In the classic movies and TV series of different periods in New China, the images of flesh-and-blood Communist Party members have penetrated the hearts of the people with the help of images. They correspond to the glorious course of the century-old party history, and they are also accompanied by real historical figures. The stories in the images are singable and weeping, but the details off-screen may be little known. The Voice of China celebrates the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China with a special program "Party History in Images", which takes you through these timeless and classic artistic images and touches the real century-old Party history from a unique perspective.
Click on the audio and listen to the stories of Li Dazhao and his descendants↓
Memories of snowplowing a hundred years ago
The 2011 film "The Great Cause of Party Building" depicts group portraits of revolutionaries, and there are not too many shots belonging to Li Dazhao. On July 23, 1921, at No. 106 Wangzhi Road in the French Concession of Shanghai, he appeared only in the lines of the participants. - Regarding the name of the political party, the representative of the Comintern asked "The Opinion of Mr. Li Dazhao of Beijing", and in the letter that was read on the spot, Li Dazhao's proposal was unanimous with that of many deputies: the Communist Party of China. Participants expressed "yes".
At that time, Li Dazhao was in Beijing and did not come to this secret venue of the First Congress of the Communist Party of China, which ultimately decided the future of China. But he is still recognized as the earliest propagator of Marxism in China. He participated in the May Fourth Movement, promoted the wide spread of Marxism in China, and combined with the Chinese workers' movement, making ideological and cadre preparations for the founding of the Communist Party of China.
Outside of these historical scenes, the revolutionary Li Dazhao was a father who died prematurely to his children. Li Dazhao had 6 sons and daughters, and when he died, the eldest son, Li Baohua, was only 18 years old. What kind of father was this revolutionary who influenced the course of history?
Li Baohua's son Li Yazhong relayed his father's memories: "In their eyes, Grandpa was a very kind father, never lost his temper with them, nor did he make any demands on their development and ambitions. ”
"Around 1920, Grandpa's family moved from Laoting to Beijing. Catching a heavy snowfall, my father ran to the courtyard to play with the snow. Li Yazhong talked about a small incident in the family at that time, "Grandma was worried about her father's illness and did not agree. Grandpa was reading a book at the time, and when he heard it, he got up and took a broom, dragged his father to the courtyard, and said, 'Let's sweep the snow together, sweep the pile of big snowmen, play with the snow while working, and exercise without getting sick.' Everyone is happy, but my grandfather also has a purpose, wanting to let the children go through the wind and snow and cultivate their will. ”
Such cultivation quickly saw results. "The environment was becoming more and more white and terrifying. After March 1926, Grandpa was basically trapped in the original Russian barracks in the embassy area of Dongjiaomin Lane and could not get out. Father began to take on the task of 'messenger', and whenever he wanted to send letters and documents, Grandpa would ask his father to send them out. I think this is a great achievement in Grandpa's education, this kind of moisturizing silent, subtle education, no need to preach, with their own actions to cultivate the children. Li Yazhong said.
Descendants know Li Dazhao from the texts
"Our actions today are a precursor to China's bright future. So, at this moment, today, we feel the supreme honor and honor to experience this unprecedented revolution first-hand. Return my sovereignty! Punish the thieves of the country! ”
In 1919, the May Fourth Movement broke out. The scene where Li Dazhao took the lead in shouting "severely punish the national thief" was presented to hundreds of millions of viewers as one of the key passages of the movie "The Great Cause of Party Building" 92 years later.
In "The Great Cause of Party Building", Li Dazhao (Zhang Jiayi) is in the May Fourth Movement.
The eldest son, Li Baohua, who was once anonymous after his father's sacrifice, rarely talked about his grandfather to his children later. After the founding of New China, Li Baohua successively served as minister of water conservancy and electric power, first secretary of the Anhui Provincial CPC Committee, and president of the Chinese Bank.
Part of his son Li Hongta's childhood memories is the relocation of his family after his father's work transfer. Sometimes my father went to Beijing for a meeting, received an order, and immediately transferred to another province: "Their work style is like this, there is no bargaining for the party's work, they will go to Anhui after the meeting is over, and they will not even return to Shanghai." Then the family moved with it, moving from Shanghai to Hefei. ”
Li Hongta recalled, "My father did not have time to talk to us about many things during his reign, and we have the impression that he was very busy until after retirement. ”
Li Hongta, his brother, his sister, and their next generation, all recognized Li Dazhao from textbooks, just like their peers.
Some of the texts are written by Li Dazhao's daughter, Li Xinghua, who wrote that Li Dazhao once taught his children to "learn to be practical and have fun if you want to play", and also wrote about the last side of Li Dazhao's family in court - "the calm and kind face under the long unkempt hair".
Li Yazhong told reporters that when he studied these texts, the students did not know that Li Dazhao was his grandfather, "because at that time, many people did not know that my father was Li Dazhao's son, only that my father was the first secretary of the Anhui Provincial Party Committee and the leader of Anhui." ”
As a professor, he did not leave a property
At the end of May 2021, this reporter met Li Yazhong, Li Baohua's son, in an old-fashioned residential building in Beijing's Xicheng District. Sitting on the old-fashioned sofa at home, you can hear the sound of springs.
Li Yazhong introduced that these sofas have been used for more than forty years: "In 1978, my father was transferred from Guizhou to Beijing to work at the headquarters of the People's Bank of China, and the unit temporarily found some furniture returned from the warehouse for his father to respond to, so that he could buy some good furniture after settling down." As a result, my father paid for it as formal furniture, and insisted on using it until his death in 2005. Later, we still passed it on like this, and then used it. ”
Such a simple style can also be seen in Li Dazhao's former residence.
