Three things about Ma Lao's past
Tan Kai
It feels like Ma Lao is walking quite suddenly.
It seems that yesterday, I also saw the video of Li Lao, Zhang Lao, Dan Feng, and Yang Xiao from our Science Fiction World Magazine participating in Ma Lao's 110th birthday celebration. Ma Lao has a clear mind, talks and laughs, and when he thinks of the word "Fu" he wrote, the strength of the back of the paper, I think, how can Ma Lao live in good health for another 10 years.
A superstar has fallen. I feel that there is a big gap in the sky of Chinese literature.
The "Science Fiction World" that I have served all my life has been carefully guided by Ma Lao for decades; Implementing policies for my father and getting strong support from Ma Lao; I wrote "Maple Falling Huaxi Dam", and Ma Lao happily inscribed the title of the book and asked me to bring his greetings to my Canadian friends...... Unconsciously, Ma Lao's works, Ma Lao's words and deeds, have become treasures in my life and memory.
On the occasion of mourning Ma Lao, he hurriedly wrote down three things about Ma Lao to express his sorrow.
1. Ma Lao helped my father restore his party membership
I treasure a few letters from Ma Laoshu.
In his later years, my father was in great pain, in order to restore his membership in the Chinese Communist Party in 1938.
His father joined the CCP in 1938 while studying at Chaoyang College in Chengdu. Later, he was admitted to the Department of Economics of West China Union University. In 1940, the Chengdu rice robbery incident caused the White Terror, and the party organization implemented the policy of "long-term shadow, small in the party, and large outside the party", and informed his father that "don't look for the party, the party will come to you", and temporarily broke away from the organizational relationship. In the years that followed, my father continued to work for the party on the periphery. In 1944, after graduating from university, my father taught at the Department of Economics. Because of his love of mathematics, strong memory, and good abacus, he was loaned to work in the finance office. The party organization believed that his father had penetrated into the "core of the fortress of imperialist cultural aggression" and let him continue to "dive". In 1947, he went to the museum's professor Liu Shengyu to get in touch, but he still didn't connect, Liu was exposed, and left Chengdu in a hurry. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Liu Shengyu served in the Department of Culture and Education of the Southwest Military and Political Commission in Chongqing. His father wrote to him to testify in an attempt to reinstate his membership in the party. Unexpectedly, Liu made serious mistakes such as "looking down on the workers and peasants cadres" and was sent to a labor camp. Liu Shengyu also has a brother named Liu Shengya, who is a famous writer and professor; Their father, Liu Boliang, is the dean of the College of Agriculture at Sichuan University. Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, there was a saying of "one subject and three professors". In 1957, Liu Boliang and Liu Shengya were both wrongly classified as rightists. Liu Shengyu was completely disqualified from testifying on behalf of my father.
Due to his father's "defection from the party," all political movements were inevitably suspected of "betraying the party," which was impacted and also put a heavy ideological burden on his children's backs. Fortunately, my father played an important role in the financial work of taking over West China from foreigners, and after the founding of the People's Republic of China, he served as the financial director and chief of the financial section. After his retirement, he took charge of the alumni association's US dollar account, which was refreshing and refreshing, and won the trust of previous college leaders. He was also the first president of the Sichuan Abacus Association and the vice president of the China Abacus Association.
After the "Cultural Revolution", the unjust, false and wrongful cases were redressed, the policies were implemented, and the six old comrades-in-arms who left the party at the same time as my father were all restored to the party in 1938, but my father was not restored. In the more than ten years since his retirement, from the 70s to the 90s, from the spring of hope to the winter of despair, he has written several kilograms of appeal materials to report, but there has been no result.
I thought of Ma Lao and suggested that my father write a letter to Ma Lao for help!
