In 1916, Zhang Guotao was admitted to Peking University, and because of his positive performance in the May Fourth Movement in 1919, he was elected chairman of the Beijing Federation of Students. Later, he became one of the early leaders of the CCP and participated in the CPC National Congress. However, during the Long March, it engaged in splits within our Party, eventually betrayed the revolution, and also defected to Chiang Kai-shek. In his later years, when he lived in Canada and mentioned Chairman Mao, what kind of evaluation did he give?
Zhang Guotao and Chairman Mao
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > Chairman Mao is 5 years older than Zhang Guotao, the two have many similarities, but many differences. </h1>
Both were born in the countryside, but Chairman Mao was born into a rich peasant family, while Zhang Guotao was born into a landlord family and belonged to a family of officials and gentry. Both were intellectuals, Chairman Mao's highest education was at Hunan First Normal School, and Zhang Guotao graduated from Peking University and was familiar with Russian and English, and did not use interpreters when talking to delegates from various countries.
In the family, both have a rebellious side, and both are the bosses of the family. Chairman Mao's father often scolded him because he had delayed his farm work by reading books, so Chairman Mao was somewhat rebellious. However, compared with Zhang Guotao, when there was a conflict with his father, Zhang Guotao actually called his father's name directly, and since then Zhang Guotao has not been in contact with his father.
Li Dazhao
Both men studied under Li Dazhao and became Marxist-Leninists. But in contrast, Zhang Guotao worshiped Li Dazhao as a teacher earlier and benefited earlier. It's just that Zhang Guotao has always looked down on Chairman Mao, nor does he think that a peasant-born Chairman Mao knows what Marxism-Leninism is.
Both were good at launching mass movements, but Chairman Mao believed that the core problem of the Chinese revolution was the peasant question, and the peasants' main problem was the land problem, so it was necessary to carry out the agrarian revolution and take the line of the countryside encircling the cities. However, Zhang Guotao believed that the workers' movement was the most important, and that the revolution in the central city where the industrial workers were located was the idea of Marxism-Leninism, so he insisted on using workers to resist the peasants.
Chairman Mao
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > Zhang Guotao first met Chairman Mao</h1>
In fact, Chairman Mao and Zhang Guotao knew each other earlier, as early as 1919, Zhang Guotao knew Chairman Mao. At that time, Zhang Guotao was the leader of the student movement, and Chairman Mao was the librarian of Peking University, and under the introduction of Li Dazhao, Zhang Guotao met Chairman Mao and felt that Chairman Mao was dressed in shabby clothes and had a full Xiang tone, and he looked down on him very much. Although he likes to talk to people, he is reluctant to talk to Chairman Mao more.
In July 1921, at the first party congress, Zhang Guotao was elected as the chairman of the conference as a delegate appointed by Li Dazhao. At this time, Chairman Mao was also a major representative. Although Chairman Mao's knowledge was already relatively rich at this time, Zhang Guotao still looked down on Chairman Mao and only began to notice this person. Zhang Guotao felt that Chairman Mao was more talkative, but he liked to set traps when chatting with people, which made Zhang Guotao very contemptuous.
In 1923, Zhang Guotao was defeated as a member of the Central Committee because of his opposition to the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party at the three major congresses of the Communist Party of China. In May of the following year, he was arrested by the Beiyang warlords, and unexpectedly confessed important members of our party in prison, as well as his mentor Li Dazhao, which indirectly led to Li Dazhao's subsequent arrest and tragic death.
Oil painting of "Autumn Harvest Uprising"
In 1927, Zhang Guotao was a member of the Standing Committee of the Central Committee. He sent Chairman Mao to Sichuan as provincial party secretary, saying it was relatively safe and asking him to lead the local peasant movement. But Chairman Mao said without hesitation that he was going to Hunan, which surprised Zhang Guotao very much, and the landlords and warlords there all hated him to death. Unable to resist Chairman Mao's insistence, Zhang Guotao had no choice but to agree. Soon after, Chairman Mao led a vigorous autumn harvest uprising on the border of Hunan and Gansu.
In 1932, after Zhang Guotao led the Red Fourth Front army to withdraw from the Eyu-Anhui Soviet Region, he established the Sichuan-Shaanxi Base Area. In 1935, after the Battle of Jialing River, under the offensive of the Kuomintang, Zhang Guotao decided to abandon the Sichuan-Shaanxi base area without authorization, and the Long March began.
In June 1935, at the foot of the Snow Mountain, the Central Red Army's Red First and Red Fourth Fronts met victoriously, and Zhang Guotao and Chairman Mao also met in Maogong, and the two met again after 8 years. At this time, Chairman Mao had already been elected as a member of the Politburo Standing Committee at the Zunyi Conference, and his status was on a par with Zhang Guotao.com.
