's Liberation Army! Chairman Mao, who was on the upper floor of the city, also responded via radio: "Long live the people."
This is the second time that a portrait of Chairman Mao has appeared on the upper floor of Tiananmen Square.
On October 1, 1949, at the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China, Tiananmen Square hung a single huge portrait of Chairman Mao, which is also the third version of Chairman Mao's portrait.
"This is Chairman Mao's favorite portrait, which was very popular in the Liberated Areas at that time, and was taken by Zheng Jingkang for the chairman in June 1945."
Chairman Mao himself also said when selecting photos: "I don't like a serious photo, if Tiananmen Is to be hung, you can find a casual one, this is more natural." ”
After selecting the photos, the task of painting fell on Xu Beihong's shoulders. In order to complete this great work, Xu Beihong handed it over to Zhou Lingzhao of the Department of Fine Arts for implementation.
Zhou Lingzhao has superb painting skills, and people give him the nickname "Kuaishou Zhou".
Not only that, Zhou Lingzhao is not the first time to paint a portrait of Chairman Mao, when the Kuomintang Li Zongren went to Beiping for negotiations, the conference room hung a version of Zhou Lingzhao's chairman's portrait, which was unanimously praised by the leaders attending the meeting.
After receiving the task, Zhou Lingzhao took the students and built a huge easel next to the Tiananmen Tower, and under nie Rongzhen's instructions, Zhou Lingzhao buttoned Chairman Mao's collar, and the rest basically restored Chairman Mao's demeanor according to the proportions.
A dozen days later, the huge 6.4-meter-high and 5-meter-wide portrait of Chairman Mao was exhibited at Tiananmen Square and transmitted to the world through the lens of foreign journalists.
From 1949 to 1966, this portrait of Chairman Mao was hung at the Tiananmen Tower on major celebrations and holidays, and after 1966, it was changed to a long-term hanging.
The portrait of Chairman Mao that we see now, from 1967, is the work of the famous painter Mr. Wang Guodong, and the subtlety of this portrait of Chairman Mao lies in the fact that no matter from which angle you look at it, you can feel the gaze of Chairman Mao's kind eyes.
After the detailed explanation, Ms. Farage has a deeper understanding of Chairman Mao's portrait. But it was clear that Farage's curiosity about Chairman Mao had not stopped, and she immediately threw another sharp question to Deng Xiaoping.
"Chairman Mao is the great savior of the Chinese people"
"May I ask Mr. Deng, is the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall to be demolished?"
Deng Xiaoping did not have the slightest expression of anger on his face, but said gently:
"I am not in favor of tearing it down, and now many countries in the world are talking about it, speculating that we are going to destroy the memorial hall, and I can express on behalf of the government that we do not have this idea, and we will not have it in the future."
In Western society, there are often cases where successive presidents belittled their predecessors, and Farage, who grew up infiltrated with Western political ideas, does not understand China's consistent wisdom of governance, and there is understandable point in asking such sharp questions.
After Chairman Mao's death, in order to ensure the people's need for memorial service, Hua Guofeng proposed the construction of chairman Mao's memorial hall, which was unanimously agreed by all the members of the Central Committee.
After meticulous exploration, it was decided to set up chairman Mao's Memorial Hall on the south side of Tiananmen Square, which can not only look at the Tiananmen Tower from afar, but also adjacent to the Monument to the People's Heroes, which can meet the people's visiting needs.
On September 9, 1977, the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall was officially opened to the public, which was also the first anniversary of Chairman Mao's death. What is touching is that the construction of chairman Mao's memorial hall has received assistance from people all over the country.
The green pines of Yan'an, the granite of Mount Taishan, the stones of Mount Everest and the timber of Daxing'anling, the donations and donations of residents from all over the world just prove that people remember the great people. How could the central government demolish the memorial hall against the will of the people?
After receiving Deng Xiaoping's sincere answer, Farage's rhythm of questioning was noticeably milder. After that, she focused on the Deng Xiaoping in front of her.
"Mr. Deng, some people in the West have compared you to China's 'Khrushchev', how do you understand?"
While Farage's questions aren't as poignant as the first two, her questions come with obvious 'pitfalls' compared to the average journalist.
Khrushchev was the leader of the CPSU after Stalin, and under his tough leadership, the Soviet Union set off a campaign of total criticism of Stalin, creating many storms in the socialist camp.
