Shaoshan Chairman Mao Memorial Hall
1999, the autumn wind was bleak, and tourists lined up in front of the Shaoshan Comrade Mao Zedong Memorial Hall as usual. Tourists from all over the country lined up to enter the memorial hall with reverence, and everyone was eager to learn about the life of the great leader Chairman Mao here.
One of the tourists has a special identity. Although she is nearly 60 years old and has gray hair, she is in a good spirit. She is Zhang Yufeng, Chairman Mao’s life secretary and confidential secretary in his later years. The staff learned in advance that Zhang Yufeng was coming and wanted to receive her alone, but she refused.
During the visit, Zhang Yufeng listened quietly to the tour guide introducing every relic of Chairman Mao. Because the climate in the south is humid, many relics have mold spots. She said on the spot that she would donate 100,000 yuan to add anti-mold and anti-corrosion and constant temperature equipment in the memorial hall.
When the tour guide introduced a photo of Chairman Mao and the special train waiter, he smiled and said, "Where are you on this?" Zhang Yufeng looked at the young self and the kind Chairman Mao in the photo, and smiled at the corner of her mouth. She muttered to herself, "Yes, this is how I look young."
At that moment, Zhang Yufeng recalled every bit of working around Chairman Mao in his later years. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Chairman Mao often traveled on special trains and was able to become one of the staff members on the special trains. Zhang Yufeng always thought he was very lucky. One day in July 1970, 26-year-old Zhang Yufeng was cleaning on Chairman Mao’s special train as usual.
Zhang Yufeng (first from left)
Zhang Yufeng works hard and careful, and has been praised by the conductor many times. Chairman Mao is not unfamiliar with her. On that day, Zhang Yufeng received a notice from the conductor that her superiors asked her to go to Zhongnanhai . Before she could change her clothes, she picked her up and arrived at the station where the special train was parked.
Zhang Yufeng came to Zhongnanhai with a nervous mood. As soon as she got off the car, she found that Zhang Yaoci, then the first deputy director of the General Office of the Central Committee, the head of the Central Guard Corps, and Wu Xujun, the head of the nurse of Chairman Mao, were already waiting. The two took Zhang Yufeng to the office and asked her if she was willing to work with Chairman Mao of Zhongnanhai.
In that era, Chairman Mao had a lofty prestige in the hearts of the people, and how many people dreamed of being able to work by his side. It was supported by such belief that Zhang Yufeng, who was not mentally prepared at all, agreed directly, but she did not expect what impact this incident would have on her later life...
Shortly after entering Zhongnanhai, Zhang Yufeng was appointed as Chairman Mao's life secretary, and she accompanied Chairman Mao through the last six years of her life. During more than half a century of revolutionary career, Chairman Mao was in good health and had always maintained strong energy. However, when Chairman Mao was in his later years, he was suffering from multiple diseases just like an ordinary elderly person.
Chairman Mao's body took a sharp turn for the beginning of the 1970s. In August 1970, the Second Plenary Session of the Ninth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was held in Lushan. After Chairman Mao returned to Beijing from Jiangxi, he often had symptoms such as low fever and , cough, and fatigue. This situation has never happened before.
Chairman Mao
After the health care doctor made a preliminary diagnosis, he suspected that Chairman Mao had pneumonia, but he needed to use X-ray and other instruments to confirm the diagnosis. However, what Chairman Mao was most disgusted was his physical examination. For example, he later suffered from senile cataracts in his eyes and was never willing to undergo surgery.
After Premier Zhou learned of the situation, after his personal persuasion, Chairman Mao reluctantly agreed to undergo an instrument examination and finally confirmed that the disease in the clinic was pneumonia. After a period of treatment and adjustment, Chairman Mao's lung infection with improved, but Chairman Mao was 77 years old after all, which made Zhang Yufeng pay great attention to his physical condition.
