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In 1949, after the victory of the new-democratic revolution, the great leader Chairman Mao Zedong stood on the tower of Tiananmen Square and solemnly declared to the world: "The People's Republic of China has been founded!" ”
Since that moment, Tiananmen has entered the most glorious and glorious era since its construction, and has also become a landmark building of New China.
Today, Tiananmen has spent more than 600 years of history with the sons and daughters of China, and after the founding of New China, it has also experienced 73 years of baptism, but the portrait of Mao Zedong above the Tiananmen Tower has always been hanging.
But the current version is actually the eighth edition of Chairman Mao's portrait.
Some foreign media have asked when will Chairman Mao's portrait be hung?
In fact, as early as 1980, Comrade Deng Xiaoping had already given the answer to this question.
Portrait of Mao Zedong on Tiananmen Square
When we approach Tiananmen Square, as long as we see the portrait of Mao Zedong hanging on Tiananmen, we can't help but think of the grandeur of the founding ceremony in front of our eyes, as if Chairman Mao's proclamation to the whole world rings in our ears.
If you look closely, you will find that this portrait of Mao Zedong, no matter from which position you look at it, seems to be Chairman Mao looking directly at the people who are watching him, and this feeling is very shocking.
The gaze of Chairman Mao Zedong in the portrait is affectionate and firm, as if we only need to look at it, we can feel the great history of the founding of New China.
However, this is not the first version of Mao's portrait.
As early as February 12, 1949, when the "Beiping Liberation Congress was celebrated", Mao Zedong's portrait had already been hung in Tiananmen, and the portrait of Mao Zedong on the founding ceremony was actually the third.
On February 12, 1949, nearly 200,000 ordinary people held a rally in Tiananmen Square, in order to celebrate the "liberation of Peiping", people put on new clothes, every household hung red lanterns, the streets and alleys were filled with laughter, and the whole of Beijing was shrouded in a liberating joyful atmosphere.
On this day, for the first time, the portrait of Chairman Mao Zedong was hung on Tiananmen, and at the same time, portraits of Zhu De, Ye Jianying, and other generals, as well as several propaganda posters with the words "Liberation of Peiping" and "Support for the People's Government" were hung on Tiananmen.
This is the first and only time in history that so many portraits of leaders have been hung on Tiananmen Square. But from this moment on, Chairman Mao's portrait hanging on Tiananmen Square became everyone's memory.
Third edition image
On the occasion of the founding ceremony, this kind of national celebration day, the portrait should also be replaced. Zhou Enlai and members of the New Political Consultative Committee all lamented the portrait at Tiananmen Square.
Which portrait is hanging? And who will draw it? Zhou Enlai, who was mainly responsible for the preparatory work, made a lot of efforts for this matter.
He first hired a reporter to take a positive portrait of Mao Zedong, but Mao Zedong was not very satisfied after reading it. He said:
"I don't like this kind of serious standard image, if Tiananmen must hang my image, then it is best to use some natural point photos, not this kind of too formal." 」
After zhou Enlai listened, he immediately understood Mao Zedong's idea, and the formal photos were too majestic, which was not conducive to the people's perception, and it was not as natural and intimate as the photos of life.
He found several photographs of Mao Zedong's life in Yan'an, including one of which mao zedong walked with Comrade Zhu Rui by the river in 1945, which was selected by Mao Zedong at a glance.
Mao Zedong suggested that the self in this group photo be enlarged and processed as a facsimile of the portrait of Mao Zedong in Tiananmen Square at the founding ceremony.
After the facsimile was determined, the candidate to paint the portrait was quickly put on the agenda.
Zhou Lingzhao
At that time, there was a young painter who was famous in Beijing because he was good at painting portraits of leaders, and the portraits of Mao Zedong in the meeting room of the Kuomintang-Communist Peace Talks and the Beijing Hotel were all from his hands.
The painter, named Zhou Lingzhao, was not only good at painting portraits, but also worked as a lecturer at the National Peking Art College.
