Chapter 1: Devotion.

“It is mainly because of the unorganised state of the Chinese masses that Japan dares to bully us.” – Chairman Mao



“Not anymore child”, said, Mr.Qing, my father sitting in his wooden chair holding an opened book in his hand. He was teaching me the history of the now the “Pople’s Republic of China”. “ Xi, I need to educate you about revolutionary theory and about the history of our nation so you are among the mass that our Chairman has faith in him.” I ask him innocently can I become like Chairman Mao, he laughs it off and replies “Don’t become Chairman Mao, just be with Chairman Mao”. I thought at that very moment that I’ll work for Mao Zedong and it had just been one year since he came to full authoritative power after fending off Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist party. I asked my father how our country is doing and he sank back in his seat and said, “He has launched a new campaign which bothers me, the Three-anti Campaign and Five-anti Campaign. They are reform movements to rid Chinese cities of corruption and enemies of the state. The result has turned into a series of campaigns that consolidated Mao’s power base by targeting political opponents and capitalists, especially wealthy capitalists.”

For the first time in my short lifespan of 12 years, I could feel a kind of disappointment against the chairman’s policy from Mr.Qing maybe because we were wealthy and housed a lot of wealth. After my regular weekly session of education from my father, I left this week with a suspicion against my father. He has always been optimistic about Chairman Mao and has even sponsored his wars to the extent of being broke in the early years but now his faith was waning. Not good. Chairman Mao is the supreme leader; I am confused about my feelings for my father, he should be devoted to him if he is the supreme leader. What should I do? I switch on the T.V. and watch the acclaimed “ Scenes of City Life” starring Jiang Qing. I like the movie and my respect for Jiang Qing grows twofold. It brought out the various failures of a westernised capitalistic city. I could not finish my food as my thoughts wayward towards the unjust west. Father came to me and said,” Finish the food Xi, think of all the starving children in the capitalist world!”

Chapter 2: Be with Mao.



“ Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.” – Chairman Mao

A gun. Mr.Qing has a gun. I don’t even want to call him my father now. Now I did not even need his help for my education. I devoured books and I loved the fact that they don’t talk back to you or make you feel like you are a disappointment. They just give knowledge. So, once the PRC was built up in 1949, it took around two years to begin the monetary restoration of the country and to bring the economy under central control. With rudimentary government organisations set up to begin the procedure of central arranging, all things considered, propelled by the Soviet Union, an initial Five Year Plan for the improvement of the economy was intended for the period 1953-1957 and Mao wanted it to succeed Soviet Union’s success. Concentrating to a great extent on the making of an industrial base, and predominantly substantial industry at that, agribusiness needed to produce a surplus to empower that creation while utilisation was to assume the last position. The first year of it was an astounding success and I even saw my father talking about Mr Mao in an optimistic tone again but then after his ambitious plan to get the steel production up by 200% and agriculture up by 400%, my father gave his concerns openly to me.

A gun. I forgot about it. I go to my father’s study and pull out the gun from a secret compartment. Why does he need to have secrets? Of course, he’s got something to hide. I pick up the gun and leave a note on the desk. “Meet me outside the house in one hour”.

A lot of people surround me and ask me various questions and I answer them with utter honesty. They began to tie me to the ground. I can only see the feet of people and hear them screaming in the filthiest language against a person coming from inside my house. I know who it is. The corrupt businessman. They tie him next to me and while he pleads to at least let me go but then the truth hits him that I collected them to put the truth about him all out. His eyes are filled with rage.

The leader of this struggle session started grilling my father. My father said of Mao’s policies “He thinks that we can only manufacture that magnanimous amount of volume of steel by having the farmers make them too but what he forgets is who will reap the harvest then? What will we eat? The villages don’t even have enough steel to the point they are putting their steel utensils in earthenware pots and melting them. Mao is happy, yes! But it will create famine in the longer run. I will survive because I have the money to face this crisis but not the poor.” The leader listens attentively and then just smacks one right across his face. He screamed to the crowd ““Long Live Chairman Mao!” Everyone screamed right back. My father accepted defeat. They freed me and started hurling abuses at him. I was apprehensive of his fate. So I sneakily amidst the chaos cut him loose so he would run. He ran. Then he was lying on the ground motionless the next moment. Smoke came out near me, from my father’s gun. Everyone looked at me puzzled and then with pride. The leader came up to and me and said: “ You have to be with Chairman Mao.”

Chapter 3: Ignorance is strength?



“We are advocates of the abolition of war, we do not want war, but war can only be abolished through war, and in order to get rid of the gun it is necessary to take up the gun.”- Chairman Mao

“You know a thing or two about taking up a gun, Xi. Don’t you?” said Chairman Mao. “Yes Mr Mao. Just tell me what to do,” I replied. We were in his private chamber and he was lying on a single bed in the corner with Dr Li, his doctor operating on a recent pain he’s been having. He signalled the doctor to give us some private space. The doctor’s expression changed but he listened and went out of the room. “There are a few anomalies, well maybe not a few but quite a lot. And I want you to take care of them. I want you to give invites to all the intellectuals and ask them to find all the ‘flaws’ in my system and come up with a better plan” he said. I was taken aback at his under confidence about his “Great Leap Forward” plan. For me, it has been a resounding success. When we even went on a train journey to check what famine the so-called intellectuals were talking about, throughout the journey the train tracks were surrounded by crops in the fields. He sensed the hesitation in me and said fiddling with white roses and red roses, “Your father had reservations about this plan too. Your story is told proudly amongst the higher officials. One advice I’d like to give you is stop reading books, you’ll become more unintelligent.” In some part of my heart, I could not accept what he said. Books were the things that taught me everything I know. He continued, “ Soon, you’ll only need to read one book”, pointing to his desk where a pen and papers laid scattered. “Go on, send invites and ask for their honest opinions about my policies and then we’ll meet them in person. White roses or red roses?” I said, “Red.”

