We all know that Mao Zedong was a leader of a generation, and his political ability was outstanding and his diplomatic ability was also very good. Therefore, whenever some national leaders met with Mao Zedong, they would deeply admire his words and deeds. Because Mao Zedong represented all of China, his words and deeds had the style of a great power, which made many leaders of other countries admire.
As an economic power, the United States has not cooperated with China for many years, and they consider themselves to be a superpower and do not take the People's Republic of China seriously. Chairman Mao once said that we must strengthen ourselves, and one day, the Americans will certainly dress up and come to visit us.
Sure enough, Chairman Mao's words eventually became a reality. When U.S. President Richard Nixon entered the White House in the late 1960s, Nixon came to power thinking of improving this relationship with China. So at 11:30 a.m. on February 21, 1972, U.S. President Richard Nixon flew to Beijing, and Nixon was greeted by Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai. The moment Zhou Enlai shook hands with Nixon also marked the end of more than 20 years of isolation between China and the United States. Nixon's visit to China is aimed at resolving some long-standing differences between the two countries, and second, to exchange views on the international situation and sino-US relations.
It did not take long for Chairman Mao to receive Nixon cordially. The top leaders of the two countries had a long talk together for more than an hour, and the exchanges were very pleasant, and Sino-US relations were also eased. Nixon even quoted Mao Zedong's poem "There is nothing difficult in the world, as long as you can climb it" to look forward to the future relationship between China and the United States. When Nixon visited China this time, he also brought some special gifts to Chairman Mao, and out of courtesy, Chairman Mao also gave Nixon some gifts with Chinese characteristics.
However, after receiving the gift, Nixon was not satisfied, because he had long heard that Chairman Mao was a master of calligraphy, and immediately expressed the hope that Chairman Mao would personally write an ink treasure and leave it for him as a souvenir.
Chairman Mao quickly agreed, and then asked his assistant to prepare a pen and ink, and wrote down 12 words of ink treasure with a wave of his hand: Lao Su sat on a stool, Chang'e ran to the moon, and walked and watched the flowers. At that time, although Nixon gladly accepted Chairman Mao's gift, he did not quite understand the true meaning of these 12 words. Not only did Nixon not understand at that time, but even many Chinese and foreign scholars were confused, and even many people carefully studied to find out what these 12 words of ink treasure meant.
Nixon died in New York on April 22, 1994, at the age of 81. Regarding the 12-character ink treasure that Chairman Mao gave to Nixon, he did not know his intention until his death, and he also left himself with lifelong regrets. However, almost 50 years have passed since this incident, but no one can still give an accurate answer, which can be said to be an unsolved mystery.
Time back to before 1972, when China's relations with the Soviet Union were not good. In the face of the Soviet-American struggle for hegemony, Mao Zedong also told Zhou En: We must always strive for one of the two hegemons, and we cannot fight on both sides. After Nixon became president of the United States, he repeatedly made overtures to China. At this time, Mao Zedong, who had a good understanding of the international situation, immediately perceived the possibility of Sino-US cooperation. Subsequently, from July 9 to 11, 1971, after some exchanges, China and the United States reached an agreement on Nixon's visit to China, and on July 16 of the same year, a "Bulletin" was issued, confirming the major event of Nixon's upcoming visit to China.
Eventually, Nixon stayed in China for seven days, and it wasn't until February 28, 1972, that Nixon left China. At that time, the international situation was also changing rapidly, and in the face of the situation at that time, Mao Zedong was certainly happy and very supportive of the US president's visit to China. Therefore, the 12-character ink treasure he gave to Nixon must also have a certain meaning. In our opinion, Chairman Mao's 12-character ink treasure is of far-reaching significance, and I will give you an answer to my personal opinion.
The old man sat on the stool, which means that the United States is like an old man, sitting quietly on a stool. They think they are great powers, but they don't realize that the world is slowly changing. What Chairman Mao meant was that the US imperialists were a bit sitting on the sidelines and could not keep up with the situation, and that only by cooperating with China could they compete with the Soviet Union.
Chang'e Running Moon originally referred to a myth and legend in China, the story of Chang'e Feathering Dengxian flying to the moon. Here refers to China's artificial satellite "Dongfanghong I", which also indirectly shows that China's scientific and technological strength is gradually increasing, the United States can no longer look at us with the previous attitude, only cooperation is the best way out.
As literally, Chairman Mao was not very satisfied with the timing of Nixon's current visit to China. It is implied that Nixon is like a sloppy flower, the time to visit China is too short, and there will not be too many substantive breakthroughs.
I have to say that Chairman Mao's 12-character ink treasure has a far-reaching meaning, and the expectations are also obvious. Chairman Mao hoped that Sino-US relations would be maintained for a long time, not for a short time, still less for the sake of dividing and merging interests. I have to say that the artistic conception of the great man is really not comparable to ordinary people, giving people unlimited imagination space, which is breathtaking!