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Sunday, March 31, 2019

平反之四


平反之四
(1971年4月15日至1978年5月14日)

一去交大 (1978年元月17日)

七点出发,7:45到原无线电系政工组,现在是无线电二系总支办公室。近八点,来了一个教师。他认出我,我问他贵姓,他说他是王逸章(音)。我简单说了来意,他说,吴名堂已调到元件专业去了。而他们眼下的负责人是顾临湘。八点我去元件专业,专业一女教师说,吴名堂是元件专业负责人还未来。等了一会,吴来,我简单说明来意。他说,计算机专业属无线电一系。总支办公室负责人是张宏强(音),总支书记是王明颐(三字确切)。(上面几位老师都很客气)。   
我转而去无线电一系(在中心楼西部东北角)。刚好碰上张宏强来上班。看上去张是一个很忠厚老实的人。从他写字的情况看,文化程度不像十分高。他很客气地接待了我。我简单地谈了来意。他说:正在做在这项工作。正在清理过去的事。他寻问我对过去结论的意见。我特别强调了现在要考研究生,时间紧迫,表格不好填写。这时来了一女老师(看来也是总支办公室的),张向他稍作介绍,她说:知道知道,徐先生来讲过他的事(想来指徐桂芳)。张说:他父亲是叶南熏,是南大数学系的。张又转而问我:你父亲是南大数学系的吧?我说是的。他问,叫什么?我说:叫叶南熏。女教师说:南大来过几次信的。张低声对她说:他这个事,材料找不到了,所以当时我就放在那儿了。

女教师走。张打开笔记本,倾听我对结论的意见。我说:1)结论上首先谈到我父母姐姐都是党员,对我有进步要求,我政治上一贯表现也比较好;但又说父亲是资产阶级知识分子,我深受其影响。我说,这样提现在看来明显是不妥当的,是由于有四人帮的两个估计,认为知识分子都是资产阶级的。张笑了,说:对,对。是两个估计,对,对。我说,2 我的问题,起根发脉,一切都是因为五个字的所谓反标,我不承认,当时弄不下去,就又弄了言论。后来作了鉴定,确认后两字不是我写的。但结论里写的不清楚,说不是我一人写成,这样容易误会是两人合伙写成的。(3 关于在结论中写上我对隔离思想不通,多次逃跑,我也认为是不妥当的。明确否认了我写了反标,我想不通,是理所当然的。当然我多次跑回家去,是太幼稚,是不对的,但不应写进结论。(4 言论涉及陈伯达、江青,现在明显没有什么不对。张说:我们正在清理这些事,你来说了,很好。我们一定抓紧研究,看怎么办,是把情况再研究研究,还是把过去的人都召集了一起开个会,还是怎么样,再研究研究。我说:我决定了要考研究生,现在要填表不好填。学校当时给我发的毕业证和开的工令证明,都是说我19707月毕业,所以我填1965~1970在校学习。但1970~1972不好填。张考虑后主动说:这个问题我们研究一下,看是不是先开个这方面的证明给你。我说:时间较紧。他说他一定抓紧。我说:怕要放寒假了--你们什么时候放假?他说教师是22日。我说:听说别的学校都在处理这些事,南大还成立了落实政策办公室,不知交大是否也成立了。他说:交大没有,但有人负责这方面的工作。

正在这时,来了一个人,总支付书记王松林(音),我心中暗吃一惊。这个人,就是当年我问他姓什么,他不告诉我,第一次隔离时,曾扬言:你如此嚣张,把你交给学生,马上不把你打死!他一来,张立刻站起来,欲将他介绍给我及将我介绍给他,还没开口,这个人就笑容可掬说:认得,认得,他的情况我知道一些。我也赶快站起来,笑容可掬地说:认得,认得,这个老师我面熟。张向他汇报我刚刚谈的情况,对结论的四点意见,他的脸阴沉下来,听着,阴沉着。听完了,他的表情又回转过来。他说:那年我从学校下来到系里,正好碰上他这事,当时老金有一个看法,认为五个字的内容不构成反标,所以就丢到一边去了,让学生去搞了。那时是韩从爱。我说:知道知道,韩丛爱那时是系里的头头,跟我是一个年级的同学。这个人哈哈大笑起来,说:那时候,是学生掌权么。他又问我:你们班有个脸老长的人,叫什么来着?我表示不知他何所指,也回忆不起什么脸长的人。他说:就是说写了后面两个字的人。我说:叫周宏诚。后面两个字后来作了高级鉴定,已确认不是我写的了。这个人说:你的事,我们昨天还谈到。我们再研究研究看怎么办。张说:他目前要考研究生,要填表,不好填写。这个人说:不要填、暂时不要填。张说:填表这个事,他比较着急。复查的事,看来不会那么快。这个人说:不要填,不要填写,暂时不要填写这些。我这才比较弄清了他不要填的大体意思。我说:履历中70~72这段不好填写。张也帮着我说明了一下。这个人沉吟了一下,对张、也对我说:这个问题研究一下,是不是先开个证明给他。这个人又对我说:你不用来跑了,我们研究出结果来通知你。你在什么地方?我说:西安光明低压开关厂。他说:那方便,档案也方便。我说:档案不全,在南大。张向他汇报说:前几年他要调回去,后来又在西安结了婚,又不提调了。(注意:这些我没对张谈及,估计是徐桂芳告诉他们的?) 这个人听了说:那麻烦。那要快就比较麻烦。我说:如有必要可以再调回来吧?这个人说:要快,来回调就比较慢了。不过你既明确告诉我们在南大,这也就好办一些。再说吧,再说吧,你不用再来跑了。说完他走了。     

