Qian Xijun, the wife who has accompanied Mao Zemin for the longest time
On the night of September 27, 1943, Mao Zemin was secretly killed in prison by the perfidious Xinjiang warlord Sheng Shicai, sacrificing his precious life for the great revolutionary cause. In his short life of only 47 years, Mao Zemin had three wives, namely Wang Shulan, the wife who bore him his daughter Mao Yuanzhi, Qian Xijun, who accompanied him from Shanghai to the Revolutionary Base of Jinggangshan in Jiangxi Province, to Yan'an through the Long March, and to Xinjiang, and Zhu Danhua, who accompanied him in the last years of his life and gave birth to his youngest son, Mao Yuanxin.
Among them, although he did not have children with him, the one who accompanied him the longest was his second wife, Qian Xijun. However, Qian Xijun, who thought he would work with Mao Zemin to the end, chose to break up and return to Yan'an after the two arrived in Xinjiang together, and formed another family with others a few years later.
Mao Zemin and Zhu Danhua and son Mao Yuanxin
<h1 class="pgc-h-decimal" data-index="01" data-track="5" > from "child bridesmaids" to revolutionaries' wives</h1>
Qian Xijun, the younger sister of Qian Zhiguang, the main leader of China's textile industry in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, was born in 1905 to a very poor family in Zhuji Paitou Town, Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province. Before she was born, the family had already fallen into the dilemma of eating a meal of sorrow, so when she was just a full moon, her parents had to endure the pain of sending her to the nearby underwater Zhang Nairong family as a child bride, and the future "husband" was the third son of the family, Zhang Qiuren, who was 7 years older than her.
In fact, in that era when people's livelihood was generally withering, the situation of the Zhang family was only able to barely survive. Therefore, Qian Xijun began to do various agricultural work since he was a child, collecting firewood and feeding pigs when he was young, and herding cattle, mowing grass, washing, sewing when he was older... The hardships of life prematurely honed her into a capable rural woman.
If it was the silent old era before the emergence of revolutionary thought, Qian Xijun would probably be like most child brides in old China, growing up to be a teenager in the "in-laws' family", and then getting married and having children. From this point of view, Qian Xijun is quite fortunate, because her original "husband", Zhang Qiuren, accepted Marxism very early and participated in the early activities of our party to build a party and a group, so she resolutely opposed the old-style arranged marriages, but only regarded Qian Xijun, who had lived in her own home since childhood, as a sister.
Zhang Qiuren, a revolutionary martyr who died in February 1928
In the spring of 1922, 17-year-old Qian Xijun received a letter from Zhang Qiuren from Shanghai, asking her to get rid of the shackles of arranged marriage and go to Shanghai to study. It was this seemingly ordinary family letter that completely changed the fate of Qian Xijun's life. Since then, she has thrown herself into the rolling torrent of the times and become one of the countless revolutionaries who have struggled tirelessly to liberate the toiling masses.
Qian Xijun soon arrived in Shanghai, and with the introduction and help of Zhang Qiuren, he entered the Shanghai Civilian Girls' School sponsored by our party to study, and began to participate in some revolutionary work. After two years of half-work and half-study, Qian Xijun not only learned some basic cultural knowledge, but also mastered a lot of work experience in practice. In 1924, Qian Xijun joined the Communist Youth League of China and became a member of the Communist Party the following year.
In 1926, with the rise of the revolutionary situation, the workload of the Central Publishing and Distribution Department and the Shanghai Bookstore under the responsibility of Mao Zemin soared, and the Party Central Committee decided to open a secret distribution office, or Mao Zemin was in charge, but at this time Mao Zemin assumed the pseudonym Yang Jie. It was against this background that Qian Xijun was arranged to enter the Central Publishing and Distribution Department to assist Mao Zemin in his work.
On the first day that Qian Xijun, who had just walked out of the school, arrived at the distribution department, he met her leader "Manager Yang". After reading the letter of introduction handed over by Qian Xijun, "Manager Yang" enthusiastically explained to Qian Xijun the tasks and nature of her work, not only to distribute newspapers and periodicals, but also to serve as an underground traffic and go to the homes of some central organs and leading comrades. Therefore, it is necessary not only to be flexible in work, but also to be confidential, to minimize social relations and unnecessary contact with the outside world.