When selecting candidates to paint portraits, several central leaders recommended Zhou Lingzhao as the painter of Mao Zedong's portrait at the founding ceremony. After careful consideration and consultation, Xu Beihong, the principal of the art college, and Jiang Feng, secretary of the party committee, finally decided that Zhou Lingzhao would bear this heavy responsibility.
The reason why it was decided to be painted by him was mainly because of the peace talks between the Kuomintang and the Communists on April 20, 1949.
The portrait of Chairman Mao painted by Zhou Lingzhao at the venue of the negotiation meeting at that time was unanimously praised by all the leaders within the central authorities, including Zhou Enlai, who presided over the negotiations.
After receiving this major drawing task, Zhou Lingzhao conducted a very meticulous and in-depth study and design of the selected facsimile on the same day.
Since the beginning of September, he and his wife Chen Ruoju have erected wooden frames under the east gables of the Tiananmen Tower as a working point.
The two began painting every morning until the sun went down, and many times they did not even eat food, but only ate some dry food they brought with them when they rested.
When the portrait was about to be completed, General Nie Rongzhen, who was then the commander-in-chief of the founding ceremony parade, also personally came to the city tower to inspect the work and made some suggestions for the portrait of Mao Zedong.
Nie Rongzhen
He believes that Chairman Mao's neckline in the original photo is not buttoned, but if the founding ceremony is to be held, this button will look more solemn.
This suggestion was unanimously agreed by the staff present, and finally changed back to the previous one or two versions of the photo. As a result, the portrait of Mao Zedong hanging above the founding ceremony was replaced from the first one to a photo of Mao Zedong's life in the Yan'an period, and soon became the most popular portrait of Chairman Mao in the Liberated Areas at that time.
In this portrait, Chairman Mao wears an octagonal hat on his head, wears a tweed jacket uniform, and has a kind smile on his face.
On October 1, the official opening ceremony of the People's Republic of China was held, and Chairman Mao Zedong ascended the Tiananmen Tower, standing directly above the portrait, announcing the founding of the People's Republic of China and personally raising the first five-star red flag.
The third edition of Chairman Mao's portrait is copied
The portrait of Chairman Mao Zedong hanging in the middle of the Tiananmen Gate wall and the Mao Zedong standing on the city tower together constitute a scene that makes all the sons and daughters of China cheer for it.
When everyone present saw this scene, their hearts were filled with supreme glory and pride.
Eight iterations
From 1949 to the present, the portrait of Mao Zedong on Tiananmen Square has actually undergone several replacement processes. As for how many versions of the portrait there are, there have always been many opinions.
In fact, since 1949, a total of 7 main creative painters have participated in the painting, and so far, a total of 8 versions of the portrait have been replaced.
The first and second editions were painted by the painter Dong Xiwen, and the first edition was hung on February 12, 1949 at the Tiananmen Tower, thus beginning the history of hanging a portrait of Mao Zedong in Tiananmen.
The second edition was on July 7, 1949, when people from all walks of life in Beiping City held a meeting to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the "July Seventh War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression", a portrait of Mao Zedong was hung on the east side of Tiananmen Square, and a portrait of Zhu De was hung on the west side.
This is also the only time in history that portraits of two leaders have been hung at the same time in the Tiananmen Tower.
Second edition
The third edition was drawn by Zhou Lingzhao on October 1, 1949, at the founding ceremony.
This portrait of Mao Zedong is the world's largest handmade portrait, four meters six meters wide, six meters high, weighing 1.5 tons, and later became the most familiar portrait of the whole Chinese.
Third edition
The fourth edition is a crown-free portrait of Mao Zedong painted by Xin Mang on the eve of May Day in 1950.
Beginning in 1950, the statue of Mao Zedong on the upper floor of Tiananmen Square was replaced with his appearance without a hat, and was usually redrawn and updated every year before National Day.
