Chapter 9 Chapter 3 The Roar of Huairentang——The "February Protest" in 1967

After the Eleventh Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in August 1966, the "Red Guard Movement" swept across the country, and the "Cultural Revolution" was launched vigorously on the surface.However, this "Great Revolution" has not yet been accepted by most leading cadres (mainly senior and middle-level leading cadres) in the party, and the situation of "very incomprehensible, very careless, and very incompetent" still prevails. In the "Red Guards Movement", the vast majority of party and government leading organs and responsible persons in various places and departments were regarded as afraid of "revolution" or even opposed to "revolution" and were "cannoned" and criticized.In October of the same year, a wave of "kicking out party committees for revolution" and criticizing the "bourgeois reactionary line" was set off across the country, and more and more central and local leading cadres were overthrown.

In early 1967, an even larger political storm arose across the country.As the beginning of this storm, a major event that shocked the whole country broke out in Shanghai, China's largest industrial city: In early January, rebels in Wen Wei Po and Jiefang Daily successively "seized power" and announced that they would "take over" the newspaper offices.Immediately afterwards, the Shanghai Municipal Rebel Organization led by Wang Hongwen and others jointly held a meeting to "thoroughly overthrow" the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China and forcibly seized all the party and government power in the original Shanghai. This was the so-called "January Revolution" in Shanghai.

Since Shanghai's "seizure of power in January" conformed to Mao Zedong's proposition that "one class overthrows one class", it was affirmed and supported by Mao Zedong.Then, all regions rushed to follow suit, and the rebels in Shanxi, Shandong, Guizhou, Heilongjiang and other provinces and cities also announced their "seizure of power" one after another.Then, all regions scrambled to follow suit, and the frenzy of "seizing power" spread rapidly across the country.The main leaders of various provinces and cities were overthrown as "those in power taking the capitalist road" and deprived of all their rights. The original party and government institutions were paralyzed, causing vicious waves of anarchism to spread, and society into chaos.Due to the paralyzed or semi-paralyzed state of party and government organizations at all levels, and the failure of the business command system, the national economy, first of all, the loss of industrial traffic has increased, and it is facing the danger of a standstill.Under such circumstances, in order to stabilize the situation, the People's Liberation Army was ordered to "support the left" and formally intervene in the local "Cultural Revolution".

Due to the army's involvement in local movements, military institutions at all levels have also suffered the most serious impact since the "Cultural Revolution".Although the central government clearly stipulates that the People's Liberation Army must "resolutely support the broad masses of the leftists", due to various reasons, most of the army is considered to be biased towards "conservatives", which has caused dissatisfaction among local rebels.Within the army, factions have also begun to emerge and divisions have emerged. At the same time, in Zhongnanhai, Beijing, where the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council are stationed, Red Guards and rebels encircled and attacked Zhongnanhai again.These mass organizations proposed to criticize leaders such as Liu Shaoqi, Deng Xiaoping, and Tao Zhu who lived in Zhongnanhai, and claimed to arrest Li Fuchun, Chen Yi, Tan Zhenlin, Li Xiannian, Yu Qiuli and other responsible comrades of the State Council.Zhou Enlai, who stood firm in Zhongnanhai, repeatedly criticized and dissuaded the radical actions of the Red Guards and rebels day and night, demanding that the normal work of the party and the country be guaranteed.Zhongnanhai has become a temporary "refuge" for a group of party, government, and military leaders to avoid criticism and persecution since the "Cultural Revolution".

In just one month, a large number of leading cadres of the party, government and army from the central to local governments were generally uncovered, criticized, and defeated.Among them, there are not a few senior generals in the army.Documents such as the "Notice on Not Directing the Struggle Against the Army" issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on January 14 have actually become dead letters.Facts clearly show that nationwide unrest is rapidly spreading and escalating.Therefore, it cannot but arouse the serious attention of the older generation of revolutionaries who have been deeply worried about the turmoil.Especially the surge of unstable factors in the army, some military departments and regions are facing out of control, which makes the older generation of revolutionaries anxious and restless.Under such circumstances, a just struggle will first be launched on the issue of the army.

