The Love of Mao Zedong's Cane

Original title: Mao Zedong's crutch love

Mao Zedong loved mountains and rivers all his life, and mountaineering was one of his hobbies after work. Crutches became an indispensable item for mountaineering in his later years. He doesn't pay much attention to crutches, whether they are made of wood or bamboo, as long as they are suitable for use. Among the many crutches, he especially likes a bamboo crutch, which comes from Dingjiashan, Hangzhou.

Mao Zedong liked Hangzhou and called it his second hometown. He came to Hangzhou more than 40 times before his death. In the early 1960 s, Mao Zedong once climbed Dingjiashan. Before going up the mountain, his entourage did not bring crutches. They went to a nearby farmhouse and cut down a bamboo. After a brief treatment, as a crutch, Mao Zedong walked up the mountain with this fresh bamboo scent. On the way, as if he remembered something, he stopped suddenly and asked the staff solemnly, "Did you pay for this bamboo?" The staff replied, "The fellow didn't charge money, but we paid anyway." mao zedong was very happy and praised the staff for doing the right thing.

Mao Zedong loved this crutch very much. After going up the mountain, he told the staff not to throw it away and to take it back to Beijing.

Later, whether walking in Zhongnanhai or going out for inspection, Mao Zedong has been using this unpolished crutch. As a national leader, someone once gave Mao Zedong exquisite crutches, but he never kept them. As for the bamboo crutch he brought back from the wild, he regarded it as a treasure.

One year, when Mao Zedong was on an inspection tour in Changsha, Hunan, he carried with him the bamboo crutches used on Dingjia Mountain in Hangzhou. In the meantime, Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh visited China and went to Changsha to meet Mao Zedong. Mao Zedong and Ho Chi Minh had a deep friendship, and the two met happily. One day while walking, Ho Chi Minh suddenly offered to exchange crutches to Mao Zedong as a memorial. Mao Zedong looked at the delicate crutches in Ho Chi Minh's hands, raised the bamboo crutches in his hands, and said wittily, "You can't exchange this dog-beating stick for you? Yours is too beautiful." Ho Chi Minh couldn't beat Mao Zedong and had to go back with regret.

The style of life is not only a question of one's own likes and dislikes, but also a concrete reflection of one's spiritual realm and spiritual character. Mao Zedong's life is frugal and simple, he did not pay much attention to material enjoyment, always strict with himself, refused to luxury and respected frugality. His crutches are the best illustration.

Mao Zedong liked crutches and would rather walk on a stick than a stretcher, let alone a sedan chair.

In March 1947, Hu Zongnan heavily pushed into Yan'an, and Mao Zedong led some personnel of the central authorities to leave Yan'an and fight in northern Shaanxi. At that time, he was recovering from pneumonia and was weak. Considering his difficulty in marching, the guards prepared a stretcher for him, but he was determined not to sit and march on foot with everyone. Mao Zedong does not sit on a stretcher, which makes everyone very nerve-racking. Guard Sun Zhenguo found a willow stick and gave it to Mao Zedong and said, "You can use this willow stick as a crutch, so it may save some effort to walk." Mao Zedong, leaning on a stick, took a few steps and was very satisfied. After that, Mao Zedong moved to northern Shaanxi with this wooden stick.

In his later years, Mao Zedong's hobby of mountaineering did not change, but he had a principle that he did not go up the mountain by sedan chair. On one occasion, Mao Zedong invited Zhang Zhizhong to take a special train to go out for an inspection. When the train arrived in Anhui, Zhang Zhizhong suggested Mao Zedong to take a look at Huangshan Mountain. Mao Zedong was moved. However, when he learned that he could not drive up the mountain and could only climb the mountain by sedan chair, he resolutely gave up, "then I won't go, I won't sit in a sedan chair".

Many people felt puzzled that Mao Zedong did not ride on a stretcher or a sedan chair. In this regard, he once explained to the staff around him: "The sedan chair is riding on the head of the working people. I, Mao Zedong, cannot ride!"

As the leader of the party and the government, he has more power and conditions to demand good material enjoyment than anyone else, but he never engages in specialization. He prefers to walk on a stick rather than a sedan chair, which is the embodiment of his public servant's true nature. "We serve the people and are the servants of the people. Being a chairman cannot be special than others, nor can we be separated from the people!" The so-called lover, people always love; respect people, people always respect. The reason why Chairman Mao is loved and remembered by the people also lies in this.

In today's reform and opening up and the development of a market economy, how to make the majority of party members adhere to a simple life style, pursue a healthy and progressive life, keep in mind the true qualities of the people's public servants, and maintain flesh-and-blood ties with the masses is a major proposition related to party building. In this regard, may be able to get some inspiration from Mao Zedong's crutches!

[Author: Zhejiang Research Center of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University Research Base]]

Source: Zhejiang Daily