Mountains, Valleys and Lakes Nurture Great Talents (Part 3)
Section 3: Founding Heroes, Stars of the People. A World Great — Mao Zedong. Mao Zedong (1893–1976), courtesy name Runzhi, was born on December 26, 1893 into a peasant family in Shaoshanchong, Xiangtan, Hunan. Leader of the Chinese people, Marxist, great proletarian revolutionary, strategist and theoretician, and founder of the Communist Party of China.
This article has been compiled from historical materials in the "Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network" (33519.com · City Overview section). Some administrative divisions, population, socioeconomic data, and policy information may be outdated and are for reference only; for the latest situation, please refer to official releases by the local government and scenic areas.
Section Three
A Founding Hero and Great Leader, a Lucky Star for the People
A World Great Man — Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong (1893–1976), courtesy name Runzhi, was born on December 26, 1893, into a peasant family in Shaoshanchong, Xiangtan, Hunan. He was the leader of the Chinese people, a Marxist, a great proletarian revolutionary, strategist, and theoretician, the principal founder and leader of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese People's Liberation Army, and the People's Republic of China, a poet, and a calligrapher. He served as Chairman of the People's Revolutionary Military Commission of the Central People's Government (1949–1954), Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China (1954–1976), Chairman of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (1943–1945) and Chairman of the Central Committee (1945–1976), Chairman of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China (1949–1954), and President of the People's Republic of China (1954–1959). He passed away in Beijing on September 9, 1976.
One of the Important Leaders of the Party and State of New China — Liu Shaoqi
Liu Shaoqi (1898–1969) was a native of Ningxiang, Hunan. He was a great Marxist, proletarian revolutionary, statesman, and theoretician, and one of the principal leaders of the Communist Party of China and the People's Republic of China. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1921. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan in 1937, he led the work of establishing anti-Japanese base areas behind enemy lines in North China. In March 1947, when the Kuomintang army captured Yan'an, Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Ren Bishi, and others remained in northern Shaanxi to direct the national liberation war, and Liu Shaoqi served as Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. In 1954, at the First Session of the First National People's Congress, he delivered the 'Report on the Draft Constitution of the People's Republic of China' and was elected Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. In April 1959, at the First Session of the Second National People's Congress, he was elected President of the People's Republic of China and Chairman of the National Defense Council. During the 'Cultural Revolution,' he suffered political persecution and personal abuse from the counter-revolutionary cliques of Lin Biao and Jiang Qing, and died of illness on November 12, 1969. In 1980, the Fifth Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China made a special decision to restore his reputation.
The First Secretary-General of the Central People's Government of New China — Lin Boqu
Lin Boqu (1886–1960) was a native of Linli, Hunan. Together with four other veteran comrades — Xu Teli, Wu Yuzhang, Xie Juezai, and Dong Biwu — he was respectfully known as one of the 'Five Elders of Yan'an.' In his early years, he joined the Tongmenghui and the Chinese Revolutionary Party, and gradually embraced Marxism through revolutionary practice. In January 1921, he joined the early organization of the Communist Party of China in Shanghai, becoming one of the earliest members of our Party. In 1927, he participated in the Nanchang Uprising. In 1933, he entered the Central Revolutionary Base Area and successively served as Minister of the National Economy Department and Minister of the Finance Department of the Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic. In October 1934, he participated in the Long March. From the winter of 1937 to 1948, he served as Chairman of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region Government. After the founding of New China, he was appointed Secretary-General of the Central People's Government. In 1954, he was elected Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. He died of illness in Beijing on May 29, 1960.
The First Person to Propose the Name of the Communist Party of China and a Party-Building Plan — Cai Hesen
Cai Hesen (1895–1931) was a native of Shuangfeng County. He was a famous early leader of our Party and an outstanding proletarian revolutionary and theoretician. He and Mao Zedong founded the New People's Study Society. In 1920, he wrote to Mao Zedong, clearly stating: 'I believe we must organize a party — the Communist Party.' He proposed that the Communist Party must take Marxism as its guiding ideology; the Party must maintain close ties with the masses, and Party members should be distributed in factories, rural areas, and schools, becoming organizers and leaders of all mass movements; the Party must adopt thoroughly revolutionary methods and resolutely oppose all forms of reformism; and the Party must have iron discipline, with strict conditions for Party membership. In his reply, Mao Zedong expressed that he did 'not disagree with a single word' of Cai Hesen's outstanding views on Party building. Cai Hesen's Party-building thought laid a solid theoretical foundation for the founding of the Communist Party of China and made an indelible historical contribution.
The First Female Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China — Xiang Jingyu
Xiang Jingyu was born in September 1895 in Xupu County, Hunan. She joined the New People's Study Society in 1918. In 1919, she and Cai Chang and others organized the Hunan Women's Work-Study Program in France, becoming the pioneer of the work-study movement for women in Hunan. She joined the Communist Party of China at the end of 1921 and was elected a member of the Central Committee and served as the first Minister of Women of the Party Central Committee. In 1925, she went to study in the Chinese section of the Eastern University in Moscow. After returning to China in April 1927 to attend the Fifth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, she stayed in Wuhan and successively took charge of leadership work for the Wuhan General Trade Union, the Hankou Municipal Propaganda Department, the Hubei Provincial Committee, and the Wuhan Municipal Committee. In the spring of 1928, due to a traitor's betrayal, she was arrested in the French concession in Hankou and heroically sacrificed her life on May 1 at the age of 33. In the spring of 1939, Comrade Mao Zedong in Yan'an called on people to learn from 'the model women's leader and Communist Party member Xiang Jingyu.' Zhou Enlai also said: 'Xiang Jingyu was the first female member of the Central Committee of our Party and the first Minister of Women. We must not forget her.'
A Remarkable Woman of Central Hunan — Yang Kaihui
Yang Kaihui, given name Xia, courtesy name Yunjin, of Han ethnicity, was the only daughter of the famous scholar Professor Yang Changji. She was born on November 6, 1901, into a progressive intellectual family in Bancang, Changsha County, Hunan Province. In the second half of 1920, she joined the Socialist Youth League of China. In the winter of that year, she married Mao Zedong. After joining the Communist Party of China in 1921, she followed Comrade Mao Zedong in revolutionary activities, engaging in the Party's confidential and communications liaison work under extremely difficult and dangerous conditions, and carrying out peasant movements, workers' movements, women's movements, and student movements. After the failure of the Great Revolution, amid the harsh White Terror, Yang Kaihui, in accordance with the Party's arrangements, took her children back to Bancang to carry out underground struggle. Cut off from the higher-level organization, she participated in organizing and leading the underground armed struggle in the border areas of Changsha, Pingjiang, and Xiangyin, worked hard to develop Party organizations, and persisted in the struggle for a full three years. On October 24, 1930, Yang Kaihui was arrested. Facing all kinds of threats, inducements, and cruel torture from the vicious 'Communist Suppression Team' of the Kuomintang Changsha Garrison Command, Yang Kaihui remained unyielding and righteous: 'Beat me if you will, kill me if you will, but if you think you can get what satisfies you from my mouth, you are dreaming!' 'Beheading is like the wind blowing past! Death can only frighten cowards, not Communists!' When the enemy pressed her about Mao Zedong's whereabouts and demanded that she publicly declare her separation from Mao Zedong as husband and wife, Yang Kaihui answered decisively: 'For me to separate from Mao Zedong — only when the seas dry up and the rocks crumble!' On November 14, 1930, Yang Kaihui heroically sacrificed her life at Shiziling outside Liuyang Gate, at the age of only 29.
The First Director of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions — Deng Zhongxia
Deng Zhongxia (1894–1933), a native of Yizhang, Hunan, was an early leader and theoretician of the Chinese Communist Party's workers' movement. In 1917 he entered the Department of Chinese Literature at Peking University, and in 1919 he threw himself into the May Fourth Movement. In March 1920, he initiated the founding of the Peking University Society for the Study of Marxist Theory. In 1920, together with Li Dazhao and others, he founded the Beijing Communist Group. In May 1922, at the First National Labor Congress held in Guangzhou, he was elected director of the Chinese Labor Organization Secretariat (the Federation of Trade Unions), and successively led the Beijing-Hankou Railway General Strike and the Guangzhou-Hong Kong General Strike, among others. He was an alternate member of the Central Committee at the Third and Sixth Party Congresses, and a member of the Central Committee at the Fifth. He served as Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee and Political Commissar of the Second Red Army Corps. In 1933 he died a heroic death at Yuhuatai in Nanjing.
