Ren Xiaoping, the eldest son of Ren Daoxian, was interviewed by the cover news.
Cover news reporter Yang Chengkai Dai Rui Li Xinggang Xie Ying Zhong Yuheng Intern Zhang Congjing
A cassette tape, an old tape recorder, and speakers, an old man with a thick Sichuan accent tells the story of his long years. He joined the Red Army at the age of 11 and experienced the Long March, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the War of Liberation, the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and later served as an adviser to the headquarters of the former General Staff Headquarters of the General Staff Department.
On June 8, cover reporters met Ren Daoxian's widow Wu Lin and his eldest son Ren Xiaoping in Beijing. Through their narration, Zai Zai Dao first grew from a "baby" Red Army to a legendary life of a revolutionary.
In 2004, Ren Daoxian commemorated the 70th anniversary of the Long March and wore a red army costume to commemorate the souvenir. (Courtesy of the interviewee)
Ren Xiaoping's home hangs two photos of "traveling through time and space". One is a photograph of his father Ren Daoxian when he was awarded a military rank in the 1950s: the young Ren Daoxian has a beautiful face and a straight posture, and three gold medals on his chest shine; the other is a photo of Ren Daoxian in his later years, wearing a military uniform from the Red Army.
Ren Xiaoping told reporters that the photo of his father wearing a Red Army uniform is of great significance, and it is specially designed to "make up" in order to make up for the failure to leave a "baby" photo when he was a teenager. The "Little Red Devil" military uniform was still a prop costume donated by the Bayi Film Studio at that time. "When he put on this dress and faced the camera, his expression seemed to return to the feeling of participating in the Red Army climbing snowy mountains and crossing meadows as a teenager."
It was filmed in 1955 when Ren Daoxian was awarded a military rank. (Courtesy of the interviewee)
Reminiscing about the glory days
Bitter baby "Laipi" became a "red devil"
In June 1922, Ren Daoxian was born into a poor peasant family in the thirteen villages of Baotai Township, Langzhong Shuiguan District, Sichuan. His father had died of illness when he was born, and his mother had raised four children alone. Although Ren Daoxian was the "youngest child" of the family, in order to make a living, he herded cattle for the landlord at a very young age, and was beaten and bullied.
Once, his mother took the young man to the pond of the landlord's house to dig wild vegetables, and when the landlord found out, he not only scolded his mother, but also threw the basket into the pond. In order to fill her stomach, his mother rolled up her pant legs in pain, slowly walked into the pond, and fished out the back basket. This scene left a deep mark on Ren Daoxian's young soul. "I think that's what motivated him to join the Red Army later." Ren Xiaoping told reporters.
In March 1933, the General Political Department of the Red Fourth Front entered the Compound of the Qin Family in Langzhong. The 11-year-old Ren Daoxian saw with his own eyes that the Red Army "really sought benefits for the poor" and "wanted to fight the local tycoons and divide the land", and in line with the simple idea that "if you follow the Red Army, you will have food and clothing", he and his friends signed up to join the army.
Due to his young age, the Red Army did not initially accept him. "They said we were too young to be soldiers. After that we did not leave, and the Red Army took care of our food. A week later the troops still wanted us to go back, and we stayed there and did not leave, and later the Red Army took us in. When Mr. Ren Dao recounted his oral history, he recalled this period of joining the Red Army.
After becoming the "Little Red Devil" in the ranks of the Red Fourth Front, Ren Daoxian was assigned to the Ministry of Health as a staff member of Zhang Qinqiu, director of the Political Department of the General Hospital of the Red Fourth Front. He participated with the troops in the anti-"three-way siege" and anti-"six-way siege" battles in the Sichuan-Shaanxi revolutionary base area, and served as a logistical and health medical support. In this experience, he saw countless comrades-in-arms sacrifice heroically, and strengthened his belief in dedicating his life to the poor.
Ren Dao was first photographed after the liberation of Lanzhou in 1950. (Courtesy of the interviewee)
Over snow-capped mountain meadows
His life was in danger, and the mule saved his life
In 1935, at the age of 13, Ren Daoxian began the Long March with the Red Fourth Front. In that extremely arduous but never give up journey, there was an experience that Ren Daoxian would never forget.
Mr. Ren Dao had mentioned the unforgettable experience in the oral history recording: more dangerous than hunger is the danger of "water and grassland". The vast aquatic meadow looks like a flat meadow, and if you accidentally step on it, you will fall into the turf-covered quagmire, so you should jump and walk when crossing the water meadow, and be sure to step on the solid turf.
Ren Dao preemptively recorded an oral history tape in 2006.
