January 10, 2022, the eighth day of the first lunar month of the lunar calendar, is the centenary of the birth of her mother Yang Meitian. It has been more than two years since her mother's death, and in the past few years, whenever her birthday, death day and festival day, she always recalls some of her past events before her death, in addition to mourning and remembrance, there is peace and relief. It is calm that she was 98 years old when she left, and did not leave too many regrets; it is gratifying that she left behind the most memorable and precious treasure - conscience. My mother died on June 7, 2019, during the Lunar Dragon Boat Festival, and although no memorial service was held according to her requirements before her death, there were an endless stream of people who went to the spiritual hall and cemetery to mourn and pay tribute in those days, and there were two or three thousand people before and after, including loved relatives and friends, some organ groups, some locals, some from other places, and some special condolences. Why do so many people mourn? I think this is mainly to admire her for her behavior. Mother is a legendary figure, and her experiences and stories have been reported by hundreds of media outlets of all kinds. CCTV 'Waiting for Me', 'Military Life', 'Focus Interview', 'Sunset Red', 'Foreign Chinese Channel,' Phoenix TV, Henan TV, Jiangsu TV, Nanyang TV, Suqian TV, Sihong TV, Suixian TV, People's Network, Xinhua Net, Iron Blood Network, People's Liberation Army Daily, Xinhua Daily, Suqian Daily, Nanyang Evening News, and other media also made special reports. On January 5, 1922, the eighth day of the first lunar month of the Lunar New Year, her mother was born in a famous and prestigious family in eastern Henan, and was a descendant of the Yang family in Kaifeng Province of the Northern Song Dynasty. She had nine brothers and sisters, and she was the youngest, the ninth in line, called "Nine Sisters". When she was a child, her family was relatively wealthy, and she attended private school for several years, and studied poetry books such as the Three Character Classic, the Daughter's Classic, the Disciple Rules, and the Augmentation of The Sages. Later, the troops underwent many cultural, political, military, propaganda and other trainings. My mother joined the revolution at the age of 15. Before the July 7 Incident, her second brother Yang Jintian became the head of the anti-Japanese underground transportation station in eastern Henan, often asking her to help collect and pass on intelligence, stand guard and raise military funds. She had crossed the enemy blockade line at the south gate of Xuzhou three times and sent bullets and silver dollars to the Anti-Japanese base area in Huaibei. On the Qingming Festival in 1942, Yang Jintian was arrested and killed by the Japanese gendarmerie, and his mother traveled thousands of miles to Huaibei to join the New Fourth Army. Subsequently, she followed the troops to participate in the battle outside Zhujiagang and the battle of Guangfu Yanghe. During the Liberation War, she participated with the East China Field Army in the Battle of Menglianggu and the Battle of Shatuji in Southwest Lu, and then was incorporated into the cavalry force to cross the Yellow River and advance into the Central Plains, and then participated in the Battle of Eastern Henan and the Battle of Huaihai. After liberation, she worked as a woman, united front, and organization in Yucheng County, Shangqiu City, and Nanyang Until her retirement. The mother's life was spent like this: in her adolescence, she was in a state of flux, wind and fire, often between life and death, going through sorrow and joy; in middle age, there was no dispute with the world, cautious in words and deeds, there was no danger, and it was smooth; old age enjoyed peace, health and longevity, and longevity.
Legendary characters must have legendary lives, and legendary lives must have legendary coincidences. Surprisingly, the key points in her life are always associated with the lunar calendar: she was born on the eighth day of the first lunar month; married during the Spring Festival; her second brother was arrested and imprisoned by the Rikou during the Qingming Festival, and the family suffered hardships; she joined the New Fourth Army during the Mid-Autumn Festival; and died on the Dragon Boat Festival. What a coincidence, incredible coincidence! Mother was never harsh on others, always willing to do her best to help others and tolerate others; she never discussed the rights and wrongs of others before and after people; she never saw and heard her arguing with others. In fact, her heart is strong, but she feels that the so-called competitiveness is just a manifestation of narrow-mindedness. Sometimes, she even tolerated some people and things to an intolerable degree, which was not to be tolerated, but to take a longer-term and broader view of everything that was happening around her, almost like a monk. I saw her conscience in some things, or personality, human nature, nature, realm, character.
In 2014, a media reporter interviewed her and asked her whether she was afraid when she sent bullets and silver dollars to the Hongze Lake base in Huaibei during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression through the Japanese post at the south gate of Xuzhou. Of course, she said, she was afraid, afraid that she would not be able to complete the task. Japanese devils are not terrible, they come to our country to do bad things, they are afraid of us. Bad people are always afraid of good people. This is probably the mother's view of right and wrong, good and evil - it is really a brave person who has no fear!
