In 1981, Li Min took her best friend Wang Guiyi to visit He Zizhen: Mom's hand strength is so big. In that special era, how many vicissitudes of life were condensed in a tenacious revolutionary? What kind of warm power does the friendship between ordinary girlfriends contain? What kind of historical moment did that visit witness? Is He Zizhen's palms still clinging to revolutionary ideals?
Marry a dreamer in a foreign country
In 1924, an ordinary peasant girl, He Zizhen, was born in a small mountain village in Dong'an County, Yongzhou City, Hunan Province. She has lived a life of secession since she was a child, often playing by the pond in the village. However, this girl from a village girl has big dreams, and she longs to one day leave this small village to pursue her life goals.
In 1938, at the age of 14, He Zizhen left her hometown and joined the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, beginning her turbulent but magnificent revolutionary career. In the war-torn era, she experienced brutal battles and witnessed the loss of too many lives. However, she has never dispelled her beautiful yearning for a peaceful life, nor has she given up her persistent pursuit of an ideal society.
In 1946, under the care and arrangement of Chairman Mao Zedong, He Zizhen, who was only 22 years old, went to the Soviet Union to study and began a new chapter in her life. On campus in Moscow, she was diligent and studious, studying hard, and never gave up no matter how cold or hot it was. Her dedication to ideals made her determined to contribute to the construction of the motherland.
In 1948, He Zizhen returned to China after graduating from the Soviet Union, and should have reunited with her husband He Yi to continue to fight for the revolutionary cause. However, fate gave her a major test. A sudden turn of events disrupts her original plans, and she is forced to separate herself from her loved ones. Despite the drastic changes in her living environment, she still took on her share of responsibilities and made great sacrifices for the interests of the country.
The pain of separation when I returned to my homeland
After graduating from the Soviet Union, He Zizhen originally planned to reunite with her husband He Yi and continue to work together. However, fate destined her to go through a difficult period of separation. In 1948, He Zizhen returned to his hometown Harbin from Moscow, thinking that he could reunite with his relatives, but he was temporarily stopped and rerouted to Shanghai, where he lived with his brother He Minxue.
In this way, He Zizhen and her husband He Yi were forced to live separately and missed the opportunity to reunite after a long absence. This was undoubtedly a huge blow to her, who was highly loyal to the revolutionary cause. Over the years, she and He Yi have shared weal and woe and fought side by side, and the relationship between the two has been tempered again and again in the flames of war. Now, at the dawn of victory, they have to be separated, and their common revolutionary ideals are being put to the test.
However, as an old revolutionary who has experienced the baptism of war, He Zizhen was not discouraged by this. She put aside the feeling of missing her relatives for the time being, obediently obeyed the organizational arrangement, and started a new life in Shanghai.
In contrast, Shanghai, a well-known international metropolis, has brought a new experience to He Zizhen. Growing up in the countryside, she is accustomed to green tree villages, ponds and wild grasses. The bustling city of Shanghai, with its skyscrapers and traffic, is a lifetime away from the rural life she remembers.
However, the changes in the living environment are much more than that. In the past war years, He Zizhen has always been a soldier who has always stood on the front line, always with the great mission of protecting his family and defending the country. And now in peacetime, she has to put down the guns in her hands and devote herself to the cause of construction. This kind of role reversal is a new challenge for a battle-hardened old revolutionary.
In the face of such a huge change, He Zizhen calmly accepted the new living arrangement. But deep down, she always thinks about the day she will be reunited with her husband. Once, she listened to an important speech by Chairman Mao at her residence in Shanghai, and her emotions were out of control for a while, and she couldn't breathe. For a revolutionary, to be able to listen to the leader's earnest teachings with his own ears is naturally full of excitement and admiration.
However, He Zizhen's longing soon found a new outlet. In the process, she pinned all her hopes and expectations on her young daughter Li Min. As the only child of Chairman Mao and He Zizhen, a revolutionary couple, Li Min carries too many hopes and ardent expectations in her heart. It is hoped that the next generation will continue their revolutionary cause and carry this ideal through to the end.
