On August 25, 1979, Zhang Wentian's memorial service was held grandly in the Great Hall of the People. Chen Yun presided over the memorial service and Deng Xiaoping delivered the eulogy. At this memorial service, Deng Xiaoping, on behalf of the Central Committee, affirmed that Zhang Wentian's life was "a life of revolution, a life of loyalty to the party and the people."
In addition, many leaders came. They all shook hands with Zhang Wentian's wife Liu Ying and expressed their grief and remembrance of Zhang Wentian. For example, An Ziwen and Liu Jingxiong called through their daughter and said: "Our whole family is grateful to you. It was Uncle Zhang who saved us. We can never forget it."
However, although Zhang Wentian's coffin conclusion was highly honored, his life was also full of ups and downs. He made the right decision at a critical moment in history, but he was also involved in the turmoil that year and was criticized.
In particular, "The Highest Standard for Measuring the Party's Line and Policy", which he wrote before his death, once represented the consensus of the entire party, but it could only be kept in blood at home. So much so that before he died, he regretfully said: "Maybe one day I can talk about it at a meeting, otherwise, let it be hidden in a famous mountain and passed on to future generations."
Many people say that Zhang Wentian's life is too complicated, and his life also makes people regretful and sad. So what kind of past has this highly praised general secretary experienced?
According to records, Zhang Wentian was born in Nanhui County, Jiangsu Province. His family was relatively well-off since he was a child, so he received a good education. In 1923, he went to Tokyo, Japan, and San Francisco, USA to study and work. After being influenced by progressive ideas, he joined the Communist Party of China in 1925.
was subsequently sent to Sun Yat-sen University in Moscow and the Red Professor College to study, and served as a reporter for the Eastern Department of the Communist International. Because he had been in the Soviet Union for a long time, he was deeply influenced by Marxism-Leninism. He not only had a better international perspective, but also had a relatively solid theoretical foundation. Therefore, in 1935, he, Bo Gu, and Wang Ming were sent back to China by the Communist International to form the three standing committees.
It was also from this time on that Zhang Wentian occupied a very important position during the entire Agrarian Revolutionary War, and his decisions even affected the direction of the Red Army to some extent.
Objectively speaking, the three Standing Committee members sent by the Communist International all had relatively rich theoretical knowledge, but they all made a very serious mistake, that is, they failed to combine theory with reality and ignored the actual conditions of the Soviet Union and China.
Therefore, Zhang Wentian also made wrong decisions in the line dispute at that time. He published "The Wavering of Opportunism in the Chinese Party in Striving for the First Victory of the Chinese Revolution in One and Several Provinces", emphasizing the opposition between the two worlds, exaggerating the possibility of Japan attacking the Soviet Union, overestimating the power of the Soviet area, and underestimating the power of the white area .
This theory overemphasizes the wrong line of the left and has serious differences with Mao Zedong's correct thinking. There is no doubt that at that time, when the situation was unclear, everyone had their own thoughts, but in this debate, Mao Zedong's correct thoughts were not adopted.
In a speech on December 25, 1960, Mao Zedong once lamented those years: I was under pressure and received three major punishments. When receiving foreign delegations on August 5, 1965, Mao Zedong also laughed at himself during this period: I, a Bodhisattva, was still alive in the past, but not in the future...
From this part of the content, it can be seen that Zhang Wentian made the mistake of dogmatism in the initial leadership process, which also caused Mao Zedong a great setback.
However, the reason why Zhang Wentian is respected by many leaders is not because he is stubborn about his left-leaning mistakes, but because he knows and corrects his mistakes without delay, and his firm stance of supporting correct ideas.
Starting in 1933, Zhang Wentian went deep into reality to conduct specific investigations. He soon realized the gap between the national conditions of the Soviet Union and China, so he quickly adjusted his mentality and views.
It was precisely because of this that he broke with Bogu and other left-leaning erroneous leaders in 1934. For example, at that time, Bogu mobilized 9 divisions of the Red Army, adopted fortress-fortress fighting, and fought the enemy to the death. Zhang Wentian severely criticized the other party, and the two sides even had a quarrel at the meeting.
Not only that, as the left-leaning errors further intensified, Zhang Wentian became more aware of Mao Zedong's correctness. At that time, Zhang Wentian and Mao Zedong both lived in Shazhouba, Ruijin, . The yards they lived in were adjacent to each other. The two sides also had differences in their original routes and later talked about everything.
Many documents record that Zhang Wentian took the initiative to move closer to Mao Zedong, and during the exchanges, he increasingly recognized Mao Zedong's wisdom and respected and admired him more and more.
Especially in September 1934, Mao Zedong was suffering from falciparum malaria and had a high fever. At that time, Zhang Wentian was in urgent need and sent Fu Lianzhang to diagnose and treat him at night. At Mao Zedong's most critical moment, Zhang Wentian moved Mao Zedong with his true feelings, and the two gradually became good comrades-in-arms.
