At the end of the 1960s, after Nixon won the presidential election again, he wanted to make every effort to improve Sino-US relations and carry out so-called "balance of power diplomacy" to strengthen the United States against the Soviet Union and adjust Asian policy.
In the early 1970s, Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai proceeded from the diplomatic strategic need to readjust the "great triangle" relations between China, the United States, and the Soviet Union, expressed their willingness to engage with the United States and strive to open up the stalemate in Sino-US relations.
Finally, thanks to the efforts of the two countries, on July 15, 1971, China and the United States issued a shocking announcement: President Nixon of the United States would visit China before May 1972.
On January 3, 1972, Brigadier General Alexander Hague, then deputy assistant to the President of the United States for Security Affairs, took the lead in sending a group to Beijing to make corresponding technical arrangements for President Nixon's trip to China, and also brought important messages from the United States to the Chinese leaders.
In its message, the US side talked about many issues, such as the India-Pakistan conflict, the Vietnam issue, and the Soviet Union's actions in Eurasia, and came to the conclusion that the Soviet Union was trying to continue to "encircle" New China.
Since the United States did not believe in the viability of the new China, the United States was prepared to try to counteract the Soviet Union's threat to China, so as to achieve the ability to maintain China's independence and its survival.
In addition, Hague also said that he hopes that through this visit, he can strengthen president Nixon's image as a "world leader". He also said that this is very beneficial for both sides.
At that time, Xiong Xianghui, who had been China's chargé d'affaires in Britain, participated in the Sino-US talks before and after Nixon's visit to China as an assistant to Premier Zhou Enlai. These contents were disclosed in his later years, so the authenticity is guaranteed!
So, after listening to these "messages" brought by the perfect party, how did Mao Zedong specifically behave?
After hearing this, Mao Zedong did not show great excitement, but only said lightly:
"I besieged China and asked them to come to my rescue, so what happened?" Top back! Nixon doesn't come, if he doesn't come, he won't come, he won't come for 22 years, he won't come for another 22 years. Nixon will not come, tuxon and brickson will also come! ”
In the subsequent "Reply" draft, the Chinese side's attitude was even tougher, which clearly stated:
“...... The US side expressed its hope that through this visit, it will strengthen President Nixon's image as a world leader. It's hard for us to understand. A man's image depends on his own actions, not on any other country. We never think of any self-proclaimed world leader! ......”
After the Chinese side read the draft of this reply to Haig, Haig was a little overwhelmed, and could only indicate that he may not have correctly conveyed the president's meaning.
But based on this, on the issue of receiving President Nixon, the Chinese side chose to deal with it in a low-key way, in the words of a comment by foreign power at the time- "simple and serious."
At about 11:30 a.m. on February 21, 1972, US President Richard Nixon's Air Force One plane landed smoothly at Beijing Airport.
President Nixon and his wife hurried down the gangway and held out their hands to Premier Zhou Enlai, who had gone to greet him!
After more than two decades, the hands of China and the United States have finally been tightly held together, which marks that Sino-US relations will enter a new era.
In order to welcome the arrival of President Nixon, Mao Zedong also specially composed a "hazy poem" for him; strangely, the whole poem has only three sentences, that is, "The old man sits on the stool, Chang'e runs to the moon, and walks and looks at the flowers." ”
As we all know, Chairman Mao was a well-known poet at home and abroad, and his poems were heroic and touching, and they did not lose any of the literati and inkers of ancient times.
But for this "obscure poem", many people can't understand it, and even Nixon himself was confused when he got this poem.
It is said that in the nearly 50 years of this obscure poem, no one has been able to give a comprehensive and accurate explanation.
In Mr. Jin Ruping's article "A 'Obscure Poem' of Chairman Mao", although the poem is introduced, the deep meaning contained in the poem is not clearly expressed, in his words:
"Perhaps, Chairman Mao has a deep meaning in this poem, but it is difficult for people to enter the broad and hidden inner world of his politician."
So, is the poem really "incomprehensible"?
I don't think so! It should be said that there are many interpretations of this poem, and each one is satisfactory, but everyone's starting point is different, so the conclusions drawn are different, which may not be what the chairman thought at the time, but it also has a certain truth.
The author is also particularly interested in the chairman's "obscure poem", and today I will take the liberty of analyzing it according to some evaluations of my predecessors!
