Source: People's Liberation Army Daily, China Military Trumpet
■ Zheng Shuyan
Although the word "Rongyi" can be seen in the ancient "Shangshu", "Rongyi" does not have the rich meaning in later poems. At that time, the soldiers were called "armor soldiers", and after serving in the army, they had to wear their own coarse kudzu linen shirts to protect themselves from the cold, and only when they went to the battlefield were they issued armor, that is, the so-called "only armor rose up".
The earliest record is found in the "Book of Han" in the "Zhen Yin Gong and Military Uniform", which means to gather the vast team and wear the mighty "military uniform".
"The wind and dust are three feet of sword, and the society is a soldier." The aesthetic charm of military uniforms comes from the unity of the same color, unified style, and standardized ornamentation to form a team phalanx. In the uniformity and almost indiscriminate regularity, the military uniform bursts out with a majestic momentum, and at the same time, it also constitutes a majestic aesthetic paradigm.
Vertical and horizontal uniforms, talking about soldiers. My knowledge is far from enough to examine the long history of military uniforms, but the life in my story and the story in my life are accompanied by a military uniform.
One
According to the color system, the color of the military uniform I wear should be green green, green pine green, etc., but we prefer to call it "national defense green".
After the boot camp training, I was assigned to a remote company with a view of the mountains and the slopes. The first major event after the company was to issue the recruits with collar badges, cockades, guns and ammunition. The ceremony was very simple, but the words of the company commander made me remember it for the rest of my life. The company commander said: "From today on, there is a collar badge and a cockade on your military uniform, and a gun and ammunition on your shoulder. ”
Incredibly, when the red collar badge was sewn on the collar and the military hat was decorated with red five stars, the military uniform, which originally looked fat and spacious, suddenly became so fitting. What's even more heart-warming is that the local children have also changed from shouting "little recruits" after them to "Uncle of the People's Liberation Army".
The military trajectory is a poem, and the military uniform designates the starting point of youth for its owner.
I enlisted in December, also known as the "Winter Soldier". The troops were given uniforms according to the season, so none of us new recruits received summer clothes. For about 4 months, you need to live on winter clothes (including cotton clothes and a smock over the cotton clothes). Since the station is subtropical, it is not cold in winter, and cotton clothes are basically not worn, and the winter clothes called smocks are actually worn as regular clothes.
Some simple things are actually dazzling. The simple and simple Type 65 military uniform was undoubtedly the most fashionable and decent clothing of that era.
I remember that at that time, in addition to the military uniform issued by the company, I also had "2 treasures". My brother, who was a cadre in the army, knew that the recruits only had one set of military uniforms, so before joining the army, he gave me an old military uniform to be washed and changed, which was the first treasure. Of course, I can't wear these four pockets of cadre uniforms indiscriminately, but when I change and dry my clothes, I will put on this military uniform and walk around the dormitory. The second is my sister's dark brown leatherette belt. The female cadres in the hospital were basically useless, so my sister gave it to me as a gift for joining the army. At that time, we were given a yellow canvas belt, which could only be worn as a belt. No one else can see it, but wearing this belt still makes me feel even more high.
Two
In those days, there was no television, and movies were rare to see, and the cultural life of officers and men mainly came from the literary and artistic stage. Most of the singing and dancing programs performed reflect the deep feelings between the military and the people, so military uniforms are the most common performance costumes. Our company is stationed in a small border county, and the dyeing level is really backward, and the color of the costumes produced is always not good-looking. The young men and girls of the county art troupe wore these costumes to perform on stage, and they didn't seem to be energetic.
Once, when the county art troupe wanted to go to the state to participate in a theatrical performance, they could only take the certificate to the company to borrow a standard military uniform. At that time, I and a deputy squad leader were the only people in the company who wore small military uniforms, so we lent the military uniforms to the actresses as performance costumes.
In order to prevent the loss of military uniforms, the deputy squad leader wrote information such as his name and place of origin on the inside of his pocket. Unexpectedly, the actress of the art troupe relied on the information on the military uniform to return the clothes and thank her, so she began to contact the deputy squad leader. A few years later, I heard about this story at the wedding of the deputy squad leader and the actress, and I couldn't help but sigh at the wonder of fate......
Romantic things are not common, and it is common for comrades-in-arms to clumsily thread needles and threads, sew and mend clothes. At that time, the supply of quilts for the troops was not abundant, and the military uniforms were all pure cotton, which was comfortable to wear but not wear-resistant. For us who are crawling and training all day long, it is common for us to have a hole in our clothes and pants and open threads that need to be repaired.
Patching is also knowledgeable: the knees and hips of the pants are the focus, and it is not uncommon for the patches to be worn out and then stacked to make up for them, which can be kept flat by finely tying the threads with a sewing machine. We keep our guns on our bodies every day, and the right shoulder of our clothes is most likely to be worn out by the strap of the gun, so we simply patch the left shoulder for the sake of symmetry......
Where does the sewn fabric come from? At that time, the troops were issued with uniforms, and there was a provision for the collection of old military uniforms, and the old military uniforms that were collected were kept as patches at a certain rate. As for how to choose and use patch cloth, there is also simple knowledge. The back of the old uniform can be cut out in a neat piece, but it is not very strong; The armpit is relatively firm because the seam is not beautiful enough......
Soon, with the change of uniforms in what we call "really good" fabrics, patching became a thing of the past. This new military uniform is wear-resistant and easy to wash, light and wrinkle-free, and deeply loved by us, as well as the refreshing and pure color, which makes it get our poetic name - "national defense green".
Three
The company commander once told us that we should not just use military uniforms as protection from the cold. So what else can it do? As a border company, it accompanies us in the mountains and jungles. When climbing, the ropes tied with old military trousers are quite strong; When encountering poisonous snakes and poisonous bees, the fastest way to avoid danger is to take off the military uniform and cover and wrap; When a comrade-in-arms was wounded, he cut two bamboo poles and passed through the sleeves of the four shirts respectively, which was a temporary stretcher......
Time flies, and many of the past stories about "national defense green" and the criticism and praise it brings have gradually faded away in laughter. Today, the memory that still makes my heart flutter is the first night I left the company.
On a rainy winter afternoon, I received an order to report for duty the next day. It was Sunday, and the freshly washed uniforms were still drenched. Seeing that I was a little anxious, the squad leader patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, there is a way." ”
At the regular class meeting in the evening, the squad leader burned a large pot of fire, and the whole class of comrades-in-arms gathered in a circle, and everyone said goodbye words of encouragement to me, while holding my wet military uniform and baking. The wood in the brazier kept choking on the smoke due to the dampness, but I was sure that my tears were not smoked......
Many years have passed, and the past of the military uniform has always been an unfading memory of a soldier. I believe that military personnel will grow old, but military uniforms will always be young.
(Produced by the People's Liberation Army Daily, China Military Horn)