In the fifth year after the founding of New China, Chairman Mao, accompanied by Luo Ruiqing, minister of public security, climbed the walls of the Forbidden City, and he looked inside the Forbidden City, and Luo Ruiqing said: "Chairman, I will accompany you to go inside and walk around." ”
Chairman Mao smiled and said, "I won't go in, just look here." ”
Chairman Mao was very eager for the Forbidden City, but he never went inside to visit it, and he still did not go inside the Forbidden City several times since then.
Then, Chairman Mao is one step away from the Forbidden City in Beijing, so why is he unwilling to step into the Forbidden City for half a step all his life?
All this starts with him in his youth.
Chairman Mao's indissoluble relationship with Beijing
After Mao Zedong graduated from the Hunan First Normal School in 1918, he never imagined that he would have to spend his short life of "drifting north".
When he was a student at the Hunan First Normal School, Mao Zedong was full of longing for Beijing, where not only national institutions of higher learning such as Peking University and Tsinghua University, but also his idol, Mr. Chen Duxiu.
At that time, most of the students chose to study abroad, and After Mao Zedong consulted his mentor Yang Changji, he decided to stay at home and explore his country's problems.
Yang Changji told Mao Zedong that foreign knowledge is nothing more than that, and problems can also be explored at home. In fact, Yang Changji's words made Mao Zedong daigo, Chen Duxiu, Li Dazhao and others are celebrities studying abroad, if he himself also goes to study abroad, in fact, it does not have much effect, it is better to go to Beijing to meet the world.
In the autumn of 1918, when Mao Zedong first came to Beijing, Yang Changji happened to be teaching at Peking University, and he asked Yang Kaihui to take Mao Zedong around.
Mao Zedong came all the way from Shaoshan and witnessed countless new things, but when he came to Beijing, he completely opened his eyes, and he and Yang Kaihui walked on Gulou Street, looking at the bustling crowd, and the ideal in his heart burned in his heart.
At that time, Mao Zedong, Li Weihan, Luo Zhanglong, Luo Xuezhan and several other Hunan compatriots did not have a place to live, so they rented a rental house, and several big men crowded on a kang, although the conditions were difficult, but very happy.
When Yang Kaihui took Mao Zedong to the front of Tiananmen, Mao Zedong sighed at the Forbidden City in front of him: "I don't know what it looks like here, you said that the Forbidden City is so big, the previous emperors were not stuffy here?" ”
Yang Kaihui was very sympathetic to Mao Zedong's idea, and he was also filled with indignation for Mao Zedong, saying: "We rent houses in Beijing so simple, and even some of our classmates sleep on the street at night, so why can the deposed emperor live in such a big place?" ”
When Mao Zedong was studying in Changsha, he had long heard Xiao Zisheng say that in the past, our emperor was a three-year-old child, and a three-year-old child did not understand anything, and he could actually be the emperor of China.
At this time, Mao Zedong was very repulsive to the ancient feudal dynasty, and he insisted on the new cultural movement led by Chen Duxiu, but he was still young and very confused about China's future.
Soon, on yang Changji's recommendation, Mao Zedong went to peking university library to work as a small librarian, but this job changed his life.
The director of the library here is none other than the famous Li Dazhao, who attracted Li Dazhao's attention because Mao Zedong read every day and night with candles, and Li Dazhao learned after inquiry that he was the young man from Hunan.
Under the care of Li Dazhao, Mao Zedong not only observed the classes of Peking University, but also got to know well-known professors such as Chen Duxiu and Hu Shi, and became a Marxist in the true sense by studying Marxist theory.
In the summer of 1919, Mao Zedong left Peking University because his mother was seriously ill, and by the time he returned to Peking University a few months later, the social environment had changed dramatically.
Mao Zedong went to Beijing this time to live in the Fuyou Temple, not far from the Forbidden City, but did not enter the Forbidden City, although he was very curious about the deep red wall inner courtyard, but this did not have the slightest impact on him.
This year, Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao were already planning an earth-shattering event, that is, the establishment of the Chinese Communist Party, and Mao Zedong left Beijing before meeting Chen Duxiu in Shanghai.
But at that time, he never thought that when he came to the ancient city of Beijing decades later, China would have already "changed the world"!
