In 1985, when Mr. Chang, 50, received an invitation from the North Korean leader to take his sister to a North Korean memorial, he discovered that his father was a well-known hero in the country.
For their brothers and sisters, their father Zhang Weihua is only a character in the story told by their mother, who committed suicide by taking poison as early as the Anti-Japanese War.
They wondered why their father had made such a choice, but they couldn't bear to wake up their mother's sadness again, so they didn't ask much.
When the brothers and sisters came to North Korea, the people here greeted them with the highest enthusiasm and respect, and even the North Korean leader Kim Il Sung repeatedly held their hands and burst into tears when they talked about their father.
The brothers and sisters who lived in Jilin couldn't help but have a deep curiosity about their father.
What did their father do back then?
Why did he choose to commit suicide by taking poison?
It all started with the war-torn days.
Before the Japanese Kou spread the flames of aggression to the land of China, they took the lead in turning their guns on North Korea.
Despite fierce struggles, the underdeveloped Korea lost to Japan and became a Japanese colony in 1910, beginning a long and dark colonization career.
However, there are many young people in North Korea who are unwilling to concede defeat and actively seek ways to save the country and the people, including Kim Il Sung's father, Kim Hyung-ji.
In 1920, Kim Hyung-ji, who was hunted down by the Japanese Kou, took Kim Il-sung, an 8-year-old son who was still called Kim Sung-joo, to Fusong County, Jilin Province, China, while recuperating, while continuing to seek opportunities to resist.
Kim Hyung-ji knows Chinese culture very well, speaks Chinese, and is good at medicine, but because of the pursuit of Riko, his life in Fusong County is not good. Many local people were afraid of retaliation from the Japanese Kou and did not dare to take in their father and son, so Kim Hyung Ji could only take his son around the country to survive.
Just when the father and son were exhausted, a turnaround appeared.
At that time, a wealthy Chinese businessman named Zhang Wancheng was suffering from typhoid fever, and his condition deteriorated sharply, and the local doctors were helpless. After Kim Hyung-ji, who was wandering, learned about it, he heard that this rich Chinese businessman was a good man, so he risked his life to go to Zhang Wancheng to diagnose and treat his condition.
Under the diagnosis and treatment of Jin Hengji, Zhang Wancheng's condition finally improved, and he quickly turned the corner. This made Zhang Wancheng very grateful to Jin Hengji, and after learning about Jin Hengji's story, he took the initiative to lobby so that Jin Hengji could take his family to settle in Fusong County.
After Zhang Wancheng finished this matter, he and Kim Hyung-ji also formed a deep friendship, and the two families often brought their own families to and fro. Under such circumstances, Kim Il Sung and Jang Wei-hwa, who are still children, also know each other.
Kim Il-sung is a year older than Jang Wei-hwa and has always cared for Jang As an elder brother. Zhang Weihua also has some respect and admiration for this brother, and the two often get together to learn to play and exchange views on the outside world.
As he grew older, Zhang Weihua gradually realized that this brother had lofty ambitions, courage and strategy, and was worth following, and when he learned that Kim Il was preparing to devote himself to the revolutionary cause, Zhang Weihua also made up his mind to follow him.
Later, kim hyung-jae, who was only 32 years old, fell ill for a long time because of the persecution he had suffered in the past, and died when Kim Il-sung was 14 years old. Before his death, Kim Hyung-ji called his son to him with great reluctance, repeatedly telling him that he must lead the Korean people to win independence, and handing over two of his pistols to his wife, who asked her to give him when her son grew up.
After only a year, Kim Il Sung left Fusong County for Jilin and, together with other North Korean patriots, formed a "Korean Communist Youth League" and began his own revolutionary cause.
On the other hand, Zhang Wancheng wanted to arrange for his son to study in Shenyang, but Zhang Weihua was not concerned about this matter, always thinking about Kim Il Sung, who had already gone to Jilin. When he was also 15 years old, the same age as Kim Il Sung when he left Fusong, Zhang Weihua ran away from home at night and went to Jilin with only a gun stolen from his father.
