Shortly after the 1970 Spring Festival, in Yinchuan, Ningxia, three young intellectuals—Lǔ Zhìlì, Wú Shùzhāng, and Wú Shùsēn—were executed under the charge of being part of a “current counterrevolutionary group.” Ten others, including Chén Tōngmíng, Zhāng Wéizhì, and Zhāng Shàochén, were arrested and sentenced. This so-called “counterrevolutionary group” was actually a small study circle called the “Communist Self-Study University.” Lǔ Zhìlì and the others had been in the spirit world for almost fifty years, holding on to their unresolved grievances.

Hearing that the Jade Emperor was gathering testimonies of victims from Mao Zedong’s era, they went together to lodge their complaints.

The Jade Emperor saw three young people in their twenties and asked directly, “What are your names, and what injustice did you suffer?”

Lǔ Zhìlì spoke first: “I am Lǔ Zhìlì, and these are Wú Shùzhāng and Wú Shùsēn. We organized the ‘Communist Self-Study University’ to learn and exchange ideas. We published two issues of a study journal. For that, they called us counterrevolutionaries. Shortly after the 1970 Spring Festival, the three of us were executed. Ten others were imprisoned; one female student couldn’t endure it and committed suicide. We have been wronged for decades, and we seek your justice.”

The Jade Emperor asked, “What did you study in your self-study university?”

Lǔ Zhìlì explained, “We studied real social issues. In 1966, we joined the Cultural Revolution with enthusiasm, but as it progressed, we became confused and withdrew to focus on study. By 1968, we were sent to rural areas as educated youth. Wú Shùzhāng, in Xiji County, Yuqiao Commune, posted a couplet at his hut: ‘Thatched cottages connect the world; remaining books reach ten thousand miles.’ We refused to follow the crowd or lose our will. After labor each day, we gathered in a small hut at night to read Marxist-Leninist works. On November 23, 1969, we formally established the ‘Communist Self-Study University’ to pursue truth and fight for it. Over two years, we read works like Selected Works of Marx and Engels and Capital, publishing over twenty essays in our journal, including three rural survey reports.”

The Jade Emperor asked, “Did you express any provocative views?”

Lǔ Zhìlì said, “In one essay, What is Fascism?, we wrote: ‘It prohibits internationally recognized democratic rights, suppresses free thought and speech, brutally crushes people resisting violent rule, and uses terror. It spreads reactionary lies, racial hierarchies, and creates class divisions to confuse and suppress people. It enforces ignorant policies, implements slave-like education, advocates blind obedience, promotes personal superstition, and constructs myths of leader supremacy.’ We concluded by shouting, ‘Down with fascism!’”

The Jade Emperor smiled, “You saw the essence of fascism clearly. Did you make other sharp critiques?”

Lǔ Zhìlì continued, “When the Ninth Party Congress named Lin Biao as Mao’s successor, we compared him to Yuan Shikai seizing power. Next to Lin Biao’s foreword in the Quotations from Chairman Mao, we wrote ‘nonsense.’”

The Jade Emperor laughed, “You were truly perceptive.”

Lǔ Zhìlì recounted their arrest: “In March 1970, following Mao’s highest directive to ‘strike the three antis,’ Yinchuan wasted no time. The three of us were executed; three others received fifteen, eight, and three-year sentences, and six were detained and criticized. A twenty-two-year-old female student, Xióng Mànyí, couldn’t endure prison and committed suicide.”

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

Lǔ Zhìlì said, “Eight years later, in March 1978, Ningxia officially rehabilitated us with public ceremonies reported in the Ningxia Daily and People’s Daily. But it was only on paper. In reality, the murderous Cultural Revolution system was never purged. Mao Zedong, as the main culprit, never admitted guilt. His successors did not confess either. Our spirits have no records, no memorials, no historical lessons left for posterity. How can we rest? That is why we have come to seek your justice.”

The Jade Emperor promised, “I understand. Justice will be served.”

Lǔ Zhìlì and the others, hearing the assurance, rose and departed.

NEXT: 105. Ren Daxiong and Thirteen Others