Wang Hongwen was born into a poor family. Before the ten-year special period began, he was the security officer of Shanghai National Cotton 17 Factory. There was a huge gap between him and later becoming vice chairman and the state-level official. Even though Wang Hongwen later rebelled and seized power and served as deputy director of the Shanghai Revolutionary Committee, he was still quite far from becoming vice chairman. So, how was Wang Hongwen valued?
Before saying that Wang Hongwen is reused, let’s talk about how Wang Hongwen comes into the sight of the senior management. Objectively speaking, after the beginning of the special period of ten years, there were quite a few people who served as the director of the vice-provincial revolutionary committee. For example, Chen Yonggui, who grew from a farmer to the deputy director of the Shanxi Provincial Revolutionary Committee, but none of them were as successful as Wang Hongwen.
In 1967, the July 20 incident occurred in Wuhan, and the "million-million-strong army" began to attack the Donghu Hotel. At that time, Chairman Mao happened to live in the Donghu Hotel, preparing to resolve the "armed struggle" in Wuhan. After such a thing happened, Chairman Mao left Wuhan by plane and arrived in Shanghai.
After arriving in Shanghai, Chairman Mao immediately felt a completely different atmosphere from Wuhan. There were workers standing guard in front of the Shanghai Revolutionary Committee, and the streets were in order. Chairman Mao also saw Wang Hongwen's speech while watching TV at his residence. Zhang Chunqiao took the opportunity to introduce Wang Hongwen to Chairman Mao. During the introduction, Chairman Mao learned that Wang Hongwen was from a poor peasant family, had worked as a soldier, and worked as a worker. It was a combination of "workers, peasants and soldiers". Therefore, he developed a strong interest in Wang Hongwen and remembered Wang Hongwen. The incident of
July 20 only made Chairman Mao remember Wang Hongwen, but there was still a long way to go before Wang Hongwen was reused. So, how did Wang Hongwen seize the next opportunity? The opportunity came soon. On the National Day in 1968, the central government invited some workers' representatives and the worker propaganda team to visit the Tiananmen in Beijing. Wang Hongwen was also invited, and he was also the leader of the Shanghai delegation.
It is worth mentioning that during the inspection of the team, Chairman Mao met Wang Hongwen alone. Wang Hongwen was also very strange at that time. At this time, he had no idea that he had entered Chairman Mao's sight. After receiving the notice, Zhang Chunqiao led Wang Hongwen to the VIP room of the Tiananmen Gate Tower, where Wang Hongwen met Chairman Mao.
After meeting Chairman Mao, Chairman Mao first asked Wang Hongwen where he was from? In fact, before this, Chairman Mao had already had a preliminary understanding of Wang Hongwen, and this time the two of them had a face-to-face conversation. Wang Hongwen told Chairman Mao about his birth date, birthplace, family situation and childhood experience.
When Wang Hongwen introduced that the "General Office of Industry" was established in Shanghai during the special period of ten years, and initiated the "January Storm" and seized the command power of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, Chairman Mao interrupted and asked him: "Are you working in a factory or in the "General Office of Industry"?" Chairman Mao’s question is actually very meaningful. He wanted to examine whether Wang Hongwen maintained the true nature of the working class.
Chairman Mao deeply hates the specialization of cadres and the separation of cadres from labor, including Chen Yonggui mentioned earlier. The reason why Chairman Mao admires Chen Yonggui is because Chen Yonggui always works with the villagers, and has not been specialized or separated from the masses. This time, Chairman Mao asked Wang Hongwen, and he also had this meaning.
Wang Hongwen's answer was very clever. At that time, he had already served as deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Revolutionary Committee. He said: "Working in the Municipal Revolutionary Committee, he also served as the "General Office of the Industry" and had to return to the factory to work every week." After hearing Wang Hongwen's answer, Chairman Mao was very satisfied and warned Wang Hongwen: "Never leave labor, don't leave the masses."
Wang Hongwen belongs to the three combinations of "workers, peasants and soldiers". In addition, this answer made Chairman Mao very satisfied. Since then, he has been increasingly valued and transferred to Beijing to serve as vice chairman, and he has been at the national level, starting his journey of rising to the top. But later he lost himself and became one of the main culprits of the "Gang of Four".
