Liu Peizhi's last position was vice minister of agriculture (ministerial level). In his early revolutionary career, he sacrificed his life and forgot to die to create the first glorious period of his life. In the nearly 20 years since his retirement, he has done a lot of public welfare work without taking a penny, which has greatly promoted public welfare undertakings such as private higher education and created a brilliant life.
▲ Medium planting
After Liu Peizhi passed away, Liu Danlong took over the baton from his father, took out the money he earned from years of hard work on Wall Street, and embarked on the road of donating to education. Since he started doing public welfare in 2017, Liu Danlong has donated more than 3,800 yuan. This huge amount of money is all the hard-earned money he has earned from years of hard work on Wall Street.
At the end of 2023, Liu Danlong was interviewed by Red Boat Media, telling the story of two generations of father and son devoting themselves to public welfare.
▲ Liu Danlong
01
After the rehabilitation, the fate of many descendants of the Northeast Army and a special group was changed
In 2006, Liu Peizhi, who had worked for the country and the people for more than 70 years, passed away.
Standing at this juncture, and going back in time to 1978. At that time, Liu Peizhi had just been completely liberated from the shackles of the "anti-rightist" and "Cultural Revolution" and was appointed vice minister of agriculture. But at that time, there were still some people who had been shocked and persecuted, including some descendants of the generals of the Northeast Army. Caring for them is Liu Pei as one of his missions.
Wang Yizhe, a senior general of the Northeast Army, was Zhang Xueliang's right-hand man. After the outbreak of the Xi'an Incident, after Zhang Xueliang escorted Chiang Kai-shek to Nanjing and was detained, Wang Yizhe presided over the overall work of the Northeast Army. In the "22 Incident" in early 1937, Wang Yizhe was brutally killed by the radical officers of the Northeast Army.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Wang Yizhe's son who studied in the United States returned to China and entered Beijing University of Chemical Technology to teach. After being branded a rightist in 1957, although he was removed from his rightist hat in 1978, he has never been able to implement work and other benefits. After Liu Peizhi learned of the situation, he first found the leaders of Beijing University of Chemical Technology and the Ministry of Chemical Industry, and then found Deng Yingchao, who was the chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference at the time. In the end, Wang Yizhe's son was able to solve the problem of work and housing, and he was also elected as a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
Once, when Wang Yizhe's son visited Liu Peizhi at home, he told Liu Danlong about his persecution and Liu Peizhi's tireless efforts to help him solve the problem. "He excitedly took my hand and said, "Your father is such a good person!" I am really fortunate to have met such a great benefactor as your father!" Liu Danlong recalled.
General Xie Fang, who served as chief of staff of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, served as Zhang Xueliang's adjutant in the Northeast Army in his early years. Because he was deeply loved and valued by Zhang Xueliang, he was sent to the Japanese Army Non-commissioned Officer School for further study, and after returning to China, he successively served as the deputy brigade commander and division chief of staff of the Northeast Army. After joining the Communist Party of China, Xie Fang led his troops to participate in the Eighth Route Army, and made great achievements in the War of Resistance Against Japan, the War of Liberation, and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. In 1955, Xie Fang was awarded the rank of Major General (first in rank). Such a wise and brave general, but during the "Cultural Revolution", he was branded as a traitor and a spy, and was imprisoned in Qincheng Prison for seven years.
After General Xie Fang was wronged, his descendants were also implicated. His eldest son, who was originally a deputy battalion officer in the army, was forced to change jobs, but when he was assigned a job, he encountered resistance because of his status as a "special agent". After Liu Peizhi knew the situation, he ran up and down, helped him arrange a job in the Beijing Brewery, and served as the captain of the factory's automobile team at the corresponding level.
Wan Yi, the founding lieutenant general of the People's Republic of China, was also a general of the Northeast Army, and his family was moved to Shaanxi after he was removed in 1959 for speaking for Peng Dehuai. His son was forced to return to Beijing after 17 years of living and working in Shaanxi, but encountered resistance in arranging a job. Liu Peizhi came forward to help again, and finally helped him arrange a satisfactory job.
"There are a lot of things like this, and many descendants of the Northeast Army say that my father helped them. Liu Danlong told Red Boat Media.
While helping the descendants of the generals of the Northeast Army, Liu Peizhi changed the fate of the descendants of another group involving tens of thousands of people.
