In March this year, Peng Hejun (first from the left) visited veterans of the Red Army when he went to Chengdu to look for information.
Lin Yuhui painted a portrait of the martyr Peng Jiashi.
The elderly Wang Qiang recognized the portrait and believed that the similarity reached 80 or 90%.
In this old photo, the family speculated that the second from the left in the front row was Peng Jiashi (a person in the circle).
Nandu characters give you a good look
Peng Hejun, who works in Shenzhen, is a descendant of an old Red Army. In order to restore the life of his great-grandfather of the old Red Army, he spent 12 years traveling to many places. "Shenbi Detective" Lin Yuhui helped him, and finally Peng Hejun got what he wanted and "found" his great-grandfather.
Peng Hejun's great-grandfather Peng Jiashi left home in 1929 to earn a living and joined the Red Army in 1930. Between 1937 and 1942, five family letters and one photograph were sent, and since then there have been no letters. It was not until the 1980s, when the local civil affairs department sent a martyr's certificate, that the family learned that Peng Jiashi had died in battle in 1944.
Peng Hejun, who "found" his great-grandfather, told Nandu reporters that it was not only to reproduce the appearance of his great-grandfather, but also to let the spirit of martyrs be passed on, "Their generation is really not easy, and the deeds of the martyrs deserve our eternal memory." ”
Leave home to join the revolution
After decades of sacrifice, the family was informed
Peng Hejun, 48 years old this year, was born in Shuangfeng County, Loudi City, Hunan Province, and has lived with his grandfather since childhood. When he was a child, Xiao Tsuru heard the story of his great-grandfather from his grandfather. Although Grandpa knew very little about his great-grandfather's life, and even his appearance was blurred, the young Tsuru Jun still seemed to be able to feel Grandpa's thoughts about his father.
Peng Hejun told Nandu reporters that his great-grandfather was originally named Peng Jiazhi, later renamed Peng Jiashi, a native of Shuangfeng County, Loudi, Hunan, born on December 12, 1904. Peng Jiashi left home in 1929 to earn a living, and Peng Hejun's grandfather was two years old. In 1930, Peng Jiashi wrote home through his uncle, telling his family that he had joined the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army and changed his name to Peng Jiashi because of the needs of the revolution.
Between 1937 and 1942, Peng maintained brief contact with his family, Hongyan Chuanshu. His family learned that he had joined the Communist Party of China in 1934 and had set out from Hunan to participate in the Long March from 1935 to 1936. In the letter, Peng Jiashi repeatedly asked the family to take good care of their son. Unfortunately, after 1943, Peng Jiashi never wrote a letter to his family again, and has not been heard from since.
However, the family has never given up looking for Peng Jiashi, but has not made progress. It was not until 1983, when the local civil affairs department sent a martyr's certificate, that the family learned that Peng Jiashi had sacrificed for the revolution.
On the reissued martyr registration form, the great-grandfather used his original name Peng Jiazhi, who died in the unit and position of the commander of the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army, and was killed in the Battle of Nanniwan in Yan'an County, Shaanxi Province in 1944.
Since then, the great-grandfather's martyr's certificate has been hanging on the wall of his grandfather's bedroom. Young Peng Hejun looked at this certificate while listening to his grandfather's intermittent memories of the past. The stories of those war-torn years and my great-grandfather's military service took root in my heart.
In the process of the family's search for Peng Jiashi, the 5 letters and photos of the great-grandfather were repeatedly submitted as materials, and eventually failed to survive, coupled with the fact that the grandfather did not have much memory of the great-grandfather, the impression of the descendants on the great-grandfather was even more blurred. In order to restore the life of his great-grandfather, Peng Hejun let the descendants of the Peng family remember the deeds of their ancestors, and also to make up for his grandfather's regrets. He decided to take on the responsibility of "finding" his great-grandfather.
Look for 12 years
"Spelling" out the life deeds of the old Red Army
During the Spring Festival in 2007, Peng Hejun learned in a conversation with his aunt that his great-grandfather's name had appeared in many books and was a "very famous person" who was a "very famous person" in many books. This news once again evoked peng Hejun's memories of his childhood, and also strengthened his determination to find his great-grandfather.