张勉强向我介绍说:这是总支副书记,叫王松林(音)。我对张说:我最近请了假,专门来跑这个事,希望能尽快解决。张让我留下了电话号码,并让我有事打电话给他;并说,他如不在,可找刘树谋(三字确)。我说:关于考研究生填表事,希望尽快。他说:你本星期晚些时候来(指星期五、六)。至此谈话结束,握手告辞。     

上面是关于谈话的主要关键内容。我还谈了一些大道理的话,诉说苦衷的话,关于南大落实父亲政策,父亲职务,厂工作组对我这事也很关心的话等等,就不写出告诉你们了。   

王松林提及的老金是当时无线电系政工组的。第一次隔离时,王和金是负责我专案的。韩丛爱,原无线电系一年级的学生。我刚到交大时和他住在一个宿舍。他是个很愚蠢的人,后来不知怎么飞黄腾达,成了无线电系系主任。我第一次隔离后的第一天,他来看过我。我当时未免傲气凌人,根本不把他放在眼里;他也自惭形拙,说了一两句也就灰溜溜走掉了,从此没见过面。事实上,他从未过问过我的事。王松林看来对当时的事记忆还较清,明显是往韩身上推。对此我当然不提异议,顺水推舟。但是,韩丛爱后来跟我们班的一个女同学叫唐雪英的结了婚,二人分到兰州炼油厂。而唐雪英自始至终都是整我的一名特级干将。另外,张宏强看来对我的事也了解:他能说出爸爸的名字,又能知道我调工作的事和结婚的事。当然张自己表示,也代王松林表示说:我们当时都不了解情况,当时的情况我们都不太了解。张还问我关于我的这些事档案里都有些什么?我说:作离校鉴定时鉴定里提到一半句。他问:具体关于这方面的材料放进去什么没有?我说:那就不太清楚了,档案里具体放进去什么我不清楚。张说:哦,对,对。总而言之,他们是一口答应下我的要求,但要拖。

我考虑再去死叮,意义不大,反而令人反感。我打算(不成熟)(1)是否写一个书面的对72年结论的异议,即那四条。2)是否找鲍家元、徐桂芳。因鲍可算做在干校事的当事人。(3)是否再找找一些当事人,主要表示我对他们并无怨恨,只求我问题能解决。这些人是鬼,但可能最后还是把他们招集了来开会。(4) 正在考虑,今天下午是否去丁处,如何发动他也来帮助促进;而或,是否等关于填表证明拿到手后再让他去。     

我将离无线电一系前,又强调了一下考研究生填表关键在70~72。张默背了一下说:没事,记得了,70~72年。

平反之三

平反之三
(1971年4月15日至1978年5月14日)

西交大的结论 (1972年元月20日)

西安交通大学革命委员会
   
(以上为签名,下面为正文)

毛主席语录

无产阶级文化大革命的斗、批、改阶段,要认真注意政策。


关于对叶梦华的处理决定

叶梦华,男,46年生,江苏南京人,家庭出身职员,本人成分学生,原我校无线电系计算51班学生。
叶梦华於1967325日因所住宿舍(学生24309室)发现可疑字条被革命群众审查,在审查期间叶多次私自离校,回避群众审查,更为严重的是叶梦华於19685月跑到广西凭祥,企图偷越国境,后经公安机关批准於1969213日逮捕。1971415日陕西公安机关军管会研究决定:叶梦华企图偷越国境,在关押教育期间,有悔改表现,故决定对叶教育释放。
根据伟大领袖毛主席清理阶级队伍,一是要抓紧,二是要注意政策要过细地做工作的教导,对叶梦华的问题进行了反复的核实,研究认为:叶梦华出身於高级知识分子家庭,深受旧思想的侵蚀和影响,但叶的父母、姐姐都是党员,对叶尚有一定的进步要求,且叶平时表现较好;可疑字条不是叶一人写成,否定叶写反标(的)罪行;由于可疑字条叶被革命群众审查、批斗,叶思想不通,多次私自离校,以至后来发展到跑到广西凭祥,企图偷越国境,这是极其错误的,但在关押教育期间,有悔改表现;叶在1967-1968年间由于对文化大革命有错误认识,在无政府主义思潮的影响下,说过一些错误言论,其中有个别言论属于立场问题,大部分言论属于认识问题。
综合上述情况,经校党委常委会1972120日讨论,一致同意自控大队党委意见:叶梦华属于人民内部矛盾,应予分配工作。
中国共产党西安交通大学委员会
(字与印)
1972120

(此文我320日看到并抄录)

平反之二

平反之二
(1971年4月15日至1978年5月14日)

释放证


平反之一

平反之一
(1971年4月15日至1978年5月14日)

前言


1966年6月,即四十三年前,命运把二十岁的我抛进了一个光怪陆离的时代。这里收集的文件如实、完整、和详细地记录了我是如何于1978年终于从那个时代走了出来。

我为自己的无比幸运而感慨万分。我的命运中总是充满了真心爱护我、关心我、和帮助我的人。父母对我无微不至的爱实在无法用言语表达。姐姐们对我的呵护和耐心也堪称天下少有。交大的徐桂芳先生、南大的王嘉松老师和沈祖和老师以他们卓有成效的慷慨相助实可视为我的救命恩人。无数的人从各方面向我伸出救援的手或感情上的同情和支持,如交大的老同学朱文章、肖展祥,开关厂工作组的丁维新和他报社的朋友们, 开关厂的工人朋友们,以及交大众多知名的和不知名的老师、职员、工人、和包括他班同学在内的同学们。

