Text Historical Scene: Mao Zedong and Chen Duxiu's card cover technique and mahjong dialectics
Original text: Chen Duxiu commanded many strike movements in Shanghai. Every major resolution, such as whether to strike, what conditions should be taken, how to negotiate, whether to sign, etc., are decided by the labor movement cadres and him at a meeting. It is often at night to have a meeting at a comrade's house. Xiang Jingyu recalled that one night, the meeting was late at night. In the alley, Chen Duxiu walked and said, "It's a pity that he had not made peace with him. He had already heard from Zhang. There must be seven points, but he never came out..." It was not until he saw the alley open the iron gate and let everyone go out that Chen stopped talking about the card scriptures as a cover.
Editor's interpretation: All past is the prologue. In the early days of the revolution, playing mahjong and reading card scriptures became necessary cover-ups, and of course it was also an occasional entertainment.
From July 1923 to June 1924, the secret office of the Party Central Committee moved to Sanzengli, which is now located at the intersection of Gongxing Road and Linshan Road in Jing'an District, Shanghai. Previously, the Third National Congress of the Communist Party of China held in Guangzhou promulgated this important decision because the industrial workers here are more concentrated and transportation is more convenient.
For this reason, the Central Bureau appointed Wang Hebo to be responsible for the matter in advance. After repeated investigations, he found a small alley at the intersection of Gongxing Road and Xiangshan Road. There were only three door signs inside. There were three families with Zeng surnamed, commonly known as "San Zengli". Wang Hebo rented one of the two-sided rooms in the Shikumen houses. As the secret office of the Central Bureau, the revolutionaries said that the whole family had a big pot meal together.
So, the revolutionaries and their families at that time all lived in the ordinary second floor and bottom house of No. 3 Sanzengli. Including Mao Zedong, Yang Kaihui and his wife, Cai Hesen, Xiang Jingyu and Luo Zhanglong’s family. They called the family and Xiang Jingyu was the head of the household and everyone ate a big pot meal together. Due to frequent personnel exchanges, this group of young revolutionaries agreed on some disciplines: not to go to restaurants, not to watch operas, not to watch movies, not to take photos outside, not to wander on the streets, etc.
"Discussing the revival of the Chunshen River, looking west to Changgeng and the east to open the Ming Dynasty." These two lines of poetry describe this place called "Sanzengli". From September 1923 to the first half of 1924, "Sanzengli" became the decision-making center of the Party Central Committee, and the number of central notices and documents issued here was very large. From an existing notice of the 15th notice of the Communist Party of China on July 21, 1924, it can be seen that this notice was jointly drafted by Chen Duxiu and Mao Zedong, pointing out that the Kuomintang right-wingers' attacks on the Communist Party have become increasingly fierce, and warned Communist Party members to not only actively fight against the Kuomintang right-wingers, but also safeguard the overall situation of cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party.
At that time, Luo Zhanglong, a member of the Central Bureau, used poems to describe the revolutionaries' enthusiasm for work and passionate revolutionary ideals of "thinking quietly until late at night" here: "The main force of Qin is based on three households, and the enemy is driven by their soldiers. Friendship and unity are solid, and they will be able to calm the atmosphere of the Yi Yi in one fell swoop."
According to early Communists Zheng Chaolin recollections, Chen Duxiu and others mostly held meetings at night and mostly held meetings in the name of playing mahjong. Therefore, in the middle of the night, there is a scene that often occurs in Sanzengli: a few people who have just finished playing mahjong walk out of the alley and talk about card scriptures, as if they are still satisfied with mahjong. Seeing that the alley entrance was used to such card players gatherings, they helped them open the iron door. These mahjong players seemed to be "savvy" because they were actually "secret activities".
So, does Chen Duxiu like to play mahjong? There is no clear record in official history. Common sense infers that in the early stage of the revolution, this leisure and leisure were not enjoyed by professional revolutionaries like Chen Duxiu. In the poem "Wen Guangwu: Yu Jingnong and Jiangong couple gathered to drink and drank drunk on the day of Qu Yuan's worship, Chen Duxiu wrote: "Besides having no hobbies in articles, there is even more desolateness in the world. The poet is in vain to Miluo, not as drunk as Liu Ling's hometown."
"Besides having no hobbies in articles", this confession can basically judge that Chen Duxiu's hobbies are never here (other hobbies in Beijing should be attacked by conservatives).His articles are not only written and appreciated, but also understood as party building and revolution. His self-portrait is as stated in a poem in Nanjing Kuomintang Prison: "There are many evil people who have been destroyed since then, and they have seen the rise and fall of life. Fortunately, they have difficulty in refining their bones, but they are still gray-haired old scholars."
In addition to the need for cover in Shanghai alleys, playing mahjong was indeed an entertainment activity that Mao Zedong loved. During his time in Yan'an, he often played mahjong with Ye Jianying and his political secretary, Shi Zhe and others. Others are concentrating on playing mahjong. Mao Zedong was not the case. He never regarded any entertainment activities as a simple rest. He often thought about major events of the party, the country and the army in his mind while playing cards. Once his problems were mature, even if the event had just begun or everyone was in full swing, he would immediately get up and leave the seat in a hurry.
Mao Zedong said: There is dialectics in playing mahjong. When someone saw that the "points" in his hand were not good, he shook his head and sighed. I don't think this attitude is advisable. Everything in the world is not static. The same is true for playing mahjong, which is the worst "point". As long as it is coordinated and arranged properly, it will replace the best with the worst, and defeat the strong with the weak. On the contrary, if you have no overall situation and fail to make the allocation, no matter how good the "points" are in your hands, they will turn victory into defeat. The best may turn into the worst, the thing is human!
Mao Zedong also cleverly used the terminology of mahjong to do united front work. Liu Fei, who was once the vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, was originally a senior general of the Kuomintang. He once represented the Kuomintang in , Peking to negotiate with the Communists. After the failed peace talks, Liu Fei's ideological struggle was very fierce. Was he stayed in Peiping? Or go back to Nanjing? At a banquet, when he was talking to Mao Zedong, he asked tentatively, "Is it better to play mahjong or to be peaceful?" Mao Zedong thought for a while and replied with a smile, "It is hard to be harmonious, but to be peaceful." Liu Fei suddenly realized, "It is better to be peaceful, then I have one more part." In this way, Mao Zedong's words finally made Liu Fei decide to stay in Beijing.
Whether it is card protection technique or mahjong dialectics, they are all part of the revolution and have caused beautiful waves in the tide of history.
