Editor's Note:
A hundred years of original intention, long-lasting.
From the flames of war to The River Qinghai-Yan, how do the elderly party members who have not changed their original intentions see today's China? How should young party members who are flourishing strive for a new era?
On the occasion of the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, Litchi News launched a series of reports on "Dialogue Across Time and Space 丨"Post-00" College Student Party Members Dialogue with Old Party Members", using faith to connect time and space, and to understand the original intention and inherit the mission with dialogue.
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Litchi Special News Reporter / Shi Yanan Camera / Quan Liancheng Editing / Zhou Shengnan Design / Ye Rubing
In Yiyang County, Jiangxi Province, there is a famous red landmark, the Fang Zhimin Memorial Hall, which commemorates the martyr Fang Zhimin, a proletarian revolutionary and military expert. Every day, tourists flock to the party, from primary school students who have just put on red scarves to veteran party members who have joined the party for decades, all relive the stories of revolutionary ancestors and accept the baptism of patriotism through the smoke of history.
Fang Zhimin Memorial Hall
And two hundred kilometers away from Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, there is a "post-00s" student party member Liu Yujia, as a young person born and raised in the new century, her growth memories are "Olympics", "Expo", "Chang'e moon exploration", "national anti-epidemic" and other keywords, Fang Zhimin and that war-torn era, mostly exist in textbooks, movies and imagination, this sense of distance in time and space, let her have more awe of that era, but less understanding.
On the occasion of the centenary of the founding of the party, Liu Yujia followed the footsteps of his ancestors to the Fang Zhimin Memorial Hall, reviewed the heroic deeds of those bloody heroes, and reread the immortal chapters such as "Poverty Clearance" and "Lovely China" written by martyr Fang Zhimin in prison. With respect, a dialogue that spans time and space begins here. The dialogue with this "post-00s" party member was the only daughter of martyr Fang Zhimin, the 90-year-old Fang Mei.
Inheriting the style of the poor family, a blanket has gone through generations
Fang Mei told Liu Yujia that in fact, "Qing Poverty" is not to let people live a poor life, now that the material conditions are good, everyone should eat well, drink well, and live a good life, but they should not forget to work hard. "Poverty Alleviation" means that no matter how rich a person is, he should continue to start a business toward the goal and build the country well, "Any era should inherit the spirit of hard struggle, which will not be outdated." ”
Remembering her father's words, Fang Mei worked diligently when she was young, and after retirement, she traveled all over the country to follow her father's footsteps, and what is even more valuable is that she insisted on a poor life with her life, and at the age of 90, she still insisted on a white and simple life.
Fang Mei now lives on the sixth floor of an old-fashioned residential building in Nanchang, and when Liu Yujia came here, Fang Mei's grandmother was eating breakfast, a few pieces of grains, a bowl of porridge, it was her breakfast. Looking around at this two-bedroom and one-room residence, an old square table, an old sofa, is all the furniture in the living room; father Fang Zhimin, mother Miao Min and a few old photos of himself hanging on the wall are the only decorations.
Blanket left by martyr Fang Zhimin
Fang Mei showed Liu Yujia a dress made from a blanket, which is the only "legacy" left to her by the martyr Fang Zhimin, and it is also the inheritance of Fangmen's poor family style. Speaking of the origin of the blanket, the old man Fang Mei was very emotional.
Fang Mei said that this blanket was originally given to Fang Zhimin by her uncle Fang Zhihui, and it was precious in that era of lack of materials. In 1933, his father's close friend Shao Shiping wanted to lead the Red Tenth Army to the central government to participate in the fourth anti-encirclement and suppression, the road ahead was dangerous, Fang Zhimin could not give it, so he gave this blanket to Shao Shiping.
Fang Zhimin (center), Shao Shiping (right) and Ecliptic (left)
In 1934, Fang Zhimin was captured, imprisoned in Nanchang, and killed the following year. After Shao Shiping knew, he cried bitterly at the blanket to mourn his deceased friend. Later, Miao Min, also a revolutionary, was imprisoned twice until 1937. After his release from prison, Miao Min was approved to go to Yan'an, and this blanket that Shao Shiping had used for many years was solemnly handed over to Miao Min.