On November 5, 1987, after receiving a two-page reply from Ma Lao, Ma Lao read his father's appeal materials very carefully, and quoted the spirit of the document to write: "Anyone who has been engaged in revolutionary and progressive activities under the leadership of the Party until liberation after losing contact with him due to the severance of organizational ties can be counted as participating in revolutionary work from the moment he joins the Party." ”
Ma Lao also said: "Liu Shengyu is the best witness. It's a pity that he died after being rehabilitated. ”
In 1996, Lu Chongjiu, secretary of West China Medical University, said that he would make the greatest determination to solve the problem of my father's party age. Liu Jianxue of the veteran cadre department conducted a meticulous, in-depth and thorough investigation of his father's defection from the party like chasing the stars and the moon, and also found out the fact that his father had taken great risks to buy a mimeograph machine for the party and cover up the underground party responsible person to get rid of the pursuit of the spies. In the archives, there are also letters from Ma Lao, Li Cheng (father's superior, secretary of the Shenyang Municipal Party Committee after the founding of the People's Republic of China), Peng Sai (head of the Chengdu underground party, member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee after the founding of the People's Republic of China) and others, and some of the letters have not been opened!
Ma Lao's reminder is very important - "Find Liu Shengyu!" When the investigators found Liu Shengyu's wife, Xiao Xiao, Xiao said bitterly: "You should have come a long time ago." 12 years ago, Lao Liu said before his death that in 1947, in order to avoid the pursuit of spies, I failed to connect Hu Yongxiang with the organization, and let him stay outside the party for the rest of his life, which is really heart-wrenching!"
Unexpectedly, my depressed father suffered from cancer, and it was found to be terminal.
Under the kind care of Ma Lao, and with the efforts of Secretary Lu and the Party Committee of West China Medical University, on October 1, 1996, Secretary Lu went to the ward and announced: "Hu Lao, according to the approval of the Organization Department of the Municipal Party Committee, you will be restored to the party membership that you joined in 1938. At that time, my father's tears had dried up, and he could only say in a weak voice, "Thank you!" Twenty days later, my father died.
My father finally fulfilled his greatest wish in the last days of his life.
Later, I went to Chongqing to visit Xiao Xiaoxiao. Walking into her narrow home in the bucket building, the striking thing is that in the middle of the "hall" are three of the cheapest coarse porcelain urns. Xiao Xiaoxiao was so calm that I was surprised. She said: "The father and son are finally reunited. ”
When I returned from Chongqing, when I reported to Ma Lao, Ma Lao was silent for a long time.
Later, I read Ma Lao's angry text: "Our comrades who do underground work have been wrongfully convicted too much, why is this?"
2. Ma Lao's "biggest regret in his life"
Among Ma Lao's works in his later years, "A Hundred Years of Memories" and "That Era, That kind of person" are masterpieces comparable to Ba Jin's "Confessions". Among them, the one that touched me the most was "He Huijun - My Eternal Regret".
My eldest brother's mother-in-law is He Huijun, a legendary figure in the Chengdu Underground Party Student Work Department who Li Zhi called "Sister He" and Ma Lao called "He Xiaomei".
He Huijun and Li Zhitong are members of the "Dawn Club", a student progressive organization. Most of them are high school students in West China Association, sixteen or seventeen years old, and they are called brothers and sisters. He Huijun is spicy and capable, persuasive in analyzing problems, and more rational in dealing with problems, and was promoted as the eldest sister. At the critical moment when the underground activities were in urgent need of funds, He Huijun, who was born in a wealthy family, and his lover Zhan Dafeng encouraged their parents to sell their land and houses, and raised a few sacks of silver yuan and handed them over to the party organization.
According to Ma Lao's recollection, he met 18-year-old He Xiaomei in 1947. "She is so young, but she talks about problems in an orderly manner, and it is no wonder that the progressive youth among the middle school students respect her as the eldest sister. ”
At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, He Huijun worked in the Chengdu Municipal Committee of the Communist Youth League, and Ma Lao was in charge of youth work in the Chengdu Municipal Party Committee. Ma Lao's impression is: "They are very active in youth work. There is a very dear and united fighting collective, and every time I go to them, I hear songs and laughter, and I am very happy. At that time, I had just crossed the threshold of youth (note: Ma Lao was not yet 40 years old at that time), and I felt that I had entered a 'youth paradise' when I was suddenly liberated by the spirit of being surrounded by a solemn atmosphere that did not smile at that high institution. They are not used to calling me by my official name, and they still call me 'Lao Ma' as they did before the founding of the People's Republic of China, and I still call He Huijun He Xiaomei. Life is good, the mood is happy, and work is proactive. Everyone said, this is called liberation!" Because of He Huijun's good performance, he was later elected as an alternate member of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League.
