Chapter 67 Five meeting with relatives

The people can forgive, but the question is whether they can be a decent person. I understand this truth from this visit, and it's not just this truth.In the past, even on the day I started to visit, I still looked at the relationship between the government and the masses today with old eyes, thinking that there is no such agreement and mutual trust between any government and the people as mentioned in the book.I always think that the reason why the Communist Party has such a powerful army and powerful government is the result of its clever means and good at winning people's hearts.It is from this view that I fear that I will be sacrificed when the crowd is outraged.Now I understand that the reason why the people support the party and believe in the party is really because the Communist Party has done countless good things for the people. These good things are impossible and unwilling to be done by any dynasty in history.Make nutrition design for the miners who used to be called coal sunspots, use the energy of the entire party organization to declare war on the gas for the safety of the miners, let the fate of the Daguan Hotel become a night scene of playing chess and enjoying flowers, let 80% What kind of government can and is willing to do these things if bachelors move from big houses to new ones, and make brothels, gambling halls, and opium dens that have existed for centuries disappear from society in the past?

In the past, I sometimes thought this way: Maybe only the poor benefit in the new society, those who have money, those who have status in the old society, those who have connections with people like us, and the minority outside the Han nationality Nationality, I am afraid that they are not satisfied.It wasn't long after my visit that I saw my relatives with my own eyes, and it dawned on me that this was still old, outdated vision.It turns out that those who are satisfied with this new society and those who have found their future in the new society include such a broad class, which is unprecedented in history.

The correspondence between us and our relatives began in the summer of 1955.From letters from home, people know that their relatives are not discriminated against because they are criminals, that some of their children are in school, some are working, some have become experts, some have joined the Communist Youth League, and some have even joined the Communist Youth League. communist party.Many people were greatly encouraged by the letters from home, and further realized the significance of social changes to them.However, there are still some suspicious people who still have mixed doubts and beliefs, and there are even some people who base their prejudices on it and make false interpretations.Lao Zhang, a former general of the Puppet Manchukuo, received his first letter from his son.The first sentence of this letter is written like this: Mr. Zhang: I’m sorry, I can only call you this, and I can’t use other words. After reading the letter, Lao Zhang was very sad and almost mentally ill.Many people complained about him, and some people secretly said: Isn't this the youth educated by the new society?In the new society, if the father goes to jail, the son will not want him.I couldn't help but think of what Chen Baochen said about the Communist Party being ruthless and ungrateful.Lao Liu, a former puppet general in the same group as Pu Jie, has always believed in nothing in the new society.He misses his daughter very much and is afraid that she will be discriminated against in society.His daughter wrote to him and told him that her life was good, she had joined the league, received care from the organization, and had many good friends. Now her long-cherished wish has been fulfilled, and the state has assigned her to the Art Academy according to her first choice for further education.After reading the letter, he shook his white hair and said, "It's absolutely true. If you don't ask me to see it with my own eyes, I still won't believe it."These problems have all been solved since 1956, and in my opinion, what has been solved is not just the problems of one family, but the problems of the entire nation and the entire next generation.

On March 10th, that is, the third day after the visit, the guards notified me and Pu Jie, my third brother-in-law, fifth brother-in-law and three nephews to go to the director.We walked into the director's reception room, where we unexpectedly saw the seventh uncle Zaitao and the third and fifth younger sisters who had been separated for more than ten years. Looking at my uncle who is as strong as before and my sisters in cotton uniforms, I seem to have entered a dream. Zai Tao is the only surviving person among my direct relatives and elders.In the 1954 elections, he was elected to the National People's Congress as a representative of more than two million Manchus.He is also a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.He told me that a few days before he came to see me, at the second session of the National People's Congress, he saw Chairman Mao.Premier Zhou Enlai introduced him to the chairman, saying that this is Mr. Zai Tao, Pu Yi's uncle.The chairman shook hands with him and said: I heard that Pu Yi is studying well, you can go and see them

When Uncle Qi said this, his trembling voice was submerged in the choking sound, and my tears could no longer be stopped.The whole family wiped away their tears, and Nephew Rui even cried aloud From this meeting with the family, I understand that not only I have been saved, but our entire Manchu and the Aixinjueluo clan among the Manchus have also been saved. Uncle Qi told me that the registered population of the Manchus before liberation was 80,000, but today it is 30 times that number. I understand the significance of this number change.I know what happened to the bannermen under the Beiyang government and the Kuomintang after the 1911 Revolution.At that time, if the Manchus did not pretend to be Han, it would be very difficult to find a job.Since then, the descendants of Aixinjueluo have been named Jin, Zhao, Luo, and my father's family in Tianjin has been named Jin.After liberation, more and more people recognized themselves as ethnic minorities every year.After the promulgation of the constitution, all the Manchus were registered, so there were 2.4 million, a number that even the Manchus themselves were unexpected.

