Battle for China's Past : Mao and the Cultural Revolution

THE BATTLE FOR CHINA’ S PAST
China. However, Lin Ke et al do present original documentation as
evidence. There is an entry in Mao’s medical record signed by Li which
shows that Li took over the responsibility for looking after Mao’s
health on 3 June 1957. On the other hand, there is no original documentation
in Li’s book that unambiguously shows that Li was Mao’s doctor
before 1957. In the book there are only two pictures of Li dated before
1957. One is of him standing alone at the Zhongnanhai compound
(where some CCP leaders lived) and the other shows him swimming
with two people. The caption of the swimming picture claims that Li is
swimming with Mao, but Mao is not in the picture.
Wu Xujun, who was Mao’s chief nurse (hushi zhang), argues the
other photo also makes a false claim. The caption of that photo claims
that it was taken at Mao’s residence. In fact, as is shown by the background
wall in the photo, the photo was taken at a clinic where Li
worked, which was far from Mao’s residence (Lin Ke et al 1995: 146–7).
Wu points out that more than 180 pages of Li’s memoirs are devoted to
Li’s so-called eyewitness account of China and Mao during the years
between 1954 and 1957, but during those years Li was not even Mao’s
general practitioner (Lin Ke et el 1995: 150).
How much did the doctor know?
Lin Ke et al also point out Li’s mistaken claim that he had found Mao
to be infertile. To affirm that Li was wrong about Mao’s infertility Li Ke
et al interviewed Professor Wu Jieping, a medial authority who looked
after Mao (Wu was alive when Li Ke et al was published). Yet Li was a
doctor; how could he make such a mistake? The reason, according to
Lin Ke et al, is that the book has to say somehow that Mao was infertile.
Otherwise the book has to answer the inevitable question of where
Mao’s illegitimate children are since the book claims that Mao had
slept with so many women.
In order to get Li to ‘reveal’ all the important political events about
which Li knew nothing or could not care less, the English version
added incidents in which Li was present at many exclusive party meetings
including even the CCP Politburo Standing Committee meetings.
It is claimed that Li was present when the Cultural Revolution Small
Group meeting took place in Wuhan on 8 February 1967. But Lin Ke et
al (1995) argue that it was impossible for Li to have been present at all
these meetings because that was against CCP party discipline and
regulations. Lin Ke himself, who was much closer to Mao in political
and policy issues, was not able to attend meetings at this level.
Lin Ke et al point out that personnel such as nurses, bodyguards
or secretaries who worked with Mao and had Mao’s trust all have
some personal memento from Mao, like his notes, instructions, letters
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