Gao Gang
Gao Gang's wife Li Liqun
On August 29, 2009, the bust of Gao Gang was completed in the hometown of Gao Gang, Gaojiagou Village, Wuzhen Township, Hengshan County, Shaanxi Province. According to relevant reports, more than 1,000 people took part in the event. This historical figure who once followed Liu Zhidan and participated in the creation of the Shaanxi-Ganbian Revolutionary Base of the Communist Party of China finally returned to his hometown......
"Make a revolution with Dingzhi Dan" and Gao Gang were in distress three times
Gao Gang, formerly known as Gao Chongde, the word Shuoqing, has been poor since he was a child. Gao Gang's birth brought a glimmer of hope to the family, and the family cut down on food and clothing for him to study at Hengshan No. 1 Senior Primary School. During his time at Yokoyama High School, Gao Gang actively participated in the student movement, served as the president of the student government association, and was expelled from the high school for this. But he was soon recruited into the school by Du Bincheng, a famous progressive and the principal of Yulin Middle School at the time. Yulin Middle School and the "Suide Fourth Normal School" (Suide Fourth Normal School) can be described as the political cradle of Shaanxi's revolutionary history, and Liu Zhidan, a revolutionary leader who later became famous in the northwest, came out of Yulin Middle School. Gao Gang, who entered the middle school, was like a fish in water, and frequently participated in the school's progressive activities, which attracted the attention of the CCP organization in the school.
In 1927, Gao Gang went to Xi'an Zhongshan Military School to study Xi. The school was initiated by the Communist Party of China to cultivate military and political talents, and at that time Shi Kexuan, a member of the Communist Party, was the president and Deng Xiaoping was the director of the Political Department. In the spring of 1927, Gao Gang joined the Communist Party of China, and after that, under the leadership of the party organization, Gao Gang held a popular Xi for the peasant movement, established a peasant association, and organized the masses to resist grain and donations in Jia County and Wubao. From 1929 onwards, Gao Gang was sent to the local warlord forces in Shaanxi to carry out secret military movement work.
Gao Gang went to the prince Yuan group of Su Yusheng's department. Su Yusheng was originally a bandit leader, and was reorganized into a division after Feng Yuxiang recruited An, in the era of "a gun is the king of grass", Su Yusheng continued to expand his private armed forces in order to prevent the same kind from being annexed. The underground party organization of the Communist Party of China took advantage of this opportunity to send a group of backbone cadres such as Gao Gang and Zhang Xiushan into it, and it was also in this military movement that Gao Gang got acquainted with Liu Zhidan. Gao Gang has always admired Liu Zhidan's boldness, carefulness, wisdom and bravery. From this moment on, Gao Gang followed Liu Zhidan almost uninterruptedly in the years that followed, and kept running for the CCP to spread the fire in the Shaanxi-Gansu border area. Gao Gang once wrote a poem, the original manuscript has been lost, and only two sentences have been handed down: "Make a revolution with Dingzhi Dan and devote himself to the Communist Party" - this should be a true portrayal of Gao Gang at that time.
Gao Gang served as the captain of a section of the student corps in Su Yusheng's department, and concurrently served as a member and deputy secretary of the special branch of the secret party organization of the Communist Party of China. During this period, he was arrested once, and was released after being rescued, which was the first time Gao Gang was in distress since he participated in the revolution.
Liu Zhidan once said: "The use of warlords is temporary, and it is impossible to use the public name of warlords. With the maturity of Liu Zhidan's political and military thinking, the Red Army guerrillas under the leadership of the CPC have become increasingly active in the Shaanxi-Gansu border areas. On May 10, 1932, Liu Zhidan was appointed commander-in-chief of the Shaanxi-Gansu guerrillas of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. The "Liangzhang Conference" decided that the Red Army guerrillas would be reorganized into two infantry brigades and one cavalry brigade, of which Gao Gang would later serve as the part-time political commissar of Liu Zhidan's second brigade. In May 1932, during the battle of Linzhen Town, Gao Gang was dismissed from his post due to his own unfavorable command. Later, Gao Gang was transferred back to the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China to assist Jia Tuofu in his work.
