Ulanhu was the First Secretary of Inner Mongolia and a Vice Premier of the State Council. Since leading the establishment of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Government in 1947, he had long been regarded as the “King of Mongolia.” In 1966, following Mao’s instructions, the North China Conference was convened to criticize him. Five major charges were announced against him. He was kept under house arrest in Beijing under the alias “Wang Zili,” and was not released until 1972.

During the Cultural Revolution, in accordance with Mao’s directives, a massive campaign was launched in Inner Mongolia to ferret out and struggle against the so-called “Inner Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party” (Neiren Dang). Nearly one hundred thousand people were persecuted to death, and seven to eight hundred thousand were imprisoned. Ulanhu was denounced as the “chief ringleader” of the “Neiren Dang.”

More than forty years after Mao’s death, whenever he thought of having wrongly persecuted Ulanhu and of the campaign against the “Neiren Dang,” which led to the tragic deaths of nearly one hundred thousand people, he felt deep guilt and wished to see Ulanhu. Mao soon received permission from the Jade Emperor to meet him.

Mao began by asking about Ulanhu’s name: “I hear your original surname wasn’t Wu. What was your original name?”

Ulanhu: “My original name was Yun Ze. ‘Ulanhu’ is Mongolian, meaning ‘Red Son.’ Now that the name is well known, you may simply call me ‘Ulanhu.’”

Mao: “Oh, so you truly were a ‘Red Son.’ In 1966 we wronged you. More than a hundred people met for two months—charges such as opposing Mao, opposing the Party, opposing socialism, local nationalism, revisionism, consistent rightism, a time bomb—these were all hats placed on you at my instruction. I suspected you had divided loyalties, that you were close to the Soviet revisionists and Mongolian revisionists. I ordered Liu and Deng to talk with you, pointing out your supposed errors of not engaging in class struggle and of promoting local nationalism. After that, you disappeared.”

Ulanhu: “My personal fate was a small matter; the fate of the people of Inner Mongolia was the greater issue. Jiang Qing and Kang Sheng, following your directives, carried out year after year of large-scale persecution of the ‘Neiren Dang,’ leading to nearly one hundred thousand deaths in Inner Mongolia and the imprisonment and struggle sessions of seven to eight hundred thousand people. Prisons were everywhere; torture and forced confessions were common—horrors too dreadful to recount. Inner Mongolia was left barely alive.”

Mao: “Partway through, I realized it had been excessively expanded—the scope of attack was too broad.”

Ulanhu: “It was not a matter of excessive expansion. Fundamentally, it was entirely wrong. The claims of collusion with Soviet or Mongolian revisionists were fabrications. The enemies were created by you. Among the herdsmen, I consistently advocated not dividing people into classes and not carrying out class struggle. Once you draw lines and launch struggle, chaos follows. The pastoral regions had long been peaceful and stable—until the Cultural Revolution, when Jiang Qing and Kang Sheng threw everything into turmoil.”

Mao replied perfunctorily: “In my later years I grew suspicious of you as well. Looking back now, it was groundless. Once I became suspicious, everyone followed my lead in criticizing you and putting labels on you.”

Ulanhu: “Since joining the Party in 1925, I was always loyal to the revolution and to the Party, and I consistently respected you. I could withstand any test.”

Mao: “In 1973 you were restored as a member of the Central Committee, and afterward your reputation was rehabilitated.”

Ulanhu: “If you can face squarely the grave mistake of persecuting me and of the campaign against the ‘Neiren Dang,’ that at least shows some intention to correct your errors. I am especially grateful to Zhou Enlai for arranging my house arrest in Beijing, which spared me the suffering of being sent back to Inner Mongolia for public struggle.”

Mao again replied perfunctorily: “As for the errors of the entire Cultural Revolution, I am continuing to reflect and repent. In the future, I will make a public confession.”

Having obtained this promise from Mao, Ulanhu said nothing more. He rose, took his leave, and departed.

NEXT: 53. He Long (1896–1969)