40,000 invites were sent to various economists, business people with red roses accompanying the letters. The Pollitt Bureau was brimming with pretentious opinions and it stings me to see so many people against Mr Mao. One of them spoke how the local governments shifted the crops to the fields near the train tracks where Mao’s train was passing. “You are living in a delusion”, he said. If I had the confidence to speak on a mic I would start a conversation, well not really a conversation, but a speech that shows them the mirror about their meaningless lives and how Mr Mao is just trying to take China to greatness. Maybe that’s why my gun speaks.

Mr Mao held discussions and listened to them for hours. He thanked them at the end of it and then he spoke. My eyes were shiny listening to a man that glistened with confidence even after hearing such stark opinions against his policies that he single-handedly came up with even after the Soviets refused us aid and the nuclear weapon. He vehemently spoke “The real reason why my campaign isn’t working is because of such dangerous thinking. Soldiers, kill them all.” My fellow soldiers and I killed all the 40,000 people in the Bureau. If the white roses in Mao’s chambers needed to be converted into red roses for more of these intellectuals we could easily paint them all red. Mao said to us “Chin Shi Yuan Di used to bury 400 scholars alive, people should stop thinking highly of him, I will bury 40,000 compared to his 400. The “Great Leap Forward” plan will take place like it was, no changes, and no compromises. Collectivism is the key.” He came, he listened and he conquered.

While cleaning up and putting the bodies to the burial grounds we searched their clothes and found a lot of things to collect. I picked up a book. It had a big eye catching the attention of my eyes. It looked interesting then Mr Mao’s words about not reading books came to me. Still, I kept the book inside my pocket. It fit perfectly. I wondered why a book is named “1984” when it is 1960 right now.

I took part in another cleaning up of the mess as Mr Mao answered the question why collectivization wasn’t working? He said completing the book he told me about “It is due to the rich kulak peasants who are hoarding grains hence start leading the purge of Kulaks.” I started reading the book after this meeting. I could not stop. It said on the cover “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength,” It sounded so right to me. After a while, Mr Mao agreed to the existence of a widespread famine.

Chapter 4: Realisation

Only a blockhead cudgels his brains on his own, or together with a group, to “find a solution” or “evolve an idea” without making any investigation.”- Chairman Mao.

Should I start an investigation against Chairman Mao? I read this quotation in the “red book” Mr Mao has been writing for the longest while I’ve been seeing him. It is 1964 now. 20 years far away from 1984 but there isn’t much difference to the lives we are living here and what Winston Smith and the people of Oceania were living. Mr.Mao has lost some of its influence in the Pollitt Bureau and China was inching towards capitalism but undeterred and wary of the influence of Communism decreasing Mao launches a series of policies. Mao gathered a group of radicals, including his wife Jiang Qing and defence minister Lin Biao, to help him attack current party leadership and reassert his authority. I remembered Jiang Qing from the movie I saw “Scenes of City Life” and now the plan was to show only her movies which talked about how Mao was this supreme authority and all good. After reading 1984 I understood what Mao was doing. The brainwashing he was planning. Madame Mao now plans the culture of China.

“What are you thinking?” Mr Mao said startling me out of my thoughts. “Nothing sir, I was thinking how this Socialist Education Movement will help us. I don’t quite get you.” Mr Mao stood up from his chair; it seemed like his table’s colour changed from brown to red. He came up to me and explained to me without averting his eyes “The content of this movement or the “Four” Cleanups at beginning is restricted within economic area, referring to cleaning the work points, accounts, warehouse and property in the village, but at last was extended, meaning cleaning the thought, politics, organization and economy in both rural and urban areas.” “The method will expose and aggravate the contradictions between peasants and cadres. For example, the work team encourage and even induce the mass to exaggerate their criticism against cadres, making the cadres humiliated before the mass they ordered before work team came.” Mr Mao was not happy at my picking apart a flaw in his policy.

He changed the topic to Khrushchev’s revisionist attitude and that he went against Marxism-Leninism. He said “ I’ve written these polemics “On Khrushchev’s Phoney Communism and Historical Lessons for the World”, in which I charged that Khrushchev was not only a revisionist but also increased the danger of capitalist restoration.” I nodded and agreed with him, as I knew he did mean for me to read it but just to agree with him blindly. He talked about starting another revolution, a “cultural revolution” he called it.

“I have a grand plan in place Xi. You told me once your father taught you every weekend about China and talked highly of me during those educational stints. Now, what will happen when every child from the age of 5 reads about me and listens to me in the way I really am” He said “In the way I really I am” with a vocal shift that suggested he exactly knew what he was doing.

“Xi, I told you once I write this book you’d never need to read another. Did you read any other book after that?” Mao asked with a stare, which tried to look down through my soul. “No sir,” I replied firmly with Winston Smith and Room 101 on the back of my mind. He didn’t react and just kept staring at me and then he said, “You’re a great man. I expect to rule till 1980’s at least you know, maybe till 1984.”

I smiled proudly for the great leader of China, Mao Zedong and said finally “To read too many books is harmful.”

by Rahul Gaur

First story in the challenge of “a story in 5 days”