After smashing the "Gang of Four", Liu Peizhi, who had gone through ups and downs, became the vice minister of agriculture. After that, he received a number of letters of appeal, reflecting the political treatment of the Kuomintang prisoners in some labor camps in Northeast China.
Things have to start when Liu Peizhi was the director of the Invalids Committee of the Northeast Government. At that time, the Liaoshen Campaign had just ended, and the Fourth Field Army of the People's Liberation Army (hereinafter referred to as the "Fourth Field Army") had not had time to rest before entering the pass to start the Pingjin Campaign. When the "Siye" left the Northeast, they handed over a large number of disabled soldiers and Kuomintang prisoners to the Invalids Committee for resettlement.
Under Liu Peizhi's chairmanship, the government established a large number of farms, forest farms, factories, transportation brigades, invalids schools and other institutions to resettle relevant personnel. Among them, a number of labor camps were specially established to house Kuomintang prisoners. These captured personnel were not ordinary soldiers, but middle- and lower-ranking officers such as company commanders, battalion commanders, and regiment commanders in the Kuomintang troops.
As time passes, the reformed captives have grown old, but their reformed status has continued to affect the future of their children – including education, employment, and even marriage. As a result, they have been appealing.
"My father was very sympathetic to their plight when he read the letters of appeal. Some of them were in a unit that had already revolted in front of the battle, and they were able to tell which unit they were in at that time, when and where they were revolting, so they should be counted as 'rebels'. It would be obviously unfair to treat them as prisoners. Liu Danlong introduced.
Since this group of people is involved in political issues, it is not easy to deal with and the situation must be understood in detail. Therefore, Liu Peizhi decided to go to the Northeast and investigate the situation in person.
After arriving in the northeast, Liu Peizhi went to a labor camp with the leaders of the Heilongjiang Provincial Bureau of Agricultural Reclamation and the local agricultural reclamation bureau. While they were discussing a solution in the field office, staff reported that "there was a disturbance outside". It turned out that when the party who reported the problem heard that someone was coming from Beijing, they flocked to the site and surrounded the venue.
"My father's secretary told me that when he went outside, there were thousands of people kneeling on the ground. They were all wearing old black cotton jackets, all bald heads, and they all knelt on the ground and kowtowed, with a posture of 'if you don't solve the problem, you will do your best'......" Liu Danlong relayed the scene described by the witnesses in an interview.
Because they were worried that the person who reported the problem would cause personal harm to Liu Peizhi, the local leaders at the scene were nervous. Some leaders wanted to call the public security bureau to mobilize the police, while others said, "The police may not be able to hold back, so should you notify the nearby garrisons and ask them to send troops to expel (the crowd)." Liu Peizhi immediately stopped the local leaders' suggestions. He said calmly: "The police are not used, let alone transferred troops. I'm going to tell them. After speaking, Liu Peizhi walked in front of the crowd.
"I understand all your problems. I will take all of your appeal materials with me, and after I go back, I will report to the Central Committee, the United Front Work Department, and the General Political Department, and I will definitely help you solve the problem. As soon as Liu Peizhi's words fell, a cry suddenly sounded at the scene, followed by the scene of all kowtowing and thanking.
In this way, a "group incident" was resolved by Liu Peizhi.
"Afterwards, the local leader said to my father's secretary that this old man is really powerful, and he knows at a glance that he is a person who has fought in a war, and he is not nervous at all in the face of this kind of battle. is really not afraid of danger, I have really seen the world of life and death!" Liu Danlong added.
After returning to Beijing, Liu Peizhi began to work on this matter. He went to the General Political Department, the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, and the United Front Work Department. After receiving the relevant materials, these institutions held several meetings to discuss and send people to conduct on-the-spot investigations. Liu Peizhi not only participated in the discussion, but also paid close attention to the resolution process.
"The problem of this group of people mainly affects their children and grandchildren. When their problems are resolved, not only will the political lives of a large number of people be restored, but the future of their descendants will not be affected. This is a major political event that involves the lives of tens of thousands of families. In the historical context of that time, a person's political life was the 'lifeline' of his survival in society. So, my father worked tirelessly for this matter. Liu Danlong understands his father's hard work very well.
Under Liu Peizhi's rushing appeal, things finally came to a successful conclusion. The General Political Department issued a document stating that all those people were treated as members of the insurrectionary forces. The fate of a particular group was thus transformed.
"The beneficiaries are very grateful to my father, and some of their descendants have come to Beijing to thank him. Liu Danlong said. By then, he had already gone abroad, and when he returned home occasionally, he often met people at home who came to thank his father.
