Mao Anying
"Mao Zedong's son also had to resist the United States and aid Korea"
On October 19, 1950, I followed Commander Peng Dehuai to the Korean Battlefield.
The headquarters of the Volunteer Army was originally located in Dae-yu-dong, a mountainous region in northern Korea, and the living conditions were very simple. There is an abandoned gold mine in Dayu Cave, and not far from the entrance of the mine, a simple two-room house is Peng Dehuai's office, where Peng always eats, lives and works. Not far from here is a three-room house. The large room in the middle is a chase shop, where fifteen or six staff officers live; at each end is a small room of more than ten square meters: the east end is where Ding Ganru, the director of the Operations Department, and Yang Di, the deputy director of the Department of Operations, live; the west end is where I and Mao Anying live. I originally did not have enough conditions to live in this room, but because Mao Anying is a Russian translator and I am a Korean translator, two people live together, and it is easier to work. And just like that, I was upgraded.
Mao Anying entered the DPRK on the night of October 22, 1950. He moved in first, and the next day I moved into Comrade Kishi's room. It was a small 13 m2 apartment with two camp beds as wide as a train sleeper. I found out that there was already a person living inside. He was a little taller than me, about one meter seven or eight or so, quite burly, and handsome. We were both about the same age, both in our 20s, but he looked dignified and mature.
Because it was the first time we met, I first introduced myself and then asked him, "What is your surname?" He looked at me and said, "My last name is Mao," but didn't say anything. I said, "I'm glad to live in a house with you, and I hope you can help me." "I started by telling my story: what I did, how I got here, and so on. Then he said, "Don't tell you, my name is Mao Anying." "There was no TELEVISION at that time, and I had heard the name on the radio and thought it was familiar, but I didn't dare to guess. He looked at me stunned and said, "I am Chairman Mao's son." I was very surprised, and he added: "Chairman Mao's son also has to resist the United States and aid Korea." "To resist US aggression and aid Korea, every Chinese has a responsibility, and Chairman Mao's son is no exception!" I heard him say it very well, the starting point is also very high, and I am very impressed.
That's how we met. From that day to the death of Mao Anying at 10:00 a.m. on November 24, the two of us spent a total of 31 days together.
The first "volunteers" of the Volunteer Army
Mao Anying's role on the Korean battlefield was a secretary and Russian translator in Peng Dehuai's office. Although he was Peng Dehuai's secretary, he did not participate in the war. In addition, there are not many Russian translation jobs. Mao Anying has a lot of experience. He suffered from snacks and was imprisoned with his mother Yang Kaihui when he was 8 years old. After Yang Kaihui's death, he lived a wandering life in Shanghai for several years. Later, he was sent to the Soviet Union to study. During the Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union, Mao Anying took the initiative to ask for the battlefield, and he served as the political deputy company commander (equivalent to an instructor) of a company in a tank unit, and attacked Berlin with a large army. After the end of the Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union, Mao Anying returned to China, and Chairman Mao let him become a farmer for two more years. After the liberation of the whole country, he went down to the factory as a worker. At that time, China practiced a foreign policy of "one-sidedness" toward the Soviet Union, and Mao Anying was a graduate of the Soviet Union, and he had served as a soldier, and was qualified to be a cadre after returning to China. But before he entered the dynasty, he was only a general branch secretary. I graduated from elementary school, he graduated from college; I was only 5 years old when I entered the DPRK, he was revolutionary since he was a child; I was 23 years old, he was 5 years older than me. At that time, I was already a county regimental cadre, but like me, he was also treated as a county regimental cadre.
Mao Anying was politically mature. He was the first "volunteer" of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army. Those of us who joined the volunteer army in the first place were all organizational decisions and personal obedience. At the time, for individuals, going to North Korea meant dying. But Mao Anying was different, no one or any organization demanded him or mobilized him, but he took the initiative to find Peng Dehuai and ask to participate in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, which was supported by his father Mao Zedong. According to his words: "Chairman Mao's son also had to resist the United States and aid Korea and defend his family and defend the country." This is the task of the whole nation, and no exception can be made just because he is the son of Chairman Mao. ”
When I lived with him, I found that Mao Anying always had a photo of a lesbian in his jacket pocket, and when he was free, he would take it out to look at it a few times, and carefully put the photo next to the pillow before going to bed at night. I didn't know he was married, so I asked, "Is that your object?" ”
Mao Anying said very proudly: "It's not the object, it's the wife." He said, handing me the picture, "Look, how's it going, pretty?" ”
In April 1949, Mao Zedong and Mao Anying, Liu Siqi and Li Ne were in Xiangshan, Beijing.