Ma Lao recalled that the days of this spiritual liberation were not long. The "Hu Feng counter-revolutionary incident" in 1955 caused many young party members of the Communist Youth League and Municipal Committee to be involved, suspected of being Hu Feng elements, and were beaten all over again, some were expelled from the party, and some were driven crazy. He Huijun can be regarded as "barely passing". Then began the "rebellion", He Huijun even objected to the excesses of "bold suspicion", and expressed dissatisfaction with her being censored again. Therefore, when the rectification movement began in 1957 and called on everyone to speak out loudly and help the party rectify the situation, He Huijun again put forward different views on the matter of purging the rebellion and expressed his objections to the unfair treatment of the underground party by individual leading comrades of the provincial party committee.
Then, the stormy movement began. The exemplary provincial criticism meeting was held in the Hongzhaobi Auditorium, and He Huijun was regarded as the focus of criticism. When Ma Zhitu walked into the auditorium nervously, he was seen by the secretary of the provincial party committee and immediately called him over and asked him to sit beside him.
One critic after another came to the stage and severely criticized He Huijun's "rightist remarks." When Ma Zhitu was sitting on pins and needles, sweating for his subordinates, the secretary of the provincial party committee asked him to come to power by name: "You are the leader of the underground party, you should come to the stage to criticize her." ”
Ma Lao wrote in his reminiscences:
"It turned out that the secretary of the provincial party committee asked me to sit next to him in order to let me open my eyes and tell lies and criticize my old subordinates with a clear conscience in front of the public, especially in front of many underground party comrades.
My heart was deep in seven or eight buckets, seven up and eight down. Obviously, if I refuse the instructions of the provincial party secretary, the consequences will be unimaginable...... It's really a blessing in life and death, just in a thought. The eyes of the provincial party secretary looking at me were not only stern, but even murderous, like a sword facing me, what should I do?
There was no other way, I had to make a heart. Walk up to the stage and ask for a floor. I don't know what I said on stage, but anyway, according to the instructions of the provincial party secretary, I criticized He Huijun's anti-party remarks. After speaking for a few minutes, I didn't dare to look at He Huijun, and when I got off the stage, I walked behind her, and I didn't even dare to look at her back. The secretary of the provincial party committee was very satisfied and greeted me with a smile. However, that smile sent chills to my heart.
After the meeting was dismissed, I could hardly get up from my seat, and I thought that He Huijun must have blood in her heart, or that she was hating me in her heart, and she was so despicable because she had no conscience! Yes, I was despicable, but my heart also bleed! What was this? The words I said when I came up to the stage were like knives, hurting a comrade who had always respected me and treated me well. They will certainly take my criticism as the main basis and designate He Huijun as a rightist. ”
Not surprisingly, not only He Huijun was condemned as a rightist, but even Zhan Dafeng, who had no rightist words and deeds, was also designated as a rightist "by the way". Zhan Dafeng had an accident while being supervised and caused the press to break several fingers. A blood-spattered scream made all the brothers and sisters of the "Dawn Society" tremble, but they didn't dare to express sympathy.
After a long 22 years, He Huijun and Zhan Dafeng were finally rehabilitated, implemented policies, and resumed their work. He Huijun was transferred to the Sichuan Provincial Tourism Bureau as deputy director. Ma Lao wrote: "I am very happy, it seems that the burden on my heart has been lightened a little because of this. However, the imprint of guilt is deeply engraved in my heart, and I can't calm it down, and when I think about it, I feel uneasy, and I always have to apologize to her in person so that I can let go of my burden. In this way, Ma Lao always wanted to have the most suitable opportunity to apologize to He Xiaomei in person.
However, on July 26, 1998, He Huijun, who was retired at home, fell and fell unconscious, and was sent to the hospital for rescue without success, and died suddenly at the age of 69. Li Zhi cried bitterly, "I have called my eldest sister for half a century", and called Ma Lao in Beijing, which made Ma Lao stunned!
