In the past two days, we have lost two great old men in succession. One is a literary giant, the famous writer Ma Shitu, who passed away on March 28 at the age of 110. The other is the founding major general Zhang Lixiong, who also left us forever on the fifth day after Ma Lao's death at the age of 111. We deeply regret the passing of these two old men, who not only represent the end of an era, but also deprive us of a cultural giant and a heroic general.
The old man Ma Zhitu is one of the "Five Elders of Shu" alongside Ba Jin, and his literary achievements and life experience are legendary. He was not only a writer, but also a staunch revolutionary. In the turbulent era, he did not hesitate to pay a huge price for the revolutionary cause, and his wife Liu Huixin and sister Ma Xiuying both died due to the brutal murder of spies. The Ma family is full of loyalty, and their spirit is admirable. The death of the old man Ma Shitu means that the "five elders of Shuzhong" have all left us, which is the end of an era and the loss of a cultural tradition.
The life of the old general Zhang Lixiong is full of legends. He joined the revolution at the age of 16 and already rose to prominence during the Red Army. He not only participated in the Long March, but also experienced the bloody battle of the Red West Route Army on Gaotai. In that tragic battle, he fought with the Ma family army for 8 days and nights, and finally when the army commander Dong Zhentang was killed, he was seriously wounded and hid in the people's homes, so he survived. General Zhang Lixiong has experienced countless bullets in his life, and it can be said that he can live to the age of 111, which can be said to be a miracle. His death has deprived us of a heroic general and a witness to history.
With the passing of Ma Shitu and Zhang Lixiong, many people may think that among the celebrities living today, those who are over 110 years old are difficult to trace. However, this is not the case, and the old man Shi Ping is the rare exception, Shi Ping, this name may not be familiar to many people, but in the long course of history, he is a figure that cannot be ignored.
Shi Ping, a retired cadre of the New Fourth Army and former president of Beijing Agricultural University, is now 113 years old, two years older than the recently deceased General Zhang Lixiong. Born in 1911, he has endured more than a century of vicissitudes and is technically a Qing Dynasty man who is still alive today. Shi Ping's life experience is rich and colorful, as early as the 30s of the last century, he devoted himself to underground work, and made hard efforts for the birth of New China.
After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Shi Ping actively devoted himself to the work of the New Fourth Army, and served as the head of the Democracy Movement Department of the First Prefectural Committee of the Soviet Union and China, making outstanding contributions to the development and growth of the New Fourth Army. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he devoted his wisdom and enthusiasm to the cause of education, successively served as the "number one" in many colleges and universities in Beijing, and cultivated batch after batch of outstanding talents.
Shi Ping's life is not only full of struggle and dedication, but his family is also full of honor and glory. His grandson, Shi Yigong, is an academician of the Academy of Sciences, his name is a household name in the academic community, and his achievements are also a great pride of the Shi Ping family. Today, Shi Ping lives in a sanatorium, is still healthy, has passed his 113th birthday, and has been retired for almost 40 years. But he still maintains an optimistic attitude and vigorous vitality, which makes people feel sincerely admired and blessed.