At this time, I learned that Mao Anying was a newlywed Yan'er. His wife's name is Liu Siqi. Every time Mao Anying talked about his new wife, his eyebrows always flew and danced. I could tell that they had a deep affection. Later, I learned that on the eve of Mao Anying's entry into the DPRK, Liu Siqi was hospitalized in Beijing Hospital. He didn't tell his wife he was going to North Korea, saying only that "I'm going out a little longer this time." After entering the DPRK, although the volunteer army headquarters and the domestic telegraph exchanges were continuous, there were many people from the country, but he never wrote to her. He felt that it was not good not to tell her; to tell her, and to be afraid that she would be worried. He also said: "Fathers often say: In times of war, children and daughters are long-term, and they will miss big things. ”
He never considered himself chairman Mao's son
In daily life, Mao Anying is very approachable, and there is no shelf at all. He said: "If everyone knew that I was Chairman Mao's son, I would stay away, then I would not be able to contact everyone; I would be able to keep my identity secret and become one with the masses." Although Commander Peng Dehuai was very concerned about Mao Anying and took care of him like his own children, Mao Anying himself always regarded himself as an ordinary staff member of the Volunteer Army Headquarters and had a very good relationship with everyone.
He also has a strong sense of organization. Although he had studied abroad and had a special status, he was very strict with himself and never regarded himself as Chairman Mao's son. The things that should be managed by oneself are meticulous, and the things that should not be managed by oneself are never pointed.
There was one small thing that impressed me deeply. Both of us are regimental cadres, and according to the regulations, two regimental cadres have a civil servant in charge of daily duties. The civil servant sent to us was only 18 years old, and shortly after joining the army, he was responsible for washing our faces, boiling water, sweeping the floor, etc. At that time, our station was on the mountain, and it took an hour for the little warrior to go back and forth to get water. The mountain roads are rugged, making them even more dangerous when you encounter planes. Mao Anying saw that he was very tired of running back and forth, and worried about his safety, so he consulted with me and said, "Let's save water." Let him only draw one bucket of water a day, not two buckets. "So we wash our faces in the morning, drink water during the day, and wash our feet at night, all using this bucket of water. A tea tank of water, can not imagine how he used: first brush his teeth with about a third of the water; the remaining most of the tank, drink first, do not swallow, and then spit out. Wash your face while spitting out. In this way, a tank of water, brushing teeth and washing your face are all there. Although this is a very small action, it is very touching.
Comrade Mao Anying's sacrifice
Comrade Mao Anying was killed on November 24, 1950. The day before, the enemy planes had reconnoitred the Big Yu Cave three times, and we estimated that something might happen the next day. 24 people in the morning it was not yet light, we simply ate breakfast and then all went up the mountain.
At about 10 a.m., four American planes burrowed out of the clouds and skimmed the Big Elm Cave. After the enemy plane passed, the alarm was not lifted, and we remained on the mountain. In the middle of this, Mao Anying disregarded the danger of his life and came down to deal with the emergency. After processing, he may want to find some more food. Just a few minutes later, the enemy plane suddenly returned, aiming directly at the two houses at the entrance of the cave, and one swooped down and dropped napalm. In an instant, the two houses turned into a sea of fire. I immediately realized that Comrade Kishi had not returned since he went down. My first reaction was: Something went wrong!
After the enemy planes left, I was the first to go down. At that time, the house was burning, and there were two corpses more than 30 meters away from the house, both of which were burned, and it was impossible to recognize who was who. I know that Mao Anying has two iconic things on his body, one is his watch and the other is a pistol. He had a Soviet factory watch that his mother-in-law had given him; after the victory of the Great Patriotic War, Stalin had given him a pistol as a souvenir in recognition of Mao Anying's performance in the Great Patriotic War, and he had always carried it with him. Based on these two things, I finally identified Mao Anying's body. Later, the director of the management office called a dozen people to wrap the body in white cloth, found some wooden planks on the spot, simply made a coffin, and temporarily buried it on a hillside in the place where he died, a hillside in the Big Elm Cave. Also killed was a combat staff officer of Peng Dehuai.
