As soon as the news of Zhou Enlai's death came out, people all over the country were extremely sad, and even people all over the world were mourning this great figure. Many people felt sorry that China had lost such a leader.

On the morning of January 8, 1976, Prime Minister Zhou Enlai, the founding father of the People's Republic of China, passed away...

As soon as the news of Zhou Enlai's death came out, people all over the country were grieved, and even people all over the world were mourning this great man. Many people will feel sorry that China has lost such a leader.

Although people were strictly prohibited from wearing mourning for Zhou Enlai at the time, the black gauze and white flowers in many places in China were sold out overnight.

That year, more than one billion people across the country bid farewell to our great Prime Minister Zhou Enlai with sincere tears. Zhou Enlai's wife Deng Yingchao was even more devastated by Zhou Enlai's death.

Zhou Enlai was diagnosed with bladder cancer

After the founding of New China, Zhou Enlai has been running for the future of the country.

Machines also experience wear and tear, let alone a person? If a person does not get a good rest for a long time, no matter how good his physical fitness is, there will be a day when he cannot hold on.

In February 1967, Zhou Enlai suddenly felt difficulty breathing and severe chest cramps. Therefore, Zhou Enlai had no choice but to put down his work and go to the hospital for examination. Finally, Zhou Enlai was diagnosed with heart disease.

In order to allow the sick Zhou Enlai to have a good rest, many comrades in the party kept trying to persuade him not to work so hard.

In order to prevent his comrades from worrying about him, Zhou Enlai verbally agreed to their requests. In fact, he still insisted on completing various tasks of the Party Central Committee. Sometimes, he did not even sleep for several days.

Such excessive fatigue often caused Zhou Enlai, who already suffered from heart disease, to suffer from angina pectoris symptoms. Therefore, he had to take medicine several times a day and inhale oxygen every night before he could sleep peacefully.

At the end of September, in order to welcome the National Day, Zhou Enlai, at the request of the Party Central Committee, prepared to write a trial message to "warmly celebrate the 18th anniversary of the founding of the great People's Republic of China."

When Zhou Enlai picked up the pen, his hand began to tremble uncontrollably and he could not lift the pen at all. Unable to hold on, Zhou Enlai had to go to the hospital for treatment accompanied by his secretary.

Later, for the sake of Zhou Enlai's health, the Party Central Committee had to send medical staff to stay outside Zhou Enlai's office so that Zhou Enlai could receive timely rescue when he fell ill.

(Meeting Foreign Guests)

In May 1972, when the doctor was conducting a physical examination on Zhou Enlai, he discovered that red blood cells appeared in Zhou Enlai's urine. The doctor was very worried and quickly sent someone to conduct a comprehensive examination of Zhou Enlai's body.

Later, Zhou Enlai was diagnosed with bladder cancer. The results of this examination hit everyone around Zhou Enlai like a bolt from the blue.

Under the torture of illness, Zhou Enlai's body was getting worse day by day and he was losing weight day by day, but he still persisted in working every day.

It was not until January 1973 that Zhou Enlai developed symptoms of blood in urine and . In just a few months, Zhou Enlai's condition further deteriorated and he felt very unoptimistic.

After Zhou Enlai learned about his illness, he worked even harder. He was racing against time every day to review documents and receive an endless stream of foreign guests and visitors.

He wanted to work to forget his illness.

Zhou Enlai always hoped that he could make more contributions to the people while he was alive.

Zhou Enlai passed away

In June 1975, Zhou Enlai, who had been busy with work, had to be admitted to the hospital for treatment because of the worsening of bladder cancer.

Tortured by illness, Zhou Enlai's body was already very weak, and he felt that he would soon die.

So Zhou Enlai called his wife Deng Yingchao to his hospital bed and explained his funeral affairs again.

Zhou Enlai said: "After my death, I will be cremated without a tombstone. The ashes should not be kept. They should be used as fertilizer in the field or sprinkled into the water to feed the fish. There should be no farewell ceremony for the body and no memorial service. We We cannot increase the burden on the people."

(Zhou Enlai and his wife)

After listening to Zhou Enlai's words, Deng Yingchao nodded silently with tears in his eyes.