02
After his retirement, he made every effort to promote the development of private higher education
Although Liu Peizhi retired from the post of vice minister of agriculture, he did not stop fighting for the country and the people. He just changed his platform and identity, changed from a senior cadre to a public welfare person, and devoted himself to the development of private education.
In the mid-80s of the 20th century, under the background of extremely scarce higher education resources, private higher education began to sprout. Like most pioneers of new industries, pioneers of private education encountered various difficulties in the early stages of their business. In addition to factors such as capital, talent, and venue, legitimacy is a fundamental issue.
In this case, Liu Peizhi appeared next to the pioneer of private education. He is well aware that policies and laws are needed to solve the problem of private educational institutions, and the introduction of policies depends to a large extent on the degree of understanding of the matter by decision-makers.
In order to let the Ministry of Education and the central leaders know more about the new thing of private education, Liu Peizhi repeatedly told them in person: "There are so many young people, if they are not allowed to get education, they will become a factor of social instability." If we run one more school, we can run one less prison. ”
At the same time, Liu Peizhi tried to find ice-breaking points and experimental areas for private schools in the local area.
▲ Medium planting
As a veteran revolutionary from Shaanxi, Liu Peizhi is more familiar with the leaders of Shaanxi Province. Therefore, he spent a lot of time and energy studying the crux of the problem and how to solve it, and then helped private schools find the leaders of the provincial party committee and the provincial government for support. Gradually, Shaanxi has become the best place for the development of private education.
"At present, private schools in Shaanxi Province rank first in the country in terms of quantity and quality. Such a report card makes Liu Danlong very proud of his father.
Back then, when Liu Peizhi fully supported the private education cause in Shaanxi Province, he had a blueprint in mind to replicate the Shaanxi model in the whole country. The establishment of the China Association for Non-Government Education (which later set up a branch, the Higher Education Committee of the China Association for Non-Government Education) became an important means of laying out the blueprint.
After the establishment of the China Association for Private Education, Liu Peizhi was elected as the person in charge. In this way, the scope of his help to private educational institutions has also expanded to the whole country. By 2002, more than 2,000 private colleges and universities had gathered under the umbrella of the Private Higher Education Professional Committee.
Also in 2002, under the promotion of Liu Peizhi and others, the "Private Education Promotion Law" was promulgated. The promulgation of this law not only gives private education the same legal status as public education, but also elevates the development of private education to the strategic level of "rejuvenating the country through science and education."
At the same time, the Law on the Promotion of Private Education positions private education as a "public welfare undertaking". For most of the founders of private education, it may be that they pursue both social and economic benefits, but for Liu Peizhi, he has spent more than ten years promoting the cause of private education, completely out of a public welfare heart, that is, for millions of young people to enjoy the opportunity to receive higher education.
"He's been doing these things diligently, and he's not paid a penny. If he had treated it as a business, he would have made a fortune a long time ago. These old revolutionaries are particularly selfless and selfless, and they have no concept of money in doing things. Liu Danlong told Red Boat Financial Media that this is the main reason why he "wants to do public welfare".
There is a saying that "a father is a role model for his son's career." This statement was verified between Liu Danlong and his son.
03
Liu Danlong: "I can't come back, so let my money come back first"
In 1988, Liu Danlong went to the United States to study. After earning a Master of Science degree, he stayed in the United States to work by chance. Five years later, in 1993, Liu Danlong began his journey to the elite of Wall Street by passing a rigorous exam that even most Americans would be afraid of, earning membership in the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASQ).
"I did make a lot of money while working on Wall Street. When Liu Danlong talked about the harvest, he did not mention the hardships of working Wall Street as a foreigner.
After completing his studies in the United States, Liu Danlong faced the question of whether to return to China to work. Liu Peizhi also discussed this issue with him many times before his death. In fact, after entering Wall Street, Liu Danlong's work was to "bring American money to China to build the motherland." When the father and son reached a consensus that the role of this work was "much greater" than Liu Danlong's direct return to China to work, Liu Danlong continued to stay on Wall Street.
In fact, in the 30 years since Liu Danlong entered Wall Street, he and his company have brought in more than $10 billion of capital for the motherland. With a cumulative amount of more than 10 billion US dollars, we have successfully invested in dozens of well-known projects in phases and batches.
In other words, Liu Danlong has made outstanding contributions to the economic construction of the motherland in his own way.
