Li Jiulian had been a leading Red Guard during the Cultural Revolution, deputy commander of the “Weidong Biao Corps” in Ganzhou, Jiangxi. After reflecting on the Cultural Revolution, questioning armed factional fighting, opposing Lin Biao, and suspecting that Mao Zedong and Liu Shaoqi’s struggle was in fact factional infighting, she was sentenced to prison and, in 1977, executed by gunshot.

Her wronged spirit came to present her grievance before the Jade Emperor.

The Jade Emperor saw a beautiful, gentle young female student walking toward him and asked, “Who are you? What is your name? What grievance do you bring?”

Li Jiulian said, “I am a wronged ghost. My name is Li Jiulian.”

The Jade Emperor, puzzled, said, “You are so young. What grievance could you possibly have?”

Jiulian replied, “This is how I originally looked. Now look at what I became.”

With a sudden transformation, she appeared in black prison clothes, shackled at the feet, tightly bound, with a long placard thrust into her back reading “Active Counterrevolutionary Li Jiulian.” A bamboo tube was stuffed into her mouth; her lower jaw and tongue were pierced together with a bamboo skewer. Her body was bloodstained, scarcely resembling a human being. She stood before the Jade Emperor like a condemned prisoner.

The Jade Emperor cried out in shock, “Why were you treated like this? Why was your mouth sealed?”

Jiulian said, “They feared I would shout again—feared I would shout slogans.”

The Jade Emperor asked, “Why were you executed so hastily?”

Jiulian said: “In middle school I was head of the Youth League propaganda committee and head of studies in the student union. When the Cultural Revolution began, I became deputy commander of the ‘Weidong Biao Corps,’ defending Mao and Lin Biao.

“In June 1967, during the great armed factional fighting in Ganzhou—the earliest large-scale armed conflict in the country—factories shut down, shops closed, buses stopped running. More than 200 died, over 800 were seriously injured. I went to collect the bodies. There were 223 corpses. It was too tragic. As I wept, I began to think.

“People shouted, ‘Born to be Chairman Mao’s Red Guard, die to be Chairman Mao’s Red Guard!’ I began to awaken. The armed fighting had been secretly encouraged by Mao. He wanted ‘great disorder under heaven’—the more chaotic, the better.

“In the early Cultural Revolution, Mao issued an instruction titled ‘On the Occurrence of Beating Incidents’: ‘If you beat, then beat! If good people beat good people, it’s a misunderstanding—no discord, no concord. If good people beat bad people, they deserve it. If bad people beat good people, the good people gain glory.’ Those words—‘they deserve it’—erased all law and discipline and intensified violence, soon spreading nationwide.

“Mao also said, ‘It is possible that some good people will be wronged; if mistakes are made, they will be rehabilitated later.’ As for Mao’s slogans—‘To rebel is justified,’ ‘Revolution is not a dinner party,’ ‘To correct mistakes one must go to extremes,’ ‘Dare to pull the emperor from his horse,’ ‘The hooligan movement is excellent’—these inflammatory quotations incited Red Guards to violence. After teachers and principals were beaten to death, Mao even received one of the killers personally, encouraging her not to be refined but to be militant. Later Jiang Qing openly advocated ‘cultural struggle with armed defense.’ Was this not incitement to armed conflict?”

The Jade Emperor said, “It seems Mao knew many would die in the Cultural Revolution. For the sake of power, how many died meant nothing to him.”

Jiulian replied: “For his own power, he set people against people, treating our lives as worthless. Over two hundred died in Ganzhou; even more in Chongqing—over a thousand. Mao felt no pain. Our parents did. The Central Cultural Revolution Group was the source of disaster, and it was organized by Mao. He was the chief culprit. Armed conflict became a national tide; countless battles, countless deaths. Mao stood above, pleased, saying, ‘Good—great disorder!’ He did not value the people’s lives at all.”

The Jade Emperor said, “You are right. Mao said such things and thought such things. To him, you were merely a swarm of little ants.”

He then asked, “How did they later arrest you?”

Jiulian answered: “In February 1969, in a letter to my soldier boyfriend, I expressed some ‘deviant’ political views. I wrote: ‘I do not understand the nature of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution—is it a factional struggle or a class struggle? I feel the central struggle is factional division; thus I have grown resentful of the Cultural Revolution. I believe many of Liu Shaoqi’s views accord with objective reality; I find the criticism of Liu forced. What ideology does China truly belong to? I have doubts.’

“This boyfriend had also once been deputy commander of the Weidong Biao Corps. He handed my letter to his military superiors—perhaps to show loyalty to Mao and Vice Chairman Lin, hoping for promotion. The letter was immediately forwarded to the Ganzhou regional security department. He miscalculated; he gained no promotion and soon left the army.

