Chapter 97 Deng Xiaoping’s Return and Confinement 1973-1976

Journalist: “What is your opinion on Deng Xiaoping being rehabilitated and reappointed?”

Mao: “Yes, Deng Xiaoping was sent to Jiangxi by me in 1969, but his treatment was still good. He lived in a small house as the principal of the Nanchang Subschool in the outskirts, with guards and secretaries. Every day, he walked for 30 minutes to a nearby tractor repair factory to work as a mechanic for half a day. In 1971, I allowed his five children to join him in Nanchang for a family reunion. In February 1972, he wrote two letters to me, promising ‘never to reverse the verdict.’ Wang Zhen delivered them to me, and shortly after, I approved his return to Beijing and restored his position as a member of the Politburo. He took charge of the State Council affairs while Zhou Enlai was undergoing cancer treatment.”

Mao: “Yes, now it’s Deng Xiaoping’s turn. Deng Xiaoping was initially overthrown during the early stages of the Cultural Revolution, but I protected him and prevented him from being criticized. I kept him as a backup. In 1973, he proved to be useful, and I reappointed him.

Deng Xiaoping is someone I have always trusted, unlike Zhou Enlai. Zhou had previously targeted me during the Jiangxi period in the 1930s and marginalized me, which was a dark period in my history. Deng Xiaoping stood by my side during that time and was also subjected to persecution. I referred to him as the leader of the Maoist faction. He presided over the Anti-Rightist Movement in 1957 and was at the forefront of the struggle against Soviet revisionism in the 1960s.

In 1965, when I was planning to overthrow Liu Shaoqi, I considered whether to promote Lin Biao or Deng Xiaoping. But when it came to the issue of sending work teams, Deng Xiaoping stood with Liu Shaoqi, against my intentions. It turned into the Liu-Deng Headquarters. However, Deng Xiaoping was still my favored person, a backup.”

Journalist: “Oh, so you kept Deng Xiaoping as a backup?”

Mao: “Yes, in May 1967, I had Wang Dongxing inform him to be patient, not to be hasty, and to write to me if there were any issues. Shortly after, I met with him once. He knew that I had hope for him, so he repeatedly wrote self-criticisms, guaranteeing that the verdict would never be reversed.

On July 5, 1968, Deng Xiaoping expressed his deep remorse and regret in ‘My Self-Criticism,’ feeling utterly ashamed and seeking self-improvement and redemption. He requested a small job to make amends.

In October 1969, Deng Xiaoping was sent to Nanchang, where he worked as a fitter in a tractor repair factory in the suburbs, engaging in labor for half a day. He also had a family life and was protected and supervised by guards and secretaries.”

Journalist: “So, Deng Xiaoping was actually just sidelined and enjoying freedom?”

Mao: “Yes, on November 6, 1971, Deng Xiaoping was at a factory meeting when he learned about Lin Biao’s death and was very happy. On November 8, he wrote me a letter, requesting work, but I temporarily ignored him. I planned to bring Wang Hongwen to Beijing and groom him as the number three figure, but unfortunately, Wang Hongwen didn’t prove capable enough to rise up.

On August 3, 1972, Deng Xiaoping wrote me another long letter, once again emphasizing never to reverse the verdict. He mentioned that his health was still good and he could engage in technical work and research.”

Journalist: “Deng Xiaoping wrote you two letters with a sincere attitude?”

Mao: “Yes, on August 14, 1972, I issued a directive stating that Deng Xiaoping was the leader of the Maoist faction in Jiangxi and had been persecuted alongside me. He had made contributions in warfare and didn’t yield to Soviet revisionism during his visit to Moscow. After that, he revisited the historic site of Jinggangshan and was warmly received by party and government leaders.

On February 22, 1973, Deng Xiaoping and his family returned to Beijing from Jiangxi.

On March 10, 1973, I approved Deng Xiaoping’s appointment as Vice Premier and his return to work.”

Journalist: “So, you made Deng Xiaoping Vice Premier once again?”

