Chapter 105 The reactions of the people 1976

Journalist: “Do you know what the people’s reaction was when you died?”

Journalist: “I understand that many people secretly rejoiced when I passed away. There were two old people drinking silently together, raising their glasses to the sky. They were secretly happy. The people felt regret that I didn’t die until 1976. They said:

‘If he had died in 1945, China would have had 6 million fewer war casualties.

If he had died in 1957, China would have had 40 million fewer deaths from starvation.

If he had died in 1965, China would have had 20 million fewer deaths from political struggles.’

Some even said, ‘If he had died five years later, who knows how many more people would have died?’”

Journalist: “Indeed, the common people did speak in that manner. What else did you hear?”

Mao: “I also heard people saying, ‘Finally, in 1976, he died, and the Chinese people began to have enough food to eat.’

The common people believed that the one thing I did right in my life was to die. Unfortunately, I died too late.”

Journalist: “Do you know what happened to Jiang Qing after your death?”

Mao: “I know. On the evening of October 6, 1976, Hua Guofeng, Ye Jianying, and Wang Dongxing took action and arrested Jiang Qing, Zhang Chunqiao, Wang Hongwen, and Yao Wenyuan, known as the ‘Gang of Four,’ officially marking the end of the Cultural Revolution. During the 1980 trial, Jiang Qing defended herself by saying, ‘I was just Chairman Mao’s dog. Whoever he wanted me to bite, I would bite.’ She spoke the truth. The court initially sentenced her to death, which was later commuted to life imprisonment, and eventually she was released on medical parole. In 1991, she died by hanging herself.”