There is a bamboo forest village in Jianchanghe Township, Xinxian County, Henan Province, which is the hometown of Wu Huanxian, an outstanding commander of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army and commander of the Red 25th Army.
Wu Huanxian successively served as a member of the CPC Eyu-Anhui Special Committee and secretary of the Huang'an County CPC Committee. After the main force of the Red Fourth Front left the Soviet area in October 1932, he served as the commander-in-chief of the General Headquarters of Northeast Hubei, participated in the leadership of the reconstruction of the Red 25 Army, served as a commander and political commissar, led the troops to the west in 1935, received the CPC Central Committee and the Red Army to go north, and died heroically in the battle of Sipo Village in Jingchuan, Gansu on August 21, at the age of 28. (Online photo)
Wu Huanxian has 5 brothers, ranking third. The old man in the picture is the eldest son of his fourth brother, named Wu Shizhi, who is 72 years old this year. Wu Huanxian died young for the revolution, with no descendants. As soon as Wu Shizhi was born, his family continued him under Wu Huanxian's name on the family tree and became Wu Huanxian's stepson.
This is Wu Shizhi's wife, named Xiao Ronghua, who is 77 years old this year. She and her wife guarded Wu Huanxian's former residence and inherited the red gene.
Wu Shizhi said: "My father's former residence originally had five rows of houses, which was a large family in the village. The mother delivered food to the troops and starved to death on the way home. In order to hide from the Kuomintang's search and suppression, Grandma starved to death in the middle wall of the old house. Determined to devote himself to the revolution, his father burned down the family house and all the land titles, distributed the land to the people, and left his hometown. The current former residence was rebuilt by posterity in honor of his father. ”
Wu Shizhi and his wife lived in an ordinary house behind Wu Huanxian's former residence and lived a plain life. He receives a pension of nearly 30,000 yuan for the children of martyrs every year, and the leaders of relevant local departments and officers and men of the army often come to visit him. Because he spoke in too strong local dialects, many people could not understand it, and most of the people who introduced Wu Huanxian's deeds to the outside world were presented by a cousin who worked in the city.
Wu Shizhi's home is dedicated to his father's paper-cut statue, and he burns incense to worship every New Year's Festival.
Wu Shizhi's wife, Xiao Ronghua, as the daughter-in-law of the martyr's stepson, attended the 11th Henan Provincial Congress in 2008, and they hung a group photo of the time in a conspicuous place at home.
The old couple fought each other. Wu Shizhi is showing people the photos taken by his wife in previous years.
Many people still do not know that Wu Shizhi is the life of Wu Huanxian's stepson. On August 21, 2020, a conference was held in Jingchuan, Gansu to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the martyrdom of Wu Huanxian, and Wu Shizhi was invited to attend as Wu Huanxian's nephew.
Wu Shizhi is a generous man and low-key, which is a group photo of him at the commemorative meeting.
After Wu Huanxian sacrificed for the revolution, many places built tombs for him. In 2015, Wu Huanxian's relatives in his hometown also built a crown tomb for him and erected a commemorative plaque. Every New Year's Festival, Wu Shizhi would go to the crown tomb to kowtow to his father.
At the side of the tomb, six relatives of Wu Huanxian's family who were tragically killed by the Kuomintang local vigilante group were buried. Whenever Wu Shizhi came here, he was devastated.
After learning of Wu Shizhi's life, many media reporters came to interview.
In front of the former residence of Wu Huanxian, the figures of Wu Shizhi and his wife can often be seen, who are proud to be the descendants of martyrs and work hard to carry forward the revolutionary spirit of the martyrs. (Wang Tianding text/photo)