Chapter 45 2. Ding Ling met Zhou Enlai in Ziguangge

What is Ding Ling doing now? From late June to mid-July, the fourth session of the National People's Congress was held in Beijing. The theme was anti-rightism. Ding Ling did not attend. She felt that her problem had not been resolved and her status had not been confirmed, so she should not attend.Later, when she was criticized, she was said to be "absent without reason" and "refusing to participate".Although she didn't attend the meeting, she was watching closely and reading the daily People's Daily, especially the anti-rightist news. On July 12, "People's Daily" published Lu Dingyi's speech "Our Fundamental Differences with the Bourgeois Rightists". Ding Ling read it carefully and thought with confidence: the issues he said have nothing to do with me.After the baptism of these two years of struggle and wind and rain, she has "matured" a lot politically. One of the manifestations is that she looks forward and backward, and is cautious in her words and deeds.

On July 15, the National People's Congress closed, and the "People's Daily" published an editorial "A Great Victory in the Anti-Rightist Struggle".Immediately afterwards, from July 17 to 21, the Party Central Committee held a meeting of provincial and municipal party committee secretaries in Qingdao to discuss the anti-rightist struggle. During the meeting, Mao Zedong wrote "The Situation in the Summer of 1957", which was published on August 1 Approved at the Politburo meeting.The article pointed out: "Don't underestimate the significance of criticizing the bourgeois rightists this time. This is a great socialist revolution on the political and ideological fronts. In 1956 alone on the economic front (in production material ownership) is not enough and will not be consolidated. The Hungarian incident is proof. There must be a thorough socialist revolution on the political and ideological fronts. The first decisive battle, In the past few months, mainly in the last two months, we have won. However, it will take several months to dig deeper and achieve a complete victory. We must not withdraw our troops hastily. You know, if this battle is not won , socialism is hopeless."

This idea can be said to be the theoretical basis of Mao Zedong’s anti-rightist struggle: After the socialist transformation of ownership is basically completed, there must be a thorough socialist revolution on the political and ideological fronts!The cultural front is included in the category of the "ideological front," and it still needs to be explored deeply. Just before and after the Qingdao meeting, Zhou Enlai talked to cultural leaders twice. He talked about anti-rightism and rectification, emphasizing that anti-rightism should not forget rectification. One was the day before the closing of the National People's Congress, on July 14th, Sunday. "Zhou Enlai's Chronicle" contained "About Lu Dingyi, Kang Sheng, Zhou Yang, Zhang Jichun, Qian Junrui, etc. to talk about rectification in the literary and art circles." At 2:30 p.m. , The Central Propaganda Department, the Ministry of Culture, and the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles held a symposium for literary and art circles in Beijing in Ziguangge, Zhongnanhai. Zhou Enlai gave two speeches for two hours. He said that the purpose of today's meeting is to hope that everyone will actively participate in the anti-rightist struggle. "Now it is mainly anti-rightist, but don't forget the rectification movement." The anti-rightist struggle "has not been well developed in the literary and art circles, and we must take active actions. After the anti-rightist struggle has come to an end, the rectification movement must be carried out carefully."

The other time was the day after the Qingdao meeting. On July 22, Zhou Enlai made an appointment with Kang Sheng, Zhou Yang, Qian Junrui, Zhang Jichun, Xu Bing, etc. to talk about rectification in the literary and art circles.He said: Now it is mainly anti-rightists, but the rectification movement must not be forgotten. All units must solve some problems that can be solved immediately, and correct mistakes if they are made. The rectification movement is a contradiction among the people, and the anti-rightist movement is a contradiction between the enemy and ourselves. When the anti-rightist struggle was in full swing with increasing momentum, Zhou Enlai talked to the leaders of the literary and art circles not to forget the rectification movement. What about proper protection?He is really well-intentioned!

On the afternoon of July 14, Ding Ling also came to Ziguangge, Zhongnanhai, and participated in a symposium for people from the literary and art circles in Beijing.A large number of well-known people including Ba Jin, Lao She, Yan Huizhu, Chen Bohua, and Chang Xiangyu attended the meeting that day, a total of more than 200 people. Some of them happened to be in Beijing to attend the National People's Congress. Gathering".Guo Moruo presided over the meeting, and after Zhou Enlai spoke, Lu Dingyi, Kang Sheng, and Zhou Yang also spoke, and the meeting lasted until eight o'clock in the evening.Ding Ling was in a good mood, and she went home and told her family that she had met Premier Zhou at the meeting, and chatted with Kang Sheng on the lawn for a while during the break.

Ding Ling feels good about herself, but her feeling is not accurate.Twenty years later, when she suffered a lot and was placed in Zhangtou Village under the Taihang Mountains, she had a deep and accurate understanding of the scene of that day.She recalled to Zu Lin: "At the meeting that day, I sat behind Guo Moruo. When Premier Zhou walked into the meeting room, we all stood up. Premier Zhou shook hands with Guo Moruo first. He saw me. There was a look of surprise in his eyes, but it was fleeting. He smiled and stretched out his hand to me, and shook hands with me. At that time, I did not think carefully about this subtle feeling of mine. In a criticism, After the storm of fighting against me passed, I recalled Premier Zhou’s surprised but fleeting eyes. I thought, maybe he knew at that time that the Central Propaganda Department decided to further carry out the struggle against me. He didn’t expect that I would appear in the Come to this symposium! During the break in the middle of the meeting, I met Kang Sheng on the lawn. He was so interested and chatted with me for about 20 minutes. I was a little puzzled at the time. It is elusive. In 1938, he threatened among the masses that I surrendered myself in Nanjing. After I found out, I told Chairman Mao: "Why does Kang Sheng make such nonsense? What basis does he have?" In 1940, the Organization Department of the Central Committee made this history I made a conclusion and denied Kang Sheng's statement. Since then, Kang Sheng and I have not liked each other. In Yan'an, once at Chairman Mao's place, Chairman Mao said to me: "You go and see Comrade Kang Sheng." I didn’t go either, thinking: I have no working relationship with Kang Sheng, why should I go to see him! Going back to the symposium at Si Ziguang Pavilion, Kang Sheng must have known what kind of fate awaited me, and I was naturally proud of it , The rare enthusiasm he showed on the lawn is probably a reflection of this mentality. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he has been recuperating from illness, and he just came out to work that year."

At the end of April 1984, one Sunday, Ding Ling talked about Premier Zhou again while chatting with her secretary. She said with great emotion: "Premier Zhou attaches great importance to writers. When I met Marshall in Zhangjiakou, there were so many people in the team. Premier Zhou alone I pulled it out, introduced it to Marshall, and said, this is our writer Ding Ling. When welcoming Nehru, U Ne Win and other heads of state, he did not introduce so many ministers in the team, but he pulled me out to introduce it alone. The first delegation to visit the Soviet Union organized after the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 had representatives from all walks of life, including Xu Guangping. He asked me, a writer, to be the head of the delegation, which was not easy. Why do so many people in the literary and art circles miss Premier Zhou? The Prime Minister cares about them, and he can take care of them carefully. Some controversial movie scripts in the 1950s, the Prime Minister participated in the seminars, and invited us to participate in the seminars. He valued our opinions.”

However, the benevolent prime minister cannot control the political situation, nor can he protect Ding Ling—he may very much want to "protect" her.