The legend of Hu Jin-il and Chai Shi-young, a heroic epic hidden deep in the dust of history, Hu Jin-il is not only a staunch anti-Japanese fighter, but also has an indissoluble bond with North Korea's Kim Il Sung. Chai Shirong, a man born into a poor family, not only formed a deep friendship with Kim Il Sung, but also showed extraordinary bravery on the battlefield of resistance against Japan. How did these two heroes make Kim Il Sung search for Hu Jin-il for more than 50 years?
In a mountain forest in the northeast, Hu Zhenyi's life seems to have long been destined to be equated with ordinary. In 1920, this later hero was born in an ordinary peasant family in Liaoning Province, with a poor family and a low education, but her fate was completely rewritten by the "918 Incident" in 1931. At that time, she was only 11 years old, although she was young and her understanding of the world was still shallow, but the sentence "The Northeast is dead, and China is about to die" is deeply imprinted in her heart.
With the invasion of the Japanese army, Hu Zhenyi's hometown of Dandong fell, and her relatives unfortunately suffered the atrocities of the Japanese army, all of which planted the seeds of resistance in her heart. After escaping to Heilongjiang, she witnessed more atrocities, which further strengthened her resolve to resist the Japanese. When the Anti-Japanese War broke out in 1937, 17-year-old Hu Zhen joined the anti-Japanese guerrillas without hesitation and began a hard career in the Anti-Japanese War.
During this period of bloodshed and sacrifice, Hu Zhenyi not only experienced a life of hunger and cold, but also met Chai Shirong, who was also an anti-Japanese hero, in a guerrilla garment factory in Daxinganling. Chai Shirong is 26 years older than Hu Zhenyi, and his life is also full of legends. Born in a poor family in Shandong, Chai Shirong dropped out of school in his early years due to poverty and made a living by hunting. Later, he went to North Korea to do three years of hard labor, during which he met the young Kim Il Sung, and the two formed a deep friendship.
After returning to China, Chai Shirong became a police officer, and his integrity and bravery earned him the respect of the villagers. And his friendship with Kim Il Sung also laid the groundwork for later. On the battlefield of resistance against Japan, Chai Shirong not only demonstrated his outstanding combat skills, but also protected his compatriots in the most difficult environment, and his reputation spread far and wide.
The acquaintance of Hu Zhenyi and Chai Shirong in the war is not only the meeting of two soldiers, but also the collision of two heroic hearts. The two fought side by side and experienced countless life and death trials together, and they gradually became a good story in the flames of war. In the years that followed, although the cruelty of the war caused many heroes to fall forever, the names of Hu Zhenyi and Chai Shirong remained as strong as their beliefs.
After the end of the war, the contours of fate were not flattened by the arrival of peace. Hu Zhenyi learned the bad news one day after the war, and Chai Shirong died heroically in the last battle, leaving behind only a legendary heroic story. Hu Zhenyi, who lost his comrades-in-arms, was extremely sad in his heart, but more of a remembrance and respect for Chai Shirong's heroic deeds.
This respect also exists in the heart of Kim Il Sung, who is far away in North Korea. Although Kim Il Sung has become the supreme leader of North Korea, he has never forgotten his friendship with Chai Shirong and his heroic deeds. When he learned of Chai Se-young's sacrifice, Kim Il Sung felt deep regret and sorrow. He tried to find Hu Zhenyi, hoping to learn more about Chai Shirong through her, and also trying to make up for the regrets caused by the war.
Time flies, and it was not until 1994 that this search spanning half a century was realized. Kim Il Sung instructed the DPRK Embassy in China to send a letter of invitation inviting Hu Jin-il and his son Wang Liaoning to visit the DPRK. This invitation is not only a recognition of the heroic deeds of Hu Jinil and Chai Shirong, but also a belated tribute and nostalgia for Kim Il Sung's two old friends.
During his visit to North Korea, Hu Zhenyi was treated with great courtesy. Accompanied by Kim Il Sung, she visited a number of important places in the DPRK and felt the respect and admiration of the Korean people for the anti-Japanese heroes. More importantly, the visit gave Hu a sense of Chai Shirong's influence and his status in the hearts of North Koreans. Although Chai Shirong has passed away for many years, his spirit and story are still alive on the land of North Korea.
Hu Zhenyi and Chai Shirong are a heroic epic that spans war and years. They were not only heroes in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, but also witnesses of China-DPRK friendship. Kim Il Sung's search for Hu Jin-il is not only a nostalgia for an old friend, but also a respect for history and a tribute to heroes. This search, which spanned half a century, eventually became a precious memory of the deep friendship between countries and people. Let us remember the names of these heroes, because it is they who forged peace and dignity with their lives and blood.