Hard Like Water

by Yan Lianke

  When a dog falls into a body of water it doesn’t necessarily drown, and after it crawls back to shore it may bite people even more readily than before, and it may even spread its secret weapon—rabies. This is a revolutionary principle that must be noted. How should one deal with this sort of mad dog? The only way is to mobilize the masses such that they start shouting and fighting as though they just saw a mouse crossing the street, and that way they won’t leave the mad dog any room to maneuver.

  After a few days, I recruited several members of the Cheng clan’s older “Qing” generation who had previously served in the army, including Cheng Qinglin, Cheng Qingsen, Cheng Qingshi, and Cheng Qingwang, together with several members of the clan’s younger “Xian” generation, including Cheng Xianzhuang, Cheng Xianmin, and Cheng Xianfen. I also recruited several clan members who were still in high school or middle school, including Cheng Qing’an, Cheng Qinglian, Cheng Xianli, Cheng Xianqing, and Cheng Xiancui, as well as other residents of the mixed-surname street, such as Tian Zhuangzhuang, Ren Qizhu, Shi Dagou, Shi Ergou, Zhang Xiaoshu, and so forth. In the end, I recruited more than thirty people in all—men and women, young and old. The eldest was thirty-two years old but not yet married, while the youngest was only fourteen and had just started middle school. They all gathered in the courtyard of our house. Everyone was either sitting or standing—some were squatting down hugging their torsos, others were sitting on a bench, and still others were simply sitting on their own shoes. Those who smoked were enjoying cigarettes from the last couple of packs I had brought back from the army, while those who didn’t smoke were eating candy I had bought at the town’s department store. The moon was like water, brightly illuminating the courtyard. A light breeze was blowing, and everything looked very good. I told Guizhi to take Hongsheng and Honghua and go pay our neighbors a visit. Everyone was smoking and eating as they listened to my analysis of Chenggang’s revolutionary situation, my assessment of the dire status of the world revolution, and my enthusiastic promotion of the Chinese nation. None of them had seen much of the world, but they were all full of hope for the revolution. These were all people whose ideals had not yet been realized. When I had summoned them to the meeting, I made sure to address them all as Brother and Sister, regardless of whether I had gone to their house or had simply run into them in the street. I had pulled each of them aside individually and told them to come to my house at seven o’clock that evening. I had said that I had something important to discuss, but specified that they mustn’t tell anyone else about the meeting. In the countryside, people rarely made appointments for specific times and instead would give times of day like “before lunch” or “after lunch,” “at sunset” or “at sunrise.” Accordingly, everyone was startled when I asked that they meet me at precisely seven o’clock. They asked what the matter was, to which I replied that they would know when they came. Then I turned and walked away, leaving behind an aura of suspense. Half of the people I invited arrived at seven o’clock, while the others arrived closer to eight, and I didn’t open my courtyard gate until the moon was already visible overhead.

  Needless to say, I didn’t fail to notify Xia Hongmei.

  In fact, Xia Hongmei was the first person I notified. I waited for her at the temple gate until lunchtime, and when I saw her come out to get some food, I quietly told her that I wanted to convene a town revolutionary mobilization meeting that evening. After I explained in detail the relevant objectives, steps, and methods, she blushed with excitement and declared that she would attend even if it killed her. She said that this meeting might come to be seen as Chenggang’s Zunyi Conference or its Gutian Conference, and that it might one day even be compared to China’s first Communist Party conference, which had been held in 1921 on a boat in the Shanghai harbor—all of which had a deep and historical significance.

  Unfortunately, although everyone else I invited showed up that evening, Hongmei did not. But how could the revolution proceed without her? How could she fail to attend such an important meeting? Was the long lecture I had meticulously prepared not written specifically for her ears? The banquet that I had made with her in mind was missing its most important guest. It was as if I had taken a gift basket to visit a relative but then, upon arriving, realized that the intended recipient was not home. So what could I do? The food was already cooked, and even though the guest of honor had not yet arrived, I still had to be a good host and feed my other guests—the same way that if the intended recipient of a gift is not home, I would still need to leave the gift for him of her. Furthermore, everything was done in order to promote the revolution and must be carried out in accordance with the revolution’s requirements. Love must be contained within the revolution. Revolution is a foundation, and love is a house built upon that foundation. Revolution is a stem, and love is a flower that grows from that stem. Even without Hongmei, I would still pursue revolution. Without her, I would still ignite the fire of revolution in Chenggang. I had to close that room’s door and temporarily let the flower wither! The wave had already arrived, and the ship of revolution had no choice but to weigh anchor and proceed forward. The eagle had already spread its wings, and could not fall again simply because it lacked a wave to ride …

  At eight on the dot, I formally addressed the young people who were eating, smoking, and talking in my courtyard: “Everyone—silence, please. Students, friends, soldiers—silence, please!” When I addressed the young people in this way, they initially laughed at the novelty of it, but then, in accordance with my unusual request, they all fell silent.

