<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" data-track="81" > preface</h1>
In 1947.
It takes eight days to get on a train from Moscow to Harbin, a big city in the northern part of the motherland. Whoever walks this route feels that the journey is long. He Zizhen felt even more that this journey was too long. Ever since she got on the train, her nerves had been in a state of extreme excitement.
Figure | He Zizhen
It has been nearly 10 years since she left her homeland in 1937. At this time, she was full of thoughts, missing her motherland very much, after nine years of separation, what has the motherland become now? She didn't know. She even missed her former comrades-in-arms, how did her comrades-in-arms start the Southern Expedition to the North after she left?
At her side is her daughter Jiaojiao, who left her father when she was 4 years old, and now when she returns, Jiaojiao's first wish is to confirm the question she had when she was studying in the Soviet Union: Is my father Chairman Mao?
And He Zizhen, why don't you miss this person who has been with him for ten years, is he okay now? I don't know how his body is. After He Zizhen returned to his motherland, he temporarily lived in Harbin, and soon received a letter from Mao Zedong, hoping to let Jiaojiao go to Beiping.
Figure | Chairman Mao
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" data-track="11" > Jiaojiao is known as "the 'cooperative doll' of ordinary people's milk milk"</h1>
In 1937, He Zizhen left Yan'an, Li Min once recalled, it was between summer and autumn, the specific time she did not know, He Zizhen left, took with her a very memorable object, the red blanket used when marrying Mao Zedong, Li Min saw many times in the Soviet Union.
Li Min was born in the winter of 1936, she grew up and asked Deng Yingchao's mother, Deng Yingchao also remembered that it was a winter, the specific date is not clear, so Li Min never knew her birthday. Since He Zizhen left Yan'an, Li Min has been fostered in a local farmer's home, when Li Min was only one year old.
For Jiaojiao, she was lucky, before her, there were several brothers and sisters, all lost in the revolutionary years, the folk customs of northern Shaanxi are simple, and the farmers here feed Jiaojiao with rice soup and let Jiaojiao grow up. Later, Li Min once inquired about the story of his childhood from the old man, and listened to the old man say that Jiaojiao's health was not very good when she was a child, but it was not annoying, and she fell asleep quietly after eating, especially obedient, if she woke up, she stared around and looked around, not naughty at all.
Figure | A photo of Li Min about one year old
But how can the mother's love and father's love be replaced by the love of the father in the human world? Li Min once recalled that when she was a child, she had been fostering in the homes of ordinary people, and sometimes when she saw other children with her father and mother, she herself especially wanted to be pulled by her father, and when she was sick, she also wanted to have her mother kiss her face.
When Jiaojiao was a child, Deng Yingchao and Cai Chang would take turns to take care of Jiaojiao, and in Jiaojiao's impression, the most impressive thing she had when she was a child was Cai Chang and Deng Yingchao. Li Min once recalled that when she was a child, she was sent to a Long March couple. This is where her "co-op doll" comes from. Mao Zedong spent the most time visiting Jiaojiao during this time.
Figure | Cai Chang hugged Li Min
The cooperatives in Yan'an were a model comprehensive institution in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression; they comprehensively managed consumption, production, transportation, credit, and other projects; they proceeded from the actual conditions in the border areas and the demands of the masses and constantly improved their work in accordance with the opinions of the people. In the city of Yan'an is the central government cooperative, there are small restaurants and small shops, cadres come and go, and sometimes there will be a meal or something. I was looked after by the caretaker couple, so some elderly people called me a "co-op doll."
When Jiaojiao was two years old, she was sent to the Los Angeles nursery in Yan'an, and at first glance, she thought that this was a kindergarten in the United States, but in fact, this was a nursery run by the Party Central Committee, and after liberation, it was renamed Beijing Wanshou Temple Kindergarten.
Note: When I left Yan'an in June 1946, there were nearly 100 young children in the Los Angeles nursery in Yan'an.
Jiaojiao is undoubtedly lonely in the kindergarten, she has no good friends, she vaguely remembers, every morning when she goes to kindergarten to go to school, she will see the cattle passing by at the entrance of the kindergarten, and sometimes she will hear other children crying, the most fierce cry is Chen Boda's son Chen Xiaoda, Jiaojiao will comfort him: how good it is here, what to cry.
Figure | Los Angeles Daycare
It can be seen that Jiaojiao was still very strong when she was a child, but soon, her little brother, that is, He Zizhen and Mao Zedong's sixth child, died in the Soviet Union, and Mao Zedong, after receiving the news from He Zizhen, decided to send Jiaojiao to the Soviet Union to accompany He Zizhen through those difficult days.
