Mao Zedong's infamous mango cult - Vivian Jiang

翻译人员: Siyu Lian 校对人员: Yan Li Xiao

One morning in August 1968,

一九六八年八月的一个清晨，

factory worker Wang Xiaoping overheard news of a mysterious mandatory meeting.

工人王小平无意中听到了 一个神秘义务会议的消息。

Rumors whispered through the cafeteria described shipments of a gift

共产主义领导人毛泽东主席 赠送礼物的流言

from the country’s communist leader, Chairman Mao Zedong.

传遍了整个食堂。

And sure enough, managers soon dispersed a gift to every factory worker—

果不其然，工厂经理很快将 礼物分给了每个工人——

a glass box encasing a golden wax replica of a mango.

一个装在玻璃盒里的金色 蜡制芒果复制品。

Wang Xiaoping’s factory wasn’t the only facility to receive this unusual offering.

王小平所在的工厂并不是唯一 收到这份不寻常礼物的工厂。

The Chairman gifted fresh mangoes to factories across China,

毛主席向中国各地的工厂 赠送新鲜芒果，

leading employees to stay up late,

导致员工们通宵达旦触摸水果，

touching the fruits and contemplating the meaning behind Mao's gesture.

沉思毛主席行为背后的深意。

Some tried to preserve the fresh mangoes in formaldehyde,

有人尝试用甲醛保存新鲜芒果，

while others ate the fruit

另一些人吃掉了芒果，

and commissioned wax replicas of their prize.

并制作了芒果奖品的蜡制。

In one factory, workers initiated a strange ritual:

一家工厂的工人们发起了 一个奇特的仪式：

peeling and boiling their mangoes to create a “holy” broth

他们将芒果剥皮并煮熟来制作

that was spooned into their mouths.

口服的神圣芒果汤。

Since traditional Chinese medicine often involved boiling ingredients,

由于中国传统医学经常 涉及到将原料煮沸，

it's possible this mango wine was concocted as a kind of healing tonic.

所以这种芒果酒可能是作为 一种治疗的补药而调制的。

Soon, fables formed that the fruit ensured a long life

不久，传说芒果就像 中国神话中的寿桃

like the Peaches of Immortality from Chinese mythology.

有长生不老的魔力传开了。

And by refusing to eat the mangoes himself,

毛泽东通过自己不吃芒果，

Mao had generously sacrificed his own longevity for the working class.

他为工人阶级慷慨地 牺牲了自己的寿命。

But whatever Mao's intentions,

不管毛泽东的意图是什么，

this mango mania wasn’t as frivolous as it might seem.

这种芒果狂热并不像 看起来那么轻率。

And in fact, it’s harmless appearance hid a much darker truth.

事实上，它无害的表面 隐藏着更黑暗的真相。

Two years earlier, Mao Zedong had launched the Cultural Revolution,

两年前， 毛泽东发动了文化大革命——

a decade-long political and ideological movement intended to erase

一个长达十年的政治和思想运动，

capitalist thought and cultural traditions from Chinese society.

旨在从中国社会消除 资本主义的思想和文化传统。

To enact this plan, Mao called on the Red Guards,

为了实现这个计划， 毛泽东召集了红卫兵，

a student-led paramilitary group.

一个由学生领导的准军事团体。

He enlisted them to help eradicate the “Four Olds”—

毛泽东召集他们来破“四旧”——

a vaguely defined set of customs, habits, and ideas

一个通常和与精英上层社会有关的

often associated with the elite upper-class.

旧风俗、习惯和思想 定义模糊的合称。

Mao’s dogma was militant,

毛泽东的教条是激进的，

and the Red Guard interpreted his vision as achievable only through violence.

红卫兵认为实现 其目标的唯一途径是通过暴力。

The Red Guard acted above law and order, ransacking temples and tombs,

红卫兵凌驾于法律和制度之上， 将寺庙和古墓洗劫一空，

including those of dynastic royalty and Confucius.

包括那些王朝皇室成员和孔子的。

Homes were raided and piles of books burned in the streets.