Later, my brother and sister-in-law and I read Ma Lao's article "He Huijun - My Eternal Regret", and the last paragraph made us choke up and burst into tears:
"So I lost my chance to redeem myself. Lost forever, I will carry this regret with me all my life, enduring the gnawing of shame. Even if I returned to Chengdu from Beijing and saw He Huijun's lover Zhan Dafeng in the hospital, and confided in him my shame and guilt, and regret that I was so tired that I had a runny nose, it would be useless. So what's the use? He Huijun didn't hear it, and never heard it again. ”
"This is an eternal regret in my life. ”
Ma Lao's self-blame and repentance reminded me of Zigong's words: "The fault of a gentleman is like the eclipse of the sun and the moon: everyone can see it; What's more, everyone looks up to it. ”
People who can bravely admit their mistakes and correct them, such as solar and lunar eclipses, are admired by people all over the world.
Liu Xinwu once talked about what the "Chinese nation, which has suffered so much," lacked the most after the 10-year "Cultural Revolution"? He said: "What is most lacking is the sense of national repentance."
Ma Lao has left us a precious spiritual wealth. And his self-blame and repentance are the wealth of wealth, worthy of learning and inheritance from our children and grandchildren!
3. Ma Lao and Yun Conglong father and son
At the beginning of 2016, Ma Lao heard that I was going to Toronto to interview Yun Conglong's son Yun Dale, and told his son Ma Jiansheng to send a recording, he said:
"Tan Kai, when you see Yun Dale, you must say hello on my behalf! His father, Yun Conglong, has done a lot of work to help us in the past, and I am still very grateful to him!"
The 102-year-old Ma Lao has a loud voice and a clear speech. At Werver's home in Owen Shand, Ontario, I showed the recording three times to Werder, and he couldn't close his mouth with a smile and said yes.
In 1947, when Ma Shitu led the establishment of the underground newspaper "XNCR" in Chengdu, he received great support from the "Bolshevik missionary" Yun Conglong. The historical building that carries this story is the third section of Renmin South Road, close to the Second Affiliated Hospital of West China Hospital, and the old house on the street surrounded by a wall, with the sign of Building 14, No. 16, Section 3, Renmin South Road.
Look at it carefully, one floor and one bottom, there is a cloister and a big roof, the bearing is extraordinary, it is a small western-style building that is popular in the early 20th century. But it has fallen into disrepair for many years and looks very dilapidated. Who would have thought that such a small western-style building, with its thousands of revolutionary books, would not only be the activity venue of the "Star Fellowship", a progressive youth organization of West China Concord University, but also the intelligence collection office of the mimeographed tabloid "XNCR", the "advance newspaper of Chengdu", founded by the Sichuan Kang Special Committee of the Communist Party of China. The owner of the small western-style building is Yun Conglong, the director of West China Association Middle School and an English teacher.
At that time, Huaxi Dam had not yet been cut into two large blocks of east and west by Renmin South Road, and this small western-style building was surrounded by gardens, half-covered by green trees, and was very quiet. Not far away, a stout soaphorn tree stretched out a huge umbrella and cast a shade. Fortunately, the saponaria tree survived by growing in the middle of the green belt and still stands on Renmin South Road.
On a late autumn night in 1946, someone gently knocked on the door of Yun Conglong's house.
Yun Conglong seemed to be prepared, and warmly welcomed the guest in, and the guest presented the letter in his hand and said, "This is a letter from Zhang Youyu to you." ”
Yun Conglong smiled knowingly when he heard the name of "Zhang Youyu". [Note 1]
The guest who came to visit in the middle of the night was Ma Shitu, deputy secretary of the Chuankang Special Committee under the pseudonym Ma Qianhe.
Yun Conglong finished reading Zhang Youyu's letter and learned that Ma Qianhe graduated from the Department of Foreign Languages of Southwest Associated University and hoped to find a job in Xiezhong. Yun Conglong had a conversation with Ma Qianhe in English, and Yun Conglong expressed his satisfaction. Ma Shitu considered that it would take a lot of time for him to do revolutionary work, so he claimed that he was unwell and could not take up too many class hours, and finally said that he would only teach two classes, 12 hours a week, and arrange them in three mornings, and Yun Conglong agreed to them one by one.