I still remember the grief and indignation I felt when the Tanglin incident happened, and I still remember the vow of revenge I made to my ancestor's spirit tablet.As a self-confessed descendant of Fokulun and a representative of the revived Manchu nationality, I have not only failed to reverse the fate of my own race, but only hastened the arrival of this fate.It was only after the collapse of the Japanese group that claimed to support the Manchus and me, whose vocation was to restore the ancestral property, that the descendants of the Manchus and the Aixinjueluo family had a reliable future.From 80,000 to 2.4 million, this is a proof!

This historic change includes the descendants of Aixinjueluo, the past Taobeile and the past Sangege and Wugege. Seventh Uncle is sixty-nine years old this year. He is physically strong and energetic, and I can hardly see that he is old.I don't even think his habit of talking to me has changed.After liberation, he participated in the horse administration work of the People's Liberation Army when he was nearly seventy years old, and worked enthusiastically on the Northwest Plateau for a period of time.His face lit up as he spoke of these activities.He also told me that he was planning to go to other places to inspect the work of ethnic minorities in order to fulfill his responsibility as a representative to the National People's Congress.Mentioning these, his face became even more radiant.

When the number drops to 80,000, which Manchu old man's face can shine? When the People's Liberation Army first entered Beijing, many Manchu elders were uneasy, especially the descendants of the Aixinjueluo family, who were still apprehensive and anxious after reading the eight chapters of the contract.Most of these old people living in Beijing have never been upstarts in Manchukuo and Wang Jingwei’s government, but there are also some people who can’t forget their status as aristocrats and give up their superstition for me, so after I became a prisoner, they are more than old people. The era is even more disturbing. Coupled with the deteriorating Manchu population and their own desolation, their life is bleak and dull, and they have no illusions about the People's Liberation Army.The first thing that surprised them was hearing that the Northeast People's Government had set up a special school for Manchu children. Later, they saw Manchu representatives walking into the Huairen Hall and sitting in the National People's Political Consultative Conference with people from all walks of life. Participated in discussions on the Common Programme.Then, officials from the people's government came to many of them from their homes, visited them, invited them to be representatives of the local CPPCC, asked them to express their opinions for the Manchus and themselves, and asked them to provide their talents for the construction of a new society. .In Beijing, the descendants of my great-grandfather (Emperor Daoguang) and the children of the three branches of Prince Dun, Prince Gong, and Prince Jin, except for the younger brothers of the Seventh Uncle’s family, the others are all in their sixties. above the elderly.My cousin Puyi (named Xuezhai, grandson of Prince Dun Yichen, son of Dorobel Zaiying), is good at painting, calligraphy and Guqin. Guqin, who was already facing the doom of dying out, not only can enjoy the beloved ancient art with his old and new friends at the shore of the North Sea one day a week, but also sees the essence of ancient national music from his young disciples. youth.He was elected as the vice president of the Guqin Research Association, the president of the Calligraphy Research Association, was invited to a district CPPCC, and was also a painter at the Chinese Painting Academy.Pu Ling's brother, Pu Ling, was also an old painter, and was also hired as a painter at the Beijing Academy of Chinese Painting at this time.His uncle and brother Puxiu (Zai Lian's second son) is Rui's nephew's uncle. He once did a walk in the Qianqing Gate. When I was in Changchun, I entrusted him to take care of the property in Tianjin. All mobility, living in poverty and helplessness.After liberation, his experience and the living historical materials in his belly were valued by the new society, and he was hired as a librarian of literature and history.This kind of cultural and historical museums are generally set up all over the country. There are juren and scholars in the former Qing Dynasty, witnesses of various events in various periods from the Beiyang government to the Chiang Kai-shek dynasty, participants in the Xinhai Revolution and earlier Tongmenghui events, and the latest The last witness to the inside story of the feudal court.After they obtained a large amount of precious modern historical materials, they also contributed their strength to the new society in their later years.Brother Xiu, who is blind in both eyes, has confidence in life, recalls the historical materials of the Qing Dynasty contentedly, thinks up a paragraph, dictates a paragraph, and someone else records it on his behalf.

