Zhou Enlai's last years were spent in the stormy waves of the "Cultural Revolution". In the days when the party and the people were in deep disaster, Zhou Enlai faced the extremely complex and special environment with unimaginable wisdom, courage and self-sacrifice spirit. Today's young and middle-aged friends may have difficulty imagining the scene during the "Cultural Revolution", and even think that some things are absurd and incredible.Some people often ask: Why didn't Zhou Enlai openly oppose the "Cultural Revolution"?Why did Zhou Enlai implement something that was obviously wrong?etc.

Marxism believes that the question of the form of struggle must be examined historically, and the question cannot be studied in isolation from the specific historical environment. This is the basic requirement of dialectical materialism.From this point of view, many problems are easier to understand. As we all know, the "Cultural Revolution" was initiated and led by Mao Zedong himself.As the core of the first-generation collective leadership of the Communist Party of China, Mao Zedong has always been heartfeltly loved by the entire party and the people of the country, and he enjoys extremely high authority inside and outside the party.He will never give in or compromise on the major decisions he thinks are correct, but will overcome all resistance to achieve it.Whether it was Zhou Enlai or other leaders, it was difficult to oppose the "Cultural Revolution" initiated and led by him under the circumstances at the time.This abnormal phenomenon in the political life of the party is one of the main reasons for the tragedy of the "Cultural Revolution".The lessons of history are worthy of our serious consideration and forever remembered.

People also have a process of understanding the "Cultural Revolution", including Zhou Enlai.Although some of the practices were difficult to understand at first, they still believed that its purpose was to mobilize the masses and eliminate some of the dark sides of socialist society.Later, the development of things far exceeded people's initial expectations.Among the broad masses, especially a large number of young people, a fanatical anarchist trend of thought has formed, which is ferocious.Zhou Enlai once tried to correct certain excessive behaviors among young people, but he knew that this would not be easy to achieve. He could only adopt a unique way of fighting with tenacity and tenacity as Lu Xun said according to conditions and possibilities.

In the early days of the "Cultural Revolution", Zhou Enlai emphasized more than once that the mass movement must be "guided according to the situation".To be sure, this is the policy he chose after careful consideration.It is very difficult to achieve this, and requires superb leadership art and rich experience in struggle, and requires a skillful combination of principle and flexibility.An expert on the history of the "Cultural Revolution" made a detailed investigation of a large number of historical materials and pointed out: In the early days of the "Cultural Revolution", Zhou Enlai was the top party leader who criticized the most wrong practices in public.This is why the Lin Biao and Jiang Qing counter-revolutionary groups regarded Zhou Enlai as the biggest obstacle to their usurping the party and power from the very beginning.Since then, whether in the struggle against the Lin Biao counter-revolutionary clique or the Jiang Qing counter-revolutionary clique, Zhou Enlai has firmly stood on the stand of the party and the people, showing his utter loyalty to the party and the people.

Looking at the entire process of the "Cultural Revolution", Zhou Enlai and Mao Zedong had different ideas and practices on many issues, sometimes even very different.As far as Zhou Enlai is concerned, on the one hand, he must maintain Mao Zedong’s prestige at all times, and timely and appropriately give comprehensive explanations, supplements and amendments to Mao Zedong’s instructions, or improve them during the implementation process; on the other hand, he must seize favorable opportunities , put forward correct slogans, measures and opinions, and implement them in every possible way.As a last resort, he had to say and do things against his will.But the people forgive him.After all, the room for maneuver that history has left for him is too limited!Zhou Enlai has always been aboveboard in his dealings with others. When encountering such a situation, one can imagine the pain in his heart.

Here it needs to be pointed out emphatically: building the party for the public and forbearance for the party are the beliefs that Zhou Enlai abided by all his life.No matter what the circumstances, he always insists that the interests of the party and the people are above all else.In the special environment of the "Cultural Revolution", the interests of the party and the people demanded to maintain the overall situation, avoid division, and maintain unity. Under this premise, efforts should be made to reduce losses and create conditions for ordering order out of chaos.If the party is divided, the country is divided, and the army is divided, the consequences will be unimaginable.Deng Xiaoping said that during the "Cultural Revolution", "due to the prestige of Chairman Mao, Premier Zhou and other leaders of the older generation, it was said that it was a 'full-scale civil war'. After all, it was not a big fight, and a real civil war did not occur."Because the party still played a role at that time, and the state power still played a role.During Zhou Enlai's life, especially during the "Cultural Revolution", he used all his wisdom, faith and loyalty to do his best to maintain the unity and unity of the party.How precious, how important and how fortunate this is to our party, the country and the army it leads, which still exist and grow stronger after all the ups and downs!

Zhou Enlai devoted himself to the revolution since his youth, and has always been at the forefront of the struggle and the center of the political vortex, going through all kinds of difficulties and dangers.And the ten years of the "Cultural Revolution" were the most difficult and dangerous years in his life, and every step was full of thorns, so that he himself was always ready to be knocked down suddenly.However, as the leader of the Party Central Committee and the Premier of the State Council, he also shoulders the unimaginable responsibility of ensuring the basic necessities of life for 7.8 billion people and maintaining the normal operation of the entire state apparatus.In addition, under the complex and ever-changing international situation, the People's Republic must still maintain her sovereignty and dignity which are independent and inviolable.Faced with such a situation and such a heavy burden, Zhou Enlai did not evade or shrink back, but with a lofty and not without tragic belief that "I will not go to hell, whoever will go to hell", he stood up and fought desperately.It is this pure, firm, and clear inner motivation that drives this terminally ill soldier to be selfless and fearless, to fight endlessly for the party and the country.

Marshal Ye Jianying has a poem: "The most difficult places show geniuses." Zhou Enlai was in the middle of the "Cultural Revolution". The historical role that is absolutely irreplaceable by others can be described as "the safety of the world is at stake". Looking back at this unusual period of history, it makes people feel how fair and profound Comrade Chen Yun's evaluation was, "Without Comrade Zhou Enlai, the consequences of the 'Cultural Revolution' would have been unimaginable." Just imagine, without Zhou Enlai and other revolutionaries of the older generation as the mainstay, Lin Biao and the "Gang of Four" would have usurped and controlled more power in the party and the country, and a large number of veteran cadres would have difficulty making their mark. The situation is out of the question.Therefore, in terms of protecting and "liberating" the vast number of veteran cadres alone, Zhou Enlai's historical achievements are inestimable.As for other aspects, such as economy, national defense, diplomacy, united front, science and technology, culture and education, etc., which undertaking has not been soaked in Zhou Enlai's painstaking efforts?

The "Resolution on Certain Historical Issues Concerning the Party Since the Founding of the People's Republic" unanimously passed by the Sixth Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Party made a fair evaluation of Zhou Enlai's irreplaceable historical role during the "Cultural Revolution": "Zhou Enlai Comrade is infinitely loyal to the party and the people, and dedicated himself. He was in a very difficult position during the "Cultural Revolution". He took the overall situation into consideration and worked hard, in order to continue the normal work of the party and the country and minimize the losses caused by the "Cultural Revolution". , To protect a large number of cadres inside and outside the party, he made unremitting efforts and exhausted his heart. He fought against the sabotage of the Lin Biao and Jiang Qing counter-revolutionary cliques in various forms."

The study of the "Cultural Revolution" is indeed an important topic.Not only to history, but also to reality.History is all connected.Only by deeply understanding yesterday can we understand today and grasp tomorrow.To study the "Cultural Revolution", it is inseparable from the study of Zhou Enlai.The study of Zhou Enlai during the "Cultural Revolution" has achieved some results, but it is not enough and needs to be further strengthened.