The narrator of Li Dazhao's former residence told reporters, "This was a very ordinary house at that time, and it can even be said that very poor people will live." In the summer, if it rains, it will be poured with water, and it is easy to accumulate water. At that time, Li Dazhao was already a professor at Peking University, and this small courtyard was in great contrast with his social status. ”
Historical records record that when Li Dazhao was the director of the Peking University Library, he earned 120 silver dollars per month, and after being promoted to a professor at Peking University, his monthly salary rose to 180 silver dollars. Add to that the fees for writing articles and the income from working as an adjunct professor at four universities, and a monthly income can be as much as 300 silver dollars. "What was the concept of 300 silver dollars at that time?" 400 silver dollars can buy a serious courtyard. "But the 8 houses that Mr. Li Dazhao lived in Beijing were rented and did not leave a single property." ”
Iron shoulders moral righteousness, clever hands to write articles
At the intersection of Wenhua Hutong, where Li Dazhao's former residence is located, there are words on the wall that read, "Iron shoulders bear morality, and clever hands write articles."
Li Dazhao left two posters for posterity: "Iron Shoulders Bear Moral Righteousness, Clever Hands Write Articles", the original is collected in the National Museum. Li Dazhao's former residence and the homes of Li Hongta and Li Ya's grandchildren are all hung with copies of this handwriting.
Li Hongta believes that "shouldering morality with iron shoulders and writing articles with clever hands" is not only about writing articles, but also a true portrayal of the life of Grandpa Li Dazhao: dare to take responsibility and do good deeds.
These realizations, Li Hongta only gradually realized after he became an adult. He served as director of the Anhui Provincial Department of Civil Affairs and vice chairman of the Anhui Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and the media once reported that he commuted to work on his bicycle every day. He said that as a descendant of Li Dazhao, there is no aura, only responsibility: "Since we were young, we did not take the halo to shine, at that time we were children, and my father would not talk to us a lot." Until we grow up and participate in the work, we understand the responsibility on our shoulders, and we can only do a better job, otherwise we are sorry for our ancestors. Now my little granddaughter will come and ask me: 'Grandparents, everyone says I'm 'after the celebrity', what celebrity?' We didn't ask at the time, and we won't talk to her too much now, worrying about her blind pride." ”
Li Hongta (second from right) poses with his family in front of the statue of Li Dazhao.
Li Hongta's younger brother, Li Yazhong, also did not tell his son about Li Dazhao: "I will not talk about it." Learn from my father, tell them the titles and let them read them for themselves. Because I read these books, there is my understanding. When they read these books, they will have their own other understandings. If I tell them directly about my understanding and feelings, I will violate the traditions of my family and will not be subtly guided. ”
The only silent image that remains
Li Yazhong explores the footprints of his grandfather in the book. However, there are limited credible historical materials left in the turbulent years, and some people and events have different accounts. For example, on April 28, 1927, Li Dazhao was hanged and executed, and his family was not present at that time.
Later, some literary and film works described Li Dazhao as giving a speech at the execution ground before he bravely took up his righteousness. Li Yazhong does not agree with this statement. "It is said that Grandpa gave a passionate speech when he died heroically, but in fact there is no such thing. Why? Because it was a secret execution, who was the speech addressed to? Who made you speak? How did it come out? ”
Li Yazhong named his son "Li Xiongfei". The word "Xiongfei" has appeared in Li Dazhao's pen many times, such as "Boy Shang Xiongfei" and "Only Know Leap Forward, Only Know Xiongfei". This year, 37-year-old Li Xiongfei and 67-year-old Li Yazhong recited "Youth" written by Li Dazhao when he was 27 on a TELEVISION show:
"May my dear youth, born of youth, die of youth, born of youth, and die of youth. Go forward and don't look behind, turn your back on darkness to the light, enter civilization for the world, and create happiness for mankind..."
"My family is the family of youth, my country is the country of youth, and my nation is the nation of youth..."
Li Yazhong and Li Xiongfei reciting Li Dazhao's work "Youth" (Beijing Radio and Television Program Screen)
Li Yazhong said that in the past, it was precisely by relying on these sentences left by more than a hundred years ago and the memories of posterity that he built up the image of his grandfather who had never met little by little in his heart. After all, he left very few photos, not even a single photo with his family. Until more than two decades ago, experts found a 35 mm film from a Russian archive, which was a video record of Li Dazhao speaking at a conference in Moscow as a representative of the Chinese Communist Party in 1924, and the only moving image of Li Dazhao known today.
Some reports describe that in 1999, this footage was copied back to Beijing, and the 90-year-old Li Baohua saw his father again after 72 years and shed tears.
However, in Li Yazhong's memory, when he returned home from work from the Hydrological Bureau of the Ministry of Water Resources that day, and his father Li Baohua handed him this disc, he did not have a special expression, just like the father who did not want to mention his grandfather more from childhood to adulthood:
"My father wanted us to see what the real grandpa looked like in the film, because we had only seen the pictures, not the living images. Although it was a silent film, I could feel my grandfather speaking with great momentum, and his body language had great power. ”
This silent image, which is about ten seconds long, is now also looped at Li Dazhao's former residence at No. 24 Wenhua Hutong in Beijing's Xicheng District. On the picture, 35-year-old Li Dazhao seems to be using this way to return to the place where he rented in that year. Here, the golden handwriting under the bronze statue shows that he was a pioneer of the Chinese communist movement, a great Marxist, an outstanding proletarian revolutionary, and one of the main founders of the Communist Party of China. In this family, he was also a husband, father, and teacher of his students.
Producer: Gao Yan
Editor: Guo Jing, Liu Lili
Interview: Bai Jiege, Wang Li, Liu Tiansi, Zhu Min
Production: Shan Dandan
New Media: Chen Ming, Na Ziye
Consultant: Xu Pengtang, researcher of the Central Academy of Party History and Literature