The founder of the Chinese Communist Party's first publishing house — Li Da
Li Da (1890–1966), a native of Yongzhou, Hunan. In September 1921, he founded the Chinese Communist Party's first publishing house — the People's Publishing House — publishing works of Marxism-Leninism and revolutionary book series. After the failure of the Great Revolution, in the perilous environment of Kuomintang reactionary rule, he held fast to the theoretical front of Marxism-Leninism and became a distinguished Marxist theoretician.
The Party and the people's 'camel' — Ren Bishi
Ren Bishi (1904–1950), a native of Xiangyin, Hunan. He joined the Chinese Communist Party in early 1922. In 1931 he was elected a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee. In November 1935, together with He Long, he led the Second and Sixth Red Army Corps on the Long March. In March 1938, on behalf of the CPC Central Committee, he went to Moscow to report on work to the Communist International and won its understanding and support. In September 1941 he served as Secretary-General of the CPC Central Committee. In 1945 he was elected a member of the Political Bureau and a member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee. After 1946 he formulated the Chinese Communist Party's land policy and carried out land reform work. 'He was the camel of our Party, the camel of the Chinese people, bearing a heavy load, walking a long and arduous road, without rest, without enjoyment, without any personal calculation.' Thus did Ye Jianying appraise Ren Bishi.
The first Minister of National Defense of the People's Republic of China — Peng Dehuai
Peng Dehuai (1898–1974), founder and leader of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, military strategist, Marshal of the Republic. In 1922 he was admitted to the Hunan Army Officers' Military Academy and took part in the Northern Expedition. In April 1928 he joined the Communist Party, organized the Pingjiang Uprising, led his troops to Jinggangshan, and served as Vice Chairman of the Red Army's Revolutionary Military Commission. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance, he served as Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Eighth Route Army, and during the War of Liberation as Commander and Political Commissar of the First Field Army. After the founding of New China, he served as Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission and Minister of National Defense. During the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, he served as Commander and Political Commissar of the Chinese People's Volunteers. In September 1954 he became the first Minister of National Defense of the People's Republic of China. In 1955 he was conferred the rank of Marshal.
The first Procurator-General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate of New China — Luo Ronghuan
Luo Ronghuan (1902–1963), born in Hengshan, Hunan, was a founder and leader of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, a military strategist, and a Marshal of the Republic. In 1927 he joined the Chinese Communist Party, took part in the Autumn Harvest Uprising, and experienced the Long March. After arriving in Yan'an, he served as Director of the Political Department of the Military Commission's Rear Area. During the War of Resistance Against Japan, he first established an anti-Japanese base area in the Jin-Ji border region, and later established the Shandong anti-Japanese base area. After the victory of the War of Resistance, he led troops to create the North China revolutionary base area and took part in directing the Liaoshen Campaign. In January 1949 he served as Political Commissar of the Fourth Field Army and took part in directing the Pingjin Campaign. After the founding of the state, he was the first Procurator-General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and twice served as Director of the General Political Department, devoting his life's energy to the building of our army's political work. He was the only Marshal who devoted his entire life to political work and yet achieved outstanding military merit.
The first Minister of the State Physical Culture and Sports Commission of New China — He Long
He Long (1896–1969), a native of Sangzhi County, Hunan. Marshal of the People's Republic of China, military strategist, and one of the founders and principal leaders of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. In 1955 he was conferred the rank of Marshal. In 1916 he rose in uprising and took part in the National Protection War. During the Northern Expedition he served as Commander of the Twentieth Army of the National Revolutionary Army and Commander-in-Chief of the Nanchang Uprising. In September 1927 he joined the Chinese Communist Party. He was the founder of the Hunan-Hubei border base area and led his troops in the Long March. During the War of Resistance, he successively served as Commander of the 120th Division and Commander of the Jin-Sui Military Region. During the War of Liberation, he served as Commander of the Jin-Sui Military Region and the Jin-Sui Field Army, and Commander of the Northwest Military Region, among other posts. After the founding of New China, he served as Commander of the Southwest Military Region and promoted the peaceful liberation of Tibet. In early 1964, he presided over the daily work of the Military Commission. From the early days of the founding of the state, he concurrently served as Minister of the State Physical Culture and Sports Commission, and was the pioneer and founder of China's socialist sports cause.
A founding General of New China — Wang Zhen
Wang Zhen (1908–1993), a native of Liuyang, Hunan. In 1927 he joined the Chinese Communist Party. In 1929 he joined the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. During the Agrarian Revolutionary War, he took part in leading the struggle against 'encirclement and suppression' in the Hunan-Jiangxi revolutionary base area and was awarded the Third-Class Red Star Medal. During the War of Resistance Against Japan, he served as Deputy Commander and then Commander and Political Commissar of the 359th Brigade of the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army. In early 1941 he led the 359th Brigade to reclaim wasteland at Nanniwan. During the War of Liberation, he served as First Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the Central Plains Military Region and took part in directing the Central Plains Breakout. In 1949 he led his troops into Xinjiang. Later he served as Secretary of the CPC Central Committee's Xinjiang Sub-bureau and First Deputy Commander, Acting Commander and Political Commissar of the Xinjiang Military Region. After 1953 he served as Commander and Political Commissar of the Railway Corps. In 1955 he served as Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the PLA. In 1975 he served as Vice Premier of the State Council. In 1955 he was conferred the rank of General. He was awarded the First-Class August 1st Medal, the First-Class Medal of Independence and Freedom, and the First-Class Medal of Liberation. He passed away in Guangzhou on March 12, 1993, at the age of 85, and after his death donated his corneas. On April 5 of the same year, his ashes were scattered in the Tianshan Mountains of Xinjiang.
The first person to propose implementing the system of regional ethnic autonomy — Li Weihan
Li Weihan (1896–1984), a native of Changsha County, Hunan. In 1949, during the preparations for the People's Political Consultative Conference, Mao Zedong sought Li Weihan's opinion on the question of whether our country should adopt a federal system. Li Weihan held that our country's national conditions differed from those of the Soviet Union and that a federal system was not suitable, and he explained his reasons. Proceeding from China's actual conditions, he held that implementing regional ethnic autonomy within a unified state would be more conducive to the realization of ethnic equality, and the CPC Central Committee adopted his suggestion. Thus the system of regional ethnic autonomy was written into the Common Program of 1949. Every constitution of our country since 1954 has confirmed this system in the form of fundamental law.
The first Chairwoman of the All-China Women's Federation — Cai Chang
Cai Chang (1900–1990), a native of Xiangxiang, Hunan (present-day Shuangfeng County). In 1915 she graduated from Changsha Zhounan Women's Normal School. In 1919 she went to France with her elder brother Cai Hesen on a work-study program and joined the New People's Study Society. In 1922 she joined the Chinese Socialist Youth League (European Branch). In 1923 she joined the Chinese Communist Party. In 1934 she took part in the Long March and was the oldest female Red Army soldier on the Long March. After arriving in northern Shaanxi in 1935, she served as Secretary of the Women's Committee of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Women's Department of the CPC Southern Bureau. During the War of Liberation, she served as Secretary of the Women's Committee of the CPC Northeast Bureau. In 1947 she was elected Vice Chairwoman of the International Democratic Women's Federation. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, she successively served as a member of the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China, Secretary of the Women's Movement Committee of the CPC Central Committee, Chairwoman of the First through Third All-China Women's Federation, and Honorary Chairwoman of the Fourth. She was a member of the Standing Committee of the First through Third National People's Congress, Vice Chairwoman of the Standing Committee of the Fourth and Fifth, and a member of the Seventh through Eleventh Central Committees of the CPC. She passed away in Beijing on September 11, 1990.