A reunion of former comrades-in-arms
Although He Zizhen and her husband He Yi were separated from each other for a time, she did not drift away from her revolutionary comrades-in-arms. As a representative of the older generation of revolutionaries, He Zizhen still maintained close ties and friendship with other revolutionary predecessors.
Among them, the most striking is the deep friendship between He Zizhen and Wang Guiyi. Wang Guiyi was originally an alumnus of He Zizhen's best friend Li Min when she was attached to the High School Attached to the Female High School of the Master University. The two young girls have bonded since their school days and have since developed into close friends.
It is through the bond of Li Min that Wang Guiyi can gradually become familiar with and understand the wonderful life journey of He Zizhen, a legendary figure. In the stories about He Zizhen told by Li Min, Wang Guiyi heard the moving story of how an ordinary peasant girl grew into a strong female revolutionary step by step.
He Zizhen, who has been eager to change his fate since he was a child, joined the Red Army at the age of 14 and threw himself into the torrent of revolution; Later, he went to Moscow for further study with the ideal of serving the motherland, hoping to give back to his family and country what he had learned; After returning to China, he made great sacrifices for the interests of the country, regardless of personal gains and losses...... The deeds of generations of heroes moved Wang Guiyi.
At the same time, Li Min also told Wang Guiyi about He Zizhen's various battle stories during the war years. From the Jinggangshan Meeting to the Zunyi Conference, from the Battle of the Hundred Regiments to the Battle of the Eighth Route Army, there is no time when He Zizhen did not personally participate in it. Every time he recalls those eventful years, Li Min's tone inevitably reveals a wave of pride and admiration.
It is through Li Min's narration that Wang Guiyi sincerely has infinite respect and yearning for He Zizhen. In her mind, this former female Red Army soldier is like a combat hero who will never be extinguished. As a result, Wang Guiyi often pleaded with Li Min, hoping to have the opportunity to meet this hero.
Fortunately, the mother-daughter friendship between He Zizhen and Li Min is also very deep. He Zizhen traveled thousands of miles to bring Li Min up, and treated her as his own. Therefore, under Li Min's repeated invitations, He Zizhen finally readily agreed and arranged for Wang Guiyi to visit him in a famous hospital in Beijing.
In this way, on a sunny day in 1981, He Zizhen and Wang Guiyi finally reunited in the hot land of Beijing. One is a former war hero, and the other is an ordinary intellectual young woman, but the two are secretly in spirit because of their common adherence to revolutionary ideals.
Facing Wang Guiyi, He Zizhen seemed to be friendly, as if he was his own daughter. The two of them talked about the past years and the twists and turns of the revolutionary process, as if they were reliving the eventful scenes of the old days. What's even more commendable is that in the process of this reunion, He Zizhen and Wang Guiyi established a deep friendship like heart-to-heart. He Zizhen not only told Wang Guiyi about his feelings for his family and country, but also got a glimpse of Li Min's filial piety and friendship that was worthy of appreciation. Two generations of people have reached a certain spiritual resonance and identity at this moment.
Tenacious character in the torrent of the times
The years have flown by, and it has been 1981 in a blink of an eye. In this year, He Zizhen was 67 years old. As a battle-hardened veteran revolutionary, her body has already suffered heavy losses in the smoke of war. As he grew older, coupled with the long-term fatigue of running around, He Zizhen's physique was obviously deteriorating.
However, in the face of repeated diseases, He Zizhen has never lost his optimism and fighting spirit in life. In the depths of her heart, there seems to be a hot flame of revolution, which makes her willpower tenacious and vigorous.
Even when He Zizhen's physical condition was deteriorating, she still insisted on sitting up every day, reading current affairs from the newspaper, and learning about all aspects of the country. As an intellectual who went to Moscow to study, He Zizhen has an innate thirst and curiosity for new things and new knowledge. Even as she gets older, she still keeps a close eye on the country's prospects, trends and developments.
A small detail may tell the story. Whenever He Zizhen reads something novel or a complex social phenomenon, he will immediately call the people around him to discuss research and communicate with them. Her thirst for knowledge has almost reached the point of madness.
This thirst for new things stems from her inner persistent pursuit of revolutionary ideals. As a veteran revolutionary who had personally experienced turbulent times, He Zizhen clearly knew that the future development of the country affected the interests of the people. Therefore, she hopes that she can keep up with the pace of the times and not fall behind the torrent of the times.