  I proceeded to analyze the global and national situation: “An immense thunderbolt has torn open a new world, and the interminable east wind is sweeping away the remaining clouds. Today’s world is in the process of entering a new historical period that takes Mao Zedong Thought as its banner. Under the brilliant illumination of Mao Zedong Thought, hundreds of millions of revolutionary soldiers around the world are attempting to repair imperialism and to subject the entire old world to a process of violent advancement. The four seas are rising, and the clouds are raging; the five continents are trembling, and storms are roaring. Looking around the world, we see battle banners of Mao Zedong Thought flying everywhere, as the tide of revolution surges forward!

  “Even under this unprecedentedly favorable state of affairs, there are still several flies buzzing around the room and bumping into walls. Led by the imperialism exemplified by the United States and the modern revisionism centered around the Soviet Union, assorted reactionary countries are aggressively colluding with one another, forming a new holy alliance that is anti-Chinese, anti-communist, anti-socialist, and anti-revolutionary. It has advanced a crazed counterattack against revolutionary power, and promotes an anti-Chinese current.

  “In China, even in the current socialist historical phase, we still have class division, class conflict, and class struggle. We still have a conflict between socialism and capitalism, and the danger that capitalism will be restored. It is important to recognize the longevity and complexity of these struggles. We must increase our alertness. We must promote socialist education, and correctly understand and resolve issues of class conflict and class struggle. We must correctly differentiate and resolve conflicts between the enemy and the self, as well as class conflicts among the people. Otherwise, our socialist nation will go to the other side. It will change form and undergo a process of capitalist restoration. If that were to happen, history would revert back to the old society, meaning that the people would suffer two rounds of hardship and endure two rounds of punishment.

  “Currently, from the grasslands of Inner Mongolia to Yujia harbor on the Bohai peninsula, from the Gobi Desert in the northeast to the coral reef off Hainan Island in the south, in order to prevent revisionism from usurping the Party leadership and to stop a capitalist restoration, various villages and stockades have already thoroughly committed to class struggle, carried out the three great revolutionary movements, implemented socialist education movements, and are currentl
y reordering the revolutionary class ranks in order to beat back capitalist and feudal counterinsurgencies. In the wind and waves of class struggle, from the cities to the countryside, they are training proletarian revolutionary successors, who will be able to fight external enemies and prevent internal problems. These revolutionary successors will further consolidate the proletarian camp and make it even stronger!

  “Under the current circumstances, and given the current global and national situation, even if revolution has come somewhat late to our remote county, now it is unfolding here too. It has already pulled down a handful of anti-revolutionary agents in the county committee and county government. Political power has been returned to the hands of the proletariat. But here in Chenggang, and in the old Cheng Village, feudal forces are still powerful, and the light of the revolution’s dawn has not yet appeared in the east. Here in Chenggang, the black wall has been built up to the point that it blocks, covers, and smothers all incoming light. Chenggang’s revolution is like the dark night of Chi county, and although the wall of the capitalist class is high, the dawn’s light is already there behind it, and although the mountain of the feudal class is vast, the proletariat has already begun to awaken, and there are already people who are raising their fists in revolution.

  “Meanwhile, Comrade Xia Hongmei from our town of Chenggang—and it is unfortunate that for some reason she was unable to join us tonight—recently went to Beijing, and upon returning she reported that Chairman Mao had received hundreds of millions of young people and had shaken hands with many of them. Xia Hongmei was standing in the first row, and although she did not manage to shake Chairman Mao’s hand, when Chairman Mao was shaking someone else’s hand, his hand inadvertently bumped against hers. When his hand touched hers, it was as if at that very moment Mao Zedong Thought rained down on our western Henan mountain region and onto our town of Chenggang. In order to bring Mao Zedong Thought directly back to Chenggang and its people, Comrade Xia Hongmei was careful not to use the hand that had touched Chairman Mao’s to hold chopsticks or wash her face. However, what response did her enthusiasm for Chairman Mao receive when she returned home? Party branch secretary Cheng Tianqing—who is also my father-in-law—dared bring in three militiamen and Chinese doctors, who claimed that Xia Hongmei had gone mad and needed to be forcibly confined to bed, where they applied twenty-seven acupuncture needles to her head and hands. What kind of behavior is this? This is the reality of a crazed counterattack on the part of the capitalist class and feudal forces against the revolution and the revolutionary proletariat. This is a despicable display of collusion between international anti-revolutionary forces and a small cohort of domestic anti-revolutionary reactionaries.

  “In sailing across the ocean, we must rely on the helmsman, just as all living things must rely on the sun for sustenance. Rain provides essential nourishment for tender seedlings, and those engaged in revolution must similarly rely on Mao Zedong Thought. Comrades, fellow soldiers, let us sing this most beautiful song as we take action and welcome the dawn light. Let us trample Chenggang’s darkness and welcome the first ray of sunlight on our road to revolution. Plum blossoms delight in a sky full of snow, and it’s not surprising that flies have frozen to death. We have our great, invincible Mao Zedong Thought as our weapon, the strength and unity of our seven hundred million countrymen as our shield, and fraternal production brigades and revolutionary youth to serve as models. As we gaze out at the area around the Great Wall, we see furious fists rise up like a forest. As we look up and down the great river, we see the revolution surging forward like the ocean. Let us shout and surge forward, raise our fists, spread our steps, and open the new era and new road of Chenggang’s revolution!

