Chairman Mao Zedong's hard and simple life style has always been praised and learned. However, when I read the details of Chairman Mao Zedong's life and truly appreciate the historical details, I was even more moved. For example, Chairman Mao Zedong often wears patched cloth shoes, or patched pants, etc. There are so many such examples. Today, the author will share two small life examples with readers, which is enough to understand Chairman Mao Zedong’s hard and simple life:
The first example is - a towel quilt with 54 patches.
Chairman Mao never seeks luxury for sleeping bedding, only comfort.
Therefore, because of the living habits since childhood and the suffering experiences of the revolutionary career, Chairman Mao has long been accustomed to simple and simple bedding. Therefore, the bed he sleeps in should not be expensive soft beds, just wooden beds. And the quilt covered should not be thick, just a simple towel.
Especially in his later years, as Chairman Mao grew older, he was more sensitive to hot and cold. He was afraid of cold and heat, so he relied more on towels to be covered with such non-thick and thin quilts. Therefore, he used towel quilt all year round.
For example, when he went out to investigate and work, he always brought his own towel quilt. Even if he visited the place to provide him with new towel quilts, he didn't use it, but used the old towel quilt he carried. The reason was that Chairman Mao said:
"I am used to using my own things."
For example, once Chairman Mao went to Chongqing, and the local comrade prepared a satin quilt in the bedroom arranged by the chairman. After seeing it at night, the chairman disliked it very much and ordered the guards to remove the new quilt and take out the old towel quilt he brought to sleep.
This is not only a aspect of Chairman Mao’s hard and simple life, but also reflects another characteristic of Chairman, that is, it is particularly nostalgic. The Chairman not only cherishes old things in friendship, but also cherishes old things. In the Chairman's opinion, any items that are still usable cannot be thrown away casually. This is a wasteful act and is very bad. As long as old items can be used, they must be used. Therefore, his items are always used in very old ways and he is reluctant to throw them away. For example, the towels for washing their faces and facial towels for wiping their mouths are all broken and they are not allowed to throw them away. So what are you doing? He said that these old towels and old towels can also be used to sew pillows or towels and quilts.
It is also for this reason that on items such as pillow towels and other items that Chairman Mao used during his lifetime, traces of sewing with broken towels or broken towels are often seen.
There is such a thing that reflects Chairman Mao’s hard work and simplicity. Once, the laundry worker accidentally rubbed the towel to the chairman while washing an old towel and quilt.
The staff around him also saw that the towel was too broken, and now it was washed out, so they just took the opportunity to change to a new one. So the guards suggested to the chairman to change the towels and quilts.
But the chairman disagreed. He said:
"It can be used if you make up for it."
staff had no choice but to make up for it. The chairman said that it will last for many years.
But the problem is that this towel is too worn and cannot withstand cleaning, so the staff thought of a way to change the cleaning method. So, when the next cleaning comes, the staff takes three steps:
The first step is to soak the towel in soapy water.
The second step is to soak in soapy water for a while and then take the water and float it.
The third step is the last few people, one of whom grabbed a quilt and shook it back and forth in the clear water.
The result is that the towel was washed by this program, obviously not cleaned by scrubbing, but the Chairman lives casually and never cares about it. However, their method ensures that the towel is not broken.
Of course, despite this, it is not possible to ensure that the towels are always broken. Later, every time Chairman Mao went on a business trip to Shanghai, the staff would bring the chairman's broken towels, cotton sweaters, , and socks to Shanghai. The staff felt that the Shanghai workers had good skills and the things they sewed were not only sturdy and durable, but also very exquisite and beautiful.However, the Shanghai workers who sewed these old things would never have thought that the owner of these worn-out clothes was Chairman Mao. Of course, they would not have thought that one of the towels that Chairman Mao used would have 54 patches on it. After the Chairman's death, this towel was collected in the Shaoshan Comrade Mao Zedong Memorial Hall (National Second-Class Cultural Relic).
Next, let's look at the second example - a pajama with 73 patches.
Just like sleeping bedding, Chairman Mao is not particular about clothes wearing. He has very low requirements for clothes, as long as it is comfortable to wear. To put it bluntly, this comfort is actually one requirement, that is, don’t restrain your body and be loose.
Zhou Fuming and Wu Xujun, who have worked with the chairman, said when recalling this section:
"The chairman must have big clothes, don't like tights, and like empty."
Therefore, when Chairman Mao works indoors, he always wears loose pajamas. Later, when the Chairman was sorting out his relics after his death, he found that there were more than twenty pajamas of various kinds, including thick pajamas worn in winter, thin pajamas worn in summer, and pajamas worn in spring and autumn .
However, among these pajamas, there is one pajamas that is extremely eye-catching. This pajama was tailor-made for the chairman by Master Wang Ziqing, a Leimon Clothing Store in Minxiang, Dongjiao, Beijing. It has a cassava cotton, a banana collar, a mezzanine, and a large pocket on each side of the waist, which can hold things, and the overall length of the clothes is 141 cm. Because of the comfortable dressing, Chairman Mao has been wearing it almost in the spring and autumn seasons, and has been wearing it for more than ten years, from the late 1950s to 1971.