Not long after Zhang Yufeng came to her, she found that Chairman Mao’s schedule was very irregular, and she often didn’t care about eating when it was time to eat, and staying up late to review documents was even more common. Nowadays, people often talk about health preservation. In Zhang Yufeng's view, Chairman Mao's way of health preservation is reading and learning.
In an interview, Zhang Yufeng said: "Chairman Mao does not pay attention to personal diet and life, nor does he pay attention to health. The chairman is not careful, but he still retains the early simple and simple farmer living habits, such as rice grains falling on the table, picking them up with his hands and putting them in his mouth to eat. If it comes to the current health perspective, it is definitely unhygienic, but he is considering cherishing food."
In the eyes of other staff members around Chairman Mao, Zhang Yufeng is a careful and elegant woman. She treats people sincerely and never shows off. She got married before coming to Zhongnanhai to work. Her lover Liu Aimin is a director of of the Ministry of Railways. In order to take care of Chairman Mao’s daily life as much as possible, Zhang Yufeng once taught himself a lot of nursing knowledge.
In his later years, Chairman Mao and his staff took a photo with him
The weather in Beijing is severe and changeable during the winter and spring, and Chairman Mao also kept catching colds and coughing. In the spring of 1971, Chairman Mao once again caused bronchitis due to a cold. This is not a serious disease, but Chairman Mao still stayed up late to review the documents, which worsened and became lobular pneumonia.
Since Chairman Mao was unwilling to treat pneumonia by injecting antibiotics, the doctor could only ask him to take the anti-inflammatory drug orally, but this could not completely treat lung infection. Zhang Yufeng observed Chairman Mao's condition more carefully and recorded it for timely reporting. Chairman Mao still doesn't want to live a regular life, and doesn't like someone to disturb her when reviewing documents.
This made the staff very anxious. How can we persuade Chairman Mao to have a meal on time? After thinking about it, the task finally fell on Zhang Yufeng's shoulders because Zhang Yufeng was deeply trusted by Chairman Mao. To give an example, Chairman Mao handed over the keys to Zhang Yufeng to keep.
After Zhang Yufeng received the task, she found a Chairman Mao to walk into his study while he was working and advised him to have a meal immediately. As soon as he saw Zhang Yufeng coming, Chairman Mao said directly: "Why did you suddenly come in? Don't you know that you should not disturb me when I work?"
Zhang Yufeng was also quite angry. She brought the food directly to Chairman Mao and said: "Chairman, people are iron and rice and steel, and the body is the capital of the revolution. Even at work, you have to finish the meal first!" Seeing Zhang Yufeng's serious face, Chairman Mao smiled, and he put down his work and started eating.
Chairman Mao and Zhang Yufeng
On January 6, 1972, Marshal Chen Yi died of illness. Chairman Mao and Chen Yi have a deep friendship, and they worked closely together during their time in Jinggangshan. According to the funeral process, Chen Yi's memorial service is scheduled to be held in the auditorium of the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery in Beijing on the afternoon of January 10.
On November 8, Premier Zhou reviewed the eulogy sent by the Central Military Commission, and that night he asked his secretary to send it to Chairman Mao for review. After reviewing it, Chairman Mao did not express his intention to attend Chen Yi's memorial service. In fact, Chairman Mao’s physical condition was very bad at this time, with obvious swollen legs and his blood pressure continued to rise.
However, just one hour before Chen Yi's memorial service was about to be held, Chairman Mao suddenly decided to attend. Beijing in January is the coldest season of the year. Chairman Mao was wearing pajamas and had only a pair of thin pants on his lower body. He didn't bother to change his clothes. He asked the staff to put a "wool-style suit" outside the nightgown, and then put on a coat outside. Then, with Zhang Yufeng helping him get into the car and heading straight to the memorial service.