  “Fellow soldiers, comrades, classmates! The first thing we must do, before the sun comes up tomorrow, is destroy the Cheng Brothers memorial arch, which represents the thought and power of Chenggang’s anti-revolutionary faction. Today, the victorious light of the Cultural Revolution is shining down on the mountains and rivers of our great nation, but here in Chenggang the first place that the sun’s rays touch in the morning is this feudal archway, which means that the first thing that motorists and pedestrians see is not the words LONG LIVE CHAIRMAN MAO but rather the phrase CHENG BROTHERS HISTORIC SITE and the words IMPERIAL EDICT. Moreover, the latter characters are golden and resplendent and were written by hand by an emperor. What does this mean? It means that, even now, feudalism dares to defy socialism and dares to wage war against us. Fellow soldiers, comrades, with power to spare we must pursue the fleeing enemy, and cannot simply seek fame like the hegemon-king Xiang Yu. Let’s come together and attack corruption, bind the black dragons, quell the tigers and leopards, and pursue the enemy. Let’s destroy this stone archway, destroy the Party branch, and recover the Chenggang production team’s political power!

  “After retrieving our political power, we can select new village cadres based on everyone’s revolutionary performance and ability. We can reconstitute a village committee, and whoever is able to serve as village chief can serve as village chief, whoever is able to serve as production team leader can serve as production team leader, and whoever is able to serve as militia battalion commander can serve as militia battalion commander. We need to replace everyone—from every production team’s accountant to its leader, from the waterworks official charged with overseeing the irrigation canals to the scorekeepers charged with keeping track of the work points for each production team—we need to replace everyone! All political power must be handed to the revolutionaries. Even the watchman charged with guarding the fields and the forest ranger up in the mountains—even those positions must be taken by our revolutionaries or their relatives. After Chenggang’s revolution succeeds and political power is restored, and after we manage to seize and accumulate revolutionary experience, our next step will be to use our victory to seize power in the Chenggang town government. The town government complex happens to be located here in Chenggang Village, but we definitely cannot permit revolutionary youth from other production teams to come and seize the government’s great seal. We cannot permit youth from production teams in Liu Village, Zhuang Village, Datour, or Xiaotour to direct us. Instead, we must make every effort to cultivate ourselves into national cadres, into red revolutionary successors. We must administer and lead the members of Chenggang’s seventeen communes, as well as their administration and general affairs.

  “Comrades, fellow soldiers, classmates, the revolution requires that we endure hardship and sacrifice. It requires that we set aside our personal and family interests, and continually fight selfishness and repudiate revisionism. It asks that we support collectivism and fight individualism. However, the revolution is also capable of considering everyone’s personal and family interests. As of tonight, everyone who takes part in an ordinary revolutionary activity will get credit for a full day’s work after having worked for only half a day. For coming tonight we will give everyone ten work points. Everyone who takes part in some extraordinary revolutionary activity—such as destroying the memorial archway tomorrow morning—will receive twenty work points. Everyone who brings a steel tool like a shovel or hammer tomorrow will receive two work points, and everyone who brings an ordinary tool like a spade or a hoe will receive one work point. I, Gao Aijun, will record all of these work point allocations in my notebook, and after the production team is replaced in a few days, I will immediately notify the local production teams, so that your work points may be transferred to the correct team.

  “Fellow soldiers, comrades, today’s meeting of the Chenggang production team revolutionary mobilization is hereby concluded. Let us forge ourselves into red successors of the proletariat revolution. Let each of us temper ourselves into steel while standing in the storm of class struggle!

  “After everyone leaves this meeting and returns home, you must all remain vigilant and mustn’t reveal the intentions of our meeting to anyone. You mustn’t oversleep tomorrow, and even while asleep you should keep the revolutio
n in your heart. At six o’clock sharp, everyone should meet at the front of the village and wait for my directions.

  “Please leave now, but tread lightly when walking along the village roads. You don’t want to make a ruckus and risk having our class enemies notice our activities.”

  At this mobilization meeting, I felt as though I were at a mass study session. I spoke in a mix of local dialect and military-accented Mandarin. I enthusiastically lectured nonstop for an hour and half, sounding as though I were reciting everything from memory. Having prepared by reading the newspapers and studying for three days, I was able to speak fluently, gushing tirelessly for ninety minutes. Although I knew I spoke well, I hadn’t realized that I was able to speak that well. While in the army, my commanding officer often said that I had what it takes to become an officer, and my instructor said that I had what it takes to become an instructor, though our regiment commissar didn’t say that I had what it takes to become a commissar. That night, I lectured until the youths from the production team were stupefied, awed by my talent and ability. I wanted to make them feel as though I had gone to Anyuan with Mao Zedong, and that they were all revolutionaries who had been sent to Chenggang by exemplary higher-ups. In the past they had always heard my father-in-law ramble on in his heavy accent, but when they heard me speak that night, it was as if, while eating a meal of coarse grain, they suddenly took a bite of rice syrup.