In addition to investment work, Liu Danlong also wants to make a difference in public welfare like his father.
"Although I am far away from the ocean, my father's selfless dedication to the country and the people has always imperceptibly influenced me. For many years, I have wanted to do something for my country and people like my father. Liu Danlong told Red Boat Media.
After accumulating some capital through hard work on Wall Street, Liu Danlong had an idea: "Although my people can't come back for a while, my money can come back (for public welfare)." As a result, he began to understand how Americans do philanthropy, how domestic philanthropic organizations operate, and who are the appropriate recipients.
Liu Danlong has also heard of the negative news that some domestic foundations have exposed. After carefully choosing a foundation as the object of entrustment, he found that the foundation had problems with irregular operation. As a result, he did not dare to deliver the money with confidence.
After years of searching and exploring, Liu Danlong decided to create his own foundation. His vision is to run a "clean and pure" foundation, so that every penny of his hard-earned money is used wisely.
In 2017, the Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau approved Liu Danlong's application to establish a foundation. Out of admiration for his father's selfless dedication, he named the foundation as Beijing Cultivation Public Welfare Foundation.
▲Office of Beijing Cultivation Public Welfare Foundation
Since then, Liu Danlong has had a platform to "let the money go back to China". In the context of the media full of news that corrupt officials, super-rich, and elites take the money they get at home to enjoy themselves abroad, Liu Danlong, on the contrary, takes the money he earns abroad back to China for public welfare.
In this way, Liu Danlong, a descendant of revolutionaries, became a "retrograde".
04
Although the office in a remote corner is not big, it hides too much warmth and touch
The office of the Beijing Cultivation Foundation is located in a commercial and residential building in Houshayu Town, Shunyi District, Beijing. This is the starting point of the overseas traveler Liu Danlong's public welfare trip.
▲Office of Beijing Cultivation Public Welfare Foundation
As early as the eve of Liu Danlong's study abroad, Liu Peizhi sowed a seed of public welfare in his son's heart through his own actions.
In order to inherit his father's spirit, Liu Danlong named the foundation "Beijing Cultivation Public Welfare Foundation". The choice of donors was based on the recognition of "widespread poverty in the hometowns of the old revolution".
"Their original intention in making a revolution was to let the people live a good life. However, after all these years, their hometown is still very poor. Based on this distressing reality, Liu Danlong targeted the donation to teachers and students in old revolutionary areas and poor mountainous areas. He has a clear purpose in identifying the target of funding, encouraging children in these places not to give up the opportunity to get an education, and to let the teachers here teach and educate with peace of mind.
After the establishment of the foundation, the teachers and students of Liu Peizhi's alma mater became the first batch of donors for Liu Danlong. Today, this great love has covered all 19 schools in Yijun County, Shaanxi Province, including Liu Peizhi's alma mater. In order to express the gratitude of the people in his hometown, the Yijun County Education, Science and Technology and Sports Bureau donated a pennant with 16 characters on it in April 2023 with the words "Donate to help education and benefit Sangzi, great love and kindness are profound".
▲The pennant won by the Beijing Cultivation Public Welfare Foundation
After starting from his hometown, Liu Danlong's road of public welfare has expanded step by step to the hometowns of more revolutionaries and the places where he has fought. For example, Premier Zhou's hometown of Huai'an, Jiangsu, Macheng, Hubei, where the Jute Uprising took place, Donglan County and Longlin County, where the Baise Uprising took place, Yi County, Hebei, the hometown of the Five Heroes of Langya Mountain, Shexian County, Hebei, where the headquarters of the 129th Division is located, Wei County, Hebei, where the field hospital of the Eighth Route Army is located, Huitong County, Hunan, the hometown of General Su Yu, Yongxing County, Hunan, the hometown of General Huang Kecheng, Guangshui City, Hubei, where the headquarters of the Fifth Division of the New Fourth Army is located, Zuoquan County, Shanxi Province, where the headquarters of the 129th Division of the Eighth Route Army is located, Yi County, Liaoning Province, where General Zhu Rui was martyred, Yinan County, Shandong Province, where the headquarters of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army is located, Xinxian County, Henan Province, where 43 founding generals came out, Naiman Banner of Inner Mongolia, where heroes were born in the Liberation War, Longyan City, Fujian Province, where the Gutian Conference was held, Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province, where the People's Army was founded, and Haikou City, Hainan Province, where the former site of the First Congress of the Communist Party of China Qiongya was located......