“In May 1969, I was arrested as an ‘active counterrevolutionary.’ My diary was confiscated, revealing criticism of Lin Biao. Military representatives brought my diary to Jiangxi Revolutionary Committee chairman Cheng Shiqing, who said: ‘Opposing Vice Chairman Lin like Li Jiulian is rare nationwide. This is a contradiction between ourselves and the enemy; handle it severely.’”

The Jade Emperor said, “You were arrested for a private letter. What happened next?”

Jiulian said: “I was imprisoned for two years. In July 1972, after Cheng Shiqing fell as a Lin Biao associate, I was released. The conclusion stated: active counterrevolutionary in nature, but treated as a contradiction among the people. I was sent to a tungsten mine in Xingguo County as an apprentice. I was expelled from the Youth League, forbidden to join the union, and even medical treatment required the mine director’s approval. People avoided me as dangerous.

“A technician from a landlord family was introduced as a potential husband. I agreed, but he feared that since I bore the label of contradiction between enemy and ourselves—temporarily held in others’ hands—if a campaign arose, could he survive?

“I refused to accept such a verdict and repeatedly petitioned in Nanchang and Beijing. Because of one letter, I had spent two years in prison and become one of the ‘five black categories’!”

The Jade Emperor sighed, “Even finding a husband became difficult. What happened afterward?”

Jiulian continued: “In March 1974, during the ‘Criticize Lin, Criticize Confucius’ campaign, after being rebuked by the regional Party committee, court, public security bureau, and women’s federation, I could bear no more. I posted six big-character posters in Ganzhou Park: ‘Opposing Lin Biao Is No Crime!’ ‘Refuting the claim that opposing Lin is going against the tide!’ I placed my 1969 letter at the forefront.

“The posters caused an immediate sensation. Local residents widely supported me. Many wrote in support: ‘Learn from the heroine who opposed Lin Biao!’ ‘Opposing Lin is no crime!’ ‘The people support you, Li Jiulian!’

“On April 19, 1974, I was secretly arrested again. This led to what became known as the ‘April 25 Prison Storming Incident,’ as thousands demanded my release. Donations poured in for a citizens’ ‘Li Jiulian Case Investigation Committee.’ Even elderly women brought stamps and envelopes. Poor workers donated money and food. For seven months, this grassroots organization survived on public support.”

She described how provincial authorities labeled her a genuine counterrevolutionary, suppressed the committee, and punished supporters. In 1975 she was sentenced to fifteen years; dozens were imprisoned; hundreds disciplined. Some committed suicide; others were dismissed or ruined.

She refused to yield in prison, even hunger-striking for seventy-two days.

The Jade Emperor asked, “How did they finally execute you?”

Jiulian replied: “After the fall of the Gang of Four in October 1976, Hua Guofeng continued Mao’s line and refused to rehabilitate me. In January 1977, I was accused of ‘viciously attacking Chairman Hua’ and continuing counterrevolutionary activity. The Jiangxi Provincial Committee approved the death sentence. I refused to sign or appeal.

“On December 14, 1977, at a mass sentencing rally of thirty thousand people in Ganzhou Stadium, I was paraded in black prison clothes, shackled and bound, a placard on my back. A bamboo tube was stuffed into my mouth so I could not shout. After being paraded through the streets, I was taken to the execution ground at Tongtian Rock. They ordered me to kneel. I refused. They shot my leg to force me down, then shot me dead. My family dared not retrieve my body. I was thirty-one.”

The Jade Emperor asked, “Were you later rehabilitated?”

Jiulian answered: “Only after Hu Yaobang personally intervened was I officially rehabilitated in April 1981, overcoming resistance in Jiangxi. Others from the investigation committee were released, though labeled as having committed serious errors. The ‘tail’ remained.”

The Jade Emperor said, “The tail is indeed large. You were declared innocent, yet others still bear blame. But the Party does not speak of fairness—it speaks of power. Whoever holds power decides.”

Jiulian said: “Many years later, people in Ganzhou still secretly petitioned on my behalf. Journalists investigating noted that my resentment toward Hua Guofeng for refusing rehabilitation was understandable after two wrongful imprisonments and seven years of isolation.

“Even years later, those implicated feared speaking openly. Officials who carried out my execution never admitted wrongdoing; some remained influential. The sacrifice of Ganzhou’s people was immense. They had to become cautious and silent.

“My case was never fully resolved. To truly redress it, one must address the source. Only by judging Mao Zedong’s crimes can all wronged spirits find justice. The executors followed orders. The mastermind was Mao. Yet Mao never confessed guilt, nor have his successors acknowledged it. That is why so many unresolved injustices remain.

“Tonight I have come to ask you: when you hold the public trial of Mao Zedong, vindicate me and let all wronged spirits under heaven find peace.”

With these words, Li Jiulian took her leave.

NEXT: 95. Zhong Haiyuan (?–1978)