Fourth edition of Portrait of Mao Zedong
The fifth edition of the portrait is the first standard portrait of Mao Zedong processed by Chen Shilin before the National Day in 1950.
At that time, New China had just been founded, and Mao Zedong did not have time to go to the scene to take standard photos, so the photos could only be selected from the previous group photos.
This version of the portrait was cut out by Chen Shilin in a group photo of Chairman Mao and the labor model, and then through the processing technology of the photo, it was repaired into the first officially announced standard portrait of Chairman Mao, and then the painter Xin Mang wrote the fifth edition of the Hanging Portrait of Tiananmen Square.
Fifth edition
The sixth edition is the second standard photograph of Chairman Mao drawn by Zhang Zhenshi before the National Day in 1952.
Zhang Zhenshi painted portraits of Mao Zedong for eleven years from 1952 to 1963, and he was often busy until the early hours of the morning to update the portraits.
Until 1964, his teaching tasks at the Academy of Fine Arts became heavier and older, and the task of drawing portraits was transferred to Wang Guodong.
Sixth edition
After this, the seventh edition of Mao Zedong's portrait painted by Wang Guodong was first hung on the Tiananmen Tower on May 1, 1964, and the eighth edition of Tiananmen's portrait painted by him in 1967 has been used ever since.
Seventh edition
On September 9, 1976, Mao Zedong passed away, and Wang Guodong painted a portrait of Mao Zedong for the last time for Tiananmen Square.
His mood is as sad and heavy as that of all the people of the country, and the black and white portrait painted this time not only carries his personal emotions, but also carries the mourning of the people of the whole country.
Eighth edition
After the memorial service, the eighth edition of Mao Zedong's portrait painted by Wang Guodong was still hanging on the upper floor of Tiananmen Square, and this version of Chairman Mao's portrait is the kind of atmosphere we can perceive now--no matter where you stand in Tiananmen Square and look at this portrait, you can receive Chairman Mao's gaze, as if you are looking at him.
Eighth edition
The statue of Mao Zedong, which has undergone several changes, is not only a symbolic element of Tiananmen, but today, it has become a symbol of the whole of China, not only attracting the admiring eyes of the sons and daughters of China, but also receiving the attention of people around the world.
On August 17, 1980, Olynuena Farage, known as the "world's first female journalist", came to Beijing in a furious manner, and she came this time because of the change in Chairman Mao's hanging portrait.
Foreign media interviews
Farage has made a splash in countries around the world with his sharp, pungent interview style. In particular, she has interviewed dozens of political leaders and influential figures, so that many leading figures who have been engaged in politics for many years have been unable to step down under her lips and swords.
Among them, US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger once bluntly said that he should never be interviewed by Farage, which was the stupidest decision he had ever made in his life.
The reason is that on November 2, 1972, Kissinger, who almost never interviewed reporters alone, was interviewed by Farage for the first time.
In this interview, Kissinger was led by Farage's fierce questioning offensive, and Farage, who was well versed in the way of interviewing, used many ways such as moving back to the envelope, verbal hints, and even radical methods, so that Kissinger had to answer her questions one by one.
The interview was eventually made public by Farage in the form of an interview, in which Farage revealed many unknown interview details, which were not only forwarded by major reports, but even became a topic of discussion at the time.
Kissinger
It can be seen that this female reporter's sharp words and sharp thinking have made Western politicians avoid her.
In the summer of 1980, the portrait of Chairman Mao in Tiananmen Square was removed once, but it has since been hung.
The move has led to endless speculation in the global media, which is eyeing China, and Western newspapers have published reports that "the Mao Zedong era is over."
Farage's visit to China was aimed at changes in China's political scene, and she interviewed Comrade Deng Xiaoping on the evening of August 21.
After a few brief good questions from both sides, Farage cut straight to the point and asked Deng Xiaoping a very sharp question:
"Should the portrait of Chairman Mao on Tiananmen Square be preserved forever?"
