1954, The summer in Beijing was extremely hot. Air conditioners were not popular in that era, and even Zhongnanhai , where Chairman Mao lived and worked, was extremely hot.
So, the Party Central Committee established the Beidaihe summer office system this year. In the early summer of this year, Chairman Mao and some central leaders came to Beidaihe with office documents.
On the afternoon, Chairman Mao was reviewing documents in the office. Suddenly, strong wind broke out outside the window. Chairman Mao put down the pen in his hand and said:
"Go, go swimming!"
The guards dissuaded them when they saw this, but Chairman Mao still insisted on going into the sea and swam against the typhoon for a long time.
At this time, Premier Zhou, who was waiting on the shore, was also anxious and repeatedly advised Chairman Mao to go ashore as soon as possible.
Unexpectedly, Chairman Mao went ashore leisurely after swimming and said something profound to Premier Zhou.
Why did Chairman Mao go into the sea to swim in the typhoon? What did he say to Premier Zhou?
This probably starts with the swimming hobby that Chairman Mao developed when he was a child...
Mao Zedong, who loves swimming,
Chairman Mao was born in Shaoshan, Hunan. When he was a child, there was a small pond in front of the Mao family's house, which became a water paradise for Chairman Mao and some friends.
In that era when supplies were scarce and there were no toys, swimming in the water almost became the favorite entertainment event for the teenager Mao Zedong.
Sometimes he would swim freely in the pond by himself, and sometimes he would ask his friends to compete together. Over time, Mao Zedong became the best swimming skill among a group of children.
As time passed, Mao Zedong gradually grew into a tall and tall young man. During this period, he became more keen on studying, but he never gave up his hobby of swimming.
Later, Chairman Mao experienced major historical periods such as the Northern Expedition Revolution, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and the War of Liberation. He was getting older every year, but he still maintained his childhood enthusiasm for swimming.
After the founding of New China , the country was in chaos. Chairman Mao often stayed up late to work every day. As long as his body allowed, he would never rest. Every time, the staff would repeatedly urge him to go to bed.
In those crucial years, Chairman Mao rarely swam, one because there is no sea in Beijing, and the other is that he is really busy with work and can't get rid of it.
In his spare time, the guards would talk to Chairman Mao about Beidaihe, which is very close to Beijing. Chairman Mao knew that Beidaihe was beautiful and suitable for swimming, but he had no time to go.
It was not until 1954 that the central government established the Beidaihe summer office system that Chairman Mao had this rare and good opportunity.
The days when I first arrived in Beidaihe
In April of this year, Chairman Mao came to Beidaihe for the first time. Because he did not like living in a villa, Chairman Mao chose Building 1 as his office location.
Building No. 1 is actually a row of bungalows. The facilities inside are also very simple, not like the office of the state leader. , but Chairman Mao likes it very much and spends a quiet office time here.
This summer, Chairman Mao came to Beidaihe again, and other central leaders were also coming with him, including Premier Zhou Enlai and Commander Zhu De.
Although this is a temporary office location, Chairman Mao’s desk is still full of various documents every day, and each copy needs to be processed one by one.
According to the guard's recollection, Chairman Mao spent most of his time in the office every day, but after work every day, he would relax properly.
And this way to relax the body is to swim.
In addition to his favorite swimming, Chairman Mao also encouraged the guards and staff around him not to be restrained and to go downstairs with him.
Every time I get off the water, Chairman Mao is very interested. He chats with the staff all over the world while swimming, without any airs of the President, which often makes everyone laugh.
In the water, the staff saw Chairman Mao more like an old man, chatting and laughing with them with a smile on his face, chatting and chatting at home.
In order to record these beautiful pictures, Chairman Mao’s photographer followed. However, he was not water-free and the camera could not get water, so he could only sit on the boat and follow Chairman Mao closely.
In his camera, Chairman Mao always swims in the front, and from time to time he looks back at the young people who are left behind by him, and encourages them to keep up.
