In the 1950s and 1960s, Guo Junqing, who dressed as a man and joined the army, as an outstanding Mulan-style female combat hero, was the prototype of the protagonist of the film "Youth in the Fire of War", Gao Gao, who was once a well-known media figure and became a landscape and cultural phenomenon in the mass culture at that time.
In order to join the army, she did not hesitate to cut off the long hair that had been left for many years.
During those difficult years of war, she endured great inconvenience, never stripping off her clothes and sleeping, never going to the toilet with her comrades- and comrades-in-arms for five years. Once when she fell ill and was hospitalized, her female identity was revealed.
However, the years have passed, the Slovaks have gone, and the traces of the old days have gradually faded. To this day, there are still few articles and materials about Guo Junqing. In today's market economy, it seems that she has been sealed in the depths of history. People's understanding and interpretation of her also seems to stay and freeze in the opening statement. Today, let's revisit the legendary life of Guo Junqing who does not let her eyebrows be shaved.
Guo Junqing in men's clothing
The Independent Regiment of the Rebei Military Sub-district of the Eighth Route Army came to a "Mulan"
Guo Junqing was born in 1931 to poor parents in Benxi, Liaoning Province, and her childhood was very difficult. When she was more than 6 years old, she was forced to flee to Inner Mongolia with her parents. Later, in order to support her, her father found a job in the local area as a long-term worker for the landlord, although the salary was meager, watching his daughter grow up day by day, the father still endured the exploitation of the landlord with all his grievances.
Unexpectedly, the good times did not last long, and soon after, my father fell and was injured in the process of being sent by the landlord to cut firewood, which was the cold winter, and he died not long after. The landlord's long-term exploitation of her father, coupled with his tragic death, made her deeply resent the unequal system and deeply planted the seeds of revenge for her father in her heart.
Guo Junqing's cousin Guo Yu once said when recalling his childhood: "My sister's life was very poor. Don't look at her as a girl, until the age of 8 did not wear a decent dress, often unclothed. My father was distressed about my sister, so he untied a 3-foot-long belt wrapped around his waist and asked my mother to make a pair of pants for my sister. ”
Guo Junqing spent her childhood in misery, carrying class hatred. She knew that if she wanted to avenge her father, the only chance was to join the army, so she tried her best to join the army.
In August 1945, in order to expand the revolutionary ranks, the Eighth Route Army in Inner Mongolia recruited a large number of new recruits in the local area. Guo Junqing, who was only 15 years old, went to the recruitment office to register and found that all the people who went to register were men, and all women who wanted to join the army were rejected. After returning home, after a struggle of ideas, she made up her mind to enlist in the army dressed as a woman, no matter how difficult the road ahead was, it could not stop her strong feeling of wanting to enlist. She shaved her long hair into a bald head, changed into her brother's men's clothes, and painted a lot of black ash on her face to hide her true skin color. She casually gave herself the name "Guo Fu" and went to the recruitment office again.
She thought that she would be able to pass the pass smoothly, but she did not expect that after arriving at the recruitment office, the person in charge of recruiting saw that she was thin and small, and at a glance, she lied about her age, so she still politely rejected her. A few days later, the troops were ready to leave Inner Mongolia, and the undead Guo Junqing had been following behind the team. A passing unit leader saw the situation, secretly admired her determination, and finally made an exception to let her enlist. Guo Junqing was assigned to the county detachment as a correspondent, and from then on she began her career as "Mulan in the army".
After she enlisted, the Eighth Route Army had a different recruit in it. In the army, no one had ever seen her undress when she slept, and she always slept to find the most remote position, and she always liked to put the bayonet used in battle under the pillow to prevent accidents. Before the troops set off, she always went out to "sneak" around for a while, and then rushed back to assemble. For this reason, she does not know how many times she has been criticized by the company commander.
What's even more bizarre is that every time she goes to the toilet or takes a shower, she acts alone, and no one is with her. However, this slightly strange recruit is very hardworking, all subjects are excellent standards, many times selected as a model model; political and ideological learning ability is very strong, very active to learn from the party organization.
Guo Junqing (first from right) at the National Congress of Combat Heroes
Growing up in the fires of war, guo junqing has been dressed as a man for 5 years
In early 1946, Guo Junqing was transferred to the cavalry communications class of the regimental headquarters as a cavalry correspondent. To be a cavalry correspondent one must first practice riding a horse, but also practice bomb throwing, shooting, and assassination. Guo Junqing held up a three-eight-big cover gun that was taller than himself to practice splitting, and stepped on a tall fierce horse to practice riding. She deeply knew that only by practicing her skills could she kill the enemy to avenge herself.
