Officially, the members of the Communist Party of China (CPC) are supposed to be Atheist and materialists. According to the rules and regulations of the party — while Chinese citizens have freedom of religious belief protected by the constitution, Party members are “special citizens” and are not allowed to practice any religion or “feudal superstitions.” This is clearly stated in the rule book and in many publications of the party. However, there are many suspicions among the Chinese people that the leadership within the party might actually be more spiritual than they are letting on.
The Spirituality of Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai
It is well recorded that Mao Zedong’s mother was a very devout Buddhist and there is no doubt that this religiosity has had some influence on his personality. In an interview with the American Edgar Snow, Mao recalled:
“My mother was a very devout Buddhist. She instilled religious belief in her children, and we were all sad because my father did not believe in Buddhism. When I was nine years old, I had a serious discussion with my mother. Since then, we have tried to convert father several times, but without success. He just scolded us, so we had to give in and find another way.”
In April 1917, Mao Zedong published his famous article “Research on Physical Culture”. In the article, Mao Zedong wrote that Buddha and Jesus were among the greatest thinkers, “One often hears it said that the mind and the body cannot both be perfect at the same time, that those who use their minds are deficient in physical health and those with a robust body are generally deficient in mental capacities…The Buddha traveled continually, preaching his doctrine, and he died at an old age. Jesus had the misfortune to die unjustly…All these men were called sages and are among the greatest thinkers…”
On August 23, 1917, the young Mao Zedong wrote in a letter to his college teacher, Mr. Li Jinxi, who was also a teacher: “A gentleman should have a compassionate heart to save the sinner… If you use a compassionate heart to save the sinner, I will also accept it. Our universe is one body.” What the words here reveal is Mao had some understanding of the concepts of universal compassion and salvation advocated by Mahayana Buddhism.
In the 1910s and 1920s, a common past time for young Chinese college students during the summer was to visit Buddhist temples to search for the meaning of life. In 1917, the young Mao Zedong and his classmates visited Xiangshan Temple, Baiyun Temple and Miyin Temple in Ningxiang County. The students looked through the various Buddhist scriptures stored in the temple with great interest, and seriously discussed the meaning of Buddhist scriptures with the abbot. One of Mao’s college friends Zhang Kundi recalled in his diary that one day in September 1917, Mao Zedong, stayed up all night, talking about life and the Buddhist text “The Study of Ren.”
According to an article in Issue 41 of the Chinese magazine “Buddhist Culture” in 1999, In 1938, Mao Zedong had a conversation with Zhou Enlai: “Why do you always do things so satisfactorily?”
Zhou replied: “Chairman, in addition to Marxism-Leninism, I also have Buddhism.”
“Which one have you converted to?”
“Old monk Xuyun.”
“Who is this old monk Xuyun?”
“Old monk Xuyun is a contemporary eminent monk. His father is the prefect of Quanzhou. His father and uncle forced him to marry two wives. However, he ran away and became a monk. He eats leaves to satisfy his hunger. He endured what no one could bear and what no ordinary person could do…”
Mao Zedong was moved and went to invite Xuyun for a conversation, but Xuyun refused to speak with Mao Zedong, only replying “Since ancient times, the king of Dharma is greater than the king of men...” After hearing this, Mao Zedong became upset.
For Zhou himself, Zhou Enlai’s parents both believed in Buddhism.
On March 23, 1948, Mao Zedong visited Tayuan Temple in Taihuai Town, Wutai Mountain. This was during the Chinese Civil War. While at the temple, Mao Zedong said to Zhou Enlai, “Buddhist culture has been introduced to China for nearly two thousand years. It has been integrated with Confucianism and Taoism and has become the splendid culture of the Chinese nation. We must protect and study it.”
Zhou replied and said, “Yes, history is constantly moving forward, and today’s achievements are achieved on the basis of history. Our belief in Marxism-Leninism was gradually formed in the process of historical development.”
Mao Zedong said again, “For thousands of years, Buddhism’s achievements in philosophy, architecture, art, and music cannot be ignored. They are an important part of the civilization and splendid culture of all mankind and the Chinese nation.”
One final bizarre story. The military unit which is responsible for the protection of the top leadership of China is known as the People’s Liberation Army Central Guards Unit. This unit is somewhat similar to the Secret Service of the United States and directly answers to Mao Zedong himself. This unit was officially organized in 1953.
According to Chinese language sources, the Central Guards unit was given the number designation 8341 which was first used by the General Staff in the year 1964. Mao Zedong died in 1976.
Look at the numbers 8341 - 83, 41.
Mao Zedong lived for almost 83 years (1893–1976). He ruled the Communist Party for 41 years, from 1935 (after Long March) -1976
Why were the numbers 8341 assigned to Mao’s bodyguards unit in 1964, almost over a decade before his death? Where did the numbers 8341 come from? This is a mystery.
According to one explanation: Mao Zedong in around 1960 or so became very upset after the failures of some of the policies of the Great Leap Forward. So he sent a secretary to find a Taoist master in Xishan mountain. When the secretary arrived at the mountain, the old Taoist Monk had already been waiting for him and left a note for the secretary, without saying a word. The note was returned to Mao Zedong; who saw that there was nothing there, just the numbers “8341”. He couldn’t figure it out the meaning. So Mao simply changed the number of the security force that protects his life to “8341.”
Another theory was that 8341 was the serial number of Mao Zedong’s rifle when he was fighting in the Chinese Civil War. In any case, this coincidence is a mystery.
In 2000, Unit 8341 changed its designation name to Unit 61889. Whether if 61889 has any significance in Chinese numerology is unknown to the author at this time.
What about the current generation of Communist Party Leaders like President Xi Jinping?
According to Wikileaks, a cable was sent that Xi Jinping in his youth was also once obsessed with Buddhism, “ Xi at one point early in his career was quite taken with Buddhist mysticism, displaying a fascination with (and knowledge of) Buddhist martial arts and mystical powers said to aid health.”
In 2018, A 96 year old Taiwan based Monk named Master Shi Jingkong, before he died, said that Xi Jinping is a reincarnation of an enlightened person. “Incarnation of Pusa.”
Master Shi Jingkong was born in 1927, and was a member of the Kuomintang Army who fled to Taiwan after 1949. He then became a monk and was considered one of the greatest Buddhist leaders in Taiwan before he passed away in 2022.
In May 2020, during the Covid pandemic, Xi Jinping visited the Buddhist heritage site at the Yungang Grottoes as part of a “cultural protection project” The Yungang Grottoes are a spiritual site for Buddhists. It is a cave complex which consist of relics and icons etched onto the walls. Some people speculate that the true purpose of the visit of Xi Jinping to this holy site was to connect with some higher power.
Additional Reading and Works Cited
Wang , X. (2009). 毛泽东与佛教文化 (Mao Zedong and Buddhist Culture). Chinaqw.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20201029134217/http://www.chinaqw.com/news/200910/27/178210.shtml
Xi focus: XI stresses protection of Yungang grottoes. Xinhua. (n.d.). http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2020-05/12/c_139050071.htm
163.com. (n.d.). 中央警卫团老兵佘兴发：我在8341部队的日子 (She Xingfa, a veteran of the Central Guard Corps: My days in Unit 8341). China Business News. https://web.archive.org/web/20161130012918/http://news.163.com/14/1215/03/ADFNIP9800014Q4P.html
