Chapter 67 Yan’an little kingdom Carefree in Shanbei (Northern Shanxi) 1937

Journalist: “How did you get involved with Ding Ling?

Mao: “Ding Ling was born in 1904 in Hunan, originally named Jiang Bingzhi. In 1926, she published “Miss Sophie’s Diary” and became famous for pursuing personal liberation. In 1933, she joined the underground Communist Party organization in Shanghai and edited the “Beidou” magazine. In the same year, she was arrested and imprisoned in Nanjing, where she cohabitated with a suspect and gave birth to a daughter. She was released in 1936 and arrived at Wayao Fortress in November of the same year. At that time, I had just arrived at Wayao Fortress during the Long March, and our troops were in a state of defeat and disarray. I was ragged and emaciated, a pitiful sight to behold. We scattered and stayed in the homes of ordinary people, taking a lazy and leisurely break.

When I saw her, I said, ‘I’ve heard your famous name. You’re the renowned Ding Ling, right?’ I talked with Ding Ling for three days and three nights. I held her hand and counted the three palaces, six courts, and 72 concubines. I told Ding Ling that I He Zizhen as empress and told Ding Ling, ‘You can become a noble concubine, handling the four treasures of the study and presenting memorials from across the country.’ I also appointed several female Red Army members as noble concubines of the six courts. However, Wayao Fortress was too small, impoverished, and remote. The local population was only around 2,000, and with my Red Army soldiers, there were only four to five thousand people. Even with women who had some attractiveness, we couldn’t gather 72 beauties. It included a few wealthy wives who couldn’t escape in time. Though I was in a destitute state at the time, it was the beginning of my emperor dream.

At that time, I told Ding Ling that the people’s livelihood in Wayao Fortress was in decline, with cosmetics and luxury goods scarce. It was not a place to stay for long. In December of that year, the ‘Xi’an Incident’ occurred. Zhang Xueliang saved me, and the following year, I entered Yan’an and officially replaced Zhou Enlai, taking the position of Chairman of the Central Military Commission and wielding military power. I wrote a poem for Ding Ling while in Wayao Fortress. At the end of 1936, I wrote a poem titled ‘Lingjiang Immortal’ for her: ‘The red flag on the wall flutters in the light, the west wind sweeps over the desolate city. Prominent figures in Baoding emerge overnight, banquets are held in the caves, entertaining the imprisoned. Who can match the graceful pen in composing? Three thousand sharpshooters with Mauser rifles, the battle formation moves towards the eastern Long Mountain. She’s Miss Scholar yesterday and General Military today.’

Ding Ling led a colorful and eventful life, filled with numerous hardships and challenges. She experienced 30 years of political suffering but couldn’t break free from the influence of my Marxist-Leninist poison. She remained unable to awaken and, even in her later years, after being rehabilitated, she continued to defend my tarnished reputation. Perhaps my indoctrination with the Stalin Literature Prize had a deep impact on her. Despite the persecution she endured, she couldn’t extricate herself. She underwent labor reform in Beidahuang and even wrote a letter to seek my help. However, I had completely abandoned her both politically and emotionally and didn’t pay any further attention. Alas! A renowned writer. Ding Ling began with personal liberation but ended up unable to escape my influence. She passed away in 1986.”

Journalist: “After the Xi’an Incident, did your rule in Yan’an become legitimate?”

Mao: “Yes, not long after Chiang Kai-shek returned to Nanjing, in January 1937, Moscow set the framework for the Communist Party: ‘recognizing Chiang Kai-shek’s leadership of the government, ceasing hostilities, and placing the Red Zone and Red Army under the jurisdiction of Nanjing.’ I superficially accepted this arrangement as a temporary measure and publicly assured that a new era of cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party had begun. The Communist Party obtained the Shaan-Gan-Ning Border Region, covering an area of 130,000 square kilometers with a population of 2 million, with its capital in Yan’an. The border region received financial support from the Nanjing government and provided military funding for the 46,000 Red Army soldiers.”

Journalist: “You have your own legitimate little kingdom now. Life in Yan’an must be enjoyable, right?”

Mao: “Yes. I moved to Yan’an on New Year’s Day in 1937 and lived there for 10 years. The name Yan’an, in the ancient city’s context, means ‘extended peace.’ It has a thousand-year-old nine-story pagoda and used to be an important industrial and commercial center. When Standard Oil of the West explored for oil here, they built several residences, which are now under the control of the Red Army. A Spanish Catholic priest built a large church, which we conveniently used for meetings. Many wealthy locals fled upon hearing about the Red Army, providing us with vacant properties. I personally selected a beautiful and spacious house on the outskirts of the city in Fenghuang Village. In the past 10 years, my life has never been so stable and peaceful. The new image of the Communist Party attracted batches of urban youth to come to Yan’an. Suddenly, I had a considerable number of fashionable and attractive young girls around me, and they aroused my impulses.”

Journalist: “Wow, did the young girls also come to you?”

Mao: “Yes, particularly captivating to me was the beautiful 26-year-old Wu Lili. When she arrived in Yan’an in 1937, she immediately became a star actress. Not long after, He Zizhen also noticed her, and I had a sexual relationship with Miss Wu. Madame Snow referred to Miss Wu as my ‘third party.’”

Journalist: “So you were involved with Wu Lili at the same time?”

