In the memory of Li Yazhong, the grandson of Li Dazhao, his father Li Baohua never wanted to mention more about his grandfather in front of him. Like other peers, he knew about his grandfather from textbooks or martyrs' memorials, and when he went to school, his classmates did not know that he was a descendant of Li Dazhao.
Li Dazhao did not leave a photo with his family, in the hearts of his grandchildren, the image of his grandfather is glorious and distant.
In 1999, when Li Yazhong returned home from work at the Hydrological Bureau of the Ministry of Water Resources, Li Baohua gave Li Yazhong a CD-ROM with a calm look.
The | the only video image of Li Dazhao before his death
It is a 35-millimeter film found by experts in Russian archives, recording a silent, only second-long video of Li Dazhao speaking at a congress in Moscow in 1924 as a representative of the Communist Party.
This is the only moving image of Li Dazhao known.
Later, Li Yazhong saw media reports on this video, saying that 90-year-old Li Baohua saw Li Dazhao again after 72 years and shed tears.
In front of his family, Li Baohua was as usual and still did not say much.
This dusty memory has never brought Li Baohua any glory worthy of praise, it is an unforgettable period of grief, and decades of self-examination, self-discipline, and self-improvement.
Li Baohua was born in Hebei in 1909. In 1918, 9-year-old Li Baohua was taken from his hometown to Beijing by his father. Until then, Li Baohua felt that his father was a frightening stranger.
The two years when Li Baohua first came to Li Dazhao's side were the busiest time for him.
Picture | Little Li Baohua in "The Age of Awakening", strange and shy when he saw his father
In 1918, Li Dazhao delivered his famous speech "The Victory of the Common People", which first publicized the Russian October Revolution in China; in 1919, he published "My View of Marxism", and led the "May Fourth Movement" with Chen Duxiu, and later the founding of the Party.
The terrible father who looked bearded had never lost his temper with Li Baohua once. Once in Beiping had an infectious disease, the whole family was sick, Li Dazhao took stamps to relieve the child's boredom, Li Baohua loved stamp collecting, and discussing stamps with his father was a happy memory of his childhood.
Li Dazhao also never asked the children about their homework, he often said to the children: "I have never studied physical chemistry, so I don't care what you do in the future." "
He does not deliberately talk about revolution and movement with his children, but subtly influences them in his life.
On March 18, 1926, the "March 18" massacre broke out.
Li Baohua, 17, participated in an anti-imperialist demonstration led by his father, in which 47 young people were killed by Duan Qirui's government.
Li Dazhao covered the evacuation of the students and was the last to leave.
Li Baohua hid in the small alley with the flow of people, only to be spared. After the massacre, Li Baohua wrote "Several Crimes of Duan Qirui".
Due to Duan Qirui's persecution, Li Dazhao and the CPC Northern District Committee went underground to persist in the struggle, and Li Baohua became Li Dazhao's correspondent.
Li Dazhao did not live at home, but every day he would send letters, as well as many progressive newspapers and periodicals and revolutionary books and periodicals in various countries. Li Baohua had to put it away and give it to his father, and sometimes he had to help Li Dazhao pass on the letter.
There were many people who came to see Li Dazhao, in addition to progressive youth, there were also professors, soldiers, and so on.
Picture | After Li Dazhao's inauguration in April 1927, the sisters and brothers of Xinghua (right), Yanhua (middle) and Guanghua (left) were at home at No. 3 Chaoyangli, Houkeng, Fuyou Street
Once, the reactionary warlord discovered Li Lisan's whereabouts, and Li Baohua hurried to send a letter to Li Lisan to help him escape in time.
After Zhang Zuolin occupied Beijing, Li Dazhao protected a large number of comrades from leaving Beijing, but he refused to leave.
In 1927, Li Dazhao was arrested, and his wife Zhao Shulan and his eldest daughter Li Xinghua were arrested and imprisoned.
Zhou Zuohe and Shen Yinmo sent Li Baohua to the home of Shen Yinmo's younger brother Shen Shiyuan, and later to Zhou Zuo's family.
Li Baohua completely lost contact with the outside world, living alone in a room in Zhou Zuo's house, and could only get sporadic news of his father from the newspaper.
