Seal the Coffin and Pass the Final Verdict
#PUBLICATION NOTE
This edition of Seal the Coffin and Pass the Final Verdict has been prepared and revised for digital publication by the Institute of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism under the Central Committee of the Communist Party in Switzerland on the basis of the following editions:
- Quotation in Hua Kuo-feng and the Arrest of the «Gang of Four», in The China Quarterly, Vol. 75, September 1978.
- Quotation in The End of the Maoist Era, M.E. Sharpe, Armonk and London, 2007.
- Quotation in Biography of Mao Zedong, 1949-76.
#INTRODUCTION NOTE
These are excerpts from a talk held by Comrade Mao Zedong at a meeting of the Second Political Bureau of the Tenth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in Beijing, China on the 15th of June, 1976.
Attending the meeting were Hua Guofeng, Jiang Qing, Ye Jianying, Wang Hongwen, Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan, Li Xiannian, Chen Yonggui, Wang Dongxing, Wang Hairong, and others.
#Workers and oppressed people of the world, unite!
#SEAL THE COFFIN AND PASS THE FINAL VERDICT
#TALK AT A MEETING OF THE SECOND POLITICAL BUREAU OF THE TENTH CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF CHINA
#Mao Zedong
#15th of June, 1976
#★
#1
I am not planning on leaving a will. Wills can be falsified. Did not Prime Minister Zhao Gao falsify Qin Shi Huangdi's will?
#2
From now on, you should help Jiang Qing to carry the Red Flag. Don't let it fall. You should alert her against repeating the mistakes she has committed in the past.
Jiang Qing should guide the Party's affairs. Someone very bold is required for this task.
#3
A saying goes: «It is rare for a person to live to 70 years of age.» I am already over 80 years old. People always think about what their funerals will be like. An old Chinese saying goes: «Seal the coffin and pass the final verdict.» Although my coffin hasn't been sealed yet, it is already possible to pass my final verdict.
I have accomplished two things in my life. First, I fought Jiang Jieshi for a few decades and drove him away to a few islands. After eight years of war against the Japanese, they were sent home. We fought our way to Beijing, at last entering the Forbidden City. There are not many people who do not recognize these achievements. Only a few people whispered in my ear, urging me to recover those few islands.
The other matter, you all know about. It was to launch the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. On this matter, few support it, many oppose it. But it is not finished, and its legacy must be handed down to the next generation. How is this to be done? If not in peace, then in war. If it is not done well, then there will be bloodshed. Only Heaven knows how you are going to handle it.