Lake Xiangyang was once a place of "exile" during the Cultural Revolution . Many intellectuals' fate was doomed in front of the sudden change, but sometimes the feelings varied from person to person. Xiao Qian, who was a member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the director of the Central Museum of Literature and History, had a different experience from that of ordinary people.
Let's open Xiao Qian's "family history"and simply talk about misadventures he encountered during the Cultural Revolution, not to mention the huge impact he was subjected during the anti-rightism period. First of all, he and his wife respectively put on the hats on which were written "ghosts and monsters” and "active counter-revolutionaries" was denounced with violence in public and ransacked. Later, Xiao Qian was imprisoned in the "cattle shed" and isolated from his family; his wife was scolded as a "stinky witch" and ordered "not to defend Xiao Qian, a right-wing bogeyman and a politician as a flunkey of imperialism ". His mother-in-law, Wan Peilan, was forced to hang herself. As natural and man-made disasters came one after another, he felt that "death was indeed much more beautiful than life", "Despair was the greatest sorrow", September 4, 1966, Xiao Qian finally wrote a suicide note to his wife : "Jie Ruo: the new society is wonderful, but I can not squeeze into it, I'm going to leave first and have to entrust children to you." Despite this "suicide to escape punishment " was saved by a fluke, he still felt like time passed slowly like a year day by day until three years later he was sent down to the rural place -- Xiangyang Lake.
“文革”时期的向阳湖，曾是一片“流放地”。在突如其来的变故面前，众多文化人的命运都在劫难逃，感受却有时因人而异。生前曾任全国政协常委、中央文史馆馆长的萧乾，便经历了不同常人的体验。
让我们打开萧乾的“家史”，且不说反右时他所受到的巨大冲击，单表“文革”中的不幸遭遇。先是夫妻分别被戴上“牛鬼蛇神”和“现行反革命分子”的帽子，被揪斗，被抄家。以后萧乾被关进“牛棚”，与家人隔离；妻子被骂作“臭妖婆”，勒令“不许为大右派、大洋奴政客萧乾辩护”；岳母万佩兰被逼自缢。天灾人祸接踵而至，他感到“死确实比活着美丽多了”。“哀莫大于心死”，1966年9月4日，萧乾终于给妻子写下遗书：“洁若：新社会固然美好，只是我挤不进去，我先走一步，孩子们只好都托你了。”尽管这次“畏罪自杀”被侥幸救活，他依然是度日如年，挨一天算一天，一直到三年后下放到向阳湖。
At that time, the couple, served at the People's Literature Publishing House, was assigned to the fourteenth company. The villagers were honest and unsophisticated with the traditional virtues of simplicity and diligence. They welcomed warmly these so-called 'stinky intellectuals' who were unable to farm and did not discriminate or bully them. Although the future was uncertain in the Xiangyang Lake, in comparison, Xiao Qian felt settled with the warmth and affection from the family reunion and less denunciation. He was already in his sixties but still worked his fingers to the bone as if he had a strong physique. In the fourteenth company, the squad leader always send heavy work to him as a workhorse with a reputation of "Hercules", which even reached the brother company. Xiao Qian once worked with Feng Xuefeng, the old president of the People's Literature Publishing House, carrying stones to build bridges and pulling carts in hilly terrain. Sometimes after a tiring daytime, he was almost always sent to unload bricks just arrived. One day after work, Wen Jieruo went to his house and said to him: "You should work within your ability range. If you slog all the time, you will collapse with exhaustion sooner or later. You should work carefully and slowly like me." Unexpectedly, another soldier from May 7 cadre school living in the same room heard those words and snitched on him to the company headquarter. As a result, Wen Jieruo was criticized that night at the evaluation meeting , saying that not only did she not make enough effort, but also gave her husband a stupid idea advising him to dawdle.