我怀着菲薄的愿望把这些文件保留了下来,又整理打印了出来。或许国平愿意把这些老文件读完?或许他愿意了解他父亲走过的路?或许国雅有朝一日学了中文也能来读这些老文件、了解她爸爸走过的路?或许诗元在遥远的未来会来读这些天方夜谭一样的老文件?我不敢奢望这些老东西或许能给他们一点乐趣或更有意义的作用。但如果只有我自己一个人能津津有味地来读这些老东西,那实在是太可悲了。
20096


Saturday, March 23, 2019

愚公移山新编

愚公移山新编
叶梦华
199510

几百年前有一个小村子叫愚智村。村里有两户大姓。一户姓愚一户姓智。愚氏的长老被人称为愚公,智氏的管家被称为智嫂(此为女性非男性也)
愚智村地处山区,村前就有两座大山挡路,因而十分贫穷。
有一天,愚公和智嫂商量如何来改变本村的贫穷面貌。
愚公说:这两座大山妨碍了我们的经济发展,我们要把它们移掉!
智嫂说:这两座大山那么大,又都是石头。我们只有镢头铲子和扁担箩筐,如何能把它们移掉呢?
愚公回答道:我们移不掉它们,我们的儿女们继续去移;儿女们移不掉它们,还有孙儿、孙女,子子孙孙是没完没了的。可山是不会增长的,所以我们最终一定会把它们移掉的。
智嫂没有被说服,也说服不了愚公。愚公作了决定,第二天就率领他的子孙们下定决心不怕牺牲地干起来了。
智嫂和子女们商量后,先是在山区和平原间跑单帮搞长途、短途贩运,后来听说他们移民到平原去了。智家发家致富后,子女都上了大学。孙子孙女们有的做了老板,有的做了经理,有的做了工程师等等。
几百年后,有个智家的后代叫智曾孙的发现他祖上原是愚智村的,就回到愚智村来寻根。他一走近愚智村,只见到处都是红旗和标语:继承愚公遗志,誓把两座大山移掉!还见满山遍野的愚家子子孙孙们仍在用镢头铲子挖山不止。
他找到了一个叫愚曾孙的愚家后代问道:我听说愚智村是个小村子,没想到漫山遍野有这么多人!
人多了才好挖山呀!愚曾孙回答。
但是愚智村很穷啊。这么多人在这个穷山沟里吃什么呢?据说我祖上就是因为这里穷才移民到平原去的。
我们人穷志不穷,吃苦耐劳,非把这两座山移掉不成!
智曾孙被愚曾孙的精神感动了,回家后对当着大老板的父亲说:你来投资几百万,请公路设计师的叔叔设计,建筑公司总经理的姨妈承包,用机械化施工,架桥打洞,修一条连接愚智村和平原的公路吧。
他父亲严正地回答道:不行!这样的投资一点经济效益也没有。我听说他们是想感动上帝帮他们把山背走。上帝可以做没有经济效益的事,我们是不行的。

据计量经济学家估计,假设愚家的人口继续按指数增长,那么大约还要9000多年才能把这两座大山移掉。

Friday, March 22, 2019

“苛政猛于虎”新译

苛政猛于虎新译
叶梦华
2017年元月
孔老二到南方视察,有个妇人在罗湖边的一个坟地里哭得痛苦极了。孔老二停下来仔细听了一会儿,就派子路去问问是怎么回事。子路问那妇人:你哭成这个样子,看来死了还不止一个人哩。妇人答道:是啊。那年我公公死于罗湖,后来我丈夫又死于罗湖,现在我儿子也死在了罗湖。孔老二说:你们干嘛非要往罗湖那边跑呢?妇人说:我们生错地方啦!孔老二对子路说:子路你看看,用表决多不好呀!
原文如下。

孔子过泰山侧 ,有妇人哭于墓者而哀,夫子式而听之,使子路问之,曰:子之哭也,壹似重有忧者。而曰:然。昔者吾舅死于虎,吾夫又死焉,今吾子又死焉。夫子曰:何为不去也?曰:无苛政。夫子曰:小子识之:苛政猛于虎也。

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

颐和园和香港新史

颐和园和香港新史
叶梦华
19977
话说慈禧太后在阴间听说她死后名声狼藉。追究其源,皆因把本应该用于建立海军以御诸帝国列强的八百万两银子,修造了风景颐人的万寿山和昆明湖等等。她惭愧之余,悔不该当初。忽闻人类科技大发展,可以做超光速时相旅行,把生前后悔之事重做一遍。遂将全部随葬细软变卖一尽,买了张超光速的时相列车的客票,回到了公元1881年。
老太太一时意气风发,大刀阔斧地消减了皇家开支,将八百万两银子的经费追加至一千万两。转眼间建成了所向披靡的大清海军并将入侵我大中华的诸国列强一举驱除殆尽。
其后,天回地转,公园1949年毛泽东执掌京城,断言人多热气大。不料,人多了,垃圾也多,污水也多,难以对付。那日毛巡视京郊,见西北方有荒山一座野湖一滩,就发出了最高指示:何不倾京城之垃圾于此山、污水于此湖?日积月累,四周的百姓们便称此荒山万臭山、此湖混溟湖