Comrade Deng Xiaoping had long guessed the purpose of Farage's visit, and he looked directly at this not-so-polite female reporter and replied simply but firmly: "Of course, we must always keep it." ”
Over the years, the founding ceremony has been hyped up, and the inside story behind the portrait of Mao Zedong in Tiananmen Square is hardly known.
It is difficult for Westerners to understand and understand the true connotation of the portrait of Mao Zedong hanging tiananmen Square, but in fact, this is the desire of the people's hearts, not a political plan.
In the face of Farage's somewhat puzzled and surprised eyes, Deng Xiaoping added:
"In the past, Chairman Mao's portraits were hung too much, which was not serious, nor could it show respect for Chairman Mao."
"Chairman Mao is the main founder of the Communist Party of China and the People's Republic of China, and we Chinese the People's Congress will always regard him as the founder of the party and the country to commemorate him."
Deng Xiaoping knew very well that Farage's question was certainly not as simple as asking for a portrait.
She asked more about the removal of other portraits of Chairman Mao and the instructions issued by the Central Committee before, hoping to get a glimpse of how the CCP really evaluated Mao Zedong and prejudge China's politics.
Therefore, Deng Xiaoping did not give her the slightest opportunity to ask further questions, answered all the questions she wanted to ask first, and even intensified her tone:
"Without Chairman Mao, we Chinese people would still be groping in the dark for an unknown number of years."
After hearing this, Farage asked questions about the portraits of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin and others on both sides of Tiananmen, and she was particularly puzzled by the portrait of Stalin, and almost argued with Deng Xiaoping on this issue.
Stalin
Deng Xiaoping said with great certainty: "First of all, I must tell you that we cannot treat Chairman Mao like Khrushchev did with Stalin. ”
Then he added with a frank look: "Chairman Mao's greatness lies in integrating the principles of Marxism-Leninism with the reality of the Chinese revolution and pointing out the road for China to win the victory of the revolution." ”
At this point, Farage was completely impressed by Deng Xiaoping's frank and objective attitude, and the question was no longer sharp, and the two ended the conversation in a pleasant atmosphere.
This conversation with Farage set off an uproar in the world, which not only aroused strong repercussions at home and abroad, but also was reported by many media.
Because since 1966, the domestic political situation has undergone tremendous changes, Deng Xiaoping's positive response this time was not only on behalf of the Communist Party of China to make an evaluation of Chairman Mao, but also on behalf of the entire Chinese people to answer the world:
Chairman Mao will always be the founder of our great Party and country, and this will never change.
Miss
There are no perfect people, only great people. As Comrade Deng Xiaoping said, Mao Zedong was the eternal founder of the party and the state, and also the greatest Marxist of our time.
In the last 40 years of his life, he founded the greatest cause in Chinese history. It not only led the people of the whole country to push the three mountains of all evils, but also led 500 million poor and white working people to turn themselves into masters.
He transformed China, once backward and about to be beaten, into a major country with the world's eighth largest economy and the world's top industrial and military strength.
It has also allowed China, which once had no status in the international community, to win widespread international respect through active and good diplomatic means.
We can't imagine what China would be like now without Mao Zedong. He could have been selfish or self-interested, but he never was. He devoted his life to the people.
Mao Zedong at the Tiananmen Tower
Today, a hundred years later, China and the world are as he expected, and his people have begun to understand him again, study him, and penetrate his thoughts to solve all kinds of difficulties and problems encountered today.
The journey of pursuing fairness and justice, national prosperity, national prosperity, and people's happiness will continue to be firmly followed by young people in the future!
Today's China's glory, cover its life's efforts, with the results of the struggle of the toiling people, Tiananmen will always retain the portrait of Mao Zedong, we will always remember the greatness of Mao Zedong, under the illumination of his brilliance, take firm steps of socialism, towards the tomorrow that our predecessors look forward to.
Greetings to Chairman Mao! As long as we have not forgotten, He will always live in the hearts of the people!
What do you readers think about Deng Gong's clever answer and the change of Chairman Mao's portrait? Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section.