Mao Zemin in his youth
After working for a while, Qian Xijun learned that the real name of "Manager Yang" was Mao Zemin, who was the director of the Central Publishing and Distribution Department. For the sake of work convenience, they have repeatedly disguised themselves as husband and wife, disguised themselves as different identities to enter and leave the residences of central organs and leaders, and successfully completed a large amount of work.
With the deepening of the contact and understanding between the two, Qian Xijun was deeply attracted by Mao Zemin's shrewdness and ability, and Mao Zemin also admired Qian Xijun's careful and clever personality. At the end of 1926, the 30-year-old Mao Zemin and the 21-year-old Qian Xijun married in Shanghai and jointly wrote a good story of a revolutionary couple who made fun of each other in their sufferings and frothed each other.
<h1 class="pgc-h-decimal" data-index="02" data-track="11" > to go about printing</h1>
During his work in Shanghai after marriage, Qian Xijun was not only responsible for the distribution of red publications and underground transportation, but also shared part of Mao Zemin's work as much as possible, and at the same time undertook the task of taking care of Mao Zemin's life.
The former site of the secret printing plant of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
Although Mao Zemin is a Hunan native, he cannot eat peppers because of stomach problems, so Qian Xijun tries to give full play to the unique advantages of women, and uses their already small allowances to prepare delicious and stomach-nourishing meals for him. Mao Zemin seized every opportunity to selflessly teach Qian Xijun her work experience and help her improve her professional level and ability. With the help of Mao Zemin, Qian Xijun's business ability has been rapidly improved.
Due to the needs of their work, Mao Zemin and Qian Xijun spent more than four years after their marriage in Wuhan, Changsha, Tianjin and Shanghai.
First, in early 1927, the Shanghai Bookstore was exposed, and with the approval of the Party Central Committee, they went to Wuhan, where the revolutionary situation was better, to open a Yangtze River Bookstore of the same nature, and cleverly transferred the books of the Shanghai Bookstore there; in late July, after Wang Jingwei openly betrayed the revolution, they were hindered by reactionary forces on their way to their brother Chairman Mao, so they temporarily stayed in Changsha and continued to engage in underground work.
At the end of 1927, Mao Zemin and Qian Xijun received orders from the central authorities to return to Shanghai to "resume their old business" and continue to preside over the work of the underground printing plant.
Mao Zemin (first from right) and Qian Xijun (second from right)
After more than a year, the underground printing plant was still discovered by the enemy. However, with the tacit cooperation of Mao Zemin and Qian Xijun, the equipment of the printing plant was quickly and skillfully transported to Tianjin, and a new printing plant was set up in Guangdong Province, which was then the British Concession. In order to conceal their eyes, the new printing house undertook the printing business of invoices, forms and invitations, etc., and in fact printed the publications, documents and leaflets of the Party organs.
All the documents that need to be printed must first be sent to a small white building they rented as an organ, and then Qian Xijun personally sent them to the printing plant for typesetting and printing. Under their careful maintenance, it was not until early 1931 that the two left Tianjin and returned to Shanghai again under the instructions of the Party Central Committee, and the secret printing house was not exposed.
Busy work, coupled with years-round transfers between different cities, makes them simply not in a position to have children. On November 14, 1930, Mao Zemin's brother-in-law Yang Kaihui was brutally murdered by the warlord He Jian at the Literacy Ridge outside The Liuyang Gate in Changsha, leaving behind three young children, like orphans.
At the beginning of 1931, as soon as Mao Zemin and Qian Xijun returned to Shanghai, they immediately asked the Party Central Committee to bring the children to Shanghai and foster them in the Datong Kindergarten run by our Party. Soon, Mao Anying, Mao Anqing, and Mao Anlong, escorted by their grandmother Xiang Zhenxi and their aunt Li Chongde, came from Hunan to Shanghai via Wuhan. Seeing the nephews who lost their mothers at a young age and their fathers were temporarily absent, Mao Zemin and Qian Xijun's grief and pity overflowed into words.
