Chapter 10 Chairman Mao's Memorial Meeting

On September 18, 1976, the solemn Tiananmen Square was solemn.The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the State Council, and the Central Military Commission held a grand memorial meeting for Chairman Mao Zedong here. "The Great Leader and Mentor Chairman Mao Zedong's Memorial Conference" is inlaid with striking black and white characters on the Tiananmen Gate Tower. The seven-meter-high memorial conference platform built in front of the Tiananmen Gate Tower is full of party members and leaders wearing black veils on their arms. State leaders, a row of wreaths from the main organs of the party and the state, major leaders and foreign friends are neatly placed in front of the conference platform. Wreaths from 29 provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions and ministries and commissions are placed on the east and west viewing platforms of Tiananmen Square. There are also wreaths from our Beijing Garrison.The four sides of the meeting platform are covered with black forging belts.In front of the Monument to the People's Heroes stands a black banner that reads "Inherit Chairman Mao's will and carry out the cause of the proletarian revolution to the end". More than one million representatives of workers, farmers, soldiers, academics, and business circles stand silently.In Tiananmen Square and Shili Chang'an Avenue, no one moved or spoke, and people were immersed in sorrow.

In order to ensure the safety of the memorial service, in addition to adding a duty post on the square, we also specially added a commanding post. At about two o'clock in the afternoon, a reporter-like person came to the stairs with a camera and greeted me. He introduced himself and said: I am a reporter from Xinhua News Agency, and I want to take a panoramic view of the venue of Chairman Mao's memorial service upstairs.I carefully reviewed his work permit and the special pass issued by the memorial meeting, and found that Wu Zhenchao, a name I was familiar with, was filled in the name column of both permits, so I warmly greeted him upstairs and chatted with him.

The familiarity with reporter Wu's name was only in the summer of 1974.At that time, I was doing news reporting in the army.One day, at the invitation of "Beijing Daily", I watched "One of the South China Sea Islands-Xisha Islands Photo Exhibition" by Comrade Wu Zhenchao in the National Cultural Palace (at that time, China and the Saigon Group in southern Vietnam had just fought the Xisha Islands battle), and In the name of the guards and soldiers in front of Tiananmen Square, I wrote an afterthought of more than 2,000 words. The title is "Standing Guards to Consolidate the Dictatorship of the Proletariat". We shoulder the historical responsibility of guarding the national flag of the People's Republic of China in front of Tiananmen Square.I sent this manuscript to the Literature and Art Department of the "Beijing Daily", and it was published in the "Beijing Daily" soon.

During the conversation, he mentioned his Xisha Islands photography exhibition, and praised his photos for being real, delicate and three-dimensional.He said: To take those photos, he stayed in Xisha for a long time. He used a high-end camera and imported film that Xinhua News Agency had just bought from West Germany, so the effect was better.No, I still use this camera today. While talking, I handed the camera to me.Then, I asked him about one thing, that is, before the death of Chairman Mao, the photo of meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was published in various newspapers and magazines, and we felt very uncomfortable after seeing it.Chairman Mao was leaning on the sofa, the back of his hair was curled up, and he completely lost the radiant leadership demeanor of the past.He said: Bhutto and Chairman Mao are old friends. He has visited China many times and was received by Chairman Mao every time.This time he was originally visiting North Korea, passing through Beijing, and insisted on visiting Chairman Mao.At that time, the chairman was already seriously ill, but he still supported his body to meet with this neighbor friend who has made outstanding contributions to the promotion of China-Pakistan friendship.During the meeting, the comrades of our Central Foreign Affairs Photography Cooperation Group captured the moment when Chairman Mao’s trembling hand held Bhutto’s hand tightly, and took that precious shot. Later, when Chairman Mao leaned forward, he wanted to take a picture of Chairman Mao The photo of the chairman sitting upright talking with Bhutto, but Chairman Mao, who has worked hard for the Chinese revolution all his life, is no longer able to support his tall body.The whole body has been leaning back on the sofa, and the head has been leaning on the sofa.So among the many photos taken, I chose the unsatisfactory photo.At that time, the relevant leaders had two opinions after seeing it: one kind of opinion believed that the photo should not be posted, because posting such a photo would damage Chairman Mao's image, and only sent a text message reporting Chairman Mao's meeting with Bhutto; In my opinion, both text and photos should be sent.Chairman Mao is old and frail. This is a fact and should not be avoided. It should be realistically let the people of the whole country know.Besides, in the past, Chairman Mao always sent photos when he met foreign guests. If he didn't post photos this time, it would arouse people's various speculations.In the end, the leader in charge of propaganda at the central government decided to adopt the latter opinion, and the photos were published in various newspapers and periodicals.After listening to reporter Wu's introduction, I realized the well-intentioned journalists and propaganda workers.Bhutto has visited China many times, and every time he visits, apart from discussing state affairs with Chairman Mao, he has to learn about the great man's strategy for governing the country.And now, the photo of Chairman Mao meeting Bhutto has become a permanent freeze frame.Bhutto was the last foreign leader Chairman Mao met with.Since then, Chairman Mao Zedong, who was old and frail, refused to meet foreign guests and no longer appeared on diplomatic occasions.Looking down at the scene of the memorial service in front of me, I feel grief.

As the clock struck three o'clock in the afternoon, Chairman Mao's memorial meeting began. The military band composed of 500 people played the mourning music, and then the high-pitched and tragic national anthem and the Internationale. The mourning music made people's faces full of grief. Endless tears; the singing filled people with the passion to advance and advance under the guidance of Mao Zedong Thought in order to realize Internaxonel's determination.Then Hua Guofeng delivered a eulogy.The eulogy brought people's thoughts back to Ruijin, Jinggangshan, Changzheng Road, Yan'an, Xibaipo and Zhongnanhai-the long battle process that lasted half a century.After the eulogy was delivered, more than one million people at the scene paid a three-minute silence to the portrait of the beloved Chairman Mao.In the end, the most familiar songs sounded: the east is red, the sun is rising, and Mao Zedong is born in China... The memorial conference was reported live to the whole country and the world through radio and television.Reporter Wu Zhenchao shot the scene of the memorial meeting from different angles, leaving precious historical footage of the moving scene of mourning the leaders in Tiananmen Square.