Zhang Weihua walked in the snow and wind for two months before he found Kim Il-sung in Jilin. Seeing him, Kim Il Sung was shocked, but he was very touched when he came back and began to take Zhang Weihua to engage in underground work in the local area.
Kim Il Sung left Jilin a year later and began to participate in the armed struggle in the northeast, losing contact with Zhang Weihua for a while. During this period, Zhang Weihua's family constantly begged him to go home, and he also felt that he could not do anything here, so he had to return home first.
In 1929, after the defeat of the armed struggle in The Northeast, Kim Il Sung was arrested and imprisoned for a full year before regaining his freedom.
Afterwards, Kim Il Sung did not concede defeat and secretly ran back to Jilin to continue organizing anti-Japanese armed forces. But Jilin was full of enemy sentries, hunting for communists everywhere, and the situation was very grim.
Under the cover of his revolutionary comrades-in-arms, Kim Il Sung finally got on the train leaving Jilin, but unfortunately the car was full of enemies, and he could be arrested again at any time.
Just as Kim Il Sung was fidgeting on the train, a well-dressed young man suddenly appeared in front of him. The other party looked at him, and without saying a word, immediately took him to his box and hid him. Only then did Kim Il Sung recognize that this young man, who was very rich at first glance, turned out to be Zhang Weihua.
At this time, Zhang Weihua had already begun to manage the family business under the guidance of his father, and after hearing the news that Kim Il Sung had left prison, he was very happy, so he rushed to assist him. Under the cover of Zhang Weihua, Kim Il Sung successfully escaped the dangerous situation, and later obtained the help of Zhang Wancheng and successfully arrived in the revolutionary area.
Under the introduction of Kim Il Sung, Jang Wei-hwa also joined the Communist Party of China in 1932, opened the "Brothers Bookstore" and the "Brothers Photo Studio" as a cover, and began to engage in underground work, finding ways to obtain intelligence for the anti-coalition forces and provide weapons and medicines.
It's just that Kim Il Sung heard that Zhang Weihua had established a family and couldn't bear to drag him into deeper muddy waters, and he didn't contact Zhang Weihua for a long time after that.
Until July 1937, Kim Il Sung fought a guerrilla war with the Japanese Kwantung Army in the Jilin Mountains. Due to the shortage of materials, the soldiers were almost unable to hold on, and Kim Il-il saw that this was not the way to go, so he sent people into the city to find Zhang Weihua.
At this time, Zhang Weihua, as the son of a rich man in Fusong County, gave up the comfortable life of pampering and pampering, and devoted his whole body and mind to the cause of resisting Japan and saving the country, and destroyed his family to alleviate difficulties and tried his best to help the revolution.
The two teenage friends reunite in a secret corner outside the city, and they have endless words to say to each other as they look at each other. Jang Wei-hwa heard that Kim Il Sung's team was in a crisis of shortage of materials, and did not hesitate to agree to help them solve this problem.
In less than 10 days, Zhang Weihua raised a large number of supplies, which he personally sent to the mountains and handed over as much as 3,000 yuan to Kim Il Sung, so that the soldiers could wear cotton clothes that were enough to withstand the cold in the cold winter month and continue to muster up enough courage to fight the enemy.
But at the same time, Nikko has been tracking Kim Il-sung's movements.
Zheng Xuehai, who had been revolutionary comrades-in-arms with Jang Wei-hwa and Kim Il-sung, had defected and become an eagle dog of the puppet army gendarmerie. Zheng Xuehai once abducted Zhang Weihua on behalf of the Japanese Kou, but Zhang Weihua refused without hesitation, so Zheng Xuehai asked the gendarmerie to put Zhang Weihua in prison.
In prison, the enemy tortured Jang Wei-hwa to extract a confession, trying to obtain the position of Kim Il Sung's headquarters from him, and then swept away the underground organizations in the Fusong area. But Zhang Weihua always gritted his teeth and did not reveal anything.
After Zhang Wancheng learned of his son's arrest, he was so anxious that he tried his best to bail him out. Who knows, this is actually an enemy conspiracy, and the agents have closely monitored the Zhang family, intending to obtain clues and intelligence.