First of all, as far as the "old man sits on the stool", the author believes that this should be the poet's self-description;
At that time, Chairman Mao was already 80 years old, and his whole life experienced life and death in the revolutionary struggle, and experienced all kinds of rain, snow, wind and frost in his life, which was expressed in one of his poems: Cold eyes look at the world.
Of course, the image of "lao sorcerer sitting on a stool" can also be considered in connection with the famous poet Liu Zongyuan's "Jiang Xue" of the Tang Dynasty.
As one of the "Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties", Liu Zongyuan was persecuted by the eunuch clique and foreign forces for participating in the political reform movement led by Wang Shuwen (Yongzhen Innovation), and was finally demoted all the way to Yongzhou.
At this time, he was mentally tortured and his mood was extremely depressed, so he took advantage of the scenery to lyrically compare himself to an old man who fished, in order to pin his high and arrogant feelings and express his political depression and distress.
Therefore, he wrote the famous five-word sentence "Jiang Xue" in Yongzhou: "A thousand mountains and birds fly to extinction, and ten thousand paths of people disappear." Lonely boat, fishing alone in the snow of the Cold River. ”
And we also know that the chairman loved Liu Zongyuan's poetry very much all his life, and in those dark years, he also cared about and supported Mr. Zhang Shizhao's publication of the book "Liu Wen's Instructions".
During President Nixon's visit to China, Premier Zhou Enlai also specially introduced the book to him and gave the book a set to Freeman, a US State Department official who also came.
Therefore, it can be seen from this that the sentence "Lao Shu sits on the stool" is not unrelated to Liu Zongyuan's "Jiang Xue", and it is understandable that we say that the author used Liu Shi as a portrayal of his personality and mood.
In addition, the "Old Sorcerer Sitting Stool" also has a certain connection with the famous ancient Chinese allusion "Jiang Taigong Fishing".
Of course, no one would say that this "fish on the hook" was President Nixon, but Chairman Mao, with the grandeur of a proletarian revolutionary, opened a new page in the history of Sino-US relations.
And his boldness and foresight are no less than those of Jiang Taigong, who fished alone on the shores of weishui and assisted the father and son of King Wen of Zhou in seizing the world.
The second is "Chang'e Running Moon"!
In fact, this sentence, in the author's opinion, is relatively easy to understand, the so-called "Chang'e running to the moon", nothing more than refers to the satellite flying into space.
Therefore, this sentence is likely to imply that the American satellites at that time were in the sky. This was actually the speculation of the Americans at that time.
But in addition to this explanation, the author also sees another explanation, and this interpretation is based on the sentence itself!
Chang'e refers to a beauty in the Guanghan Palace on the moon in ancient Chinese myths and legends. The American guests of Nixon's party, according to the Chinese abbreviation habit, can also be abbreviated to "beauty", just as some history books and old publications called the Japanese "Japanese".
President Nixon's trip to China can also be called an "operation on the moon."
This word is not made up by the author, but it is well reflected in the commentary in the documentary "Zhou Enlai's Diplomatic Storm".
Therefore, the author's phrase "Chang'e running to the moon" actually refers to the trip to China of Nixon and other American guests. And this sentence also fully demonstrates Chairman Mao's wisdom and humor!
The last sentence is "go and see the flowers"!
According to American speculation at the time, this sentence meant that even if President Nixon came to China in person, it would be impossible to truly understand the real situation in China.
So, is this really the case?
As we all know, the idiom of "walking horses and watching flowers" comes from the famous poet Meng Jiao of the Tang Dynasty in "After Dengke": "The spring wind is proud of the horseshoe disease, and the Chang'an flowers can be seen in one day."
The term was originally used to describe a pleasant and proud mood, and now it is mostly used as a metaphor for observing things that are not deep and meticulous.
So there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with Americans making such a guess about this!
However, in the author's opinion, such speculation has a certain ironic meaning and does not conform to the author's original intention.
The author's original intention, I think, is the original meaning of this idiom, which contains the chairman's joy at the American guests coming to China to "see the flowers.".
After all, the deadlock has been broken at this time, the relationship between China and the United States has entered a new historical period, and the American politicians who once did not set foot in the new China have now come to this "hundred gardens" of socialism.
Therefore, in the author's opinion, this sentence should not be understood as a satire, positive and upward, is its original meaning.
In general, the core meaning of these three idioms used by Chairman Mao in this "obscure poem" is to express the welcome and happiness of American guests visiting China.
Of course, these are only the author's personal understanding, how do you understand this?