After many years, Zhang Wentian will still think of the scene where he and Mao Zedong were sitting on a stone stool under the yellow oak tree in front of the ancient Yunshan Temple, chatting. At that time, he often confided his unhappiness to Mao Zedong, and Mao Zedong would enlighten him. The two chatted about the future and complained about the present, and their thoughts became closer and closer.
Soon the cooperation between the two ushered in an important result, which was the Zunyi Conference. Historically, the Zunyi Conference had a great influence on China and laid the foundation for Mao Zedong's leadership!
But even Mao Zedong himself lamented: Without the two comrades Luo Fu (Zhang Wentian) and Wang Jiaxiang who differentiated themselves from the third left-leaning line, it would have been impossible to hold the Zunyi Conference successfully. Comrades put good accounts in my name, but they must not be forgotten.
Not only that, party history Zhang Wentian also showed an admirable quality of humility. After a series of meetings, he had realized that there was someone in the Red Army who could better lead the army, so he had resigned three times, just to let Mao Zedong and others come out to lead.
The first time was not long after he became general secretary, he wanted to leave his job and work in the white area, but Mao Zedong firmly disagreed. The second time was when the Red Army and the Fourth Front Army joined forces. Zhang Wentian once again proposed to give up his position, but Mao Zedong still firmly opposed it.
The third time was The Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee. Zhang Wentian once again asked to step aside and elect Mao Zedong as the general leader of the party.
Zhang Wentian's three abdication of power allowed people to see his high integrity and made Mao Zedong admire and express his great admiration for him. In subsequent conversations, Mao Zedong praised more than once: Comrade Luo Fu does not fight for power.
There is absolutely no exaggeration in Mao Zedong's words. There are backups in the historical archives. From 1935 to 1938, Zhang Wentian always regarded himself as a supporting role and firmly assisted Mao Zedong. Moreover, during this period, there were 451 telegrams signed by Zhang Wentian, of which 286 were jointly signed by Mao and Luo, accounting for 64%.
Therefore, Zhang Wentian truly realized his mistakes and corrected them, and firmly supported the correct line. Judging from this part of his performance alone, he is worthy of being an excellent Communist and absolutely worthy of Mao Zedong's evaluation of him.
Of course, Mao Zedong was more than just verbal praise for Zhang Wentian. On the one hand, he and Zhang Wentian improved their ideological realm together. On the other hand, he also deliberately acted as a matchmaker to bring Zhang Wentian and Liu Ying together.
According to documentary records, Mao Zedong discovered that Zhang Wentian was interested in Liu Ying, so he asked Li Fuchun to transfer Liu Ying to the Central Column to take over Deng Xiaoping's work. At that time, Mao Zedong also said to Liu Ying: "It's too tiring to be in the rear echelon. You, a little girl, will be worn down. When Xiaoping goes to the front, just have a lesbian here."
Liu Ying understood at that time that Mao Zedong wanted to provide convenience for himself and Zhang Wentian. As expected, with Mao Zedong's assistance, Liu Ying and Zhang Wentian came together.
Many scholars believe based on this paragraph that Mao Zedong and Zhang Wentian were not only the closest collaborators politically, but also quite harmonious emotionally.
It was with this close cooperation that although Zhang Wentian has always served as General Secretary, he has always protected Mao Zedong's correct line, and has also continued to transfer power to alleviate obstacles for Chairman Mao.
According to research by Zhang Peisen, an expert on party history: From before the Zunyi Conference to the Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee, our party has encountered three major crises. In these three major crises, Zhang Wentian and Mao Zedong cooperated extremely well and played a very important role in overcoming the crisis. Mao Zedong also gradually established his leadership position in overcoming the crisis.
In addition, Zhang Wentian also made outstanding contributions at the Wayaopu Conference and the Xi'an Incident and was Mao Zedong's best assistant. However, he later turned down the post of general secretary, and then focused all his energy on the Propaganda Department and the Marxist-Leninist Academy.
Yan'an Marxist-Leninist College is the first relatively formal school of the Communist Party of China to study Marxism-Leninism and the highest institution of higher learning in Yan'an. Zhang Wentian was the first dean.
He has always devoted his efforts to it, hoping to run this school well. Before he died, he also said to his nephew: "I have not made much contribution to the cause of the party in my life, but one thing I can comfort myself is that the Marxist-Leninist College has trained a group of good cadres for the party."
According to records, the Marxist-Leninist College enrolled students for 5 years and trained nearly a thousand cadres. These people later became the backbone of various fronts, and many leaders' secretaries and cadres responsible for theoretical propaganda were also born here.
