Mao Zedong's infamous mango cult - Vivian Jiang

譯者: Camila Lin 審譯者: Zoe Walmsley

One morning in August 1968,

1968 年八月的某個早晨，

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

工人王小蘋無意間聽到 一個祕密集會流出的消息。

Rumors whispered through the cafeteria described shipments of a gift

流言在食堂內傳開，

說是中共領導人毛澤東， 送來了好幾箱禮物。

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

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

果真，工廠經理隨後就把禮物 分發給每個工人：

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

一個裝在玻璃盒內的金色蠟製芒果。

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

王小蘋的工廠並非唯一 收到這個不尋常禮物的單位。

The Chairman gifted fresh mangoes to factories across China,

中國各地的工廠都收到 毛主席送的新鮮芒果，

leading employees to stay up late,

有些工人直到深夜，

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

還在觸摸芒果，想了解毛澤東的目的。

Some tried to preserve the fresh mangoes in formaldehyde,

有人用甲醛防止芒果腐敗，

while others ate the fruit

有人把芒果吃掉，

and commissioned wax replicas of their prize.

用蠟做出複製品。

In one factory, workers initiated a strange ritual:

某個工廠的工人想出了奇怪的儀式：

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

他們將芒果去皮， 煮出一鍋「神聖之水」，

that was spooned into their mouths.

然後一人舀一匙喝下。

Since traditional Chinese medicine often involved boiling ingredients,

傳統中藥的藥材常需燉煮，

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

煮成芒果瓊漿也可作為補藥。

Soon, fables formed that the fruit ensured a long life

傳說很快就蔓延開來，

說它像王母娘娘的蟠桃， 能使人長生不老，

like the Peaches of Immortality from Chinese mythology.

And by refusing to eat the mangoes himself,

而毛澤東卻不願獨享，

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

反而慷慨地將長壽的機會 讓給廣大的工人階級。

But whatever Mao's intentions,

不論毛澤東的目的為何，

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

這股芒果狂熱表面上看起來無足輕重，

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

其實卻隱藏著一段暗黑歷史。

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

兩年之前，毛澤東發動了文化大革命，

a decade-long political and ideological movement intended to erase

一場持續十年的政治與思想運動，

想將資本主義思想與文化傳統 從中國社會中剷除。

capitalist thought and cultural traditions from Chinese society.

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

為了推行這個計畫， 毛澤東創立了紅衛兵，

a student-led paramilitary group.

一個由學生領頭的準軍事組織。

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

他要他們幫忙根除「四舊」──

a vaguely defined set of customs, habits, and ideas

定義鬆散，泛指菁英上層社會的 風俗、習慣與思想。

often associated with the elite upper-class.

Mao’s dogma was militant,

毛的教條激進、好鬥，

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

而紅衛兵將之解讀成 唯有暴力才能實現。

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

紅衛兵不受法律與秩序約束， 他們洗劫廟宇和墳墓，

including those of dynastic royalty and Confucius.

包含歷代帝王的陵寢與孔子之墓。

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

他們也打劫百姓，在大街上焚書，

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

他們的胡作非為不僅止於損壞財物。

They began holding “struggle sessions”—

他們開始舉行「批鬥大會」──

public spectacles designed to shame so-called class enemies.

公開羞辱所謂「階級敵人」的集會。

Victims were accused of holding elitist, capitalist values,

受害者被指控心懷 菁英主義、資本主義價值，

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

常常被戴上條列罪狀的沉重看板。

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

紅衛兵對百姓施壓， 要他們指控自己的親朋好友，

They manipulated students to denounce their teachers and parents.

他們也操弄學生去批鬥 自己的師長和父母，

They gradually morphed into torture and executions.

漸漸變本加厲到凌遲、處刑等等。

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

在紅衛兵亂了兩年後， 毛公開撤回對他們的支持，

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

並且派了三萬名工人， 到清華大學和紅衛兵戰鬥。

With the help of the People’s Liberation Army,

藉著人民解放軍的幫助，

these factory workers succeeded,

這些工人戰勝了，

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

毛送他們一箱四十顆芒果致謝。

This gesture wasn’t quite as generous as it appeared

表面上看起來很大方，

since Mao was actually passing along a gift

毛其實只是將巴基斯坦 外交部長的禮物轉送出去。

he received from Pakistan’s foreign minister.

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

但更糟糕的是，這份謝禮

很快就渲染上文化大革命的意識形態。

of the Cultural Revolution.

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

毛的芒果成了宣傳工具， 人民被迫表達敬仰。

Workers boarded unheated buses in sub-zero temperatures to visit

在零度以下的寒冷中， 工人搭上沒有暖氣的巴士，

mandatory mango exhibitions organized by the government.

去參觀政府舉辦的芒果展。

Factory workers were scolded for not holding their replicas securely.

工廠如果沒好好看待 芒果蠟像就遭到譴責。

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

在四川，有個男子因為說 「這顆芒果有何特別」、

and “looked like a sweet potato”

「看起來就像顆紅薯」，

was arrested, tried, and executed.

被逮捕、審判並處刑。

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

這股芒果狂熱，在一年半後莫名平息。

After the Red Guard was dissolved

等到紅衛兵被解散，

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

學生被迫「下鄉」接受再教育，

the mystifying mango faded from official propaganda.

這個神秘芒果也從政治宣傳中消失。

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

後來缺電時，這些蠟做的芒果 被改造成蠟燭使用。

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

運氣好的話，你或許能找到 舊的芒果托盤或獎章，

while perusing a Beijing flea market.

隱身在北京的跳蚤市場中。

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

毛澤東的芒果神話，

只是那痛苦的十年、 一個深埋歷史的旁支末節。

amidst a decade of painful, buried history.

Discussion of the Cultural Revolution is restricted across China.

中國仍嚴禁談論文化大革命，

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

雖然有些老紅衛兵嘗試

by publicly reflecting and apologizing for their actions,

公開回憶過往，並為自己的行為道歉，

they still avoid maligning Mao Zedong.

他們仍然避免指責毛澤東。

Given the current political landscape of China,

以目前中國的政治環境來看，

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

這段歷史何時能被公開談論， 只有交給時間去證明了。