These phenomena, which have been regarded as normal by the new society, are very fresh and impressive news to me.But what impressed me more strongly and fresher was the changes in my younger sisters that I saw with my own eyes. Six months ago, I corresponded with my younger brothers and sisters in Beijing. From the letter, I felt that my family was changing, but I never seriously thought about this change.During the Puppet Manchukuo era, except for the fourth brother, sixth younger sister and seventh younger sister, the rest of the younger brothers and sisters lived in Changchun, and they all fled to Tonghua with me when the collapse occurred.After I became a prisoner, I worried that these younger sisters would be discriminated against because of their status as family members of traitors.The husband of the second sister is the grandson of Zheng Xiaoxu, the husband of the third sister and the fifth sister is the younger brother of the queen, and the other is the son of Zhang Xun's chief of staff. They are all lieutenant colonels of Manchukuo.The fourth brother-in-law's father was the prefect of Shaoxing who was famous for killing Qiu Jin in the late Qing Dynasty.These brothers-in-law are either military officers of the puppet Manchukuo, or officials of the puppet regime. Only the sixth brother-in-law and the seventh brother-in-law are two well-behaved scholars, but will they be dragged down by the brother of the traitor leader?I have no idea.Such concerns are common to fellow prisoners, and mine are greater than theirs.Later in the correspondence, I realized that this concern was completely unnecessary.The younger brother and younger sister have the same employment opportunities as others, and the children can enter school, go to higher education, and enjoy stipends just like other children. In addition to being a sewing worker, Sanmei is also a social activist, and was elected by the neighbors in the street as a security committee member.Although they cook and take care of their children by themselves, the emotions expressed in their letters are always satisfied and happy.I am relieved.Now, seeing them and hearing them talk to their husbands about what happened after the farewell reminded me of the past.

I still remember my fifth brother-in-law Lao Wan opened his big eyes and asked my fifth sister: Are you really good at riding a bicycle?Can you still sew?This was a question that surprised him after he received her letter, and now he asked her again.His surprise was well-founded.Who would have imagined that he didn't even dare to run when he was a child, how many servants and maids served him when he grew up, Wugege, who has never been in the kitchen or touched scissors, can ride a bicycle to work today, and can pick up scissors to cut clothes, What about becoming a self-reliant female sewing worker?