The first Minister of Railways of New China — Teng Daiyuan
Teng Daiyuan (1904–1974), a native of Mayang, Hunan. In 1925 he joined the Chinese Communist Party. In 1927 he took part in the Autumn Harvest Uprising on the Hunan-Jiangxi border. In 1928, together with Peng Dehuai, Huang Gonglue and others, he led the Pingjiang Uprising and took part in the struggle against 'encirclement and suppression' in the Central Soviet Area. In 1934 he went to Moscow, the Soviet Union, to study and attended the Seventh Congress of the Communist International. During the War of Liberation, he served as a member of the CPC Central Committee's Jin-Ji-Lu-Yu Sub-bureau and Deputy Commander of the Jin-Ji-Lu-Yu Military Region. After 1948 he served as a member of the CPC Central Committee's North China Bureau and a member of the Central Military Commission, among other posts. After the founding of the state, he successively served as Minister of Railways and a member of the Government Administration Council, among other posts. He was the founder of the railway cause of the People's Republic of China and the creator of the Railway Corps. Under his organization, major projects such as the Chengdu-Chongqing Railway, the Tianshui-Lanzhou Railway, the Baotou-Lanzhou Railway, the Baoji-Chengdu Railway, the Yingtan-Xiamen Railway, and the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge were built.
The first Secretary of the Hunan Provincial Committee of New China — Huang Kecheng
Huang Kecheng (1902–1986), a native of Yongxing, Hunan, was a senior general of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and a military strategist. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he served as the first Secretary of the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee after the founding of the state, and Commander and Political Commissar of the Hunan Military Region. In 1954 he concurrently served as Vice Minister of National Defense. In 1955 he was conferred the rank of Senior General and the First-Class August 1st Medal, the First-Class Medal of Independence and Freedom, and the First-Class Medal of Liberation. In 1956 he was elected a member of the Eighth Central Committee of the CPC and a member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee. From 1954 he served as Secretary-General of the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee. In October 1958 he served as Chief of the General Staff and took part in formulating the guidelines and various rules and regulations for the modernization and regularization of the army.
New China's first Ambassador to Sweden — Geng Biao
Geng Biao (1909–2000), a native of Liling, Hunan. In September 1930 he joined the Red Army and successively served as Commander of the Fourth Regiment of the Second Division of the First Red Army Corps and Chief of Staff of the Fourth Army of the Fourth Front Red Army, among other posts. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, he served as Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander of the 385th Brigade of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army. During the War of Liberation, he served as Chief of Staff of the Jin-Cha-Ji Field Army and Deputy Commander of the Second Corps of the North China Military Region. In 1950 he became New China's first Ambassador to the Kingdom of Sweden and concurrently Minister to Denmark, and later successively served as Minister to Finland, Ambassador to Pakistan, and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, among other posts. In January 1971 he served as Minister of the International Liaison Department of the CPC Central Committee. In March 1978 he served as Vice Premier of the State Council. In January 1979 he served as a member and Secretary-General of the Standing Committee of the Central Military Commission. In March 1981 he served as Minister of National Defense. In June 1983 he was elected Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Sixth National People's Congress.
The first Commander of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy — Xiao Jinguang
Xiao Jinguang (1903–1989), a native of Changsha, Hunan, was an outstanding proletarian revolutionary and military strategist, an excellent leader of the state and the army, and the principal founder of the People's Navy. In 1924 he served as Party Representative of the Sixth Division of the Second Army of the National Revolutionary Army. He took part in the Northern Expedition. During the Agrarian Revolutionary War, he served as Chief of Staff of the Fujian-Guangdong-Jiangxi Military Region and Chief of Staff of the Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee, among other posts. He took part in the Long March. During the War of Resistance Against Japan, he served as Commander of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Garrison Corps and Deputy Commander of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia-Jinsui Joint Defense Army. During the War of Liberation, he served as Commander of the First Corps of the Northeast Field Army and Deputy Commander of the Fourth Field Army. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he served as Commander of the Hunan Military Region and was the first Commander of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy. At the same time, he was also the world's longest-serving navy commander, and was hailed at home and abroad as the father of the Chinese navy. In 1955 he was conferred the rank of Senior General. In July 1979 he was additionally elected Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Fifth National People's Congress.
The first Chairman of the Hunan Provincial People's Government of New China — Wang Shoudao
Wang Shoudao (1906–1996), a native of Liuyang, Hunan. In 1925 he joined the Chinese Communist Party. In 1926 he entered the Guangzhou Peasant Movement Training Institute to study. In 1934 he took part in the Long March and served as Director of the Political Department of the Central Military Commission Column and Director of the Enforcement Department of the State Security Bureau. After 1937 he served as Director of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the General Office. After 1946 he served as Director of the Finance and Economics Committee and Minister of Industry of the Northeast Administrative Committee. After 1949 he served as the first Chairman of the Hunan Provincial People's Government, and later successively served as First Deputy Secretary of the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee, Vice Chairman of the Fifth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and a member of the Standing Committee of the Central Advisory Commission, among other posts.
The foremost of New China's ten Senior Generals — Su Yu
Su Yu (1907–1984), a native of Huitong, Hunan. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, he served as Deputy Commander of the Second Detachment of the New Fourth Army, Deputy Commander of the New Fourth Army's Jiangnan and Subei Headquarters, Commander and Political Commissar of the First Division of the New Fourth Army, and Commander and Political Commissar of the Central Jiangsu Military Region and the Jiangsu-Zhejiang Military Region. During the War of Liberation, he successively served as Commander of the Central China Field Army and Deputy Commander and Acting Commander of the East China Field Army, among other posts. After the founding of New China, he successively served as Deputy Chief of the General Staff and Chief of the General Staff of the PLA, and Vice President of the Academy of Military Sciences, among other posts. In 1955, among the ten people conferred the rank of Senior General of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, Su Yu ranked first.
The Communist Party's candid friend — Qiu Ao
Qiu Ao (1879–1970), a native of Xiangyin County, Hunan. In 1904 he went to Japan to study, and the following year he became a member of the Tongmenghui. In 1912 he served as Director of the Civil Affairs and Internal Affairs Department of Hunan Province. In 1921, in the name of revitalizing social culture, he raised several thousand silver dollars to fund Mao Zedong, Li Weihan and others in founding a self-study university. In 1939 he served as a member of the Hunan Provincial Government and concurrently Director of the Provincial Relief Committee, and founded a refugee hospital and a refugee factory. Beginning in 1948 he took part in the preparations by Cheng Qian and others for the peaceful liberation of Hunan. In November 1949, at Mao Zedong's invitation by telegram, he went to Beijing and served as a member of the Central Committee of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang and a member of the Central-South Military and Political Committee and concurrently Director of its Counselors' Office, among other posts. In 1951 he wrote Mao Zedong a long letter of several thousand words, the first to raise the issue that the CPC should guard against corruption within the Party, and was praised by Chairman Mao as 'the Communist Party's candid friend.' He passed away in Beijing in February 1970 at the age of 91.
The first Governor of Hunan after the founding of New China — Cheng Qian
Cheng Qian (1882–1968), courtesy name Songyun, a native of Liling County, Hunan. A First-Class Army General of the Kuomintang, military strategist, and veteran member of the Tongmenghui. In his early years, he followed Dr. Sun Yat-sen in taking part in the Revolution of 1911 and the Northern Expedition, making great contributions to China's bourgeois democratic revolution. During the War of Resistance Against Japan, he led his troops in resolutely resisting the frenzied aggression of Japanese imperialism. In August 1949, on the eve of the founding of the state, together with Chen Mingren he led his troops in uprising in Changsha, turning from darkness to light, and Mao Zedong called him 'a man of outstanding talent.' After the founding of the state in 1949, he successively served as Governor of the Hunan Provincial People's Government, a member of the Central People's Government, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, and Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang, among other posts.
The foremost of the 'Three Outstanding Figures of Whampoa' — Jiang Xianyun
Jiang Xianyun (1902–1927), a native of Xintian, Hunan. In 1919 he took part in the May Fourth Movement. In the winter of 1921 he joined the Chinese Communist Party. In the summer of 1922, together with Li Lisan, Liu Shaoqi and others, he led the great Anyuan workers' strike. In the spring of 1924 he entered the first class of the Whampoa Military Academy and, together with his two fellow townsmen He Zhonghan and Chen Geng, was known as one of the 'Three Outstanding Figures of Whampoa.' Jiang Xianyun created a miraculous record at Whampoa: from enrollment to graduation, he took first place in the examinations of all subjects, and was regarded by Liao Zhongkai as 'the most promising talent in the military academy.' In February 1925 he initiated the founding of the Young Servicemen's Federation and was one of its leaders. He took part in the battles to attack Jiujiang and Nanchang and in the Northern Expedition, among other campaigns. In May 1927, he died a heroic death in the battle to capture Linying City.
