In the history of the mainland, the concept of "death-free gold medal" often appeared, and this was also the reward of the real emperor for his courtiers. For those who have made outstanding meritorious deeds, the emperor will award them gold medals with a rewarding nature, which is not only a symbol of honor for the recipients, but also a direct embodiment of privilege. However, with the collapse of the Qing Dynasty, the concept of democracy and republicanism was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the "gold medal for avoiding death" also became history along with feudal society.
However, it is worth mentioning that although the concept of "death-free gold medal" no longer exists, some merits are enough to be compared, and the medals and honors exchanged for these merits are enough to be compared with the death-free gold medal. There was a general on the mainland who won the "gold medal of avoiding death", he joined the army at the age of 11, participated in more than 300 battles, and his life is enough to be called legendary.
The general who received this honor was wang Yaonan, a native of Jiangxi, who, because of his family's poverty when he was young, began to work in the coal mine with his father very early, becoming a rare child laborer in the mine. However, with the rise of the Chinese revolution, Wang Yaonan also began to actively participate in the revolution, and joined the Communist Party of China in 1930. After joining the Red Army, Wang Yaonan has always played the role of an engineer, he has opened roads in every mountain, bridged bridges in the face of water, and helped our army tide over many crises.
From participating in the Autumn Harvest Uprising to the Three Bays Reorganization, and then to the Later Long March, Wang Yaonan accompanied the Red Army through the most dangerous moments, and he also made outstanding contributions to the revolution. After that, Wang Yaonan participated in all major wars such as the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the War of Liberation, and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and he also achieved the cause of our army's engineering corps through continuous accumulation of experience, and even became the founder of the PLA engineer corps. With the efforts of Wang Yaonan, the mainland's sappers have developed rapidly, and he himself has also won honorary titles such as "Sapper Ancestor", "Mine King" and "Demolition King".
Wang Yaonan participated in more than 300 battles in his lifetime, and he himself was awarded the Order of the Red Star of the Second Class for his outstanding merits. You must know that this honor is unique in the history of our army, which is even equivalent to the gold medal of death in the Soviet Union, and Wang Yaonan has become the only winner on the mainland. For this reason, he was also received many times by great men, and even was affectionately praised as a national hero by great men. In 1955, Wang Yaonan was also awarded the rank of major general for outstanding merit, and later died in 1984.