The three brothers Mao Anying, Shore Qing and Shore Dragon (stills)
In tears, Qian Xijun made new clothes for the children and settled them in Datong Kindergarten on Gordon Road (now Jiangning Road) and visited them as soon as he had time.
However, revolutionary times are always full of dangers. In April 1931, with the rebellion of Gu Shunzhang, "the most dangerous traitor in the history of the Communist Party of China", the Party Central Committee and Party organizations in Shanghai were completely exposed to danger in an instant. Mao Zemin and Qian Xijun had to accept instructions from the Party Central Committee, and after a hasty farewell to the Mao Brothers in a park, they left Shanghai to open up work in Hong Kong.
However, when they arrived in Hong Kong on the front foot, Gu Shunzhang followed on the back foot. In desperation, Mao Zemin and Qian Xijun dressed up in disguise, and after more than a month of hard work, they finally arrived at the revolutionary base area of Fujian, Guangdong and Gansu in July, and arrived in the red capital Ruijin in the autumn.
<h1 class="pgc-h-decimal" data-index="03" data-track="15" > the stormy long march</h1>
As soon as they returned to the embrace of the organization, Qian Xijun and they immediately threw themselves into the construction of the base area. In view of the rich experience in running and distributing newspapers during his work in Shanghai, Qian Xijun was appointed as the chief of the distribution section of our party's publication "Red China", responsible for keeping the publications in the hands of the people unimpeded.
Due to the strict economic blockade and constant military encirclement and suppression by the Kuomintang reactionaries, the finances of the Central Soviet Region were extremely difficult. Against this background, Mao Zemin was ordered to prepare for the establishment of the National Bank. In March 1932, the National Bank was formally established, with Mao Zemin as the first president, and Qian Xijun was one of only five staff members when the Bank was first established.
In order to implement Chairman Mao's instructions of "unifying finances and raising funds to support the front line", Mao Zemin started by receiving the treasury, and on the basis of unifying the currency of the Soviet zone, the booty of the war was also collected under the unified management of the bank, and finally at the end of 1932, the financial and monetary unification of the Soviet zone was realized. During this period, Qian Xijun, as a wife, comrade, and comrade-in-arms, assisted her husband in doing a lot of specific and meticulous work, so that Mao Zemin could "manipulate" the economic recovery and construction of the entire Soviet region without distraction.
Due to the serious shortage of salt, Qian Xijun once disguised himself as a beggar to go to the white area with his comrades to beg, and brought back the salt he bought in a bag of begging rice; he also made a double layer of dung buckets, and used the opportunity to pick up dung in the white area to hide the salt in the lower layer; even transformed the coffin into a double layer, and pretended to be a funeral with his comrades to transport the salt back from the white area...
Salt is hidden in the carrier
As long as it is helpful to her husband's work and as long as it is beneficial to the economic construction of the Soviet union, Qian Xijun always takes the lead and is duty-bound. With the joint efforts of everyone, the economic situation of the Central Soviet Region has been greatly improved, and Mao Zemin has also been unanimously recognized by soldiers and the people, and has become an indispensable "big steward" of the entire Soviet Area and later on the Long March Road and even the Red Army during the Yan'an period.
In the Central Soviet District, due to the increase in relatives and the sudden relaxation of the working environment, Qian Xijun no longer needs to maintain a tense nerve at any time as he did when he worked in the White Area. Here, she was not only reunited with her brother Qian Zhiguang, but also met her long-known elder brother Chairman Mao. When the Chairman Mao brothers talked all night, Qian Xijun and his sister-in-law He Zizhen also became close friends of the sisters.
A pleasant mood can always make people feel like a spring breeze. In those days in the Central Soviet District, although the conditions were difficult in all aspects, for Qian Xijun, because there had never been so many relatives around since work, it was the happiest day of her life, and it was not too much to say that she even walked with songs and laughter.
Since there were no children, in his rare leisure time, Qian Xijun often carried He Zizhen's son Mao Mao to his home and cared for him like his own child. Unfortunately, in the later Long March, due to the pressure of the situation, so many relatives could not protect this child, and he was still separated from his relatives who were worried about him in the chaos of the war.
