"Grandpa's Lecture Group" in Luanzhou, Hebei: A lecture that lasted 19 years

In early winter, beside the playground of a township primary school in Luanzhou City, Hebei Province, 85-year-old Luo Zongming spread out a few pages of handwritten manuscripts and talked about "things in the village": "That year, the Japanese invaders entered the village. Under the old locust tree on the West Street, three young people did not have time to run..." The children in the audience who were looking around gradually became quiet.

Luo Zongming has been teaching this kind of class for 19 years.

In 2006, Luo Zongming discovered that many children regarded Japanese atrocities in movies and TV series as "fabricated". That summer, 65-year-old Luo Zongming rode his bicycle and visited 91 local administrative villages with several old friends. In more than three months, they traveled more than 1,100 kilometers. They visited 451 elderly people over the age of 75, held more than a hundred symposiums, rescued red memories, and systematically organized scattered anti-war stories. The drafts they wrote down alone totaled hundreds of thousands of words.

Someone asked what the picture was about, and Luo Zongming said: "The old man's memory is deteriorating. If he doesn't write it down, these things will really rot in the ground."

On September 17, Luo Zongming launched a red lecture at Zhangkan Primary School in Luanzhou City, Hebei Province. Photo by Ren Yanzhen

In order to pass on the red story from generation to generation, in 2007, Luo Zongming took the lead in forming the "Grandpa Reporting Group". Most of the members are white-haired old men. After retirement, they volunteered to explain the red history to children.

"After listening to the anti-Japanese war stories told by my grandfathers, I understand that the happy life now is hard-won." Zhang Annan, a student at Shezhuang Primary School in Luanzhou City, said during the exchange speech.

On the podium, Luo Zongming talked about the Red Boat in Nanhu, the Long March of the Red Army, and the Anti-Japanese War in Eastern Hebei Province to the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War. He used his personal experience and local historical facts to tell the children that a peaceful life is hard-won. "The feats of the martyrs must not be forgotten, and patriotism must be turned into service to the country." Every time he preached, he repeatedly told the children who were listening.

In order to let children "touch history", in 2015, Luo Zongming set up a folk farming museum. He visited every village to collect old objects, such as double-share plows, spinning wheels, hoes... Nearly 4,000 objects are placed in the Huaguozhuang Village Folk Museum in Luanzhou City. Today, it is the first village-level folk farming museum in Hebei Province, and it is also a place where children can learn about "nostalgia."

In addition, Luo Zongming has always maintained the habit of recording family events. From the first month of work in 1959, Luo Zongming wrote down every income and expenditure, and accumulated 388 family files over more than 60 years. The salary has increased from 26.5 yuan per month to a pension of more than 5,000 yuan now, the house has changed from a thatched hut to a building, and the bicycle has been replaced by a car... The family files are full of stories. "Family and country are not big words, they are the changes at the table and the days on the ledger."

This year, Luo Zongming was included in the second batch of "China's Good People List" in 2026. How long will the lecture last? The old man folded the manuscript and said: "If your legs can still move and your mouth can still speak, just talk. When one day you can't talk anymore, the child sitting in the audience will continue to talk on his own." (End)