Mao: “Yes, on April 9, 1973, Deng Xiaoping went to visit Zhou Enlai, and the first thing Zhou said was, ‘Zhang Chunqiao is a traitor, the Chairman does not allow an investigation.’ They both opposed the faction supporting the Cultural Revolution and became allies. They colluded with Ye Jianying, which became a great concern for me.

On March 25, 1974, I proposed that Deng Xiaoping attend a United Nations conference, but Jiang Qing opposed it, and I criticized her.”

Journalist: “On July 17, 1974, I went to the south and stayed there for 9 months. It was diagnosed that I had ‘motor neuron disease’ and had at most 2 more years to live. The report reached Zhou Enlai, who kept it from me and Jiang Qing, and only followed the doctor’s treatment. He continued to show his usual deference to me, but he knew what was going on and became bolder.”

Journalist: “Oh, the doctor said you had at most 2 more years to live?”

Mao: “Yes, on October 4, 1974, in Wuhan, I proposed that Deng Xiaoping be appointed as the First Vice Premier, preparing to succeed Zhou Enlai.

At the end of September 1974, the domestically produced Fengqing Hao ocean liner successfully completed its trial voyage. Jiang Qing used it as an excuse to criticize Zhou Enlai as having a ‘colonial slave philosophy’ and being the ultimate backer of the comprador bourgeoisie. At the Politburo meeting on October 17, Jiang Qing forced Deng Xiaoping to take a stand against Zhou. Deng Xiaoping could no longer tolerate it and stood up, openly conflicting with Jiang Qing.”

Journalist: “Wow, Deng Xiaoping stood up and clashed with Jiang Qing, slamming the table?”

Mao: “Yes, on December 5, 1974, I was swimming in the pool, but I couldn’t move anymore. I let out a long sigh. It was the last time I went into the water. I often suffered from infections, my hands trembled, and someone had to feed me.

In December 1974, Zhou Enlai came to Changsha to see me and discussed the list for the Fourth National People’s Congress. My health was failing, so I had to agree to his list and approve Deng Xiaoping as the First Vice Premier. At the same time, I appointed Zhang Chunqiao as the Director of the Political Department, second only to Deng in terms of responsibilities.

On December 26, 1974, during my birthday banquet, Zhou Enlai, with a rare seriousness, said to me: ‘Jiang Qing and Zhang Chunqiao are traitors.’ I replied, ‘I already knew.’ We didn’t continue the conversation. Zhou continued to keep it from me, and I agreed to his personnel arrangements. Jiang Qing and Zhang Chunqiao have reached where they are today, and we can’t cast them aside because of historical issues.”

Journalist: “Oh, Zhou Enlai used the issues of Zhang Chunqiao and Jiang Qing as leverage against you?”

Mao: “Yes, on January 5, 1975, I approved Deng Xiaoping’s appointment as Vice Chairman of the Military Commission and Chief of the General Staff. Zhang Chunqiao became the Director of the Political Department. However, the two of them were like water and fire, unable to cooperate.

Deng Xiaoping launched a comprehensive rectification, cleaning up the mess, and making significant progress in boosting the economy. Things were going smoothly for him, and even Jiang Qing surrendered and reached out to Deng’s family.

In March 1975, I instructed the criticism of dogmatism, with the focus on the old cadres. In April, when I returned to Beijing, Deng Xiaoping confronted me and said, ‘I oppose the anti-dogmatism campaign.’ I compromised and said, ‘Blame the Gang of Four and ask Jiang Qing to make a self-criticism.’”

Journalist: “On April 5, 1975, Chiang Kai-shek passed away. What were your thoughts?”

Mao: “I heard the news of Chiang Kai-shek’s passing from the service staff. I had mixed feelings and only uttered three words to acknowledge it. Chiang Kai-shek was six years older than me. He had passed away, and it made me think that my own time was also approaching. I had shouted ‘long live’ to him before, even though it was just an act for show, and everyone heard it. Now, he had Taiwan flourishing while things were a mess on the mainland. I didn’t know how everyone would view me.”

Journalist: “Deng Xiaoping opposes the criticism of the old cadres, and you reluctantly supported it?”

