Chapter 21 Chapter 20 The Death of Tian Jiaying

Just five days before Chen Boda "crowned" as the head of the "Central Cultural Revolution" group, his old enemy, Tian Jiaying, who was only 44 years old, became the second victim of the "Cultural Revolution" --- Tian Jiaying passed away angrily In the first five days, Deng Tuohan died unjustly. Regarding Tian Jiaying's persecution to death, Dong Bian, Tian Jiaying's wife, made the following recollections: At 3 o'clock in the afternoon on May 22, 1966, Comrade An Ziwen, Wang Li, and Qi Benyu came to my home in Zhongnanhai, when Tian Jiaying was not there.They waited for a while, and Jiaying and his secretary, Comrade Pang Zhizhi, came back.At this time An Ziwen said to me: "Dong Bian, you are also a senior cadre, you should sit down and listen." Prophet Pang was also present at that time.An Ziwen and Wang Li sat side by side on the couch, and Qi Benyu sat next to him on the single sofa.

An Ziwen said solemnly to Tian Jiaying, we are a three-person group representing the central government, and today we announce to you: first, the central government thinks that you have an abnormal relationship with Yang Shangkun, and that Yang Shangkun is anti-party and anti-socialist, you need to check; , The central government believes that you have always been right-leaning. Now, on behalf of the central government, we announce to you that you will be suspended for self-reflection, and all documents will be handed over.Tian Jiaying asked: Will the manuscript on editing Mao Xuan be handed in?An Ziwen said, hand over everything.Qi Benyu asked: Is Chairman Mao's speech on "Hai Rui Dismissed from Office" in your place? (Note by the quote: Refers to the record of Mao Zedong’s conversation with Chen Boda and others in Hangzhou on December 21, 1965) Tian Jiaying replied: No.

After 5 o'clock, An Ziwen and Wang Li left, and Qi Benyu continued to submit documents until dark.At 12 o'clock in the middle of the night, Qi Benyu called and asked Tian Jiaying to go to the secretary's office to sign.Jiaying hung up the phone angrily, and said to me: "What is Qi Benyu? Retribution, evil comes with evil, I don't believe these people will end well." Under the circumstances at that time, Tian Jiaying was charged with the two "crimes" and announced "suspended for self-reflection" and "moved out of Zhongnanhai". Anyone who understands the history of the "Cultural Revolution" can easily imagine what this means.Jiaying was not mentally prepared for this sudden catastrophe, which made it difficult for him to bear it.On the morning of the second day, May 23, Jiaying left us with hatred.Here I want to explain that Comrade An Ziwen was the head of the Organization Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China at that time. He was criticized and imprisoned in July 1966, and suffered severe persecution. He also asked Jiaying and me whether the problem has been rehabilitated...

Regarding the cause of Tian Jiaying's death, his close friend Li Rui wrote very clearly in an article in the 1980 issue of "Earth" magazine: After liberation, he lived in Zhongnanhai, and looked down on those chasing fame and fortune around him.He has long hated some of Jiang Qing's behaviors (of course, the discussions at that time were mostly related to life).According to what Comrade Dong Bian told me, he had fought against Chen Boda for a long time, facing each other tit for tat and never giving up an inch; therefore, Chen hated him deeply.This person was included in our praise and disapproval of people back then.He told me: This "Master Chen" made a "leisure chapter" and said "Wild Cranes and Idle Clouds".I like it very much, so I pride myself on it.In fact, this is showing the great complaint of this person from the negative side: no power and no power.This person lived in a nice house in Zhongnanhai, but he tried every means to renovate it. The comrades in charge of the Central Office refused to sell it, so he held a grudge.What Jiaying despises the most is that this person often asks him, "What books has the chairman read recently?" "What problems do you pay attention to?" and so on.This kind of observation is also considered a dangerous thing...

In April 1967, I returned to Beijing once, only to know that Jiaying was no longer alive.When I met Comrade Dong Bian a few days ago, she talked in detail about how Jiaying was forced to death on May 23, 1966. ... At that time, he faced two great enemies, Chen Boda and Jiang Qing; there was also a villain named Qi Benyu.He was very angry and said to his wife: "My problem was framed by Chen Boda and Jiang Qing. I can't imagine that after 18 years of hard work, I would end up like this!" It has been said that suicide is a protest against the environment.Jiaying's death was a protest against the environment at that time.

An Ziwen, the leader of the "three-person group" who talked with Tian Jiaying at that time, is no longer alive.In order to understand the situation, the author once interviewed Qi Benyu.Regarding Tian Jiaying's death, he did not want to talk about it.When the author interviewed Wang Li, he said: Jiaying's forced death was caused by the struggle between the two lines in the party, and Jiaying was always on the right side.The signs of the ultra-left line began to appear in 1956, and Jiaying actively resisted them.At the Lushan Conference in 1959, Jiaying was one of the few people who stood on the correct line.Jiaying was the first to propose household contracting and carry out a pilot project. In the summer of 1962, the ultra-left line was initially formed. At the Beidaihe Conference, Jiaying was one of the four people who were named and criticized as "rightist".As far as I know, Jiaying is an extremely rare person who dares to criticize Chairman Mao face to face.He bravely reminds the chairman not to fall into infamy after his death.It is a pity that Chairman Mao did not listen to his advice, but instead said that Jiaying was a "hopeless" person (there is a written record).

Jiaying criticized Chen Boda face-to-face as a consistent "Left" opportunist and a hypocrite, so he was hated by Chen Boda.Chen Boda spoke ill of Jiaying in front of Chairman Mao many times.Jiaying has long seen through Jiang Qing's bad qualities and despised Jiang Qing, so she was hated by Jiang Qing.In the months before Jiaying's death, Jiang Qing instigated a series of measures to severely attack Jiaying. In fact, he regarded Jiaying as a contradiction between ourselves and the enemy... Jiaying's death was a great loss to the party.If he does not die, it will be of great help to the Party Central Committee after the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee.

After Tian Jiaying's death, Qi Benyu replaced him and became the secretary of Mao Zedong and Jiang Qing, holding confidential power, and suddenly became "hot and powerful". Qi Benyu was born in Weihai, Shandong in 1932.Hong Kong newspapers once reported that he graduated from the History Department of Shandong University. In fact, he never went to university at all, but was just a middle school student.Before liberation, he did underground work in Shanghai. In 1949, at the age of 18, he was transferred to Beijing Zhongnanhai to work.He later served as the head of the history group of "Red Flag" magazine.When he entered the "Central Cultural Revolution", he had the lowest position, just the chief of the Letters and Visits Section of the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

He coveted Tian Jiaying's position.When he finally got his wish and replaced Tian Jiaying, his political ambitions suddenly expanded... Jiaying was not mentally prepared for this sudden catastrophe, which made it difficult for him to bear it. He had fought against Chen Boda for a long time, confronting each other without giving an inch; therefore, Chen hated him deeply. Jiaying's death was a protest against the environment at that time.