毛逝邓出,公元1992年小平同志查看南方。行至广州南端,唯见几点破烂渔村。隔南海而远眺,却是新加坡和台湾的华人们正在轰轰烈烈地走资本主义道路。想到土崩瓦解、日薄西山、气息奄奄的老阵营,他颇为感触,指示随员:把这里划为特别经济发展区吧。从此渔村有了生机,还变成了一个小小的港口。人们为了纪念此次历史性的查看就把这个小港口命名为查港。再过150多年,这个小小的查港说不定会变成为世界自由贸易的中心哩。
[1997年在香港台湾两次见到UW-Madison的同学谢小芩。那时台湾居民刚刚可以去大陆不久。谢小芩十分喜爱颐和园,说幸亏八百万两银子修了这个园子留给我们,否则建了海军可能还是全军覆没。]

Tuesday, March 19, 2019

新译列侬的“想象”

新译列侬的“想象” 
叶梦华
2018年元月31

我想象着这世上没有天堂;如果你也试着去想象,那就很容易理解;
我想象我们的下面也没有地狱,我们的上面只有天空。
我想象着所有的人只为今生今世活着。

我想象着这世上没有国度;那样去想象也没有多难;
没有什么必须去杀人的或去献身的事业,也没有什么宗教和主义。
我想象着所有的人都生活在和平之中。

你也许会说我是在说梦话,但我不是这世上唯一有此梦想的人;
我盼着你有一天也加入我们一起来为此梦想努力;那时的世界就会变得完美无缺

我想象着这世界上没有占有;你能想象得出来吗?
没有了贪婪和欲望的根源,大家都像兄弟姊妹一样。
我想象着所有的人都分享着整个世界。

你也许会说我是在说梦话,但我不是这世上唯一有此梦想的人;
我盼着你有一天也加入我们一起来为此梦想努力;那时的世界就会变得完美无缺

Monday, March 18, 2019

Chain Sister (蒨姐)