When crossing the grass for the first time, Ren Daoxian had no experience and accidentally stepped into the aquatic meadow. The thinner he struggled, the more he sank, and after a while the muddy water did not pass through his chest, and his breathing began to become difficult. At the moment when his life was in danger, he was discovered by Xu Liqing, who was then the political commissar of the General Health Department of the Red Fourth Front, and immediately asked the guards to bring a mule for the medical device. Ren Dao first grabbed the mule's tail tightly, and the guard slapped the mule's ass violently, and the frightened mule finally pulled him out of the mud. This mule became the "savior" of Ren Dao's long march.
On the road of the Long March, in addition to the extreme test of food and water shortage, we also had to bear the pain of losing our comrades-in-arms. During the march, there were constantly soldiers falling, and the young Ren Daoxian watched his comrades fall on the grass one after another, and his heart was like a knife.
Ren Xiaoping said that his father Ren Daoxian had told him many times about this experience of crossing the meadow, "I now recall why he talked about it many times and repeatedly, indicating that this incident made him feel like he was on the verge of death, and that feeling was definitely unforgettable for a lifetime." Speaking of this, Ren Xiaoping choked up.
"My father later continued his campaign as a member of the Western Route Army, and his unit was swept into the no-man's land of Qilian Mountain by 'horse bandits', and experienced more than 40 days of hardship than climbing the snowy mountain twice and crossing the meadow three times. Eat and sleep in the wind, endure hunger, extremely difficult and never give up. Ren Xiaoping said.
Ren Xiaoping introduced the life of his father, Mr. Ren Dao.
Oral history recordings
"This is our family's heirloom"
"He always taught us to listen to the party, because he himself is the one who follows the party." Ms. Wu Lin, Ren Daoxian's widow, said. In 2006, Ren Daoxian decided to record this real history for future generations by means of oral recordings. He asked his wife to buy a few tapes and started the "job."
According to Ms. Wu Lin, "He did not consult with the children before, and the whole recording process was carried out silently by himself, without publicity." He would first outline the contents, close the door, and tell in the room what he saw and heard during his participation in the Red Army, the War of Resistance, the War of Liberation, and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea.
Ms. Wu Lin, ren Daoxian's widow, was interviewed on the cover news.
In these precious recordings left by Ren Daoxian, in addition to recording the hardships and sacrifices of the revolutionary war years, they are also full of a revolutionary optimism.
"Drums are banging, red flags are flying, the warriors are so brave, we are here to salute and sing to say goodbye..." In the tape, Ren Daoxian sang a song called "Drum Sound Bang Bang". In the brisk singing, people feel ren Daoxian's optimism and excitement.
"At that time, we Red Army told jokes: what are the tendons in the sleeping pillow? Isn't it a bone on the back! What is covered? Covered with skin, that is, belly! Speaking of this, the old man had lost his smile when recording, showing the grand view and suddenness of life and death outside the degree.
In 2007, Ren Daoxian died of illness in Beijing at the age of 85. Wu Lin handed over the unfinished tape of her husband to the children and instructed the family to keep it safe, "When the old man handed it to me, he said that this is our family heirloom."
Ren Xiaoping introduced his father Ren Daoxian to the cover reporter.
When playing this tape, Ren Xiaoping burst into tears, "The stories in the tape are all told to me over and over again, because of the low level of education, he does not modify his language, speaks very simple, but unforgettable", "He always uses these simple stories to guide us to be a good Communist Party member." From my father's narration, the younger generations also felt the greatness of our party and the hard-won success of new China. ”
This "heirloom" was carefully preserved by Ren Xiaoping and passed down from generation to generation. This simple voice and this timeless story will also become the eternal memory of a family and a nation.
Leaving home at a young age and wandering away all his life, Ren Daoxian still worries most about his hometown in Sichuan. According to Ms. Wu Lin, the last time her husband returned to his hometown in Sichuan, he was to tell his father and fellow villagers about his revolutionary experience. "The audience who came to the auditorium wanted to hear about the legendary life of an old Red Army. However, after he took the stage, he choked up and couldn't say a word, and some of the audience at the bottom also cried along with it. ”
Ren Xiaoping told reporters that until his deathbed, his father was still thinking about his hometown on the sickbed: "I want to go home, I want to go home..." Ren Xiaoping held back tears to comfort his father: "Dad, you sleep well, when you are out of the hospital, we will accompany you back home again!" But Ren Daoxian never returned to the hometown where he was born and raised.
At Ren Daoxian's memorial service, a pair of elegies written by comrade-in-arms Wang Dingguo: "Qilian Lamentations for Seventy Years, Hexi Li was born after death", which well interpreted Ren Daoxian's life. Today, Ren Daoxian's photos are kept in the counter of the Communication Corps Exhibition Hall, and those precious oral history recordings, those stories that grew up from the "baby", will become the precious spiritual wealth left by the veteran to future generations not to forget their original intentions and forge ahead.
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