On October 22, 1985, founding general Xu Shiyou died of illness in Nanjing at the age of 80. Xu Shiyou's greatest wish before his death was to be buried with his mother after death; but in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Chairman Mao took the lead in saying that all central leaders would be cremated after their deaths, except for Ren Bi, who died before the proposal, and still used earth burial, and the later central leaders were all cremated after their deaths.
The Central Committee and the Central Military Commission did not dare to decide on Xu Shiyou's request, and finally the report was sent to Deng Xiaoping's desk, and after careful consideration, Deng Xiaoping gave the instruction of "handling it as such, and not setting an example."
But what is less well known is that although Deng Xiaoping agreed to Xu Shiyou's burial, he asked that no memorial service be held.
Xu Shiyou
Xu Shiyou was not only a fierce general who frightened the enemy, but also a famous filial piety in our army. Xu Shiyou's father died when he was young, and his mother raised him with painstaking efforts.
After Xu Shiyou grew up, he joined the Red Army to join the revolution, the southern conquest of the northern war, as his fame grew, the reactionaries hated him to the bone, sent people to burn Xu Shiyou's home, and the mother had no choice but to wander with her children.
Before the main force of the Eyu-Anhui Red Army withdrew from the base area, Xu Shiyou, who was already the commander of the Red Fourth Front, knew very well that the next battle would be very fierce, and whether he could live or not was unknown, and the most worrying thing was his mother at home.
Before the troops were pulled out, Xu Shiyou took the time to return home overnight, looking at his mother with more and more white hair, Xu Shiyou's heart was sour, and he couldn't help but shed tears, because his brother died heroically in a battle not long ago, Xu Shiyou was afraid that his mother would be sad, and he had been hiding this news, and now he was going to move with the large troops, and the reactionaries would definitely press up after the Red Army left, and as a family member of the Red Army, his mother's life would be very difficult.
Although Xu Mu has no culture, she is a person who understands the great righteousness, she knows that her son is doing great things, and comforts her: "Child, since ancient times, loyalty has not been able to fulfill filial piety, you have done filial piety only for me, but loyalty is for the poor people all over the world...
The mother's words made Xu Shiyou's heart feel more guilty, and he knelt down in front of his mother and said: "Mother, I don't know when I will come back when I will go, I can't wait for you when I am alive, I must be buried by your side after death, and accompany you day and night..."
In the face of "loyalty" and "filial piety", Xu Shiyou first chose "loyalty", because he knew very well that only by overthrowing the reactionaries could thousands of poor people turn themselves into masters.
After Xu Shiyou finished speaking, he strode out of the house and rushed to the battlefield...
During this time, the mother has not had the exact news of Xu Shiyou, some said that he had died long ago, some said that he had become a high official of the Communist Party, you said that I said that I did not know who to believe, but as a mother, she believed that Xu Shiyou must still be alive, until the eve of the founding of New China, the underground party informed her that Xu Shiyou not only did not sacrifice, but also the commander of the Shandong Military Region, holding tens of thousands of people and horses. As a mother, he didn't care how big An official Xu Shiyou was, as long as he could survive in the chaotic world.
Shortly after the founding of New China, Xu Shiyou was anxious about his mother and asked the military region for a leave of absence to return to his hometown.
Xu Shiyou and the guards walked on the path leading to the home, and soon saw a familiar figure, not seen for more than 20 years, the mother has aged a lot, when she left, her mother's white hair was not very much, but now it is full of white hair. In the blink of an eye in 20 years, Xu Shiyou's figure changed and became more robust, but his mother recognized him at a glance, xu Shiyou fell to his knees on the ground, and the two embraced each other and cried.
Later, Xu Shiyou took his mother to his side and prepared to give her a pension to send her to the end, but the old man worked hard all his life, and did not adapt to the days when the army compound meal came to open his mouth and stretch out his hand, and after a period of time, he returned to his hometown.
But Xu Shiyou is still worried, his mother is very old, it is not a way to stay in his hometown alone, and he is not used to living in the city, what to do?
Thinking about it, Xu Shiyou made a decision: let the eldest son Xu Guang return to his hometown to take care of his grandmother instead of him.