Mao: “Yes, on May 3, 1975, I presided over the Politburo meeting for the last time and gave instructions to stop the movement of criticizing experience. I said that I hadn’t seen any mistakes in Zhang Chunqiao’s articles. It was unprecedented for me to admit a mistake because at this point, my health was already very weak. I could hardly see, had difficulty speaking, and my breath was fading. I repeatedly emphasized not to negate the Cultural Revolution, not to plot against me, and not to split from me. I mentioned the story of ‘Zhou Bo securing Liu’s rule’ from the Han Dynasty several times. After Liu Bang’s death, General Zhou Bo and Prime Minister Chen Ping conspired to remove the Lü clan and restore power to the Liu family. Jiang Qing identified herself with Empress Lü, and I hoped that there wouldn’t be another Zhou Bo.”

Journalist: “During your last time presiding over the meeting, you were physically weak. Were you afraid that if you passed away, Jiang Qing would take over?”

Mao: “Yes, I wanted Deng Xiaoping to govern the country while Jiang Qing held power as the ‘Madam’ and let Deng replace Zhou. I wanted to keep Deng and the Gang of Four, including Jiang Qing, tightly together.”

Journalist: “Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Qing couldn’t get along, and you criticized him for right-leaning and attempting to reverse the verdicts?”

Mao: “In the summer of 1975, I went to the south again to enjoy myself. I remotely controlled affairs from Hunan. Jiang Qing and Deng Xiaoping couldn’t get along, and the Politburo became contentious. Jiang Qing scolded Deng, and he retorted, ‘Did you establish the Politburo?’ If you did, I will withdraw and leave.’ Wang Hongwen ran to Changsha to complain to me, and I impatiently said, ‘Don’t bring up the Shanghai faction. Including Jiang Qing, it’s the Gang of Four.’ (‘Gang of Four’ terminology originated from this incident.) The short-statured Deng now serves as my trump card to counterbalance Zhou Enlai. If he hadn’t gone on a tour with Liu Shaoqi during the Seventh Thousand People Conference in 1962, I would have had him take over. I regret that the shorty went with others, and the meetings were far away from me. But he is upright, honest, and doesn’t engage in conspiracies. That’s why he wasn’t targeted in the Cultural Revolution and remained as a reserve. Now I want him to restrain Zhou Enlai and assist Jiang Qing and Wang Hongwen in taking over. As soon as he returns to office, he will first focus on the railway. Once the railways are in order, all industries will flourish. He will carry out rectification in industry and transportation, launching a comprehensive campaign and putting an end to the chaos.”

Journalist: “Deng taking power meant that China was saved, and the Central Cultural Revolution Group was pushed aside. Isn’t the comprehensive rectification a comprehensive reversal of verdicts? Mao Yuanxin said, ‘Repeating the same mistakes, suppressing revolution with production, suppressing the Cultural Revolution, and promoting right-leaning reversals.’ I wanted Deng Xiaoping to issue a central resolution that comprehensively affirmed the great achievements of the Cultural Revolution. He declined, saying, ‘I am a person from the Peach Blossom Spring, unaware of the Han Dynasty, let alone the Wei and Jin Dynasties,’ and refused to do it.

The guiding principles of Zhou and Deng were the ‘Four Modernizations,’ but I preferred to prioritize the struggle of lines and class struggle over the four modernizations. Zhou Enlai’s weight dropped to only 30 kilograms, and finally, in 1976, he passed away. On New Year’s Eve, after Zhou’s death, I signaled for a grand display of fireworks, which lasted for a full two hours.

Kang Sheng passed away in December 1973, and that was it. Before he passed, he wanted Wang Hairong and Tang Wensheng to inform me that Jiang Qing was arrested and betrayed in Shanghai in 1933, and Zhang Chunqiao was also a traitor. But by this time, I didn’t care anymore about traitors or not. If I trusted someone, I trusted them.

On July 23, 1975, I had a successful cataract eye surgery, and I could see things again.”

Journalist: “Your eyes are no longer blind. You must be very happy, right?”