Chairman Mao said to Zhou En: We are going to Beijing to catch the examination
At the beginning of 1949, Lin Biao and Luo Ronghuan led the Northeast Field Army to a strong position, and in one fell swoop they reached Beiping, and the soldiers approached the city, and only by waiting for Chairman Mao's order, the People's Liberation Army could liberate Beiping by force.
When the news reached Xibaipo, Chairman Mao urgently summoned Zhou Enlai Ren Bishi and others to discuss the liberation of Peiping.
Chairman Mao believed that if Peiping were to be liberated by force, it would be a breeze, and Fu Zuoyi's tens of thousands of troops would be nothing more than mantis arms as a car, but there was a serious problem.
That is, Beiping City is full of scenic spots and monuments, and if it is destroyed by artillery fire, I am afraid that I will be responsible for history.
"In this siege of the city, we must make careful plans to avoid destroying the Forbidden City, universities, and other famous and valuable cultural monuments; you must have a precise investigation of all parts of the city, so that the chief of each unit has a complete understanding of which places can be attacked and which places cannot be attacked.
While Chairman Mao was smoking a cigarette, he was talking about his own concerns, and Ren Bishi and others all agreed with Chairman Mao's opinion that it was only a matter of time before Peiping was liberated, and the important thing was to protect the ancient buildings of Peiping.
Fu Zuoyi stubbornly resisted, Chinese the People's Liberation Army gave enough time to think, after the liberation of Tianjin, Fu Zuoyi knew that he was already a turtle in an urn, and there was no benefit in sticking to it any longer.
Finally, at chairman Mao's suggestion of "peacefully liberating Peiping," Fu Zuoyi obediently laid down his arms and accepted the reorganization of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, and Peiping was peacefully liberated.
Before the army entered Peiping, Chairman Mao held a special meeting to discuss that it was necessary to "protect the Forbidden City." In this regard, Chairman Mao also asked the architect Liang Sicheng and others to hold a map of Beijing and carry out special protection.
On this map, all the universities, monuments, and basic living facilities in Beiping City were marked in 1510, and as long as the warriors entered Beiping with it, there would be no chaos.
Finally, under the guidance of Chairman Mao, Ye Jianying specially took people to the Forbidden City for inspection, and strictly closed the Forbidden City, allowing outsiders to enter and protect the cultural relics and monuments inside.
Finally, after several days and nights of labor, Ye Jianying and the soldiers cleaned out a total of 250,000 square meters of garbage from the Forbidden City, and at the same time, many experts were invited to repair the ancient buildings of the Forbidden City.
On the day we went to Beijing, Chairman Mao happily said to Zhou En: "When we went to Beijing this time, we were going to Beijing to take the exam, and we must get a good result." ”
When he arrived at the Qinghuayuan Railway Station in Beijing, Chairman Mao was full of emotions as soon as he got off the train, remembering how he came to Beijing when he was young, and even remembering his mentors Li Dazhao and Chen Duxiu.
When the central leaders came to Beiping, they also planned to make Beijing the capital, but there must always be a place to work, and some people proposed that Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou and others go to the Forbidden City to work, but Chairman Mao resolutely said that he would not go.
After coming to Beiping, Chairman Mao had been living in the Shuangqing Villa in Xiangshan, but Zhou Enlai soon felt that running back and forth from Xiangshan to the city would delay work efficiency and make it unsafe to go home at night.
So at the meeting, Zhou Enlai suggested a big move, so that the central leaders could move directly to the city, and there were several locations to choose from, one was the Forbidden City, and the other was Zhongnanhai.
Earlier, when Zhou Enlai was looking for a place to live, he found a place called Juxiang Bookstore in Zhongnanhai, located between the Qinzheng Hall and the Yinian Hall, which was very suitable for Chairman Mao to live, but Chairman Mao resolutely disagreed.
Zhongnanhai, known as Xiyuan during the Ming and Qing dynasties, was the palace and banquet place of the feudal emperors of previous dynasties, mainly including the Purple Light Pavilion, Shuiyun Pavilion, Yingtai, Fengze garden and Jinggu, which can also be regarded as the royal inner courtyard.