For ordinary staff, this is a rare opportunity to relax, but for the guards, this is not the case.
Before Chairman Mao first came to Beidaihe, a group of guards were arranged to Beidaihe in advance to learn swimming techniques so that Chairman Mao would be close to protecting Chairman Mao when he was swimming.
Although Chairman Mao's swimming skills far exceed any guard, they were still worried and they didn't breathe a sigh of relief until Chairman Mao got ashore.
In addition to inviting staff to swim together, Chairman Mao also likes to take his daughter to the sea to swim.
When he took his daughter Li Na to the sea for the first time, Li Na brought a swimming ring because of fear. Unexpectedly, Chairman Mao saw it and asked her to take off the swimming ring and go down to swim with confidence.
Li Na took off the swimming ring and swam hard in the water. After a while, she felt exhausted and wanted to return to the shore.
Chairman Mao saw his daughter panting and kept encouraging her to hold on for a while. In the end, Li Na insisted on going ashore with everyone.
She was still young at that time, and perhaps she didn't know that her father, Chairman Mao, was training her willpower through small things like swimming. Swimming experience like
is an extremely relaxing moment for Chairman Mao, staff, and Chairman Mao’s daughters, because in such sunny weather, the waves are also extremely gentle.
But if there is a bad weather, everyone will be far away from the beach, but only Chairman Mao, who cannot stop his enthusiasm for swimming regardless of wind or rain.
Chairman Mao swam against the typhoon
One afternoon, the weather was extremely hot. Chairman Mao looked at the documents in the office as usual. Perhaps because he was tired from working for too long, Chairman Mao stretched and said to the guard captain:
"Go, go swimming!"
After saying that, he got up and went out. Premier Zhou Enlai and Commander Zhu De also went out.
However, at this time a staff member said: "It's going to rain outside."
Chairman Mao did not stop, but said: "It's better to rain, it's easier to swim in the sea when there is wind and rain!"
The medical staff saw that Chairman Mao insisted on going, so they quickly took the medicine box and chased after him.
Under the guidance of the staff, Chairman Mao and others walked to the beach of Bathroom No. 5.
Unexpectedly, as soon as I walked by the sea, the weather suddenly became worse. First, the wind continued, followed by heavy rain, and the waves were rolling fiercely.
When everyone saw that it was Typhoon was coming, they immediately dissuaded Chairman Mao and asked him to go back and hide from the wind and rain as soon as possible.
Premier Zhou Enlai and Commander Zhu De also hurriedly advised: "Chairman, don't go down, don't go down..."
At that time, they were already wet all over. Because they were separated by a distance, their shouts were almost completely covered by the sound of the waves.
At this time, the guard who was following Chairman Mao also advised:
"Chairman, the wind is too strong, the rain is falling all the time, it's too dangerous, let's go back!"
However, Chairman Mao was not blocked by the storm, but became extremely excited. He laughed and said:
"No, we can't go back, let's go into the sea!"
As he said that, he took off his clothes and did a warm-up exercise seriously.
The guards were even more worried when they saw the rain slapping Chairman Mao like a pillar, because Chairman Mao was 61 years old at that time, and it would be troublesome if he caught a cold.
Looking at their worried eyes, Chairman Mao asked loudly: "Are you scared?"
The guards saw Chairman Mao's attitude of going into the sea to challenge him, so they had to decide to accompany him. So the few people firmly answered:
"Report to the Chairman, don't be afraid!"
"Okay! You can go down with me, stay on the shore, or go back to the office."
Unexpectedly, the guards answered in unison: "Where the Chairman goes, we will go!"
Chairman Mao smiled, then turned around and threw himself into the sea, swam towards the distance.
The guards also quickly took off their clothes, plunged into the sea like fish, and swam towards Chairman Mao.
The wind and rain were getting more and more fierce at this time, and the waves also tumbling to a few meters high. Chairman Mao and more than a dozen guards were beaten apart by the waves, and then worked hard and swam together.