By the end of 2023, the public welfare map drawn by Liu Danlong with great love has spread to more than 100 schools in more than 20 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions across the country. 54,119 teachers and students (as of August 2023) have benefited 54,119 teachers and students (as of August 2023) set up by the Beijing Cultivation Public Welfare Foundation.
"Every teacher and student who receives a donation has a file, and we have to make sure that every penny reaches the recipients. The box contains the recipient's file, and you can choose any box to verify. At the end of 2023, Ms. Zheng Zheng, chairman of the Beijing Cultivation Foundation, pointed to the cardboard box that covered almost the entire wall of the office and said to the staff of Red Boat Financial Media.
In addition to the archival materials in the box, the Foundation's office also contains a large collection of thank-you letters, drawings and artifacts from the recipients.
▲ Thank you letters and drawings drawn by some of the recipients
A primary school student surnamed Ma drew a picture with a desk and textbooks with immature brushstrokes, and wrote his heart on the picture: "Thank you for your love and encouragement, you have given me the hope of a better life again." ”
Among the many thank-you letters, one written on red paper stands out. This letter of thanks from Shexian No. 1 Middle School in Hebei Province has the nature of good news. The letter enumerated the benefits of the school's 510 grantees during the five-year period: "In the college entrance examinations of previous years, all the students who have benefited from the 'Beijing Cultivation Public Welfare Fund' have scored ...... above the undergraduate score line", and many of them have been admitted to Tsinghua University, Peking University, Zhejiang University, Fudan University and other famous universities with excellent results.
▲ Thank you letter
Whenever faced with sincere thanks from all directions, Zheng Zhenghe Foundation staff Yuan Jingjing, Pan Moyi, Zhang Yali and others were very moved. Because of the love of sunshine and rain, more and more beneficiaries have grown hope in their hearts, and they are willing to travel all over the mountains to find the beneficiaries and sow Mr. Liu Danlong's great love in their hearts.
Since its inception in 2017, Liu Danlong and the staff of the Beijing Cultivation Foundation have been practicing the concept that "the best help is education". Compared with some national-level foundations, although the size of the Beijing Cultivation Public Welfare Foundation is not large, it has completed the work carried by more than 38 million yuan of donated funds with the financial resources of Liu Danlong, the efforts of four staff members, and the help of the board of directors and supervisors of the board of supervisors.
In view of the Foundation's outstanding contribution to public welfare charity and teaching assistant poverty alleviation, the Hebei Provincial People's Government awarded the Beijing Cultivation Public Welfare Foundation the Provincial Advanced Unit of Donation and Education on December 29, 2020. On November 25, 2021, the Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau recognized Beijing Cultivation Public Welfare Foundation as an AAA-level Chinese social organization after more than half a year of review and inspection.
▲Some of the honors won by the Beijing Cultivation Public Welfare Foundation
"The Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau's evaluation of our foundation is, 'a small but beautiful foundation'. When solemnly and proudly recognizing the positioning of Beijing Cultivation Public Welfare Foundation, Liu Danlong on the side couldn't help nodding in agreement.
In an interview with Red Boat Media, Liu Danlong said: "I will continue to donate money and serve the education cause in poor areas for life." ”
▲Liu Danlong and Zhou Enlai's nephew Zhou Binghe
Faced with the question of "your family supports you to donate so much money", Liu Danlong suddenly opened the conversation.
"I only have one daughter, and she works hard and is excellent. When she graduated from elementary school, she received the only Presidential Education Award from her local school district, with the signatures of then-President Bill Clinton and the Secretary of Education. She took college courses on her own while she was in high school and earned 14 college credits, so she was allowed to go straight to her sophomore year in college. She received full scholarships for both undergraduate and graduate studies and didn't cost me a penny. Now, she is a senior manager in a world-famous large company, and she is completely self-sufficient with a good salary. Not only does she not count on my money, but I'm sure she will donate money to help the underprivileged in the future. Liu Danlong had a proud smile on his face when answering questions.
Those who are familiar with Liu Danlong know that the spirit of "selfless dedication for the country and the people" of the older generation of revolutionaries Liu Pei was inherited here in the way of "cherishing the motherland and being kind and charitable". We also have reason to believe that this great love has been sown in the hearts of future generations like a seed, just wait for it to break through the ground in the spring breeze and spring rain.
Written by: Li Xiuping
Visual: Wang Xuemin
Co-ordinator: Li Xiuping