Chain Sister (蒨姐)
YE Meng-Hua
June 2012
The Years in Nanjing 
Chain Sister was the youngest of my three elder sisters and six years older than me. While my other two sisters mothered me all the time, Chain Sister never did.   
Once, when I was about five years old, she took me out with a couple of friends of hers at Han Kou Lu Elementary School.  They played on the swings and I stood by watching.  Somehow, one of the swings hit my head and I started bleeding.  Chain Sister asked me if I felt any pain, and I said no.  She was pleased with my answer and told me to tell our mother that I felt no pain if mother asked.  They took me to someone’s home and washed my blood stained shirt. Though they intended to get rid of the bloody evidence, the stain was only smeared and enlarged.   
Then, for a “treat,” she and her friends took me to the track field at Nanjing University to watch the executions of the enemies of the Chinese Communists, which took place at about 4:00 PM every afternoon.  There were so many executions in those days that the official execution ground was too busy to accommodate them on a daily basis.  So, the authority converted track fields of universities into temporary execution grounds.  We sat on the side of the field and observed the whole process.  Soldiers brought those enemy elements tied with ropes onto the field and fired .They fell to the ground and were dragged away.   
That afternoon when I got home, I shouted as I went upstairs, trying to help Chain Sister to cover up the bleeding incident: “Mom, Mom!  I don’t feel any pain at all!”  Chain Sister tried to stop me from reporting the case but it was too late. I was mocked for my stupidity for many years since. 
Well, I was only five years old then. Our parents were never worried about our grades in school. Actually, neither my sisters nor I did very well in elementary school.  Dad and Mom had confidence in us as well as themselves, since we carried their genes.  They also believed that stressing a brain at a young age would damage it and later lead to stupidity.   
This belief was planted in the minds of Chain Sister’s as well as mine.  From two letters to her husband on 15 and 29, July, 1971, Chain Sister wrote regarding her son, Mao Jie, who was then three years old: “It is hard to imagine that Mao Jie is already able to write characters now.  But he is too little. Don’t teach him too much.  Otherwise, his brain may be damaged when he’s grown up.” (毛捷都会写字了,简直没想到。他太小,不要教他太多。否则长大了脑子要坏的。)  And again, “Mao Jie is too little.  Be sure not to teach him to write.  My Dad and Mom both said so.  Please be sure about this.  To use the brain at too early a tender age, the brain may become stupid when grown up. (毛捷太小,千万不要教他写字。爸妈都这样说。千万千万。 太小用脑,长大了,脑子就会笨的。
However, Mom would still be happy when we brought home a good grade.  Once, when Chain Sister received a full mark on a test, Mom decided to celebrate by giving her a treat: a small pot of boiled water chestnuts.   Water chestnuts at that time were considered dirty because they might carry schistosome eggs. So, we rarely had them.  Mom bought them, washed them carefully, put them in a small pot usually dedicated to boiling milk, and boiled them for a long time to kill possible parasites.  I remember this vividly because I was allowed to enjoy the treat with her. The water chestnuts were delicious; sweet, juicy, and crunchy.  I have never had such tasty water chestnuts like that ever since. 
In the summer of 1956, Chain Sister and I took a cruise on the Yangtze River to join father and mother.  They were on vacation in Mount Lu (庐山), a trip organized by the Nanjing University Teacher’s Union to escape the unbearable heat waves in Nanjing. It was not only my first cruise trip but also the first time I left Nanjing for another city. Looking back, it was also the only trip I ever made with Chain Sister. 
Chain Sister and I had our own first class cabin on the ship, with two beds and an electric fan for each. The cruise trip took two days to go upstream to the city of Jiujiang (九江).  I explored every corner of the ship and enjoyed the view of the mighty river.  Sister Chain, on the contrary, slept in the cabin for the whole time.  She told me she enjoyed having a space of her own and having with two electric fans running to cool her off.  In retrospect, what she had said might have been only excuses for her sea sickness. She finally regretted it when the ship sighted a pod of Yangtze dolphins passing by.  I ran into our cabin and woke her up, but when she reached the deck the dolphins had passed. 
Needless to say, we had a great time touring Mount Lu after we joined father and mother and stayed in a fancy guest house for several days, experiencing clouds drifting into our room every morning when we opened the window.  One thing that still vividly remains in my memory was the single experience I had in China with a Western meal.  One day, father and mother took us to a restaurant in the Mount Lu Guest House (庐山宾馆) and treated us to a “Western meal.”  Unlike a Chinese meal, where all the dishes are served more or less at the same time, a Western meal was instead served strictly by courses one by one, and there was a long waiting time between courses. Even worse, the waiters took away the unfinished dishes of the previous course when the next course was served.  Sister Chain and I were not used to this kind of eating.  We got bored of waiting for the next course, so we went out play in between courses.  Unfortunately, we could not time it well, so when we returned to our table we missed some courses without even seeing or tasting them.   
When Chain Sister was in Nanjing’s 4th Female Mid/High School (四女中), the eldest sister, Yunhua, was first in the military and then at Peking University, Rong Sister was first at the 10th Mid/High School and then at Nanjing University, and I was first in an elementary school and then at the 10th Mid/High School. When Yunhua and Rong Sister left home for university, Chain Sister and I were the only siblings remaining at home in 5-15 Xiao Fen Jiao (小粉桥).  Thus, I got the tiny room on the second floor and Chain sister got the attic for herself. There were two desks in our home.  The big black one was always Dad’s.  The smaller brown one was used by Sister Rong first, then by Sister Chain when Sister Rong left for university, and later by me when Sister Chain left home for Beijing.   
 The middle drawer of the brown desk could be locked.  In it, Rong Sister and Chain Sister kept their most precious objects, things like fragile glass pigeons or chickens as well as bookmarks. However, there was a big difference between Chain Sister’s and Rong Sister’s locking of the middle drawer. Rong Sister locked the drawer to prevent me from reaching in and damaging her precious items.  Chain Sister didn’t lock the drawer just to keep me out.  One day, when our parents were not home, she let me go to the third floor and open her middle drawer.  Warning me not to tell anyone, she pulled a jicama (地瓜) out of the drawer.  She peeled a portion of it and cut a slice for me.  That was the very first time I had it in my life.  Our mother never allowed us to eat it. It was considered cheap, dirty, and full of all kinds of bacteria.  Years later, when I lived in Rochdale in Madison, Wisconsin, I was asked by an Italian housemate, Barbara Sella, about the name of some Asian root vegetable that was a lot of cheaper than but similar to water chestnut.  All of a sudden, I recalled the slice of jicama Sister Chain had fed me; juicy, crunchy, and a little sweet, but with a strong earthy flavor.   