On July 28, 1933, Gao Gang was in distress for the second time. On this day, Jia Tuofu, Yuan Yuedong (secretary of the Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee of the Communist Party of China), Du Heng (member of the Standing Committee of the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, former secretary of the Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee of the Communist Party of China, and political commissar of the Red 26th Army) and Gao Gang had dinner at the Fushenglou restaurant in Luoma City, Xi'an, to study the uprising of Wang Taiji, the anti-Japanese volunteer army in the northwest. However, it was discovered by Cheng Jianwen, the former head of the Organization Department of the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, who had defected in June 1933, and Cheng immediately led spies to arrest people. Jia Tuofu took advantage of the opportunity to settle accounts to escape; Gao Gang pushed away the crowd and ran away in a detour; Yuan Yuedong and Du Heng were arrested and betrayed and confessed to all the party and league organizations of the CPC in Shaanxi, causing major damage to the secret organizations in the province. Previously, Du Heng, who presided over the work of the Red 26th Army, actually rejected Liu Zhidan and regarded himself as a so-called "100 percent Bolshevik", which left a deep impression on Gao Gang. From then on, he hated such dogmatists, and even when Wang Ming later came to northern Shaanxi as a "member of the Imperial Mission" of the Comintern, Gao Gang did not hide his contempt for him.
On August 14, 1933, the Special Committee of the Communist Party of China in Shaanxi-Gansu Border and the General Headquarters of the Shaanxi-Gansu Border Guerrillas held a joint meeting in Chenjiapo, Yaoxian County, to discuss the issue of whether to restore the Red 26th Army. The meeting finally decided to jointly form the Provisional General Headquarters of the Shaanxi-Gansu Border Red Army, with Wang Taiji as commander-in-chief, Liu Zhidan as deputy commander-in-chief and chief of staff, and Gao Gang as political commissar.
On July 28, 1934, a joint meeting of the Shaanxi-Gansu Border Special Committee, the Red 26th Army, the General Headquarters of the Shaanxi-Gansu Border Guerrillas, and the General Headquarters of the Northern Shaanxi Guerrillas was held in Yanjiawazi Village, Nanliang. At the meeting, the Red 26th Army was accused of making mistakes such as "right-leaning opportunism," "escapism," "top-of-the-mountain doctrine," "omnipotence of guns," and "strong bandit color." Gao Gang was removed again at the meeting and lost the title of political commissar of the 42nd Division. Regarding this change in Gao Gang's position, Zhang Ce (former deputy secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China) once recalled: "Although they received a lot of criticism and accusations, the leading comrades of the Shaanxi-Gansu Border Special Committee repaid their grievances with virtue and donated a lot of funds for guns, especially giving up the position of political commissar of the 42nd Red Division, and leaving Xie Zichang as his temporary deputy, and sending part of the 3rd Red Regiment, the main force of the 42nd Red Division, to northern Shaanxi to assist in the operation. (Zhang Ce, "My Historical Memories", Reform Publishing House, 1997 edition) It can be seen that the background of Gao Gang's dismissal is not simple.
On February 5, 1935, a joint meeting of the special committees of Shaanxi, Gansu and Northern Shaanxi was held, and the Northwest Working Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Northwest Military Commission were established successively. Liu Zhidan is the chairman of the Northwest Military Commission, and the vice chairmen are Xie Zichang and Gao Gang.
Just when the revolutionary situation in the northwest was further rising, the "left-leaning rebellion" was quietly landing. After the responsible comrades of the central delegation arrived in the northwest, they listened to the false accusations made against Liu Zhidan and Gao Gang: "Liu Zhidan and Gao Gang have always leaned to the right and have made the mistake of right-leaning cancellationism. Gao Gang is politically weak, incapable, has a low level of education, is the most naughty and mischievous, and has deserted. "The superiors were suspicious of Liu Zhidan and Gao Gang. On 17 September 1935, under the auspices of the responsible comrades of the central delegation, the Northwest Military Commission was reorganized, and Liu Zhidan was no longer chairman, and Gao Gang was no longer vice chairman. In the Red 15th Army Corps, which was later established, Gao Gang was appointed director of the Political Department, and Gao Gang expressed dissatisfaction with this appointment and was criticized.
