China News Service, Beijing, October 18. Title: Reminiscing about the founding of the People’s Republic of China and returning overseas Chinese Lieutenant General Zhuang Tian: Walking a dead end road and fighting a war with no retreat.
China News Service reporter Liu Yang
"When encountering hardships, you can only move forward, not backward. During the Long March, sacrifices often occur." Zhuang Zhusheng, the son of founding Lieutenant General Zhuang Tian, said when recalling his father's past with reporters.
This year marks the 120th anniversary of the birth of General Shoda. Zhuang Tian was born in a poor peasant family in Hainan. He went to Southeast Asia to make a living when he was young. He witnessed the luxurious life of capitalists and the oppression of the working class, and often stood up for his fellow workers. While working as a sailor in Singapore, Zhuang Tian came into contact with communist ideas. After returning to China, he joined the revolution and participated in and commanded many battles during the Long March.
The Battle of Xiangjiang started in November 1934. The Ninth Red Army Corps was responsible for flank cover. Zhuang Tian led his troops to participate in the battle, covering the central column and the main force of the Red Army through layers of enemy blockades. On the smoke-filled ferry, the Red Army struggled to tear apart the heavily defended line, but also paid an extremely heavy price.
Walking the dead end road, holding on to the belief of going north to fight against Japan, fighting a battle with no retreat, this is what Zhuang Zhusheng felt when he heard his father recall the years of the Long March. While crossing Jiajin Mountain, Zhuang Tian contracted severe typhoid fever and was exhausted and unable to march. He didn't want to drag down the team and offered to stay on the spot. But his comrades refused to give up and carried him on a stretcher through the snow-capped mountains with unpredictable weather.
Zhuang Zhusheng said that during the Long March, the Red Army not only had to deal with enemy encirclement and interception, but also had to fight hunger and illness in the snowy mountains and grasslands. Countless soldiers fell on the journey, and his father was the one who survived the desperate situation. What supports the soldiers moving forward is their firm belief in avenging the sacrifice of their comrades and uniting the people to defend against foreign aggression.
The year after the victory of the Long March, Zhuang Tian went to Yan'an to work at the Chinese People's Anti-Japanese Military and Political University. In 1940, he was appointed by the Central Committee to serve as deputy captain of the Qiongya Anti-Japanese Independent Corps, assisting Feng Baiju in leading the guerrilla warfare behind enemy lines in Qiongya. With the military experience accumulated during the Long March and Yan'an period, Zhuang Tian trained the originally loose guerrilla force into a team that could not be dragged down or broken up. It fought hard against the Japanese army in Hainan until the victory of the Anti-Japanese War.
During his military life, Zhuang Tian left few physical relics, but his tenacity and courage always influenced Zhuang Zhusheng. "The Chinese nation has had the character of fighting against heaven and earth since ancient times and not accepting fate. During the Long March, the Red Army showed even more courage to face death." Zhuang Zhusheng said. Inspired by his father, Zhuang Zhusheng joined the army as a young man and spent nearly 20 years in the army. The advice in his father’s letters home always reminded him to face difficulties head-on and never back down.
This year marks the 90th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army’s Long March. As a member of the Guangdong Province Yan’an Spirit Propaganda Group, Zhuang Zhusheng has carried out nearly 20 propaganda activities. In class, he introduced the thrilling battle stories of the Long March, interpreted the tactical wisdom of the Red Army, and used the Jingwei sea reclamation allusion familiar to the children to talk about the spiritual strength of the ancestors who faced difficulties and were unyielding. His narration connected history with the present, telling children that heroes do not only exist in the flames of the Anti-Japanese War. Today, there are still many people who are silently guarding the peace of their home and country.
Zhuang Zhusheng emphasized that in an era of peace, children should walk steadily on their own path, learn skills well, overcome difficulties in life, and move forward bravely for their ideals, which is the best comfort for their ancestors.