In order to let Chairman Mao move, Ye Jianying was bitter, but Chairman Mao resolutely disagreed, and even said angrily: "I will not move, this Ye Jianying is really stubborn." ”
In the end, it was Zhou Enlai who persuaded: "Chairman, you should listen to your parents and officials, and everyone is also for your safety, Comrade Ye Jianying insisted that it is also a matter of principle for you to live in Zhongnanhai, and there is not even a wall where we live now." ”
Chairman Mao resolutely refused to go, and in the end he could only ask President Zhu to come forward, and Zhu De smiled and said to Chairman Mao: "If the chairman does not live in, we will not be able to sit back and relax." 'The skin does not exist, the hair is safe', zhu mao can not be divided! At that time, Mr. Zhu had already moved into the Hanhe Hall in Zhongnanhai.
Under such realistic conditions, Chairman Mao finally moved to juxiang bookstore in Zhongnanhai, but this was not Chairman Mao's original intention, and Premier Zhou actually understood Chairman Mao the most.
So, why didn't Chairman Mao go to Zhongnanhai and not even set foot in the Forbidden City for half a step in his lifetime? It has a huge deal to do with one person.
Chairman Mao never entered the Forbidden City in his lifetime
One day in 1954, Chairman Mao suddenly decided to go to the Forbidden City, which was the first time he proposed to go to the Forbidden City, and in order not to disturb tourists, he only called Luo Ruiqing, minister of public security, and Han Shanwen, chief of the Forbidden City Protection Section.
This is where the scene at the beginning of the article occurred, Chairman Mao arrived at the Forbidden City, climbed the walls of the Forbidden City with Luo Ruiqing, and then took out a small horse and sat down.
While Eating Oranges and looking at the scenery in the Forbidden City, Chairman Mao said, "Chairman, I will go inside with you in a moment." Chairman Mao shook his head and did not agree.
Luo Ruiqing knew Chairman Mao's meaning, and then said: "Chairman, we have unearthed a batch of cultural relics newly unearthed in the Palace Museum, and it should still be at noon at this time. ”
When Chairman Mao learned that he did not need to enter the Forbidden City, he gladly agreed, and then walked down with Luo Ruiqing to the Noon Gate, where an exhibition of cultural relics was indeed being held.
Accompanied by Luo Ruiqing, Chairman Mao carefully inspected each cultural relic at the exhibition and was full of emotion, these cultural relics are all national treasures.
This trip to the Forbidden City lasted 3 hours before and after, until it was getting late, and Chairman Mao left the Forbidden City.
As a person who has always respected history, Chairman Mao was actually very interested in ancient cultural relics, so after bidding farewell to the walls of the Forbidden City, he came to the Forbidden City the next day.
Luo Ruiqing said: "The last time the exhibition at the noon gate has not yet had time to finish, this time we will start with the noon gate." ”
Chairman Mao once again walked into the exhibition hall and stopped in front of the precious pictures of characters, which were precious cultural relics of the Ming and Qing dynasties, and Chairman Mao sighed: "This is history." ”
After a while, walking to the exhibition counter of the "Beijing Ape Man", Chairman Mao looked at the fossil teeth of those ancient humans and nodded vigorously.
At this moment, a staff member next to him said: "Chairman, do you want to accompany you to the Forbidden City for a walk?" ”
Chairman Mao waved his hand and confessed his determination not to enter the Forbidden City: "What are we going to do when we go in, we are just going to see the exhibition, and when we finish it, we will leave." ”
This year, Chairman Mao came to the outside of the Forbidden City many times, but he did not go in, but only looked at the scenery inside the Forbidden City on the city wall, and on Tiananmen Square and on the wall of the Forbidden City, Chairman Mao was still so amiable.
On the walls of the Forbidden City, he smiled and said, "We can take some pictures here, how beautiful the scenery is!" ”
So, why didn't Chairman Mao step into the Forbidden City for half a step? In fact, this is because Chairman Mao deeply loved his people, and he did not want to be held in connection with "feudal etiquette" just because he entered the Forbidden City.
This has to start with a person, who is Huang Yanpei.
As a famous scholar, Huang Yanpei discussed the issue of "cycle rate" with Chairman Mao as early as the Yan'an period, and even talked for several days, each time for more than ten hours.