In October 1934, Qian Xijun and his wife began the arduous trek of the Long March together with the Central Red Army. In order to protect the weak economic life of the Red regime and ensure the supply of materials for the Red Army, they, together with other soldiers who were incorporated into the transport column, carried gold, silver, and other materials with more than 160 pairs of flat shoulder picks, shoulder to shoulder, and equipment such as printing machines and minting machines.
As one of only more than 30 female fighters in the Long March, Qian Xijun was re-elected as a political officer first in cadre recuperation and later as an inspector of the Political Protection Bureau. She not only organized the hiring of civilians and helped raise food, but also publicized the ideas of the Red Army to the people along the way, and learned about the enemy and the people's feelings through them. Although they were in the central column with Mao Zemin, they did not march together. Sometimes when we meet, we just say hello to each other, which is a contact feeling.
During the period of recuperation in Zunyi, in order to supplement the material needs of the Red Army, Qian Xijun first assisted Mao Zemin in issuing Soviet currency, and by selling a large amount of captured salt at a low price, the Soviet currency in the hands of the Red Army had purchasing power and also activated the local market; on the eve of leaving Zunyi, in order to prevent the people from suffering economic losses because of the departure of the Red Army, Qian Xijun exchanged a large amount of silver dollars for the Soviet currency in the hands of the common people every day. It is precisely this spirit of wholeheartedly thinking of the people that has enabled the Communist Party to always be closely linked with the toiling masses.
During that time, although Qian Xijun always saw her husband's busy figure, the two people rarely had the opportunity to say a word or two.
<h1 class="pgc-h-decimal" data-index="04" data-track="20" > from northern Shaanxi to great northwest, who has changed? </h1>
In October 1935, the Central Red Army finally reached northern Shaanxi after enduring hardships. As soon as he settled down, Qian Xijun entered the Ministry of National Economy presided over by Mao Zemin, and in 1936 entered the Red Army University.
In early 1937, in order to support our revolution, the international working class collected a considerable amount of US dollars, which was secretly transported from Paris to Shanghai. Because Shanghai was an enemy-occupied area, and U.S. dollar bills could only be exchanged for the legal tender that was common at the time to reach Yan'an safely. Taking into account the work experience and familiarity with Shanghai, the Party Central Committee discussed and decided to entrust the tasks of withdrawing money, exchanging currency, and secretly transporting money to Mao Zemin, Qian Zhiguang, Wei Gongzhi, and Qian Xijun.
After arriving in Shanghai, Mao Zemin and his wife opened a paper shop as a cover, Mao Zemin called the "boss" of the paper shop, and Qian Xijun was the "boss lady". Mao Zemin first took the huge sum of money from Pan Hannian, the head of the Communist Party of China in Shanghai, and hid it in his residence, then disguised himself as a businessman or boss, and went in and out of major banks and exchanges every day, exchanging US dollar bills little by little into legal tender designated by the Party Central Committee.
Mao Zemin often disguised himself as the boss
Then, Qian Xijun, Qian Zhiguang, Wei Gongzhi and others continued to travel back and forth between Shanghai and Xi'an, responsible for transporting the exchanged legal tender to Xi'an. Qian Xijun sometimes dressed up as the wife of a Kuomintang officer, and sometimes dressed as the wife of a wealthy merchant who went to Xi'an to burn incense and worship the Buddha, and skillfully maneuvered with the enemy who was circling and searching at various passes.
With the full cooperation and tacit cooperation of several people, they finally completed all the exchange and transportation tasks before the fall of Shanghai in mid-August, and sent the money safely to the Red Army Liaison Office in Xi'an.
In the winter of this year, due to long-term overwork, Mao Zemin's original bronchitis and stomach disease worsened, which made it difficult for him to work normally. In the spring of 1938, the party organization arranged for him to go to the Soviet Union to recuperate and study, and Qian Xijun also went with him. While passing through Dihua (present-day Urumqi) in Xinjiang, due to the plague on the Sino-Soviet border and the disruption of transportation, they had to stay there and temporarily live in the Eighth Route Army's office in Xinjiang.
