Chapter 39 Betrayal of comrades after being captured 1927

Journalist: “I heard that you were leading a group up the mountain and got arrested along the way. What happened?”

Mao: “In September 1927, I was arrested by the Kuomintang militia in Hunan. In 1936, while in Yan’an, I recounted this event to the American journalist Edgar Snow as follows:

‘When I was organizing the army and moving between the miners in Hengyang and the peasant army, I was captured by some militias affiliated with the Kuomintang. At that time, the Kuomintang’s reign of terror had reached its peak, and many suspected communists were being executed. I was taken to the headquarters of the militia, where I was going to be killed. However, I borrowed some money from a comrade with the intention of bribing the escorts to let me go. The ordinary soldiers were hired, and there was no special benefit for them in seeing me killed, so they agreed to release me. But the captain in charge of escorting me refused. Therefore, I decided to escape. However, it was only about two hundred yards away from the militia headquarters that I had a chance to escape. In that instant, I broke free from the rope and fled into the fields.’”

Journalist: “Is that really what happened? Or are you fabricating a story to deceive the Americans?”
Mao: “Let me continue. ‘The soldiers chased after me and forced some peasants to assist them in the search. They came close several times, and once or twice, I almost came into contact with them. But in the end, I was not discovered. Although there were five or six times when I had given up hope, thinking that I would surely be caught again, eventually it got dark, and they gave up the search.

I immediately climbed over the mountains and walked throughout the night. I had no shoes, and my feet were severely injured. Along the way, I met a peasant who was friendly to me. He provided me with accommodation and later escorted me to a neighboring county. I had 7 dollars with me, so I used it to buy a pair of shoes, an umbrella, and some food. When I finally arrived safely with the peasant army, I only had two copper coins left in my pocket.’”

Journalist: “You have constructed a perfect story, and the Americans listened to it with great interest. Edgar Snow then publicized it for you.”

Journalist: “However, in the autumn of 1948, a primary school teacher surnamed Jin read Snow’s book ‘Red Star Over China’ and conducted an on- site investigation into your arrest in 1927. He learned that there was an elderly man in his sixties who had served as a clerk at the militia headquarters at that time. So he and his friend went to visit this old man.

After a long period of recollection, the old scribe couldn’t be certain about the person who was captured, but he recalled the situation at that time, saying: ‘Before the Mid-Autumn Festival in August that year, a tall and thin man passed through the town. Because he carried a heavy burden on his back and looked around suspiciously, the local militia suspected he might be carrying firearms. They caught him and upon searching him, discovered over 100 silver dollars and some clothes and letters. He claimed to be a businessman. They immediately brought him to the headquarters of the militia for interrogation. After enduring torture and waterboarding, it was revealed that he was a leader of the Communist Party, and he provided information about several of his comrades. One comrade, who was also the county magistrate, was waiting for him at a young man’s shop in the town and was also captured.’

Journalist continued: “The old scribe had only heard that on that day, the captured individuals were taken to the border command headquarters by the militia. The captured individuals provided a lot of assistance to the government and helped pacify many thugs. The old scribe mentioned that the head of the militia at that time had already passed away, but one could try to find the head’s son and ask him. However, the son of the head of the militia was also old and ill. He was certain that his father had captured Mao Zedong, which is you. However, the specific details of the capture are not clear. He said, ‘I only heard that Mao Zedong was eloquent and willing to cooperate with the government. His father valued talent and righteousness. Seeing that Mao Zedong had made some contributions to the Kuomintang Army and they were fellow townsfolk, he helped him plead for leniency and allowed him to return to his hometown to teach. Nobody would have known that he later escaped to Jinggang Mountain.’

Further investigation revealed that after the People’s Liberation Army crossed the Yangtze River in 1949, the whereabouts of the old scribe became unknown. During the land reform period, the son of the militia head was executed by firing squad. Later, a teacher with the surname Jin became a ‘rightist’ and, along with some of his friends, privately discussed the past events he had investigated. After 1997, the daughter of a friend of Teacher Jin went to Hong Kong and mentioned in a casual conversation that an interested person had verified several published books about Mao Zedong in the Beijing Library. The following excerpts from these books regarding the arrest were found:

‘Hu Changshui and Li Yuan, in ‘Mao Zedong’s Road: Rising From the Horizon,’ page 399: After the Anyuan Conference, Mao Zedong adopted the alias Mr. Zhang, a purchasing agent at the Anyuan coal mine. Along with Pan Xinyuan and others, he headed straight for the county town of Tonggu, passing through Liuyang and reaching Zhangjiafang on the border. There, they were detained by the local militia.’

Yang Qingwang, in “Mao Zedong Points the Way,” Volume One, page 168 (Central Literature Publishing House): “In 1927, there was a group operating in Liuyang called the Liuyang Workers and Peasants Volunteer Corps, which adopted the 20th Army Independent Regiment as its banner. On September 6, accompanied by Pan Xinyuan, the secretary of the Liuyang County Communist Party Committee, Mao Zedong left Anyuan and went to Tonggu to join the reorganized Independent Regiment. On September 10, after escaping from danger in Zhangjiafang, Liuyang, he finally arrived in Tonggu.

Li Xin and Chen Tiejian, editors of ‘General History of China’s New Democratic Revolution’ (Beijing Publishing House, 2000), page 71: ‘On September 11, Mao Zedong led the Third Regiment in the Tonggu Uprising. After the military conference in Zhangjiawan, Anyuan, Mao Zedong and Pan Xinyuan went to Tonggu to command the Third Regiment. On their way, they encountered danger in Zhangjiafang, Liuyang. Mao Zedong escaped while Pan Xinyuan was captured and imprisoned, leaving Mao Zedong as the sole person heading to Tonggu. On the 10th, Comrade Mao Zedong arrived in Tonggu.’

Based on the information above, Hong Kong and overseas readers and public opinion believe that your self-described escape after being captured, breaking free from ropes, is fabricated. They argue that the claim of the militia and local peasants searching for him for a day after his escape without recapturing him is a self-invented story, a falsification of history.

You mentioned that after being captured, you borrowed a few dozen yuan from a comrade to bribe the militia, and that is also fabricated. According to the information provided by the old scribe of the militia and the son of the militia head, during the interrogation, you provided information about several comrades and cooperated with the government and the Kuomintang Army, which led to the militia releasing you and giving you 7 yuan for travel expenses. In reality, you ‘surrendered after being captured.’

The three books about Mao Zedong published in Beijing that you mentioned are believed to be aimed at upholding Mao Zedong’s image and only provide vague descriptions of being ‘captured and escaping,’ concealing the truth.”

Mao: “What you are saying is true. After reflecting for 40 years since my passing, I admit that the narrative of ‘being captured and escaping’ that I recounted to Snow was fabricated by me. I kneel before God in deep remorse for my acts of betrayal and selling out my comrades.”