At the time of the trial, Li Dazhao met his wife and daughter Li Xinghua for the last time. In order to protect Li Baohua, Li Xinghua said loudly in the courtroom of the trial: "I am the eldest child in the family." "
On April 28, 1927, Li Dazhao was killed. He endured a 40-minute hanging, three times lowered, three times hoisted, twice as long as the average person.
That year, Li Baohua had just reached adulthood, the eldest daughter Li Xinghua was 16 years old, the second daughter Li Yanhua was 8 years old, the second son Li Guanghua was 4 years old, and the youngest son Li Xinhua was still in his infancy.
Pictured| Li Baohua (second from left), Li Xinghua (third from left), Li Guanghua (fourth from left), and Li Xinhua (first from left).
After the news of Li Dazhao's sacrifice was reported, both Zhou Zuo and Shen Yinmo were afraid that Li Baohua would not be able to accept it, and planned to comfort him with words such as "Ling Zun sacrificed for the doctrine, which was originally enlightened in advance."
And when they called Li Baohua to the room and showed him the newspaper, Li Baohua's composure surprised Zhou and Shen, and Zhou Zuoren recorded the scene at that time: "Even if he said it, it was equivalent to not saying it, because his composure and consciousness were far above the speaker." After listening, he carefully read the newspaper and silently withdrew. "
Li Baohua changed his name to "Yang Zhen" and went to Japan to study under the cover of progressives, and the proof in his hand was opened for him by Mr. Cai Yuanpei.
In fact, at that time, there were many reports on Li Dazhao's arrest and righteousness, and Rao was a calm and calm Li Baohua, and he could not bear to buy it back and read it carefully.
Four years later, he joined the Chinese Communist Party in Tokyo, Japan, and after the September 18 incident, he returned to China.
It was only at this time that Li Baohua heard that Li Dazhao had been tortured in prison, and even crossed ten fingers with bamboo sticks. He was iron-boned and mighty, and Zhang Zuolin seduced him with a high-ranking official Houlu, but he strictly refused.
From 1932 to 1937, Li Baohua worked underground in Beiping, once under the pseudonym Zhao Zhensheng. In January 1937, Li Baohua was transferred to the Northern Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.
In 1940, Li Baohua returned to his hometown in anonymity, and someone reported to the Japanese.
Fortunately, when the ghost came, he was seen by his fellow villagers, who hurriedly cut a short distance and ran to Li Baohua's house to report the news. Li Baohua did not have time to escape, so he climbed onto the roof and hid.
The roof of the local house was flat, lying on it, and the devils on the ground could not see, they searched again and could not find anyone and left.
Picture | from left: Li Baohua, Zhao Yimin, and Ye Jianying in Beiping in 1949
Relatives gave Li Baohua a few pieces of ocean and told him to leave on his bicycle.
Li Baohua was hijacked by several robbers on the road, and he stopped the car unusually calmly and said to the robbers: "I know that you did this work because you were poor, and I was the eighth way because I did not let the poor people be poor and suffer any more." The money is all for you, the bike is left, and I have to hurry. "
The robbers took the money with mixed feelings and let Li Baohua ride away on his bicycle.
On the eve of the "Seventh National Congress", Li Baohua and the young woman Tian Yingxuan met and fell in love. Chen Yun, who has never smiled, said happily after receiving this news: "Comrade Dazhao's son should have descendants!" "
After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Li Baohua rushed to the Kuomintang-occupied areas to carry out work, and his younger brother Li Guanghua was also sent to Jidong by the organization.
On his way to his new post, Li Guanghua made a special trip to the Jin-Cha-Ji Central Bureau to meet Li Baohua, who was then the head of the Organization Department, and Li Guanghua proposed to his brother the idea of working in the city.
Li Baohua refused Li Guanghua's request, even though he now has the ability to provide good living and working conditions for his younger siblings, but he is reluctant to open this back door.
On February 4, 1949, more than 3,000 underground party members attended the victory meeting of underground party members in Beiping in the auditorium of the former National Assembly.
On that day, the bright red party flag was hung on the rostrum, and the comrades who had long fought on the hidden front still maintained their wartime habits, wearing hats and masks.
Pictured| Li Baohua
For the first time, they knew each other's real names and real backgrounds, and when they saw familiar faces, they excitedly shook each other's hands and said happily, "It was you!" "
At the meeting, Comrade Bo Yibo announced that the real identity of "Zhao Zhensheng", the second deputy secretary of the municipal party committee, was Li Dazhao's eldest son, and restored Li Baohua's original name.