In 1942, after the anti-sweeping campaign and the battle on the outskirts of Zhujiagang, she and her comrades-in-arms and compatriots buried their compatriots and comrades who died in the battle, and then dug a pit for thirteen Japanese soldiers who were killed. Because this decision was made by my father, she also felt that it should be so, so she carried it out without a word. At that time, many people said that these Japanese soldiers were thrown away and fed to wild dogs. Father said that these Japanese soldiers were also raised by their fathers and mothers, and they were cannon fodder for Japanese imperialism. If you die, you will be buried, and you will finally have a place to bury. Anyway, our Ground in China is big, and we can bury as much as we want. You know, all four members of my mother's family died in Japanese prisons, and some died on the battlefield fighting the Japanese. The country hates the family, and the mother is the most painful.
Afterwards, my father brought it up to hear her opinion, and my mother said that they were also good villains and were killed on the battlefield, of course, they should be buried, and there was a grave when they died. When the Martyrs' Cemetery was built the following year, the Japanese Anti-War League specially erected a monument for their compatriots who died in battle, describing the incident. This is probably the embodiment of the mother's concept of humanity, and it is also the place where many Chinese concept of humanity. This is a world apart from the brutal methods of the Japanese-Kosovar war against humanity, such as burial alive, germ warfare, gas bombs, wolfhound bites, and infant killing. It can be seen from here that Chinese the "benevolence", "righteousness" and "goodness" in traditional education, that is, humanization, have a great influence on mothers - the benevolent are invincible.
Your mother is not a good person, but sometimes when you don't look for things, things will come to you. During the Cultural Revolution, two investigators from out of town approached her mother and asked her to prove that a university leader defected to the enemy during the war. For this comrade-in-arms, his mother looked down on him in her heart, was trivial, stingy, did not dare to take responsibility when things happened, liked to inquire about the privacy of others behind his back and spread it around, loved to make small reports, loved to take advantage of small profits, loved to show off his knowledge, and looked down on cadres with low culture, in short, there were many problems. When this man wrote the confession after he was overthrown, he could not tell the story of how he ran to the home of an underground liaison officer in the enemy-occupied area for a few days after the troops were scattered, because this liaison officer who could directly prove it died after liberation. Therefore, the whole person clings to this point, not to say that if he cannot find proof, it means that he may defect to the enemy, that is, he is a suspect and cannot be rehabilitated. Out of desperation, he had to let his comrades-in-arms at the time prove it to him. But several people did not know much about it, and they could not prove it to him. When they found their mother, they wanted her to produce proof that the person had defected to the enemy or was unaware. My mother said that although I also despised his behavior, I could not testify with my conscience. The mother said that at that time, she was engaged in confidential communication and liaison, and after the troops were scattered, this person did run to the underground liaison officer's house for a few days to hide, and the liaison officer also talked about this matter at that time, and several comrades-in-arms also knew the origin of this matter, and there was no defection to the enemy. After the proof was written, because the other party did not achieve the purpose of dying and the whole person, he became angry and ashamed, saying that his mother had no political position, shielded the bad guys, and intimidated to find my mother's superiors to reflect, and threatened my father with the whole thing, saying that he would not give up and walk and see. Mother said very calmly, since you say that he is a traitor, you have written your own proof, why should I tell the truth? My husband's business has nothing to do with this matter, and as for what you want to do, you can watch and do it yourself. The two men entangled for two or three days, and when they saw that they didn't think about it, they didn't quit and said goodbye, and the ash slipped away. Between truth and falsehood, the mother always chooses to be true, which has nothing to do with interests and likes and dislikes – the believer is not ashamed. Honesty and trustworthiness are the foundation of a person's life.
At the beginning of the Cultural Revolution, although my father had stepped down, he still did not escape the storm. The rebel organizations in the province and in Eastern Henan arrested my father in Eastern Henan on charges of being "leaders of anti-party groups," "party valves," "corrupt and degenerate elements," and "bullies," and held tens of thousands of people's congresses in Kaifeng, Shangqiu, suixian, and other places to criticize and fight. He also asked his former colleagues and subordinates to accompany him in the fight, among whom there were dozens of so-called "lackeys" of him and another leader, and according to the authority and nature of his work, they were organized into "four big widows, four big lai, eight texts, eight martial arts and eight talents.". Extremely absurd, extremely crazy. One night after my father was taken away, the nephew of one of his comrades-in-arms ran to my house in a panic and told my mother the news that my father and his uncle had been brought to Yudong. When my mother heard him finish, she made two dishes, poured a glass of wine, and let him eat while talking. This person's name is Zhang Xianshun, a purchaser of the Materials Bureau, who runs around the country and is well-informed. His uncle was the commander of the Kuomintang Northwest Army, led the uprising in the Liberation War, and was arranged on the spot as the minister of armed forces in Yucheng County, at that time my father was the secretary of the county party committee, and he helped him, and my mother and his wife also worked together, and they had some friendship with each other. Later, he was beaten into a rightist faction and sent back to his hometown of Dushan North Zhangying Village in Nanyang City. Before my father was sent to Nanyang, this nephew of Uncle Zhang also went to Yudong to find him. At that time, the two families were in a state of being in a state of rectification, and it was inevitable that they would have pity for each other and get along very well. When Zhang Xianshun's eldest brother finished drinking and finished eating, his mother asked him what he had in mind. He suggested that the two families go to Yudong to find relations activities to strive for relaxation, and then send some clothes and food. The mother listened to him and said directly, no need to go, it was useless to go, and it was useless to go, let alone say good things to anyone, and said that it was not only useless but also lost their people. This is the big situation, no one can do anything, the marshals and generals, ministers, and governors have all been overthrown, not to mention these subordinates. Leave it to fate, anyway, I know that they have not done anything harmful, it may just be a mistake in the work, offending some people. Now as long as our family is not in trouble, don't be afraid, it is useless to be afraid, maybe after a while everything will be fine. After the incident, this zhang Xianshun's eldest brother said to everyone, "Aunt Yang has really seen the world, has insight, has confidence, is not afraid of things, and does not bow her head." Whenever I mention this matter, I think that the "confidence" that this elder brother Zhang said is that they have not done anything that hurts nature and reason. This may be the bottom line in the mother's heart - the wise are not confused, the wise are not worried.