Therefore, after Zhang Wentian gave up his position, he still made great contributions to the construction of New China. In addition, during the rectification movement launched after 1941, Mao Zedong gave a meeting report and pointed out that the international line was fake Marxism wearing a Marxist cloak, and called on people to conduct on-the-spot investigations and not engage in dogmatism and utopianism.
Zhang Wentian was the first to respond to Mao Zedong. Starting from January 1942, he actively requested to go to rural areas for investigation. He visited dozens of villages for nearly a year and a half. His actions greatly shocked everyone, and he was considered to be the first leader to truly make up for his mistakes after making mistakes. It also played a very good role in promoting Mao Zedong's rectification movement.
After returning from the inspection, Zhang Wentian was not willing to go to the countryside again because of fatigue and hardship like others. On the contrary, after the victory of the Anti-Japanese War , he took the initiative to go to the Northeast and worked in that ice and snow environment for a full four years.
During these four years, he made great contributions to the establishment of the Northeastern base area and the construction of the Northeastern rear area. Most scholars also believe that this work experience was the most shining point in his life.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Zhang Wentian had the experience of being a general secretary and had made so many contributions. He could definitely hold an important position, but he always declined and chose the hardest and most tiring job.
- For example, in 1951, Zhou Enlai asked him for his opinion and asked him what position he wanted to hold? Zhang Wentian chose ambassador to the Soviet Union without hesitation.
You must know that Zhang Wentian was the general secretary at that time and made outstanding contributions in the three crises of the party. Especially his work achievements in the Northeast were unanimously praised by central leaders. But he chose to be an ambassador to the Soviet Union. How noble and honorable was this?
However, this was just the tip of the iceberg of Zhang Wentian's noble character. At the subsequent Lushan Conference, when everyone was silent, he boldly delivered a speech for an entire afternoon, expressing his deep understanding of the mistakes of the Great Leap Forward.
Later scholars commented: The theoretical height of this speech was unparalleled within the party at the time, and it also captured the root cause of the mistakes of the movement that year. However, his superb theories and uprightness also got him involved in some turmoil, so he was transferred from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was greatly affected thereafter.
Fortunately, many people were helping Zhang Wentian at that time. For example, Deng Xiaoping once arranged work for him, and Liu Shaoqi also guided him to do economic work.
and Chen Yun. He has always had a good relationship with Zhang Wentian. In that special era, he helped many old comrades including Zhang Wentian and provided them with considerable protection, even at the expense of himself.
Of course, although Zhang Wentian was impacted, he never gave up his revolutionary work. He was still constantly studying the current situation of the country and writing down theories and methods to solve the problem.
Later, Zhang Wentian even wrote nearly 100,000 words of theoretical articles, which are called Zhaoqing Manuscripts, especially "The Highest Standard for Measuring the Party's Line and Policies", which wrote: The practice of the masses is the highest standard for measuring the Party's line and policies. Apart from this, there is no other standard.
This episodic statement became an important reference and discussion material in the great discussion on the standard of truth in 1978, and became the consensus of the whole party at that time. However, Zhang Wentian still could not wait for that moment. For example, he left regrets at the beginning of the chapter. He passed away on July 1, 1976, and could not even see the end of the turbulent period.
Fortunately, after his death, his wife has been working hard for his rehabilitation, and his old friends who were friends with him back then are also working hard. According to Liu Ying's recollection: In August 1979, after the Third Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Hu Yaobang informed her that a memorial service would be held for Zhang Wentian.
And according to Hu Yaobang, the central government originally decided to hold a memorial service for several people together, but Chen Yun said that he would host it and he could deliver the eulogy, but it would be held separately for Wen Tian. As a result, the memorial service was postponed for three months. After discussion, it was finally decided that both Zhang Wentian and Liu Shaoqi would hold separate memorial services.
Liu Ying was very happy about this. She told everyone: She hoped that Deng Xiaoping would host it and Chen Yunlai would deliver the eulogy. After hearing this, Chen Yun still expressed his polite refusal. It was not that he was unwilling to give face to his old friend, but that he was worried that his appearance might lower the standard of the memorial service.
Therefore, he replied: "It is Deng Xiaoping who will deliver the eulogy ." Deng Xiaoping immediately agreed. Therefore, Zhang Wentian's memorial service was held. Li Xiannian, Tan Zhenlin and other leaders came. They all shook hands with Liu Ying and expressed their condolences to Zhang Wentian. Many people also expressed their gratitude and life-saving feelings to Zhang Wentian as at the beginning.
According to records, Liu Ying bid farewell to Zhang Wentian with a smile at the memorial service that day. This smile included tears of joy, but also heartfelt relief and gratitude. History has not forgotten Zhang Wentian. Deng Xiaoping concluded Zhang Wentian's life: he lived a revolutionary life, a life of loyalty to the party and the people.
Just as Zhang Wentian said to Liu Ying before his death: History is the most just, right and wrong, loyalty and traitor, history will eventually prove and make judgments on all these.
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