At that time, in order to consolidate his rule, the Xinjiang warlord Sheng Shicai vigorously raised the banner of "pro-Soviet and pro-Communist" and constantly showed goodwill to our party, and repeatedly invited cadres of our party, especially financial and economic cadres, to work in Xinjiang to help him manage Xinjiang's finances. In order to unite all possible forces to resist Japan together, the Party Central Committee has previously sent hundreds of cadres to work in Xinjiang.
The perfidious Xinjiang warlord Sheng Shicai
In view of the fact that Mao Zemin and his wife have already arrived in Dihua and that it will be difficult to leave for a while and a half, the Party Central Committee has decided to leave Mao Zemin and his wife in Xinjiang after study and engage in anti-Japanese national united front work. Mao Zemin, alias Zhou Bin, served as deputy director of the Xinjiang Provincial Department of Finance and later as director of the Department of Civil Affairs for a period of time; Qian Xijun served as the director of the library of the Xinjiang Recruit Battalion.
In Xinjiang, Mao Zemin was still busy as always despite the illness, hoping to do some practical things for the people of Xinjiang to the best of his ability; Qian Xijun's work was quite idle. At the same time, Sheng Shicai was warm and thoughtful and polite to them on the surface, but in fact, he was extremely sinister in his heart, and he was defensive and secretly monitored Mao Zemin and his wife everywhere.
In this case, while she was distressed by her husband's health, she felt very bitter and incomprehensible about the decision of the Party Central Committee to leave them to work in Xinjiang. In her opinion, at that time, the Soviet Union was clearly constantly transporting materials through Xinjiang to the interior to support the War of Resistance Against Japan, but they had to stay in that remote place to do the united front work that seemed to be headless.
"At that time, I couldn't understand that the Soviet Union had sent many planes and a large amount of materials to support China's anti-Japanese resistance, and we did not go to the anti-Japanese front, but engaged in united front with the warlords here." —— "Memoirs of Qian Xijun's Revolution"
Martyr Mao Zemin
After this dissatisfaction arose, Qian Xijun's idea of returning to work on the anti-Japanese front became stronger and stronger, but Mao Zemin was so busy that he did not have time to communicate with her about these issues that were not a problem at all in Mao Zemin's view, because everywhere he worked, he was doing things for the people and fighting for ideals and beliefs. In the day-to-day discouragement and lack of communication, the differences between husband and wife are also getting bigger and bigger.
<h1 class="pgc-h-decimal" data-index="05" data-track="24" > Xinjiang, it has become a heavenly eternal trick</h1>
In June 1939, Mao Zemin was finally able to set off again to the Soviet Union for medical treatment and study, while Qian Xijun stayed in Xinjiang; upon learning of the decision of the Party Central Committee and Mao Zemin to promise Sheng Shicai to return to Xinjiang after the end of his medical treatment in the Soviet Union, Qian Xijun was completely disappointed and made a decision that she regretted many years later. At the end of the year, the Party Central Committee agreed to Qian Xijun's request to divorce Mao Zemin and to work on the anti-Japanese front.
She did not expect how many times she had been born and died since she married Mao Zemin for more than ten years, no matter what the circumstances, they had not been separated for a long time, and once they left this time, they would become the eternal trick of each other's lives and each other.
In early 1940, while Mao Zemin was still being treated in the Soviet Union, Qian Xijun returned to Yan'an alone and entered the Marxist-Leninist Academy to study. After completing his studies, he entered the Industrial Cooperative of the Construction Department of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region Government and served as the director of women' affairs. Not long after, Qian Xijun entered the Central Senior Party School to study.
Does Qian Xijun regret returning to Yan'an alone?
While studying at the Central Party School, Mao Zemin and his first wife, Wang Shulan's daughter Mao Yuanzhi, and his adopted son Mao Huachu also came to Yan'an, and Qian Xijun was very distressed that their parents were not around, and often used his own food expenses to improve their lives. The children also liked her very much, and every time they went to see her, they kept shouting "Mother Qian" one after another, which made Qian Xijun raise his eyebrows and wish to be nicer to them.
