On September 16, the daughter of a prominent Red Guard leader and senior Chinese Communist Party official, Song Renqiong, passed away in the United States at the age of 77. During the Cultural Revolution, Song Binbin, as she was known, presented a red armband to Mao Zedong at the Tiananmen Gate Tower and changed her name to “Song Yaowu,” becoming a symbol of the Cultural Revolution. Ten years ago, Song Binbin publicly apologized to the Vice Principal Bian Zhongyun and other teachers and students who were victims during the Cultural Revolution, but the controversy still lingers.
According to the obituary sent by Song Renqiong’s son Song Kehuang to his friends, Song Binbin returned home from the hospital at 13:50 on September 14 and, after resting for 36 hours, passed away at 00:20 on September 16 at the age of 77, surrounded by her family.
The WeChat public account “Hong Chuan Media” quoted Song Binbin’s sister telling a friend that her sister “did not hold any commemorative events after her death, hoping to leave peacefully.”
On August 18, 1966, Mao Zedong met with Red Guards for the first time at Tiananmen Square. Song Binbin presented a red armband to Mao at the Tiananmen Gate Tower, and after Mao learned that her name originated from “gentle and refined,” he remarked, “then it should be martial,” leading to Song Binbin changing her name to “Song Yaowu.”
In August of the same year, the official newspaper “Guangming Daily” published an article signed by “Song Yaowu (Song Binbin)” titled “I Presented Chairman Mao with a Red Armband,” which was then reprinted by the “People’s Daily.” The article stated: “This is a day I will never forget in my life. I presented Chairman Mao with the Red Guard armband, and the Chairman gave me a name with great significance. Chairman Mao pointed us in the right direction, we rose in rebellion, we became warriors!”
Since then, “Song Binbin” has become a symbol of violence and chaos in the Red Guard movement.
In 1969, Song Binbin went to Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region’s Xilingol League to work in the pastoral areas. In 1972, she entered Changchun Geological Institute as a worker-peasant-soldier student and graduated in 1975. In 1980, she immigrated to the United States under the guise of studying abroad and changed her name to Song Yan.
On January 12, 2014, Song Binbin was in the meeting room at Beijing Normal University Affiliated Experimental School (formerly Beishida Women’s Secondary School) where a bronze statue of Vice Principal Bian Zhongyun was placed, apologizing to the former teachers, classmates, and descendants of the teachers. The family of Bian Zhongyun was absent.
Song Binbin stated that if she didn’t apologize now, she might not get another chance. With tears in her eyes, she read a prepared statement, expressing her responsibility for the unfortunate death of Vice Principal Bian. Although Bian Zhongyun held the title of Vice Principal at the time, she was the actual person in charge.
Song Binbin also remarked, “The Cultural Revolution was a great disaster,” and “the future direction of a country largely depends on how it faces its past.” She expressed her hope that all those who made mistakes or harmed teachers and students during the Cultural Revolution could confront themselves, reflect on the past, seek forgiveness, and achieve reconciliation.
On January 27, Bian Zhongyun’s husband Wang Jingyao issued a statement, stating that they would not accept the insincere apology from the “Red Guards” of Beishida Women’s Secondary School until the truth is fully revealed.