The middle desk drawer was not the only difference between Chain Sister and Rong Sister.  Chain Sister liked instant reward.  Mom always said that her personality was opposite to that of Rong Sister.  When both of them received monthly allowances from Mom in the late 1940s, Rong Sister would save hers, adding the newly received to the existing savings.  Months later, in the hyperinflation period, Rong Sister would end up with next to nothing.  Chain Sister would go to street right away and buy her favorite preserved plums, apricots, peaches, and olives.     
In the 1950s, there were many street stands selling these in Nanjing.  Some vendors simply put a wooden box in front of a residence or a back street.  The preserves in the boxes were divided into many small compartments and covered by a piece of glass.  Other vendors pushed a cart at a main intersection or around main streets.  Chain Sister would often share with me her favorite preserved plums, apricots, peaches, and olives.  While I always enjoyed her compassion, sucking those preserved sweets were never my cup of tea; they had always been a girlish thing.     Next to Chain Sister’s school, there was a row of small restaurants along Zhujiang Lu (珠江路).  In those old days, they sold pot-stickers and all kinds of “turtle egg (乌龟子) soup,” (sweet rice dumplings the size of turtle eggs cooked in fermented glutinous rice soup (酒酿元宵)), with or without red beans or green beans.  It was one of Chain Sister’s favorite places and she took me there several times as a treat.   The place was quite dirty.  It was dark, with wooden walls and dirt floor and a few wobbling tables and stools.  It was such a treat, since Mom or my other sisters would never take me to such place. 
According to the Chinese zodiac, Yunhua is a mouse, Rong Sister a tiger, and Chain Sister a dragon.  Yunhua left home at age 15, so she did not get to spend much time with us.  Rong Sister and Chain Sister quarreled regularly when both of them were young.  Mom viewed those fights as the traditional fights between a “tiger” and a “dragon” (龙虎斗).  Occasionally she would warn them:  “You fight each other so hard today, but someday you will miss each other very much, and you will not be able to see each other!”  
Foreign fairy tales often depict the eldest sister as being stupid, the second greedy, and third the prettiest.  These fairy tales did not give Chain Sister much comfort, however.  She felt that she existed only because Mom and Dad wanted a son.  By the time they got their third daughter, she must have been quite unwanted.  To this, Mom always disagreed.  She rebutted: “You four all came from my flesh and are like the four legs of a table, equally holding the table nice, flat and stable!”  Chain Sister was never convinced.   
There have been so called Confucian traditions in favor of son to daughter.  When I was nineteen, I was invited to dinner at Professor Sun Guangyuan’s home. I was invited because I was the only son of the Ye family. Chain sister was not invited because she was a daughter. However, Mom decided to let her go with me to keep me company.  At the dining table, I was well served with food and drinks, but Chain Sister was not.  She nudged me under the table to tell me to pass food to her.  I was able to sneak quite a lot to her; Professor Sun’s vision had severely deteriorated by then.  We had a great time during that dinner. 
Though Chain Sister and I got along well, the rest of the family complained about her temperament. When she was in high school, she would feel mistreated about nothing, and then give the family a long silent treatment.  When lunch was ready and everyone was called to the dining room, there would be no response from her.  There would be deadly silence or even sobbing.  Later, we found, more often than not, it was because she was facing a coming examination and nobody at home cared about it. 
Examination anxiety later became one of her famous personalities.  She was always very upset before an examination, predicting that “I will totally fail this time!”  “So, how was the examination?” Mom would ask afterwards.  She usually returned a happy smile as an answer.  In fact, she almost always ended up receiving the highest score in the class.  She eventually became the very first one admitted into Peking University from the 4th Female Middle/High School. 
Chain Sister was no doubt hydrophobic. She refused to get into the water when she had swimming classes at school.  I have never remembered swimming with her.  She might have never learned how to swim.  However, I remember that she was selected to attend a summer camp to learn to ride motorcycles, which was considered extremely prestigious in 1950s.  It was the very first time in my life I heard from her those fancy terms about breaks, clutches, and accelerators.    
The Years in Beijing 
In 1958, Chain Sister was admitted to the Chemistry Department of Peking University, where both Yunhua and Xuanwen were.  In the fall of 1963, I went to Beijing on a doctor’s suggestion that I move to the dryer northern climate to stop my severe asthma attacks. Yunhua made an arrangement for me to be a temporary transfer student at the Middle/High School attached to Peking University.  I got a chance being with Chain Sister away from home in Nanjing.  It was towards the end of the three years of the nationwide famine caused by Mao’s ridiculous policies and Haihong had just been born several months ago.  Yunhua, Chain Sister and I had quite some memorable times together. 
On campus, there was a classroom in a bungalow (平房) for overnight study, unlike the other classrooms where lights were turned off at 10:00 PM.  Since it was the only place and seats were very limited, it was not easy to get a space there.  Students who studied hard had to fight for seats by occupying it early in the afternoon.  Chain Sister told me that the classroom was her favorite place to study, especially when preparing for upcoming tests and examinations.   
Not far away from that special classroom was a campus restaurant named Shaoyuan (勺园).  The original Shaoyuan at that time was in a Western styled residential house. Chain Sister occasionally took me there for a treat.  Our favorite dish was Muxu Pork (木须肉). Maybe it was because it was less expensive yet tasty.  Maybe it was because it was a Northern Chinese dish and we had never had it in Nanjing.  
On the counter of the restaurant there were two big glass jars, one holding rose colored wine and another green colored wine.  Chain Sister was curious of how they might taste.  She wanted to try some but never did by herself since at that time the culture was against young females purchasing anything alcoholic.  It was easy to buy it with me being with her, since there was fortunately no law or cultural tradition against me, a seventeen year old, buying it.  Neither of us really enjoyed them.  However, we did feel our curiosity satisfied and a great sense of defeating cultural tradition. 
Chain Sister also took me to one of the cafeterias at Peking University and introduced her favorite braised eggplant dish to me.  To this date, I still can vividly remember it, purplish, soft, shining with grease and incredibly tasty.  Later, when I mentioned this dish to several other persons graduated from Peking University, everyone agreed that it was a signature dish indeed. 
Once, she took me to her dorm.  I found she had covered her bedside wall with pictures of gold fish that I drew. I drew those gold fish from a series of stamps when I was in Nanjing and then mailed them to her.  They did not look so good to me but Chain Sister was obviously very proud of what I did. We sat on her bunk bed together and I helped her patch several worn out socks of hers. 