Xu Guang was the first child born to Xu Shiyou and his wife Zhu Ximing, and after Xu Shiyou left the Eyu-Anhui base area with the large army, Xu Guang followed his mother and grandmother to hide in Tibet from an early age, and lived a life of upheaval and displacement. During the Liberation War, Xu Shiyou's old comrade-in-arms Wang Shusheng led his troops to follow Liu Deng into the Central Plains, and after the situation was stable, Wang Shusheng sent people to find Xu Shiyou's family, because most of Shandong had been liberated, wang Shusheng sent Xu Guang to Shandong to reunite with his father Xu Shiyou.
Xu Shiyou was very happy to see Xu Guang, he left Xu Guang only three or four years old, and now he is a strong boy, when asked what he wants to do when he grows up, Xu Guang replied without hesitation: "I want to join the People's Liberation Army and serve the country."
Xu Guang's answer made his father very satisfied, because it coincided with Xu Shiyou's idea, Xu Guang had not studied in the past, and Xu Shiyou arranged for him to study in a school under the Shandong Military Region. Xu Guang studied hard and achieved excellent results, and was later admitted to the Dalian Naval Academy, becoming the first batch of naval officers with high academic qualifications in New China.
As we all know, the People's Liberation Army is a unit that came out of the ravine, the Navy started relatively late, there is a shortage of talents, and talents like Xu Guang, who are born in the class, are even more "fragrant", and they have become a captain in just a few years.
But Xu Shiyou had a deeper consideration, and he called Xu Guang back home.
Xu Shiyou (left)
Because under Xu Guang's conditions, he had a bright future in the naval unit, but now he wanted to transfer his children back to his hometown to work, and Xu Shiyou did not know how to open his mouth for a while.
After the father and son talked for a while, Xu Shiyou said: "Xu Guang, I want you to go back to your hometown to take care of your grandmother."
After Xu Guang listened, it was difficult to accept for a while, because his hometown only had mountains and no sea, and when he returned to his hometown, he had to take off this naval uniform...
But Xu Guang also understood that his father was a big filial piety, he had lived with his grandmother since he was a child, he could understand his father's hard heart, and finally made the most difficult decision in his life: to return to his hometown to do filial piety for his father.
From coastal cities to small counties in mountainous areas, from naval officers to staff officers of the county people's armed forces, such a big gap is difficult for ordinary people to accept, but in order to perform filial piety for his father, Xu Guang quickly adapted to a new life. Because the county town is still some distance away from home, Xu Guang specially bought a bicycle and went back every three to five minutes, with Xu Guang's care, Xu Shiyou's heart can be temporarily put down.
When Xu Mother died, Xu Shiyoujun was pragmatic and busy, unable to find time to return to his hometown to send his mother on the last journey, which made him feel very sorry and guilty, and secretly made a decision: after death, he must be buried next to his mother.
Xu Guang
In 1979, Xu Shiyou knew that he had reached the age of "the king of Yan did not invite himself to go", and he began to arrange his own affairs, writing a letter to his son Xu Guang in his hometown:
Xu Guang:
Mail to cash Wu Shiyuan, use this money to buy me a coffin I will not be cremated after death, to be buried in my hometown, buried in my parents' side, live loyal to the country, die to honor my parents, I am 74 years old this year, my health is very good, I live to eighty or ninety years old, only more than ten years old, you can make preparations first.
After Xu Guang received the letter, he immediately prepared a coffin for him and selected a cemetery according to his father's request.
In fact, Xu Shiyou's request for burial was difficult for many central leaders at that time. As early as the 1950s, Chairman Mao took the lead in advocating cremation, and later at a meeting of the Central Committee, he specifically mentioned this matter: all people were cremated behind their bodies, no remains were left, and no graves were built.
Chairman Mao
Chairman Mao attached great importance to this matter and not only proposed, but also asked the staff to draw up documents:
People go from birth to death, which is the law of nature. After the death of a person, it is normal for people to make proper arrangements, and to take appropriate forms of mourning and mourning. There have been various methods of burying the dead in the history of our country and among the peoples of the world. One of the main methods is burial and cremation, and burial is the most widely used. But burials occupy arable land, waste of wood ...
