On December 8, 2015, an old revolutionary born and raised in southern Zhejiang died in Hangzhou at the age of 96. On December 19, the farewell ceremony was held in Hangzhou. This old revolutionary is Qiu Qinghua, an outstanding member of the Communist Party of China, a loyal communist fighter, and former vice chairman of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
When it comes to Qiu Qinghua, many people may not know it very well, but when it comes to one of his cousins, Qiu Qingquan, he is almost a household name and is known as a famous anti-Japanese general.
Qiu Qingquan can be called Chiang Kai-shek's trump card general, and he does not want to die when he fights, so he is also nicknamed "Qiu Madman", which can be regarded as a rare general who is both civil and military among Chiang Kai-shek's students.
Qiu Qingquan
The Fifth Army, one of the "five main forces of the Nationalist Army" under which Qiu Qingquan was the commander, was the first mechanized combat unit of the Kuomintang, which had fought hard against the Japanese in the Battle of Kunlun Pass, almost completely annihilating a Japanese brigade and killing its major general brigade commander Masao Nakamura, while Qiu Qingquan was the commander of the newly organized 22nd Division of the Fifth Army.
Qiu Qingquan led his troops to imitate the Song general Di Qingzheng Nong Zhigao to "pass the pass in micro-service", and before setting out, he also announced the order that "if I die in battle, Liao Yaoxiang, deputy division commander, will be the first agent". It was in this battle that Qiu Qingquan was not afraid of death, and fought bravely and won the fourth class Baoding medal and the nickname "Qiu Madman", and was promoted to deputy commander of the Fifth Army the following year.
Also from the Yongjia Qiu family, Qiu Qinghua had different beliefs from his cousin and embarked on the road of communism.
Qiu Qinghua, born in March 1920, is 18 years younger than Qiu Qingquan, and the two have the same grandfather. At that time, the Qiu family was a well-known family in the area of Puzhou Old Street in Yongjia (now part of Puzhou Town, Longwan District, Wenzhou City), and Qiu Qinghua and Qiu Qingquan's father also ran a fish shop together, and the business was very good, and so they were able to buy land and houses, and lived well.
Because of the age difference, Qiu Qingquan and Qiu Qinghua look more like two generations. According to Qiu Qinghua, he only met his cousin twice, once in the early 30s of the 20th century, when Qiu Qingquan was a regimental-level officer and returned to his hometown with his wife Ye Ruijun.
The second time was in June 1937, when Qiu Qinghua was expelled from school for participating in the anti-Japanese rescue activities, and Qiu Qingquan had already made some famous names in the national army. Qiu Qinghua's mother hopes that he can go to the army with his brother and seek a future.
In those days, it was very common for brothers and nephews to help each other, which was an important factor in the continuation and growth of the family. Qiu Qingquan is influenced by traditional culture and takes good care of his cousins. For example, he sponsored his brother Qiu Zijing and his cousins Qiu Minghao and Qiu Qinghua to study.
Not only that, Qiu Minghao was also able to enroll in the Kuomintang's Central Military Academy on the recommendation of Qiu Qingquan, and then he was directly assigned to Qiu Qingquan's unit as a special agent company commander with the rank of captain. Unfortunately, this person died in the battle of Kunlun Pass while fighting the Japanese army at the age of 26.
And Qiu Qinghua was already influenced by progressive ideas as early as middle school, and he did not choose the Kuomintang camp, nor did he think of staining Qiu Qingquan's light. In January 1938, Qiu Qinghua joined the Communist Party's Anti-Japanese Rescue Cadre School, joined the Communist Party of China in March of the same year, and in April was dispatched by the Communist Party of China to Yueqing in southern Zhejiang to restore and develop the party organization, strengthen the leadership of the anti-Japanese rescue group, and launch the anti-Japanese rescue mass movement.