During my one semester at the Middle/High School in Beijing, I also met Chain Sister’s boyfriend, MAO Xuewen, several times. The relationship with Xuewen was not approved by Dad and Mom.  I recall that Chain Sister, Dad and Mom had a closed door conversation on the matter during one of her home visits.  I sensed the seriousness and unpleasantness of the conversation.  Later, Mom told me that they were concerned that Xuewen had too many younger brothers and sisters.  They were also concerned about differences between family backgrounds and the cultural differences between Northwest China and South of Yangtze River. Mom told me that Chain Sister was angry on those parents’ concerns, and replied: “All your concerns boil down to a single one: you think he is too poor!  I will be begging with him if one day he has to go begging for a living!”  With this reply, Dad and Mom said no more. 
Upon her graduation in 1964, she was assigned a job at the Research Institute of Petroleum Processing in Beijing.  I was told that she was the person who first made synthesized lubrication oil for watches made in China.  
Chain Sister once wrote in a letter to our parents:  “Dad gives us three treasures (三大法宝): good eye vision, English, and mathematics.”  Aside from mathematics, which was not used much in chemistry in her days, she said she greatly benefited from the other two.  As for me, she was absolutely correct in that I have benefited from all three. 
Both Chain Sister and I loved to learn foreign languages.  Once in 1965 when I was in my last year of high school and she had just graduated from Beida and started working, we decided to learn German together.  We thought it would make it easier and more interesting when both of us learned the same language at the same time.  We both purchased German textbooks and dictionaries, and at one point, I recall we even wrote each other letters in German. 
In the fall of 1965, I went to Xi’an Jiaotong University.  Chain Sister and I wrote letters to each other regularly.  Once, a friend of hers, 闽璇美, who she met in Renqiu Oil Field when they had worked there briefly, moved to Xi’an for a new job position.  Chain Sister asked her to bring a full bag of fruits to me, especially her favorite watery Ya Pears (鸭梨) and white Beijing pears (京白梨).  
*** 
In September 1966, after I divorced myself from the Culture Revolution, I made a trip to Beijing and stayed at Yunhua’s home.  At that time, Yunhua’s husband, Xuenwen, was studying in Lyon, France and their daughter, three year old Haihong (originally named LI Hong and nicknamed Honghong at birth) was in Nanjing being cared for by my parents. Yunhua was denounced in the Chemistry Department and sent somewhere near Beijing to do physical labor work.  Father and mother were denounced at Nanjing University and our home was searched with things confiscated.  On one hand, it was considered improper for Haihong to stay in Nanjing anymore, and on the other hand, Haihong’s return to Beijing might provide company to her suffering mother, Yunhua.   
When Haihong was sent back to Beijing by a Grand Aunt (姨婆), I was in Beijing at the time and Yunhua was not.  So I went to the train station and picked up Haihong.  Haihong was happy.  She remembered me since I saw her in Nanjing in the Spring Festival in 1966, less than a year ago.  She also somehow remembered her parents’ home and even the place where her father’s slippers were – she ran into the room, took her father’s slippers under a bed and offered them to me when we walked in the room.  However, she did not remember Chain Sister.  When bedtime came, she refused to sleep with Chain Sister and insisted on letting me to take care of her.  So, I had to put her to sleep first and then switch with Chain Sister.  Overnight, when Haihong woke up and found it was not me beside her, she would cry loudly and Chain Sister and I would switch once more to put her to sleep again.  Chain Sister and I took care of Haihong for a day or two before Yunhua returned home.  
Chain Sister was married to Xuewen on March 18, 1967.  I must have visited her newlywed room at the Research Institute of Petroleum Processing, sometime in the fall of 1967.  Xuewen was absent during my brief visit. The room was clean, organized but without much real furniture in it. She piled on top of each other two or three suitcases with a wooden one on the top, covered with a table cloth to make a counter so she could put things on it.  I saw a lot of fruits, especially the watery Ya Pears (鸭梨) and white Beijing pears (京白梨).  Counting the months, she must have been pregnant with MAO Jie at the time.  
In the end of December 1967, my belongings in my dormitory at Jiaoda were searched, and a couple of notebooks were confiscated in order to find “evidence” to prove that I was indeed a counter revolutionary/reactionary student. It was followed by a denouncing meeting held by my classmates. I went to Nanjing in January 1968 right after Chain Sister had just delivered her son MAO Jie on January 6.  I was told that it was a last minute decision that she would deliver in our Nanjing home rather than Beijing. It might have been the darkest period my parents had ever experienced in their lives.  Dad was surprised and almost angry when he opened the door and saw me. “Why are you coming home at this time?” He asked, full of disapproval.  The original townhouse my parents lived in was now occupied with three additional families. Dad and Mom stayed in the old living room.  There were beds squeezed in every inch of the room with a size of about 12 square meters.  Dad, Mom, Chain Sister, MAO Jie, and I all slept in that room during my visit.   The atmosphere was heavy, filled with sadness and darkness, despite the newborn in the room.  I told them what I had experienced in Xi’an and they thought I should go to Beijing to seek justice.  My stay was very short this time. That was the last time I saw Chain Sister before I was arrested and put in jail for more than two years and she became deadly sick. 
The Final Years 
I was released from the Shaanxi Provincial No. 1 Prison in April 1971 and sent back to Jiaotong University to do labor work, first making bricks and then building dugouts (防空洞) as a brick layer.  I sent a letter to the old address of my parents’ home, not knowing they had moved and that Chain Sister was at home with Dad and Mom.  I did not receive any response from home for quite a while until one day I received a telegram sent by father and Chain Sister. The telegram had only one sentence, the most famous (or infamous) slogan of the time: “Long Live Chairman Mao!” The meaning was immediately clear to me: father, mother, and Chain Sister were very happy for my release.  However, it was not politically correct to congratulate the release of a reactionary son in any other possible words that could avoid adverse effects on both sides.    
Up to this date, it is still not clear how my letter eventually ended up in Dad’s hands, given that my parents’ townhouse had been burned down.  Father told me it was the English professor SHEN Tongqia (沈同恰) who handed the letter to him, without a single word, when both of them were punished by doing physical work at a university cafeteria (named 500 Canteen).  The question was: how did he get the letter?  Who passed the letter to him?  We could only guess.  Professor SHEN was one of our neighbors on another row of townhouses in the old compound for professors, before the townhouse burned. Dad told me that he never had the courage, nor did he think it was wise and necessary, to ask Professor SHEN how he got the letter. After all, both professors were viewed as if they were criminals in a labor camp at the canteen and it was common knowledge that I was a reactionary student and put in jail in Xi’an.  Professor SHEN must have known the implication of the letter. Dad was simply forever thankful to him in his heart, without a single word as well. 