Zhang Yufeng recalled: "Chairman Mao was in poor health in his later years and his legs were difficult to walk. In 1971, he went to Chen Yi's memorial service. When he got on the car, Chairman Mao wanted to step up the car door steps several times, but he just couldn't get up. Later, I helped him get on the car. It was surprising that his legs were difficult to this extent." After
came back, Chairman Mao's body became even weaker, and both legs were swollen and lung infection worsened significantly, and was accompanied by low fever. During this period, Chairman Mao spent more time lying on the wide wooden bed. Soon, Chairman Mao caused arrhythmia due to heart pulmonary heart disease and suddenly suffered from shock.
Chairman Mao and Chen Yi
After the medical team rescued, Chairman Mao turned into danger, but this shock had a great impact on Chairman Mao’s health. By the second half of 1972, Chairman Mao's eyesight was getting weaker and weaker, and sometimes even big-word newspapers could not read.
Because the doctor suggested that surgery can only be performed after cataract grows and matures, and Chairman Mao has to study every day, so the central government invited Chairman Mao to Lu Di, a teacher from the Chinese Department of Peking University, to read classical literary works and ancient books for him. As for modern languages and some documents, Zhang Yufeng is responsible for reading them.
This is how I read and review documents for more than a year before Chairman Mao had eye surgery. In Zhang Yufeng's opinion, although Chairman Mao's health and vision were not good in his later years, he never stopped reading and studying.
Zhang Yufeng later said with emotion: "Chairman is still reading and learning at the last moment of his life. In a sense, he prefers to "small care" and learning is his spiritual life. He truly practices 'life is endless, learning is endless'. "
In June 1974, Chairman Mao's confidential secretary Xu Yefu passed away. Xu Yefu has been working with Chairman Mao since the founding of the People's Republic of China, and after his death, his confidential secretary was vacant. On July 17 of that year, Zhang Yufeng was appointed as Chairman Mao’s confidential secretary. Zhang Yufeng was quite worried about this sudden appointment and couldn't sleep well for several days.
Zhang Yufeng (second from the front row right)
When he received the official appointment notice, Zhang Yufeng mustered up the courage to express his inner concerns to Chairman Mao. She said, "Chairman, I am afraid I will be difficult to be competent for this job." Chairman Mao changed his previous serious expression. He saw Zhang Yufeng's inner concerns and comforted him:
"In fact, it is difficult to be my secretary, not difficult. It is not difficult to be my secretary, but I just need to collect, receive and receive; the difficult thing is to abide by discipline. If you are a secretary, you can read the central government to give it to you. My documents, and Wang Dongxing and Zhang Yaoci, cannot be read, including my family members Li Na, Li Min, Mao Yuanxin, and others. I don’t let them read, and they cannot read them either. "
Chairman Mao also said: "Also, don’t think that if you become my secretary, you can command everything. In the past, there was a guard around me, and I asked him to call the Prime Minister. He was so arrogant when he called, but I felt uncomfortable when I read it. Don’t be proud, know who you work for and who you represent."
Zhang Yufeng kept the requirements of Chairman Mao in mind, and later she did a good job as a confidential secretary. On New Year's Day in 1976, major official newspapers published the front pages of the lyrics created by Chairman Mao 10 years ago - " Water Template Song Head·Return to Jinggangshan " and " Niannujiao·Bird Q&A ". People across the country also noticed that "Mao Zedong" was printed under the titles of the two poems, with the handwriting being crooked, and it was obvious that Chairman Mao's hands were trembling when he signed the autograph.
Chairman Mao and Premier Zhou
Entering the new year, Chairman Mao's physical condition deteriorated sharply, and he once suffered two serious myocardial infarctions. On January 8, Premier Zhou died of illness. At this time, Chairman Mao could no longer walk independently and could not attend Premier Zhou's memorial service. He endured great pain and spent the last Spring Festival.
On July 6, Mr. Zhu passed away. In just a few months, the two comrades who had fought side by side with Chairman Mao for nearly half a century left. Chairman Mao was extremely sad and his physical and mental health were not as good as before. One day, Chairman Mao suddenly asked Zhang Yufeng to read "Fu of Dead Trees". The author of this fu is . The famous writer of the Southern and Northern Dynasties . Yu Xin .