Not only that, on the issue of dealing with China, Khrushchev has repeatedly taken the posture of 'big brother' and tried in vain to get involved in China's internal affairs by building a "Sino-Soviet combined fleet" and a "long-wave radio station."This is also the key reason for the hostility between the Soviet Union and China.
Farage's binding of the names Deng Xiaoping and Khrushchev is inherently malicious, although paraphrased, but her adoption of the issue itself implies prejudice and arrogance in Western society.
Deng Xiaoping was well aware that the Western society represented by Farage was still concerned about the trend of Chinese society after the "crisis event".
In the international community at that time, China lacked a normal window for foreign litigation, and if it explained the problem clearly here in Farage, it could avoid the troubles caused by similar problems to subsequent leaders.
"They can say whatever the Western society calls me, and it's their freedom, but in the ten years that I have been dealing with Khrushchev, I don't think we're similar, so I personally think it's foolish to compare me to Khrushchev," Deng Xiaoping replied calmly.
Regarding Deng's frankness, Farage said after the interview:
"Mr. Deng is a great man, his answer is very true, I have interviewed many Western politicians, none of them can be as wise, frank and elegant as Mr. Deng."
In fact, not only deng xiaoping's personal charm impressed Farage, but also the changes in China in the early stage of reform and development that impressed Farage.
Later, Farage expressed his admiration for Deng Xiaoping on many occasions:
"Mr. Deng is an outstanding politician, his answers are beyond personal grievances, he can answer questions from a very high perspective, I am very happy to talk to him, it was also my most successful interview."
"The Mother of International Political Interviews"
The interview lasted 130 minutes, and neither of the two people who strictly controlled the interview time thought that they would time out, which also confirmed the speculation of the two people's conversation from the side.
Before the secretary interrupted, Farage still had many questions, and Deng Xiaoping smiled and said: "It's time to eat, Farage reporter, the stomach is going to make a revolution, if there are many problems, we can find time to talk again." ”
Farage got an affirmative answer and jumped up from the couch excitedly.
Two days later, Deng Xiaoping had another conversation with Farage. The interview with the two was later published in the mainstream Media Washington Post in the United States, and through Farage's pen, a new image of China began to appear in front of the people of the world.
Hearing Farage's high praise for Deng Xiaoping and other politicians shouting "impossible", in their hearts, being interviewed by Farage is tantamount to experiencing a torture.
Farage was born into a revolutionary family in Italy, where his father was arrested and imprisoned for defiance of Mussolini and his mother came from an anarchist family.
The young Farage, who had lived through World War II, was disgusted by all totalitarianism of a fascist character.
During his lifetime, Farage interviewed countless political figures, including 30 national and regional dignitaries, and in addition to Deng Xiaoping, world-renowned leaders such as Kissinger, Mrs. Gandhi, Khomeini, and Gaddafi.
When she interviewed Iranian religious leader Khomeini, she was required to wear a traditional Iranian female veil. But when he entered Khomeini's office, he simply removed the veil, startling the conservative Khomeini.
The most dramatic of her interviews was with U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
She asked Kissinger in a joking tone: "Doctor, if I pointed a pistol at your temple and asked you to choose between Nguyen Van Sau and Le Duc Tho and let him have dinner with you tonight, who would you choose?" ”
Faced with Farage's unreasonable way of asking, Kissinger shook his head in embarrassment, signaling Farage to refuse to answer the question.
Farage was not to be outdone: "Well, I will answer for you, you should choose Ruan Shaowen to have dinner with you." ”
Kissinger was guessed correctly by Farage and could only ask Farage to ask the next question. What he did not expect was that the next question pointed directly to the "Vietnam War" .
At that time, the United States was deeply mired in the quagmire of the Vietnam War, and the people were quite critical of this, questioning the legitimacy and necessity of going to war.
Kissinger, who was well versed in politics, was reluctant to answer the question explicitly, but under Farage's continuous attacks, Kissinger was forced to take a stand, which offended Nixon.
Kissinger recalled: "Being interviewed by Farage was a disaster in my political career."
However, it was precisely such a female journalist who "avoided everyone" that was sincerely treated by Deng Xiaoping. Comparing heart to heart, it is not unreasonable for Deng Xiaoping to be praised by Farage.
epilogue
The political wisdom of Chinese leaders is internationally renowned, and it is precisely because of their diligent work on the diplomatic front that the Voice of China has made a sound on the international stage and paid tribute to them!