The Killing Wind : A Chinese County's Descent Into Madness During the Cultural Revolution

Trans. by Stacy Mosher, Guo Jian Over the course of 66 days in 1967, more than 4,000 "class enemies"--including young children and the elderly--were murdered in Daoxian, a county in China's Hunan province. The killings spread to surrounding counties, resulting in a combined death toll of more than 9,000. Commonly known as the Daoxian massacre, the killings were one of many acts of so-called mass dictatorship and armed factional conflict that rocked China during the Cultural Revolution. However, in spite of the scope and brutality of the killings, there are few detailed accounts of mass killings in China's countryside during the Cultural Revolution's most tumultuous years. Years after the massacre, journalist Tan Hecheng was sent to Daoxian to report on an official investigation into the killings. Tan was prevented from publishing his findings in China, but in 2010, he published the Chinese edition of __The Killing Wind__ in Hong Kong. Tan's first-hand investigation of the atrocities, accumulated over the course of more than 20 years, blends his research with the recollections of survivors to provide a vivid account exploring how and why the massacre took place and describing its aftermath. Dispelling the heroic aura of class struggle, Tan reveals that most of the Daoxian massacre's victims were hard-working, peaceful members of the rural middle class blacklisted as landlords or rich peasants. Tan also describes how political pressure and brainwashing turned ordinary people into heartless killing machines.More than a catalog of horrors, __The Killing Wind__ is also a poignant meditation on memory, moral culpability, and the failure of the Chinese government to come to terms with the crimes of the Maoist era. By painting a detailed portrait of this massacre, Tan makes a broader argument about the long-term consequences of the Cultural Revolution, one of the most violent political movements of the twentieth century. A compelling testament to the victims and survivors of the Daoxian massacre, __The Killing Wind__ is a monument to historical truth: one that fills an immense gap in our understanding of the Mao era, the Cultural Revolution, and the status of truth in contemporary China. Over The Course Of 66 Days In 1967, More Than 4,000 'class Enemies'--including Young Children And The Elderly--were Murdered In Daoxian, A County In China's Hunan Province. The Killings Spread To Surrounding Counties, Resulting In A Combined Death Toll Of More Than 9,000. Commonly Known As The Daoxian Massacre, The Killings Were One Of Many Acts Of So-called Mass Dictatorship And Armed Factional Conflict That Rocked China During The Cultural Revolution. However, In Spite Of The Scope And Brutality Of The Killings, There Are Few Detailed Accounts Of Mass Killings In China's Countryside During The Cultural Revolution's Most Tumultuous Years. Years After The Massacre, Journalist Tan Hecheng Was Sent To Daoxian To Report On An Official Investigation Into The Killings. Tan Was Prevented From Publishing His Findings In China, But In 2010, He Published The Chinese Edition Of The Killing Wind In Hong Kong.^ Tan's First-hand Investigation Of The Atrocities, Accumulated Over The Course Of More Than 20 Years, Blends His Research With The Recollections Of Survivors To Provide A Vivid Account Exploring How And Why The Massacre Took Place And Describing Its Aftermath. Dispelling The Heroic Aura Of Class Struggle, Tan Reveals That Most Of The Daoxian Massacre's Victims Were Hard-working, Peaceful Members Of The Rural Middle Class Blacklisted As Landlords Or Rich Peasants. Tan Also Describes How Political Pressure And Brainwashing Turned Ordinary People Into Heartless Killing Machines. More Than A Catalog Of Horrors, The Killing Wind Is Also A Poignant Meditation On Memory, Moral Culpability, And The Failure Of The Chinese Government To Come To Terms With The Crimes Of The Maoist Era. By Painting A Detailed Portrait Of This Massacre, Tan Makes A Broader Argument About The Long-term Consequences Of The Cultural Revolution, One Of The Most Violent Political Movements Of The Twentieth Century.