On October 1, 1935, the "suppression of rebellion" in northern Shaanxi began, which was the third distress in Gao Gang's life. Gao Gang originally lived with Guo Shushen, deputy director of the Political Department of the Red 15th Army, and was arrested shortly after the Battle of Laoshan. Gao Gang, who was tied up by five flowers, met Xu Haidong, the commander of the Red 15th Army, and he said to Xu: "It is a shame to say that I am a counterrevolutionary, because the Red Army was defeated last time, and I disguised myself as a carpenter and fled back to northern Shaanxi to organize the Red Army, how can I say that I am a counterrevolutionary?" The political commissar of the Red 15th Army reprimanded Gao Gang, but Gao Gang was not convinced, and the two quarreled. Xu Haidong, who has always been generous, walked away silently, and he shed tears outside the door, having nothing to say. (Wu Dianyao, Song Lin, "The Biography of Zhu Lizhi", Communist Party History Publishing House, 2007 edition)
The impact of this "suppression" was very bad, and the degree of damage to the northwest Soviet region was also very great, but fortunately, the CPC Central Committee and Mao Zedong arrived in time to rescue Liu Zhidan, Gao Gang, Zhang Xiushan, Xi Zhongxun, and others from the butcher's knife of leftist violence. With the decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to place the base camp of the revolution in the northwest, Gao Gang's own political career has also turned a new page.
Mao Zedong called Gao Gang "our old Gao"
After Gao Gang was rehabilitated, he served as the head of the Military Department of the Trilateral Special Commission. At the beginning, Xi Zhongxun, Zhang Xiushan, Gao Gang, and a number of backbone forces in the former Shaanxi-Ganbian region were generally low in terms of work arrangements. Li Weihan recalled: "Since the 'leftist' line has not been liquidated, the local cadres and military cadres in the Shaanxi-Gansu border Soviet region still wear the hat of right-leaning opportunism. Therefore, the distribution of work to them is generally unfair. (Li Weihan, "Memories and Research", 1986 edition of the Communist Party of China History Publishing House) However, this phenomenon was quickly discovered by Mao Zedong and fundamentally corrected.
Hu Qiaomu said: "Chairman Mao has always emphasized the relationship between local cadres and foreign cadres. Mao Zedong's oral report at the Seventh National Congress of the Communist Party of China specifically pointed out: "We should treat local cadres like our own brothers and sisters. This has to do with Mao Zedong's own rigorous investigation and study.
After Mao first arrived in northern Shaanxi, he heard some gossip: "The people of northern Shaanxi can only establish Soviet areas, not become Red Army." "Wait. He immediately discovered the problem and advocated that "we should open the windows to allow the air to circulate, listen to the news, listen to public opinion, and correct the shortcomings and mistakes." ("Mao Zedong's Oral Report at the Seventh National Congress of the Communist Party of China", "CPC History Materials" Vol. 48) Mao Zedong also specifically proposed: "Only when a large number of local cadres grow up and are promoted, can the base areas be consolidated and our party can take root and grow in the base areas, otherwise it is impossible." (My Life: Shi Zhe's Self-Statement, People's Publishing House, 2001)
As a result, Gao Gang's position began to change. On November 3, 1938, the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to establish the Northwest Working Committee of the Communist Party of China, which was headed by Zhang Wentian and included Gao Gang, Xiao Jinguang, Xie Jueya, Li Weihan, Jia Tuofu, Wang Ruofei, Gao Zili, and Li Fuchun. On May 13, 1941, the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China officially issued a notice on the establishment of the Northwest Bureau, with Gao Gang as secretary.
Mao Zedong paid great attention to adjusting the relationship between local and foreign cadres, including high-ranking cadres. Once, Mao Zedong handed over the book "On Protracted War" to Mo Wenhua, director of the Political Department of the Eighth Route Army's left-behind corps. Mo Wenhua was very unhappy and said some opinions on Gao Gang, and Mao Zedong told Mo Wenhua: "You stationed in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo Border Region should pay good attention to the relationship with Gao Gang, you know that the policy of the central government, Gao Gang will not work in the border area without nodding." (Mok Wenhua, "Unforgettable Remembrance", "CPC History Materials", Volume 41)
When the Central Bureau of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo Border Region was established, Mao Zedong pointed out: "Gao Gang's opinion should become the main opinion. The people in the border area affectionately called Gao Gang "our Gao Mazi", and Hu Qiaomu wrote about it in the "Liberation Daily", and Mao Zedong changed it to "our old Gao" after seeing it. In 1953, the Northeast People's Publishing House compiled a booklet entitled "Our Lao Gao: A Story of Comrade Gao Gang in Northern Shaanxi" with the title of "Our Lao Gao", which was once widely circulated.
