Shi Renxiang was from Hexian, Anhui. He started working at seventeen, serving as a primary school teacher and district propaganda officer. At twenty-three, he joined the military, working successively as an engineering corps experimenter and clerk. He was discharged in 1968 and returned to Hexian to work at the Water Conservancy Bureau. On Chairman Mao’s birthday, December 26, 1968, Shi Renxiang sent letters to the Party Central Committee, Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, the Jinan and Nanjing Military Regions, and his former unit, listing twenty-eight charges against Lin Biao. He wrote in the letters: “Lin Biao claims to uphold the Red Flag while opposing it, using two-faced, counterrevolutionary methods, speaking falsely while plotting to overthrow the dictatorship of the proletariat.” The letters were signed: “Revolutionary Soldier Shi Renxiang.” He was arrested in January 1969 and executed by shooting in July 1970.

Shi Renxiang spent fifty years in the afterlife, filled with anger and injustice. He had been shot simply for writing letters to the Party Central Committee. After Lin Biao fled and died, Shi’s sense of grievance only deepened, prompting him to appeal to the Jade Emperor for justice.

As usual, the Jade Emperor asked, “What is your name, and what grievance do you have?”

Shi replied, “My name is Shi Renxiang. I opposed Lin Biao and wrote to Mao Zedong, and for that, I was executed. Isn’t that an injustice?”

The Jade Emperor asked, “Why did you oppose Lin Biao?”

Shi said, “While in the military, I sensed Lin Biao was up to no good. I analyzed, word by word, his May 18, 1966 speech about a coup, writing commentary that the speech, which cited examples of coups from China and abroad, misused anti-Marxist idealist interpretations, contained reactionary views like ‘heroes shape the times,’ and was essentially a counterrevolutionary ‘white paper’ disguised with revolutionary rhetoric.”

The Jade Emperor asked, “What happened to you after sending the letters?”

Shi said, “On January 6, 1969, the Nanjing Air Force Security Department sent two officers to Anhui to deliver Wu Faxian’s oral instructions to the Provincial Revolutionary Committee and the Personnel Protection Group: ‘This is a particularly evil current counterrevolutionary. Assign dedicated personnel to investigate immediately and punish according to law. Do not allow further dissemination.’ Two days later, I was arrested. I wrote ‘Down with Lin Biao!’ on the prison wall and remained steadfast in interrogation, never yielding.”

The Jade Emperor asked, “Then you were executed?”

Shi said, “I spent over a year in prison. On July 12, 1970, I was executed. My throat was slit first so I could no longer speak.”

The Jade Emperor said, “Slitting the throat is cruel. You must have died with resentment. After Lin Biao’s downfall, were you rehabilitated?”

Shi said, “Lin Biao fled and died in 1971, so in principle, I should have been rehabilitated quickly, but it was delayed until 1978 because Mao was still alive. The county government held a mass meeting to announce my rehabilitation, posthumously recognizing me as a Party member and martyr. A tomb was built at the top of Xiliang Mountain, and a solemn ceremony for my ashes was held.”

The Jade Emperor said, “I am surprised you saw Lin Biao’s true nature in your twenties.”

Shi said, “I observed from many angles. I saw that his insincere praise of Mao was actually a case of opposing the Red Flag under its banner. I prioritized the fate of the nation and the people over my own life. After Lin Biao died, I gained further insight in the afterlife.”

The Jade Emperor asked, “What is your new perspective?”

Shi said, “Lin Biao’s problem was essentially a dog-eat-dog struggle within the Party for power. In 1969, during the Ninth Party Congress, Lin Biao and Chen Boda drafted a political report focusing on production. Mao disagreed and had Zhang Chunqiao draft another with class struggle as the main theme. Lin, frustrated, read Zhang’s report. Mao exploited intra-Party conflict for his own gain. Class struggle was Mao’s lifeline. From his youth, he vowed, ‘Fight against heaven, earth, and people; eternal delight!’—a life devoted to struggle and persecuting others. Lin could not accept focusing on production. His life became a series of struggles, with countless innocents suffering alongside him. Lin’s escape was forced by Mao. Mao’s southern tours signaled generals to act against Lin. Seeing danger and unwilling to submit, Lin fled. Mao and Lin’s conflicts were power struggles. Mao used Lin’s influence while it benefited him, then discarded him when threatened, trusting only Jiang Qing and Mao Yuanxin in the end.”

The Jade Emperor said, “You are correct. Without Lin’s creation of ‘great trees, four greatnesses, highest instructions, one sentence equals ten thousand,’ Mao would not have been so exalted. Mao recognized this as political capital but discarded Lin when threatened.”

Shi said, “When Lin fled, Mao publicly denounced him as betraying the Party and the nation, but everyone knew it was internal power struggle. The ‘Long live Chairman Mao’ myth collapsed; people felt deceived, accelerating Mao’s downfall.”

The Jade Emperor said, “Lin Biao’s escape dealt a serious blow to Mao’s spirit. Throughout his life, Mao persecuted many; only two refused—Zhang Guotao and Wang Ming fled, the rest either died or confessed. Zhou Enlai repeatedly submitted self-criticisms but remained loyal until his death. Lin fleeing without confessing greatly undermined Mao’s authority.”

Shi said, “Lin Biao was essentially forced to die by Mao. Mao never admitted guilt. Many of us remain resentful spirits in the afterlife, unable to rest. That is why I come to you, asking for a fair judgment during the great trial.”

The Jade Emperor said, “I understand. I am collecting evidence to conduct a comprehensive and just judgment.”

NEXT: 109. Ma Mianzhen (1940–1970)