<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="1" > preface</h1>
In 1936, when Mao Zedong was in Yan'an, he was interviewed by the American journalist Snow. In this interview, Mao Zedong detailed the party and his own experiences, and in recalling his early years of studying in the elementary school, he mentioned a person.
"I have never seen so many children gathered together before, most of them are the children of landlords, well-dressed, very few peasants can afford to attend such a school, my dress is more shabby than others, I only have a decent set of shorts, I usually wear a worn-out shirt and pants, so many broad students look down on me. But among them, I also have friends, one of whom is now a writer and lives in the Soviet Union. ”
The friend mao zedong mentioned in this recollection was the famous poet Xiao San.
Time back to when Mao Zedong was a child in elementary school. One day, Mao Zedong learned that Xiao San had a good book, "The Biography of World Hero Haojie", so he directly asked Xiao San to borrow the book.
"There is a book, but I have always been a bit particular about lending it to others." Xiao San looked at Mao Zedong in front of him and smiled triumphantly. Mao Zedong replied unashamedly: "The younger brother is willing to be taught." Xiao San then said, "There are three kinds of people who don't borrow my books. ”
"Which three?" "Scholars who have no real talent do not borrow, and those who are mediocre and villainous do not borrow, and as for the third well, hehe, that is, I am out of the union and those who cannot answer do not borrow." Xiao San still looked at Mao Zedong triumphantly.
When Mao Zedong heard that he wanted to couplet, he found the right person, but still humbly said: "The younger brother does not dare to pretend to be highly knowledgeable, but he is eager to read books, please ask Brother Ren to come out of a couplet, how?" ”
Xiao San saw that Mao Zedong actually deserved this "challenge", and he was not ambiguous, saying: "What I talk about in this book is all heroic Haojie, you listen, Shanglian is like this, the eyes are expensive, and the eyes will not recognize the nobles." Come on, right! ”
After hearing this, Mao Zedong thought a little more, and then calmly said: "Then I will take the liberty of pairing up with a couplet and giving it to Brother Ren, the lower league is like this, there are talents outside the door, how can I accept talents behind closed doors?" ”
Xiao Thirty Thousand did not expect Mao Zedong to be so neat, and he also satirized himself in the couplet, and immediately felt very ashamed. But he really admired Mao Zedong's literary brilliance, so he respectfully apologized to Mao Zedong: "Please forgive the little brother for being rude, the wise brother is a great talent, and he is willing to be a confidant and live a long time!"
The friendship between the two began from this, experienced the friendship of the same window, and experienced the friendship of colleagues, after the founding of New China, the two still maintain a deep friendship, such a friendship, enviable.
In this "Biography of World Hero Haojie", it briefly introduces some outstanding talents in the modern history of Europe and the United States, and after Mao Zedong got this book, he did not release the volume, read it very carefully, and made a lot of annotations while reading it. When returning the book, Mao Zedong apologetically said to Xiao San: "I'm sorry to get your book dirty." ”
Figure Young Mao Zedong
Xiao San took the book from Mao Zedong's hand, opened it, and saw that the dense annotations came into view, and all kinds of annotations and criticisms were almost all over the book. The seriousness of Mao Zedong's reading surprised Xiao San, and after Xiao San looked at it, his face showed a look of admiration and said: "Brother Run, I hope that in the future I can look forward to the back of Junzhi." ”
Mao Zedong smiled and said, "Our country also needs such a figure." We should study the way of rich countries and strong armies so as not to follow the mistakes of Vietnam, North Korea, and India. "You know what? There is a saying in China called the rut of the front car and the lesson of the back car. Every one of us Chinese should work hard, Gu Yanwu said well, 'The world rises and falls, and the pirate has the responsibility.' China is weak and weak, and it will take a long time to make it rich and strong. But it doesn't matter how long it takes, you see, didn't Washington win the victory and establish the United States after 8 years of hard war? We also have to prepare for a long battle! ”
At this time, the young Mao Zedong had the idea of taking saving the country and the people as his own responsibility, so he gave himself a name, called "Zi Ren", if he wanted to undertake such a major national task, he must have knowledge and talent in all aspects, and he has always used this to motivate himself to study hard.