Later, Gao Gang participated in the Yan'an Rectification Movement. On October 19, 1942, the meeting of senior cadres of the Northwest Bureau was officially held. The meeting lasted 88 days, Mao Zedong personally attended the opening and closing ceremonies of the meeting, and made an important speech, Zhu De, Liu Shaoqi, Ren Bishi, Chen Yun, Peng Zhen and other central leaders also attended the meeting to speak, and Ren Bishi was specially responsible for guidance. The high standard and length of this meeting are rare in the history of the party.
On 17 and 18 November, Gao Gang delivered a report entitled "Review of the Party's Historical Issues in the Border Areas" at a meeting of senior cadres. A few months later, the report was listed as one of the important documents for Yan'an's rectification. In July 1945, according to the instructions of the Central Committee, the Northwest Bureau held a symposium on the history of the Northwest Party in Yan'an, which touched on some sensitive topics in the history of the Party in the Northwest for the first time. It was at this meeting that Gao Gang's name was written on the historical status of the leaders of the Northwest Revolutionary Base Area, and the final confirmed ranking order was: Liu Zhidan, Xie Zichang, and Gao Gang. Mao Zedong pointed out in his oral report at the Seventh National Congress of the Communist Party of China: "This border region was set up by Comrade Gao Gang." (Mao Zedong's Oral Report at the Seventh National Congress of the Communist Party of China)
In the history of the party, there has always been some controversy over the meeting of senior cadres of the Northwest Bureau. Li Weihan, former deputy director of the Central Advisory Committee of the Communist Party of China, once summed up and commented: "First, the line of the 1942 meeting of senior cadres of the Northwest Bureau was correct; second, the work of Gao Gang in the party committee of the border region and the Northwest Bureau was in accordance with the line of the central authorities. The Biography of Mao Zedong 1893-1949, edited by the former director of the Literature Research Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Jin Chong, deputy director, and editor-in-chief, also made a scientific argument for the ranking of Liu Zhidan, Xie Zichang, and Gao Gang: "The Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo Border Region was established on the basis of the northwest revolutionary base areas founded by Liu Zhidan, Xie Zichang, and Gao Gang. At the First Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held in 1945, Gao Gang was elected as a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and began to move towards the political peak of his life, but some people expressed different opinions on Gao Gang's promotion.
Mao said: "Gao Mazi can do things"
Gao Gang is quite capable of working. Mao Zedong once said to his secretary Ye Zilong: "Gao Mazi is a person who can do things." At the end of 1937, Wang Ming and Kang Sheng returned to China, and Wang Ming was hailed as "the immortal who came down from Kunlun Mountain". strong-willed people". On June 3, 1941, the government of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo Border Region held a joint meeting of county magistrates, and Li Caiyun, the acting head of Yanchuan County, was killed by a sudden lightning strike. Gao Gang informed Mao Zedong of the news, and after Mao Zedong found out the situation, he made a correct decision and lightened the burden on the peasants in the border areas. ("My Life-Shi Zhe's Self-Statement")
On April 28, 1943, when discussing the report "The Activities of Special Agents and the Central Committee's Struggle against Special Agents" submitted by Ren Bi, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee decided to set up a special committee for the struggle against internal moles under the leadership of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, with Liu Shaoqi, Kang Sheng, Peng Zhen, and Gao Gang as members, with Liu Shaoqi as the director.
He pointed out: "In the anti-special struggle we must resolutely adopt the mass anti-traitor line and the open and legal mode of struggle; we should strictly distinguish between the anti-special struggle within the party and the anti-special struggle outside the party, and stabilize the majority and crack down on the minority. Those who have been arrested and interrogated clearly and have expressed remorse may be released, and the few who must be shot will not be shot for the time being. (Gao Gang, Zhou Xingzhi Xi Zhongxun, Shi Zhedian - Instructions for Fighting the Enemy, Collection of Documents of the Northwest Bureau of the CPC Central Committee 1941-1945) When the ultra-left political movements such as "trial of cadres" and "rescue" promoted by Kang Sheng entered the white heat, Gao Gang took the initiative to report the truth to Mao Zedong: "The cadres in the northwest have all fought together, how can they contact the spies?" ("My Life—Shi Zhe's Own Statement") Because of Zhou Enlai, Ren Bishi, Zhang Wentian, Xu Teli, The truthful report of Gao Gang and others aroused Mao Zedong's great attention, thus suspending the "rescue movement" in one fell swoop and winning the welcome of the cadres and the masses.