On October 1, 1949, Li Baohua, as the leader of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee, climbed the Tiananmen Tower ahead of schedule. His wife, Tian Yingxuan, was in front of the radio at home, holding her two-year-old eldest daughter and waiting for the xinhua radio station to broadcast, and the youngest son, Li Hongta, was still in his infancy.
At this time, Li Baohua was 40 years old, and Li Dazhao died at the age of 38.
When Li Baohua stood on the upper floor of Tiananmen Square, he must have remembered his father.
The scene that Li Dazhao was looking forward to in his dreams was right in front of Li Baohua's eyes.
The aspiring young people who once watched his writings under the oil lamp grew up to become the leaders of the new China.
The international anthem that could only be sung in the house secretly reverberated in the corners of this country.
The warlords are gone, Japan is defeated, the Kuomintang is gone, and the people are masters, unprecedented in this country.
His son, at last, saw it for him.
New China had just been founded, and the water conservancy undertakings were in ruins waiting to be rebuilt, and Chairman Mao personally named Kuomintang general Fu Zuoyi and Li Baohua to preside over the water conservancy undertakings in New China.
In order to eradicate the Huai River, Li Baohua and Fu Zuoyi personally went to the deep mountains to investigate for more than half a month.
Photo| In 1958, Li Baohua accompanied Zhou Enlai and Li Xiannian to inspect the Three Gorges Dam site
They took the technicians and hired a small wooden boat to look at the map while observing the terrain, taking notes and taking pictures. When they arrived at Hongze Lake, the boats were inconvenient to drive, so they walked hand in hand along the sheep gut trail.
Fu Zuoyi and Li Baohua agreed that this time they would come out to inspect the water conservancy, and would not waver, greet, welcome, or give gifts. At the local meal, Li Baohua had to pay for the meal, and he also laughed at himself: "Wherever we go, wherever we eat, we live like a swarm of locusts." "
Less than a week after returning to Beijing, they made a detailed investigation report and sent it to the Government Council.
In November 1950, Li Baohua slept on the construction site with the workers for the HuaiHe Project. At that time, the shed was damp, noisy, leaking rain, and when he couldn't sleep at night, Li Baohua got up to read books and documents.
In 1957, Fu Zuoyi suddenly had a heart attack while inspecting water conservancy in Shanxi, and has been recuperating since then, and there is no way to come to the front line, and the responsibility on Li Baohua's shoulders is even heavier.
In 1959, Li Baohua inspected Zhejiang and heard that the masses in Shandong could only eat chaff and could not pull down the. Li Baohua hurried to investigate, called Li Xiannian and invited him over, saving people at the first time.
At that time, the famine in Anhui was even worse.
Li Baohua and Qian Zhengying, vice ministers of the Ministry of Water and Power,| inspected the work of the Luhun Reservoir
In 1962, millions of people had lost their lives due to hunger in Anhui, and the enlarged work conference of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China was held in Beijing, and the meeting finally decided to appoint Li Baohua as the first secretary of the Anhui Provincial Party Committee.
Before Li Baohua took office, he had a conversation with Zhou Enlai, who told him: "Serious illness must be used to take a slow medicine." He did not ask in detail, but only made two layers of understanding of Premier Zhou's words in his heart: "First, the situation in Anhui is serious, it is a serious illness, it cannot be used with strong medicine, and it must be dealt with gently; second, this is also the premier's evaluation of himself, saying that he is a calm and peaceful person." "
The first thing Li Baohua did when he took office was to check the grain supply quotas of urban residents. He borrowed a grain book and went to a grain store to buy grain himself. The salesman gave him 3 kilograms of rice and 7 kilograms of dried sweet potatoes, and he questioned the salesman, the state stipulates that each person has 7 kilograms of rice and 3 kilograms of dried sweet potatoes, why it is distributed to the hands of the masses.
The salesman insisted that it was the above regulations that were issued like this, and Li Baohua argued with the salesman on the spot. The grain store called the local police station, and the public security officers took Li Baohua away as soon as they arrived...
The problem of grain supply quotas was solved, and everyone said that the secretary of the Anhui Provincial Party Committee liked "micro-service private visits", but Li Baohua did not agree with this word, and on June 26, 1996, Li Baohua said to his comrades: "The legend of the masses is that they are not satisfied with that place, saying, you are careful who comes to private visits." I have not engaged in any 'micro-service private visits', and it is not a big deal to go down. "
In the summer of 1965, Chairman Mao passed by Bengbu on a special train and said that he must let Li Baohua come to meet him.