The oldest person in the ranks of the Long March — Xu Teli
Xu Teli (1877–1968), a Chinese revolutionary and educator, a native of Shanhua, Hunan (present-day Changsha County). He was a teacher of such famous figures as Mao Zedong and Tian Han. In 1905 he entered the Changsha Ningxiang Accelerated Middle School. In 1913 he served as Principal of Changsha Normal School. In 1919 he went to France on a work-study program. After the 'April 12' counter-revolutionary coup, he joined the Chinese Communist Party and in the same year took part in the Nanchang Uprising. In 1928 he went to Sun Yat-sen University in Moscow, the Soviet Union, to study. After returning to China in 1930 he entered the Central Revolutionary Base Area. In 1935 he took part in the Long March, by then already 58 years old, making him the oldest person in the ranks of the Long March.
The first President of the PLA Military Engineering Academy — Chen Geng
Chen Geng (1903–1961), a native of Xiangxiang. An outstanding proletarian revolutionary and military strategist, and one of the founders of New China's national defense science, technology, and education. He joined the Communist Party of China in December 1922, went to the Soviet Union to study in 1926, returned to China in 1927 to take part in the Nanchang Uprising, and joined the Long March. During the War of Liberation, he successively served as commander of the Fourth Column of the Jin-Ji-Lu-Yu Field Army, and commander and political commissar of the Fourth Corps of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. After the founding of the People's Republic, he successively served as deputy commander of the Southwest Military Region, chairman of the Yunnan Provincial People's Government, commander and political commissar of the Third Corps of the Chinese People's Volunteers, deputy commander of the Chinese People's Volunteers, first president and political commissar of the PLA Military Engineering Institute (Harbin Military Engineering Institute), deputy chief of the General Staff of the PLA and concurrently deputy director of the Commission for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, and deputy minister of National Defense. In 1955 he was conferred the rank of Grand General.
The First Commander of the Armored Forces of the Chinese People's Liberation Army — Xu Guangda
Xu Guangda (1908–1969), a native of Changsha. A Chinese proletarian revolutionary and military strategist. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1925. In 1926 he entered the Whampoa Military Academy to study. In 1927 he took part in the August 1 Nanchang Uprising. In 1930 he successively served as army chief of staff, division political commissar, and division commander. In 1941 he served as director of the General Staff Department of the Central Military Commission and concurrently commander of Yan'an communications and garrison commander. In 1942 he served as brigade commander of the Independent Brigade of the 124th Division of the Eighth Route Army and commander of the Second Military Sub-district of the Jin-Sui Military Region. During the War of Liberation, he served as commander of the Third Column of the Jin-Sui Military Region and other posts. In 1949 he served as army commander and corps commander. After the founding of New China, he was ordered to establish the PLA Armored Forces, serving as commander of the Armored Forces, principal of the Tank School, and president of the Armored Forces Academy, and was hailed as the "Father of the Armored Forces." In 1955 he was conferred the rank of Grand General. In 1959 he served as deputy minister of National Defense.
New China's First General-Ambassador to the Czechoslovak Republic — Tan Xilin
Tan Xilin (1908–1970), a native of Changsha, Hunan. In 1926 he entered the Whampoa Military Academy. During the Agrarian Revolutionary War, he served as commander of the special agent company of the First Division of the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, deputy battalion commander and acting battalion commander of the 31st Regiment of the Fourth Army of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, and took part in the Long March; during the War of Resistance Against Japan, he served as chief of staff of the Security Command of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region, chief of staff of the Fourth Detachment of the New Fourth Army, and commander of the Jiangbei Guerrilla Column; during the War of Liberation, he served as commander of the Seventh Division of the Shandong Field Army, commander of the Fourth Column, first deputy commander of the Yu-Wan-Su Military Region, and acting commander of the Jiaodong Military Region; in 1950, he served as the first ambassador to the Czechoslovak Republic. In 1955 he was conferred the rank of Lieutenant General. He was a member of the Fourth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. He passed away in Beijing on February 21, 1970.
The Military Strategist Who Was Issued New China's "Revolutionary Martyr Certificate No. 1" — Duan Dechang
In the spring of 1921, Mao Zedong, then inspector of education for Hunan Province, together with his friends Yi Lirong and Chen Shunong (who served as county magistrate of Nan County in the 1930s), came from Changsha to Nan County on the shores of Dongting Lake to investigate national education. Duan Dechang, then studying at the Nan County County Higher Primary School, had attracted Mao Zedong's attention by proposing "socialist" views in a letter to Mao. Before long, Duan Dechang was admitted to Changsha's Jacob Middle School. In August 1925, Duan Dechang joined the Communist Party of China, and in the same year was admitted to the fourth class of the Guangzhou Whampoa Military Academy; in the summer of 1926, on Mao Zedong's recommendation, he went to study at the Central Political Training Class. Mao Zedong praised Duan Dechang, who had been hailed as the "Iron Section Chief" during the Northern Expedition, and together they discussed military battle cases from ancient and modern times, at home and abroad, and analyzed China's future situation. After the failure of the Nanchang Uprising, Duan Dechang was sent by Zhou Enlai to the rural areas of western Hubei to carry out armed struggle, and opened up the earliest Honghu guerrilla base area. Later, through great hardships, together with He Long and Zhou Yiqun, he founded the Hunan-Hubei-Western Soviet Area centered on Honghu, and served as commander of the Western Hubei Guerrilla Detachment, commander of the Central Independent Division, commander of the Red Sixth Army, and other posts, and was hailed as the ever-victorious general. At the memorial meeting for the martyrs of the Chinese revolution, decided upon at the Seventh National Congress of the CPC, Mao Zedong proposed to rehabilitate Comrade Duan Dechang, who had been wrongly killed by the executors of the "Left" line during the Second Revolutionary Civil War, and personally signed and issued the first "Revolutionary Martyr Certificate" for Duan Dechang's relatives.
Related Records
Why Was the "Peerless Genius" Liu Ba Never Put in an Important Position?
Liu Ba of the Three Kingdoms period could be called a peerless genius no less than Zhuge Liang; Liu Bei once said, "Zichu's talent and wisdom surpass ordinary men." Yet throughout his life his talents went unrecognized. Why was this so?
Of noble birth, he despised Liu Bei. Liu Ba, courtesy name Zichu, was a native of Lingling. His grandfather Liu Yao was governor of Cangwu. His father Liu Xiang was governor of Jiangxia and General Who Destroys Bandits. Even as a youth Liu Ba was highly capable and known far and wide. Perhaps it was precisely his considerable reputation for talent and his noble birth that fostered his stubborn, arrogant character of relying on his talents to look down on others. According to historical records, Liu Ba never liked Liu Bei. Historians analyze that although they shared the same surname and both honored the Han house, Liu Ba believed that even though Liu Bei was a powerful lord of a region, he had merely fought his way up by force, and moreover came from a street ruffian background — this became an important reason for his contempt for Liu Bei.
Fleeing everywhere, refusing to submit. Cao Cao was naturally very pleased by Liu Ba's allegiance. Before long, Cao Cao sent him to win over Changsha, Lingling, and other places in Jiangnan. Liu Ba knew clearly that Jiangnan could not be held, but still obeyed Cao Cao's order. Liu Ba was so loyal to Cao Cao that when Liu Bei learned of it, he grew even more furious. After Liu Ba arrived in Jiangnan, just as he had expected, Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang had already established a firm foothold, so he wanted to return via Jiaozhou to report back to the capital. At that time Zhuge Liang was staying in Linzheng, and he urged Liu Ba to assist Liu Bei, but Liu Ba refused. When Liu Bei heard of this, he was even more displeased. Zhuge Liang greatly admired Liu Ba's talent and repeatedly recommended him to Liu Bei, saying earnestly: "In devising strategies within the tent, I am far inferior to Zichu!" Only after Zhuge Liang's repeated persuasion did Liu Ba express his willingness to submit to Liu Bei, and Liu Bei appointed him General of the Left.