After the end of the Anti-Japanese War, Mao Zedong set his strategic sights on the Northeast, and set up a leading body for this purpose, the Northeast Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. A large number of cadres were sent to the northeast, and Gao Gang also joined the ranks. On June 16, 1945, the Central Committee called and comprehensively reshuffled the leadership of the Northeast Bureau. Lin Biao is the secretary of the Northeast Bureau, commander-in-chief and political commissar of the Northeast Democratic Alliance, and Peng Zhen, Luo Ronghuan, Gao Gang, and Chen Yun are deputy secretaries and deputy political commissars.
On June 24, Gao Gang concurrently served as the secretary general of the Northeast Bureau and became Lin Biao's main assistant in the Northeast region. On March 11, 1949, Gao Gang officially took office as the secretary of the Northeast Bureau.
During Gao Gang's dominance of Northeast China, after more than three years of industrial recovery, the total industrial output value in 1952 exceeded the highest level in history (1943) by more than 10%. Agricultural production is also close to the highest level in history, with 60 or 70 percent of peasant households rising to middle peasants, and some of them, or 20 percent, are still rich middle peasants. Yan Keats later recalled: "The golden rooster reported success, starting from the Northeast, the national economy recovered in three years, and the industry and scientific research of New China can also be said to be the first song of construction in the Northeast." ”
In addition to vigorously grasping industrial and agricultural production, Gao Gang has also made great efforts in employing people. It is not too good to describe the employment policy of the Northeast Bureau as "sincerely recruiting corporal from all over the world and recruiting talents from all over the world". After the liberation of Northeast China, a large number of cadres were transferred to the customs, and there was a vacuum in the talent reserve.
In view of this current situation, Gao Gang actively adopted the suggestions of Chen Yun and Zhang Wentian, and not only sent special personnel to Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, Nanjing, and other big cities to recruit intellectuals, and mobilized graduates of some well-known colleges and universities to work in Northeast China, but also personally made a report entitled "Standing in the Forefront of Economic Construction" at the party congress, calling for "learning what to do, and becoming experts and experts in what they do," and encouraging technical personnel to stand out. After three years of unremitting efforts, by 1952, more than 100,000 new cadres had been trained in Northeast China to join the front line, and more than 80,000 worker cadres trained later had also become the backbone of the industrial front. Gao Gang also studied with Zhang Wentian and asked Zhang to come forward and draft a letter to Stalin, which was submitted to the Central Committee for approval, in which he mentioned the request for Soviet assistance to the northeast region. In July 1949, Gao Gang accompanied Liu Shaoqi to the Soviet Union and signed a 12-month barter trade agreement with the Soviet government on behalf of the Northeast People's Government, and the Soviet Union sent nearly 200 experts to China to support construction.
Although Gaogang's employment is somewhat narrow-minded, it has maintained at least part of the fine tradition of "five lakes and four seas" in the Northeast period. He did not take the "mountain" as the only basis, but emphasized "respecting knowledge and talent, and not engaging in seniority." People like Ma Hong, Hua Ming, An Zhiwen and others have all worked beside Gao Gang and have been discovered and cultivated little by little. For those veteran comrades and "old qualifications" who have sat on the "cold bench" because of the struggle within the party, Gao Gang does not shy away from taboos and is creditworthy.