Mao: “Yes, Wu Guanghui, born in 1911 in Henan, also known as Lili in English. She was beautiful, intelligent, and cultivated. She could act and had worked as a drama teacher. She was also a leader in the student movement and was well-liked by everyone. She got married in 1934, and her husband opposed her going to Yan’an. However, in February 1937, she insisted on visiting Yan’an to study new education and listen to my lectures alongside Zhang Guotao and Bo Gu. Wu Lili was attractive to me, and I often went to her place to chat and have drinks. She was good in English, and when Smedley came, she served as her English translator. I also wanted her to be my personal translator and English tutor, so I could spend more time with her. Throughout my life, I always had female English tutors, mainly to have some Western flavor. The amount of English I learned was irrelevant…

What’s the big deal if I, who was born amidst life and death, play around with a few Western-flavored women?

Miss Wu served as the translator for the American writer Agnes Smedley. Smedley was a spy for the Comintern. She found me ‘strange and repulsive,’ ‘stink and disgusting, but I still wanted to use her for my propaganda. Smedley brought a wave of social dancing to Yan’an. I quickly got involved in dancing, not just for entertainment but also as an opportunity for seduction. Soon, Yan’an became obsessed with dancing.”

Journalist: “So the American celebrity taught you how to dance?”

Journalist: “Did you have an affair with the American journalist Smedley?”

Mao: “Yes, Smedley visited Yan’an in the spring of 1937 when she was 25 years old. She was upright, passionate, full of fantasies and adventurous spirit, beautiful, lively, and pursued passionate romance. I was lustful and had a taste for the Western flavor. We had a scandalous affair, satisfying my psychological and physiological curiosity. She exuded sensuality, and our interactions quickly escalated from shaking hands to embracing and then kissing. I often visited her residence, and each meeting lasted for half an hour or an hour. The security guards stood outside the door, allowing us to kiss, embrace, and do anything we wanted. I was too promiscuous, and when He Zizhen heard about it, she couldn’t bear it anymore. She threatened to send her own security guards to ‘kill that Western witch.’ I didn’t want the affair to become a big problem, and besides, I had already satisfied my curiosity for the Western flavor. Soon, I asked her to leave Yan’an and go elsewhere. Smedley later wrote ‘Red Star Over China,’ glorifying the Communist Party and me. It was widely published in the West.”

Mao: “Yes, but He Zizhen couldn’t tolerate my involvement with other women. One evening in June 1937, Smedley overheard Zizhen shouting at me, ‘You bastard, how dare you come here and sleep with this bourgeois bitch!’ Smedley ran to the neighboring room and saw Zizhen using a flashlight to hit me on the head. My security guards were standing nearby, unsure of what to do. I tried to explain that I was just there to chat with Miss Wu. Zizhen then turned and rushed towards Wu, grabbing her face and pulling her hair, while I stood by. Zizhen then yelled at Smedley, ‘Imperialist bitch! It’s all because of you! Get out!’ Enraged, Smedley struck back at Zizhen and knocked her to the ground. Zizhen yelled at me, ‘What kind of man are you? What kind of husband? What kind of Communist Party member? You just stand there and watch an imperialist whore hit me?’ I asked the security guards to lift Zizhen, but she tripped them as well. Later, three more security guards came in and forcibly carried her away. I followed silently behind.”

Journalist: “Wow, you got into a physical fight?”

Mao: “Yes, it was difficult to resolve. The incident that happened that evening spread throughout Yan’an the next day. The Politburo found it challenging to handle. It was Zhou Enlai who came up with a solution. He labeled Wu Lili as a suspected American spy and quickly sent her away to Xi’an to settle the matter. Shortly after, Smedley also left.”

Journalist: “Did Zhou Enlai help you resolve the situation?”

Mao: “Yes, I flirted with the writer Ding Ling. Although Ding Ling didn’t have much physical charm and looked more like a boy, she had talent and character. I wrote a poem praising her: ‘Who can match the graceful pen? Three thousand sharpshooters.’ She often came to visit me, and we would chat and laugh together. One time, I asked her, ‘Ding Ling, do you think Yan’an resembles a secluded little court?’ I then asked her to provide a list of names, and I would appoint them as officials in the civil and military departments. Ding Ling followed my instructions and submitted a list of several leaders. After I finished appointing them, I suddenly said, ‘Ding Ling, now that we have the civil and military officials, since it’s like a court, we should have the Three Palaces and Six Courtyards regardless of size! Come, come, give me more names, and I will bestow the titles.’ Ding Ling replied, ‘I dare not do that. If Zizhen finds out, she will kill me.’”

Journalist: “Haha, so you wanted to appoint the girls in Yan’an as officials in the three palaces and six courtyards?”

Mao: “Yes. My affairs finally became unbearable for Zizhen. She had given birth to several children and her health was deteriorating. I jokingly said to her, ‘You give birth to children as easily as a hen lays eggs.’ As I engaged with other women somewhat publicly, Zizhen once again had thoughts of leaving me. Using the excuse of removing shrapnel from her body, she went to the Soviet Union in early October 1937. She left our one- year-old daughter, Jiaojiao, in Yan’an. After arriving in Moscow, she gave birth to another son. Unfortunately, the child died of pneumonia six months later.”

Journalist: “So you drove He Zizhen away?”

Mao: “Yes, she left, and I was free. In the summer of 1939, I sent her a short message: ‘Hope you study well and make progress in politics. From now on, we are just comrades.’ I had already married Jiang Qing, and I didn’t want her to return to China. I specifically instructed via telegram to ensure that Zizhen remained in the Soviet Union. Later, she was forcibly admitted to a psychiatric hospital.”