"You guys are coming? I was tired and asked my comrades at home how they were. ”
These were the words spoken to us by the old man when Qian Jiadong, Zhao Maofeng, and I went to the hospital to visit the premier at 12 noon on December 31, 1975. Lying on the hospital bed, he opened those wise and kind eyes, slightly beckoned his weak right hand, and said this sentence to us with a voice that we had just heard, word by word, and with all his strength. After saying that, the prime minister closed his eyes again and fell into a coma...
When we quietly, slowly, and reluctantly left his hospital room, our brains went blank, leaving only tears on our faces.
On January 13, 1975, Zhou Enlai read the government work report for the last time at the Fourth National People's Congress.
Later, Zhang Shuying and Gao Zhenpu told us: "You three are very lucky. The Prime Minister had been groggy until now, and after that he was sometimes awake and sometimes unconscious. ”
On this day, there were less than 8 days before the prime minister's death. This is the last time we see the Prime Minister before he dies. These few words are also the last words he gave us by the old man. The man who accompanied the moon and the sun the most really said the word "tired" to us for the first time.
The more unwanted the news, the faster it comes; The last thing I wanted to see happened.
At 9:57 a.m. on January 8, 1976, Premier Zhou's heart stopped beating. The hospital called to inform our three secretaries to go to the hospital to bid farewell to the body of the Prime Minister.
When we arrived at the hospital, the wards had been cleared, the Prime Minister was lying on the bed, and the comrades of the medical team were standing on either side. We bowed deeply to the body of the Prime Minister and made a final farewell to the old man.
Premier Zhou's secretaries (from left) Qian Jiadong, Zhou Jiading and Ji Dong bid farewell to the premier's remains
This is our luck to serve the elderly to the end; This is our honor to be able to send off the old man at the end; This is our pain, and we can no longer accompany the old man to send away the stars in the sky and greet the light of the dawn.
An ordinary life, a great life, ended his great cause of "rising for China" in historical time and space, which went through heaven and earth, was born into death, suffered hardships, endured humiliation and burdens, and enriched the country and the strong people. The Prime Minister of the People left his people and went away.
On January 8, 1976, the calendar on Premier Zhou's desk stopped forever on this day.
The West Flower Hall is quieter than ever; The messenger, who was still delivering information to the Prime Minister, was so careful and whispered; The voices of the 39th Bureau and the operators of the No. 1 Station of the Central Military Commission were also so low and sad. They were afraid of alarming the sleeping Prime Minister.
On the morning of January 8, the prime minister's body was moved to Beijing Hospital for plastic surgery, ready for people to visit.
The crowd bid farewell to the prime minister's body
The room where the prime minister's body is stored is small, but it cannot stop the continuous flow of people. The will of the people cannot be violated! The love of the people cannot be suppressed, and the thoughts and sorrows arising from this love cannot be suppressed.
Some people waited day after day to see the last side of the prime minister, lining up again and again; Some people did not see the prime minister before his death, but after the premier's death, they went to Beijing with great hardships and begged the staff to see the prime minister, and when they got their wish, the tears had dried up...
This is the heart of a real person, a person who truly "serves the people wholeheartedly." The will of the people is the most just.
At 4.30 p.m. on 11 January, the prime minister's body was cremated. The cold north wind could not stop the crowd delivering the funeral of the prime minister; The cold current has rolled over, which has strengthened the people's determination to bid farewell to the prime minister.
On January 11, when Premier Zhou's hearse drove through Chang'an Avenue to Babaoshan, millions of people in the capital spontaneously stood by the street and watched the premier leave
Zhang Shuying and Gao Zhenpu are still guarding the prime minister's body on the hearse as the premier did before his death; Qian Jiadong, Zhao Maofeng, and I followed Behind Sister Deng's car. We saw that the ten mile long street was crowded with people sending off the people, standing solemnly, watching the hearse drive by, unwilling to leave for a long time, and they were still looking forward to the return of the prime minister...
When the prime minister's body was parked in the Babaoshan Spiritual Hall, the people waiting there flocked to the coffin, tears like rain, and cried out in sorrow to reawaken the prime minister and stay in the human world.