Repeated so much that every time the guards were frightened. They were worried that after being washed away by the sea, they would be too far away from Chairman Mao and could not protect his safety at all times.
However, Chairman Mao was extremely excited. He didn't look like an old man in his sixties at all. Instead, he swam harder than these young men.
I saw him swim alone in the front, leaving everyone behind, and letting everyone surpass themselves, backstroke , and breaststroke, constantly changing his posture.
After swimming for a while, Chairman Mao seemed to be tired, so he slowed down and changed into a effortless posture and slowly floated.
However, the wind and rain did not become gentler at this time, but instead became more fiercer than the next. Chairman Mao turned his head to look at the nervous guard beside him and said:
"Let's relax, keep calm and don't panic. This is the sea testing your courage!"
As soon as he finished speaking, rows of tall waves rushed towards Chairman Mao. Everyone immediately swam over and guarded Chairman Mao tightly in the middle.
Unexpectedly, Chairman Mao was not afraid. He only shouted loudly while fighting the sea water:
"Don't worry, at worst, it's just a choking mouthful of water, it's no big deal!"
Just like that, the group competed with the sea for a long time, and Chairman Mao was not ready to return to the shore until the wind stopped and the rain dissipated.
Chairman Mao asked while swimming: "It seemed like there was a fishing boat just now. I wonder how the people on the boat were doing?"
The guard replied: "I saw that the fishermen on the boat have returned to the shore safely."
"That's good."
Chairman Mao nodded and continued to swim towards the shore.
What Chairman Mao said to Premier Zhou
After he got ashore, Premier Zhou Enlai saw from afar that he was covered with bloody cuts scratched by shells and was worried, so he hurriedly arranged for the doctors to deal with the wound.
However, Chairman Mao did not care at all, but walked over and said with great interest: "I had a great time today!"
Premier Zhou Enlai breathed a sigh of relief, and Commander Zhu De felt relieved, and the two were also impressed by Chairman Mao's spirit.
Chairman Mao shook the water on his body, and then took a breath and continued:
"Conquer the urgent and dangerous things, if you are strong, he will be weak! This is the ferocious thing in the world. The more cowardly you act, the more humiliated you will be.
All reactionaries in the world look terrible on the surface, but in fact there is nothing extraordinary! "
Premier Zhou smiled and replied:
"It's finally OK today, right? No matter how we call it, we can't call it back."
Chairman Mao Haha Laughing and jokingly said:
"I am fighting the waves in the sea, and my thoughts are highly concentrated. How can I hear your shouts!"
After the episode 2, the group surrounded Chairman Mao and returned to the office. The staff said: "The typhoon just now is 7 levels, but fortunately The Chairman and everyone were safe and sound."
The next day, Chairman Mao recalled the pleasure of swimming in the typhoon yesterday. Suddenly, his thoughts surged and wrote a poem like this:
Heavy rain fell Youyan , white waves were surging, Qinhuangdao fishing boats outside, there was no ocean, who knew to go to?
Past events last thousands of years, Wei Wu waved his whip, and there is a legacy in Jieshi east. The bleak autumn wind is now again, and it has changed the world.
This poem is one of his famous works " Langtaosha·Beidaihe ".
The whole poem not only describes the beautiful scenery of Beidaihe, depicts the magnificence of the sea, but also expresses the great minds of a generation of great men.
Later, whenever people read this poem, they couldn't help but feel the agile appearance of Chairman Mao fighting in the waves.
Conclusion
Swimming As Chairman Mao’s lifelong hobby, it not only exercised his physical strength, but also inspired his will to fight tenaciously and not fear the wind and waves.
As he himself said: "Conquer the urgent and dangerous things, if you are strong, he will be weak!"
As the supreme leader of New China, Chairman Mao's heroic spirit is indeed a blessing for the nation.
Nowadays, Chairman Mao has long gone away, but his spirit of not fearing difficulties and obstacles is always worthy of our memory and learning!