Later on, they told me, father, mother and Chain Sister had a meeting after they got the letter from me.  They came up with the brilliant idea to send a “Long Live Chairman Mao!” telegram immediately, and then mail a big package of food to me. Although none of them or people they directly knew had been in a Chinese communist jail, it was quite well known that prisoners got little food there.  This was absolutely true as I experienced.  The prison I was in was considered one of the best in terms of how prisoners were fed.  Nevertheless, being constantly hungry was the most severe challenge I had to face on daily basis for more than two year I was there.  To replenish my 25 year old body with much needed nutrition was indeed the primary concern upon release. The package of food from Chain Sister and my parents was just right in serving its purpose. 
Meanwhile, I found out that Chain Sister had been sick and was being treated in Nanjing. I was finally allowed to visit home on September 8, 1972. What a different scene it was!  My parents had been moved into a single room facing north in a dormitory.  Many families shared a kitchen converted from a regular dorm room, and two public lavatories were shared by both men and women on a whole floor. Dad was no longer the mathematics department chair or a professor, but a cook’s helper managing the cooking fire in one of the university canteens.  Mom was no longer the director of the Nanking University Kindergarten but also a cook’s helper in another university’s canteen.  Chain Sister, being the most beautiful and healthiest member of the whole family, now looked very old and sick. 
 Looking back, it was quite a reunion, given what each of us had experienced in the past few years. Despite that dark background, the reunion was happy and our spirits were high.   
Now that I had been released from jail, the family’s major concern was Chain Sister’s health problem caused perhaps by exposures to 1, 3 - dibromobenzene in her laboratory work. Chain Sister had been hospitalized at Nanjing Workers’ Hospital since July 22, 1971.  At first, she could take one or two days off to make occasional visits to our parents at home.  I do not recall telling her much of the details of the hell I went through in those separated years, nor did she tell me of what she went through.  We simply tried to have a good time together.  
One thing sticking out in my memory was a can of abalones I brought home from Xi’an to share with Chain Sister and my parents.  Mom complained that it was too expensive; there were only several small pieces so that each piece cost the same as about a quarter of a famous Nanking duck.  I bought it because Dad had described to us many times his experience of enjoying abalones in California in 1948 when he was in the U.S.   But neither Dad nor any of us knew how to deal with those abalones in the can.  For one thing, we thought all canned food was cooked and ready to eat. This can of abalones smelled strongly when we opened it. None of us found any good flavor in it after we tasted one or two pieces.  I had an instant asthma attack. Dad was severely allergic to it and his lips became swollen. Chain Sister showed strong allergic reactions to it as well – she had a rubella rash appear all over her body.  It turned out that Mom was the only person who could consume it without any adverse consequences.  The whole abalone experience was awfully disastrous, but we had great quality time together.  
When Chain Sister was in the hospital, we took turns visiting her.  We also brought homemade dishes to her.  Dad encouraged me to visit and take food to Chain Sister as often as possible.  Dad said he had observed that every time when I visited her she was much happier. 
Before long, I returned to Jiaotong University’s “Labor Camp” on September 20, 1972.  It did not occur to me at the time that it would be the last time I was with Chain Sister with her being conscious. 
On January 26, 1972, I rushed back to Nanjing to say final goodbyes to Chain Sister.  Dad sent Yunhua to the train station to pick me up.  “Dad wants me to tell you Chain Hua’s condition so you can be emotionally prepared before you see her,” she said to me. Chain Sister had already lost consciousness when I got to her bed side.  She died in the evening when Yunhua and I were around her. 
The funeral ceremony was held at the Nanking Cremation Compound.  It was a very windy and cold day.  Hubei May 7th Cadre School sent Mr. LIU Zhiqiang (刘智强) to attend the ceremony.  He told me that everyone at the Cadre School had liked Chain Hua and felt extremely sad about Chain Sister’s death.  He insisted in holding the elegiac wreath and parading through the windy street to the cremation compound.  He said he did not know what else he could do to express his sorrow.   We were all moved by him and finally convinced him to take a tricycle rickshaw instead. 
Chain Sister’s son was unaware of what had happened. At three years old, he did not understand what his mother’s death meant to his life.  
After the ceremony, I left to witness the whole cremation process, seeing my dearest sister turn into ashes. I carried the ashes home.  Mom sobbed, “The four children of mine liked four legs of a table.  Now the table is not right any more with only three legs!”  Mom sighed, “How much I have to endure!  I had to experience the Japanese invasion, had my son jailed, had my home burned down, and now have my youngest daughter died young!”   
Epilogue 
It is hard to believe that this is all I can remember about Chain Sister now.  I thought I had much more in my memory, even with the fact that Chain Sister only had a short 32 years of life.  Now I realize that much in my memories are feelings, not necessarily supported by events or stories.  Or maybe it is simply because I am getting old and those events and stories have been filtered by time so there are only feelings left.  As I wrap up this article, I am disappointed in myself for remembering so little, on one hand.  But on the other hand, I finally got a chance to air my sorrow and anger cumulated and suppressed for so many years and I feel as if I had a chance to recall our time together with Chain Sister once more.   
Many agreed with what Dad said, “Chain-Hua was too naïve!”  Dad always tried to push Chain Hua to read the classics Three Kingdoms (三国演义) and Water Margin (水浒传). He said, Three Kingdoms would make readers less simple minded about things and Water Margin would make readers able to tell good people from bad ones.  Well, it was the most painful thing to force Chain Sister to read novels, not to mention those thick classic ones. In the end, I don’t think she never finished any significant amount of these books.  Actually, I don’t recall she ever read any novels or literature.  Had she read some, would it make her more sophisticated?  Towards her final years, I found there were poems written by Xuewen on one of her notebooks.  I showed them to Dad and commented that I did not like some of the verses.  Dad looked at those verses and sighed: “How could Chain Hua understand them?” 

When Mom looked back at Chain Sister’s life, she said: “She had never had a chance to build a nest for her family.”  The three members in her family were constantly in separation one way or the other.  MAO Jie died tragically in Lanzhou in July 1997 at age 29. Yes, there are always inevitable and irresistible factors, called fate or destiny, as well as excusable and forgivable mistakes made in life. Nonetheless, there are also always personal choices to be made, even during the darkest period of Cultural Revolution. Having said this, there is no doubt that the evil Cultural Revolution was indeed the root of all tragedies.   
This article is written in English so Guoya may be able to read it.  It turned out she was the person who carefully edited the whole article.】