It was also a winter, Jiaojiao was less than 4 years old, she greeted her first long trip in her life, Li Min remembered more clearly, there were four children who went to the Soviet Union at that time, in addition to her daughter Zhu Min, Luo Yinong's son was Luo Northwest, and Wang Yifei's son Wang Jifei. Li Min recalled this story when she grew up, and she still wanted to laugh a little, because at that time she may have eaten a bad stomach, diarrhea, and has not been good, after arriving in the Soviet Union, she very much wanted to go back, so she hugged the pilot uncle and did not let go, the pilot uncle said: "I have lice on me." Petite was afraid of lice and stayed in the Soviet Union.
Petite waited for a while and saw a tall woman walk up to her. Jiaojiao knew that as she was leaving, someone told her that her mother would come back to pick her up. When my mother went to Moscow, she was only one year old, and she couldn't remember what her mother looked like, is this person really a mother in front of her now?
Figure | He Zizhen and Li Min were in the Soviet Union
Li Min described the He Zizhen she had just met as follows: My mother was as white as a snowflake, as straight as an elm tree, and as strong as alcohol.
"Who are you?" What are you here for? He Zizhen smiled and asked softly.
"I'm petite, come to my mother."
"What's your mother's name?" He Zizhen asked again, she was looking forward to it.
"My mother's name is He Zizhen, and this is what my father told me."
"So—what gift did you bring to your mother?" He Zizhen said happily.
"I brought my mother a petite." He Zizhen burst into tears and kissed Jiaojiao intoxicatedly.
Since then, Jiaojiao has come to He Zizhen's side, and her mother has lived here for nearly 7 years, which can be said to have witnessed he Zizhen's experience in the Soviet Union.
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" data-track="101" > He Zizhen's life in the Soviet Union was not good, and Wang Jiaxiang asked Mao Zedong</h1>
It was also here that Jiaojiao first met his brothers Mao Anying and Mao Anying. He Zizhen said that your brothers Mao Anying and Mao Anying came to the Soviet Union very early, and the eldest brother Mao Anying especially liked to read. He Zizhen also told Jiaojiao that Mao Anying liked to read books in the library, and once the library was closed, he did not know, and the administrator did not find anyone inside, so Mao Anying was trapped in the library for one night. When Jiaojiao learned about it, she smiled happily.
Figure | Mao Anying and his brother in the Soviet Union
Jiaojiao did not expect that Mao Anying's brother was not a nerd, in the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union, Mao Anying actively responded to the call to support the front, Mao Anying's image in his sister's heart became taller and taller, of course, in those years, the life of the four of them was becoming more and more difficult.
In order to overcome hunger and ensure the health of the children as much as possible, in addition to completing the daily work, the mother also took out the strength to climb the snowy mountains and cross the meadows, and with the pain and fatigue, planted potatoes, carrots, soybeans, watered, fertilized, and was busy.
Jiaojiao said that because of eating potatoes for a long time, she reflexively did not want to eat potatoes when she saw them later. Due to the harsh conditions, Jiaojiao got pneumonia, He Zizhen learned about it and requested to take Jiaojiao home, but the dean did not let her, due to the lack of medical treatment in the children's hospital at that time, Jiaojiao's condition became more and more serious, he Zizhen went to school again to see Jiaojiao, Jiaojiao had been pushed to the morgue.
He Zizhen could not bear to lose her child, and she was determined to bring Jiaojiao back. Back at home, He Zizhen held Jiaojiao and fed her sugar water in one gulp, and then made a fire to keep warm, who knows, the jiaojiao, who was already dying, was snatched from the hands of the god of death by He Zizhen.
Soon, because of He Zizhen's "abnormal" behavior, the dean said that He Zizhen had a "mental illness" and forcibly detained He Zizhen in a madhouse; later, the reporter interviewed He Zizhen, and when talking about this matter, he asked He Zizhen why he was locked up in a madhouse, and He Zizhen shed tears and expressed his reluctance to mention this matter, which shows how much suffering He Zizhen endured in the Soviet Union.