Offending Zhang Fei and enraging Liu Bei. Zhang Fei greatly admired Liu Ba's reputation. Once, Zhang Fei made a special trip from far away on horseback to visit Liu Ba and stayed overnight at Liu Ba's place. But Liu Ba looked down on Zhang Fei, and did not say a single word to him the entire night, leaving Zhang Fei extremely embarrassed and resentful. When Zhuge Liang heard of this, he hurriedly advised Liu Ba: "Zhang Fei is a military man who admires you; you should show at least some humility." But Liu Ba said: "A great man in the world should associate with heroes from all quarters; what is there for me to talk about with a military ruffian!"
Given the special relationship of the Peach Garden Oath among Liu, Guan, and Zhang, disrespect toward Zhang Fei was also disrespect toward Liu Bei. Although Liu Bei admired the worthy and loved talent, he could not tolerate such rudeness from Liu Ba. He said angrily: "I wanted to pacify the realm, and so I accommodated such talent; yet Liu Ba actually comes to make trouble — his heart was with Cao Cao all along; how could he be one to help me conquer the realm?" His words revealed a murderous intent. No sooner had he spoken than he felt it inappropriate, and so he added: "Zichu's talent and wisdom surpass ordinary men, and only I can employ him; anyone else would find it hard to appoint and use him!" But the resentment could no longer be dispelled!
Never put in an important position throughout his life. In 221 AD, Liu Bei began preparing to become emperor, and his civil and military officials came one after another to offer congratulations. But Liu Ba, failing to know his place, advised Liu Bei not to declare himself emperor, and Liu Bei was of course greatly displeased to hear this. From then on, Liu Ba could never again exercise his talents, and even became so cautious as to be respectful, silent, and quiet, withdrawing from all private dealings, speaking of nothing but official business. In the historical materials on the Three Kingdoms, the text recording Liu Ba is very sparse. Liu Ba died in the second year of Zhangwu at the age of only thirty-nine, and was buried west of the commandery in Yueyang. Later, because of his great name, Yueyang was renamed Baling.
Wu Rui — Enfeoffed as King Twice
After Xiang Yu's enfeoffment, before all the kings had assumed their posts, rebellion broke out in the eastern state of Qi. Liu Bang accepted Xiao He's recommendation, appointed Han Xin as grand general, and following Han Xin's strategy, in August 206 BC led troops east out of Chencang (east of present-day Baoji, Shaanxi), pacified the Three Qin, and formally opened the more than four-year Chu-Han War. In October 202 BC, Xiang Yu was defeated at Gaixia (present-day Lingbi, Anhui) and took his own life. In December, Liu Bang formally ascended the imperial throne. During the Chu-Han War, in order to defeat his opponent, Liu Bang enfeoffed a group of military leaders who held military strength and possessed extraordinary ability as vassal kings, so as to win them over and jointly deal with Xiang Yu. Among them were Han Xin, enfeoffed as King of Qi (after Liu Bang became emperor, he was re-enfeoffed as King of Chu), Ying Bu, enfeoffed as King of Huainan, and Peng Yue, enfeoffed as King of Liang. Although Liu Bang recognized the royal titles of these vassal kings after defeating Xiang Yu, because they dominated their regions and maintained their own armed forces, they gradually became a threat to the Western Han central government, and so within a few years they were all one by one eliminated on various pretexts.
Among the vassal kings of other surnames, only Wu Rui survived. Although Wu Rui had been enfeoffed by Xiang Yu as King of Hengshan, during the Chu-Han War, because of his old subordinate relationship with Liu Bang, he should have stood on Liu Bang's side. Although there is no record in the historical texts of Wu Rui aiding Liu Bang, Liu Bang, in fighting Xiang Yu, often "lost his army and his followers, and fled for his life many times," and while holding out against the Chu army at Xingyang (present-day county in Henan), also often "had no visible grain for the army." The reason Liu Bang ultimately defeated Xiang Yu was that on the one hand he received an endless stream of supplies from Xiao He in Guanzhong, and on the other hand it was also related to the aid and support of Wu Rui, whose fief was near Xingyang and who had old ties with Liu Bang. Therefore, after defeating Xiang Yu and becoming emperor, Liu Bang re-enfeoffed Wu Rui as King of Changsha, with his capital at Linxiang (present-day Changsha, Hunan). The territory of the Kingdom of Changsha covered present-day eastern and southern Hunan and Quanzhou in Guangxi, and Lian County and Yangshan in Guangdong. Later, after eliminating the vassal kings of other surnames, Liu Bang once made a pact with his generals: "Those who are not of the Liu clan yet are kings, or who have no merit and were not appointed as marquises by the emperor, let all under heaven jointly punish them." At the same time, Liu Bang specially issued an edict to the imperial secretary: "The King of Changsha is loyal; let this be established as a statute," thereby clarifying Wu Rui's legal status as a vassal king of another surname. Wu Rui himself did not achieve any grand and spectacular deeds, but he was able to scrupulously observe the way of a subject, and so was able to preserve himself. Wu Rui died one year after being enfeoffed as King of Changsha, and his posthumous title was "King Wen." According to the handwritten 5th-year-of-Shunzhi edition of the Lanhu Wu Clan Genealogy, King Wu Rui of Changsha had six sons and one daughter: the six sons in order were Wu Chen, Wu Ying, Wu Qian, Wu Yang, Wu Yuan, and Wu Zhi, and one daughter married Qing Bu as his wife.
Wu Rui's senior line held the kingship for five generations. His eldest son by the principal wife, Wu Chen, succeeded to the title in 201 BC after Wu Rui's death as the second-generation King of Changsha, reigned for eight years, and died with the posthumous title "King Cheng"; Wu Chen's eldest son Wu Hui succeeded Wu Chen in 193 BC as the third-generation King of Changsha, reigned for seven years, and died with the posthumous title "King Ai"; Wu Hui's eldest son Wu You succeeded in 186 BC as the fourth-generation King of Changsha, reigned for eight years, and died with the posthumous title "King Gong"; Wu You's eldest son Wu Cha succeeded in 178 BC as the fifth-generation King of Changsha, reigned for twenty years, and died in the seventh year of the Houyuan era of Emperor Xiaowen of Han (157 BC), with the posthumous title "King Jing."
The Story of the Upright Official Tao Shu
During the 268 years of Qing dynasty rule, upright officials who kept their hands clean were very few, while corrupt officials were as numerous as carp crossing the river. In the Register of Upright Officials published by later literati, more than 40 upright officials were selected in total, the most famous of whom was Tao Shu, governor-general of Liangjiang during the Jiaqing and Daoguang reigns.
Because of his merit in punishing corrupt officials, Tao Shu won deep praise from the Jiaqing Emperor. Later he also won the deep trust of the Daoguang Emperor, and Tao Shu was promoted from Anhui provincial governor to governor-general of Liangjiang. During his tenure, Tao repeatedly gave away his own salary to homeless disaster victims. He had a hobby in ordinary times: he liked stones, and when he saw curious stones in the wild, he would find ways to move them back home. The Liangjiang governor-general's office was located in Nanjing, and whenever he had free time he would go to Yuhuatai to amuse himself and incidentally collect some Yuhua stones; as time went on, they filled more than a dozen boxes. Once, when he received imperial approval to return to Hunan to visit his family, he thought he had nothing good to honor his old mother with, so he filled more than ten boxes with fine stones to let his old mother broaden her horizons.
One evening, just as Tao Shu's large family-visit boat had moored at the Linzikou wharf, the imperial envoy arrived, bringing an imperial edict: "By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: It is found that Tao Shu, governor-general of Liangjiang, has been improper in office, corrupt and perverting the law, and has taken advantage of returning home to visit his family to carry back by boat to his old home in Anhua the ill-gotten wealth he has amassed. His property is hereby entirely confiscated, and he is suspended from office pending investigation, as a warning to others. Respect this." After the edict was read out, two bodyguards seized Tao Shu and were about to remove his official hat and peacock feather. Tao Shu was not flustered, and instead asked the imperial envoy: "You say I am corrupt and pervert the law — what evidence do you have?" The imperial envoy pointed to the dozen or so large boxes on the boat and said: "These boxes are the evidence; what grievance can you still claim?" Tao Shu argued in his defense: "What property is loaded on my humble official's boat, Your Excellency knows only from hearsay; it would be better first to board the boat and inspect, and then discipline me afterward." Hearing this, the imperial envoy felt Tao Shu's words were reasonable, and quickly led the bodyguards aboard to inspect, opening all the dozen or so boxes, and to everyone's great astonishment, apart from some ordinary clothing, the rest were all kinds of stones.