To find your great-grandfather's life, it's best to have a picture of him. "When Grandpa died, he never saw a picture of his father again, which is very regrettable. I hope to find my great-grandfather for my family so that future generations can understand the spirit of passing on the spirit of revolutionary martyrs. Peng Hejun said.
In 2007, when the Internet was just emerging, Peng Hejun searched the Internet for information about his great-grandfather, but his retrieval was quite limited. At the same time, Peng Hejun also started from various books and archival materials, hoping to find clues to "piece together" his great-grandfather's past.
"For so many years I worked during the day, looking for information in my spare time. Mainly through books, searching the memoirs of his troops or comrades-in-arms. Peng Hejun told Nandu reporter, "Finding someone like this is like finding a needle in a haystack, the workload is quite large, but I have also received the help of many well-meaning people." ”
After 12 years of searching, Peng Hejun gradually pieced together the life deeds of his great-grandfather. Peng Jiashi joined the Red Army in 1930; from 1935 to 1936, he joined the Long March; in August 1937, he was a graduate of the second phase of the Kang Da; in 1937 he was the commander of the first battalion of the 358th Brigade of the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army; in 1939 he was appointed deputy regimental commander and chief of staff of the Special Regiment of the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army; in 1940 he was transferred to the 22nd Regiment and the 21st Regiment of the Shanxi New Army Industrial Guard Brigade as a regimental commander; in 1942 he went to Yan'an to study.
According to Peng Hejun, according to the data, he found that his great-grandfather Peng Jiashi also participated in the Yanmen Pass Ambush Battle, the Hundred Regiments Battle, and the Battle of Loess Ridge.
As his great-grandfather's life story became clearer, Peng Hejun hoped to paint a portrait of his great-grandfather. Due to the lack of materials, he sought out many painters, but they could not do anything.
"Divine Detective" help
Paint a realistic portrait, but the wish of future generations
In September 2019, portraiture took a turn for the better.
The TV show of "Shenbi Detective" Lin Yuhui's free portrait of the martyr attracted Peng Hejun, and he saw hope in it. He immediately wrote a long letter to Lin Yuhui, hoping that he could help himself.
Before his retirement, Lin Yuhui was the chief mock portrait expert of the Shandong Provincial Public Security Department and the portrait expert of the International Criminal Science Court. Since working on mock portraits, he has provided key technical support for dozens of major cases.
Receiving a letter from Peng Hejun, Lin Yuhui replied at the first time and promised to paint a portrait. "It was his sincerity that touched me." Lin Yuhui said afterwards.
The happy Peng Hejun rushed from Shenzhen to Jinan overnight, and provided Lin Yuhui with three information pictures on the spot, one of which was a photo of Peng Hejun's grandfather; one was a photo of Peng Jiashi's nephew; and the other was a group photo of many people wearing military uniforms, and the Peng family speculated that one of them was Peng Jiashi.
According to the existing materials and the appearance characteristics of their descendants, Lin Yuhui analyzed and painted. At the same time, Peng Hejun's friend was in Shijiazhuang, taking lin Yuhui's completed portrait to the veteran soldier Wang Qiang to identify and propose amendments.
Peng Hejun introduced that the elderly Wang Qiang is familiar with his great-grandfather Peng Jiashi and still has an impression of his appearance. In this way, at the suggestion of the elderly Wang Qiang, Lin Yuhui revised the portrait 3 times and finalized it. Seeing the final portrait, the elderly Wang Qiang said with satisfaction that the similarity was 80% or 90%.
Seeing the vivid great-grandfather on the paper, Peng Hejun's eyes were red, and he took a photo and sent it to the WeChat family group for the first time to inform everyone. Peng Hejun's mother said on the phone: "You have finally found him (Peng Jiashi). ”
Peng Hejun told Nandu reporters that he was ready to use the portrait on his great-grandfather's tombstone. At the same time, the photocopied portrait was presented to the Red Revolution Memorial Hall for posterity to see.
The 12 years of searching is not only to recreate the appearance of the great-grandfather, but also to let the spirit of the martyrs be passed on. "In the process of searching for my great-grandfather, I went through a lot of historical materials, and their generation was really not easy. The deeds of the martyrs deserve to be remembered forever. Peng Hejun said.
Producer: Nandu Editorial Command Center
Coordinator: Nandu Character News Studio
Written by: Nandu reporter Cheng Kun (photo courtesy of the interviewee)