On a day during the Spring Festival in 1962, Chairman Mao did not busy with official duties, but set up a family banquet at the Zhongnanhai Yinian Hall to entertain an important guest.
Zhongnanhai Yinian Hall
To this end, Chairman Mao also specially invited Four celebrity villagers, Zhang Shizhao, Cheng Qian, Qiu Ao, and Wang Xiaofan, to accompany him.
Zhang Shizhao
Cheng Dive
Qiu Ao
After seeing Zhang Shizhao and others enter the table, Chairman Mao deliberately sold Guan Zi and said: "The guests who came today are extraordinary! You all know each other. You can get a little wind in advance, he's your boss! After listening to these words, everyone was confused and did not know who Chairman Mao was talking about.
Just then, a thin, thin, bespectacled man walked in. Chairman Mao pointed at him and said, "That's him!" Emperor Xuantong! We were all his subjects, but wasn't he your superior? Zhang Shizhao and others suddenly realized that it was the last emperor Puyi.
Puyi
So, why would a pseudo-Manchukuo war criminal become a guest of honor at the Spring Festival family banquet? It turned out that on the eve of the Spring Festival in 1959, Chairman Mao, on behalf of the CPC Central Committee, proposed to the NPC Standing Committee that, when celebrating the tenth anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, a group of war criminals, counter-revolutionary criminals, and ordinary criminal offenders who had indeed changed from evil to good would be granted amnesty. On the morning of December 4, the first batch of amnesty for war criminals at the Fushun War Criminals Management Center was solemnly held. "Ai Xin Jue Luo Puyi" is the first name on the pardon list.
Puyi in the Fushun War Criminals Management Center
From that day on, Puyi was no longer an emperor or a criminal, but an ordinary citizen of the People's Republic of China. In March 1960, Puyi was assigned to the Beijing Botanical Garden to work as a gardener and sell tickets. As for Puyi's brand-new work, Chairman Mao has always been very concerned.
In the Spring Festival of 1962, the country was in a difficult period, and everything was simple. Although it is a family banquet, there are only a few plates of Hunan peppers, bitter melons, tempeh and other small dishes on the table, as well as rice and steamed buns. Chairman Mao said to Puyi while eating: "We Hunan people like to eat peppers the most, which is called not eating without chili peppers." Therefore, every Hunan person has a chili pepper smell! ”
Chairman Mao during the Yan'an period
As he spoke, he picked up a chopstick of green pepper and fried bitter melon and placed it on a small plate in front of Puyi's seat. Seeing Puyi eating into his mouth, Chairman Mao smiled and asked him: "How does it taste?" Not bad, right? Although Puyi had already sweated a hot face, he still said: "Not bad!" Chairman Mao quipped: "It seems that you northerners also have the smell of chili peppers on your body!" ”
Chairman Mao and Puyi
This precious photo is exactly the rare souvenir of the Spring Festival family banquet in 1962. In the photo, Chairman Mao and Puyi are smiling, what is the matter? It turned out that after the meal that day, Chairman Mao took the initiative to ask for a group photo with the guests, and everyone was very happy. When Chairman Mao saw Puyi standing on the left, he said, "Guests should stand on the right!" "Because according to common sense, the right is up. Chairman Mao deliberately pulled Puyi over, made him stand on his right, and said to him: "The two of us can take a picture!" So, I stood up again and asked the photographer to take another photo.
Zhang Shizhao laughed, "This is called the founding head and the last emperor!" Everyone laughed in one sentence! Regarding this banquet, Puyi later said: "We ate and took pictures with our great leader Chairman Mao, and this is the most glorious and happy day that I can never forget, and I have great encouragement!" ”
Tomorrow, please continue to pay attention to: Premier Zhou's Diplomatic Spring Festival: Visiting North Korea, Successfully Promoting the Return of Volunteers!