Chapter 7 Remembrance Discovers the Meaning of History

During the three years in 2006, 2007 and early 2008, I successively conducted interviews in a place I was not familiar with before. The reason for this was a proposal from Comrade Xi Jinping, who was then secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee: Zhejiang is the center of China’s private economy. The main origin, writers and academic experts should be invited to make a good summary.So I became one of the main implementers of this proposal. After many theorists entered Zhejiang, most went to Wenzhou.Wenzhou's experience and the "Wenzhou model" have long been there, and they are complete without any effort.However, this is not the whole of history, let alone the whole truth of history.

Marx said that when examining history, one must pursue truth, and true history is the origin of human civilization and progress. An interesting thing in human history can be written into the world's classic textbooks and become the truth: Chinese farmers are always the creators of history!From Dayu's water control to the Chen Sheng Wu Guang uprising, from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to Mao Zedong who emerged from Shaoshan, the peasant revolution has always changed and advanced the destiny of this great country with a history of 5,000 years of civilization.The modernization of China that we see today is so prosperous, but the real influence and promotion of this modernization process is still inseparable from every emotion and every expression of the 900 million peasants—the history of peasants dominating China’s destiny has never changed. This will still be the case a hundred years from now.

My conclusion comes from a place I walked into where farmers created the economic model of contemporary China, that is Taizhou, Zhejiang.This land was very strange to us in the past, and even now, it is still strange to many people.However, we are already familiar with other contemporary forms of Taizhou in another role.For example, the "Wenzhou model" that people used to say in the past, in fact, most of the Taizhou people are supporting the phenomenon of "fake Wenzhou, real Taizhou".For example, as I said earlier, the "Zhejiang mending shoes", which has a wide influence in the country and the initial self-employed image and the form of private economy, were created and dominated by Taizhou people; for example, Taizhou people were the first to try the rural joint-stock system; for example, the first The first person to start a new type of agricultural cooperative is from Taizhou; for example, the first private bank was born in Taizhou; —Although this farmer did not fly the earth-made plane to a height of several thousand meters, he is still experimenting non-stop...Enough, these phenomena and facts are enough to prove that Taizhou people are different.

However, since Taizhou people have made such great and remarkable achievements, why have they remained unknown?Chen Dabin, a well-known scholar who has been the editor-in-chief of Xinhua News Agency's "Outlook" for ten years, gave us this answer: The characteristics of Taizhou's reform and development "are quietly advancing, and everything is not announced in advance. In the process of rapid development , has been unknown for more than ten years. This is in stark contrast to Wenzhou, which is connected by mountains and rivers. Wenzhou people dare to be the first in the world, vigorously develop individual and private economies, and have achieved outstanding results in economic development, but they are in danger of being criticized by the public politically. The accusations and criticisms of "restoring capitalism" are overwhelming, like dark clouds over the city. Some people say that in the first ten years of reform and opening up, Wenzhou's waterways were full of wind and waves, lightning and thunder. Taizhou, which is close at hand, But it was silent, without any "thrilling action" to attract the attention of the neighbors. Taizhou's ship was quietly bypassing the rapids and dangerous shoals. This is a wise choice made by the people of Taizhou in assessing the situation."

This is where the intelligence and wisdom of Taizhou people lie.This is also the main reason why Taizhou people have made so many great contributions and are still unknown to the outside world. In fact, Taizhou people do not restrain their "hard-hearted" character because they saw the unfortunate fate of their neighbors being "out-of-the-box", but they have also experienced "blood lessons" before they gradually understand. The four words "political wisdom". Generally speaking, there are two kinds of heroes: one is to rush forward recklessly, but before reaching the destination, he falls down and dies; After being sacrificed, he became a living hero who rushed to the top.Taizhou people belong to such heroes.While such heroes are sometimes not advertised by history and others, it is undeniable that such heroes are the real promoters and successors of history.The sacrificed heroes can freeze history in a tragic frame, while the living heroes who continue to work hard to create can push history into a more brilliant and civilized new era.

An old man at the foot of Tiantai Mountain told me: In 1951, farmers in Taizhou, who acquired land for the first time, joined forces to set up cooperatives. As a result, the agricultural harvest here was bumper in 1952, so the large-scale establishment of agricultural cooperatives became a nationwide initiative for Mao Zedong. One thing that comrades are extremely happy about.Therefore, Zhejiang has also become an advanced province in the country for running cooperatives.But in 1953 and 1954, there was a problem with the establishment of the cooperatives. Those middle peasants complained that there was no grain for planting rice together, and there was no meat for hunting and hunting together. So they asked to quit the cooperatives, and some places found that there were too many grains after quitting the cooperatives. Yes, meat is also available.Therefore, the farmers followed suit one after another, and a leader named Deng Zihui also supported this matter, and proposed the adjustment idea of ​​​​running the cooperative.When Mao Zedong found out, he angrily denounced her as a "female with small feet", and once again called on the "secretary to do it, and the whole party to run the club."So the whole country went up with a bang, and middle peasants were also specially approved in large numbers.Later, the unified purchase and marketing system was implemented, and the farmers' autonomy was basically deprived. In 1957, farmers started to make trouble because they found that they could not eat enough after paying the public grain.It was the Xianju people in Taizhou who took the lead in making trouble. All the cooperatives in this county collapsed at once.Hundreds of people have been arrested in Xianju County... Taizhou, which has had a tough character since ancient times, has never dared to be tough in front of politics.They began to carry out their own revolution in another way - they figured it out, did it quietly, and did it right without saying anything.The result of this behavior is: Taizhou people have reaped unprecedented benefits.

