Wake up（218）

 

218

 

. Talking about those things and those people during the Cultural Revolution always makes people puzzled. In the turbulent era of the Cultural Revolution, why were hundreds of millions of Chinese people involved? Everyone played a different role in this movement. Individuals in a crowd are the sand within the sand, and the wind can stir them up at will. Every creed, political, theological, or social, which is to take root among the masses, must take a religious form—a form capable of keeping out dangerous discussions. It is an indisputable fact that Mao Zedong was deified by the Chinese at that time.

The facts of history also tell us: Civilization has always been created only by a small number of intellectual aristocrats rather than groups. As a leader, if he is to establish a religious or political creed, he must succeed in arousing the whims of the masses. Mao Zedong Thought has become China's political belief. There is no doubt that whoever opposes Mao Zedong Thought is against Mao Zedong, and whoever opposes Mao Zedong will inevitably perish. When the moral forces upon which civilization has been formed lose their potency, its final disintegration is always accomplished by unconscious and barbaric crowds.

Broadly speaking, the Cultural Revolution divided China into two factions, the revolutionary and the counter-revolutionary. In fact, China was a contest between the people and the powerful. The battles of the rich and powerful are all under the banner of the people. In the eternal conflict with reason, the so-called revolutionary feelings have never lost their hands. On the contrary, sometimes what is not true contains more truth than what is true.

Zhou Jianguo thoughtfully said to Pan Guangfu and Chai Jianmin: To understand the Cultural Revolution, one has to understand Zhang Chunqiao.

In examining and reflecting on the Cultural Revolution, because the materials I know are really limited, I have never dared to jump to conclusions. There must be a destructive side, but there must also be an anti-bureaucratic side. Mao Zedong destroyed the culture, but Dali did not succeed, because transforming the culture of a nation is by no means an easy task.

Zhou Jianguo said: I agree with Mao Zedong's criticism of Confucianism. Lao Kong's name is high, but he is actually a dross. One thing that can be predicted is that when China conducts cultural and ideological reflection in the future, Confucius’ thoughts will definitely be sublated. This is the fate of Confucius, and it is also because Confucius’ thoughts have had a profound influence on the Chinese people. , with a more poisonous side.

Why do I say that to study the Cultural Revolution, one should first understand Zhang Chunqiao? Zhang Chunqiao is a literati with strong idealism, and his idealism, to a certain extent, is in harmony with Lao Mao's idealism. People on the right may hate the Cultural Revolution very much, but it seems a bit biased to summarize such a large movement only as a catastrophe. The biggest personal impact during the Cultural Revolution was the bureaucratic class at that time, that is, the fathers of the contemporary dignitaries who fully control China's political and economic power today. Therefore, it is impossible to comment objectively on the movement of the Cultural Revolution in contemporary times. During the Cultural Revolution, Deng Xiaoping's family was ruined and Liu Shaoqi's family was ruined. But the memory of those contemporary dignitaries for their fathers is still obsessed with power and wealth. "Serve the people" is still just a political slogan.

Zhou Jianguo said to Pan Guangfu and Chai Jianmin: The reason for launching the Cultural Revolution, Mao Zedong is undoubtedly the one who understands China’s politics, history and human nature best. When talking about governance in China, or in any country, it is nothing more than two points: the administration of officials and fairness , especially the administration of officials, especially in a country like China where the official standard is strong, corrupt officials are rampant, and the gap between the rich and the poor leads to constant dynasty changes, how to manage officials has become a major issue for the stability and prosperity of the country. Mao Zedong was undoubtedly an emperor, and the Communist Party in his hands was just a tool, a prop. In his time, he was an out-and-out emperor. In Chinese history, there were not many emperors who were born as commoners. Zhu Yuanzhang and Mao Zedong were both. The way of governing the country, especially the way of dealing with officials, is almost the same, that is, the methods are very severe and harsh. This reflects the deep-rooted hatred of corrupt officials among Chinese civilians. Denying this point in the Cultural Revolution and Mao Zedong Thought is undoubtedly incomplete in evaluating the Cultural Revolution. Zhu Yuanzhang killed corrupt officials to the point where no one dared to be an official. Mao Zedong's method is the supervision of the whole people under the power of one king. Since it is a movement for the whole people, it is inevitable that good and evil will be mixed up and there will be no rules. Another point is the issue of fairness. Mao Zedong's era, on the whole, was an egalitarian society. Of course, the inequality between workers and peasants still existed. In his mind, he wants to realize the utopia of an average society in his own mind. This is an important reason why he has the support of the people at the bottom. It is impossible to evaluate any historical figure or event without considering the social and historical conditions and the psychology of the people at that time. At the same time, he is a person who has a strong desire for power and a strong imperial thought.

Mao Zedong was undoubtedly a centralized and authoritarian dictator, and this cannot be denied either. The consequences of his other impression so far are an autocratic political system and political party, a country that restricts freedom of speech, an era where intellectuals are the most depraved and powerless, and an era of impoverished ideas.

Will there be a second Cultural Revolution? Zhou Jianguo said to Pan Guangfu and Chai Jianmin: I believe it will appear. Now there are many political, economic, cultural, and educational decisions that are reviving the era of the Cultural Revolution. What will happen? The fate of the "Gang of Four" will become another historical reference.

Zhou Jianguo said: After reading Zhang Chunqiao's speech in court, especially some words at the end of the article, I feel that Zhang Chunqiao's judgment on China's future development is still very accurate, and this person is by no means mediocre.

Zhou Jianguo told Pan Guangfu and Chai Jianmin that Zhang Chunqiao said the following in the court where he was tried:

 

Millions of bureaucrats big and small who have regained power are happily marrying their children to replenish new blood for interest groups... It is no surprise.

And because you have stolen the industrial wealth accumulated by the people for decades, you have the ability to buy people's hearts in a short period of time...Let the deceived people denounce the crimes of our revolutionaries...

This kind of little trick can be fooled for a while, can it be fooled for a lifetime? To be cautious, maybe it can; if this "one life" refers to our generation.

I am not old yet, in my lifetime, I may not be able to see your demise, but I can see your degeneration, and see your descendants going crazy! To see you suppress the masses, to see you plant the seeds of another revolution among the masses!

 

Zhou Jianguo took out a document from his bag and told Pan Guangfu and Chai Jianmin: This is the full text of Zhang Chunqiao's speech in the court where he was tried. You can read it.

Zhou Jianguo said:

As far as I am concerned, I certainly hope that China will be a country with political democracy and freedom of speech. I also believe that such a China will come sooner or later, no matter how much it costs and how many twists and turns it goes through. However, the Cultural Revolution must have had its own reasons, not just power struggles, but also governing ideas and line struggles. Simply negating such a thing, regardless of the differences in character and philosophy, may be difficult to fully comment on such a large cultural revolution and national movement.