According to information, Chairman Mao has at least four different versions of "Dry Tree Fu", and the large-font line-covered "Dry Tree Fu" has always been by his side. "Fu of Dead Trees" has more than 500 words. Chairman Mao likes it very much and even knows it well. He still feels very emotional every time he recites it.
When Peng Dehuai reported to Chairman Mao’s death to Chairman Mao, Chairman Mao recited the "Fu of Dead Trees".Now that Zhang Yufeng is asked to read "The Fu of Dead Trees" to him again, it is also in the context of sadness. Zhang Yufeng recalled: "I read very slowly. The Chairman closed his eyes slightly, as if he was experiencing the scene described in the fu and reviewing the path he had walked in his life."
Zhang Yufeng read it twice, and Chairman Mao suddenly said: "Hold the book and I can see if I can recite it again." Despite being seriously ill, Chairman Mao still sent it out word by word. Perhaps knowing that he has come to the end of his life, Chairman Mao reminded Zhang Yufeng: " After I die, remember to go to my grave every year to check it out. "
"Fu on Dead Trees"
In fact, Chairman Mao once said this to Li Yinqiao . In April 1962, Chairman Mao called Li Yinqiao to his side and said to him: "Yinqiao, you have been working with me for many years. You are a good comrade, diligent and helped me a lot. But I can't keep you by my side all the time!"
Soon after, Li Yinqiao was transferred to Tianjin to work. Before leaving, Li Yinqiao came to Zhongnanhai to say goodbye to Chairman Mao. When Li Yinqiao thought of not knowing when he would see Chairman Mao again, tears couldn't help but shed. Chairman Mao was also quite sad. Li Yinqiao has been following him for 15 years, and now he is reluctant to leave.
Chairman Mao said: "Yinqiao, don't cry. You work here. Your status is high enough, but your position is low, that is, a regiment-level cadre, which affects your future! You go to the grassroots to train, industry, agriculture, and public security, do it all, accumulate experience in all aspects, and be competent in more important tasks in the future."
Finally, Chairman Mao said: "Yinqiao, When you go to the place, you should be humble, not proud, but be a person with your tail. You often come to see me and come to Beijing to see me; I will pass by Tianjin in other places, and I will see you. After I die, don’t forget to see me on the grave once a year..."
Chairman Mao and Li Yinqiao
are mentioned again, reflecting the trust in Zhang Yufeng. In the early morning of July 28, 1976, a major earthquake occurred in Tangshan . Beijing Zhongnanhai also has an impact. Since the house next to the swimming pool does not have shock-proof function, Chairman Mao was immediately transferred to a more sturdy "202" house.
However, Chairman Mao only lived in this new house for more than a month. After the earthquake, Chairman Mao quickly received a report, and when he learned that the casualties were very serious, he was crying. According to Chairman Mao’s medical team member Wang Xinde recalls:
"The Chairman ignored his serious illness, and all the earthquake intelligence reports sent must be watched in person. The earthquake caused more than 240,000 deaths, and other losses are incalculable. When the secretary reported that the earthquake caused extremely heavy losses, the Chairman cried - the first time I saw the Chairman crying loudly."
It was also during this period that Chairman Mao once again reminded Zhang Yufeng: "After I die, remember to go to my grave every year." At 10 a.m. on September 9, 1976, Chairman Mao passed away at the age of 83. Zhang Yufeng said: "The Chairman went there very peacefully without any pain, as if he had fallen asleep forever. He didn't make new clothes for him, and he was still the clean and worn Zhongshan suit ."
Zhang Yufeng's family photo
Zhang Yufeng did not disappoint Chairman Mao's advice. He went to Chairman Mao's memorial hall every year, and has been in compliance with the implementation for 46 years. Now Zhang Yufeng is over 70 years old. We can still see her on some important occasions commemorating Chairman Mao.