Jang Wei-hwa's enemies would not let him go so easily, and in order to protect Kim Il Sung and other revolutionary comrades-in-arms, he thought about it and finally made a decision.
On the other hand, Kim Il Sung has never been able to contact Jang Wei-hwa, and some of them are restless.
He sent people to inquire about the news secretly many times, but the last thing he received was a letter from Zhang Weihua.
It turned out that after Making a decision, Jang Wei-hwa wrote this letter, telling Kim Il Sung that he must move his headquarters elsewhere as soon as possible.
Then, Zhang Weihua took a bottle of developer from the photo studio he ran and said to his wife: "It is a pity that you cannot fight against Japan with General Kim Il Sung to the end." I am willing to exchange my own death for the safety of my comrades. After saying that, he took the developer and committed suicide at the age of 25.
The news of his death grieved Kim Il Sung, and he vowed that he would not let Jang Wei-hwa die in vain.
After the surrender of Japan in 1945, Korea was also liberated, and Kim Il Sung, who had been abroad for many years, embarked on the road back to his hometown, but he never forgot his good brother Zhang Weihua, who had sacrificed his young life for the revolution, and after returning to Korea, he also repeatedly mentioned Jang Weihua, a brave revolutionary fighter, to his compatriots.
The North Korean people also gradually learned about Zhang Weihua's deeds and developed heartfelt admiration for him, which also made Zhang Weihua, together with martyrs such as Huang Jiguang, become a well-known hero in North Korea.
In 1959, when North Korea's Central Committee member Park Yong-su was about to lead a delegation to northeast China, Kim Il Sung specifically told him to find Jang Wei-hwa's family and send greetings on his behalf. Park Yong-cun did not live up to Kim Il-sung's trust, and with the help of the Fusong County government in Jilin Province, successfully found Jang Wei-hwa's family.
Due to the war, the local government did not know much about Zhang Weihua's deeds, but after learning his story from Park Yong-chun, the local government was deeply moved, not only helped to find Zhang Weihua's family, but also took care of their family afterwards.
Zhang Weihua's father died of illness as early as 5 years ago, Zhang Weihua's wife raised Zhang Jinquan and Zhang Jinlu's two children alone, the family has long ceased to be rich, and life is simple but at least food and clothing.
When Jang Wei-hwa's wife received a greeting from Kim Il-sung, she remembered her husband who had committed suicide by taking poison that day, and couldn't help but burst into tears. In order to express her gratitude, she took out a group photo of Jang Wei-hwa and Kim Il-sung's brother, and asked Park Yong-cun to hand it over to Kim Il-sung as a gift in return.
Pictured: Jang Wei-hwa (left) with Kim Il Sung's brother Kim Chul-joo
The photograph was later preserved in the National Liberation War Museum in Pyongyang, and Kim Il Sung maintained years of contact with the Jang family. In 1984, Kim Il Sung came to China for a visit and offered to invite Jang's family to North Korea.
Hence the scene at the beginning of this article.
Zhang Jinquan, 50, came to North Korea with his sister Zhang Jinlu with the help of the state. After north Korea received an unimaginably warm welcome, the brothers and sisters realized how much respect their father, who died 48 years ago, was respected by the North Korean people.
When he saw the brothers and sisters, Kim Il Sung took the initiative to shake hands with them, and on the occasion when he was supposed to use the Chinese words to greet the guests, he said in Chinese for the first time: "Welcome!" ”
Later, in his own name, Kim Il Sung erected a monument in front of Jang Wei-hwa's tomb, which read:
"The revolutionary deeds of martyr Zhang Weihua are a brilliant example of friendship between the korean and Chinese peoples. The lofty revolutionary spirit and revolutionary achievements of the martyrs will always live in the hearts of the people. ”
Comrade Zhang Weihua, as a hero of the Anti-Japanese League, took the initiative to give up a good life and used his short life to carry out revolutionary struggle, and the spirit of sacrificing life and forgetting death is worth remembering for all of us.