Chapter 39 The third section of the temple is small and the gods are big

Echoing Chen Yinke from the north to the south, Wang Yu, who was in the north at this time, was no longer a "red and expert" "party expert" and the leader of the famous Marxist-Leninist new historiography.Since he went south as a "revolutionary envoy" to persuade Chen Yinke to return to the north, he returned without success. He lost the trust of Guo Moruo and other high-level people in the science and education circles. Character, has been generally underestimated by the academic circles.Wang himself became disgraced and fell from a high political height to a low one.Since Guo Moruo publicly named and criticized Chen Yinke in 1958, his status as a disciple of the Chen family has plummeted, and he was immediately criticized and beaten by revolutionary comrades on the same front.Faced with the sudden change and catastrophe, Wang Guan's spirit was greatly stimulated, and his body suddenly collapsed. After a serious illness, he was reduced from a fat man weighing 150 to 60 catties to less than 100 catties.Not only did he lose fifty or sixty catties of meat, but he was also almost registered in the ghost record in Youhu - this was a signal that the fate of this time laid the groundwork for his death with hatred seven years later.

When the "Cultural Revolution" agitated, Wang Zhen, the former proud disciple of Chen Yinke who had long lost power, fell into the "eyes" of the rebels.The young revolutionary generals of the history department deliberately pasted a big-character poster in the shape of a "seal" on the door of Wang's house as a warning, and meant to make things difficult and provocative.The next day, when the young revolutionary general came to inspect it, he found that the big-character poster had turned into several fragments and was floating on the ground. There are two theories about this accident: one is that the big-character poster was blown off naturally by the wind;Seeing this, the angry young revolutionary began to condemn Wang for deliberately sabotaging and making trouble out of hatred for the "Cultural Revolution", in an attempt to stop this vigorous revolutionary action.The matter was quickly reported to the central "Cultural Revolution" working group in Peking University. The person in charge of the working group immediately called Wang and ordered him to admit his mistakes to the former students and today's cultural revolution "heroes" and go back to paste the big-character posters and restore them.Under the custody of the rebels, Wang Jian had to follow the requirements of the working group one by one, but he couldn't bear the humiliation of the "party expert" by the "revolutionaries" in his heart.Perhaps it was the ancient doctrine of "A soldier can be killed, but not humiliated" and the inner moral law were constantly beating on the sensitive and fragile heartstrings. On that night, Wang's mental pain, which had been suppressed for nearly ten years, suddenly broke out. Unable to get rid of it, I opened the insecticide "Dichlorvos" stored at home and drank it (the family lived in the city at the time).Not long after, the toxicity of "Dichlorvos" broke out, and Wang Jian was in so much pain that he began to howl at home and hit his head against the wall.In the dark night, the neighbor heard such a miserable and terrifying sound from next door, and in a panic, he hurriedly called everyone to come for help.But Wang obviously has made up his mind to go, and has already locked the door of the house, so that outsiders cannot enter.When everyone forcibly opened the door, they found that he had already died of anger. ——This day was June 11, 1966, and Wang Zhen was 50 years old.

Wang's death set a precedent for the suicide of a Peking University professor during the "Cultural Revolution".After his death, he was convicted by the working group of "suicide in fear of crime, self-extermination from the party and the people".This crime did not stop the pace of "suicide", and more humiliated people chose this path one after another. One week later, on June 18, 1966, the famous "June 18 Incident" occurred on the campus of Peking University. On this day, almost all the party and government leaders of Peking University were named "those in power taking the capitalist road" and dragged into the "fighting ghost stage".According to an eyewitness’s recollection afterward, dozens of Red Guards frantically rushed to the “Second Courtyard” where the office of the Chinese Department was located, shouting loudly: “Get Cheng Xiance out.” Hearing this cry suddenly, he immediately realized that something was wrong, rushed out the door in an attempt to escape, and rushed into a women's toilet in a hurry.A female staff member who was urinating in the toilet was shocked when she saw the situation, but when she saw the panic on Old Cheng's face and heard the angry shouts of the Red Guards outside, she immediately understood and stood up quickly while pulling Cheng's belt. Blocked behind, and then rushed to the door, trying to prevent the revolutionary teenager from breaking in.The young generals chased to the door of the toilet, but there was no sign of Cheng Xiance. They also saw the female staff member standing at the door holding her trouser belt with a flustered expression.A group of people swarmed forward and grabbed Cheng's hair, twisted his arms, and escorted him into a small black room to "dress up" in order to send him to the "Ghost Fighting Platform" for criticism.