Just do it without talking, and quietly receive benefits, so it has become a classic experience and way of life for Taizhou people to develop and protect themselves. "In the past, people in Taizhou, who had always needed a large amount of food sold back by the state, did not starve to death during the chaotic ten years of the 'Cultural Revolution'." When I asked the people of Taizhou what was the reason for such a "brilliant page", they smiled and told Me: "Workers all over the country are rebelling and fighting, and our farmers in Taizhou grow grain at home and have babies." The wise Taizhou people have grown old, as if they have received the true biography of those hermits on Tiantai Mountain.

Farmers know: what kind of field is planted, what kind of harvest will be obtained. After the "People's Commune", the farmers' autonomy in farming was actually completely deprived. Peasants deprived of their autonomy in farming are equal to having no natural ability. Over time, there will be no progress.As for those mountainous areas with thin land and many people, farmers without autonomy can only rely on the state to support themselves.It's a joke, the farmers are not satisfied with this kind of parasitic life, and the resale grain is often not enough and not timely, so the days of starvation are sad.Go out of the mountains and go to the government to make trouble?To rebel?What the peasants chose in the end was not these, but quietly "agrarian revolution"-dividing the collective land and distributing it to each household for planting, and it turned out that they were basically able to have enough food and clothing.Why not do such a good thing?Besides, the mountain is high and the emperor is far away, so no one will take care of it if no one says it - that's how the people and cadres of Zaoshu Village are carrying out a thorough "capitalism" while the world outside the mountain is in a large number of "capitalism". Doctrine"—dividing fields to households.Such a day actually enabled the whole village to support the whole village in the years when the country did not sell back the grain, so they thought there was nothing wrong with it, and it was in line with Chairman Mao's "self-reliance".Slowly day after day, year after year, it becomes a habit.Later, the surrounding villages also quietly followed suit, mobilizing farmers from several villages, dozens of villages, and two communes. So in September 1980, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China forwarded the document No. 75 to the whole country. General Secretary Comrade Hu Yaobang presided over the summary document of the agricultural work symposium-"Several Issues Concerning Further Strengthening and Perfecting the Agricultural Production Responsibility System" after the issuance of the notice and the Xinhua News Agency that reported on the distribution of land to households in Xiaogang Village, Fengyang, Anhui When the reporter's long newsletter "China, There Is Such a Village" was published, farmers in Taizhou, Zhejiang said in a semi-sarcastic tone: What the people of Xiaogang Village did has already become history here.That is to say, in the early 1980s, which was written into the history of China's reform and opening up, the most exciting movement of dividing land to households and contracting and working alone in the rural areas of our country that excited 900 million farmers did not exist in quite a few places in Taizhou. A little splash - because the farmers here have already divided the land!People from Taizhou, who contracted earlier than farmers in Xiaogang Village and other places, and distributed land to households earlier, began to quietly leave when others were busy arguing whether the distribution of land to households was socialism or capitalism. The hometown, left the cropland, and began to do business in other villages and towns—the first batch of cobblers who walked through the villages and streets, and the peddlers who sold sugar for rags spread to all parts of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and then to all corners of the country...

"Where are you from?" When shopkeepers and cobblers appeared in every corner of the country, when someone asked them curiously, these people began to tell others: We are from Taizhou. Taizhou, where is Taizhou?Taizhou?Are you in Taiwan?What, you are from Taiwan?Is it a Taiwan spy?bad guy!spy!The Taizhou native who was mending shoes and working as a salesman for a while was inexplicably locked up in the police station and prison again and again. Taizhou people no longer dare to say that they are Taizhou people.At this time, Wenzhou people also became "capitalist", and Wenzhou people were extroverted, "We are Wenzhou people".Therefore, Wenzhou people have a good reputation.So people from Taizhou, who are connected to Wenzhou by mountains and rivers, simply said, "We are from Wenzhou."The result: they are no longer locked up and sued for no reason.

The reputation of Wenzhou people is getting bigger and bigger.Taizhou people silently blended into the "Wenzhou fever" in the 1980s and 1990s to grow and develop vigorously, but since the late 1990s, "Wenzhou people" and Wenzhou goods and "Wenzhou model" were scolded or criticized by the whole country. When attacking, Taizhou people cleverly escaped disaster after catastrophe, and continued to charge forward in their own land and in their own business world in accordance with their own reforms and daring ways. Go forward until the unknown Taizhou City is built into a tough modern city and the most prosperous and strongest place in the country's private economy...