^ A Compelling Testament To The Victims And Survivors Of The Daoxian Massacre, The Killing Wind Is A Monument To Historical Truth: One That Fills An Immense Gap In Our Understanding Of The Mao Era, The Cultural Revolution, And The Status Of Truth In Contemporary China.--book Jacket. The Origin Of The Massacre. The River Of Death ; My Destiny With Daoxian ; Daoxian On The Eve Of The Massacre (the August 5 County Seize-and-push Meeting ; The August 8 Gun-snatching Incident) ; The Random Killings Begin (first Blood At The Xiaba Production Brigade ; Xique Zhengjia Sparks Off The Massacre) -- Assembling The Machinery Of Slaughter. The Killing Wind Spreads Through Administrative Lines ; Qingtang District And The Rise Of The Peasant Supreme Courts (in The Hometown Of The Philosopher ; The Rise Of The Peasant Supreme Courts ; A Commune Communist Party Secretary's Story) ; The Red Alliance Role In The Killing Wind (establishment Of The Yingjiang Frontline Command Post ; The August 21 Yingjiang Reporting Meeting ; The Yingjiang Political And Legal Work Conference) --^ Chetou And Shangguan Districts : Murder As Spectacle. Chetou District's Model Killings (the Real Story Of Chetou District's Landlord And Rich-peasant Insurrection ; Blood-soaked Meihua ; An Advanced Commune Encounters A New Challenge) ; Shangguan District : In The Eye Of The Storm (shangguan Commune's On-the-spot Killing Rallies ; Killing Turncoats As Well As Landlords) ; Other Communes In Shangguan District (dongmen Commune : Graffiti On A Cottage Wall ; The Killings At Wanjiazhuang Commune ; The Unbearable Lightness Of Futang Commune) -- Gongba District, The County's Top�killer. A Dubious Honor (one Day In Yanhetang) ; The Killings At Daoxian's Deadliest Commune (interview With The Butcher Of Gongba Commune) ; Some Who Got Away ; Death Before Marriage -- Qingxi District's Pafd Commander. High-level Participation In Qingxi District (the Great Leap Brigade's Killing Sputnik ; Killings Approved By The County Organization Department Head) ; When The Pebble Rises From The Water --^ Xianglinpu District's Militia Push. The Shangdu Militia Headquarters (the Pressure To Stay In The Lead) ; Even Heaven Wept ; Two Classic Cases ; The Banality Of Evil (the Tough Job Is Left To Me ; A Brigade Secretary's Story ; Whatever The Communist Party Says) -- Deadly Politics. A Little Education Is A Dangerous Thing (the Legend Of Widow's Bridge ; If You Loved The Communist Party, Would The Party Kill You?) ; The Price Of Truth (the Destruction Of Two Rightist Families ; Death Of A Little Peng Dehuai) ; The Scapegoated Landlord Class -- The Killers. Beyond The Pale (the Big Rice Pot ; Between Humans And Beasts) ; Brainwashed (the Communist Party Secretary Who Killed A Poor-peasant Association Chairman ; Duty Before Family ; The Iron Maiden Of Daoxian) -- The Outliers. The Anomalous Xianzijiao District (qiaotou Commune's Mass-killing Rally ; The Last Victim) ; The Zhenggangtou Phenomenon ; The Miracle Of Life ; The Story Of An Execution Ground Survivor --^ The Crackdown. The 6950 Unit Arrives In Daoxian (the Hard Task Of Halting The Killing) ; No Regrets (an Interview With Revolutionary Alliance Leader Liu Xiangxi ; An Interview With Red Alliance Leader He Xia) ; The Petitioners (master Petitioner Li Niande ; A Mansion And A Family's Fate ; Rise Of A Master Petitioner) ; Change Of Plans (a Drinking Mishap) ; Killings In The Counties And Cities Surrounding Daoxian -- The End Of The Killing Wind. Huang Yida And The Fall Of The Red Alliance (midnight Run To The Provincial Capital ; Hua Guofeng's Directive ; The September 23 Tragedy ; The Exposure Study Sessions) ; Reversals (in Prison ; Heaven's Unfathomable Will) -- Afterword : Living For Truth -- Appendix I : Basic Statistics On The Victims Of The Daoxian Cultural Revolution Killings -- Appendix Ii : Official Culpability In Daoxian's Killing Wind. By Tan Hecheng ; Translated By Stacy Mosher And Guo Jian. Translated From The Chinese. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Translated From The Chinese. Cover 1 Half_Title 2 The Killing Wind 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 Map—Daoxian at the Time of the Task Force Investigation 12 Foreword: Blood Awakening 14 Preface: Deconstructing the Mythos of Mao Zedong’s Peasant Revolution 18 Translator’s Note 22 Chronology of the Cultural Revolution Killings in Daoxian 24 Introduction 30 Part One The Origin of the Massacre 32 1. The River of Death 34 2. My Destiny with Daoxian 44 3. Daoxian on the Eve of the Massacre 55 The August 5 county seize-​and-​push meeting 61 The August 8 gun-​snatching incident 63 4. The Random Killings Begin 69 First blood at the Xiaba production brigade 69 Xique Zhengjia sparks off the massacre 75 Part Two Assembling the Machinery of Slaughter 86 5. The Killing Wind Spreads through Administrative Lines 88 6. Qingtang District and the Rise of the Peasant Supreme Courts 98 In the hometown of the philosopher 98 The rise of the peasant supreme courts 101 A commune Communist Party secretary’s story 106 7. The Red Alliance Role in the Killing Wind 110 Establishment of the Yingjiang Frontline Command Post 110 The August 21 Yingjiang reporting meeting 113 The Yingjiang Political and Legal Work Conference 120 Part Three Chetou and Shangguan Districts—​Murder as Spectacle 126 8. Chetou District’s Model Killings 128 The real story of Chetou District’s “landlord and rich-​peasant insurrection” 128 Blood-​soaked Meihua 131 An advanced commune encounters a new challenge 139 9. Shangguan District—​in the Eye of the Storm 142 Shangguan Commune’s on-​the-​spot killing rallies 142 Killing turncoats as well as landlords 147 10. Other Communes in Shangguan District 152 Dongmen Commune: Graffiti on a cottage wall 152 The killings at Wanjiazhuang Commune 155 The unbearable lightness of Futang Commune 159 Part Four Gongba District, the County’s Top Killer 166 11. A Dubious Honor 168 One day in Yanhetang 177 12. The Killings at Daoxian’s Deadliest Commune 183 Interview with the Butcher of Gongba Commune 195 13. Some Who Got Away 200 14. Death before Marriage 217 Part Five Qingxi District’s PAFD Commander 228 15. High-​Level Participation in Qingxi District 230 The Great Leap brigade’s killing sputnik 234 Killings approved by the county organization department head 237 16. When the Pebble Rises from the Water 240 Part Six Xianglinpu District’s Militia Push 246 17. The Shangdu Militia Headquarters 248 The pressure to stay in the lead 253 18. Even Heaven Wept 255 19. Two Classic Cases 264 20. The Banality of Evil 272 “The tough job is left to me” 272 A brigade secretary’s story 277 Whatever the Communist Party says 280 Part Seven Deadly Politics 288 21. A Little Education Is a Dangerous Thing 290 The legend of Widow’s Bridge 290 If you loved the Communist Party, would the party kill you? 295 22. The Price of Truth 303 The destruction of two Rightist families 306 Death of a “little Peng Dehuai” 310 23. The Scapegoated Landlord Class 318 Part Eight The Killers 328 24. Beyond the Pale 330 The “big rice pot” 330 Between humans and beasts 337 25. Brainwashed 343 The Communist Party secretary who killed a poor-​peasant association chairman 343 Duty before family 345 The Iron Maiden of Daoxian 346 Part Nine The Outliers 350 26. The Anomalous Xianzijiao District 352 Qiaotou Commune’s mass-​killing rally 357 The last victim 360 27. The Zhenggangtou Phenomenon 363 28. The Miracle of Life 367 29. The Story of an Execution Ground Survivor 375 Part Ten The Crackdown 384 30. The 6950 Unit Arrives in Daoxian 386 The hard task of halting the killing 393 31. No Regrets 404 An interview with Revolutionary Alliance leader Liu Xiangxi 404 An interview with Red Alliance leader He Xia 410 32. The Petitioners 421 Master petitioner Li Niande 423 A mansion and a family’s fate 425 Rise of a master petitioner 427 33. Change of Plans 431 A drinking mishap 435 34. Killings in the Counties and Cities Surrounding Daoxian 444 Part Eleven The End of the Killing Wind 450 35. Huang Yida and the Fall of the Red Alliance 452 Midnight run to the provincial capital 452 Hua Guofeng’s directive 