Lushan. 1959. What if? Part One

Once upon a time, Chairman Mao really was once a mortal.   Better yet, first amongst equals.  There was a time when other leaders could stand up to The Chairman.  Without fear of punishment. Or retribution. They could offer up alternative points of view, discuss their supposed disagreements, than go home without fear of being arrested, sent to the countryside, or beaten up by a bunch of student thugs. 

While this window was starting to close even before 1949, it was still a tad bit open in 1959.

An incisive thinker would perhaps ask why the window of “open dissent” had not widened, rather than narrowed, during the time of the 50’s?   After all, had not China suffered a million casualties during the 抗美援朝 war?   What leader could stay in power after that?   Well, an Asian leader could.  (look at Ho Chi Minh during the Vietnamese War…..never ever fight an ignorant Asian populace run by a dictator…democracies cannot win)

The Korean War in effect was a colossal error of judgment on the part of Mao.  He effectively drove himself into the arms of the Russians, and away from those of the West.  While only a few years earlier the Chinese were still talking to the Americans, only a short time later they were killing each other.   This lapse in judgement magnified itself during the 60’s when Russia, with all the leverage in the world, went its own way.   And let’s not forget….Mao lost a son.  Perhaps the only man still alive that could really stand up to his Father.  And quite possibly the Heir to the Throne. 

Nope…none of this hurt Mao’s hold on power.  But the window of vulnerability was still there.

That is, until 1959.  This is when Mao himself realized the emperor has no clothes, looked himself in the mirror…..and shrugged.

So let’s try and revive a bit a series I’d promised to write more about, but….well haven’t.  

 http://mychinakanfa.blogspot.com/2013/07/why-did-china-not-discover-new-world.html
http://mychinakanfa.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-fun-of-asking-what-if.html

 Let’s go back to a time and a place very few Chinese know about today.   In particular those under 30.   As usual, this most momentous time in Chinese History happened with neither warning nor premonition.   The incident must be understood not for what transpired, but for why it transpired.  Those seeking an understanding of Chinese History from 1960 onward may start here. 

Mao, despite the widely understood stupidity of his actions during the Korean War, gained untold prestige by “standing up” to the United States and its Allies.    Yes, there were casualties, a massive blood shortage, as well as the death of Mao’s only remaining, capable son.  China’s vaunted professional army had been annihilated. In the end, China’s army was even lacking in shoes.  (It is Ironic that well known “warmonger” and heavily criticized American President, Truman, who without hesitation dropped not one but two atomic bombs on Japan, chose “peace over victory” in fighting the Chinese Army, is it not?)

 Still, Mao had saved “a comrade”, none other than the Government of North Korea. (The current day population of China “forever thanks you” Mr. Mao)  Unbeknownst to him, he had also saved Chiang Kai Shek(CKS).  Truman, born amongst men rather than above them, had developed a finely tuned ability to sense a hustler from afar, and had basically abandoned Taiwan to the whims of China. 

If Mao had simply retired in the 50’s, (say 1956?), he would have gone down not only as the Savior of China, but also as a the Man who United China.  But Men with Power being as they are, surrounded by sycophants and an obedient Press, were still all too vulnerable once human nature intervened and China paid the price.  (Somebody once said Gettysburg was the price the South paid for the leadership of General Lee.  The Great Leap Forward was the price China paid Heaven for Mao) 

As such by the late 50’s, Mao, with his whimsical schemes such as the Great Leap Forward, had brought China not on a par with the West, but more to a barely subsistence level, with tens of millions of people dying of starvation.  This had greatly damaged the reputation of Mao, even amongst his “revolutionary comrades”.  

As such by the time 1959 rolled around, a regularly scheduled conference was to take place at a resort  called Lushan.  China Enthusiasts all know what transpired here.  The Conference was called to discuss this so called Great Leap Forward, and all its Folly. 

The Chairman had made it plain that free discussion would be welcome.  Constructive Criticism with Chinese Characteristics.   This did not happen.

The instigator of Mao’s problems was a straightforward peasant with the name of Peng Dehuai.   A blunt “can do” man with little patience for fools or theory, in many ways he was the Fly in Mao’s Soup.  A skeptic, perhaps even a devil’s advocate, but certainly not the “rah rah” type.   He more than most understood that China needed competent men to manage China successfully, not mere theorists or politicians.   In short, he was a military man of great ability, very akin to Russia’s Zhukov. 