For example, Zhang Wentian, although he was elected a member of the Politburo at the First Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, actually has little power. However, Gao Gang respected Zhang Wentian very much, calling him a "Hanlin" and believing that Zhang Wentian was knowledgeable and capable, and asked Zhang Wentian to look at or draft many major guidelines and policies when formulating them. Gao Gang even proposed that Zhang Wentian be reappointed as head of the Organization Department of the Northeast Bureau, but Liu Shaoqi vetoed because Liu believed that Zhang Wentian was "a dogmatist and could not manage the party." (Zhang Xiushan, My Eighty-five Years; Zhang Mingyuan, My Memories)
Kaifeng (He Kequan) was one of the "twenty-eight and a half Bolsheviks", after 1947, Kaifeng gradually faded out of the top level, and later served as the secretary of the Shenyang Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China. Gao Gang also showed rare tolerance for leading cadres who had differences in their work. He and Zhang Xiushan have been comrades-in-arms for many years, and they have their own opinions on some issues, even to the point of quarreling. Some people saw it and said to Zhang Xiushan: "Why are you arguing with Chairman Gao like this," while Zhang Xiushan said: "If there are different opinions, you have to argue, and in the Red 26th Army and in Yan'an, discussions of issues are often like this." This shows that Gao Gang did not bring the attitude he held when arguing with each other to his personal opinion. Lin Feng had great disagreements with Lin Biao and Gao Gang on the issue of Peng Zhen's stay or retention, but that's it, when Gao Gang was about to leave the Northeast, he instructed Zhang Mingyuan to say: "Lin Feng will preside over the work of the Northeast Bureau, and he will take care of the overall situation." (Zhang Mingyuan, "My Memories"; Zhang Xiushan, "My Eighty-five Years")
Someone once said behind his back that the Northeast Bureau led by Gao Gang was "moved by the Northwest Bureau", and Liu Shaoqi criticized this irresponsible statement: "The cadres of the Northeast Bureau were deployed by the central government, not pulled by Gao Gang himself. He also asked Chen Bocun, deputy director of the Organization Department of the Northeast Bureau, to tell Gao Gang not to listen to those gossip, let alone burden him because of this. (Zhang Mingyuan, "My Memories")
The People's Republic of China was founded, and Gao Gang was elected vice chairman of the Central People's Government. On November 5, 1951, the 13th meeting of the Central People's Government Committee decided to add Lin Biao and Gao Gang as vice chairmen of the People's Revolutionary Military Commission (that is, the Central Military Commission at that time). At that time, there were only four party leaders who concurrently served as vice chairmen of the Central Military Commission, Liu Shaoqi, Zhu De, Zhou Enlai, and Peng Dehuai.
In the early 50s of the last century, when the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea broke out, Gao Gang sat in the rear and did a lot of useful work to assist Peng Dehuai in the front operations. After Peng Dehuai received the highest medal in North Korea, the Order of the National Flag of the First Class, he said at a meeting of the Party Committee of the Chinese People's Volunteers: "If you are to be rewarded for meritorious deeds, this medal should be given to Gao Gang from the rear and Hong Xuezhi from the front. (Hong Xuezhi, "Hong Xuezhi's Memoirs", People's Liberation Army Publishing House, 2007 edition) Later, there was a joke in the army about Gao Gang supporting the soldiers of the volunteer army at the front to eat "fried noodles".
On the morning of June 16, 1953, Qin Jiwei was ordered to meet Mao Zedong, who asked about the food and clothing of the volunteer soldiers, saying that the soldiers fought very hard. Qin Jiwei said: "The soldiers all said that Chairman Mao was most concerned about us, and specially called Vice Chairman Gao Gang and asked the volunteers to eat better. Vice Chairman Gao Gang misheard, and he heard that he let the volunteers eat fried noodles, so the volunteers ate fried noodles every day. Mao Zedong believed it: "I didn't say that." Qin Jiwei said: "It was the soldiers who said the witty remarks of Vice Chairman Gao Gang, which was a joke. Mao Zedong laughed when he heard this: "I still don't want to eat fried noodles." (Qin Jiwei, "Qin Jiwei's Memoirs", People's Liberation Army Publishing House, 2007)
Although Gao Gang is in the Northeast, he is extremely concerned about the health of Mao Zedong, who is in Beijing and is engaged in state affairs. Once, he beat a tiger and made a special trip to Mao Zedong to make a special trip to make wine with tiger bones. After Mao Zedong saw it, he said: "This Gao Mazi." The answer to the whereabouts of these tiger bone wines was found in Nie Weiping's article recalling Hu Yaobang: "At that time, Hu Yaobang saw that I had left Moutai wine to Chinese football, so he gave me a bottle of tiger bone wine. This bottle of tiger bone wine also has some origins: in the early fifties, when Gao Gang was still the 'King of the Northeast', he killed a tiger with his own hands. He brewed a jar of wine from the bones of a tiger and gave it to Chairman Mao Zedong.