Mao: “Yes, in August 1975, I suddenly became interested in watching movies and watched a Yueju opera film produced by the Phoenix Film Studio in Hong Kong titled ‘Embroidered Shoes Falling from the Clouds.’ The story roughly goes like this: a wealthy merchant’s daughter accidentally falls into a dry well in the backyard and is in a life-threatening situation. The merchant puts up a notice stating that whoever can save his daughter will marry her. Two young men respond to the call and agree that one will descend into the well with a basket while the other will be above, overseeing the operation. After saving the girl, according to her wishes, she can marry whichever young man she chooses.

So, one of the young men uses a basket tied to a rope to lower the other young man into the well. He rescues the girl and then waits for the young man to come up. The young man outside, responsible for lowering the basket, decides to selfishly ignore the other young man’s life and death. He heartlessly blocks the well with a large stone and takes the girl to claim the reward, fulfilling the marriage. The young man at the bottom of the well cries out for help, but with the well covered, he only sees darkness. However, he holds the embroidered shoe left behind by the girl when she was pulled up.

The married girl has a dream one night where a shoe embroidered with flowers falls from the sky, the very shoe she lost in the well. Upon waking up from the dream, the young man from her dream appears before her. The ending is decided by the father, who drives away the cunning young man and welcomes the young man who escaped death. As for how the young man at the bottom of the well managed to escape, of course, good people are rewarded, and it was saved by a deity.”

I appreciate cunning individuals. After watching the movie, I asked the people who watched it, ‘Tell me, which of the two young men who saved the girl do you think is better?’ In unison, they all said, ‘Of course, the young man at the bottom of the well is better. Meng Jinyun added a few more words, ‘Do we even need to discuss it? The young man above the well is truly wicked. He not only greedily claimed credit for someone else’s achievement but also framed others.’”

I turned to Zhang Yufeng, who had been by my side early on, and asked her. Zhang said, ‘It’s about the same. It’s obvious, I don’t understand why you’re asking such a question.’

I said, ‘My opinion differs from yours. I think the young man above the well is better.’ ‘Why?’ they all asked in unison. I replied, ‘The young man at the bottom of the well had a simplistic consideration of the problem. He lacked careful thinking and should have anticipated that the young man above the well would employ such a tactic. The young man above the well is clever!’ However, the others still disagreed, saying that the young man above the well was too cunning and not honest.

I responded, ‘Honesty, honesty is a useless label.’ I also said, ‘There is only one girl, and if he doesn’t harm the other, can he obtain her? That’s my domineering spirit!’

Throughout my life, I have used countless honest individuals who sacrificed themselves for me, propelling me to the throne. I don’t care about them at all.”

Journalist: “This story you told shortly before your death reflects your character throughout your life. Do you regret it now?”

Mao: “Now, in the Western Heaven for the past 40 years, I sincerely repent to the millions of honest people who sacrificed themselves for me.”

Journalist: “What happened to Zhou Enlai later on?”

Mao: “On September 20, 1975, Zhou Enlai underwent a major surgery. Before entering the operating room, he shouted, ‘I am not a surrenderist. I am loyal to the Party, loyal to the people.’ He was afraid that I would use the ‘Wu Haoqi Incident’ to target him. I agreed to criticize Water Margin, which was essentially criticizing him as a surrenderist. In late September 1975, Deng Xiaoping met with me and expressed dissatisfaction with the criticism of Water Margin. I shifted the blame to Jiang Qing. The movement to criticize Water Margin came to an end.”

Journalist: “You couldn’t continue the criticism of Zhou Enlai. How about Deng Xiaoping?”

Mao: “In November 1975, I wanted Deng Xiaoping to preside over a resolution affirming the Cultural Revolution. He used my own words against me, saying, ‘I am a person from the Peach Blossom Spring, ignorant of Han, regardless of Wei and Jin. It is not appropriate for me to preside.’ He said this in front of over 100 people at a meeting, with a rigid attitude, trying to force me to make concessions. I couldn’t force him. Since he didn’t listen to me, I decided to overthrow him again. As long as I’m alive, I will continue to target whoever needs to be targeted.”