At the sight, the imperial envoy clicked his tongue in wonder. He ordered Tao Shu's large boat to halt its advance and wait in place for the emperor's edict. He immediately wrote a memorial according to the true circumstances and sent it by a 600-li express courier at top speed to report to the Daoguang Emperor. It turned out that after Tao Shu left Nanjing to return home to visit his family, the Daoguang Emperor had received a secret report from the Jiangyin prefect, claiming that since Tao Shu had become governor-general of Liangjiang, he had wildly plundered the people's wealth, and that his gold, silver, and jewels were so many that even the governor-general's office could no longer hold them, so he had taken advantage of this home visit to carry back more than a dozen large boxes on a large official boat. When the Daoguang Emperor heard the report, he believed it to be true, and never imagined that the upright official in his mind could actually be a corrupt official scraping the people's fat and marrow; the imperial countenance flew into a rage, and without distinguishing right from wrong, he immediately issued that edict.
When the Daoguang Emperor learned that Tao Shu, returning home from a thousand li to visit his family, had honored his mother with nothing but boxes of curious stones, and also heard that he had distributed silver to relieve disaster victims, he was deeply moved in his heart, and at court he said to the assembled ministers: If every subject could be as upright as Tao Shu, why worry that the realm would not be at peace!
The Daoguang Emperor sent an imperial envoy to deliver three thousand taels of silver to Tao Shu as a reward. But Tao Shu used part of this money to relieve poor villagers, and another part to establish 48 free schools in Anhua County, keeping not a single cent for himself.
Peng Jun's Clever Couplet Matching
Peng Jun: courtesy name Yingjing, style name Baochen, born in the 33rd year of the Qianlong reign (1769), passed the imperial examination as top scholar in the 10th year of the Jiaqing reign (1805), and successively served as compiler of the Hanlin Academy, reader and bachelor of the Grand Secretariat, vice minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and prefect of Shuntian Prefecture. Hence he had the reputation of "the Son of Heaven's disciple, the disciple of the Son of Heaven." He died in the 13th year of the Daoguang reign (1833) in his old home — present-day Huangzitang Village, Zhenzhu Township, Hengdong County.
Top Scholar Peng was intelligent and fond of learning, quick in literary thought, and able to respond impromptu, and his fame spread throughout the land. In the third month of the 10th year of the Jiaqing reign (1805), the 36-year-old Peng Jun went to the capital's Ministry of Rites examination hall to take part in the "Yichou year" metropolitan examination. In the three sessions of the metropolitan examination, Peng Jun's name appeared on the list. On April 21, Peng Jun and the 243 others who had passed the metropolitan examination took part in the highest-level examination, the palace examination, in the Hall of Preserving Harmony; eight "paper-reading officials" graded the papers and selected the 10 best examination papers, and Peng Jun's paper was ranked first; among the 10 papers, the Jiaqing Emperor most admired Peng Jun's, and so personally designated it first in the first class (first place). In this way, Peng Jun became Hunan Province's first top scholar of the Qing dynasty.
When Top Scholar Peng was still studying hard at home in his early years, a local fisherman named Li San most enjoyed learning to compose couplets with Peng Jun. Once, taking a fishing boat as the topic, Li produced an upper line: "The light boat like a shuttle, weaving the brocade of the river." Peng Jun, using the paper-burning furnace, improvised a line and matched it on the spot: "The pagoda like a brush, writing the writings of heaven upside down."
In the suburbs of Hengshan County, the fifth young master of the Nie Hanlin family loved to amuse himself by composing couplets. On a certain winter day, the two were playing by a pond, and the fifth young master, moved by the scene, improvised a line: "Water has no sorrow, yet wrinkles its face because of wind." "Mountains were never old, yet turn white-haired for snow." Top Scholar Peng gazed toward the snow-covered Zhurong Peak of Mount Heng and answered on the spot, apt and neatly matched.
After entering the capital, the emperor learned that Peng Jun was talented and good at matching couplets, so he asked whether couplets were popular in his hometown. Peng Jun nodded and said: men and women, old and young, everyone is proficient. The left ministers strongly disapproved, so they memorialized the emperor to conduct an on-site inspection. Several months later, the inspecting officials reported back, saying that in Hengzhou Prefecture they produced several couplets in succession, and not one person opened his mouth; Top Scholar Peng was lying. Peng, confident, respectfully asked the inspecting officials to describe the matter in detail and see whether it was true. The inspecting officials said that in front of Huiyan Peak, they used the temple pagoda to set the line and asked a farmer carrying night soil: 'The pagoda is pointed, rising seven stories and eight corners'; but the farmer waved his hand and left without saying goodbye. Peng Jun laughed loudly and said, he had already matched it, and you were still in the dark. The inspecting officials frowned, still puzzled. Peng Jun continued, the farmer used his hand to speak for him; what he meant was: 'The palm is flat, five fingers, two short and three long.' The inspecting officials said 'oh' and then said that at Qingcao Bridge they asked a young girl to respond: 'Qingcao Bridge, Qingcao fish, mouth holding green grass'; seeing the question, a young girl picking yellow flowers paid no attention, only picked a yellow flower and put it in her hair, then turned and disappeared, showing that she was completely ignorant. Peng Jun also said, how could a maiden casually speak with a strange man? Like that old farmer, she also answered with bodily movements: 'Yellow flower field, yellow flower girl, yellow flower on her head.' Tell me, is that so or not? Facing Peng Jun's wit and flexibility, the left ministers lost two rounds in succession, and only then lowered their heads, fell silent, and no longer made things difficult for Top Scholar Peng.
From then on, Peng Jun's reputation grew greater and greater. It is said that when he went to Fengtian Prefecture to take up his post, it happened to be a time of great thunderstorms. The local officials wanted to see Top Scholar Peng's talent and learning, so on the right side of the welcoming archway they posted the first line of a couplet: 'The heavy rain pours down, washing clean the street to welcome the scholar.' Without thinking, Peng Jun took up his brush and wrote eleven large characters on the left: 'The startling thunder crashes, opening the sky curtain to read the essay.' Seeing this, everyone present gave a thumbs-up and praised him unanimously.
Zeng Jize Learns English
Zeng Jize, a late Qing diplomat, was a legendary figure. In addition to his deep grounding in Chinese learning and outstanding poetry, prose, and painting, he also had the courage to face the reality that speaking foreign languages was then regarded as 'a disgrace to Confucian scholars,' and he studied English hard, because even the emperor's teacher Weng Tonghe regarded foreign languages as bird talk and avoided them. It is said that Zeng Jize, while in the Hunan countryside keeping vigil at his father's grave, began teaching himself English with an English dictionary and a bilingual English-Chinese Bible, calling himself 'without friends with whom to discuss and verify.'
Mr. Li Enhan once said: "After dinner every day, he would painstakingly read a book on English pronunciation, half a page, one page, or several pages a day, and make brief annotations at any time to lay a foundation for pronunciation. Sometimes due to heavy household duties, even while riding in a sedan chair to visit his father's grave or friends, he would recite English without stopping." On the first day of the first lunar month in the 12th year of Tongzhi, after the New Year's "trial writing," he still "studied foreign characters for a long time" on schedule. In November of the same year, even during the illness of his beloved son Guang'ao, while giving medicine and care, he often did not forget to "silently review English." He also began writing letters in English to MacGregor and other foreigners, and occasionally tried translating English poems. Later, when he went to Beijing, he became acquainted with foreign friends such as Ding Weiliang, the chief instructor of the Tongwen Guan, and the doctor John Dudgeon, and made rapid progress.