Whether to have the leadership of the party, whether to have a large number of veteran cadres, and whether to stabilize the army, these are the three major issues of principle that the older generation of revolutionaries clung to during the February protests and fought hard based on reason, and they are also the core issues in the debate.It concentratedly reflects the two diametrically opposed understandings that inevitably formed between the older generation of revolutionaries and the "Cultural Revolution faction" on the issue of the "Cultural Revolution". The February struggle of the older generation of revolutionaries was divided into three stages.

In the first stage, Ye Jianying and other veterans angrily denounced Jiang Qing and others at the meeting of the Central Military Commission. On January 19th and 20th, the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China held a meeting at the Jingxi Hotel in Beijing to discuss the issue of the military's implementation of the "Four Majors" (namely, "Speaking out, Freeing, Posting, and Debating").At the meeting, Jiang Qing, Kang Sheng, Chen Boda and others continued to advocate that the army should engage in sports in the same way as the localities, on the grounds that "the army cannot be special."Ye Jianying, Xu Xiangqian, and Nie Rongzhen, the three vice-chairmen of the Military Commission, firmly opposed this. They agreed that the army is the pillar of the dictatorship of the proletariat. If the army is in chaos, it will not be able to shoulder the heavy responsibility of defending the country and resisting foreign invasion.In the fierce dispute between the two opinions, Ye Jianying and Xu Xiangqian filled their chests with righteous indignation and denounced Jiang Qing and his gang angrily, showing the selfless and fearless awe-inspiring righteousness of the older generation of revolutionaries.

After the meeting, Mao Zedong met with the army cadres who participated in the meeting of the Military Commission and expressed his agreement with the opinion that the army should maintain stability.Later, Xu Xiangqian stated his reasons to Lin Biao and asked for a document to stabilize the army, and Lin Biao also agreed.In this way, after discussions and revisions by Ye Jianying, Xu Xiangqian, Nie Rongzhen, and Zhou Enlai, the "Eight Orders" of the Central Military Commission came into being. On January 28, the "Eight Orders" was approved and issued by Mao Zedong. Its main contents include: All commanders and fighters in the army must stick to their posts and must not leave their posts without permission; Ransacking homes and engaging in violent fights; all personnel who go out to collude with each other should return to their units quickly; all are not allowed to attack military leading organs; and so on. The "Eight Orders" and other documents aimed at stabilizing the army formulated based on this document were fundamentally the result of Ye Jianying, Xu Xiangqian, Nie Rongzhen and others resisting the wrong practices of the "Cultural Revolution" and opposing Jiang Qing and others' conspiracy to disrupt the army. The result of the struggle.On the whole, the "Racing at the Jingxi Hotel" was the prelude to a series of just struggles carried out by the older generation of revolutionaries during this period.

However, the problem did not end there.The situation of "overthrowing everything" and "chaos" caused by "total power seizure" cannot be fundamentally reversed by issuing a certain document and making a few regulations.Not long after the Central Military Commission's "Eight Orders" were issued, the contradictions and conflicts between the local rebels and the army were still developing and intensifying.During this period, incidents of rebel factions attacking the leading organs of the garrison and fighting against the leading cadres of the army occurred frequently in Beijing and various places (such as Kunming, Guiyang, Changsha, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, and Shenyang). .

The second stage is that the older generation of revolutionaries had face-to-face debates with the Central Cultural Revolution Group at the Central Meeting hosted by Zhou Enlai, which is commonly known as "making a big fuss in Huairentang". Since the beginning of February, Zhou Enlai has presided over a meeting at Huairen Hall in Zhongnanhai, Beijing, where some members of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee, leaders of the State Council and the Central Military Commission, and members of the Central Cultural Revolution Group participated, to discuss party and government affairs.From the very beginning, the meeting at Huairentang became a place where revolutionaries of the older generation once again exposed and criticized the activities of the Central Cultural Revolution Group and the gang for disrupting the party and the army.