Due to the hard training, Guo Junqing was rated as a training pacesetter. Months of combat experience finally made her an excellent cavalry correspondent. The war left Guo Junqing with no time to take care of his daughter's body. The wind and sun and the smoke of the gun made the feminine features of her face and body less and less obvious.
Late one night, she was called up while asleep, and she was given an urgent task to pass an urgent order to the chief tens of kilometers away before dawn. She was not afraid of the night, and galloped her horse deep in the mountains. After an overnight trek, we finally reached our destination and completed our mission. On the way back, her mount was exhausted, and she walked back to the troop garrison with her saddle on her back. The mission was well accomplished, and the troops gave her a small credit. Later, because she was able to successfully complete the tasks assigned to her by the leaders every time, she was often praised and praised by the chief.
Soon, the Northeast Democratic Coalition Army launched a new-style army reorganization movement, and the grievance campaign organized by the party branch of the company erased Guo Junqing's eyes and greatly raised her class consciousness a step further.
Guo Junqing accepted the commendation
In June 1947, Guo Junqing gloriously joined the Communist Party of China. At this time, she has been dressed as a man for almost two years, and she, like gay men, has charged into battle, born into death. In order not to expose her daughter's body, she never undressed and slept, and never went to the toilet or bathed with everyone. But no matter how to disguise it, the comrades who spent time with her day and night still found some flaws: "Have you noticed, Guo Fu this guy never disarmed with us!" ”
The comrades decided to unravel the mystery. Once, when she was defenseless, her comrade-in-arms Xiao Wang tied her up and touched her around. Guo Junqing had never been so offended, and she was so angry that she cried while drawing her knife, frightening her comrades-in-arms to never mention this stubble again.
The influence of war made Guo Junqing a steel warrior. In May 1948, Guo Junqing was promoted to class president. A few days after Guo Junqing became the squad leader, the summer offensive of the Northeast People's Liberation Army began, and her unit was sent to attack Longhua.
On May 25, Guo Junqing led his commando team and prepared to attack the county seat. At that time, most of her troops were "recruit eggs", had no combat experience, and the equipment of the unit was very backward compared to the enemy, with only a few rifles and some grenades. The enemy who fought with them had the strength of two platoons, as well as various advanced weapons, and the disparity in strength between the two sides was huge, and Guo Junqing couldn't help but sweat for it.
Unfortunately, just two days before the official battle, Guo Junqing had a fever due to a cold. However, when the bell of battle rang, she could no longer care about her illness. In order to encourage the new recruits in the army, she rushed to the front and waved the red flag, leading her men all the way up from the foot of the mountain. Encouraged by her, the comrades attacked bravely one by one, beat the enemy one after another, and finally successfully occupied the commanding heights of the mountain beam.
Guo Junqing in 950 (front row, first from right)
At the evaluation meeting, because of her correct command and decisive decision-making in the battle, and leading her subordinates to victory in the case of physical embarrassment, the class she led was rated as a combat model class.
From 1945 to 1950, Guo Junqing successively won 1 meritorious service, 3 major merits, and 4 small merits, becoming a famous combat hero of the Fourth Field Army.
The daughter's body was found by the doctor
Years of difficult battles, wading through mountains and waters in the ice and snow, caused Guo Junqing to suffer from a serious gynecological disease, which became more and more serious, and had to be admitted to the hospital in April 1950. After she was hospitalized, a female doctor gave her a routine examination. The doctor found that she did not have a throat knot and her physical characteristics were also similar to those of women, so he hurried to inform the leader of the situation.
The leaders of the troops came to visit Guo Junqing one after another, and she knew that she could no longer hide it, so she poured out to the chief with tears how she had avenged her father, dressed as a man, and joined the army to kill the enemy. The chief was deeply moved by this, so he distributed her a set of ladies' military uniforms and instructed her to take good care of her illness first and wear them when she was cured.
After her recovery, she was discharged from the hospital wearing the uniform of a female soldier and looked even more heroic. "Have you heard that Guo Fu is a woman?" This explosive news made the entire Forty-eighth Army boil. The officers and men of the Forty-eighth Army admired her extraordinary act of dressing as a man and killing the enemy in the army.