According to Yun Conglong's agreement, on the following Monday, Ma Shitu came to the faculty lounge of Xiezhong High School to meet with Principal Yang Lizhi and other teachers. It is unusual for Yun Conglong, a professor at BGI and director of Xiezhong University, to personally recommend Ma Qianhe, who has just graduated from Southwest Associated University, and they are all very curious.
As a result, Yun Conglong listened to Ma Qianhe's lecture and listened to the opinions of his classmates, expressing his satisfaction. Ma Qianhe, a new English teacher, stood still.
So, the students saw the rickshaw driver ringing the bell and pulled the new English teacher Ma Qianhe to the door of the teaching building of Xiezhong. Mr. Ma Qianhe, with a national face, a broad forehead, a pair of black-rimmed glasses, two beards, a gray gown, a Turkish hat, and a large leather bag, looks steady and strong, full of national teacher demeanor.
In this way, Ma Shitu had a formal occupation as a cover and continued to engage in revolutionary work. He noticed that Yun Conglong did not allow the Kuomintang to operate openly in schools, and the students were relatively free. With frequent interactions, Yun Conglong has more and more trust in Ma Zhitu. During the chat, "unintentionally", he secretly told Ma Shitu which of the teachers were the secret leaders of the Kuomintang Three Youth League and what activities the Three Youth League would have. After further familiarization, he even told Ma Zhitu the news of the Chinese Civil War that he heard on the radio.
At the beginning of 1947, the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China headed by Wu Yuzhang in Chongqing withdrew to Yan'an, and its newspaper "Xinhua Daily" was closed down, and the personnel were also sent to Yan'an. The seizure of Xinhua Daily was like a lighthouse closing. The party members could not hear the news of the victory in the liberated areas and were very uncomfortable. The Chengdu Working Committee decided to organize a tabloid under the leadership of Ma Shitu, and transferred an alert and capable female comrade Wang Fang to Sichuan University to participate in running the newspaper.
To run a newspaper, you must have a source, which requires a radio with high sensitivity to listen to the broadcasts of the Yan'an Xinhua News Agency. At that time, the Kuomintang authorities controlled the radio very strictly, and the short-wave coils of the radio were all cut off. Go to the radio firm and buy a short-wave coil, it is possible that this shop is opened by spies to specialize in "fishing", and it is also very dangerous. Later, the organization managed to find Chen Lishi, the mayor who was close to the underground party, and he generously donated a radio. When a brand-new looking radio arrived, Ma Shitu immediately plugged it in, and when he listened to the medium wave, the beautiful music was very beautiful; As soon as you turn to the short wave, you immediately fall dumb. Take it apart and take it apart, this is also a radio with a short-wave coil cut off!
Fortunately, the ingenious Wang Fang, immersed himself in research, short-term speed, learned to install a radio, and actually installed a multi-tube regenerative radio, and the listening effect was quite good. In this way, an underground tabloid was set up and named "XNCR", which was the call sign of Yan'an Radio Station.
Ma Shitu wrote in his memoirs:
From then on, regardless of the cold in winter and hot in summer, Wang Fang hibernated in the corner of the house every night, turned on the radio, and captured the faint radio waves in the vast dark sky, even in the noisy interference, and then recorded, sorted, engraved into wax paper, and mimeographed. It was almost dawn before the small radio and writing tools were packed into the brick holes in the wall. Finally, I rolled up a stack of mimeographed tabloids "XNCR" and put them in my bag. In the morning, I went to distribute my bag with my bag. She did all this calmly and calmly, she knew that the slightest negligence could lead to death. Every day before she lifts her bag and goes out, she always has to explain that she may not be able to come back in the evening.
Due to problems in the hidden location of the newspaper, Ma Shitu and Wang Fang decided to urgently relocate the "newspaper hall". The so-called "newspaper hall" is an old leather case containing mimeographed instruments. After thinking about it, he could only move to the dormitory assigned to Ma Shitu in Xiezhong. However, in this dormitory, no antennas can be hung and the radio cannot receive shortwave signals. If the source of information is cut off, how can we run a newspaper? Ma Shitu immediately decided:
"Go to Yunconglong's house!"
