CONTENTS

Map—Daoxian at the Time of the Task Force Investigation

Foreword: Blood Awakening

Preface: Deconstructing the Mythos of Mao Zedong’s Peasant Revolution

Translator’s Note

Chronology of the Cultural Revolution Killings in Daoxian

Introduction

PART ONE  THE ORIGIN OF THE MASSACRE

1. The River of Death

2. My Destiny with Daoxian

3. Daoxian on the Eve of the Massacre

THE AUGUST 5 COUNTY SEIZE-AND-PUSH MEETING

THE AUGUST 8 GUN-SNATCHING INCIDENT

4. The Random Killings Begin

FIRST BLOOD AT THE XIABA PRODUCTION BRIGADE

XIQUE ZHENGJIA SPARKS OFF THE MASSACRE

PART TWO  ASSEMBLING THE MACHINERY OF SLAUGHTER

5. The Killing Wind Spreads through Administrative Lines

6. 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

7. 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

PART THREE  CHETOU AND SHANGGUAN DISTRICTS—MURDER AS SPECTACLE

8. 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

9. Shangguan District—in the Eye of the Storm

SHANGGUAN COMMUNE’S ON-THE-SPOT KILLING RALLIES

KILLING TURNCOATS AS WELL AS LANDLORDS

10. Other Communes in Shangguan District

DONGMEN COMMUNE: GRAFFITI ON A COTTAGE WALL

THE KILLINGS AT WANJIAZHUANG COMMUNE

THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF FUTANG COMMUNE

PART FOUR  GONGBA DISTRICT, THE COUNTY’S TOP KILLER

11. A Dubious Honor

ONE DAY IN YANHETANG

12. The Killings at Daoxian’s Deadliest Commune

INTERVIEW WITH THE BUTCHER OF GONGBA COMMUNE

13. Some Who Got Away

14. Death before Marriage

PART FIVE  QINGXI DISTRICT’S PAFD COMMANDER

15. High-Level Participation in Qingxi District

THE GREAT LEAP BRIGADE’S KILLING SPUTNIK

KILLINGS APPROVED BY THE COUNTY ORGANIZATION DEPARTMENT HEAD

16. When the Pebble Rises from the Water

PART SIX  XIANGLINPU DISTRICT’S MILITIA PUSH

17. The Shangdu Militia Headquarters

THE PRESSURE TO STAY IN THE LEAD

18. Even Heaven Wept

19. Two Classic Cases

20. The Banality of Evil

“THE TOUGH JOB IS LEFT TO ME”

A BRIGADE SECRETARY’S STORY

WHATEVER THE COMMUNIST PARTY SAYS

PART SEVEN  DEADLY POLITICS

21. A Little Education Is a Dangerous Thing

THE LEGEND OF WIDOW’S BRIDGE

IF YOU LOVED THE COMMUNIST PARTY, WOULD THE PARTY KILL YOU?

22. The Price of Truth

THE DESTRUCTION OF TWO RIGHTIST FAMILIES

DEATH OF A “LITTLE PENG DEHUAI”

23. The Scapegoated Landlord Class

PART EIGHT  THE KILLERS

24. Beyond the Pale

THE “BIG RICE POT”

BETWEEN HUMANS AND BEASTS

25. Brainwashed

THE COMMUNIST PARTY SECRETARY WHO KILLED A POOR-PEASANT ASSOCIATION CHAIRMAN

DUTY BEFORE FAMILY

THE IRON MAIDEN OF DAOXIAN

PART NINE  THE OUTLIERS

26. The Anomalous Xianzijiao District

QIAOTOU COMMUNE’S MASS-KILLING RALLY

THE LAST VICTIM

27. The Zhenggangtou Phenomenon

28. The Miracle of Life

29. The Story of an Execution Ground Survivor

PART TEN  THE CRACKDOWN

30. The 6950 Unit Arrives in Daoxian

THE HARD TASK OF HALTING THE KILLING

31. No Regrets

AN INTERVIEW WITH REVOLUTIONARY ALLIANCE LEADER LIU XIANGXI

AN INTERVIEW WITH RED ALLIANCE LEADER HE XIA

32. The Petitioners

MASTER PETITIONER LI NIANDE

A MANSION AND A FAMILY’S FATE

RISE OF A MASTER PETITIONER

33. Change of Plans

A DRINKING MISHAP

34. Killings in the Counties and Cities Surrounding Daoxian

PART ELEVEN  THE END OF THE KILLING WIND

35. 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

36. 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

Notes

Index