He Jinnian, then commander of the Forty-eighth Army, also said with emotion: "Guo Junqing is really a hero, a contemporary Mulan, and the pride of our Forty-eighth Army!" ”
On September 25, 1950, the National Heroic Outstanding Representative and the National Labor Model Congress were held in the capital, and Guo Junqing, as the representative, also attended the meeting, and the leaders of the military region believed that she overcame many difficulties, dressed as a man to join the army, and repeatedly accomplished qigong, which is an excellent example worthy of public study and familiarity.
As a result, Guo Junqing was elected as the hero representative of the whole country, and he was the only female hero of the special prize to receive this honor, and participated in the National Hero Congress, was elected to the list of the presidium of the congress, and was awarded the "National Combat Hero" by the Central Military Commission. She was awarded the "Model Medal", "Bravery Medal" and "Mao Zedong Medal", and was known as "Modern Mulan". During the congress, the famous writer Ding Ling interviewed Guo Junqing and praised the "people's Mulan" as the "people's Mulan"
On the afternoon of September 25, Vice Chairman Liu Shaoqi, Premier Zhou Enlai, and Commander-in-Chief Zhu De greeted the arrival of the representatives of the heroes of the battle at the gate of the Beijing Hotel, and Chairman Mao Zedong shook hands with each hero cordially in the reception hall. Guo Junqing and Zhao Xingyuan presented a wreath of flowers to Chairman Mao on behalf of all the heroic models, and Mao Zedong shook hands with her to thank her. When the meeting was held in Huairen Hall, Guo Junqing was one of the delegates who made a report to the conference. When Mao Zedong and Zhu De learned that she was Guo Junqing, a hero dressed as a man, they shook hands with her to show respect and congratulations, and welcomed her to the seat.
In 1950, the national congress of combat heroes was present
On October 1, Guo Junqing and all the representatives of the heroic models were invited to Tiananmen Square to attend the National Day ceremony, and she met Chairman Mao and other founding leaders again. At the grand banquet held by the Central Military Commission for the heroic models, Guo Junqing raised his wine glass on behalf of the heroic model and toasted Mao Zedong, Zhu De, and other leaders one by one.
Guo Junqing's heroic deeds were soon known, and at that time, there were pictures of her hanging in many regional organs, and large photos of Guo Junqing were hung in various shops and theaters. The heroic image of "Modern Mulan" Guo Junqing appears in various literary and literary works, and books about her have been published and distributed...
In the face of great honors, Guo Junqing was unusually sober-minded. She kept in mind Mao Zedong's teachings: Merit and honor belong to the people, carry forward the glorious tradition, strive for greater glory, and are determined to always maintain the true color of ordinary soldiers.
Heroic deeds on the big screen
On December 1, 1959, the film "Youth in the Fire of War", based on Guo Junqing and based on some chapters of Lu Zhuguo's novel "Stepping on the Waves of the East China Sea", was released. The film tells how she overcame the difficulties and dressed as a man to join the revolution in the army.
After the release of the film, Guo Junqing watched it over and over again, and she personally experienced many scenes in the film, and every shot in the film will set off waves in her heart.
In the early morning of September 23, 1983, Guo Junqing died in Nanjing due to a serious illness at the age of 52. Life is short, but great deeds endure.
Guo Junqing was diligent and thrifty all her life, leaving only some daily necessities after her death, and most of these objects have a strong sense of age, such as old suitcases, old quilts, blankets and a radio, which are her most valuable relics. When she died, she had only 80 yuan on her. She could not afford to buy a television set, and only relied on a small radio that had been used for more than a decade to listen to domestic and foreign news morning and night.
You know, her salary level is not low, how can she live so shabby? Guo Junqing's adopted daughter said: "Before my mother died, she often said that the salary should be taken from the people and should be used for the people. It turned out that after Guo Junqing paid his salary, he sent some of them back to his hometown to support relatives and support the education cause in his hometown, and also received help for the childless and childless elderly, and often donated to social charity and welfare units.
Guo Junqing's life has a legendary revolutionary experience, she dressed as a man for five years, until she fell ill and was forced to reveal her female identity, which is a unique example in the history of our army. Although she is not a martyr, her ashes have been exceptionally approved for storage in the Changzhou Martyrs' Cemetery. The urn is written with 6 big words "Special Combat Hero".
In 2009, on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, with the approval of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Guo Junqing was included in the list of 100 heroes and models who made outstanding contributions to the founding of New China. The people will not forget Guo Junqing, a modern Mulan who laid the foundation for new China and is well-known at home and abroad.