That night, Ma Shitu and Wang Fang came to Yun Conglong's house. The arrival of a strange young woman surprised Yun Conglong slightly. Considering that Wang Fang would go to Yun's house every night to collect information in the future, and also to reassure Yun Dale and his wife, Ma Zhitu told them that "XNCR" was run by Wang Fang, and he and Wang Fang had a special "comrade and lover" relationship. When Mr. and Mrs. Wan Dale heard this, their eyes lit up, and they made coffee and snacks, and they were overjoyed.
Napoleon summed up the success of this life and said: "Trust is morality!"
Yun Conglong and his wife know very well what the weight of Ma Zhitu's trust is. This is a sincere friend who entrusts his life, career, love, everything to you in times of crisis. This is the greatest trust, this is the highest morality!
At this moment, Ma Shitu talked about the difficulties encountered in running the newspaper and wanted to borrow Yundale's radio to listen to the news released by Xinhua News Agency, and the couple readily agreed. Wang Fang immediately turned on the luxurious floor-standing radio, slightly moved the knob, and the familiar and cordial voice of the Party Central Committee came from the far north, extremely clearly. Wang Fang's cheeks were red with excitement, and he said that he had never seen such a good radio. Due to the excellent sensitivity and selectivity, the sound of flying sand and rocks is filtered out, and every word spoken by the female announcer can be heard clearly, which is as comfortable as listening to music.
Ma Shitu made an appointment with Yun Conglong, except for Saturday and Sunday, to listen to the living room of Yun's house for two hours every night, in the name of learning English. In the first few nights, it was Ma Zhitu who accompanied Wang Fang, and later because of the tension of work, Wang Fang went by himself. Wang Fang said to Ma Zhitu that Yun Conglong and his wife took great care of her and often sent refreshments. When Wang Fang heard this, it was already nine or ten o'clock, and he immediately sat down to sort out and edit press releases, and sometimes write comments. Then engraved wax paper and mimeographs, and was busy almost every day until the East.
In this way, Yun Conglong's home became a place to listen directly to the voice of Yan'an. The news of the victory, which was continuously recorded from the Long family's radio through the cloud, became the main content of the "XNCR" tabloids and was disseminated. "XNCR" is like a torch in the dark night, pointing out the direction, inspiring confidence and gathering strength for the comrades who are struggling underground. Due to Yun Conglong's cover, the Kuomintang spies never found any trace of "XNCR".
In 1985, on Yun Conglong's 90th birthday, the old alumni of West China held a birthday commemorative party for him in his absence. His youngest son, Wan Tat-chung, and his students gathered to bless him. Ma Zhitu happily wrote a poem on the spot and presented it to this lifelong friend:
Who said that the East is separated from the West, and friendship was dreamed of back then.
If the end of the world is next to each other, I wish you a long life.
In 2013, Yun Conglong's eldest son, Yun Dale, returned to Huaxiba, which he regarded as his hometown, and went to visit Ma Zhitu. Li Zhi said: "This is a gathering that I have been looking forward to for 60 years."
Yun Conglong's former residence, a small western-style building that has gone through a hundred years of vicissitudes, once stored thousands of revolutionary books, carrying the important history of the Sichuan Kang Special Committee and the Chengdu underground party. As a member of the Chengdu Historical Buildings Expert Committee, the author has repeatedly called for the protection of this old house, and has been approved by Ma Lao and Li Zhi.
When I miss Ma Lao, I think of the old house in Building 14, No. 16, Section 3, Renmin South Road, Chengdu. In the eyes of some, this century-old house has little value.
I said: As long as we don't want to cut off the red history, this small western-style building must be protected!
[1] Zhang Youyu (1899-1992) was a Marxist theoretician, jurist, and deputy secretary of the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China and head of the Propaganda Department.
Source: Forever Huaxi
Author: Tan Kai (former editor-in-chief of Science Fiction World Magazine, member of the Chinese Writers Association, current executive editor-in-chief of Chinese and English "Giant Panda" magazine, expert of the Expert Committee of Chengdu Historic Building Protection Office)