Anchee Min - Becoming Madame Mao

There is resistance. It comes from Vice Chairman Liu and his friend Vice Premier Deng Xiao-ping. If Mao has always considered Liu a rival, he considers Deng a valuable talent. Mao once said that Deng's "little bottle" is filled with amazing things. Educated in France Deng tasted capitalism and loved it. The man talks little but acts big. He stands by Vice Chairman Liu in supporting the capitalistic programs. On February 5, a cold day, he and Liu decide to hold a Politburo meeting to discuss the mayor of Beijing Peng Zhen's urgent paper "The Report."

The point of the paper is to clarify the confusion that Madame Mao's "On the Play Hairui Dismissed from Office " has caused. The goal is to narrow the criticism into an academic zone, says Peng. By the end of the meeting Peng asks Liu and Deng Xiaoping to cosign a letter in support of "The Report." The next day both the letter and the paper are submitted to Mao.

My husband expresses no objection to "The Report." In fact, he never allows himself to get into a position where he must give a black or white answer. Mao understands that a rejection would mean rejecting ninety percent of his cabinet members. Mao lives to play the savior, not the executioner.

In the future Mao will always be remembered for his good deeds. For example, the widespread story of his attendance at Marshal Chen Yi's funeral in 1975. That he arrived in his pajamas demonstrated how he hurried to get there. The viewers were led to believe in the sincerity of Mao's sorrow. Nevertheless, the truth is that Mao could have saved the marshal's life by uttering a simple "no" to stop the Red Guards from torturing him to death.

This is not to say that I have reservations about my husband's tactics. I am with him. He is a great man, a visionary, who dreams a great dream for his nation. The goal of revolution is paradise. I have always understood that "Revolution is one class overthrowing the other by violent action"-we have all put our lives on the line.

The game continues. Mao is set to sweep his opposition. At the Party gatherings, Mao smiles and chats with Liu and Deng. He asks about their families and jokes about Deng's habit of playing poker. Mao has the ability to verbally disarm, to charm and to make his victims abandon their suspicions until they become an open door. Then he strikes.

The mayor of Beijing, Peng Zhen, is thrilled that Chairman Mao has no comments on "The Report." He assumes that he has Mao's support. The news puts Vice Chairman Liu and Deng Xiao-ping at ease.

I know my husband. He might pretend to be ill and withdrawn, but he'll come back and take his enemy by storm. It is what he is doing now. Planning the battle, rearranging his chessboard. He believes that the future of China is at stake. He believes that he is dealing with a coup d'état, that his army is rebelling. He believes that he has the allegiance of only one force from the northern provinces, led by the sickly Marshal Lin.

For years Lin has played all kinds of tricks in order to win Mao's favor. About his behavior, his colleague Marshal Luo Reiqing is not only disgusted but criticizes him as a hypocrite.

I have come to know Lin through Kang Sheng. Kang Sheng says that Lin Biao is a bride who has been waiting for her wedding day all her life, and now she has gotten the ring.

I visit the Lin family. I mention Marshal Luo. I say Luo is now our shared enemy.

What's your story? asks Lin.

I'd like to have an official position in the Party. I thought Marshal Luo was my husband's close friend and might be willing to lend me a hand. I'd like to get the army to participate in the Cultural Revolution.

What happened?

Marshal Luo turned me down. I am too embarrassed to describe the details-he wouldn't even let me take a uniform!

You don't have to go on, Madame Mao. I know what to do about it. Why don't you come to my headquarters and open a seminar?

February 20, 1966. In a brand-new uniform, Madame Mao Jiang Ching delivers a speech against "The Report." It is the first time in her life she holds a meeting attended by the heads of state and men of the armed forces. She experiences stage fright. But she is confident. Afterwards she informs Mao of what she has done. He congratulates her.

From then on Lin Biao and Madame Mao Jiang Ching visit each other frequently. They form an alliance to help get rid of each other's enemies.

After my speech Lin's headquarters produces a booklet. It is entitled The Summary of Discussions Held by Comrade Jiang Ching and Sponsored by Comrade Lin Biao. It is the text of my speech. The subtitle is On the Role of the Arts in the Army. In short, The Summary.

Comrade Jiang Ching is the model member of our Party, Marshal Lin's hand printing reads on the cover page. She has made tremendous contributions and sacrifices for our country. The Cultural Revolution has provided an opportunity for her to demonstrate leadership. She shines as a political talent.

Mao is pleased with The Summary. I have claimed Maoism to be the greatest and only theory of the Chinese Communist Party.

In the next four weeks Mao calls me four times to personally revise The Summary. In April Mao issues an order to make The Summary the handbook of every member of the Communist Party.

I touch you with these hands, I put them on your burning cheeks so they will be cool.

I look in the mirror and embrace myself for what I have gone through. Taking off my glasses I see a pair of swollen eyes.

I've made you weep, I've made you love and I've made you cartwheel on the tips of knives. You were a winter fan, a summer stove-no one desired you. But now your time has come.

My new role helps me understand happiness in a different light. It is beyond lust and companionship, beyond the ordinary notion of love. I have run the earth out in wildness and know that every human being in essence is alone. I have decided to push aside silence and answer music. I have made myself an exuberant fountain.

In my heart's land the gold summer's fierce sun is thrusting through the leaves.

Can you see lily stems stand green and tall and bees collect nectar from an endless line of clover?

On March 28 Mao hosts a secret meeting in his study. The only attendants are Jiang Ching, Kang Sheng and Chun-qiao. Mao calls it a Politburo meeting although its official members, Vice Chairman Liu, Premier Zhou, Commander in Chief Zhu De, Vice Premier Chen Yun and Deng, are excluded.

The meeting lasts three full days. Mao points out that Mayor Peng's report has failed to carry out the principles of Communism. It's time to rebel, Mao instructs. The old Politburo no longer works for the revolution. Down with the Cultural Bureau and the Mayor's Committee of Beijing. Let's send the devils to hell and liberate the ghosts!

Mao turns to Chun-qiao and asks how long it will take to arrange articles of criticism against "The Report."

April 2 and 5, Chun-qiao replies.

In People's Daily and The Red Flag?

Yes, it shall serve to launch a nationwide attack.

Just as Mao used to in battle he assigns Kang Sheng as a backup force. Make sure to get rid of any dog who dares to block the way.

After the meeting they are exhausted. She observes him quietly. He sits in the rattan chair and rests his head against its back. Tears come to her eyes. She feels the leaping of time. She remembers the moment when he sat in the same pose contemplating the conquest of China. She is so in love with him that she breathes carefully, fearing to disturb his thoughts.

She quietly goes through the notes of the meeting. The silence in the room delights her. She knows that he is comfortable with her. The way they used to be with each other in Yenan. The contentment, the togetherness.