当时他们夫妇属人民文学出版社，被分配在十四连。咸宁民风纯朴，老乡们具有朴实、勤劳的传统美德。对他们这些不会种田的所谓‘臭知识分子’，都非常热情，并没有歧视、欺生。在向阳湖，虽然前途未卜，但比较之下，能和家人团聚，毕竟多了一份亲情和温暖，而且不至于经常挨斗了。萧乾那时虽已六旬，却有着强壮的外表，他也真不要命地干。在十四连，班排长派活时，总把他当壮劳力使用，于是有了“大力士”的名声，甚至传到了兄弟连。萧乾曾和老社长冯雪峰一道抬石头筑桥，还在丘陵地带拉过车。有时白天累一天，夜里需要一批劳力到湖边，去卸刚运来的砖，也总把他派去。一天下工后，文洁若到他屋去，对他说：“你量力而为吧。这么豁出命去拼，早晚会累垮的。你应该像我这样细水长流地干。” 不料这话给他同屋的另一位“五七”战士听见，向连部作了汇报。当晚在评比会上，文洁若挨了批评，说她不但自己没有使足力气，还给丈夫出馊主意，劝他磨洋工。
More than one year later, the the cadre school of Central Office in Jiangxi Province coined a phrase "four self-sufficiency"slogan,that is, to achieve self-sufficiency in grain, oil, meat and vegetables. The cadre school in the Shanghai suburb started to abolish wages on a trial, and even words came out that they tried to increase the production to pay up the investment for building the cadre school. Naturally Xianning cadre school were not willing to lag behind and put forward the slogan as "heavy rain heavy work, light rain light work", which would be read daily before work. The work would be evaluated after getting off the duty everyday and even included going down to dig ponds in winter leisure. Workmates must line up and shout out:”Every morning before work, must line up, and then shouted out: "Be resolute, no fear of sacrifice, remove all difficulties, to fight for victory!” Side toward the lake to build the paddy field, but also shouted over and over again: "We are not afraid of hardship. We are not afraid to die!" However,the dirtiest and heaviest work fell on the people who had been vetted in the "cowshed". The most unfortunate ones were the “May 7” soldiers like Xiao Qian, who had outward appearance of a heavy build. Whenever there was hard work on holidays or after work, he was always asked to do it. Later, because of physical difficulty, Xiao Qian wrote a letter to his platoon leader: "I have been weaving carpets, delivering goat's milk, and working as a bookstore clerk since I was eight years old, and have suffered from all kinds of hardships, and never fear the physical labor. but now I'm already over the age of 60, I cannot bear to be treated as if I were a young man of twenty years of age."
一年多以后，中办在江西的干校率先喊出“四自给”的口号，即粮油肉菜全部自给，上海郊区的干校开始试行取消工资的办法，甚至还传出要靠提高产量来偿还建立干校时的投资。咸宁干校自然不甘落后，提出“大雨大干，小雨小干”的口号，出工前还要“天天读”，下工后要评比，甚至冬闲也要下去挖池塘。每晨上工前，必排队，然后边喊：“下定决心，不怕牺牲，排除万难，去争取胜利！”边走向围湖造的水田，还要一遍遍地喊：“一不怕苦，二不怕死！” 而最脏最重的活，落在“牛棚”里受过审查的人们身上。最倒楣的还是像萧乾这样外表看来却还蛮硬朗的“五七”战士。只要在假日或工余时间有苦差事，也总少不了让他干。后来因为体力实在吃不消，萧乾便给排长写了封信： “我从８岁起就织地毯、送羊奶、当书店伙计，什么苦都吃过，绝不把体力劳动视为畏途，但而今我毕竟已年过花甲，总不能老把我当作二十几岁的小伙子来使用。”
After this, things were getting better. In 1972 of “Shuangqiang”(rush-harvesting and rush-planting), Xiao Gan's body finally collapsed. The infirmary staff asked him to go to Hot Springs quarter of the city to get an electrocardiogram. On the day of going to the hospital, his wife had to go to work as usual and could not take time off to accompany him. Only Xiao Tong, his son, can help him walk ten miles to Xianning County, and then catch the bus to the hot spring quarter. After check, Xiao Gan was diagnosed with coronary heart disease. When they came back, Xiao Qian was shivering all over. The son took off his only shirt and put it on his father. The wife waited until midnight, and the father and son stumbled back. Wen Jieruo bought soft-shelled turtle, sesame oil, and eggs, etc. from the local fellow, and cook some nutritious food on the homemade kerosene stove to supplement her husband's nutrients. From then on, under the protection of his wife, Xiao Qian never dared to play a tough man in labor, and his reputation as a "Hercules" was gradually forgotten!