Sister Deng cried and complained, "Enlai, we will never say goodbye!" Let me look at you again! You have a lot to say in your heart, and I have a lot to say in my heart. Just go with confidence!" Heart-rending words, earth-shattering, ghost-weeping scenes, even the mountains can be shaken, and steel can be melted!
Everyone wants to stay with the prime minister for even a moment, everyone wants to see the prime minister even for a moment, but he always has to leave, always has to leave, and now, really gone...
Sister Deng, this great woman, a comrade-in-arms and wife who knew and loved the prime minister, lived and died for decades, and at this time endured grief and took the lead in leaving the coffin.
The cries of the people became louder, and the fierceness, the pity, still make people cry when they think about it.
Responsible for the on-site command was Gao Fufu, deputy director of the State Council Administration Bureau, who had been undertaking the task of defending Chairman Mao and the Party Central Committee since the Yan'an period, and had also been serving the central leading comrades since entering the city. With tears in his eyes, he shouted loudly: "Comrades, please mourn, please support my work!" In a weeping voice, he gave the order to send the prime minister's body to the crematorium!
At this time, the mournful cry turned into silence, the crowd turned to solemnity, standing for a long time, and everyone was sending off the prime minister with tears...
A few of us, Zhang Shuying, Qian Jiadong, Gao Zhenpu, Zhao Maofeng, doctors, nurses Zhang Zuoliang, Xu Fengsheng, and Zhang Xinli, kept in mind what Sister Deng had said earlier, "You guys should watch the premier's body cremation, the ashes should be cleaned up, you must not lose a little, you must be safe and complete", and you have never left the crematorium. From time to time, everyone took turns to look through the observation holes in the furnace to see the situation inside the furnace.
Among those I knew by the cremation furnace were Zhou Jiading, who had been the secretary of Premier Zhou, the standing committee member and secretary general of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee at that time, and Wang Hairong and Tang Wensheng of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The prime minister's body ignited, melting little by little, slowly, from clothes to body. From tangible to invisible, with wisps of green smoke, rising to the sky; with the cold wind of winter, drifting to the sky... The flames gradually weakened and slowly extinguished, revealing patches of white ashes.
Sister Deng held an urn at Premier Zhou's memorial service
The auspicious divine bird with the nickname "Great Luan" has since attained nirvana on the fertile soil of the Chinese nation and lived forever in the raging fire!
Like his name, "Zhou" rules all things, "graces" Ze Zhonghua, "comes" to nature, and leaves infinite love in the human world.
He walked, stepping on the green smoke and riding the strong wind, bringing all the good to the clouds.
The workers at the crematorium carefully collected the ashes of the prime minister one by one and handed them to the "West Flower Hall" with tears in their eyes. Xu Fengsheng and Zhang Xinli, two nurses who had carefully served the premier for many years, carefully put the ashes of the premier into a gauze bag sewn by hand and placed them in the urn selected by the party branch of the West Flower Hall for the premier.
It was getting dark. When we returned from Babaoshan, we saw many people standing on both sides of the Ten Mile Long Street in the biting cold wind, and they were still waiting for the premier to "return."
"I only saw the hearse go, but I didn't see the prime minister return." People's grief continues...
The premier's urn was held on his chest by Zhang Shuying, secretary of the party branch of the Xihua Hall, and Gao Zhenpu held a columbarium containing relics that had not melted away, and we followed behind and placed the ashes of the premier in the hall of the Working People's Cultural Palace. From January 12 to 14, people mourn.
The masses spontaneously went to mourn in front of Tiananmen Square
The people of the West Flower Hall take turns every day to guard the spirit of the Prime Minister at the Cultural Palace of the Working People. When I was guarding the spirit, I took the time to go to the western wing to see the comrades of the PEOPLE's Liberation Army Military Band who played mourning music for the premier's mourning ceremony. They risked their political risks to write letters to the central government to win this opportunity to serve the prime minister at the end. For several days, they had not rested and kept playing. How many times they accompanied the premier to welcome state guests, how many times they participated in the grand celebration of Tiananmen Square under the care of the premier... Tears accompanied each note, pouring out their inexhaustible thoughts about the prime minister.
