Mao Yìngxīng, a female teacher, was labeled a “rightist” in 1957 and sent to the Jiabiangou labor farm in Gansu for reform through labor. She survived the harsh conditions for four years, only to fall victim to the Cultural Revolution’s “strike against the three antis” campaign. Accused of “reactionary thought” and “being an international spy,” she was executed. Although posthumously rehabilitated and recognized as a Party member and martyr after the Cultural Revolution, she spent over forty years in the spirit world feeling that her injustice had never been addressed.

Learning that the Jade Emperor would publicly try Mao Zedong, she went to heaven to lodge her complaint.

The Jade Emperor asked, “What is your name?”

Mao replied, “I am Mao Yìngxīng. I survived Jiabiangou, but the Cultural Revolution killed me. My death was unjust.”

The Jade Emperor asked why she was sentenced to death.

Mao said, “I was accused of reactionary thinking and being an international spy.”

The Jade Emperor asked, “International spy? How did that come about?”

Mao explained, “During the Cultural Revolution, authorities raided my home and found my brother’s photos and stamps, including some of Chiang Kai-shek. That became “evidence.” My brother, Mao Yìndòu, had worked at the Southwest Associated University library and traveled with colleagues such as Yang Zhenning. Before going to study in the U.S., he entrusted some personal items to me. Later, he worked at the United Nations. Because of these overseas connections, I was labeled an ‘international spy.’”

The Jade Emperor asked about her “reactionary thought.”

Mao said, “I saw the absurd deification of Mao in society and called it out as ‘bourgeois sensationalism’ and sycophantic propaganda. The ‘loyalty rituals’ and Lin Biao’s hypocritical worship were false adoration covering ugliness. That’s why I was declared counterrevolutionary.”

The Jade Emperor remarked, “You criticized Mao and also saw through Lin Biao’s false worship. But your persecutors didn’t recognize your insight. How were you eventually arrested?”

Mao recounted, “In summer 1968, my hands were tied behind my back, and I was publicly humiliated in Jingning County. I resisted and petitioned in Beijing but was captured and detained. I was formally arrested in January 1969 and sent to Pingliang Prison. I refused to submit, writing seven notebooks, over a hundred essays, letters, and petitions—over 300,000 words in total.”

The Jade Emperor asked, “How did it come to execution?”

Mao said, “In 1970, I was labeled a ‘die-hard, irreformable counterrevolutionary’ and sentenced to death. On April 14, I was bound and executed at Xiali Bridge in Jingning County.”

The Jade Emperor asked about her family.

Mao replied, “I came from a rightist family. My husband, silent in expression, was also labeled a rightist and imprisoned for twelve years. We had married in 1961.”

The Jade Emperor asked about Jiabiangou.

Mao said, “Jiabiangou was a human hell. From 1957 to 1961, nearly 3,000 rightists were detained. During the Great Famine, 1,500 died. Located on the Gansu desert edge, the farm had heavy labor, insufficient food—sometimes only five liang (≈180 g) per day—and extreme cold. People scavenged leaves, grass seeds, or even dug up rats and lizards to survive. Many starved to death or suffered from malnutrition; bodies were hastily buried, sometimes exhumed and partially consumed. Later, survivors were sent to the harsher Mingshuitan farm, living in dugouts, many dying daily. Local officials reported to the party that more died than they could handle; the response was, ‘So what if a few die? This is socialism.’”

The Jade Emperor asked if the tragedy was later documented.

Mao said, “Liu Lantao discovered and closed Jiabiangou in 1961. Over the next decades, many unburied bodies remained exposed. In 2000, writer Yang Xianhui collected testimonies from over a hundred survivors, publishing Jiabiangou Chronicle. In 2010, the film Jiabiangou was released in Hong Kong. In 2013, a memorial stone was erected, but the government destroyed it within a month. A 2017 Hong Kong documentary again highlighted the tragedy, yet it cannot be shown in mainland China.”

The Jade Emperor said, “This was utterly inhumane.”

Mao concluded, “Under Mao’s rule, people were worth less than ants. That’s why I come seeking justice, to represent the buried rightists and other wronged souls. Please ensure justice is done.”

The Jade Emperor promised, “It will be done.”

Mao Yìngxīng, hearing the assurance, rose and took her leave.

NEXT: 104. Lu Zhili and Two Others