We therefore propose that, among the few, first and foremost among the leading staff of the State apparatus, and at their own will, be cremated after their own death ...
All employees of state organs who are in favour of the cremation method should sign at the back. Whoever signs the name means that he must be cremated after he dies. After the deceased must ensure that the first deceased fulfills his cremation wish ...
Chairman Mao took the lead in signing his own name on this proposal, and the other leaders, seeing that Chairman Mao had taken the lead, also expressed their support one after another, and signed their own names, except for Ren Bi, who died before Chairman Mao put forward the initiative, so he was still buried in the earth, and then the central leaders died, all of which were buried in the form of earth burial.
Because Xu Shiyou had his own ideas in his heart, he did not express any opinion on Chairman Mao's proposal, nor did he sign the proposal, and everyone talked about it; later Xu Shiyou found an opportunity to meet Chairman Mao and said that he wanted to use the method of earth burial after his death to accompany his mother to live loyally and fulfill filial piety when he died.
Xu Shiyou was Chairman Mao's beloved general, and Chairman Mao also knew Xu Shiyou very well, but because he initiated the cremation of the initiative, and Xu Shiyou was not only a fierce general, but also a great filial piety, Chairman Mao was difficult to handle for a while. In the end, Chairman Mao adopted a tacit attitude toward Xu Shiyou and did not openly express support or opposition, which made Xu Shiyou very moved.
After entering 1985, Xu Shiyou suffered from a variety of diseases, and he felt that time was short, so he reported to the central government again and asked for burial after death. However, because cremation has been practiced for many years after the death of the central leader, Xu Shiyou requested that the documents of the cremation be circulated at the top of the central government, but no one dared to decide.
Finally, Xu Shiyou asked for the report of the burial to be sent to Deng Xiaoping's desk.
Xu Shiyou and Deng Xiaoping forged a deep friendship during the revolutionary war years, and Xu Shiyou once worked under Deng Xiaoping's direct leadership.
The exchange between the two men also had to start from the period of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, when the three main forces of the Red Army were reorganized into the Eighth Route Army, and most of the original Red Fourth Front Army was reorganized into the 129th Division, with Liu Bo as the division commander and Zhang Hao as the political commissar, but later because Zhang Hao was sick and returned to Yan'an for treatment, Chairman Mao sent Deng Xiaoping, deputy director of the Political Department of the Eighth Route Army, to succeed Zhang Hao as the political commissar of the 129th Division.
Deng Xiaoping and Xu Shiyou
At this time, Xu Shiyou was still working at the Yan'an Anti-Japanese War, and when he saw that his comrades-in-arms were all on the front line to kill the enemy, he could not sit still, and repeatedly took the initiative to ask for help to go to the front, and finally was sent to the 386th Brigade of the 129th Division as a deputy brigade commander, partnering with Chen Geng, when Deng Xiaoping served as the political commissar of the 129th Division.
Although the two did not have a long relationship, And Later Xu Shiyou was transferred to Shandong to fight, Xu Shiyou left a deep impression on Deng Xiaoping. After the founding of New China, Xu Shiyou served as the commander of the Nanjing Military Region, deng Xiaoping worked in the central government, and neither of them forgot each other, and Xu Shiyou has always respected this old chief.
In the 1970s, in order to protect Deng Xiaoping's safety, Xu Shiyou also let him live in Guangzhou for a period of time, and Deng Xiaoping was very moved, which also made the relationship between the two quickly increase. Soon after Deng Xiaoping's comeback, the border problem was very serious, and personally commanding Xu Shiyou in the battle showed his trust in him.
In the spring of 1985, when Deng Xiaoping toured south through Nanjing, the first person to visit was Xu Shiyou.
Deng Xiaoping asked Han Peixin, secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee, to convey xu Shiyou to his face. Seeing that the old chief wanted to see himself, Xu Shiyou was very happy in his heart, and immediately said to Han Peixin: "Comrade Xiaoping wants to come to see me, then I will go to the station to meet me."
