During the Cultural Revolution, in Daoxian County, Hunan, there was a massacre in which Zhou Qun survived seven days and seven nights in a pit filled with corpses. She is still alive today, over eighty years old. The Jade Emperor considered this a rare miracle and wanted to learn about the case personally. Because Zhou Qun is still living, the Jade Emperor could not reveal his identity, so he disguised himself as a journalist to interview her.

Zhou Qun, now a member of the Daoxian Political Consultative Committee, was waiting in the VIP room as instructed. With her was Tan Hecheng, the author who documented the Daoxian massacre. The Jade Emperor entered, exchanged greetings, and sat down to discuss over tea.

The Jade Emperor asked Zhou Qun: “You are the survivor who stayed in the pit with the dead for seven days and seven nights and were rescued. It is incredible that you survived. Can you tell me what happened?”

Zhou said: “My husband and I were classified as part of the ‘black five categories.’ In August 1967, during the Daoxian massacre of these groups, our family of five was taken by the militia one night. I was bound with ropes, and our entire family was brought to a cave outside the village. The leaders of the local peasants’ court read our names aloud, sentencing each of us to death. My husband was the third; he was tied with wire, struck on the head, and pushed down the cave. I was the eighth; struck on the head with a steel rod, I fainted and was pushed down. Our three children—eight, six, and four years old—were also beaten and pushed down the cave. That night, twenty-five people were executed this way. Most died quickly, seven or eight survived for three or four days, including my husband and children. I was the only one who survived seven days and nights before being rescued.”

The Jade Emperor asked: “How could you survive in the dark cave, surrounded by corpses, without food or water?”

Zhou said: “The cave was deep and uneven, no one had gone down before. Most of the twenty-five people rolled to the bottom and died. Initially, my family of five survived, sleeping atop corpses for several days. My husband and children eventually died. I held them together and sat beside them, calmly waiting for death. On the seventh day, I heard someone calling my name from above. They lowered ropes; at first, I refused. I thought my whole family was dead and I no longer mattered. They tried to persuade me all morning; at noon, someone lowered a bamboo tube of water for me to drink. A former student of mine urged me not to die senselessly, saying such crimes should be judged by the government. Finally, I agreed. They tied four palm ropes together, attached a small iron pot with stones, lowered it, and I grabbed the rope, tied it to my waist, and was pulled up. I fainted upon seeing light.”

The Jade Emperor asked: “Did they take you to a hospital?”

Zhou said: “No. It was still dangerous. They put me in a shaded spot and fed me rice gruel through the night. The next day, the peasant committee chairman came, scolding them for rescuing me, threatening me with a gun, but neighbors stopped them. They hid me in a dry ditch under straw. When armed militia found me, they tried to throw me back into the pit, but an old peasant insisted on keeping me alive. I was taken back to the village and locked in the production team’s warehouse.”

The Jade Emperor asked: “You were rescued but not treated medically. What happened in the warehouse?”

Zhou said: “I was extremely weak, covered in blood scabs, a hole in my head, infested with lice. Two neighbors cleaned me. A former student secretly sent blankets, clothes, and food. When discovered, the party secretary announced that anyone giving me food would share my fate. But kind-hearted people still smuggled food. I survived half a month. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, I lost hope and tried to hang myself with a blanket rope. An old woman saw me and persuaded me to live. I regained the will to live.”

The Jade Emperor asked: “How did you finally get rescued?”

Zhou said: “The old woman informed my family. My brother got permission from the commune, negotiated repeatedly, and finally brought me back. He treated my injuries, even going into debt to do so.”

The Jade Emperor asked: “You survived this ordeal. What happened afterward? You were only in your early thirties?”

Zhou said: “I was thirty-one. With help from neighbors and relatives, I survived but felt dead inside. My husband and three children were gone. I found solace in caring for an orphan, Li Yuxin, two years old, whose mother had died. His father was the production team party secretary, Li Zigui. I eventually married him and started a new life.”

The Jade Emperor asked: “You were accused of being a landlord’s wife. Were you really?”

Zhou said: “No. I was a student. My father had served in the Nationalist youth army during the war, was honored at the 1949 peace conference, but was sentenced to death in 1952 due to unclear history. My husband was a demobilized soldier from a landlord family. We both taught in remote Yao villages and did well as teachers. We married and had three children. Later, in 1964, during the Four Cleanups Campaign, I was falsely accused and expelled from teaching due to family background. In 1967, during the Cultural Revolution, we were labeled as ‘black five categories’ and targeted again.”

Zhou said: “I remarried a second husband, the production team party secretary, and became a farmer. We did daily labor, faced gossip, and raised two more children. Later, after Mao’s death, in 1980, the Daoxian massacre was officially redressed. I returned to teaching, was recognized as a model teacher three times, became a committee member, and my family settled. My first husband and children’s deaths were commemorated with a tombstone in 2011.”

The Jade Emperor said: “You suffered for decades, lost your family, and the root cause was at the top—Mao Zedong, the principal culprit.”

The Jade Emperor then asked Tan Hecheng: “You are the author of the Daoxian massacre record. How did you gather your information?”

Tan said: “It is a long story. I published the account in Hong Kong in 2010, but the manuscript was completed in 1986. Multiple publishers refused it. The truth was undeniable. In 1984, over 1,300 officials in the Lingling area investigated the Cultural Revolution massacres for two years. I gathered extensive first-hand material, verified it through repeated interviews, and wrote several million characters. The 500,000-character account is based on this. If any word is false, I am ready to face execution.”

The Jade Emperor asked: “If it’s true, why not publish?”

Tan said: “The reason is clear but unspoken. The government does not allow exposure of Cultural Revolution atrocities. I could only publish in Hong Kong twenty years later.”

The Jade Emperor asked: “How many were killed? How?”

Tan said: “In Lingling, 9,093 people were killed, Daoxian had 4,519. Methods included shooting, stabbing, drowning, explosions, dropping into caves, live burial, beating, strangulation, burning. The brutality is unimaginable.”

The Jade Emperor said: “The methods are similar to the AB Group killings in Jiangxi, decades later, still the same. How did it start in Daoxian?”

Tan said: “The campaign was driven from Beijing. In 1966, the so-called Red August in Beijing killed 1,700 teachers and intellectuals. Neighboring counties killed several hundred landowners and counterrevolutionaries. By 1967, it reached Hunan. Mao incited and allowed these atrocities. Even now, Xi Jinping covers up, forbidding reporting. Domestic publication of the Daoxian massacre is blocked. Victims and families continue to suffer. The root cause is Mao Zedong.”

The Jade Emperor concluded his visit, bidding farewell to Zhou Qun and Tan Hecheng, and left Daoxian.

NEXT: 111. Shi Yunfeng (1950–1976)