Later, Mao Zedong was admitted to the Hunan Fourth Normal School, and then merged with the First Division, and Mao Zedong was incorporated into the eighth class of the First Division, coincidentally, Xiao San also came to the First Division to study later, and the two partners became classmates again, usually reading and studying together and discussing the current situation.
Mao Zedong's diligence and humility to seek advice set a good example for Xiao San, and every weekend, Xiao San always followed Mao Zedong to visit local cultured people in Changsha or famous foreign scholars, ask them questions, and learn with an open mind.
Picture Sun Yat-sen and Miyazaki Yinzo
In the spring of 1917, a Japanese friend who had been strongly supported during the Xinhai Revolution, Miyazaki Yinzang, came to Changsha to participate in the funeral ceremony of Huang Xing's tomb. Mao Zedong and Xiao San learned that they had jointly written a letter to the well-known person from Japan, in which they highly praised Miyazaki's friendship with the Chinese people and expressed their desire to meet and seek advice. The letter reads:
Your Excellency Mr. White Wave,
Jiuqin Gaoyi, no chance of looking at the face, smelling the wind from afar, people rise. Mr. Huang Gong, born with spiritual help, dead with tears hanging; now will be buried, the waves are thousands of miles, and then come to the cave to send the coffin, Gao Yi has the sun and the moon, sincerely mourning the ghost god, what the world hopes to hear, ancient and modern has never been seen. Zhi Fan, Zedong, a student of Xiangzhi, tasted to read poetry and books, quite determined, and now he would like to see fengcai and listen to the great teachings, but Mr. Shi shi gave it to him, fortunately!
Students of Hunan Provincial First Normal School Xiao Zhifan and Mao Zedong
In this letter, we can see Mao Zedong's reverence for this Japanese friend, and looking at his writing, Mao Zedong is really talented and learned.
At the beginning of 1918, Mao Zedong, Cai Hesen, Xiao Zisheng, Xiao San and others founded the Xinmin Society in Changsha, and on April 14, Mao Zedong and others held the inaugural meeting of the Xinmin Society at Cai Hesen's home, at which they formulated the purpose of the society, that is, to innovate scholarship, improve character, and improve people's hearts and customs.
Figure Group photo of members of Xinmin Society
Since Xiao San taught in primary schools, most of the work of the society was actually presided over by Mao Zedong. Until 1920, Xiao San chose to go to France for work-study after graduation, and the two separated. While in France, Xiao San met Ho Chi Minh, who was also a work-study in France, and under his introduction, Xiao San joined the French Communist Party and transferred to the Chinese Communist Party in the same year.
After returning to China, Xiao San served as the secretary of the Hunan District Committee of the Communist Youth League, a member of the Hunan District Committee of the Communist Party of China, and the secretary of the Northern District of the Communist Youth League. In 1934, Xiao San attended the first congress of Soviet writers, at which he became acquainted with Gorky and joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union with the approval of the Communist Party of China. During his life in the Soviet Union, Xiao San used his writing to publicize to the world the outstanding leaders such as the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army and Mao Zedong.
In the spring of 1939, with the support of Ren Bishi, Xiao San finally returned to the embrace of the motherland. As soon as he returned to the motherland, Xiao San went to the CCP Soviet area where his old friend was located. When the truck stopped in front of the auditorium of the Party Organization Headquarters in Yan'an, Xiao San's joy could no longer be pressed, and he jumped out of the car and went straight to Mao Zedong's cave. Before entering the cave, I saw the tall Mao Zedong walking out of the cave next to him, and the two looked at each other with joy and strode toward each other, their hands clasped tightly together.