In addition to keeping a close eye on current affairs, He Zizhen often discusses national affairs with relatives and friends. She attaches great importance to the ideological education of the next generation, and hopes to pass on her revolutionary spirit through words and deeds.
Once, He Zizhen's friend Wang Guiyi came to visit with her daughter. When Wang Guiyi's daughter raised some questions about the future of the country, He Zizhen straightened up and told them about the past with enthusiasm. She narrated the tortuous course of the party and the country from small to large and from weak to strong, and sent a message to the younger generation to shoulder the historical responsibility entrusted by the times.
He Zizhen's emphasis on ideological education also reflects her red revolutionary heart. Over the years, although she was in an era of peace, she never relaxed her pursuit of ideals and beliefs. Even on the sickbed, she still thinks about how to pass on the red gene, hoping that the revolutionary flame will never be extinguished.
Perhaps it is this persistent revolutionary ideal that allowed He Zizhen to exercise his indomitable character in a difficult and difficult environment. Although her health has deteriorated, her fighting spirit has never diminished. This vigorous character was tempered by the revolutionary years. As the saying goes, "start from scratch and slash its struggle". As a girl born in an ordinary peasant family, He Zizhen has personally experienced the cruelty of war and witnessed the impermanence of life. All these experiences have made her form a revolutionary character of tenacious struggle and never giving up.
Perseverance and strength inherit the revolutionary spirit
On that sunny day in 1981, He Zizhen was visited by Wang Guiyi and Li Min in a famous hospital in Beijing. As soon as he saw his mother He Zizhen's rough and resolute palms, Li Min couldn't help but sigh: "Mom's hands are so strong."
Indeed, the palms of those hands are covered with thick calluses, and the ravines are vertical and horizontal, as if it is a three-dimensional map, recording the twists and turns of the master's bizarre life. They witnessed all the hardships He Zizhen experienced in the war-torn era: fighting, displacement, and conquest...... For countless nights, He Zizhen relied on these hands to support his thin body, and insisted on fighting in the trenches full of artillery fire.
These hands had held cold guns, and they had wielded their glittering blades in the smoke of war. He tore through the body of the enemy, and was also shot through by the enemy's bullets. He Zizhen's hands are a pair of real fighting hands. These hands have shed blood countless times for victory. They have been battle-hardened and are imbued with the imprint of the revolutionary years.
But even so, these hands have been tender. During the war years of long-term displacement, He Zizhen could only rely on these hands to warm the body and mind of himself and his comrades. Sometimes they are used to hug wounded comrades, and sometimes they are used to rub the wounded on the sickbed. In the impoverished environment, she also used these hands to hold up a handful of soil and rub it to make steamed buns to solve the problem of food and clothing.
As Li Min said, the reason why He Zizhen's hand strength is so great is actually the result of her years of overcoming obstacles and tempering many times. These hands are a portrayal and testimony of her lifelong pursuit of revolutionary ideals. They have wandered in the flames of war, and they have worked tirelessly in peacetime, just to pass on that ideal and belief.
From He Zizhen's joining the Red Army when she was young, to going to the Soviet Union to study theory, and then to insisting on supporting the national construction of New China after the war, her life trajectory is actually a magnificent revolutionary history. And her rough hands are the best witnesses.
At the same time, these hands have been passed down to the next generation. The mother-daughter relationship between He Zizhen and Li Min is transmitted through these hands. He Zizhen once raised Li Min bit by bit with these hands, and under the influence of his mother, Li Min gradually understood the value of the revolutionary spirit.
Just as He Zizhen single-handedly taught a good and filial daughter like Li Min, she also taught her revolutionary sentiments to countless younger generations on the battlefield. In a difficult environment, she used these hands to personally teach the recruits, teaching them how to use guns and how to fight.
To a certain extent, these hands are a manifestation of the revolutionary spirit in the material world. Whenever Li Min saw his mother's calloused hands, a wave of reverence for revolutionary ideals rose in his heart. The revolutionary ideal that He Zizhen pursued all his life was passed down little by little through these hands.