Pan Hannian was a senior intelligence official of the Chinese Communist Party. During the War of Resistance against Japan, he was chiefly responsible for intelligence liaison with Japanese authorities and with the Wang Jingwei regime. After 1949, he served as Vice Mayor of Shanghai.

In 1955, after voluntarily reporting that he had once met Wang Jingwei during the war, he was imprisoned on Mao’s orders. He spent twenty-two years incarcerated and died before his case was redressed.

More than forty years after Mao’s death, as he endured torment in the underworld, he often reflected that perhaps his punishment was linked to his harsh handling of Pan Hannian. Determined to see him again, Mao requested an audience. The Jade Emperor summoned Pan at once.

Mao saw Pan Hannian.

Mao said: “In 1955, when you disclosed that top-level secret, I was startled. I immediately ordered you detained. You were wronged. You spent the rest of your life in prison until death. Consider it a contribution to the revolution.”

Pan replied: “In 1955, I heard you say that any historical issue could be resolved if confessed. So I told Chen Yi about my 1943 meeting with Wang Jingwei. I never imagined that once I spoke, everything would collapse, and I would be placed under confinement immediately.”

Mao responded: “What you revealed was not some personal historical issue—it was the Party’s highest-level secret. It fell within your operational duties, not your personal history. Once you spoke, I felt uneasy. Others would think: Pan Hannian wouldn’t dare act on his own; there must have been authorization from the highest level—meaning me. If word spread that I instructed contact with a so-called traitor, where would my prestige stand? I had no choice but to isolate you forever and ensure your silence.”

Pan said: “Chen Yi reassured me at the time, saying that once you knew, a single word from you would settle it. But the next day, public security officers came to the Beijing Hotel and secretly arrested me.”

Mao replied: “You were a scholar—your guilty conscience betrayed you. Yet you were no thief; you bore the highest mission. Why feel guilty? Had you remained silent, nothing would have happened. More than a decade had passed—no one would have known. Your unease unsettled me even more. If I left you free, I could not feel secure. The only way was to imprison you permanently.”

Pan said: “From then on, I endured twenty-two years of prison suffering, until I was tortured to death in 1977 at a labor reform farm in Hunan. Even my wife, Dong Hui—who had nothing to do with it—was imprisoned and abused. Dozens of others were implicated in my case.”

Mao answered: “There was no alternative. Revolution always demands sacrifice. You may consider that you died in my place. After my death, you were rehabilitated, were you not?”

Pan replied: “In 1982 my case was redressed, but no one specified responsibility. No one admitted fault.”

Mao said: “My successors, in order to maintain the overall situation and preserve my prestige, could not openly assign blame. You should understand—you became my scapegoat.”

Pan said: “I died unjustly for you. After my death, my soul could not rest. I asked the Jade Emperor why. He said: ‘Your wrongdoer has not confessed. Until the one who harmed you admits guilt, your spirit cannot rest.’ Mao, you must repent.”

Mao replied perfunctorily: “I understand. I am reflecting. Put in a good word for me before the Jade Emperor—say I have fully confessed, so I may soon escape the Eighteen Layers of Hell.”

Hearing this, Pan realized Mao was again seeking to use him. He said no more, rose, and departed.

NEXT: 61. Huang Yanpei (1878–1965)