Mao Zedong said, "Ah, I haven't seen it for more than ten years!" That night, Mao Zedong set up a banquet to entertain his friend Xiao San, and in the process of eating, the two smiled and recalled the past. Mao Zedong said: "20 years ago, when I looked at the sea at Dagukou in the Bohai Sea, I still believed that penglaixian Island was real in the old novel. When I was 8 years old, I believed in God the most, but my father didn't believe in God, and I thought he was wrong! ”
Chairman Mao speaks at the Luyi School in Yan'an
As a literary and art worker, Xiao San was responsible for the work of the Literary Association after arriving in Yan'an, and edited two publications, "New Poetry" and "Popular Literature and Art". One day, Mao Zedong went to the Luyi School to visit Xiao San, and as soon as the two met, Mao Zedong modestly said, "Special visit!" Xiao San hurriedly said, "I really don't dare to be." ”
The two sat on Xiao San's large wooden bed and chatted about literature. When talking about "Liaozhai Zhiyi", Mao Zedong sighed: "Liaozhai is a kind of warmth of feudalism, Pu Songling opposes forced marriage, opposes corrupt officials, but does not oppose polygamy, praises women's little feet." Advocating free love could not be explicitly explained in feudal society, so it was borrowed from the ghost fox. The author writes about love very artistically, and even ghost foxes can write poems. In fact, this is a social novel, Lu Xun classified him as a strange novel, it was he who said it before he did not accept Marxism, it was he who was mistaken. ”
Mao Zedong then continued: "Pu Songling is a person who pays great attention to investigation and research, he makes a large pot of tea, sits in the middle of the crowd in the market, asks people to tell him the stories of ghosts and foxes that he knows, and then goes back to 'processing' himself, otherwise how can he write four hundred and dozens of ghosts and fox spirits?" ”
After Xiao San listened, he thought of his usual writing, and it was difficult to write. Mao Zedong comforted him and said: "Writing a thousand words is sometimes off topic. Xiao San felt that it was very reasonable, so he said to Mao Zedong: "When I was in the Soviet Union, I used to write a biography of the chairman, and now I want to add and revise it, if the chairman does not mind, I hope you can talk to me about the past in detail." ”
After hearing this, Mao Zedong said to Xiao San: "It is also quite interesting to turn over old things without doing anything, I have helped you politically, but it is also interesting that you have to study and investigate some historical facts to write something, write a novel about some historical facts, and use a person as a lead." In this way, Mao Zedong promised to talk to Xiao San about the past when he had time.
Mao Zedong's words had a great inspiration for Xiao San, who had always encountered difficulties in writing, and from then on, Xiao San would spend a lot of energy to collect enough materials for his own creation before he was ready to create.
Mao Zedong in Yan'an
In 1943, when Mao Zedong had reached the age of fifty, Ren Bishi proposed to Xiao San that he hoped that Xiao San would write a biography of Chairman Mao to celebrate Mao Zedong's fiftieth birthday. However, Mao Zedong resolutely refused to do shou, so this biography of Chairman Mao was not written before his birthday as scheduled. But Xiao San still did not give up, he visited Yan'an, collected materials, and then successively published some short articles about Mao Zedong's participation in revolutionary activities.
As soon as these articles on Mao Zedong's biography were published, they were loved by the broad masses. But Mao Zedong repeatedly told Xiao San not to always write about him personally, but to write more about the lives of the masses. Xiao San insisted on his own ideas and said, "I am making up lessons by myself, and I am writing the story of your struggle with the party organization, which is of great educational significance." Mao Zedong was relieved that he would continue to create.
At the Spring Festival Gala in 1945, Zhu De proposed that all the generals and cadres who were studying in Yan'an at that time write the stories of each liberated area, and Mao Zedong was very favorable. Save me from jumping around alone. After listening, Mao Zedong said to Xiao San, "Then you are still a person with a heart!" ”
In this way, because of Xiao San's research on Mao Zedong's past, he became the first expert in the CCP to study Mao Zedong's life. Since then, he has continued to adhere to this "study", written many articles on the life of Chairman Mao, and comprehensively publicized the excellent deeds of Mao Zedong and the Communist Party to the public.
Not only that, in the process of collecting and creating, Xiao San's impression of Mao Zedong became more and more comprehensive, and he admired Mao Zedong as a child, and now he now has more and more respect for this great leader of the Communist Party. In August 1945, after the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Mao Zedong went to Chongqing to negotiate with Chiang Kai-shek in order to expose Chiang Kai-shek's conspiracy of "fake peace and real civil war". Before leaving, Xiao San made a special trip to the airport to see mao Zedong off.
Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek in Chongqing
For the sake of the peace and stability of the country, Mao Zedong's fearless spirit of disregarding his personal safety and not being afraid of reactionary forces made Xiao San very admirable. Returning from the airport, Xiao San was very excited in his heart and wrote an impassioned poem, "Send Mao Zedong to Chongqing", which was written like this: As soon as Chairman Mao entered the airport in a car, thousands of people immediately applauded, and thousands of pairs of eyes never turned their eyes, and they sent him to the plane. Chairman Mao stood at the door of the plane, looked at the crowd with kindness and waved his hand, and everyone clapped and then flew in unison, and a thousand willows suddenly grew in the middle of the field. The people thanked him for saving the people and the sincerity of the water and fire, the people trusted him in his great wisdom, courage and benevolence, the people sincerely wished him good health, and the people used their own strength to maintain his safety! Chairman Mao flew away, and his face was a little worried; he had always been worried about the country and the people, and today he was even more profound.
Mao Zedong arrives in Chongqing
The poem is full of Xiao San's reverence for Chairman Mao, and also truly expresses his worries about the safety of Mao Zedong's trip.
In 1948, Xiao San still followed Mao Zedong. When they were in Xibaipo, Mao Zedong and Xiao San often walked and chatted together. At this time, Xiao San still insisted on digging up the story of Mao Zedong's life, and would ask Mao Zedong questions at every opportunity. So he asked Mao Zedong that he would talk about the story of his youth.
One day, the two were on the main road outside the village as usual, talking as they walked. At this time, I saw a group of people in front of me arguing there. Mao Zedong asked with concern, "There are so many people there, is something wrong?" ”
The guard next to him replied, "It just rained heavily yesterday, and the river swelled, and a lot of things rushed down the river, and those people may be watching the river fishing for things." ”
Figure Mao Zedong in Xibaipo
Mao Zedong said to Xiao San next to him: "Let's go, let's go and have a look." So the two of them walked down the canal toward the river.
Coming to the river, looking at the crops that were flooded by the swollen river in front of him, Mao Zedong sighed deeply and said: "Alas, seeing the crops in your hands, the water will reduce production as soon as it bubbles, and you should quickly help the people drain the water and lift the crops up, so that you can also reduce some losses." ”
Mao Zedong then said: "This is really a natural disaster and a man-made disaster, the drought a few days ago, we all look forward to the rain, the rain is heavy and becomes a disaster, in the future people can win the day, we can greatly reduce this kind of disaster, can use the river water irrigation, into drought and flood to ensure the harvest." In the south, there is a lot of rain, and there is often heavy rain and torrential rain, but there are very few disasters. ”
At this time, Xiao San continued: "There are already several provinces in the south that have achieved drought and flood protection. Then he introduced himself to the guards around him: "In our Hunan, the flat land is full of paddy fields, and we are not afraid of heavy rain." Channel rivers such as networks, water flow is smooth, small rivers through large rivers, large rivers through rivers and lakes, rarely floods. ”
Mao Zedong swimming in the Xiang River
Mao Zedong looked at the miserable situation of the crops in front of him and wanted to go down and help those who were in a hurry to salvage things below. So he pushed Xiao San next to him and said, "What, let's go, let's also play a game with the young people to see who catches more things?" ”
Xiao San listened and said, "No! This is not the water of the Xiang River, this is the ferocious Tuotuo River, if we are standing on the edge of the Xiang River today, I will definitely accompany you down the river to fight bitterly and happily. After hearing this, Mao Zedong smiled and said, "It seems that you still don't obey the old age!" ”
Xiao San also quipped, "I don't obey the old, I can still go down in the Tuotuo River, but when my clothes are wet, it is not good to go home." When Mao Zedong heard that this "boy" was so "pretentious," he jokingly admonished: "You don't have an occupational disease, you can only write at home, you can't do anything else!" ”
The two laughed at each other like two old friends. After the joke, Xiao San said seriously, "Your time is too precious, talk about it for a while, you should also eat." ”
After the founding of New China, Xiao San, as the earliest early party member to participate in the founding of the Communist Party of China, attended many political consultative meetings of the Chinese people and was elected as a member of the Standing Committee of the Fifth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
Xiao San used his own writing to be the first to show the world mao zedong's comprehensive image of a great man, which played a propaganda role for the revolutionary cause, and in his heart, Mao Zedong's lifelong friendship with him was the most precious.