In early January 1976, Zhou Enlai had fallen into a coma, but at about 11 o'clock in the evening on January 7, Zhou Enlai suddenly woke up from his coma.

When he saw his attending doctor Wu Jieping, he said to Wu Jieping in his weak voice: "I have nothing here anymore. You should go and take care of other patients. They need you more. You go." It's okay."

After Zhou Enlai finished, he fell into a coma again.

In this situation, in order to revive Zhou Enlai, the doctors began to rescue him with all their strength. They wanted to save Zhou Enlai's life with the last glimmer of hope.

However, things went against expectations. At about 9:40 a.m. on January 8, our Premier Zhou Enlai, who still cared about others at the last moment of his life, passed away at the 305th Hospital of the Chinese People's Liberation Army at the age of 78.

After Zhou Enlai's death, the barber Zhu Dianhua, who had been cutting his hair during his lifetime, was invited to give Zhou Enlai his last haircut.

When Zhu Dianhua saw Zhou Enlai's haggard remains, he was very sad. He was so sad that he couldn't fix Zhou Enlai's appearance. He had no choice but to leave the task to his apprentice to complete.

After Zhou Enlai's body was repaired, his body was placed in the West Flower Hall and covered with the party flag.

The next morning, China Central People's Radio and Television announced the news of Zhou Enlai's death, but many people were unwilling to believe that the great Premier Zhou Enlai passed away like this.

As soon as the news of Zhou Enlai's death spread, the whole country mourned.

On January 10, people bid farewell to Zhou Enlai’s body in the West Flower Hall. With the support of the staff, Deng Yingchao laid a wreath for her lover. She cried very sadly, not believing that her lover who had been with her for more than fifty years was gone. Left like this.

Zhou Enlai's body was cremated and his ashes were scattered

At four o'clock in the afternoon on January 11, 1976, after the people bid farewell to Zhou Enlai's body, his body was sent by hearse to Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery for cremation.

Deng Yingchao made a request before the body was cremated: completeness and safety.

Integrity means that the ashes must be placed completely in an urn; safety means that the cremator must be cleaned before and after cremation.

htmlOn November 11, it was the dead of winter. On Chang'an Avenue , millions of people in Beijing city braved the biting cold wind and stood silently on both sides of the street, regardless of gender, old or young.

They all wore black gauze on their arms and held Zhou Enlai's portrait in their hands. Their faces were filled with tears and they were very sad. They just hoped to see Zhou Enlai off for the last time.

Zhou Enlai's hearse drove slowly through Chang'an Street. People could not control their sadness. They were unwilling to accept the reality that the great prime minister had passed away. They chased after the hearse and kept crying. .

How they hope that this great prime minister can wake up amidst their cries.

Deng Yingchao saw that the people in the city were extremely sad because of the loss of their beloved Premier Zhou Enlai, so he lay on Zhou Enlai's coffin and cried loudly: "Enlai, I will never see you again. We will say goodbye forever. ”

Deng Yingchao’s sadness infected everyone in the hearse, and they all burst into tears at this scene.

On the road, some people even ran in front of the hearse to prevent Zhou Enlai's body from being cremated.

However, it was Zhou Enlai’s last wish that the body be cremated. He had signed the cremation proposal more than 20 years ago.

In 1956, in order to save the country's land resources and allow more people to have food and clothing, funeral reforms were implemented across the country: people were cremated after death.

The custom of burial has been in our country for thousands of years. After death, people hope to be buried in peace, but suddenly asking people to change such customs is unacceptable to the masses in a short period of time.

In order to promote the smooth implementation of the cremation system, Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, the top leaders of the party and the country, took the lead in signing the cremation initiative.

Zhou Enlai also put forward the requirement of "leveling graves and turning them into plowing" and would dig out the remains from the graveyard and cremate them.

In order to express his sincerity in the funeral reform system, Zhou Enlai returned to his hometown in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, took the lead in leveling his ancestral graves, and also had crops planted on the original gravesites.

In order to express his grief for his ancestors, Zhou Enlai only took a handful of soil from his ancestral graves and took it with him. From then on, there was no more graves in Zhou Enlai's family.

The day after Zhou Enlai's body was cremated, Deng Yingchao went to the party branch in Xihua Hall and called deputy guard chief Zhang Shuying and personal guards Gao Zhenpu and Zhao Wei to her office to discuss with them how to scatter Zhou Enlai's ashes.

