Mao had long pondered why Yuan Shikai was such a short-lived emperor. One day, he finally met Yuan Shikai.

Mao: “You were the first officially elected President of China’s parliament and also the first to proclaim yourself emperor after the revolution. To see you a hundred years later is a great honor.”

Yuan: “I was a short-lived emperor, stepping down after only three months and passing away shortly thereafter.”

Mao: “What a pity—only fifty-seven, taken in the prime of life.”

Yuan: “I could not enjoy a long life. Most of my ancestors didn’t live past sixty—perhaps it was hereditary.”

Mao: “You worried too much, serving first as President, then managing the affairs of an emperor. If you hadn’t forced the Qing Emperor to abdicate and stayed on as Prime Minister, things might have been much more peaceful, and you might have lived longer.”

Yuan: “Perhaps. I had no experience as President; no one in China had ever done it before. There were no rules to follow, the people were unaccustomed, it was hard to operate. So I tried becoming emperor. But the revolutionaries opposed me, and I had to step down. Depression set in, and I fell gravely ill.”

Mao: “Actually, the Qing Emperor didn’t need to be overthrown. While Cixi was alive, constitutional reforms had already started. You could have gone with the flow. Unfortunately, both Cixi and Guangxu died; if either had survived, you couldn’t have forced abdication. Empress Dowager Longyu was weak, and you forced her out with a combination of pressure and persuasion.”

Yuan: “I also had selfish motives. With the Qing Emperor gone, I could be number one. Look, as President, I issued silver coins with my portrait—becoming the ‘Yuan Big Head.’”

Mao: “In fact, it was you, not Sun Yat-sen, who founded the Republic of China. Sun is not truly the ‘Father of the Nation’; you are. Without you, there would be no Republic of China. Yet for propaganda reasons, both the KMT and CCP venerated Sun. Your imperial title led to your erasure from history.”

Yuan: “Sun Yat-sen did little in the country; he traveled overseas constantly. In Guangdong, people called him ‘Great Cannon Sun.’ He promoted revolution, but few paid attention.”

Mao: “You became President and emperor, chasing a hollow title. In fact, your emperorship was merely in name, without substance. Unlike me, I forgo the title of emperor; I call myself Chairman, yet possess tenfold the power of an emperor.”

Yuan: “What emperor’s power do you have?”

Mao: “At least twenty palaces, spread across all provinces. Did you have any palaces?”

Yuan: “I didn’t have even one palace; I didn’t get the chance before death took me. You have twenty—unprecedented, unmatched. The Qing Emperor only had Chengde Mountain Resort; the U.S. President only the White House.”

Mao: “You had one wife and nine concubines, with a large family, yet no harem?”

Yuan: “You only married four wives in succession. I still had more.”

Mao: “No! It’s not about quantity. I don’t want a harem—that’s just formality. I have a mobile harem: summon them when needed, dismiss them at will. The nation’s top performing arts troupes, dancers, singers—all my reserve. A limitless spring at my command. Outsiders can’t touch this. More freedom than your real emperor’s life, isn’t it?”

Yuan: “You combine modern and ancient thinking, innovating. I’m purely old-fashioned.”

Mao: “I travel for leisure in a long train, with two hundred guards, roaming the country. Compared to Qianlong, who only toured Jiangnan, my scenery is grander. Did you ever tour?”

Yuan: “I never traveled for pleasure. I only enjoyed my wives and concubines, having many children and grandchildren.”

Mao: “You were skilled at military and state affairs, experienced in late Qing self-strengthening and administration. I incited rural peasants, fought landlords, and divided land. I was clueless about founding a country. I didn’t like Beijing’s city walls—so I tore them down. Liang Qichao’s son opposed me, but I was unconcerned. People called me a wastrel, destroying ancestral treasures.”

Yuan: “You are smarter than Hong Xiuquan. He only held Nanjing for ten years and ultimately failed. That year I was five, too young to understand; the Taiping never reached Henan. You rebelled in the countryside, established a base, and eventually took over the country.”

Mao: “I can’t emulate Hong Xiuquan; I had to first occupy a region and gradually expand. Only when Japan invaded and Zhang Xueliang captured Chiang in Xi’an did heaven grant me opportunity to survive, otherwise I’d be finished.”

Yuan: “I followed rules, never rebelled. From serving in the Qing army, fighting in Korea, I steadily rose. Back home, I started ‘small station drills,’ hiring German officers to modernize the army. It began with me.”

Mao: “I know the PLA’s ‘Three Rules of Discipline and Eight Points for Attention’ evolved from your ‘Marshal’s Training Song.’”

Yuan: “I also established modern police, schools, and banned opium and gambling.”

Mao: “You can rightly be called the Father of China’s Modern Army. You even shifted the traditional lunar new year to align with the solar calendar—what we still follow. Truly a reform pioneer.”

Yuan: “Unfortunately, Sun Yat-sen disliked compromise. Disagreements meant leaving Guangzhou to start anew.”

Mao: “I know. After Song Jiaoren’s assassination in Nanjing, Sun blamed you and launched a failed second revolution, fleeing to Japan. The previous year, a bomb attack in Beijing killed ten of your guards—you survived. Such assassinations on both sides undermined constitutional governance.”

Yuan: “The KMT condemned me for ten years, and your communists echoed it. I was wronged for a decade.”

Mao: “Thanks to Deng Xiaoping’s openness, many historical documents are now public. History will vindicate you.”

Yuan: “I am pleased with your support. Personally, small matters matter less; national affairs are great. Seeing the disasters under your thirty years’ rule, countless deaths, I grieve. You never repented, and your successors followed your ways, fostering personal cults and seeking world leadership at the expense of the people. You must repent and reflect.”

Mao replied evasively: “You’re right. I am repenting, soon to face the Jade Emperor’s trial. Perhaps you’ll be on the jury. If so, please speak well of me, so my soul may return to Shaoshan.” He shed a few tears as he spoke.

Yuan Shikai, satisfied by Mao’s praise and his promise to repent, stood to leave, leaving Mao behind.

NEXT: 8. Confucius (551 BC – 479 BC)