Peng Dehuai’s flaw though was fatal.  He was the Commanding General of China’s “Volunteer Army” in Korea.  And it was on his watch that Mao’s son was killed.  (don’t tell me it didn’t matter….when push came to shove, it did)

It was Lushan during this gathering of party leaders that Peng gave a letter to Mao criticizing the direction of the country.  Before doing this Peng was keen enough to gain a general consensus of agreement with the various Party Elders.  There were many.  Nearly all of them agreed China was on the road to ruin.   None of them had the guts though to tell this to Mao.  No one.  (this is where Mao’s son might have come in handy) With this air of confidence the letter was given to Mao while he was sleeping.   3 days passed.  Mao finally read the letter.  He had it circulated.  This surprised Peng.  He had felt it was private. 

The contents of the letter showed despite his abilities, how naïve Peng was.  Perhaps the most critical error was the unexplainable reference to himself as Zhang Fei, the competent warrior with a short temper.  Peng surely must have known that Mao considered himself a modern day version of Cao Cao, an opponent of Zhang Fei’s from the famous early Battle of the Red Cliffs.   This reference was without question confrontational and only fueled Mao’s anger. 

Mao met with the Party Elders.  Peng was present.  Mao basically called Peng a traitor of both the Communist Party and an opponent to the Policies of Mao.  Which were the same.

What Mao had not known was that the room was full of Peng’s supporters. Overwhelmingly so.  It was at this moment that China stood at the brink of change.  A true crossroads.  Which direction would China take?  Mao was outnumbered and didn’t know it.

Mao ranted, threatened and cajoled.   Mao was no Creature of the State.  By this time Mao was China.  To better unify the Nation, the revolutionary leaders had deliberately decided to launch a Cult of Personality for Chairman Mao.   In time, the stature of Mao simply became too great.   Too dangerous to destroy.   For to get rid of Mao was to conceivably put the stability of the CCP’s grip over China at risk. 

Nevermind Khrushchev had only recently a few years earlier given his Secret Speech about Stalin, vilifying his own cult of personality.  Nevermind that Mao had opposed this speech and its publication within China as it would threaten his own ascent.  (His own business model, if you will.)

In times like these the difference between democracies and dictatorships come into clear and ugly 

focus :  The French got rid of the House of Bourbon.   The American’s broke up the Rockefellers.  The British even dumped Churchill. 

Mao’s policies within the inner circle of China’s leadership were irrelevant.  It simply mattered not what Deng Xiaoping, or Zhou En Lai thought of him.  Or Liu Shaoqi.   The wisdom…or the foolishness of his thinking was not important.  The only thing that mattered was what the peasants and the army thought of him.

Mao insinuated regardless of his policies….if he was not too be trusted, or followed, or believed, he would resign. Quit!  He would return to the countryside and form a new army of peasants.  And the Army was full of peasants, right?   He would march on Beijing. 

And the cadres in that room knew what that meant.  Now was their time!   Unified as ONE they could dispose of Mao…..

The Party Leaders sided with Mao.  

This fateful decision not only cursed China, a nation still on its heels still after 130 years, to another twenty years of backwardness, but also sealed the fate of every single leader in that room, with the exception of Zhou Enlai.   

The Chinese are infamous for their decidedly condescending attitude towards  American History. But if they had simply taken a cursory overview of its early beginnings, perhaps they would have come across one of Benjamin Franklin’s early sayings from 1776 when America’s Revolution was in the throes of crisis, "We must indeed all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately."

Indeed, over time, throughout the 60’s and into the 70’s, they all “hanged” separately, one by one.

Peng Dehuai was deposed.  He eventually died in prison.  Liu Shaoqi the President of China died naked on a cold cement floor in a prison cell. 

Looking back now it’s blindingly obvious what China should have done.  Why did China’s leaders lack the courage?  The Unity? 

Their inability to collectively stand up and dispose of Mao in 1959 cost millions of lives down the road.  The Great Famine was in its second year.  The Cultural Revolution was just around the corner.   

The Vietnam War. 

The inability of Chinese Leadership to NOT “retire” Mao in 1959 is one of the great acts of historical cowardice over the past century.   The difference between great nations and not great nations is the occasional ability of its leaders to rise up and do unpopular things.  And in this regard, China’s leadership must be held accountable.    Lazy intellectual scholarship will point to Mao as the culprit behind all of China’s trouble from 1959 to 1976.   But we all know the reason a kid is fat is not because of the kid, but because of the parent that gave him the candy.   The reason a 16 yr old girl is pregnant is not necessarily because she couldn’t wait to spread her legs to her boyfriend but because her parents didn’t keep her at home doing her homework and him away.  

No.

China’s leadership….from Liu to Deng to Peng are all the reason why China endured the Hell it did.  And they will never be held accountable.  Don’t blame Mao.  Blame them.