Zeng Jize wrote excellent poetry and also understood English, and combined both to translate his own social poems into English, yet Zeng Jize assessed his foreign language level as merely "slightly acquainted." Before departing on his mission to England and France, when he had an audience with Empress Dowager Cixi, there was a conversation: She asked: Can you understand foreign languages and writing? He replied: I have a slight knowledge of English, learned from books, so reading text is easy, but listening to speech is harder, because my mouth and ears are not familiar with it. She asked: The common language, is it English? French? He replied: English is the language of trade. Foreign countries value commerce, so people of many nations can speak English. As for French, it is a language of literary tradition, so countries often use French for diplomatic exchanges. For matters such as treaty revisions among nations, French is often used. She asked: Since you can understand (English) language and writing, it should be much easier, and you need not rely on an interpreter. He replied: Although I can understand, I am still not proficient, and must still rely on interpreters. Moreover, the court sending envoys abroad will become a regular practice. When scholar-officials, after studying and serving, then learn foreign languages, there are differences between those with aptitude and those without, and between those whose tongues adapt easily and those who find it difficult. If envoys must all know foreign languages, foreign learning and handling foreign affairs are two entirely different matters. Handling foreign affairs requires familiarity with official business, and one should not encroach on the interpreter's role. In the future, when I discuss official matters with foreigners, even if I understand the language, I will still wait for the interpreter to convey it. First, the court's protocol should be so; second, during the interpreter's conveyance, I can use the pause to think and calculate the words to respond. The British minister Thomas Wade can understand Chinese language and writing, yet when discussing official matters he always uses an interpreter to convey words—this is the same idea.
From this it can be seen that Zeng Jize was modest and cautious, and very familiar with diplomatic etiquette. In contrast, Empress Dowager Cixi's knowledge of international affairs was very limited. Therefore, after Zeng Jize's appointment as envoy to England and France was made public, the external reaction was favorable. The U.S. charge d'affaires, in a report to the U.S. Secretary of State, detailed Zeng's self-study of English and his interactions with Westerners, and commented: "This appointment should be given special attention. Marquis Zeng is the son of Zeng Guofan, one of the most outstanding statesmen of modern China, now about forty years old. He has at least partly inherited his father's extraordinary talents and is a refined scholar. Although his father's thinking was quite conservative, he himself is very open-minded."
The national hero Tan Sitong, with the courage of a swordsman and the heart of a qin player
In modern Chinese history, the reformist Tan Sitong can be called a great man standing between heaven and earth. His heroic act of generously going to his death for the Hundred Days' Reform inspired the sun and moon. But many people do not know that from his youth, Tan Sitong had the elegant title of "sword courage and qin heart."
The sword is a hero's courage. Tan Sitong was open-hearted and righteous from childhood, and greatly admired ancient knights-errant. So at the age of 12, he began learning swordplay and martial arts with "Tongbi Yuan" Hu Qi and the "righteous knight" Big Saber Wang Wu. At that time, a "Seven-Star Sword" was inseparable from him. By chance, he obtained two old items of his most revered figure, Wen Tianxiang: the "Jiaoyu Qin" and the "Fengju Sword." He treasured these two treasures as his life. From then on, he left the "Seven-Star Sword" at the "Dafu Di" and carried the "Fengju Sword" with him, never leaving it for a moment.
The qin is the soul of a hero. In ancient China, the cultivation of a literatus emphasized the four arts of qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting, with the qin ranked first. Many famous thinkers and artists in history, such as Confucius, Cai Yong, and Ji Kang, were renowned for playing the qin. Tan Sitong was no exception. In the vast and silent world, he danced with his sword and played the qin, living a free and elegant life. The inscription on the 'Jiaoyu Qin' left by Wen Tianxiang reads: 'The sea is deep and dark, the sky is silent and still, the rain on the banana leaves, how urgent the sound. A lone minister's tears, I dare not weep!' In 1898, Tan Sitong responded to the imperial edict to go to the capital for reform. He was 34 years old. When parting with his wife Li Run, besides giving her the poem 'Written on the Way North to the Capital in 1898, Leaving My Wife Behind,' it is said that on the night before their separation, the couple played the 'Bengting Qin' and the 'Canlei Qin' in a reluctant farewell. When going north, Tan Sitong took the 'Bengting Qin,' the 'Canlei Qin,' and the 'Fengju Sword' with him.
Blood reveals a hero's true color. Tan Sitong carried one sword and two qins, aiming to save the Chinese nation from the calamity of national subjugation and genocide. He went north to the capital, ready to realize his grand ambition of reform and strengthening the nation. Unfortunately, the old forces cast a heavy shadow, and the 'Hundred Days' Reform' ended in a hundred days. To awaken the people, Tan Sitong sacrificed himself and died heroically. Originally, Tan Sitong had a chance to escape, but when Wang Wu and others urged him to flee, he chose to shed blood and gave the 'Fengju Sword' to Wang Wu. A famous weapon ultimately did not disgrace its master.
The anecdote of Song Jiaoren being slapped twice.
In the Tongmenghui, Song Jiaoren and Sun Yat-sen were hailed as two of the greatest strategists. He was eloquent, had a deep theoretical foundation, and strong organizational skills. At the founding of the Republic of China, he drafted the 'Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China' overnight. Historian Tang Degang commented that at the time, Yuan Shikai was not afraid of Sun Yat-sen but feared Song Jiaoren (which is why in March 1913, Song was assassinated by Yuan's men). Yet this renowned figure was actually slapped in public twice.
The first time was in early 1912, when the Senate of the Nanjing Provisional Government decided to elect Yuan Shikai as the second provisional president of the Republic of China. Sun Yat-sen and some founding fathers insisted that Yuan Shikai must leave his base in Beijing and take office in Nanjing to restrain him. But other revolutionary veterans disagreed. The two sides argued fiercely. One day, everyone gathered again to debate this issue. Someone suggested simply sending Huang Xing with troops north, under the pretext of welcoming Yuan, to eliminate his Beiyang Army. Song Jiaoren opposed this, saying that the Beiyang Army had heavy troops stationed in Zhili and Shandong, and the revolutionary army could not go north at all. As soon as he finished speaking, Ma Junwu, a veteran of the Tongmenghui and a talented man from Guangxi, slapped him, causing his left eye to bleed profusely. Ma not only struck but also cursed, accusing Song Jiaoren of being a lobbyist for Yuan Shikai, wanting to sell out Nanjing and betray the revolutionaries.
The second time Song Jiaoren was publicly slapped was by Tang Qunying, whom Sun Yat-sen praised as a 'heroine who founded the Republic.' Tang Qunying was from Hengshan County, Hunan. Her husband's family had a kinship with Qiu Jin's husband's family, so Tang got to know Qiu Jin. In 1904, Tang Qunying, widowed and living at her natal home, heard that Qiu Jin had gone to Japan to study, so she also took a ship east. She was the first female member of the Tongmenghui.
As a woman, when Tang Qunying engaged in revolutionary activities, she devoted considerable attention to the issue of fighting for women's rights. In February 1912, she contacted groups such as the Hunan Women's National Association and the Shanghai Women's Suffrage Comrades Association, and successively petitioned Sun Yat-sen and the Provisional Senate five times, requesting that the 'Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China' include provisions stating that 'men and women are equal and both have the right to vote.' In April, she initiated the establishment of the 'Women's Suffrage Alliance' and personally drafted eleven political guidelines, including 'implementing equal rights for men and women,' 'implementing universal women's education,' and 'implementing the monogamy system.' She also promoted gender equality and women's liberation through running newspapers and giving speeches.
The Tongmenghui did accept female members, but when it was reorganized into the Kuomintang, firstly because it took the British constitutional model as an example (at that time British women did not have suffrage), and secondly because many male members still had remnants of feudal thinking, the new Kuomintang party constitution stipulated that female members would not be accepted.
This regulation was unacceptable to Tang Qunying. On August 25, 1912, the Kuomintang, reorganized from the Tongmenghui, held its founding congress at the Huguang Guild Hall on Hufang Bridge in Beijing. One agenda item was to announce the new party constitution, announcing one article and explaining it. When it was stated that the new party constitution did not admit female members, Tang Qunying, sitting in the audience, rushed onto the podium, grabbed Song Jiaoren, who was presiding over the reorganization work, and firmly slapped him across the face.
