"From the south to the north, a dragon will not let the salty tide invade Fudong; from then on, there will be no family disaster, and every time the tide is heard, the Song Gong will be thought of." This widely circulated folk song records the deep suffering of the coastal people of Yancheng, Jiangsu Province, and also engraves the monument of "Song Gongdi" dedicated to the benefit of the people. On October 9th, the exhibition of art works with the theme of "Commemorating the 80th Anniversary of the Construction of the Song Gong Causeway" held at the Yancheng Art Museum was opened. On the same day, Song Qisheng, the founder of the Song Gongdi and the son of Song Naide, the first county magistrate of the anti-Japanese democratic regime in Funing County, also attended the opening ceremony. After the opening ceremony, Song Qisheng and Guan Xiangsheng visited the 82-year-old He Mingzhang, who lived in the urban area, and learned about a song gongji monument that is now treasured in the memorial hall of the New Fourth Army Reconstruction Military Department, scattered in the story of 10 years of recovery by the people.
In front of his father's portrait, Song Qisheng stared for a long time
Song Gong Ji Gong Monument was once scattered among the people
In order to follow the footsteps of his father's battles and understand the red mark that his father experienced in Yancheng, Song Qisheng has come to Yancheng 5 times. After the opening ceremony on October 9, the old man stood in front of his father's portrait for a long time. An old man who had been accompanying Song Qisheng was called Guan Xiangsheng, his father was called Guan Boning, a native of Tiancigou Village, who joined the anti-Japanese democratic government in Funing County in the autumn of 1940. In September 1941, the Yanfu Administrative Office was established (in Funing Chenji), and Song Naide was promoted to director of the Administrative Office, and soon after, Guan Boning was transferred from the Funing County Government to the Bureau as a general affairs accountant. In 1942 and 1943, Song Naide's two daughters Song Huaisheng and Song Haisheng were born one after another, Song Naide's wife Chen Yifang was busy with work and milk was insufficient, so Guan Boning helped the children find two nurses in Funing, and often stayed in the housekeeper. Because of the relationship between his father and his two sisters, Song Qisheng will contact Guan Xiangsheng when he comes to Yancheng, and Guan Xiangsheng will always accompany Song Qisheng to find the footprints where his father fought.
Guan Xiangsheng said: The Song Gong Memorial Monument, which is now placed in the Memorial Hall of the Reconstruction Of the New Fourth Army, is the one that the coastal people spontaneously erected to commemorate the merits of Song Naide, the county magistrate at the time. Although people know the general history of this stele through relevant information, they know very little about the experience of this stele that has been lost and recovered. In the afternoon of the same day, He Mingzhang, former director of the Binhai County Archives Bureau, recounted the personal experience of the Song Gongji Monument lost and recovered.
He Mingzhang (left) told Song Qisheng about the past of collecting the remnants of the Song Gong ji gong monument in those years
After several twists and turns, I found the Song Gongji Meritorious Monument
He Mingzhang has been recuperating at home due to illness, and when he heard that Song Qisheng had visited, a long-lost smile appeared on his face. The old man told Song Qisheng that the original site of the Song Gong Ji Gong Monument was in the north of Yuhua Village, Binhuai Township, Binhai County, and in the special period of 1967, the main monument was smashed into two pieces, and the stele was divided into 3 pieces.
Ten years later, in 1977, shortly after He Mingzhang went to binhai county cultural center as a photographer, he received a task from the county, asking him and Qiu Futong of the Civil Affairs Bureau and three other people to form a preparatory group for the "Binhai County Gazetteer" to start the collection and collation of the gazetteer, and the search and collection of the Song Gongji Monument was also within the scope of the work.
"At that time, the stele was torn down and broken, and the remnants of the stele were also lost, and the nearby villagers did not know what to do." Old Man He Mingzhang talked about the past, and his face became heavy. He went on to preach that they went to Yuhua Village to look for and inquire door by door, and after several twists and turns, they found 3 fragments scattered in 3 rural homes. The upper half of the main monument was placed by a villager in front of a stone dressed with a mallet by the side of the pond, and the handwriting was very blurred for a long time; the lower half of the main monument was placed at the root of the wall of a family, and the villagers were ready to build a house to pad the foot of the wall; the stele was placed on the top of a villager's house, cushioned with several adobes, and the old man put debris. The large seal on the stele is engraved with the words "Song Gong Ji Gong Monument" clearly and clearly, which was written by Gu Liancun, and when he saw the words at that time, the old man He Mingzhang was very happy. In this way, the two main monuments that were broken, plus the stele, the Song Gong Ji Gong Monument was found.
After the 3 pieces of stele were found, He Mingzhang did ideological work for the villagers, explaining that the stele was a cultural relic and should be confiscated to the government for safekeeping. When the three villagers heard about it, they were willing to sacrifice the stele. Since the county museum had not yet been established, He Mingzhang transported the stele to Yang Wuhua's house in Yuhua Village, and on the large field they arranged the stele in order and took a photo from a high place. Then the 3 fragments were placed under the bed in Yang Wuhua's dingtou room. "I instruct Yang Wuhua that this is a cultural relic and should be well kept." He Mingzhang recalled.
The Song Gong Memorial Monument placed in the Memorial Hall of the Reconstruction Of the New Fourth Army
The Song Gong Ji Monument witnesses the red original heart
He Mingzhang, because of his physical condition, Guan Xiangsheng, who had many years of interaction with He Mingzhang, took over the stubble and said that in the 1980s, the Provincial Department of Culture held a meeting in Dafeng, and He Mingzhang met Wang Zhou (Wang Jiguang), who carved the inscription of the Song Gong Ji Gong Gong Monument that year, and he told Wang Zhou that the remnants of the stele had been found, but some parts of the inscription were already blurred, and asked him to complete the inscription, and Wang Zhou should inherit it.
After the meeting, He Mingzhang sent the fragment of the inscription to Wang Zhou, and soon Wang Zhou completed the inscription and sent it back. After receiving the completed inscription, He Mingzhang asked the old calligrapher Li Dunfu to rewrite a 4-foot xuan in a lishu and print it on the "Binhai County Gazette" together with the photos of the remnants of the Song Gong Ji Gong Monument.
Later, He Mingzhang was transferred to the Archives Bureau. "In addition, I heard my compatriots say that the Song Gong Monument originally had a base, but we did not collect any remnants of the bottom seat. Later, the remnants of the Song Gong Ji Gong Monument were said to have been collected by the Binhai County Water Conservancy Bureau, and later transferred to the County Cultural Bureau. I don't know much about what will happen in the future. He Mingzhang added.
After Listening to He Mingzhang's story of the loss and recovery of the Song Gong Ji Gong Gong Monument, Song Qisheng thanked He Mingzhang for being able to meet with his illness and also thanked him for his efforts and dedication to the recovery of the Song Gong Ji Gong Gong Gong Monument. Song Qisheng humorously said to Mr. He Mingzhang: "My father will thank you in the Spirit of Heaven, and you are credited for keeping this red treasure for the people of Yanfu." ”
Today, as evidence of the Chinese Communists' wholehearted service to the people, the Song Gong Ji Monument is treasured in the Memorial Hall of the New Fourth Army's Reconstruction Of the Military Department, and the spirit of the "Song Gong Di" witnessed by it has become a patriotic red teaching material for educating party members and cadres to build the party for the public good and not forget their original intentions. (Written | Wang Naixiang Guo Jinglei)