457 The September 23 Tragedy 461 The exposure study sessions 465 36. Reversals 469 In prison 474 Heaven’s unfathomable will 478 Afterword: Living for Truth 482 Appendix I: Basic Statistics on the Victims of the Daoxian Cultural Revolution Killings 494 Appendix II: Official Culpability in Daoxian’s Killing Wind 498 Notes 504 Index 518 Trans. by Stacy Mosher, Guo Jian Over the course of 66 days in 1967, more than 4,000 "class enemies"--including young children and the elderly--were murdered in Daoxian, a county in China's Hunan province. The killings spread to surrounding counties, resulting in a combined death toll of more than 9,000. Commonly known as the Daoxian massacre, the killings were one of many acts of so-called mass dictatorship and armed factional conflict that rocked China during the Cultural Revolution. However, in spite of the scope and brutality of the killings, there are few detailed accounts of mass killings in China's countryside during the Cultural Revolution's most tumultuous years. Years after the massacre, journalist Tan Hecheng was sent to Daoxian to report on an official investigation into the killings. Tan was prevented from publishing his findings in China, but in 2010, he published the Chinese edition of The Killing Wind in Hong Kong. Tan's first-hand investigation of the atrocities, accumulated over the course of more than 20 years, blends his research with the recollections of survivors to provide a vivid account exploring how and why the massacre took place and describing its aftermath. Dispelling the heroic aura of class struggle, Tan reveals that most of the Daoxian massacre's victims were hard-working, peaceful members of the rural middle class blacklisted as landlords or rich peasants. Tan also describes how political pressure and brainwashing turned ordinary people into heartless killing machines. More than a catalog of horrors, The Killing Wind is also a poignant meditation on memory, moral culpability, and the failure of the Chinese government to come to terms with the crimes of the Maoist era. By painting a detailed portrait of this massacre, Tan makes a broader argument about the long-term consequences of the Cultural Revolution, one of the most violent political movements of the twentieth century. A compelling testament to the victims and survivors of the Daoxian massacre, The Killing Wind is a monument to historical truth: one that fills an immense gap in our understanding of the Mao era, the Cultural Revolution, and the status of truth in contemporary China. In The Killing Wind, Tan recounts how over the course of 66 days in 1967, over 9,000 Chinese "class enemies" were massacred in the Daoxian. A spasm of extreme radicalism that rocked China to its foundations in the mid- to late 1960s, the Cultural Revolution has generated a vast literature. Much of it, however, is at a birds-eye level, and we have very few detailed accounts of how it worked on the ground. Long after the event, Tan Hecheng, now a retired Chinese writer and editor, was sent to Daoxian, Mao's home county, to report on the official investigation into the massacre that took place there during the Cultural Revolution. In The Killing Wind, Tan recounts how over the course of 66 days in 1967, over 9,000 Chinese "class enemies" were massacred in the Daoxian, in the Hunan Province. The killings were unprovoked and carried out with incredible, stomach-churning brutality, which is documented here in excruciating detail. But although this could easily be just a compendium of horrors, it's also a meditation on memory, moral culpability, and the failure of the Chinese government to come to terms with the crimes of the Maoist era. Tan interweaves the story of his research with the recollections of survivors and reflections on the long-term consequences of the Cultural Revolution. Akin to Jan Gross's Neighbors, about the Holocaust in a Polish town, The Killing Wind likewise paints a single episode in extraordinary detail in order to make a broader argument about the long term consequences flowing from one of the twentieth century's greatest human tragedies