Chairman Mao was already nostalgic, and this dress was comfortable to wear, but the result was that he became more and more emotional. However, the clothes were not made of iron, and the more they were worn, the more severe the wear. As a result, when this pajama was worn by the early 1960s, many places were worn with holes, such as the elbows, collars, cuffs, etc. When
first, a hole appeared, and the staff tried to make it up.
However, more and more places are worn on clothes, and more and more times are sewn. So in the end, the staff thought that they could not make up for it. He simply asked the chairman for instructions and said that the clothes were torn to no longer be replenished, so he should change to a new one.
But Chairman Mao took the clothes and looked at them and said, "Don't change them, please ask someone to make up for them."
Chairman is so simple!
The staff knew that the chairman was afraid of wasting, so they stopped talking. They sent this old pajamas to the clothing factory of the General Office, found Liu Kuiyuan master, and asked the master to make up for it. Master Liu Kuiyuan is a good tailor of the generation and has excellent skills, so he repaired it carefully, but he couldn't see the places he had repaired without looking carefully. Chairman Mao was very happy to see the repaired clothes.
Just like that, the fate of this pajama continues to cycle through "breaking and repairing and wearing".
However, after all, after wearing it for a long time, the fabric of the clothes is very crisp. When cleaning, we also face a problem. Just like the previous article, we dare not rub the towel and quilt hard, because it will rub the clothes badly. So what should I do? I can only use the old method, soak the laundry water first, and then gently sweep it.
Once, the staff saw that the clothes were really impossible to be cleaned, so they secretly changed him into a new pajama while the chairman was asleep. As a result, when the chairman woke up, he was unhappy when he saw his new pajamas and asked about his old pajamas. The staff went to take out the old pajamas. The chairman took the old pajamas and said:
"I'm used to it, it's better to wear this patch-packed pajamas!"
Chairman was used to hard work and simplicity, so the staff had to take out the new pajamas. But the staff also feel sad for the Chairman. You should know that from 1953 to 1962, the Chairman has not bought a new piece of clothing.At that time, whenever the staff saw that the Chairman's clothes were worn and difficult to repair, he advised him to change into a new one, the Chairman always said:
"Our country is poor and there are few tickets. Don't you also wear patched clothes? Why can't I wear them? Because I am the Chairman? I think we should save some money and not make new ones. If they are broken, then make up for them!"
Chairman is not only hard, simple, thrifty, but also set an example and strictly demanding on himself. So, he never threw an old piece of clothing, and his clothes were always sewn and patched. For example, when I was in Yangjiagou, northern Shaanxi, the chairman had a piece of clothing that was too torn and could not be repaired. The guard said to the chairman:
"Chairman, look at it. It should be a fool to wear it again. Maybe you make a report and make a gesture on the stage, and it will crack into pieces of cloth."
Chairman took the clothes and looked at it. It was indeed a bit torn. But despite this, the Chairman still thought it was a pity to throw it away, so he said:
"This way, use it to repair clothes, it can continue to work."
said this, interspersed with a small matter.
The chairman has a shirt because he has worn it for too long and the clothes are seriously worn out, so thin that it is like a cicada's wing. When the guard was washing, he just washed and rubbed it gently, and a big hole appeared behind the clothes. Seeing that the shirt could not be repaired, a comrade's lover happened to have a child, the guard took the clothes to make diapers for the child. But later, the Chairman repeatedly asked about the whereabouts of the old shirt. In desperation, the guard told the truth. When the Chairman heard that he did not throw it away, he was not angry.
In the memories of the chairman's guard Sink, he talked about one thing. Once he was washing the chairman's clothes and found that there were some patches on it. Out of curiosity, he counted, and there were 16 patches of all sizes. As a result, he scrubbed carefully, but still rubbed a hole, which made the clothes have another patch.
Such examples are countless in the memory of the staff around the Chairman. Let’s look back at the cassava cotton pajamas. The chairman wore them until 1971. How old was it? To describe it in one word, it is "unrecognizable". The clothes are "decorated" by patches of different sizes, and the original cloth of the clothes has been covered. What's more serious is that because the repair of the clothes is too serious, it has reached the point where a little careless action will cause a big hole in the clothes.
To put it bluntly, this is no longer a problem of repair, but the clothes themselves are so crispy.
Seeing this, the Chairman felt that he could not wear it anymore, so he finally agreed to let it "retire".
Later, the staff counted and found that there were as many as 73 patches on this pajama, which was really rare.
From the small towel quilt and insignificant pajamas, we see the Chairman's hard, simple and strict lifestyle. As the Chairman said:
"When there is no condition, it is easy to do this; when there is no condition, it is easy to do it; when there is no condition, it is still restricted by yourself and not to do it, it is difficult to do it. Communist Party members are to do things that are difficult to do."
Chairman's words now seem to have a warning effect like a loud bell, and it is worthy of all Communist Party members to list as motto and encourage themselves.
