It's another year of Qingming, and the spring breeze in the countryside still carries a hint of chill. Chen Jinguo, a 71-year-old man from Chongjie Village, Yaojiaji Street, Huangpi District, came to the Du Chongjie Martyrs Cemetery early in the morning, as he has done in the past 57 years. Step by step, he walked up the steps, stood for a moment, leaned down, arranged the bouquets, wiped the tombstones, and swept the floor......
Chen Jinguo stands in front of the martyr's tomb (Photo by Wang Aijia, trainee reporter of CCTV)
The martyr Du Chongjie, who was only 20 years old at the time of his death, is buried here.
"There's my godson buried, and you have to take care of him. "Grandma Han's entrustment before her death, Chen Jinguo remembered it for a lifetime. From 14-year-old teenagers to gray-haired old people, the "rustle" of sweeping the floor in the cemetery has never stopped for more than half a century.
"Without their sacrifices, we would not have a happy life. This is what Chen Jinguo often says.
According to the second volume of "Huangpi Literature and History", Du Chongjie was a native of Xishui, Hubei, and sacrificed his former head of the fifth district of the anti-Japanese democratic government of Huangpi County.
"At that time, the two soldiers lived in Han's house, and Du Chongjie lived in a neighbor's house, only separated by a wall. Chen Jinguo heard his grandmother say, "In order not to attract the attention of the enemy, the soldiers took advantage of the night to move. During the day, these soldiers were like ordinary neighbors, rushing to carry water and chop wood for the people, and the firewood stacks in front of my grandmother's house were always full. Because he felt sorry for these young people, Han took over the work of sewing and mending for them, and after coming and going, Du Chongjie simply called Han his godmother.
Chen Jinguo deeply remembers the revolutionary martyrs (Photo by Yi Cailin from CCTV)
Later, due to the exposure of his identity, Du Chongjie was killed at the head of the small stone slab bridge, and three other soldiers were also killed. Chen Jinguo said that his grandmother, Han, was beaten by reactionaries for the "crime of concealment" and could not move her lower body.
The original martyr's tomb was at the foot of Baiye Mountain, just a simple small earthen bag, and the villagers who remembered the spirit of the martyrs often spontaneously came here to pay respects. In 1966, the people of Yaoji moved the remains of the martyrs to the head of Nianziwan Village, where the martyrs sacrificed, built the martyrs' tombs, erected monuments, and named the administrative village "Chongjie Village".
Snow removal in winter and weeding in summer, at that time, the cemetery had not yet repaired the wall, worried that cow and sheep feces would pollute the martyrs' tombs, Chen Jinguo always came to clean up with tools as soon as he returned home, "We can't let the cemetery be barren." ”
Chen Jinguo touches the tombstone of the martyr Du Chongjie (Photo by Wang Aijia, trainee reporter of CCTV)
The noble spirit shows the sun and the moon, and the mountains and rivers are magnificent with outstanding meritorious deeds. At the beginning of the 21st century, with the support of the higher-level civil affairs department and Yaojiaji Street, Chongjie Village expanded the tomb of Du Chongjie Martyrs into the "Du Chongjie Martyrs Cemetery".
The ruins are silent, but the heroic souls live forever. Across the stone bridge, among the green pines and cypresses, the white walls and tiles stand, and the solemn hero's tomb sits quietly. "I have to continue to keep it, and if I can't keep it, there will be children to 'take over'. "The relay of three generations has achieved a perseverance across time and space," Chen Jinguo "guarded the respect for the martyrs, and also guarded his own heavy original heart.