Zunyi Conference Site
Compared with Chairman Mao, Zhang Guotao has long served as a member of the Central Committee, a member of the Politburo, and a member of the Standing Committee, and his position has always been at the core of the Party Central Committee. Chairman Mao was only added as an alternate member of the Politburo at the 1927 Eighty-Seven Congress, and entered the Politburo in 1933. It is just that Chairman Mao often reflects on himself after being frustrated. On the contrary, after Zhang Guotao was frustrated, he would abandon his original beliefs and abandon other things for this reason.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > inflated ambitions</h1>
Before arriving in Maogong, the Red Fourth Front unfurled the slogan "Welcome 300,000 Central Red Army." Xu Xiangqian felt that it was unlikely, the Red Army also encountered various difficulties on the Long March Road, the troops must have been reduced a lot, even if there were 300,000 at the time of departure, it was impossible to have so many left now. Zhang Guotao believes that the Central Red Army is a big brother, according to our current estimation of 80,000 troops, at least more than 5 times, so the number of 300,000 is already a lot.
Premier Zhou
On the afternoon of June 25, 1935, when it rained heavily, Chairman Mao, Premier Zhou, and others rushed to the agreed place three miles away to greet Zhang Guotao's arrival. Zhang Guotao rode to the location on horseback and shook hands with relevant leaders to meet. Subsequently, the welcoming ceremony also began, and the leaders delivered speeches at the meeting. However, after meeting the division, Zhang Guotao's mentality changed, he saw that the Central Red Army was all dressed in rags, and even the mental outlook did not look very good, so he became suspicious, thinking that the number of the Central Red Army could not have 300,000.
Naturally, the Central Red Army fought many vicious battles on the road, and encountered many difficulties on the road, and the reduction of troops was certain, there were more than 86,000 troops at the time of departure, and only more than 10,000 people were left after the meeting, so the troops had become disfigured. On the contrary, the Four Fronts Army claimed to be 100,000 people, but in fact it was more than 80,000 people, and more than 10,000 people had already established new base areas in Xiang'echuanqian. The Four Fronts Army also had relatively favorable conditions in the Tongnanba area of Sichuan, and it had only been away from the Sichuan-Shaanxi base area for more than a month before the meeting, and it was certain that the military appearance was neat and the mental outlook was good.
With doubts, Zhang Guotao wanted to find someone to explore the situation. So, he found Premier Zhou, chatted a few words, and then began to get to the main topic, asking: "How many people do you still have now?" Premier Zhou was very alert to this and asked, "How many of you are there?" Zhang Guotao exaggerated that there were 100,000 people, and then Premier Zhou said that there were 30,000 people. Because Premier Zhou had already learned about the strength of the Red Fourth Front in a conversation with a cadre, he also floated up the numbers. Zhang Guotao felt that Premier Zhou was very shrewd and could not ask anything, so he went to zhu de again.
Jude
Zhu De did not know Zhang Guotao deeply, so he had no sense of vigilance. He told Zhang Guotao that only the backbone of the whole army was left, most of them had been sacrificed on the road, and only more than 10,000 people were left. And many of these more than 10,000 people have hung up the lottery, and the combat effectiveness cannot be compared with before. Zhang Guotao was surprised when he heard it, and Zhu De also saw it, and continued: "But we have retained most of the backbone, which can be said to be very precious." Then Zhang Guotao introduced the situation of the Red Fourth Front, and the conversation between the two lasted for a long time.
Toward the end of their conversation, Zhu De also solemnly told Zhang Guotao that Chairman Mao was a man of foresight who could often put forward unique views on military issues and that he and Chairman Mao should do a good job of unity so that they could develop and grow together. But after this, Zhang Guotao seemed to have changed like a person, feeling that there were too few people on the other side, and those who were strong and strong, they were the king, how could they be led by others.
On June 26, 1935, the Two Estuary Conference was held. At the meeting, Zhang Guotao put forward the "Chuangankang Plan," holding that it was necessary to take Xikang as the rear and develop toward northern Sichuan, Gannan, and Hanzhong, or go south to Sichuan and use Sichuan as a new base area. Zhang Guotao's exposition seems to have no problems, but in fact it is hidden in the heart. Chairman Mao put forward a plan to go north, to establish a new base area in Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu, and at the same time he still had a sympathetic face for Zhang Guotao's plan, but only gently carried it over.
Bogu
After the speech, many leaders agreed with Chairman Mao's views. Bogu was sharp in his words and attacked Zhang Guotao's opinion, saying that "going south to Chuankang is equivalent to a sparrow entering a gutter, and it cannot go in and out." This made Zhang Guotao very annoyed, but since no one could listen to Zhang Guotao's opinion, Zhang Guotao could only be forced to agree to the plan to go north.