When he was slapped by Ma Junwu, Song Jiaoren still wanted to retaliate, but when he received Tang Qunying's slap, Song Jiaoren had no choice but to cover his cheek and retreat.
Lin Boqu's clever plan to avert danger
Lin Boqu was one of the outstanding leaders of the Chinese Communist Party and the People's Republic of China, and an eminent proletarian revolutionary and politician. In his early revolutionary career, he encountered danger many times.
One day in October 1927, a British passenger ship was sailing from Hong Kong to Shanghai. In the fourth-class cabin of this ship sat a slender, tall middle-aged man; he was Lin Boqu. Before the Northern Expedition, Lin Boqu was already a standing member of the Kuomintang Central Executive Committee and Minister of the Peasant Department, making him a prominent figure in the Kuomintang. He participated in the famous Nanchang Uprising. After the uprising failed, he came to Hong Kong to take refuge, but was also pursued by imperialist lackeys and Kuomintang agents. The organization decided to let him leave Hong Kong for Shanghai to avoid danger.
At dusk, as the ship approached Shantou, a Kuomintang naval speedboat suddenly sped toward them head-on, signaling with flags for the passenger ship to stop. After the passenger ship stopped, more than a dozen heavily armed Kuomintang military police swarmed aboard, and then the passenger ship continued its voyage.
Lin Boqu saw all of this clearly. Experience told him that the Kuomintang military police were about to conduct a search, and their main target was very likely him. He had to think of a solution immediately and absolutely could not be captured without resistance! So he quickly woke Zeng Fu, picked up a small bundle, and together they went into the toilet at the stern of the ship. When they came out of the toilet, Lin Boqu's attire had changed: he had taken off his gray cloth long gown and replaced it with a worn blue cloth short shirt; his leather shoes were swapped for a pair of hemp-soled cloth-strap straw sandals; his glasses were removed, his face was smeared with quite a bit of dirt, and his hair was also disheveled.
The two went straight to the kitchen door. Seeing that the cooks were all Chinese and busy serving meals, Lin Boqu pulled Zeng Fu over to a person who looked like a foreman and said to him: "Master chef, please do us a favor! My brother-in-law works at Hongli Foreign Firm in Shanghai and has fallen seriously ill. This is his son. We are in a hurry to see the patient and don't have enough travel money. Let the two of us do some odd jobs, no wages needed, just a meal to eat, is that alright?" After looking Lin Boqu up and down for a while, the man said: "Alright! You go to the boiler room; they're short-handed there. I'll keep this young fellow to help me clear the bowls and chopsticks. But let me make it clear: no wages, two meals a day, all you can eat." They had just gotten into their roles when two Kuomintang military police walked over. One of them, who looked like an officer, was even holding a stack of photographs. It turned out that these military police had received a report from the Hong Kong spy agency and had come specifically to arrest Lin Boqu. Lin Boqu, rich in struggle experience, acted as if he did not see the enemy. Calmly, he turned open the steam valve, and immediately the small boiler room was filled with swirling mist. Then, shovel by shovel, he added coal to the furnace. Seeing him in the guise of a boiler worker, the Kuomintang military police did not question him at all and went off to search elsewhere.
The Matchmaker of the Beidahuang People—Wang Zhen
Wang Zhen, born in 1908, was a native of Liuyang, Hunan. He joined the Communist Youth League in 1927, transferred to the Communist Party of China in the same year, and joined the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army in 1929.
In May 1956, Wang Zhen was appointed Minister of the Ministry of State Farms and Land Reclamation. At that time, China's agricultural production level was very low, and the central government assigned him to take charge of land reclamation work, undoubtedly to increase grain output. As the commander-in-chief of the national land reclamation cause, Wang Zhen led by example, commanding the vast army of the land reclamation front, clearing obstacles and struggling hard in the Gobi Desert of the northwest, the vast wilderness of the northeast, and the jungles of southern Xinjiang, establishing a large number of military reclamation farms and local state-owned farms across the country, making immortal contributions to the development of New China's land reclamation cause and the consolidation of national defense.
Beidahuang, a magical land that inspired an entire generation. In the 1950s, Wang Zhen led the large-scale reclamation feat of the military reclamation army, making the long-dormant Beidahuang famous in history. In 1956, under Wang Zhen's careful planning, more than 17,000 demobilized officers and soldiers from nine divisions of the Railway Corps and one officer reserve team gradually entered Beidahuang for reclamation. In the spring of 1958, proposed by Wang Zhen and approved by the central government, 100,000 demobilized officers and soldiers from the entire army marched mightily into Beidahuang.
Wang Zhen was very concerned about the lives of the military reclamation officers and soldiers in Beidahuang and always kept their marriage issues in mind. He said: 'When Railway Corps soldiers were demobilized, they went directly from the troops to the farms without returning home. Most of them are veterans and should start families. It is difficult to find partners in Beidahuang. Let them go home during winter and spring to look, solve their marriage problems, bring their wives to settle down and establish careers, and then they will be at ease with their work. I have contacted the relevant national departments, and they agreed to issue each demobilized Railway Corps officer and soldier assigned to the farms a free travel pass. We can also mobilize a group of women and youths from Shandong through the state to support the construction of the border regions.' After hearing Wang Zhen's words, Zhao Minggao said happily: 'That would be great. Once this is settled, some soldiers won't be in a hurry to go home.'
Soon, Wang Zhen issued a peculiar order to the military reclamation officers and soldiers: each person was to take two months' worth of grain and cloth coupons, get two months of leave, return to their hometowns inland to find wives, and those who failed would be considered as not completing the mission. Some veterans said: 'The young women in our hometowns are almost all married off, and those left are daughters of landlords and rich peasants. What should we do?' Wang Zhen said: 'What is there to fear? The children of landlords and rich peasants are also part of the people. If we cannot even educate the children of landlords and rich peasants, what kind of revolution are we waging!'
When they formed happy and harmonious families, Wang Zhen was deeply gratified. In his later years he said: "I have issued countless orders in my life, but the one I am most satisfied with is this one." In April 1991, when Wang Zhen was interviewed by He Xin, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, he said, "One remark made me very happy: the people of Beidahuang call me 'Yuelao' and 'Hongniang' [matchmaker]. Other flattering words do not interest me."
A Couple of Two Generals
On the afternoon of September 27, 1955, at Zhongnanhai in Beijing—the ceremony for the first conferment of military ranks on officers of the People's Liberation Army in New China was grandly held. Among these all-powerful generals, there was only one woman, and she was Li Zhen. Dignified and poised, she was not only the sole representative of the women soldiers of the entire army, but her husband was also conferred the rank of general at the same time. This was the only "pair of twin stars" among the more than one thousand founding generals, and also the only "family of generals" at that time.
When Li Zhen received the First-Class Liberation Medal from Chairman Mao Zedong, she was so excited that she could not speak. Premier Zhou Enlai personally conferred the rank of major general on Li Zhen, and holding her hand, said: "Congratulations, Comrade Li Zhen, you are the first woman general of New China."
When Li Zhen returned home, her husband, General Gan Siqi, had also come back. Looking at her husband, Li Zhen's heart was filled with pride and happiness. Gan Siqi's original name was Jiang Fengwei, and he was also called Jiang Bingkun. He was born on November 21, 1903, into a poor peasant family in Ningxiang County, Hunan. In 1930, after returning from Sun Yat-sen University in Moscow, the Soviet Union, he served as director of the propaganda department of the Xiang-Gan County Party Committee. Li Zhen happened to be transferred to work at the Xiang-Gan Provincial Party Committee at that time, and from then on the two came to know each other. Gan Siqi was broad-minded, approachable, highly skilled in theory, and rich in work experience, and Li Zhen had a very good impression of him. With the enthusiastic matchmaking of Chen Congying, Ren Bishi's wife, on New Year's Day 1955, in an auditorium with white walls and black tiles in Tawo Village, Li Zhen and Gan Siqi held a simple wedding. Deputy Political Commissar Guan Xiangying presided over the wedding, and Ren Bishi, He Long, and others were present to congratulate them. From then on, Li Zhen and Gan Siqi began a life of fighting side by side through wind and rain.