Heaven and earth are in common sorrow, the people are sending off the prime minister, and only the people's evaluation is the final conclusion.
At 7 p.m. on January 14, Sister Deng, with the support of her secretary Zhao Wei and nurse Liu Xinlian, personally placed the premier's urn in the Taiwan Hall of the Great Hall of the People to comfort the premier's thoughts of the Taiwan compatriots before his death and his grand wish for the reunification of the motherland.
On the afternoon of January 15, Premier Zhou's memorial service was held in the Great Hall of the People.
Deng Xiaoping delivered a eulogy on behalf of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. His voice was sad, and the people in the hall cried for a series of times, and some even fainted. People grieve over the loss of a good prime minister and angry at the rampancy of the Gang of Four. People also know that good and evil are still fighting to the death, and Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping's political situation is already very sinister.
Deng Xiaoping delivered a eulogy at Premier Zhou's memorial service
After the memorial service, the outside of the Great Hall of the People was still full of people who wanted to give the prime minister a final ride. They want to turn the cold current into a spring breeze, and they want to smooth out the bumps to heaven for the prime minister.
Sister Deng knew the premier best, and she knew that the premier never wanted to disturb the masses before he died, so she quietly left the Great Hall with two comrades from the funeral committee and the premier's guards Zhang Shuying, Gao Zhenpu, and Zhao Wei, holding the premier's urn, and ran to the airport.
The ashes of the prime minister are about to be scattered on the rivers and lands of the motherland. After watching the plane take off, Sister Deng endured sadness and returned to the West Flower Hall.
After returning from the airport, the eldest sister led us to hold a ceremony to place the prime minister's portrait in the bedroom of the West Flower Hall. After the eldest sister led us to bow three times to the statue, she said to us strongly and with full of sincerity: "Now, facing the portrait of Comrade Enlai, I tell you that Comrade Enlai's wish before his death has been fulfilled, and his ashes have been scattered in the rivers and rivers of the motherland and on the earth, and I feel very happy and comforted. When I die, I hope you will support me in different positions. This urn can be left for me to use, which saves one. Turn grief into strength. When the eldest sister went out, she also said to me: "Xiao Ji, you are the youngest, and you must turn grief into strength!"
Oh, yes! The Prime Minister and the eldest sister dissolved their "love among the people, among friends, and in the generation of young children..." They "always struggled firmly, calmly, and calmly in their revolutionary careers."
In April 1957, Zhou Enlai and Deng Yingchao took a group photo in the West Flower Hall, when the begonia flowers were blooming.
Deng Yingchao turned Zhou Enlai's love for her into strength; turned her love for Zhou Enlai into strength, and their love continued...
This article is excerpted from "Extraordinary Years: Remembering the Last Eight Years of Premier Zhou Enlai" (by Ji Dong). Please indicate the source of the reprint.
About author:Ji Dong, born on November 10, 1943, is a native of Jizhuang Village, Xiayi County, Shangqiu City, Henan Province. In 1961, he was conscripted into the army from Xi'an City, joined the party in 1964, and successively served as a soldier, squad leader, district captain, and instructor of the Central Guard Regiment, and received many meritorious awards. In August 1968, he was transferred to serve as the secretary of Premier Zhou Enlai until his death in January 1976. In November 1976, he was transferred to the Secretariat Bureau of the General Office of the State Council and successively served as the director of the conference, literature and telecommunications, and information department; according to the needs of the work, he re-enlisted in the army in 1984 and served as the director of the security department of the General Office of the State Council (at the level of a full division). In May 1987, he was transferred to the Armed Police Headquarters as the director of combat service and the director of the office. In 1994, he was appointed vice president of the Armed Police Command College, and in 1996, he was awarded the rank of major general. After retiring in May 2002, he served as an advisor to the Zhou Enlai Deng Yingchao Research Center and vice president of the Zhou Enlai Thought and Life Research Association.