9.1. The Golden Age of My Career
≪ 9. A Life of Wind and Rain | Table of Contents | 9.2. Revolutionary Wind and Rain ≫When I was young, my dream was to become an engineer, and I wanted to aid the nation’s development by contributing my own strengths and abilities. At the time, there was a motto that went, “Master math, physics, and chemistry, then travel the world fearlessly
Chinese: 学好数理化，走遍天下都不怕。
Pinyin: xué háo shù lì huà, zǒu biàn tiān xià dōu bú pà.
The rhyme is moderately clunky after translating.
”. My grades in STEM were good, but as I enrolled into college, I missed my teachers’, friends’, and family’s suggestions to enrol into a scientific programme. Shooting for my dream job, I enrolled into an architectural engineering programme.
I graduated in July, 1963. At the time, I wasn’t able to enrol into any graduate programmes, and I was sent to Chongqing’s institute for architecture, surveying, and design. While working there, I made an impression on my supervisor, and at the start of 1965, the higher-ups relocated me to Panzhihua Chinese: 攀枝花, a city in southern Sichuan. ’s main office of planning and design.
1. Opportunity
At the time, Panzhihua was one of the Third Front’s top-secret projects. I was hired for general and long-term planning under the leadership of Li Feiping Chinese: 李非平. He is known in China for starting and developing the major steelworking projects in the mid-20th century. . The communist party secretary was Xu Chi Chinese: 徐驰 , and they were both greatly experienced and vastly knowledgeable. Each of the project directors were also very experienced: for instance, the director of transportation was none other than the accomplished former governor of Yan'an Chinese: 延安, a city in Shaanxi. , Liu Bingwen Chinese: 刘秉温 . The most talented designers, planners, and architects from all across China had assembled at Panzhihua’s development project, yet even the doctors there had only been recruited from Shanghai.
My immediate supervisor was the head of Chongqing’s institute of metal engineering. One time, he brought several directors (the leaders of various operations) into the cities to give a progress report. During the meeting, since these directors hadn’t actually worked on anything themselves, they couldn’t even clearly report any numbers, and they received vicious criticisms. After the meeting, the supervisor searched for a person that could present clearly, as he was to report again the next day. He ended up choosing me.
Afer receiving the news, I stayed late into the night, and I memorised all of the details for our dozens of industrial and mining operations’ short-term, medium-term, and long-term plans. At the meeting the next day, I didn’t use a script whatsoever besides a handful of figures and charts. I gave a full explanation of our designs and plans that was clearer than morning dew, reciting the hundreds of numbers and dates flawlessly, ultimately earning the high praise of my supervisor. After that, whenever the national leaders (Deng Xiaoping Chinese: 邓小平, an important political figure who eventually succeeded Mao Zedong as China’s leader. , He Long Chinese: 贺龙, a revolutionary and marshall in the People’s Liberation Army. , Peng Zhen Chinese: 彭真, a political leader in both Mao Zedong’s and Deng Xiaoping’s China. , Wu Faxian Chinese: 吴法宪, a soldier and military commander in the People’s Liberation Army. , among others) would come for inspections, I was always the one to receive them. At one point, Chairman Liu Shaoqi Chinese: 刘少奇, a chairman of various national governmental organisations under Mao Zedong. was supposed to come too, but was unable to due to the start of the Cultural Revolution.
2. Boss Peng’s Inspection
In 1965, despite his disgraceful political loss and “purge” at the Lushan Conference
Chinese: 庐山会议
Pinyin: lú shān hùi yì
In short, this was a meeting among the leaders of the communist party wherein they discussed issues with the Great Leap forward. Peng Dehuai’s criticisms following the meeting were interpreted as a political threat, and it resulted in his “purge” from the political sphere.
six years ago, the central government appointed field marshall Peng Dehuai
Chinese: 彭德怀, a military leader that was particularly active during the Korean War.
as the third director of the Southwestern Third Front project. He ended up being one of the officials that came to inspect Panzhihua.