At this time, Qiu Qingquan had returned from studying in Germany and served as the deputy division commander of the major general of the Nationalist Army, and soon became a division commander, which can be said to hold authority and have an unlimited future.
Among the brothers, Qiu Qingquan still admired Qiu Qinghua very much, and after he heard that his younger brother had joined the Communist Party, he felt uncomfortable and hoped to help him change his ambitions. At that time, based on Qiu Qingquan's status, the other brothers of the Qiu family also hoped that the younger brother could "get lost" and follow Qiu Qingquan to join the national army, thinking that this was a promising thing.
For this reason, they also deceived Qiu Qinghua from the mountain under the pretext that his mother was seriously ill, but when Qiu Qinghua learned the truth, he finally strengthened his faith, believing that people have their own aspirations and cannot be forced, and took the opportunity to slip away.
Looking back now, if Qiu Qinghua, who has just reached adulthood, wants to take a shortcut, he can follow his cousin to mingle and lean against the big tree to enjoy the shade, which was also a common thing in that era. But he did not seek wealth or comfort, but chose a more difficult but brighter path. The two brothers have since parted ways and fought for their different faiths.
During the revolutionary years, Qiu Qinghua served as a young cadre, propaganda member, organization member, secretary of the county party committee, director of the Political Department of the Yongle People's Anti-Japanese Self-Defense Guerrilla Corps (referred to as the Yongle Corps), political commissar of the Gucang Detachment, and deputy political commissar of the Southern Zhejiang Guerrilla Column.
In April 1939, after Qiu Qinghua was arrested by the Kuomintang authorities, he was unyielding, not afraid of sacrifice, and resourceful in coping with interrogation in prison, withstanding severe tests. After being released from prison at the end of the year, he resolutely implemented the CPC Central Committee's policy of "concealing and being capable, laying ambushes for a long time, accumulating strength, and waiting for the opportunity," actively carried out underground work, tried every means to secretly recruit party members, organized and developed armed organizations, carried out anti-"clean-up" struggles, preserved party organizations, and safeguarded the safety of the masses' lives and property.
When the Japanese invaded the urban area of Wenzhou and the western part of Yueqing, Qiu Qinghua and his comrades-in-arms planned and launched the Hongqiao Uprising, formed the Yongle People's Anti-Japanese Self-Defense Guerrilla Corps, persisted in armed resistance against Japan, and formed the Gucang Anti-Japanese Guerrilla Base. In February 1944, the Kuomintang diehard Cao Jiyun personally led more than 100 recalcitrant troops to Yueqing to "clear and suppress"; Qiu Qinghua, Zhou Pizhen, responsible persons of the Yueqing County CPC Committee, hid in the cave and won a victory against the "cleansing and suppression."
After the outbreak of the Liberation War, the Zhejiang Southern Special Committee of the CPC changed its mode of struggle in a timely manner in accordance with the situation after the retreat of the Zhejiang New Fourth Army to the north and the instructions of the higher-level party organizations on concealment and ability. On November 20, 1945, the Oubei Central County Party Committee was abolished, and three people, Qiu Qinghua, Yu Longgui and Zhou Pizhen, formed the Jiangbei Regional Party Affairs Steering Committee, with Qiu Qinghua, its director. On April 2, 1946, the Jiangbei Party Affairs Steering Committee of the CPC was abolished and the Yueqing Central County Committee of the CPC was established, with Secretary Qiu Qinghua. Qiu Qinghua led the underground party organization, further developed and strengthened the revolutionary armed forces, consolidated and expanded the guerrilla base areas, supported the students' patriotic and democratic movement, and actively cultivated young people who used progressive knowledge.
In the famous Battle of Huaihai, the brothers Qiu Qinghua and Qiu Qingquan fought on different camps. Although Qiu Qingquan had heavy troops and excellent equipment, he was just a high-ranking thug of the Jiang dynasty after all, and his end was already doomed from the moment he stood on the opposite side of the people.