Journalist: “Deng Xiaoping didn’t listen to you and wanted to affirm the Cultural Revolution. You still wanted to target him.”

Journalist: “After your death, Deng Xiaoping talked about the ‘Four Cardinal Principles’ and ‘keeping a low profile.’ What is your opinion?”

Mao: “Deng Xiaoping ‘kept a low profile,’ sheathing his sword, but he has also used it on a small scale. He deployed 100,000 troops, hundreds of tanks, and caused the deaths of over a thousand people in suppressing the ‘June Fourth’ incident. He has also brandished his sword against Vietnam, deploying 250,000 troops to teach them a lesson. Who was he teaching? My beloved Pol Pot. After my death in 1978, Deng even warmly welcomed Pol Pot to Beijing along with Hua Guofeng and 100,000 people dancing and singing. But unexpectedly, the following year, Vietnam dared to counterattack and defeated Pol Pot. From then on, Pol Pot declined. Deng, the old man, just wanted to poke your Vietnam’s butt and vent his anger. However, Deng never brandished his sword against the United States and the West, which earned him the favor of President Bush and a group of scholars.”

Mao: “Deng Xiaoping’s reform magic weapon, the ‘contract responsibility system,’ is not something new. In fact, it is the ‘household contract system’ that saved lives during the Great Famine in the 1960s. I criticized it as ‘capitalist roader.’”

Journalist: “What is your opinion on the leaders after Deng Xiaoping?”

Mao: “After Deng, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao basically followed the strategy of ‘keeping a low profile’ and never brandished their swords against the West. They continued to enjoy favor from the United States. But when Xi Jinping came to power, he unsheathed the sword and waved it at the West, proclaiming to ‘break the existing world order’ and implement his ‘global governance,’ aiming to transform the world into his ruled ‘community of common destiny for mankind.’ This startled the United States, realizing that the CCP intends to engage in a ‘century-long marathon.’”

Mao: “Xi Jinping’s intention to ‘break the existing world order’ is nothing new. In essence, it is the same as Marx’s ‘subversion of all existing systems’ as stated in the Communist Manifesto. Marx was a Satanist, and Satan is the devil who seeks to overthrow God. Xi Jinping uses the name of China to package and export the ‘Chinese model’ to the world, which is essentially the ‘communist model’ or the ‘devil’s model.’ I advocated for the initiation of the Third World War to ‘liberate all of humanity,’ while Xi Jinping promotes the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ to control the globe.”

Mao: “The most typical example of Xi Jinping’s domestic governance is his approach to Xinjiang. He loudly proclaims the ‘Sinicization’ of Islam, but it is essentially ‘party-ization.’ When Islam is ‘party-ized,’ it means following the devil’s words, subverting the existing Islamic teachings, and disregarding religious freedom. He forcefully relocates Uighur people with dissenting consciousness to concentrated settlements, implements long-term party indoctrination, and aims to completely change their Islamic consciousness. It is the eradication of Islam.”

Journalist: “Do you think Xi Jinping will undergo a ‘transition’?”

Mao: “It is hard to say. The most hopeful leader within the CCP to lead a ‘transition’ was Hu Yaobang, but he died prematurely.”

Journalist: “Hu Yaobang was a leader in the history of the CCP who possessed the highest level of humanity and compassion, prioritizing the interests of the people over those of the party. Despite being busy as General Secretary for seven years, he found time to personally review and respond to 20 letters from the people every day. At the age of 70, he visited Tibet twice, showing concern for and addressing the hardships of the Tibetan people. Even the exiled Dalai Lama was moved and agreed to return to China for a period. He visited all 321 regions of the country within a span of 10 years, over 1,400 out of 2,109 counties, and he planned to spend another 3-5 years visiting the remaining 700 counties. Which other leader of the CCP has such a record of diligence and care for the people? With such dedication to governance and love for the people, he was the most hopeful leader within the CCP to lead a ‘transition’ similar to that of the Soviet Union. Unfortunately, both he and Zhao Ziyang, who had the potential to become leaders of the ‘transition,’ died prematurely.”