Becoming Madame Mao - Anchee Min [105]
Do you see how we are rejected? Madame Mao Jiang Ching says, grabbing the microphone as she gets up on the stage. The crowd's clapping becomes thunderlike. Madame Mao continues, her voice resonant. She suggests that the crowd take a look at the streamer above their heads, which reads: Is the Cultural Revolution a spare-time activity or a full-time job?
Do you see how our enemies use every chance to put out the revolutionary wildfires? And do you understand why Chairman Mao has to worry?
Liu responds. He emphasizes the discipline and the rules of the Communist Party. He says that no one should be above the Party.
Madame Mao is challenged.
I see people agree with Liu. Murmuring rises in the crowd. The youths start to argue among themselves. The representatives of factions get on the stage and present their views one by one. The tone of the speakers begins to change. Sentence by sentence they echo or simply take Liu's side.
My rally is backfiring! I sit on the panel's seat and start to panic. I look toward Kang Sheng, who is sitting at the end of the bench, for help. He gives me a look that says Stay calm and then slips from his seat. After a short while he is back. He passes me a note: "Mao is on his way here."
Before I can tell Kang Sheng how relieved I am, Mao appears by the curtain. Clapping his hands, he bluntly pushes his way onto the stage. He is instantly recognized. The crowd boils: Long live Chairman Mao!
I hold my breath and shout with the crowd.
Mao doesn't say anything. He doesn't slow down either. He walks and claps his way from the left side of the stage to the right and disappears like a ghost.
The crowd is instantly reminded that Madame Mao Jiang Ching is backed by her man.
August 1. She and Mao meet again in his study. He tells her that he has written a letter in response to an organization called the Red Guards. I am adding new divisions to your force. He sits her down. I am giving you wings. The students are from the Middle School of Qinghua University. They are even younger than your kids. They can't wait to do what your kids are doing.
I like the title the Red Guards. It shows guts. Red, the color of the revolution, and Guards, your defender. Have you given them any inscription?
I have. A red armband with my calligraphy, Red Guards, on it.
She asks him if she can join him to inspect the Red Guards' representatives. I'd like to offer my support. She is welcomed. I have it scheduled on August 18, he says. Show up with me at the Gate of Heavenly Peace in Tiananmen Square.
Dawn, August 18, 1966. Tiananmen Square is packed with one and a half million students and workers. It is an ocean of red flags. The entire Boulevard of Long Peace is blocked by youths from all over the country. Everyone wears a red armband with Mao's yellow calligraphic Red Guards. The crowd extends miles, from the Gate of Xin-hua to the Security Building, from the Golden Water Bridge to the Imperial Front Gate. Upon the news of Mao's inspection, hundreds and thousands of student organizations have changed their title overnight into Red Guards, including Kuai Da-fu's faction the Jing-gang Mountain Group. The green uniform and red armband on the left arm is the look. The crowd sings: The golden sun rises in the East. A long life