After Li Baohua and Chairman Mao finished talking about their work, Chairman Mao asked him with concern: "Who else is in the family?" When Li Baohua said that his younger sister Li Xinghua was doing literary work in Beijing, Chairman Mao said: "Beijing is not a good place. "
Li Baohua did not know that when the wind and rain were coming, Chairman Mao still hoped that their brothers and sisters would be safe and would not be involved in too much right and wrong.
On December 26, Chairman Mao's 72nd birthday, he paid for dinner in Shanghai, and Li Baohua was invited to attend.
Li Baohua does not smoke or drink, and his hobbies are reading, practicing calligraphy and playing Go. Because of the needs of his work, he began to teach himself professional knowledge in mathematics, physics and chemistry, hydrology, civil engineering and so on. Even the old technicians who were engaged in water conservancy at that time said: "Minister Li is also an expert in technology!" "
In addition to the number of books in the home, there is no decent furniture, are old triplywood furniture, the sofa is also a kind of sitting down into a big pit, the organization also wants to arrange a slightly larger house for him, he has been pushing away, saying that he is used to not wanting to change.
When I was in Anhui, someone sent a few bags of raisins to the Li family. The youngest son, Li Hongta, did not know the origin of the raisins, so he ate half a packet. Li Baohua knew about it and criticized the child and returned the money.
He said: "Although it is a small thing, I don't want my children to be contaminated with bad habits from an early age. "
In 1978, Li Baohua was transferred to the Central People's Bank to preside over the work. At that time, Li Baohua was 79 years old, and the financial industry was completely unfamiliar to him, not to mention that he had experienced a low point in his life over the years, and both physically and mentally had been hit hard.
But when the organization asked for his opinion, he said without hesitation: "Obey the organization, there is no opinion." "
In February 2005, Li Baohua passed away.
Pictured | Li Hongta
In June 2005, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection received several whistle-blowing letters all of which reported that Li Hongta had taken advantage of his position as director of the Anhui Provincial Department of Civil Affairs to rely on his grandfather Li Dazhao and father Li Baohua for suspected corruption and bribery.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection attached great importance to it and sent an investigation team directly to Anhui to investigate without communicating with the relevant departments in Anhui Province.
After a period of secret visits and meticulous investigations, the members of the group did not find the problems listed in the report letter, but found that Li Hongta was silently doing many ordinary and great things.
Every colleague around Li Hongta knows that Director Li commutes to work by bicycle every day, and for 20 years, it is not a show.
Only one day, when the comrades saw that Li Hongta was walking to work, they asked him, "Why don't you ride a bicycle?" Li Hongta said helplessly: "The bicycle was stolen downstairs." "
Li Hongta's wife said that Li Hongta had broken 4 bicycles, worn 5 raincoats and 7 pairs of rubber shoes. It wasn't until 2003 that he switched to an electric car because it was too laborious to pedal his bike on windy and rainy days because he was older, and he laughed and said that he was "keeping up with the times" by doing so.
Li Hongta has been living in a 55-square-meter dormitory, and he has not taken a single welfare room for the unit. The little house was full of old furniture and nothing modern electrical.
The living room and dining room are in the aisle, a total of 8 square meters, after the table, people have to walk sideways, the best piece of furniture in the house is a three-person wooden sofa, half of the place is put clothes, half put books.
The investigation team also found that in fact, in 1989 and 1994, Li Hongta was directly responsible for the construction and division of houses by the civil affairs department twice, with a total of 200 houses.
Even if he had the slightest selfishness, he would not live in such a small dormitory now. But he chose to give up the opportunity to split the house to the comrades who needed it more: some of them had three generations huddled together, some were in poor health, some were about to retire, and some young people had been separated because they did not have a marriage room...
The comrades in the hall really couldn't bear to look at him, and jointly called him "uneven", and after the province learned about the situation, they made up a small suite of 20 square meters for him, and his son, who was studying for graduate school, had a room of his own.
In 2005, this department-level cadre obviously did not smoke or drink, was not keen on any entertainment activities, and did not even have 10,000 yuan in his passbook.