Mother was very strong, and she had never heard or seen her cry, no matter how big or sad she was. She often said, "Crying is a sign of incompetence." "But I've also seen her cry once. At that time, in July 2015, we accompanied her to northern Jiangsu to see her old comrades-in-arms, and turned around the places where she had fought and worked. That morning, we accompanied her to the Yingshan Martyrs' Cemetery in Sihong County, and after paying homage to the heroes, we went to the peninsula Ledong Village, which went deep into Hongze Lake. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, it was once the site of the Arsenal and the Rear Hospital of the Fourth Division of the New Fourth Army. At that time, my mother used to do internal security and management work here, serving as the leader of the group. Coincidentally, in the village of Ledong, she met an eighty-nine-year-old lady named Ding Chenshi, who later changed her name to Chen Hua. The old lady was from her village, working in the arsenal, and her mother was responsible for arranging specific work for them and accepting the products. After the conversation, the old lady recognized her mother and called out "Sister Yang Group Leader", and said that her mother often brought her food. Her mother also recognized her, a little girl who was fourteen or fifteen years old at the time. Suddenly, the mother took the hand of Mrs. Chen Hua and cried bitterly. After a while, the mother stopped crying before she eased up and said loudly, "All are dead, the comrades and sisters who used to be in the arsenal are dead!" Later, we felt that our mother went to the martyrs' cemetery and then met the familiar people of that year, saw things and thought of people, touched the scenery, and the feelings were extremely excited, and we couldn't help but cry bitterly. Here, I saw the brilliance of my mother's humanity. This is also the true feeling of conscience: the heart of movement, the emotion, the form of color, the expression of words.
What is conscience? The first to propose "conscience" was Mencius. Mencius said: "He who is able to learn what man does not learn is also able to do so; and he who knows what he does not care about knows, so does his conscience." This means that what one can do without learning is good energy; what one knows without thinking is conscience. It is human nature, human nature. For animals and beasts that are different from man, their nature is instinct; and man's nature is his nature. Once man loses his nature, he becomes like an animal, and only instinct remains. I think that whether it is the theory of sexual goodness or sexual evil, people still need to accept the inheritance of the soul, so that instinct can imperceptibly cost nature, which can really achieve conscience, consciously or unconsciously awaken human nature at any time, that is, human nature, and reach the realm of conscience. I think that the connotation of the Ming Dynasty philosopher Wang Yangming's "gewu zhizhi" and "unity of knowledge and action" also lies in this. Conscience, affirmation and cultural level, and the degree of education are closely related, but they are not directly proportional, and culture, education, etc. cannot replace the perception and consciousness of conscience.
Mother is gone, leaving us her most precious treasure, her conscience. How do we dispose of this wealth?
Zhang Zai, a thinker of the Northern Song Dynasty, summed up the ideal aspirations of Chinese intellectuals in four sentences: "Establish a heart for heaven and earth, establish a destiny for the people, continue to learn from the saints, and open up peace for all the worlds." "In today's terms, no matter what we do, we must have a sense of social responsibility that takes the world as our own responsibility, a high degree of consciousness for the welfare of the masses, the responsibility of sacrificing ourselves for the inheritance of history and culture, and bowing down to creating a peaceful and happy world." In short, this is the same as "Lide, Meritorious Service, And Speech" and "Three Immortals" and Mr. Hu Shi's "Worth", "Work", "Words" and "Three W Doctrines". If we feel that this standard or realm is unattainable, then we will start from the little things around us: "Don't do it with good and small, and don't do it with evil." This is "to the conscience."
January 6, 2022
About the Author:
Ma Ximing, pen name Jian Ruhong, a native of Sui County, Henan, currently lives in Nanyang City. He has been engaged in discipline inspection and supervision for a long time, and has previously served as a teacher and radio editor. Passionate about traveling, always like to cross the long river of history, with footsteps accompanied by poetry to measure the mountains and rivers. His works have appeared in today's headlines, Sohu Information, NetEase News, Baidu and other online media. The poetry monograph "Mahemin's Collected Poems" was published by Unity Press in February 2021.