When Qiu Qingquan died in battle, Qiu Qinghua was already the deputy political commissar of the guerrilla column in southern Zhejiang. He led the guerrilla column in southern Zhejiang to advance into his hometown in southern Zhejiang, and finally successfully liberated the entire territory of Wenzhou and planted the red flag in his hometown.
As early as 1948, Chiang Kai-shek saw no hope of victory, and then heard that the brother of his general Qiu Qingquan was the Communist Party of China, and especially blamed him: "Why do you still have a brother making trouble in Zhejiang?" ”
In this regard, Qiu Qingquan can only be speechless, he also knows that even if they are brothers, on the issue of major right and wrong, the beliefs and choices of the two are completely different, and no one can convince anyone.
Qiu Qinghua and Zhang Xuemei
Although Qiu Qinghua had a different choice of faith from his cousin, he married Zhang Xuemei, the daughter of Zhang Chong (literally Huainan), a senior general of the Nationalist army, the "number two figure in the Central Unification" and the head of the lieutenant general. Zhang Chong is a native of Yueqing, who made important contributions to the cooperation against Japan, had a deep friendship with Zhou Enlai, and had a good story of turning enemies into friends, and unfortunately died of illness in 1941 at the age of 38.
Although Zhang Xuemei came from a family of senior generals of the Nationalist Army, she was like-minded with Qiu Qinghua and a staunch communist. She participated in the progressive student movement in middle school and decided to join the revolution. In October 1944, Zhang Xuemei joined the Communist Party of China and served as an instructor of the Second Squadron of the Yongle Corps, the secretary of the Yueqing Central County Committee of the Communist Party of China, and a member of the Central County Committee of the Communist Party of China.
Perhaps because of her own providence, Zhang Xuemei met Qiu Qinghua on the road of revolution, and the two young hearts finally came together and became a pair of revolutionary partners.
Zhang Xuemei also fought in arduous and dangerous posts during the revolutionary years, transmitting intelligence and conveying strength to the revolution. In 1947, she and Qiu Qinghua officially married and immediately devoted themselves to the intense revolutionary cause.
Since then, the couple have shared hardships and shared each other for a lifetime. After the founding of New China, Qiu Qinghua successively served as a member, deputy commissioner, deputy secretary and commissioner of the Wenzhou Prefectural Committee of the CPC, director and secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Agricultural Machinery and the Department of Heavy Industry, and later served as vice chairman of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, enjoying provincial governor-level medical treatment. Zhang Xuemei successively served as vice chairman of the Wenzhou Municipal Federation of Trade Unions, deputy director of the Municipal Women's Federation, deputy director of the Culture and Education Department of the Zhejiang Provincial Federation of Trade Unions, editor-in-chief of the Zhejiang Southern Popular Daily, deputy director of the Propaganda Department of the Wenzhou Prefectural Committee of the CPC, and deputy editor-in-chief of Zhejiang Daily, and was elected as a member of the Sixth Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the CPC in May 1978.
Qiu Qinghua
Later, talking about the past, the old man Qiu Qinghua also said: "The eldest brother and the second brother are no longer alive, although we are old, but we are still in good health, and we only hope that the motherland can be reunified as soon as possible." ”
Li Fanghua, an old comrade-in-arms and subordinate of Qiu Qinghua, attended Qiu Qinghua's memorial service and recalled: "We all call him Comrade Qiu, he has no leadership frame, and everyone in the revolutionary ranks is equal." ”
Li Fanghua said that Qiu Qinghua had gone to his hometown of Yueqing to carry out revolutionary work, and he was a classmate with his brother and an old comrade-in-arms who joined the party in the same year. Because of this relationship, Qiu Qinghua also often goes to Li Fanghua's home, he is seven years older than Li Fanghua. It was under the influence and encouragement of his brother and Qiu Qinghua that Li Fanghua embarked on the road of revolution, and later joined the guerrilla group and became Qiu Qinghua's comrade-in-arms.