Authority Versus Family

This thread follows the growing conflict between Jinzhen’s intimate loyalties and the state’s demand that a valuable cryptographer belong first to his work.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

A Recruitment Hidden from View

A Recruitment Hidden from View A secretive approach Zheng arrives at N University with a document that must be burned after reading and asks to recruit one mathematically gifted person. His authority and secrecy make the request impossible for the university to treat as an ordinary appointment. A guardian’s resistance Young Lillie knows what Jinzhen means to the research project and initially tells Zheng not to take him. The conflict begins as a personal disagreement over a young man’s future.

A Decision Behind Closed Doors

A Decision Behind Closed Doors An unknown argument Zheng speaks privately with Young Lillie for over half an hour. The family never learns what was said, and Young Lillie refuses to reveal the secret even later in life. Consent becomes a farewell After the meeting, Young Lillie agrees to the departure. The decision transforms an abstract recruitment into a family rupture that no one present can control.

The Oath of Silence

The Oath of Silence A journey made secret Zheng warns Jinzhen that everything he sees and hears is classified. When Jinzhen asks where they are going, the answer reinforces that even his location is not his to know. A new boundary The oath immediately places family and private knowledge on the forbidden side of his work. Secrecy is not merely a rule he follows; it becomes the structure within which he must live.

The Unanswered Funeral Call

The Unanswered Funeral Call A family’s appeal After Young Lillie dies, the family asks Jinzhen to come home. For them, attending a father’s funeral is an ordinary and necessary act of kinship. Duty prevails A representative arrives instead of Jinzhen. His absence makes clear that the institution’s secrecy can override even the most compelling family obligation.

A Rescue Allowed by Power

A Rescue Allowed by Power A relative in danger Jinzhen returns to save Rong Yinyi from persecution, but comes accompanied by armed guards and under strict controls. His family can see his power without learning its source. Protection with limits His intervention changes the danger facing the family, yet the guard determines where he may go and what may be discussed. Even a reunion remains governed by institutional authority.

summer 1956

the evening before Jinzhen leaves

11 June 1956, on the journey from C City

December 1956

1966, during the Cultural Revolution