Li Min said that later, in the days of Zhongnanhai, whenever his father remembered and talked about these things, he would always chant: "It was my mother who saved Jiaowa!" ”
Figure | In 1947, Wang Jiaxiang's wife, Zhu Zhongli (front left), went to visit Mao Anqing (a neutral)
In 1946, Wang Jiaxiang, then an adviser to the Communist Party, took his wife to the Soviet Union for medical treatment, and wang Jiaxiang inadvertently learned that He Zizhen was imprisoned in a madhouse, and after many efforts, He Zizhen was released and his freedom was restored. Looking at He Zizhen's appearance, Wang Jiaxiang asked painfully, "What do you plan to do in the future?" ”
He Zizhen looked out the window, remembered her homeland of nearly ten years away, and resolutely said: "I want to return to China." Considering that He Zizhen was Mao Zedong's wife, Wang Jiaxiang immediately sent a telegram to Mao Zedong in China, reporting He Zizhen's situation. After Receiving Wang Jiaxiang's telegram, Mao Zedong quickly replied: he agreed to return to China.
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" data-track="108" > Jiaojiao returned to her father, Mao Zedong asked Jiaojiao: Did your mother eat fat? </h1>
In the autumn of 1947, He Zizhen took Jiaojiao and took the train from Moscow to Harbin, which lasted for eight days and eight nights, and the train passed through the dense forest, through the vast Siberian wasteland, through the shores of Lake Baikal, and finally came to the territory of the motherland. The 11-year-old Jiaojiao was very happy and excited in the train, but He Zizhen looked very sad.
I haven't returned for nearly ten years, what is the motherland like? After he left that year, what did the motherland become? With curiosity and uneasiness, He Zizhen held Jiaojiao tightly, and for Jiaojiao, she had another important matter to confirm: Is Chairman Mao really my father?
Figure | Petite who has just returned home (fourth from the bottom in the second row, fourth from the right)
When she was in the Soviet Union, Jiaojiao brought back a picture of Mao Zedong from school, and Mao Anying told Jiaojiao that this person was our father, Chairman Mao. Jiaojiao didn't believe it, because her teacher had told her that Chairman Mao was the leader of the Chinese Communist Party, so how could he be her father?
When Jiaojiao left, she was only 4 years old, and for many years, she had been studying Russian in the Soviet Union, and her impression of her father slowly faded, and she once asked her mother He Zizhen, was Chairman Mao his father really his father? He Zizhen told Jiaojiao that Chairman Mao was your father, but Jiaojiao still did not believe it, and when she came to Harbin, she wrote a letter to Chairman Mao:
Dear Chairman Mao,
People say you're my biological father, but I never saw you in the Soviet Union? Are you my biological father? Please write to me quickly.
It is said that when Chairman Mao received this letter, he was very happy, and at that time, the letter from Jiaojiao was written in Russian, and Chairman Mao did not know it, so he asked the secretary to translate it, and when he learned what Jiaojiao meant, Chairman Mao was very happy and broke down, and immediately replied to a letter:
Jiaojiao: I am your biological father, my father misses you very much, I hope you will come to your father's side soon, I have asked He Yi to pick you up.
As soon as the letter was written, Chairman Mao asked the secretary to change it to an urgent telegram, because he wanted to let Jiaojiao see it quickly. But as a delicate biological mother, can He Zizhen return to Mao Zedong's side? At that time, Chairman Mao was still in Xibaipo, and He Yi, as He Zizhen's sister, was upset with his sister and personally came to Xibaipo to inquire about Chairman Mao.
Chairman Mao said: "These are all the results of history, so let's do it in accordance with China's 'old tradition.'" As for what to do, Chairman Mao did not make it clear. Therefore, when He Yi went to pick up Jiaojiao, He Yi did not know how to arrange He Zizhen.
In March 1949, Mao Zedong led the central organs to Beiping, and When he left, Mao Zedong was particularly happy, on the one hand, because this was a great joy for the liberation of Beiping, and on the other hand, Jiaojiao was coming back. Mao Zedong said happily to Zhou Enlai: "We have entered Beijing to take the exam." "Because in ancient times, when people who read books went to Beijing, they went to take the exam.
When Chairman Mao first lived in Xiangshan, he lived in Shuangqing Villa, and the environment of Xiangshan was full of natural atmosphere, and Chairman Mao liked it very much. On this day, Jiaojiao was brought in by the guards, and Chairman Mao saw the 13-year-old Jiaojiao and happily hugged her, which was that he and his daughter had not seen each other for 9 years.
Figure | Jiaojiao returned to Chairman Mao
At that time, Chairman Mao's side was also Li Ne, who had just come to his father's side, and the extremely lively petite petite in the letter suddenly lost her naughty taste and became well-behaved, probably a little strange with her sister Li Ne. But as the saying goes, family affection is constantly cut. Within a few days, Jiaojiao was no longer unfamiliar with her father, and since Jiaojiao's Chinese was not very good at that time, Chairman Mao patiently taught Jiaojiao to say Chinese.