房屋被搜查， 成堆的书籍在街上被焚烧。

But the Red Guard’s rampage went far beyond property damage.

但红卫兵的横行无忌远远 超出了财物破坏。

They began holding “struggle sessions”—

他们开始举行“批斗会”——

public spectacles designed to shame so-called class enemies.

旨在羞辱所谓的阶级 敌人的公开场合。

Victims were accused of holding elitist, capitalist values,

受害者被指责为持有精英主义、 资本主义的价值观，

and were often forced to wear heavy signs detailing their crimes.

并通常被迫戴上详细说明 其罪行的沉重牌子。

The Red Guard pressured people to accuse their friends and family.

红卫兵向人民施压， 让人们指认他们的家人朋友。

They manipulated students to denounce their teachers and parents.

他们操纵学生们公开谴责 自己的老师和家长。

They gradually morphed into torture and executions.

这逐渐蜕变成严刑拷打。

After two years of the Red Guards’ chaos, Mao recanted his support

经过了两年红卫兵的动乱， 毛泽东收回了自己的支持，

and sent 30,000 factory workers to fight the Red Guard at Qinghua University.

并派出三万名工人 在清华大学与红卫兵作战。

With the help of the People’s Liberation Army,

在人民解放军的帮助下，

these factory workers succeeded,

这些工人成功了。

and Mao thanked them for their service with a crate of 40 mangoes.

毛泽东以一箱四十个芒果 来感谢他们的奉献。

This gesture wasn’t quite as generous as it appeared

此行为没有表面看起来那么慷慨，

since Mao was actually passing along a gift

其实毛泽东只是传递了一份他从

he received from Pakistan’s foreign minister.

巴基斯坦的外交部长收到的礼物。

But much worse, this reward was quickly tainted by the ideology

但更糟糕的是，这份奖赏很快

of the Cultural Revolution.

被文化大革命的思想所败坏了。

As a propaganda tool, Mao’s mangoes demanded high levels of respect.

作为一种宣传工具， 毛泽东的芒果需要高度的尊重。

Workers boarded unheated buses in sub-zero temperatures to visit

工人们在零下温度中 登上未供暖的巴士，

mandatory mango exhibitions organized by the government.

来参观政府组织的 强制性芒果展览。

Factory workers were scolded for not holding their replicas securely.

工人因为没有保护好 他们的复制品而被责骂。

And in Sichuan, a man who remarked that the mango was “nothing special”

在四川，一个男子因为

and “looked like a sweet potato”

”芒果没有什么稀奇的”和 “看起来像个红薯”的言论

was arrested, tried, and executed.

被逮捕、审判和处决。

For reasons mostly unknown, the mango fever broke a year and a half later.

芒果热潮在一年半后爆发了， 具体原因不明。

After the Red Guard was dissolved

在红卫兵被解散和参与者

and participants were sent to the countryside for re-education,

被送到乡下重新教育之后，

the mystifying mango faded from official propaganda.

神秘的芒果从官方宣传中消失了。

Wax from the replicas were repurposed for candles during power outages.

在停电期间，这些芒果复制品的蜡 被用于制作蜡烛。

And today you’d be lucky to find an antique mango tray or medallion

在今日，当你在北京的跳蚤 市场上闲逛时，

while perusing a Beijing flea market.

能找到一个古董芒果托盘 或纪念章就算很幸运了。

But the tale of Mao’s mangoes is just a minor story

不过毛泽东芒果的故事只是 在这十年来痛苦的、

amidst a decade of painful, buried history.

被埋葬的历史中不足为道的一个。

Discussion of the Cultural Revolution is restricted across China.

在中国，对文化大革命的讨论 是受限制的。

And though some former Red Guards have attempted to challenge this policy

虽然一些前红卫兵 尝试通过公开反思

by publicly reflecting and apologizing for their actions,

并为其行为道歉反对这个政策，

they still avoid maligning Mao Zedong.

他们仍然避免恶意诋毁毛泽东。

Given the current political landscape of China,

以中国目前的政治形势，

only time will tell when this history will be discussed openly and freely.

只有时间知道这段历史何时 能被公开和自由地讨论。