Deng Yingchao said to the three of them: "Enlai's request not to retain the ashes has been approved by the Party Central Committee. I came to you today to discuss with you where to scatter Enlai's ashes."

Zhou Enlai's His death made people all over the country extremely sad, not to mention Zhang Shuying, Gao Zhenpu and Zhao Wei who had been with him for many years. They had developed a deep relationship with Zhou Enlai over the years, and no one could understand their level of sadness.

Gao Zhenpu once made a request to Deng Yingchao. He said: "Premier Zhou has passed away, and people across the country miss him very much. Can the Prime Minister's ashes be kept in the West Flower Hall for a few days before being scattered?"

After Deng Yingchao heard this, He waved his hand and said: "No, if Enlai's ashes are left in the Xihua Hall and people find out, they will definitely come to express their condolences. This will have a very bad impact." After listening to Deng Yingchao's explanation, Gao Zhenpu understood the location. nodded.

Deng Yingchao also told them that the time and place for scattering the ashes can only be done secretly and cannot be discovered by the people, so as not to disturb the people.

Deng Yingchao is also worried that if the place where the ashes were scattered becomes known, it will become a place where people commemorate Zhou Enlai in the future.

So, Deng Yingchao asked the three of them to find a throwing place secretly, and then complete the throwing task at night.

html It was freezing cold in Beijing in November. Several of them braved the biting cold wind to search for several days, but could not find a suitable place.

Later, the central government decided that the location for scattering Zhou Enlai's ashes should be determined according to Zhou Enlai's last wish, and four people, Guo Yufeng, Luo Qingchang, Gao Zhenpu and Zhang Shuying, took a plane to carry out the task of scattering the ashes.

html On November 15, after Zhou Enlai’s memorial meeting, Deng Yingchao led Zhang Shu to welcome Luo Qingchang, Guo Yufeng and others into the West Flower Hall at around 7:30 in the evening. Zhou Enlai's portrait and urn were quietly placed in the main hall of the West Flower Hall. The urn was covered with the flag of the Communist Party of China.

Deng Yingchao and several comrades observed silence in front of Zhou Enlai's portrait.

After the silence, Deng Yingchao walked to the front of the urn. She gently opened the urn with trembling hands and stroked the ashes. She said with tears in her eyes: "Comrade Enlai, your wish is about to come true. You Rest in peace!"

At this scene, the people present could no longer bear the grief and burst into tears. Their sorrow was beyond words.

At about 8 o'clock in the evening, four comrades including Zhang Shuying and Gao Zhenpu took the urn from Deng Yingchao and drove to the airport. Later, Deng Yingchao, accompanied by her secretary, also arrived at the airport by car.

After Zhang Shuying, Gao Zhenpu and other four comrades boarded the plane, the secretary supported Deng Yingchao and watched the plane take off.

After the plane took off, they scattered the first handful of ashes over Beijing, the second handful of ashes when the plane flew over the Miyun Reservoir in Beijing, and the third handful of ashes when it arrived at the Haihe River in Tianjin. The ashes finally reached the sky above the estuary of the Yellow River in Binzhou, Shandong Province, where all Zhou Enlai's ashes were scattered.

Every place where Zhou Enlai's ashes are scattered has a certain meaning: The first scattering of ashes in Beijing is to connect with the people of the capital; A revolution started in Jinmen; for the fourth time, the ashes were scattered in Binzhou , and he went to the mountains and rivers to repay his mother.

Conclusion

Zhou Enlai and Deng Yingchao were childless throughout their lives, but they were constantly worrying about the people of the country being able to live a subsistence life. Until the last moment of Zhou Enlai's life, he was still worrying about others. .

Zhou Enlai's death made Chairman Mao, who was still seriously ill, extremely sad. At Zhou Enlai's memorial service, when he heard Deng Xiaoping read the eulogy in a choked voice, our great leader Mao Zedong burst into tears. It can be seen how important Zhou Enlai is in Chairman Mao's heart.

Although Zhou Enlai’s ashes have not been left and there is no tomb of him on the land of China, our great Premier Zhou Enlai has always remained in our hearts.