In October 1943, bad news came that Mao Zemin was secretly killed by Sheng Shicai on September 27 at the Second Prison in Dihua, Xinjiang. This news was as difficult for Qian Xijun to accept like a thunderbolt on a sunny day.
It turned out that Mao Zemin returned to Xinjiang in February 1940 after eight months of treatment and study in the Soviet Union to continue working under the name of "Zhou Bin". But after only a little over a year, Sheng Shicai betrayed his faith and secretly defected to Chiang Kai-shek. At the end of July 1941, Sheng Shicai monitored Mao Zemin on the grounds that Zhou Bin was unwell and unfit for work, and even Mao Zemin's driver at the time confessed that he had been sent to monitor him.
On September 17, 1942, Comrades Mao Zemin, Lin Jilu, Chen Tanqiu and all their families were put under house arrest by Sheng Shicai, and in February 1943, they were imprisoned in Dihua No. 2 Prison, where they were secretly murdered until September 27, when Mao Zemin, Lin Jilu, and Chen Tanqiu were secretly killed.
Qian Xijun probably couldn't imagine what kind of sinister environment Mao Zemin had experienced after they separated; she probably had even more difficulty believing that after only three years of separation, the two people would be separated from each other from now on, and there would never be a possibility of meeting again! If she knew what kind of situation Mao Zemin would face after returning to Xinjiang from the Soviet Union, she might not have firmly chosen to return to Yan'an alone!
As the wife who accompanied Mao Zemin the longest in his life, did Qian Xijun ever regret the decision to break up with Mao Zemin? The answer is yes. After all, they are not unloving, nor are they incompatible, but they just do not recognize the content of each other's work at that time, and divorce is also a decision that Qian Xijun insists on alone.
Just many times, a miss is enough to cause a lifetime of regret. In his later years, Qian Xijun also frankly expressed in his article the shock of receiving the nightmare of Mao Zemin's sacrifice.
"I learned of Comrade Zemin's sacrifice in Yan'an. Suddenly, I was dizzy and in pain! I didn't expect to be different in Xinjiang in 1939 and become a yongzhi! Here, I originally had a lot to say, but whenever this happened, I was devastated with grief and blurred tears... Comrade Zemin rest in peace! ——Qian Xijun, "From Yuelu Mountain down to the Northwest Frontier - Remembering Comrade Mao Zemin"
Their 13-year marriage process, along with the most difficult years after the fall of our revolution from the highest to the trough, whether it was the white area after the defeat of the great revolution, which was shrouded in bloody rain and wind, or in the long march surrounded by the enemy, they always cared for each other, selflessly dedicated themselves to the revolutionary cause with one heart and one mind, and at the same time gave each other the warmest companionship.
<h1 class="pgc-h-decimal" data-index="06" data-track="29" > a short conclusion</h1>
Perhaps it was Mao Zemin's sacrifice that made Qian Xijun suddenly understand the painstaking intentions of the work layout of the Party Central Committee, after the victory of the "Seventh National Congress" of the CPC in 1945, Qian Xijun took the initiative to apply to work in the dangerous white areas and returned to Shanghai where she and Mao Zemin met, fell in love, and struggled together.
After arriving in Shanghai, Qian Xijun immediately threw himself into the work of selflessness, successively serving as the organization director of the Huxi District Committee and the Pudong District Committee, and in early February 1948, together with her second husband Zhou Xiaoding and others, led the "Second Second" strike of the famous Shenxin Textile No. 9 Factory, making a lot of preparations for the liberation of Shanghai.
Qian Xijun in his later years
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Qian Xijun worked in the light industry sector until he retired in 1982 at the age of 77. In the 46-year company of her second husband, Zhou Xiaoding, Qian Xijun, who was born into death for revolutionary ideals and bravely stood at the head of the tide, remembered the people who were born and died with her, and finally lived an ordinary and indifferent life.
On September 11, 1989, the 84-year-old Qian Xijun left a 200,000-word "Memoirs of the Qian Xijun Revolution" and passed away accompanied by her husband.