Surprisingly, not only did he receive a cold and impersonal reception, but people even refused to report to him for work. Before Peng Dehuai arrived, An Yiwen Chinese: 安以文 of the Panzhihua City Committee specifically asked me not to give Peng Dehuai any updates on Panzhihua’s long-term plans. I asked, why? An Yiwen said that he was an anti-communist and counterrevolutionary.
The city did provide Peng Dehuai living accommodations, and he went to the mess hall himself to buy food and eat. One time, I wound up right behind him in line, and he even turned around to take a look at me (of course, he didn’t recognise me). My impression of him was deep and memory of him is still fresh. He wasn’t tall and had dark skin; he was solemn and withdrawn; he had a sturdy body and wore military garb, and he had the aura one expects a field marshall to have. At the time, I really wanted to start a conversation with him, but I was also scared he would ignore me. Of course, I was also scared of starting trouble, and because “better less trouble than more
Chinese: 多一事不如少一事
Pinyin: duō yī shì bù rú shǎo yī shì
Literally “One extra bit of trouble is worse than one less bit of trouble”, but the translation can be clunky.
”, I left him alone. I later deeply regretted this, and I should have broken the policy of “a cold-hearted world
Chinese: 世态炎凉
Pinyin: shì tái yán liáng
”.
3. Friendship with the Cadres
Because of my work relations in Panzhihua, I was able to recognise and make friends with a few cadres
Chinese: 干部, pinyin: gàn bù
This was a high-ranking title in the communist party’s heirarchy of civil service. Cadres were generally responsible for upper management, and they were not always members of the communist party.
. They were incorruptible, diligent, and endlessly hard working, and they were invaluable members of the organisation. Moreover, since I tried very hard to protect them during the Cultural Revolution, some of them were able to have genuine heart-to-heart conversations with me, as if I were an old friend. An example was the aforementioned governor of Yan’an Liu Bingwen, with whom I’ve discussed the Yan’an Rectification Movement and the issue of quashing counter-revolutionaries, the problem of Zhang Guotao
Chinese: 张国焘, an early communist revolutionary that struggled for power with Mao Zedong. He suffered a military defeat in Yan’an during this struggle.
, among others.
The deputy governor of Sichuan provience Meng Dongbo Chinese: 孟东波 was introduced to us by the Panzhihua City Committee. When I learned that his son was getting married, I jokingly told him that he had to feed me candy if he wanted me to attend the wedding. Much to my surprise, he really did ship me an incredibly fancy box of gumdrops, and I learned that he acted towards people sincerely and from his heart.
Another time, I wound up on a train with him on my way home to Chengdu. Not only did he invite me out for food, but he invited me to his home as a guest. He said his mother would cook, and that her grilled fish was particularly delicious. At the time, I would never had lived down imposing on an 88-year-old woman and making her cook for me, and I ended up politely declining. His granddaughter Meng Wanzhou
Chinese: 孟晚舟
The CFO of Huawei (as of October 2023). She faced several criminal charges related to bank and wire fraud in 2019, and it was not resolved until the end of 2022. The English Wikipedia page about the case describes how the political climate and timing affected the reactions, especially in China.
was even illegally arrested in Canada, and I hope that she finds a safe and swift way home.
The director Li Feiping was the deputy minister of metallurgy. He was highly capable, was very professional, had an impressive breadth of knowledge, and even wrote excellent calligraphy. He moved to Beijing after leaving Panzhihua, and we stayed in touch through letters and phone calls.
One time, I was in Beijing on a business trip, and I decided to visit Minister Li along the way. Fortunately, Zhongnanhai
Chinese: 中南海
A governmental compound in Beijing where national officials often hold meetings.
had opened its gates for the ministers for a few days, and Minister Li brought me along a tour of the compound. The people around us asked in astonishment, “Who is she? How did she get in?” Minister Li told them that I was his guest, and that I was one of the youngest “National Founding Figures
Chinese: 开国元勋
” from Panzhihua. This praise was greatly exaggerated, and I had never been so flattered.