打这以后，情况有所好转。１９７２年“双抢”时，萧乾的身体却终于垮了下来。连队医务室要他到温泉城去照心电图。去医院那天，妻子还得照常出工，不能请假来陪他。只能由儿子萧桐搀着走上十里路到咸宁县城，再搭上开往温泉的公共汽车。经确诊，萧乾患的是冠心病。回来时，萧乾浑身瑟瑟发抖。儿子把自己身上唯一的衬衫脱下来，给爸爸披上。妻子翘首候到午夜，父子二人才趔趔趄趄地回来。文洁若向老乡买了甲鱼、香油、鸡蛋等等，在自制的煤油炉上做些“小灶”，为丈夫补充营养。从此，萧乾在妻子的“庇护”下，参加劳动再也不敢逞强，他的“大力士”名声才渐渐被人淡忘了！
Author Profile
Li Chengwai is the first researcher of the May 7 Cadre School in China, an expert in culture research of Lake Xiangyang , a member of the Chinese Writers' Association, a member of the Chinese Society of Poetry, a part-time professor of Wuhan University, and a master’s supervisor of the Party School of the Provincial Party Committee. He has served in key positions of the party and government organizations in Xianning City. He is the founding president of Hubei Xiangyang Lake Cultural Research Association and the honorary director of Xiangyang Lake Cultural Celebrity Museum.
He has opened columns in many national, provincial and municipal newspapers and magazines. He is the author of books such as Intellectuals’ story collections in Xiangyang Lake (People's Literature Publishing House, listed in the bibliography of the postgraduate students of modern and contemporary literature of Peking University), Xiangyang Xuan Poetry Manuscripts (Zhonghua Book Company), and Xiangyang Lake Culture Series (Wuhan Publishing House), etc., among which, "Talking about Xiangyang Lake - Interviews of Cultural Celebrities of the Capital of China" was awarded the Bingxin Prose Prize. Interviews" and available in Japanese translation.
作者简介
李城外，我国五七干校研究第一人，向阳湖文化研究专家，中国作协会员、中华诗词学会会员，武汉大学兼职教授，省委党校硕导。曾在咸宁市直党政机关多家单位任主职。湖北省向阳湖文化研究会创会会长，向阳湖文化名人博物馆名誉馆长。
曾在国家和省市级多家报刊开辟专栏，著有《向阳湖文化人采风》（人民文学出版社，列为北京大学现当代文学研究生书目），《向阳轩诗稿》（中华书局），编著《向阳湖文化丛书》（武汉出版社）等，其中《话说向阳湖——京城文化名人访谈录》获冰心散文奖，有日译本。
Translator Profile
Li Li is a lecturer in College of Foreign Languages, Hubei Institute of Science and Technology. She obtained a BA from Huazhong Normal University majoring in English education, and graduated from University of Wisconsin-Platteville with a master's degree in English education in the U.S.A. She made a one-year visit to Staten Island in the U.S.A. from 2017 to 2018. She has been working as a university English teacher and has long been engaged in the international communication of Xiangyang Lake culture. She is highly proficient in English literature and specializes in English teaching and translation. Currently, she is the director of Hubei Xiangyang Lake Culture Research Association and has translation works as ‘Mr. P.R.C -- Celebrities’ reminiscences of Xiangyang Lake Culture’, etc.
Note:In China, people born in 1949 (the year when People's Republic of China (PRC) was founded) are called Mr. P.R.C.