This is a contemporary history of reform in Taizhou.It is concise and hearty, wise and witty, calm and calm, calm in danger, and finally becomes brilliant and splendid.Once the world heard about it, the whole country was shocked, and human beings respected it. Most Chinese have never been to Taizhou, and most Chinese may not know about Taizhou.But almost everyone who has been to Taizhou today has not been shocked by the spirit of reform and emancipation of the people there, as well as the private economy there!Originally, I was going to write a big book about Taizhou, but I couldn’t finish it because of work, but my interview task was completed, and I went there 5 times before and after, and recorded 5 thick interview records , There are several large packages of books and materials about Taizhou in my study room. They have been with me for more than three years... I still feel the scorching heat of the wind and the temperature of Taizhou from time to time.Many contemporary figures in Taizhou and their daring actions often flash in front of my eyes. I can tell their names and deeds without flipping through the interview book—farmer Ruan Xiaoming, who started as a cobbler , has been making the "jewel sewing machine" all over the world. In many countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, as long as Ruan Xiaoming appears, the president of that country will greet him like a head of state; Beijing's "Snowflake" brand freezer disappeared from the earth, while his "Xingxing" brand freezer has now become the "King of Freezers" in China; Zhang Xiaonan, a farmer, dared to invite 24 farmer brothers to join in "hard shares" in 1971 , became a private enterprise wearing a red hat. In the first seven or eight years, he encountered repeated failures but never dampened his ideal of setting up a factory and making a fortune. In the next 30 years, he built the enterprise into the top of the country's peers. Now his "Sanyou Group" is famous all over the world Ye Yangyou, a farmer, was born as an accountant in the production team. His "Tengda" is well-known in Shanghai; Wu Jinhuo, a farmer, is born smart, because he heard a relative who is a chemistry teacher say that there is "silver aluminum" in the fixing water of film development, so he began to choose from 1974. With a bucket, he went to various hospitals and photo studios to collect fixing water... This "silver aluminum road" has been walking for more than 30 years, until his apprentices can line up several miles long. "As many as 40,000 to 50,000 people!Now there are his "cash register corps" all over the world. Xianju, Taizhou, where he lives, can export 120 tons of silver in a quarter!Never heard of it?Xianju, without an inch of silver resources, has become a "silver capital" that affects the world's silver market!You can’t imagine what Taizhou farmers are doing now—a farmer surnamed Ding, he and several farmer brothers started collecting second-hand goods in the early 1980s, and later went to Shanghai to "collect junk". Receive the "trash collection" to the whole world.Now his business of "recycling trash" has been renamed "circular economy" of waste utilization, and he has built this industry into a major characteristic economy in Taizhou. Even General Secretary Hu Jintao praised him for implementing the scientific development concept and creating a characteristic economy. model. Farmer Xie Qiding, when he was a child, his family lived on the mountainside and because there was no clean water to drink, he used his brains to build a water pipe for his mother who carried water to bring the well water at the foot of the mountain to his home. Inspired by this, he started to build earthen water pumps. Later, we engaged in "foreign water pumps" and have been engaged in all parts of the world in Asia, Africa and Latin America.When I went to interview him, this "water pump king" was actually building a five-star skyscraper in the mountain nest of his hometown. "I want the farmers in the village to enjoy the most modern living facilities in the world. Each household has an indoor swimming pool of 400 to 500 square meters..." Xie Qiding said to me in front of the building that is about to be completed.After I walked into the model room of that building to visit, I couldn't use admiration to describe the great deeds done to a mountain farmer-because even in Beijing, I have rarely seen such a luxurious residence.And my farmer friend from Taizhou told me that his building is going to be sold to the farmer brothers in his village at a special discounted price. ... I cannot help but be moved by everything about the people of Taizhou and the peasants in Taizhou. Although the peasant revolutionary storm that has been blown here has been blowing for a long time, because it has never appeared in front of the world in its true colors, it has not aroused enough people's attention. know.Now our party and country are very mature, and the line, principles and policies no longer cause people to worry about the future. Taizhou people who are already very tough and wealthy have begun to understand the meaning of standing upright. This book coincides with the great historical moment when the whole country commemorates the 30 years of reform and opening up, so I announce this history that has been little known in the past to the public. The people of the world who have enjoyed the glorious history of China in the past few years can write history and read China more objectively and authentically, which will help us to fully understand our people who are heroes who created history.At the same time, I hope that those who make history will receive due respect and honor. I have always believed that literature is not just a pastime for people, but its more function should be to inspire and inspire our people and future generations to gain positive spirit and motivation in reading works.As literary workers, if we can discover some valuable historical experiences and historical truths for contemporary people and future generations in the process of historical development, then the literary significance of this is better than creating a romantic novel or writing a love story. Poetry knows how much more powerful and great!Discovering history will enable human beings to clearly understand how to go in the future. Discovering history can make wise men smarter, and gain more inspiration and wisdom from the known world to create more brilliance and dreams; discovering history can make all those who like to follow the footsteps of the times no longer lose their way , in the fastest and easiest way to win results and strive to become the leader in the future. In the course of civilization, discovering the past is as valuable as discovering the future, for it can change our world. I'm proud of my discovery.