In order to appease Zhang Guotao's emotions, the Politburo decided to appoint Zhang Guotao as vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, but Zhang Guotao was not satisfied. Soon, the central government prepared to launch the Songpan Campaign, but because Zhang Guotao was not satisfied with his position, he refused to lead his troops north, and finally missed a good opportunity to attack Songpan.
Ye Jianying
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > split begins</h1>
The Central Red Army decided to go north to establish a revolutionary base area in Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu, but Zhang Guotao advocated going south on the way. Fortunately, Zhang Guotao's plan was discovered by Ye Jianying in time, thus avoiding the tragedy. Knowing the news that the Central Red Army was continuing to move north, Zhang Guotao was very angry. At a meeting of senior cadres, Zhang Guotao even proposed to follow the method of Lenin's break with the Second International, establish a "Provisional Central Committee", and break with the Red Army going north. Sure enough, in the Battle of Baizhangguan in 1935, Zhang Guotao's troops suffered heavy losses, while the Red Army in the north won successive victories. In the end, Zhang Guotao's "Provisional Central Committee" also failed and had to go north.
It can also be seen from Zhang Guotao's various behaviors that in the face of major events, Zhang Guotao often carries personal emotions, the pattern is not large, and he cannot listen to advice. Chairman Mao, on the other hand, never engaged in any small circle, nor was he discouraged by defeat.
In March 1937, at an enlarged meeting held in Yan'an, the central government criticized Zhang Guotao's erroneous behavior. However, in order to save him, he was appointed vice chairman of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, but at this time, Zhang Guotao already had the consciousness of leaving the organization, so he always had dissatisfaction with the central authorities.
Statue of Zhang Guotao
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > Zhang Guotao's rebellion</h1>
On April 1, 1938, Zhang Guotao told Chairman Mao that he was going to visit the tomb of the Yellow Emperor, and Chairman Mao agreed. Unexpectedly, Zhang Guotao planned to defect to the Kuomintang after sweeping the tomb. However, his plan was not coincidentally discovered, and Chairman Mao immediately instructed zhang Guotao to intercept him, but in the end, Zhang Guotao escaped by chance. After that, Zhang Guotao joined the Kuomintang, but because he did not achieve any results, he lost his use value and was isolated by the Kuomintang. After the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Zhang Guotao became a magistrate, but not long after his appointment, he resigned his post and fled to Shanghai.
Chiang Kai-shek
Before the liberation of the mainland, many senior Kuomintang officials fled to Taiwan, and Zhang Guotao also asked Chiang Kai-shek to go to Taiwan, but Chiang Kai-shek refused him. Zhang Guotao felt that it was inappropriate to stay on the mainland, so he fled to Taiwan with his family. Only after arriving in Taiwan, he had no relatives on his own, and after some effort, he finally rented a house. Originally, he wanted to continue to serve the Kuomintang, but the Kuomintang ignored him, and soon even the house he rented was forcibly expropriated by the Kuomintang. In desperation, Zhang Guotao could only take his family to Hong Kong.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > Zhang Guotao's later years</h1>
In 1961, researchers at the University of Kansas Celebrity Center approached Mr. Zhang, hoping he could write a memoir and promising him a good pay. For Zhang Guotao at this time, this is undoubtedly a considerable income, which can greatly improve his current life. At this time, Zhang Guotao was 64 years old and began to write memoirs.
Zhang Guotao in his later years
In October 1968, three American personnel conducted an exclusive interview with Zhang Guotao, asking him to talk about the "special movement" that swept the country and his views on Chairman Mao. Zhang Guotao said that Chairman Mao was a man of extraordinary charm and political ability, and although he was a peasant socialist, he had a desire for equality, and when he found that the regime he had established did not have these, he would try every means to achieve his goal.
At the end of 1968, Zhang Guotao moved to Canada and was admitted to a nursing home.
Remember Chairman Mao
On September 9, 1976, Chairman Mao passed away in Beijing, and his death attracted the attention of people around the world. At that time, Zhang Guotao was asked by a reporter how to view Chairman Mao, and Zhang Guotao only said lightly: "Our era has passed." One day in this year, Zhang Guotao was admitted to the elderly hospital because of a stroke.
In 1979, Zhang Guotao was 82 years old. The winter in Canada was unusually cold, and on the night of December 2, Zhang Guotao fell to the ground when he turned over on his hospital bed, but he rang the bell many times and no one answered. Zhang Guotao, who could not help the cold torture, was actually frozen to death at night, and when the nurse checked the room, he found that Zhang Guotao was dead.
Zhang Guotao, who once had a revolutionary experience in the limelight, was lamented in his later years. Compared with the hundred generations after Chairman Mao's death, who is the real winner?