Huang Yanpei believes that the reason why China's feudal dynasty lasted for thousands of years is because it cannot jump out of this feudal cycle, one family, one country and one group. Da Fan concentrated on the beginning, no one did not care, no one did not work hard, and then saw that the situation gradually improved, and the spirit was put down... In short, it slowly collapsed in the end.
After arriving in Beiping in 1949, Chairman Mao once again invited Huang Yanpei and seriously told him: "We have found a new way to jump out of the domination of the cycle rate." ”
Huang Yanpei said: "Chairman, dare I ask you what is the new road you said to have been found?" Chairman Mao said, "Again, as I said, that is, to let the people supervise the government." ”
In his book The Return of Yan'an, Huang Yanpei recalled a conversation with Chairman Mao when he said: "It is effective to use democracy to break this cyclical rate. ”
This is also the reason why Chairman Mao said, "We should never let Li Zicheng", the reason why the ancient feudal dynasty could not jump out of the cycle of failure was precisely because it was the same as Li Zicheng.
Looking at the ancient feudal dynasty, the emperor always lived in the deep wall compound, never communicated with the people, knew nothing about the stories that happened outside, and could not have a standard for judging without contact with the masses.
As the leader of new China, Chairman Mao was determined to resolutely disrespect Li Zicheng and resolutely not to follow the old feudal road, and since he was the leader of the people, he would let the people supervise him.
Therefore, Chairman Mao led by example, and he decided not to walk into the Forbidden City for half a step, nor to let himself be related to feudal bureaucracy.
Because he loves his people.
Huang Yanpei's question was of great significance to Chairman Mao.
Lead by example and govern the country according to law
After the founding of New China, Chairman Mao began to strictly grasp two issues, one was to sweep away criminal syndicates and the other was to prevent corruption.
As far as Beijing is concerned, at the beginning of the founding of New China, the environment in Beijing was extremely harsh, the underworld was rampant, and local forces were everywhere, seriously endangering the safety of people's lives and property.
Since ancient times, corruption may also affect the decline of a dynasty, especially those who are officials cannot be corrupt.
Therefore, at the beginning of the founding of New China, Liu Qingshan became a typical person, as the secretary of the provincial party committee, he embezzled countless things, although he contributed to the revolution, Chairman Mao absolutely did not allow such corruption to exist.
Chairman Mao himself, from the time of the Red Army to Yan'an to Beijing, although he held a high position of power, he never bought a new dress in decades.
Usually worn at home, Chairman Mao wore patched clothes, and when he met foreign guests, he would take out his only decent-looking clothes.
Li Yinqiao, who was once chairman Mao's guard chief, said: "Chairman Mao is such a person. "What impressed Li Yinqiao the most was his socks, chairman Mao once said that where people are seen, you can wear well, and it doesn't matter where you can't see.
Therefore, Chairman Mao's socks were also patched, but when Chairman Mao met with guests, he liked to cross his legs and leak out his socks as soon as he crossed his legs, so Li Yinqiao reminded Chairman Mao many times and said with grievance: "The ugliness of the family must not be publicized," which caused Chairman Mao to laugh.
But who would have thought that this was our great leader?
Henry Kissinger, an American guest, had visited China many times, and before his first visit to Chairman Mao, he had always believed that the home of the leader of the new China must be golden and magnificent. But when he really came to Zhongnanhai, he was shocked. Even Nixon lamented that this place was not like the home of the supreme leader, but more like the home of ordinary cadres.
But who would have thought that this was Chairman Mao who had come from the arduous years of the revolution.
His family sacrificed 6 relatives, and even his beloved son sacrificed for the revolution.
He is an elder before the young, a student before the elderly, a servant before the common people, a son before the people, in his own words:
"China's forty million peasants are our relatives, and if you want to be a brother, you will be a brother; If you want to be a brother, you will be a brother! Even being a son and a son-in-law is no harm! This not only does not lose face, but also adds a little bit of brilliance! ”
Chairman Mao is a great man of our Chinese nation, unparalleled in the history of the Chinese revolution, and his great historical merits and great contributions to the Chinese nation will remain irrefutably forever in the annals of history.