CCTV news(Focus Interview): The will of the people is the source of strength for the victory of the Long March. On the Long March, the Red Army and the masses worked together, and many touching stories happened. The story of “Half Quilt” took place in Shazhou Village, Rucheng County, Hunan Province in November 1934, when three female Red Army soldiers stayed at a villager’s house. Before leaving, they cut half of the only quilt they had and left it to the villager.
In early November 1934, the Central Red Army broke through the second blockade set by the Kuomintang reactionaries and began to pass through Rucheng County, Hunan Province. On the way, the Red Army rested in the Civilization Department (today’s Wenming Yao Township), and the Red Army’s Ministry of Health was stationed in Shazhou Village.
It’s freezing in Shazhou Village in November. Since they had been burned, killed, and looted by bandits twice before, the Kuomintang reactionaries spread rumors that the Red Army was bandits. Almost all the 40 or 50 households in the village fled to the mountains to take shelter. Villager Xu Jiexiu’s child was too young, so she hid in her home with her husband and children, closing the door tightly.
Zhu Shuhua is the great-granddaughter of villager Xu Jiexiu, and now works as a guide at the village’s exhibition hall. She told reporters what happened when the Red Army arrived at Shazhou Village.
Zhu Shuhua, the great-granddaughter of Xu Jiexiu and the commentator of the “Warmth of Half Quilt” special exhibition: “The weather in the mountainous areas in November was very cold and rainy. The Red Army soldiers would rather sleep on the streets than disturb the local people. It is precisely because the actions of the Red Army moved the people that they were willing to open the door.”
The Red Army has strict discipline and Qiu makes no mistakes. Xu Jiexiu looked through the crack in the door and saw the soldiers huddled under the eaves in the cold rain with guns on their backs. At that time, Xu Jiexiu’s one-year-old child had a fever. Three female Red Army health workers heard the baby’s cry from outside the door, so they knocked on the door. Xu Jiexiu slowly opened the door bolt. The female Red Army soldiers said: “Sister-in-law, don’t be afraid. Our Red Army led by the Communist Party is our own people’s team.” The warm words melted away the fear. After entering the house, the female Red Army soldiers took the initiative to help her take care of the child, chop wood and carry water. As night fell, Xu Jiexiu insisted on letting them sleep in her room.
On that cold night, Xu Jiexiu, her sick and feverish child, and three female Red Army soldiers crowded into a makeshift bed. Xu Jiexiu’s home only had a piece of tattered cotton wool, which was not enough to keep out the cold. So, the three female Red Army soldiers took out their only marching quilt, covered it with the Xu family’s rotten cotton batting, and the five of them covered it together.
In the next few days, the female Red Army soldiers ate and lived with Xu Jiexiu’s family. Under their careful care, the one-year-old child’s high fever also subsided.
The female Red Army soldiers cooked and mended military uniforms with Xu Jiexiu. In just a few days, they formed a deep friendship. The moment of farewell finally arrived, and the large army was about to leave. The three female Red Army soldiers held hands with Xu Jiexiu, reluctant to leave. They decided to give the only marching strip to Xu Jiexiu.
Zhu Shuhua: “My great-grandmother refused to accept anything she said, saying it was freezing outside and there was still such a long way to go. When you pushed me and I argued, a female Red Army soldier took out scissors and cut the quilt in half. She took my great-grandmother’s hand and said, Sister, stop pushing now. This quilt is half for you and half for us. When the revolution is victorious, we will come back to see you and give you a new and warm quilt.”
Tears burst into Xu Jiexiu’s eyes. She said: “There are no such good people in the world. You must come back. I will wait for you!” This farewell was actually half a century of watching. Until her death, Xu Jiexiu’s waiting never stopped. She often stood at the entrance of the village with her children and looked out, telling her children and grandchildren her thoughts about the three female Red Army soldiers over and over again. She said: “What is the Communist Party? The Communist Party is a person who has a quilt for himself, but also cuts half of it to give to the people.”