In Li Min's impression, after she returned to Chairman Mao, she especially liked to ask her father questions, such as once she met a man with braids on the road, and Jiaojiao asked her father: "Why do men still wear whips?" Chairman Mao then smiled and said, "That's because during the Qing Dynasty, ordinary people had to keep their braids, and if they didn't keep braids, they would be killed, and in the late Qing Dynasty, the revolutionaries who were not afraid of killing their heads would cut off the braids." ”
Jiaojiao smiled and said, "Daddy, you don't have braids either, you're also a revolutionary, I have two braids, I'm afraid I'm going to kill my head." As he spoke, Chairman Mao burst out laughing, rejoicing at his delicate cleverness.
Of course, Chairman Mao would also ask Jiaojiao some questions, such as He Zizhen. From 1937 to the present, he and He Zizhen have not met for 12 years, and chairman Mao still remembers the way He Zizhen looked when he left, but what has He Zizhen become now? Chairman Mao kindly asked: Did your mother eat fat? Petite will tell the truth, Mom is not fat, very thin. Jiaojiao told Chairman Mao everything that He Zizhen had suffered in the Soviet Union, and Chairman Mao was also full of emotions after listening to it.
Figure | After returning to China, He Zizhen and He Yi took a group photo
Li Min said that the reason why his father asked so many questions at that time was that he must have missed his mother. In 1949, He Yi took He Zizhen to Shijiazhuang, planning to enter Beijing from Hebei, but was stopped by the staff, there was no reason, that is, not to let in. In desperation, He Zizhen had to go south to live at the home of his brother He Minxue in Shanghai.
However, He Zizhen did not expect that her wish to enter Beijing would actually be realized 30 years later, and for He Zizhen, this was undoubtedly a regret in her life, at that time, Chairman Mao had died 3 years ago.
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" data-track="119" > Chairman Mao died on He Zizhen's birthday</h1>
In the summer of 1950, Chairman Mao accidentally learned that He Zizhen's sister Comrade He Yi had unfortunately been killed, and his heart was very sad, He Zizhen did not have the company of his daughter, and now there was no sister, Chairman Mao wrote a long letter to He Zizhen, in which he said: Jiaojiao is very good around me, I like her very much, I hope you take care of your body, revolution first, body first, others first, take care of the overall situation.
Figure | Li Min took a group photo with her mother when she grew up
Despite this, Chairman Mao would let Jiaojiao take time to go south to visit her mother. Jiaojiao had attended primary school in the Soviet Union and went directly to junior high school in Beijing, and considering that Jiaojiao did not yet have a name, Chairman Mao named Jiaojiao "Li Min" from the basis of naming Li Ne, and the "Min" in it was taken from the same sentence in the Analects as Li Ne's "Ne".
It can be seen that Chairman Mao is still very concerned and concerned about He Zizhen, especially when he learned that He Zizhen was seriously ill, Chairman Mao would specially instruct Li Minnan to go down to visit his mother. Back in Beijing, Chairman Mao would still boo and ask for warmth. Once Chairman Mao said that when you were in Jinggangshan, your mother's body was particularly slim. Li Min retorted: "Not now, now my mother's waist is like a big bucket." After saying this, Chairman Mao laughed again.
Perhaps even Chairman Mao could hardly imagine that from 1937 to 1976, he and He Zizhen had only met once in 1959, when Chairman Mao had taken the time to meet at a meeting in Lushan. Later, He Zizhen also recalled: I never dreamed that I would meet Mao Zedong at that time.
However, He Zizhen did not expect that the side in Lushan had actually become the last side of their lives, that is, from he Zizhen's departure in 1937 to the death of Chairman Mao in 1976, they had only met once in 39 years.
Figure | Mao Zedong and He Zizhen
September 8, 1976, the Mid-Autumn Festival of the Chinese lunar calendar, this day is also He Zizhen's birthday, she did not expect that a day later, she received the bad news of Chairman Mao's death. According to Li Min's recollection, when Chairman Mao was seriously ill, she rushed to Chairman Mao's side, when Chairman Mao spoke very hard, he made a circular gesture to her, at that time Li Min did not realize it, and later suddenly realized, this may be thinking about his mother He Zizhen, because He Zizhen's nickname is "Guiyuan".
Looking back at He Zizhen's life, although he did not see Mao Zedong more in the second half of his life, Li Min became the family's "special and plenipotentiary ambassador", traveling back and forth between Beijing and Shanghai, acting as a "starry sky Queqiao" for parents' emotional exchanges. It is precisely these seemingly simple family affairs that show Chairman Mao's touching side of flesh and blood and the love of his children.