For some reason, Mao Zedong ordered the jar to be buried in the ground. Decades have changed, and the person who buried the wine has long since disappeared, and this matter seems to have been forgotten. It wasn't until after the 'Gang of Four' was smashed that this jar of wine was discovered when Mao Zedong's relics were cleaned up. The wine is well sealed, and there is an explanation on it, so that people can know the origin of this jar of wine. Later, the wine was divided into more than a dozen bottles and given to the old comrades of the Central Committee at that time, and Hu Yaobang also got a bottle. However, the approachable Hu Yaobang transferred this bottle of wine to me again, how can it not be touching!" (Nie Weiping, "Go Life", China Federation of Literary and Art Circles Publishing House, 1999 edition)
Mao also pointed out: "Gao Gang cannot listen to opposing opinions"
However, along with Gao Gang's excellent work ability, there are also some shortcomings and flaws in him, in a sense, his negative is as prominent as his positive.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Mao Zedong once talked to Luo Ronghuan about Gao Gang, and pointed out: "Gao Gang cannot listen to opposing opinions. ("Luo Ronghuan Annals", People's Publishing House, 2002 edition) Li Rui, as Gao Gang's secretary and assistant, has a clear view of Gao Gang's shortcomings due to long-term contact. In 1950, he and Huang Kecheng talked frankly about Gao Gang: "First, this person does not study at all and has a low education; second, his life style is too chaotic; third, he uses people to form small circles, and rejects and even holds grudges against cadres he does not like." (Song Xiaomeng, "Li Ruiqiren", Henan People's Publishing House, 1999)
In fact, in terms of the relationship with Huang Ziwen, Li Dezhong, and Li Zhilian, it does reflect Gao Gang's side of "not listening to opposing opinions".
Huang Ziwen is a native of Guanzhong, Shaanxi, from the "Whampoa Military Academy", and is the same as Xi Zhongxun. Xi Zhongxun later commented on him - "Huang Ziwen joined the party early, has rich experience, sees problems comprehensively and is very insightful...... Brothers Huang Ziwen and Huang Zixiang were very influential in Weibei, and their families sacrificed several people for the revolution. ("Xi Zhongxun's Revolutionary Career", China Literature and History Publishing House, 2002 edition) However, such a ruined Huang Ziwen was hated by Gao Gang because he once exposed a serious violation of discipline by Gao Gang, and he was ready to take out Huang Ziwen many times, but he gave up because of Xi Zhongxun's dissuasion.
Li Dezhong is a famous "pawn of the revolutionary army" in the history of the Communist Party of China. Before the Anti-Japanese War, he was a traffic officer of the Northern Bureau of the Communist Party of China, and he traveled all over Pingxi and Taihang alone, and independently restored and established party organizations in 17 counties of Hebei Province. Because of Li Dezhong's outstanding work, the Central Committee decided to change the original reference to "100 percent losses" of the CPC organizations in the white areas to "basic losses."
In 1946, Li Dezhong served as deputy secretary of the Songjiang Provincial Party Committee of the Communist Party of China, and was very effective in implementing the land reform policy. From 1946 to 1948, Songjiang Province expanded its army by 127,000 men and supplemented the main force by 87,000, which is very rare in Songjiang Province with a population of only 2.1 million, which highlights Li Dezhong's extraordinary ability. (Zhang Xiushan's "My Eighty-Five Years") Gao Gang naturally has a high opinion of such cadres. But Li Dezhong has a straightforward personality. Gao Gang did not have a good relationship with Liu Xiwu, secretary of the Jilin Provincial Party Committee of the Communist Party of China, and in a fit of anger, he was ready to transfer Liu Xiwu away, but Li Dezhong went to dissuade him out of public intentions. During the conversation, Li's "anti-ear advice" stimulated Gao Gang and caused Gao Gang to be furious on the spot.
After that, Liu Xiwu was transferred, and Li Dezhong acted as secretary of the Jilin Provincial Party Committee. During the "Three Anti Movement," Jilin Provincial Governor Zhou Zhiheng was dismissed from his post for embezzlement of public funds, and Li Dezhong reviewed the mistakes of the provincial party committee to the central authorities. After the "Gao Rao Incident" occurred, Li Dezhong did not fall into the well because Gao Gang rectified him, and still repaid his grievances with virtue. (Yin Xilin, "Premier Zhou Saves Li Dezhong", Vertical and Horizontal, No. 3, 2005)
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Li Zhilian, who was secretary general of the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee, when he was working under Gao Gang, expressed a little personal opinion on the sudden suspension of the Northeast Bureau's internal publication "Work Newsletter", saying that he could not see this "newsletter" and felt a little "gagized." Gao Gang knew about this incident, lost his temper, and shouted at Li Zhilian: "Do you have an opinion on my route? Who do you want to gag you?" (Yang Li's "Thorny Red Roses - Gu Dacun's Grievances")
These fatal flaws in character eventually became the last straw that overwhelmed the "camel" due to the change of high status, identity and political role.
Originally published in "Together in the Boat" No. 5, 2010