Jiang Ying, a former researcher and doctoral supervisor at the Academy of Military Sciences: “The ‘Half Quilt’ illustrates that our party shares the same fate as the people, illustrates our party’s background in serving the people, and shares the joys and sorrows with the people. The Long March spirit talks about relying closely on the masses, sharing the joys and sorrows with the masses, and struggling hard to complete the great Long March.”
A history of the Red Army’s Long March is a history that reflects the deep friendship between the army and the people. Being with the people through thick and thin, sharing the same blood, and sharing life and death is the fundamental guarantee for the Chinese Communist Party and the Red Army to achieve victory in the Long March.
Jiang Ying: “The Red Army shared weal and woe with the common people during the entire Long March. When Chairman Mao saw an old Miao woman with a child who was hungry, cold, and dying, he took off one of his sweaters (and gave it to them). Along the entire Long March, there were many Red Army roads, The Red Army builds roads, builds bridges, and treats people wherever they go. The Long March is a great expedition of ideals and beliefs, a great expedition to test the truth, and a great expedition to awaken the people. Chairman Mao said that the Long March is a manifesto, a propaganda team, or a sowing machine.”
The spirit of closely relying on the people, living and dying with the people, sharing weal and woe, and struggling hard is an important connotation of the spirit of the great Long March. The people are the country, and the country is the people. To this day, this spirit still tells us that development is for the people, development depends on the people, and the fruits of development are shared by the people. On the new Long March, the warm story of “Half Quilt” continues to be written.
The Shazhou Village that the Red Army passed through has now undergone earth-shaking changes, with a pleasant environment. The old houses have been renovated and the new communities are neat and uniform.
Zhu Lizhi calls himself “Inspirational Brother”. He is in his early 40s and is a native of Shazhou Village. He is also the village’s emergency affairs specialist. His family ran a small shop and stalls, and lived a prosperous life. More than ten years ago, his family was still poor. His mother suffered from mental illness and his wife also suddenly fell ill. He was the only laborer in the family and life was stretched. When he was most embarrassed, he didn’t even have the money to go home.
Zhu Lizhi, emergency affairs officer of Shazhou Village, Wenming Yao Township, Rucheng County, Hunan Province: “I was hospitalized in Changsha in 2015. At that time, I had lupus erythematosus, a fast heartbeat, and my life was very critical. At that time, I ran out of money for transportation, and I couldn’t afford some medical bills. I had borrowed all the money from my relatives, so I thought of calling the current secretary of our village.”
Upon hearing this situation, Zhu Xiangqun, then director of the village committee and current village party secretary, did not hesitate to lend a helping hand.
The party’s original intention is to seek happiness for the people, and “no one can be left behind” on the road to poverty alleviation. In response to the situation of Zhu Lizhi’s family, the village arranged a position as an ecological ranger for him, with an annual salary of 10,000 yuan. He helped his wife set up a stall in the folk square, exempted the first year’s rent, and also helped him apply for a small loan to develop fruit planting.
With the help of the party organization, Zhu Lizhi successfully got out of poverty. Now that Zhu Lizhi has joined the party, he is passing on the warmth of “half quilt”. As a member of the joint household party, he is responsible for contacting 5 to 7 villagers, collecting opinions, publicizing policies, and helping villagers solve their difficulties.
In order to further help villagers improve their living environment, in the past two years, the village has organized everyone to build a new community in the back mountain – Xingfu New Village. On this day, villager Zhu Xiaohong took reporters to visit his new house. Zhu Xiaohong was once a poor household and could not even afford fertilizer. The village gave his family a lot of help from agricultural subsidies to schooling and medical treatment, and also provided him with employment training opportunities. Taking advantage of the opportunity of building a scenic spot in the village, Zhu Xiaohong opened a local restaurant, and now the business is getting more and more prosperous.
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