What surprised our academic committee director even more was that his wife answered so naturally: what's so strange about that?Isn't that better than nothing? You know, if Wu Gege said this in the past, not only relatives and friends would laugh at her, but even she herself would feel ashamed.Back then she was only supposed to know how to dress up.She knows how to play mahjong and behave according to the standard, but now, she picked up the scissors, rode a bicycle like a man, and lived a self-supporting life. The third sister has more experience than the fifth sister.After Japan surrendered, she did not return to Beijing immediately, because her child was sick, so she stayed in Tonghua with two nannies.The property was gone, and she was afraid that the small belongings and her own identity left behind would attract attention, so she set up a cigarette stand in Tonghua and sold old clothes.During this period, she was almost deceived by Kuomintang agents. She was tricked by a businessman who gave her wholesale matches that didn't work.After going through these unusual lives, she did not return to Beijing until 1949.After liberation, there were meetings on the streets, and she continued to attend, because she had contacted the People's Liberation Army and the People's Government in the Northeast, and she knew some government policies, gained the trust of her neighbors, and was elected to do street work.The happiest job she talked about was promoting the new marriage law This experience may seem ordinary to others, but it was quite a surprise to me.Her past life was even more delicate than Fifth Sister's. She only knew how to play and act like a baby to me every day. Whenever she heard that I gave someone something, she always asked me to ask for a reward. San GeGe, who was thankful for his reward, became a social activist?At first glance, it sounds incredible.But this change is understandable.I understand why she was so active in promoting the new marriage law, and why she cried when she read the newspaper to her neighbors, because I believe what she said: What was I before?It's a display! In the past, although she had a certain level of education and was a lady in name, her life was actually empty and poor.When she lived with her third brother-in-law in Japan, I wrote to ask her to tell me about her daily life, and she wrote back: I am sitting in the house now, with the servant girl ironing the clothes by the side, and the old servant watering the flowers outside the window. The puppy squatted with its eyes wide open, staring at the box of candies, and was speechless.Now, life has opened her eyes and enriched her thoughts. When the neighbors are eagerly waiting for her to read the newspaper, she feels that she has the meaning of existence. She later talked about such an experience: In Tonghua, one day the militiamen came to me, saying that the common people were in a meeting and asked me to explain.I was terrified, I thought the fight would be scary.I said, please forgive me, you can ask me to do anything.Later, when I met the cadres, they said that there is no need to be afraid, the common people are the most reasonable.I couldn't help it, and when I got to the mass meeting, shaking with fright, I told people about my experience.There were a lot of people at that meeting, and some people heard about seeing Huanggu, and they all came.After I finished speaking, people began to chatter, and then someone stood up and said: She has done nothing wrong herself, and we have no objection.Everyone agreed after hearing it, so the meeting was adjourned.Only then did I know that ordinary people are the most reasonable. Her last sentence was something I only just understood.And she figured it out ten years ago. On the second day of the meeting, I happened to receive a letter from my second sister, saying that her eldest daughter, a second-year student in a physical education college, has become an excellent amateur car trainer and recently completed the Long-distance training from Tianjin to Hankou.She told me in a happy tone that not only the daughter who was a young lady 12 years ago has become a good athlete, but the other children have also become excellent students.When I told Sanmei about this.Fifth sister, they wiped away their tears again and told the story of their children.Here, I found that this is the real change in Aixinjueluo's fate. I once made a statistic based on the 1937 revised Jade Document and the materials provided by my younger sisters and younger brothers.Aixinjue Luo's Chun Wang branch counted from Zai Zi's generation, infant mortality and underage mortality rate was 34% in the late Qing Dynasty, 10% in the Republic of China, and 10% in the ten years after liberation. zero.It would be even more shocking if the underage mortality rate of Aixinjueluo's family was calculated.Counting only the descendants of my great-grandfather, the underage mortality rate of the Zaizi and Puzi generations is 40% for boys and 50% for girls, and the total is 45%.Among the premature deaths, those under the age of two accounted for more than 58%.This means that out of every ten descendants of Emperor Shuoguang, four out of ten descendants died prematurely, and most of them died before they were two years old. When I met Uncle Seven and my sisters, I hadn’t done this statistics yet, but when I heard my sisters pointing their fingers at each child’s different situation in the past, I couldn’t help but think of my uncle who was so loved by my grandmother that he starved to death. , the eldest sister who died at the age of seventeen, the third brother who died before the age of two, and the series of unnamed patterns I saw on the jade document (died before I could name them).The problem is not just the number of deaths and growth. Even if every child grows up and can do nothing but carry a birdcage, or see no future except for dropping out of school or being unemployed, it is nothing more than a short life. the meaning of.In the period of the Republic of China, the fate of most of the children of the Eight Banners was exactly like this.Every day for the elders, apart from sneaking out the back door with the birdcage, they just sat and drank tea early in the morning, and at lunchtime, they put on ten or eight plates of dried radish sticks and dried tofu. They don't know what to do; the younger generation rarely know what to learn besides paying respects, serving the elders, and following the example of the elders.In the end, I was sitting on nothing, unable to find a job, or had some talent but no job, and the result was still desperate.I know a lot about this kind of thing, and now it's all changed!From this meeting, I deeply felt the fate of our next generation, how different it is from the previous generation, and the treatment they received was beyond my expectations.A younger brother and six younger sisters in Beijing, a total of 27 children, except for those who have not yet reached school age, are all studying in school, and the oldest has entered a university.My seventh uncle has sixteen grandchildren and great-grandchildren and great-grandchildren: the 28-year-old eldest grandson is a technician at a hydropower station; one granddaughter is a student at a military medical university; North Korea returned from demobilization and transferred to university; one granddaughter is a literary and art worker in the People's Liberation Army; except for children who are in school or employed, none of them is idle.In the eyes of this generation, the previous generation's life of walking around, letting eagles go, and shopping in baskets has become a joke. The next generation also has an exceptional fate, which is Pu Jie's daughter living in another society.He had two daughters, the oldest of whom was eighteen years old, living in Japan with their mother.Nine months after our meeting with relatives, Pu Jie's wife sent a sad news from Japan that the eldest daughter committed suicide with a boyfriend because of relationship problems.Afterwards I heard various tales, and no matter how they were told, I believed that the boy was as unfortunate as my niece.In different times and in different societies, the destinies of young people are so different. From this year onwards, the management office kept coming to visit relatives.It is worth mentioning that Old Liu, a stubborn skeptic, saw his daughter who was an art student, and saw the son-in-law brought by her daughter. The daughter said to him: You still don't believe it, Dad?I'm in art school!This is my friend!He said: I believe it. The daughter said: Do you understand, if it were not for the leadership of Chairman Mao, would I be able to enter the Art Academy?Can I have today's happiness?He said: This also understands! The daughter said: I understand, you have to study hard and reform well! What Lao Liu understood, Lao Zhang also understood.He almost went crazy because his son called him Mr.Then his daughter came to see him, and brought a letter from her son, which he showed to almost everyone: Dad: I understand now, I had left emotions.The education given to me by the group organization and the criticisms given to me by comrades are completely correct. I shouldn’t treat you like that. Do you have any difficulties in your studies?I think you must use gold pens in your studies. I bought one and asked my sister to bring it.