At the meeting on February 11, Ye Jianying stood up and reprimanded Kang Sheng, Chen Boda, and Zhang Chunqiao: You have messed up the party, the government, the factories, and the countryside. You don’t think it’s enough. You must also mess up the army. chaos!Do this, what do you want to do?He also questioned: Shanghai seized power and changed its name to "Shanghai Commune". Such a big issue involves the national system. What is the purpose of changing the name without discussion by the Politburo?Can revolution exist without the leadership of the party?Can we do without the army?Xu Xiangqian also slapped the table angrily and said: The army is the pillar of the dictatorship of the proletariat. If the army is in chaos like this, do we still need a pillar?At the meeting, Nie Rongzhen also protested against Jiang Qing and other National People's Congresses' practice of "punishing without teaching", pointing out: You can't just grab children and implicate family members just to bring down Lao Tzu.Cruelly persecuting veteran cadres and making things worse, this is uneasy and kind!In this way, Ye Jianying and other revolutionaries of the older generation, relying on their high sense of responsibility to the party, the country, and the interests of the people, fought with the top figures of the Central Cultural Revolution Group who had always incited turmoil. On February 16, the struggle reached its climax at the Huairen Hall meeting.This day's meeting was originally to discuss the issue of "grasping the revolution and promoting production".But from the very beginning of the meeting, it entered into a debate on some fundamental issues since the "Cultural Revolution" (including the three major principles of whether to have the party's leadership, whether to have a large number of veteran cadres, and whether to stabilize the army).Tan Zhenlin first rebuked Zhang Chunqiao angrily: Without the leadership of the party, the masses will always liberate themselves, educate themselves, and make revolution by themselves. What is this?This is metaphysics!He also said: Your purpose (referring to Zhang Chunqiao, etc.) is to get rid of the old cadres, and wipe out the old cadres one by one.This time (referring to the "Cultural Revolution") was the most brutal struggle in the history of the party, surpassing any other time in history!Tan Zhenlin also justified and declared on the spot: I am not for myself, I am for the entire veteran cadres, and I am for the entire party!At the meeting, Chen Yi, Li Xiannian, Yu Qiuli, etc. also made fierce speeches, expressing their strong dissatisfaction with a series of extreme practices since the "Cultural Revolution", and the arrogance of Jiang Qing, Chen Boda, Kang Sheng, Zhang Chunqiao and other members of the Central Cultural Revolution Group. The characters expose and criticize with hearty and vivid. The third stage is that the old comrades "verbally criticize and criticize" on different occasions, and continue to clarify their views on a series of major issues of principle. On the night when the old comrades "made a big fuss at Huairen Hall", Chen Yi, who was still angry, delivered a 7-hour speech at a public place in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, continuing to slam the despicable behavior of the Central Cultural Revolution Group. act.He pointedly pointed out: "In such a great party, only the chairman, vice-chairman Lin, the prime minister, Boda, Kang Sheng, and Jiang Qing are clean. Thanks to you (referring to the representatives of the rebels present) for your leniency, plus our five vice-premiers In such a great party, only these eleven people are clean?! If only these eleven people are clean, I, Chen Yi, don’t want to be so ‘clean’! Take me out to show the public! A Communist, here It’s not worth a penny if you don’t dare to stand up and speak at this time!” Chen Yi’s speech represented the aspirations of the older generation of revolutionaries who participated in and supported the February protest, and condensed their pain and profoundness for the current crisis. Thinking. The next day, Tan Zhenlin sent a letter to Lin Biao, accusing Jiang Qing of being "worse than Wu Zetian" and that "the party has never seen such vicious methods."And said: "Make up your mind, prepare to sacrifice, fight on, fight on." Before and after this, Zhou Enlai, Li Xiannian, Nie Rongzhen, etc. also delivered speeches on different occasions, clarifying their views on the "three major issues of principle".Although the struggles of the old revolutionaries at this stage were short-lived, they were diverse, rich in content, and widely influential. In this way, from January 19th to February 18th, for a whole month, Tan Zhenlin and other revolutionaries of the older generation carried out a series of various forms of resistance on various occasions.Faced with the just actions of the older generation of revolutionaries, several leading figures in the Central Cultural Revolution Group were speechless and terrified.Under Jiang Qing's planning, Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan, and Wang Li sorted out the records of the "Huiren Hall Meeting on February 16th", and Zhang and Yao reported to Mao Zedong in person. History proves that the great February protest was an integral part of the long-term struggle of the Party and the people against the "Left" errors and the Lin Biao and Jiang Qing counter-revolutionary cliques during the "Cultural Revolution". It was an awakening, which had a profound impact on the continuous struggle of the party and the people.