We immediately reported to Peng Dehuai. General Manager Peng was very distressed, and he immediately sent a telegram to the Central Committee to report the sacrifice of Comrade Mao Anying, and led all the members of the headquarters to mourn at the tomb of Mao Anying. Mr. Peng was silent for a long time, and then he said two words. "Comrade Mao Anying was the first person to sign me up for the Volunteer Army, and he was a good seedling." This is the first sentence. He also said: "Comrade Kishi Ying sacrificed, how can I explain it to Chairman Mao?" "You can see that his old man is very sad. Seeing this scene, all of us present burst into tears.
Later, the headquarters of the Volunteer Army received a telegram from the Central Military Commission, which did not mention Mao Anying, but only said that the leaders of the Headquarters of the Volunteer Army should ensure Peng Dehuai's safety no matter what. Later, we learned that Ye Zilong, director of the Central Confidential Office, received the telegram and handed it to Premier Zhou Enlai. The Prime Minister decided not to let the Chairman know right away. At that time, the chairman was sick, and Jiang Qing did not agree to let the chairman know. It was not until New Year's Day that the chairman learned that Mao Anying had died.
The houses were all destroyed by enemy planes, and we had no place to go, so we all moved to the cave, and Mr. Peng also moved over. That night, Mr. Peng's face was very ugly, he did not eat dinner, did not speak, and walked around the cave all night, sometimes issuing a long sigh. The next day, November 25, just as the second campaign began, Mr. Peng did not sleep for three consecutive days. In this way, for four consecutive days and four nights, Mr. Peng never closed his eyes.
After comrade Mao Anying's death, there were two plans for his burial. One option is to repatriate the remains to the country. At that time, there was an unwritten practice: cadres at and above the division level were generally transported back to china after sacrifice, and did not stay in foreign countries. In Shenyang, there is a special mausoleum for volunteer martyrs. Another opinion is to be buried locally. Mr. Peng tended to be buried in North Korea: so many volunteer soldiers were buried in North Korea after their deaths, and Mao Anying had already died, and there was no need to separate him from other martyrs. Of course, Mr. Peng's idea is to look at the overall situation rather than personal feelings. Later, when chairman Mao was consulted, the chairman thought the same as him and said: Qingshan is buried with loyal bones everywhere, so why should Mao Zedong's son leave his comrades who died on the battlefield with him after he sacrificed? North Korea has sacrificed so many soldiers and buried there, why did Mao Zedong's son have to be shipped back? In this way, Comrade Kishi Ying was buried in the Big Yu Cave. The headquarters of the Volunteer Army was fixed in hinokiura, and his remains were also transferred there until now.
In this way, Mao Anying, the son of Mao Zedong, was sacrificed on the battlefield of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. We ordinary people not only survived, but later had wives, children, and official positions, and nothing was delayed; but he never returned, and in the end he could not even transport the bones back to China...
When the volunteers withdrew from Korea, I made a special trip to Hinoga to bid farewell to Comrade Mao Anying. On October 29, after returning to China, Chairman Mao Zedong and Commander-in-Chief Zhu De received a delegation of volunteers in Zhongnanhai. On that day, Chairman Mao talked and laughed and talked a lot, but I only remembered a few words.
Mao Zedong asked Commander Yang Yong, "Are they all back?" Commander Yang stood up and replied: "Report Chairman, the Chinese Volunteer Army troops have all withdrawn from Korea." The chairman listened, smiled happily, and said, "Okay, just come back." You've worked hard! You are all heroes. ”
Mao Zedong and Mao Anying
After listening to the chairman's words and looking at the happy face of the old man, my nose was sour, and I couldn't stop shedding tears. I think of the martyr Mao Anying, if he can also return to the motherland with us, back to the chairman's side, how good it would be!
In June 1998, I led a delegation of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference to visit North Korea, and then made a special trip to the Hinokura Volunteer Army Martyrs' Cemetery to visit The Tomb of Mao Anying.
(The author is former vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and general of the Chinese People's Liberation Army)
(Dictated by Zhao Nanqi, interviewed and arranged by Gao Fang and Qin Qianli)
——Excerpt from Zongheng, No. 8, 2010
Author: Zhao Nanqi
Edit: Jin Jiuchao