The Long March. Sun Shuyun

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СКАЧАТЬ happiness got to do with it? When so many people were suffering, how could you be happy? I couldn't,’ she reminded me, before she went inside to make more tea – her daughter had gone to the market to get things for supper.

      A thought did occur to me, fleetingly: did Wang sign her husband up because she knew that would be the surest way of getting rid of him? As we say, bullets are blind. I was wrong. When she returned with the tea and biscuits, Wang said that her husband died from tuberculosis while she was busy recruiting in Gangxi County. He was desperate to prove he was worthy of her affection, and he exerted himself as a scout for the Red Army. His last words were: ‘Without seeing her, I cannot even close my eyes in death.’

      I was ashamed I had even contemplated such a thought. It would have been to misjudge Wang entirely. I could not think myself into the degree of dedication she had attained. For her, and many of her generation, personal happiness and physical desire did not count – they were submerged in the excitement she felt for the Revolution. Yes, she had another recruit, and would be praised for it. But her innermost feeling was devotion – to the people and ideals that promised to lift China out of the oppression she saw all around her, and had been subjected to herself. I remembered the slogans and exhortations that filled our school books: ‘Communism is higher than the sky. Sacrifice everything for it.’ For me, they were just slogans; for Wang, it was faith.

      My respect for Wang increased later when I pieced together how much she was up against, from memoirs, interviews and government archives of the 1930s – when the Communist Party was still quite open about its strengths and weaknesses. At the time, it was not unusual for women to threaten their husbands with divorce if they signed up for the Red Army. Others went a step further. Ruijin had a hospital for disabled soldiers and it became a favourite haunt for women looking for husbands. Their reasoning was simple: at least their husbands would stay at home. If all else failed, and their husbands were called to the front, they would sleep with any available man. Local women's associations constantly reported to the centre about the problem of ‘women stealing men’. One of the reports read:

      Many wives of the soldiers haven't heard from their men since they joined Mao's and Zhu's Army six years ago. Quite a few have asked for divorce, and if we do not grant it, they will make huge scenes and call us all sorts of names. Or they simply go ahead and sleep with other men and have illegitimate children. What is the most appropriate way to solve this problem?³

      Wang would have preferred harsh measures – otherwise men would all want to stay at home. Much to her disappointment, the Party amended the Marriage Law: women could ask for a divorce if they did not hear from their husbands for three years, instead of six; and the children they bore in the meantime would be recognized as legitimate ‘because they are the masters of our new society’.

      But in the recruitment drive in Shi Village, Wang decided to be tough. She told the old lady and her daughter-in-law to bring in their men from their hiding-places in the mountains – or else they would regret it. She left them in no doubt what the punishments were. ‘We will publicly shame you at the rally tonight. Then we will put posters on your doors, windows and gates, denouncing you as traitors and deserters. All the benefits you have received, food, blankets, clothes and oil, will be returned to the government. And your men will be forced to work on the Red Army soldiers’ land, or be sentenced to a year's hard labour. Please think carefully.’

      The grandmother sat in the front row at that night's execution. After Party secretary Liu was shot in the head, the blood trickled towards her feet across the floor. Her legs were shaking like paddy husks, but she struggled to stand up and offered her two grandsons. Many followed, including two women who signed themselves up. Wang had more recruits than her quota. For the first time in many months, a genuine smile lit up her face.

      I thought I recognized that smile when Wang recounted the final moment of the story, as if she was back in front of the crowds, encouraging, agitating and judging. There was no pity, no regret and no apology. The confidence that the truth was with her was unshakeable. The Revolution was supposed to be for the masses and they were treated like an inexhaustible mine from which the Party could dig everything they needed. It did not occur to them that the peasants could not bear any more burdens. If their support was crucial for the Revolution, as they were told all the time, perhaps their reluctance and even refusal was part of the reason why the Party and the Red Army had to abandon their base in Jiangxi and begin the Long March, to search for a new one. I doubted Wang ever thought this way. She simply did what the Party told her, and did it very well. As it was, she hardly had time to enjoy her success and report it to the Party, when an urgent message came from Ruijin on the evening of 15 October: ‘Important event. Return at once.’

      She set off immediately with the messenger. It was good the moon was almost full, guiding her every step of the way, while she grappled with the mystery of why she had been called back so suddenly. Could it be her delay in meeting the deadline? She had not heard from her boss – it was as if she had been forgotten. She feared she might be thrown in prison, like her friend, or worse, executed.

      ‘If I had to die, better to die in battle, taking a few enemies with me. That would have been worth it.’ Now her mind was all on battles. Suddenly the thought came to her: was a big battle coming? From the early summer, apart from recruitment, she had taken part in another government campaign to borrow or appropriate grain from the peasants. The target was one million dan of rice – almost the entire autumn harvest in the Soviet. They got there in three months, using much the same methods as the recruitment drive.

      At the same time, there was a call for funds: 800,000 silver dollars were issued as government bonds. Everyone must buy them, or donate money. She thought the women's department was very ingenious in asking women to donate their silver jewellery. Perhaps they were inspired by Mao, who noticed this custom in southern Jiangxi. ‘Every woman has silver hairpins and earrings, no matter how poor they are, and bracelets and rings, if they are not starving.’ Women's associations at every level organized task forces and propaganda teams to shame those ‘who are still wearing the symbols of feudalism and bourgeois decadence’. In the end, they collected 220,000 ounces of silver.⁴

      And then, just before she was dispatched to Gangxi County, a memo went out to all counties for 200,000 pairs of extra thick straw sandals and 100,000 rice pouches, to be delivered to the Red Army before 10 October. To her amazement, there was not much resistance; perhaps the peasants would do anything rather than enlist. Some women had written rhymes on pieces of paper and put them inside the sandals; one of them read: ‘With this pair of sandals, you will travel 10,000 li. No matter how high the mountains, and how deep the rivers, you will never stop on the road to revolution.’

      Perhaps a big battle was coming. Otherwise, why did the Red Army need so many soldiers, so many pairs of shoes, and so much money and grain, and all for October? ‘That is it,’ she clapped her hands, giving the messenger a fright. ‘As Father would say, “The fish will either be caught in the net or they'll break it and sink the boat.” ’

      It was early morning, 16 October, when she arrived back in Ruijin. She went straight to see Liu Ying, the Head of the Youth Department, who had sent for her. ‘You were quick. I didn't think you'd be back tonight,’ Liu said, handing her a towel to wipe the sweat off her face. The sisterly concern in Liu's voice assured her that her worst fears were unfounded. All the same, she offered her apologies for missing the deadline. ‘Don't worry, we're in the same boat.’ Liu patted her on the head. She did not fill her own quota. She was summoned back three days ago to choose six staff to go on a major operation. ‘So, there is a big operation,’ Wang cried out with joy. ‘Whether you can take part or not all depends on the check-up tomorrow morning. Report to the General Hospital at nine o'clock.’

      She was in for a shock when she reached the hospital. People were running about, dismantling СКАЧАТЬ