Deng Xiaoping knew that Xu Shiyou was not in good health and the weather was cold, so he said that he must not go to the station to pick him up, and let him wait at the place where he stayed.
This year Xu Shiyou was just 80 years old, Deng Xiaoping specially brought a bottle of 80-year-old Moutai, Xu Shiyou's favorite drink is Maotai, the two talked very happily...
Deng Xiaoping looked at xu Shiyou's report on the table asking for a burial and couldn't help but recall the past. Xu Shiyou not only made immortal merits for new China, but also a famous filial piety, since ancient times, loyalty and filial piety dilemma, this matter can be specially handled, and finally approved eight big characters: handle it according to this, not as an example.
Subsequently, Wang Zhen came to the Nanjing Military Region with Deng Xiaoping's instructions and said: In his sixty-year career as a horseman, Xu Shiyou was a special person with a special character, special experience, and special contributions. Comrade Deng Xiaoping issued a special pass, which is a special special.
Deng Xiaoping gave Xu Shiyou such a high evaluation, and everyone could not say anything about Xu Shiyou's burial requirements; but also considering the impact of Xu Shiyou's burial, Deng Xiaoping demanded that a memorial service should not be allowed, and that only a farewell ceremony for the remains be held, and at the same time the media could not publicize this matter. Therefore, Xu Shiyou's funeral can only be held "secretly".
In accordance with Xu Shiyou's last wishes, the Nanjing Military Region first sent engineers to Xinxian County to dig a tomb for him, and the coffin was temporarily stored in Nanjing.
After the engineers arrived at the Xu family tomb in Xinxian County, they found a problem, xu Shiyou's previously selected cemetery was relatively low-lying, if it was easy to accumulate water on a rainy day, it was not conducive to the preservation of coffins and bones, and finally with the consent of Xu Shiyou's family, the cemetery of Xu Shiyou was moved to about 40 meters northeast of Xu Shiyou's parents' tomb.
While digging the tomb, the engineers also transported Xu Shiyou's previous customized coffin in his hometown to Nanjing to prepare for burial, but there was another problem, the previous customized coffin was too small to use, and a new coffin had to be remade.
Tomb of Xu Shiyou
Time is very tight, where to find excellent wood? When Xu Shiyou's old subordinate, You Taizhong, then commander of the Guangzhou Military Region, learned of this, he sent people to the primeval forest of Guangxi overnight to look for Nanmu and hurriedly made a new coffin to deliver to Xu Shiyou's tomb.
The news of Xu Shiyou's burial was not made public, and after everything was prepared, it was decided to enlighten the spirit on November 7, 1985.
The motorcade walked for two days and two nights, along the way without honking the horn and not driving lights, arrived at Xu Shiyou's cemetery on the 9th, when it came was late at night, when it arrived, it was also late at night, plus Xu Shiyou's burial was not open to the public, very few people knew, when Xu Shiyou's coffin arrived at the cemetery, there was no outsider to greet, everything was carried out in secret.
At the time of burial, there were People's Liberation Army guards all around, outsiders were not allowed to enter, and photographs and videos were not allowed, the ceremony was very simple, the leaders of the Nanjing Military Region stood in front of the tomb and briefly described the deeds of Xu Shiyou's life, and then put Xu Shiyou's body into the coffin you Taizhong had just made for him, and poured a hemispherical grave with cement.
At first, Xu Shiyou did not erect a tombstone, until the next year, a low-key and simple tombstone was added, and the calligrapher Fan Zeng hand-wrote "Comrade Xu Shiyou's Tomb" in seven big characters.
As we all know, Xu Shiyou's favorite drink before he was born was Maotai, which can be said to be "no wine and no joy", and even in his later years, when he was hospitalized, the doctor "banned alcohol" for him in order to ensure the effect of treatment, but Xu Shiyou tried to get a few bottles of Maotai and took advantage of the medical staff's inattention to hide in the toilet to secretly drink a few sips.
Because Xu Shiyou is buried in his hometown, many people who come to worship him will bring a bottle of his favorite Moutai wine and place it in front of the tomb, and over time, it will build a wall and become a "special" landscape.
End of this article