Fang Mei recalled that after the founding of New China, her mother had been covering this old blanket closely, but she never told Fang Mei that it was left by her father. After his mother's death in 1977, the old blanket passed into his hands, but the origin of the blanket was sealed in the dust. It was not until many years later, when Fang Mei visited Shao Shiping's wife, that she learned that there was such a blanket that year, comparing colors, defects and other details, fang Mei unexpectedly found that the blanket was not only still there, but also one of the relics left by her mother! However, because of the poor life at that time, this old blanket had long been changed into a child's clothes.
Fang Zhimin and his wife Miao Min
For this change of yin and yang, Fang Mei has some regrets, she inadvertently changed the original appearance of her father's only relic; but thinking about it, it seems that the blanket has also made the best use of everything, is this not exactly the "poverty" that her father and mother have pursued all their lives?
Fang Mei gently caressed the blanket while telling its story. She said: "This blanket is first and foremost a material inheritance left by my father, and I regard it as precious, and seeing it is like seeing my father; from my father onwards, many people have covered it, although it was later made into a dress, it is also well preserved, and after many years of use, it is like a poor family style, and it must continue to be passed on." ”
I saw a lovely China for my father: even cuter than he thought
A blanket, circling around for nearly a hundred years, is precious. In addition to the blanket, what Fang Zhimin left to Fang Mei and the world was a more valuable spiritual wealth. When the martyr Fang Zhimin was killed, Fang Mei was only three years old and was fostered in the countryside by her mother Miao Min, under the pseudonym "Wu Meiwei". Although she lost her father at an early age, she has always made it her mission to learn, inherit and carry forward the spirit of Fang Zhimin.
"At that time, my father wrote in "Lovely China" that he knew that he might have run out of time, and since he could not continue to fight for the revolution, he was willing to become a flower and bless the growth of the Chinese nation. In fact, China is even better now than my father imagined at that time. Fang Mei said.
Fang Zhimin's posthumous publications
Born in the war years and fostered in the countryside from an early age, Fang Mei did not receive a more systematic education as a teenager. After the victory of the Liberation War, Fang Mei, who was nearly 18 years old, returned to her mother, and only then did she slowly make up some culture, and gradually learned some of her father's life from her mother. Her mother often warned the young Fang Mei: "You must inherit the spirit of your father!" The word father gradually evolved from an invisible and untouchable concept to a hero who was committed to serving the country.
Fang Mei talked with Liu Yujia, a "post-00s" party member
In order to restore her father's real life as much as possible, Fang Mei began to devote herself to a new career after retiring in 1986: she wanted to write a "Complete Biography of Fang Zhimin". Relying on a letter of introduction issued by the unit, Fang Meihua spent more than ten years traveling around collecting materials, and then spent more than ten years polishing and writing. The thicker the manuscript became, the clearer the image of her father became, and she became more and more able to understand what her father was thinking at that time.
Fang Mei told Liu Yujia that the years she grew up had no conditions, read too few books, and although she was enthusiastic, it was difficult to write articles. Without culture, she had to write while making up her homework; without inspiration, she developed the habit of getting up at three o'clock in the morning to write, and in the dead of night, she seemed to be able to see her father who wrote articles with a slight candlelight in the prison in Nanchang, "Compared with my father, these difficulties of mine are not worth mentioning." ”
Fang Zhimin writes statues in prison
After Fang Zhimin was imprisoned, he was wearing heavy shackles, and his every move was under close surveillance, and it was impossible to write a suicide note of more than 100,000 words, let alone send these words out of prison. But he did not give in, but actively fought with the strong will of the Communists, and finally won the help of his fellow prisoners and others with his fearless revolutionary spirit and upright personality, so that the precious 140,000-word manuscript was published.
Although he is 90 years old, the elderly Fang Mei still regards inheriting and carrying forward the spirit of Fang Zhimin as an unshirkable responsibility. To this day, she often goes to schools, communities and government units to teach party history and party lessons to young people. The words that her father wrote, she always remembered. Fang Mei shared with Liu Yujia one of her favorite passages, from "Lovely China", representing Fang Zhimin's infinite loyalty to the party and good wishes for the future of China.
Just like her father, Fang Mei is always concerned about national affairs and watches news programs every day. From the comprehensive victory in poverty alleviation to the successful landing of Tianwen-1 on Mars, she will applaud when she sees wonderful places. In her view, China must continue to move forward on the road of progress, which is inseparable from the relay struggle of every young person.
(Acknowledgements: Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Propaganda Department of Yiyang County CPC Committee, Fang Zhimin Memorial Hall)