At this time, the scorching heat had arrived, and all the teachers and students of the Chinese Department were summoned to the auditorium of the office building of Peking University. Because "revolutionaries" from other departments came to "learn scriptures", the auditorium, which accommodated more than 800 people, was crowded.For a while, there was a lot of voices and discussions.Suddenly there was a loud shout from outside, but there was no sound in the lobby.Immediately after a roar, Cheng Xiance was surrounded by a group of Red Guards and set up on the tall "Ghost Fighting Platform".Everyone looked and saw that Cheng Xiance was fully armed, with a white paper cap in the shape of a steel helmet on his head, and a mixture of black and red ink was splashed on his face.The front and back of the body were covered with big-character posters, the big-character posters were covered with red crosses, and thick black ink was scattered around them, like a pair of rusty armor.Cheng Xiance is like a deserter who has been defeated, or to be precise, like a slave who is about to be executed after committing a crime—perhaps not as good as being ordered to stand on a narrow wooden stool used to support a plank bed, staggeringly accepting the criticism.Amidst the shouts, Cheng Xiance's expression was sluggish, his face was ashen, sweat and tears, and black and red ink flowed down his cheeks.Not long after, Cheng Xiance fell under the bench with a "plop". Seeing this, the Red Guards beside him rushed up and punched him with anger. Then, amidst the sound of revolutionary slogans, Cheng Xiance was dragged out of the auditorium Parade in the streets.

On the same day, the Red Guards, who had obtained the "truth" from the revolutionary action against Cheng Xiance, quickly arrested professors Wang Li, Wu Zuxiang, Wang Yao, Xiang Jingjie, etc. from the Chinese Department, and pushed them to the "Ghost Fighting Platform".Amid the bursts of slogans, a student found a wastebasket from the toilet, slammed it on the head of the deputy director of the Chinese Department, Xiang Jingjie, and then beat him violently with his fist and stick.A young revolutionary swung the copper-headed belt, and knocked down the trembling Wang Yao, who bent over and lowered her head, to the ground in just a few strokes.Almost at the same time, the "revolutionaries" of the whole school took action and began to arrest and criticize professors who slipped through the net.Cheng Xiance's brother-in-law, Hu Shouwen, a lecturer in the Biology Department of Peking University and the deputy secretary of the general branch, was captured by a young revolutionary general. He put a rope around his neck and dragged him to the ground. just go.Hu was dragged bloodstained, almost passed out from suffocation, and was dying when he was carried to the "Ghost Fighting Platform".

On this day, a total of more than 60 professors from various departments of Peking University were dragged onto the "Ghost Fighting Stage" in various brutal ways, where they were criticized and severely beaten.Because Cheng Xiance participated in the Anti-Japanese Youth Expeditionary Army to fight in Burma when he was young, he was regarded by the Red Guards as a "historical counter-revolutionary hidden in the party" and a "hidden secret agent of the Chiang Bandits". After he was released, a group of Red Guards broke into his home to search again, pushed Cheng Xiance down in front of the bed, rolled up a mat and beat him severely to force him to confess.Cheng Xiance was beaten to pieces. He could only breathe but was unable to speak. The Red Guards returned without success.According to the memory of Le Daiyun, a female teacher who teaches in the Chinese Department with Cheng Xiance: "The revolutionary action of this day finally came to an end, and we were all sent home... When I went to buy soy sauce in a small grocery store, I suddenly found Cheng Xiance buying there. A bottle of brand-name spirits. He has changed into clean clothes, and his hair and face have been washed. His face is livid, his eyes are fixed, and he walks past me. I don’t know if he really didn’t see me or turned a blind eye. Still didn't want to say hello at all. Anyway, he walked past me like this, for the last time! I silently blessed him in my heart: 'Drink, if wine can make you temporarily forget this incomprehensible and humiliating world!'” He also said: "Later, I was told that Cheng Xiance, who was cheerful, bright, idealistic, and future-loving in my heart, met him the day after I bought soy sauce, holding the bottle of spirits in one hand and a bottle of dichlorvos in the other. , drink while walking, and go to the depths of the dense forest in Xiangshan.” Not long after, people found Cheng’s body under a tree in Xiangshan, Cheng’s hands were wrapped around the bottom of the small tree, his face was filled with the pain of struggling before death. Not far away was a "Dichlorvos" poison bottle upside down.