Others may not know that in the unit where Li Hongta is located, the comrades can see it with their eyes and feel it with their hearts. In the list of "sending warmth" and "giving love" every year, Li Hongta's name always ranks at the top, and he donates the most.
Li Hongta always carries some bits and pieces of money with him. Seeing that the poor man's house leaked rain, the old man's quilt in the welfare home was thin, and the disabled who came to him on a rainy day did not bring an umbrella...
Picture | Li Hongta's study hangs from his grandfather's inscription "Iron Shoulder Bears Morality, Clever Hands Write Articles"
He directly paid money to solve, there are many things can go through the procedure reimbursement, but he feels that it takes time to go through the procedures, can not help people in need of help in time, simply pay for it himself.
In the early morning of July 3, 2003, the water level of the Wangjiaba section of the Mengwa flood storage area reached 29.39 meters. Li Hongta urgently flew to the Ministry of Civil Affairs in Beijing to report on the disaster relief plan, and then rushed back urgently, ate a bowl of instant noodles at 9 p.m., and braved the rain to go to the hard-hit area to direct the transfer of the victims.
From July 3 to 22, Li Hongta did not lie in bed all night and slept, and did not stop his steps for a single day.
In order not to trouble the local officials, he always found a place to eat a little on his own and then went to guide the work, never staying to eat.
After work, he took two or three leaders to see what the villagers were eating and whether the tents they lived in were comfortable. Found that the rice was moldy, immediately investigated and punished the relevant personnel, found that the temperature inside the tent was as high as 50 degrees, and ordered the county leaders to immediately vacate the office of the party and government organs for the victims to live.
Pictured| Li Hongta (second from right) and his family take a group photo in front of the statue of Li Dazhao
The local people all praised Director Li's "micro-service private visit", and he, like his father, did not like this statement: "How did I micro-serve?" Never dress up, how did I make a private visit? I don't bury my name, I don't hide my name, my name is right, and I am just bright. I went down without saying hello, because I was afraid of trouble. I am familiar with the road everywhere I go, I don't need to lead, I don't need to accompany. "
If it were not for this malicious report, who would have thought that Li Dazhao's grandson, the son of the first president of the Central People's Bank after the reform and opening up, would actually live such a poor life and practice "serving the people" in obscurity.
The investigators returned to Beijing with infinite emotion to report, and the China Discipline Inspection and Supervision Daily, an organ of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, devoted a full-page article to a lengthy newsletter entitled "Bathed in Li Dazhao's Revolutionary Style."
At 10:00 a.m. on June 29, 2021, Li Hongta was awarded the "July 1st Medal". Li Hongta said in an interview: "The older generation has been setting an example for me, and I have not done enough. "
He also said that he would send the medal to the Li Dazhao Memorial Hall to comfort Comrade Li Dazhao.
Li Baohua and Li Hongta both hang Li Dazhao's handwritten letters in their homes, and the couplets that are well known in china are: "Iron shoulders bear moral righteousness, and clever hands write articles." "
They often sit down and quietly reminisce and ponder.
No matter how impetuous the outside world is, they "do not rush to fantasies, do not shy away from false sounds, but seek truth."
In the TV series "A Hundred Refining into Steel", Li Baohua knelt in front of his father's coffin and reported to him the victory of the Nanchang Uprising.
Picture | Li Baohua paid tribute to his father Li Dazhao after returning to China, and stills from film and television dramas
When he sang the Internationale again, he choked up and read out, "Rise, hungry slaves!" Rise up, the suffering people of the whole world! He recalled years ago when his father held their siblings and whispered them to sing the song.
Generation after generation of Chinese, lamenting and weeping for Li Dazhao, a revolutionary pioneer who died young, stood in front of the execution ground waiting for the photos of the execution, and we simply could not bear to look at the second time, let alone the vivid and vivid images of a few seconds ago 100 years ago.
When Li Baohua, whose hair has grayed, sees his father's appearance when he was young, who can understand that kind of mood.
And he has become accustomed to hiding all negative emotions and dedicating all the light to this country where the red flag is flying. He practiced Li Dazhao's ideals, and also subtly educated his children and grandchildren - ideals should be lofty, actions should be realistic, and desires should be small.
Pictured| Li Dazhao before the execution
Sacrifice your life for the founding of the country, fight for the founding of the country, fight for the strength of the country, and work hard for the people to settle down. The three generations of communist parties have told us in the most simple way what is called "the Si people have gone, and the spirit is not dead."