In the Eighth Route Army Martyrs Cemetery in Wuxiang County, Changzhi City, Shanxi Province, Liang Xiaozhen, who is nearly eighty years old, and his family bowed deeply to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in front of them. Since the 40s of the 20th century, six generations of the Liang family have relayed and adhered to the tradition of sweeping the graves of unknown martyrs for more than 80 years.
On April 3, in the Eighth Route Army Martyrs Cemetery in Lizhuang Village, Wuxiang County, Liang Xiaozhen's family walked on the road to pay tribute to the martyrs.
On April 3, at his home in Fengzhou Township, Wuxiang County, Liang Xiaozhen (right) handed flowers prepared for the martyrs to his great-grandson Yang Chonghao before leaving.
On April 3, in the Eighth Route Army Martyrs Cemetery in Lizhuang Village, Wuxiang County, Liang Xiaozhen's family walked on the road to pay tribute to the martyrs.
On April 3, in the Eighth Route Army Martyrs Cemetery in Lizhuang Village, Wuxiang County, Liang Xiaozhen (second from left) wiped the dust off the tombstone of the martyr surnamed Lei.
Wuxiang in Shanxi Province is an old revolutionary base area. In the battle of Guanjiayuan in 1940, a soldier surnamed Lei was seriously injured and was placed in the home of Liang Xiaozhen in Yuqiao Village, Wuxiang County, to recuperate from his injuries. Liang Xiaozhen's grandparents took good care of the injured man in his early 20s as their own family. Unfortunately, the soldier died a few months later due to his injuries, and the Liang family buried him in the village. Since then, the Liang family has been paying tribute to the martyrs every year, passing on this "family rule" from generation to generation.
On April 3, in the Eighth Route Army Martyrs Cemetery in Lizhuang Village, Wuxiang County, Liang Xiaozhen (third from right) and his family paid tribute to the martyr surnamed Lei.
"This child is very pitiful, we must protect him and send him home if I have the opportunity" - Liang Xiaozhen never forgot her grandmother's dying instructions. In order to allow the souls of the martyrs to return to their hometowns, he tried many times to find the families of the martyrs, but finally failed to do so because there was too little information. In 2015, with the joint efforts of Liang Xiaozhen's family and the local civil affairs department, the remains of the martyr surnamed Lei were moved to the newly built Eighth Route Army Martyrs Cemetery in Wuxiang County.
On April 3, in the Eighth Route Army Martyrs Cemetery in Lizhuang Village, Wuxiang County, Liang Xiaozhen's great-grandson Yang Chonghao (first from left) laid flowers for the martyrs.
On April 3, at the Eighth Route Army Martyrs Cemetery in Lizhuang Village, Wuxiang County, Liang Xiaozhen's family bowed to the martyrs.
On April 3, at the Eighth Route Army Martyrs Cemetery in Lizhuang Village, Wuxiang County, Liang Xiaozhen's family laid flowers for the martyrs.
This year, Liang Xiaozhen's great-grandson also joined the team to pay tribute to the unknown soldier. Liang Xiaozhen also slowly told the story of the martyrs to his great-grandson, as he had experienced. Liang Xiaozhen said: "It is to be passed down from generation to generation, and we must never forget the sacrifices made by the revolutionary martyrs for our happy life today!" (Source: Xinhuanet Yang Chenguang)
Editor: Song Siyang