Two months after Cheng Xiance's death, on August 18, Mao Zedong, wearing a green uniform and a Red Guard armband, went up to the Tiananmen Gate Tower, received about one million Red Guards from all over the country, and once again expressed his support for the "Cultural Revolution" and the Red Guards' actions.Since then, the revolutionary enthusiasm has increased, and the violence has also escalated. Some people were tortured to death. August 24th was the craziest day when the violent actions of the Red Guards in Beijing set off a large-scale climax and were out of control. In the streets and alleys outside the city, people ransacked homes and beat people, burned cultural relics, and confiscated property, sweating all over their faces. The silhouette of the Red Guard mixed with blood.In the university district in the western suburbs of Beijing, the Red Guards of Tsinghua University invited the Red Guards of the High School Affiliated to Tsinghua University to come forward, and loaded the Red Guards from 12 middle schools in a large truck to Tsinghua University, tearing up the big-character posters that appeared on the Tsinghua campus attacking Liu Shaoqi and other state leaders , On the campuses of Tsinghua University and Peking University, they ransacked and killed professors.The rebels wrote in big black characters on the wall of Yandong Garden of Peking University what Mao Zedong said, "the temple is small, the gods are big, the pond is shallow, and there are more than eight kings". Legs" and other aphorisms.

On this day, Yu Dazhen, a professor of English literature in the Department of Western Languages ​​of Peking University and wife of Zeng Zhaolun, who lived alone at No. 30 Yandongyuan, was dragged to the ground by the red guards of the Department of Western Languages ​​of Peking University, and then dragged to the "Double Hall" in front of the 40th floor of the school. "Ghost Terrace" participated in the criticism meeting.Yu Dazhen was forced to kneel on the stage to accept criticism.After nearly a day of repeated torture, Yu Dazhen passed out several times on the stage. After the rebels dragged him down for a little relief, he dragged him to the stage to continue criticizing and insulting him. He was not released until evening.Not long after, there was a loud bang, and a group of Red Guards kicked open the door and rushed in.At this time, Yu Dazhen was lying on the bed, in a semi-conscious state, with swelling and pain all over his body, unable to move.Seeing that the other party did not take the initiative to get up and bow their heads to report to themselves, the Red Guards thought it was disrespect to the young revolutionary general. In a rage, they pulled Yu Dazhen from the bed to the ground, grabbed his hair and slammed it against the wall, asking him to confess his crime.Yu argued with reason, and reprimanded the Red Guards for trespassing on private houses, lawlessness and so on.The Red Guards simply pushed Yu Dazhen to the ground, and several of them beat her together.Yu Dazhen was beaten to the ground and wailed incessantly until he passed out. Then the Red Guards searched his property, loaded valuables into a truck and took him away.

Yu Dazhen, who had returned to the world from the embrace of Lord Yan and the little ghost, woke up and night fell on the earth. Thinking of the beatings and personal insults he had endured, he couldn't control his grief. He committed suicide at home that night by taking sleeping pills—this was the first suicide in Peking University. A female professor. The next day, Yu Dazhen's cold body was found by the Red Guards who came to his door and wanted to take him to the "Douguitai" to criticize, and reported to the central "Cultural Revolution" Peking University working group.The working group had a brief understanding of the situation, and sent a telegram to Yu Dazhen's husband, Zeng Zhaolun, who was "reformed" at Wuhan University at that time, and ordered him to return to Beijing within three days to dispose of his wife's body. The corpse was cremated, the ashes were discarded, the property was confiscated, and the house was taken back.Zeng Zhaolun received the telegram and passed out on the spot. After waking up, he quickly went to the school party committee to ask for instructions, but the answer he got was that he could not return to Beijing.Faced with this result, Zeng Zhaolun had no way to vent his grief, so he had to run to a wasteland outside the school alone, put his head on the ground, and wept facing north until he passed out until his tears ran out of tears and blood.

At this time, Zeng Zhaolun had vaguely realized that with the tragic death of his beloved wife, his own life would also come to an end.