The story behind "Da Tong Gou Election Documentary"
Duan Lijie
The Jireliao Daily, published on April 2, 1946, contained a precious historical record about chengde city after the first liberation, the "Record of the Election of Datonggou", which recorded history and the story behind it to record history and why the people chose the code of the Chinese Communist Party.
Small places, big people
The small place of Datonggou in Chengde City, due to historical opportunities, formed an indissoluble relationship with the famous writer Fang Ji and his wife Huang Renxiao.
When we think of the famous writer Fang Ji (1919-1998), the first thing that comes to mind is the narrative essay "Between the Waves" that was selected for the middle school textbook. Fang Ji's article records the scene of the people's leader Mao Zedong sending Chairman Mao to the airport in August 1945 before he rushed to Chongqing for 43 days of Negotiations with the Kuomintang and the Communist Party.
Fang Ji was a native of Shulu County (present-day Xinji City) in Hebei Province. During his studies in Beiping, he participated in the "129 Movement". He joined the Communist Party of China in 1936 and joined the "Left-Wing Writers Union". At the beginning of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he successively did political propaganda work in Wuhan, Changsha, Chongqing and other places, and in 1939, he went to Yan'an and worked in the Central Party School, the Cultural Association, the Marxist-Leninist College, and the Liberation Daily.
Fang Ji's wife, Huang Renxiao (formerly known as Huang Yinxiao), was originally a Thai overseas Chinese, and after the Japanese invasion of China broke out in full swing, in order to save the devastated motherland, she resolutely left her family and came to China. She remembers the long conversation her father had with her in early 1938 when she was chased back. When my father talked about moving overseas, talking about the Xi'an Incident, and talking about China's War of Resistance Against Japan, he was deeply dissatisfied with Chiang Kai-shek's policy of non-resistance, and he was very much in agreement with the Anti-Japanese ideas of the Communist Party of China and Chairman Mao, and finally my father said to her: "If you must return to China, I will not stop you, but you must find Mao Zedong, you must resist Japan, and Chinese cannot be a slave to the country who can be slaughtered by others." In 1940, she finally came to Yan'an. A newsletter she published in the "Liberation Daily" entitled "Chairman Mao Visits Comrade Guan Xiangying" caused a sensation throughout Yan'an because of its touching plot, vivid, bright, and refined writing, and quiet, elegant, and fresh style.
Fang Ji and Huang Renxiao "used literature as a medium to tie the knot" and married on August 1, 1942.
File photo: Fang Ji and Huang Renxiao
As soon as the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was won, Fang Ji and his wife Huang Renxiao left the Yan'an revolutionary base area and rushed to the front line of the War of Liberation. The night before his departure, Fang Ji wrote the essay "To the Masses", which was later included in his collection of essays. On September 25, 1945, they set out from Yan'an and detoured to the revolutionary base area in eastern Hebei to Chengde, the capital of Rehe Province. They actively participated in social surveys, land reform and the suppression of bandits.
In April 1946, the Rehe Provincial Federation for the Salvation of the Nation in Literary and Art Circles was established, with Fang Ji as deputy director, and Xu Maoyong, the director of the comprehensive journal "Boom", and held a cultural and art school, working in Mashi Street, close to Datonggou. One morning, Fang Ji's lover Huang Renxiao witnessed the whole process of the residents of Datonggou Street electing the mayor and members of the street, and quickly wrote down the "Record of the Election of Datonggou", which was published by the Jireliao Daily on April 2, 1946. The small place of Datonggou in Chengde City thus formed an indissoluble relationship with a well-known national journalist such as Fang Ji and his lover Huang Renxiao.
Small stories, big impacts
"Datonggou Election Record" truthfully records the small story of the democratic election in Datonggou in Chengde City. Through this article, a vivid image of the characters and pictures of participating in the election appear vividly in front of our eyes.
On the morning of March 25, 1946, a group of citizens of Datonggou Street in Chengde City came to a compound with a door number 25 full of joy, and even those who were doing business gave up their business and rushed to come.
This is the election of the Tai Tong Gou Street Office. In everyone's words, it is that "the people themselves choose their own people, which has never been done since ancient times, and this is the first time" "In the past, officials sent street chiefs, street chiefs served officials, and we ordinary people had enough to eat the suffering of 'hard work and service'!" "Whoever wants to be able to plan for our people and make our lives better and better every day, we will support whom!"
A wall in the courtyard is a blackboard on which is inscribed a list of 18 candidates proposed by each lu (lǘ, the ancient five houses are ratios, and the five ratios are lu). A little further ahead, a square table was set up with 7 large red flowers on it.
The list of 18 candidates is a person who has a good eye and can do things by various people.
Voters introduced 4 more literate people to be the ghostwriters of the unrecognizable voters. People over the age of 18, men and women, rich or poor, participated in the elections. Those who can write write on the ballot paper who they want to choose, and those who can't write find ghostwriters to write.
The election, which was somewhat chaotic but full of laughter, was soon over. Voters await the outcome of the election. After receiving the votes, he began to count and sing the votes, and the small "positive" words on the blackboard were written neatly and seriously.
Chengde City Archives Collection: Jireliao Daily, April 2, 1946
Half an hour later, the election results came out: Guan Jingxian, who had the most votes, followed by Ren Baocai, Sun Wenyuan, Wang Yaqing, Wang Jiansan, Liu Yunting, and Zhang Zhijia. These 7 were elected as street commissioners, and everyone urged them to go to the stage, wear large red flowers on their chests, and play the folk comedy song "Omiya Tune" on the loudspeaker.
Guan Jingxian, who was elected as the street chief, stood on the stage and spoke to the voters: "Everyone can look up to me and support me, let's do things together in the future, discuss how to build Datong Ditch, run cooperatives, and clean up and don't leave people behind..."
Voters, with a satisfied smile on their faces, clapped their hands and applauded: "Happy event! wedding! ”
Chengde Municipal Archives Collection: Rehe Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China on the Current Administrative Program (Published from "Boom")
This little story occurred five months ago on November 1, 1945, when rehe Province, as the earliest liberated area in the country after the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan, held a provincial people's congress. Representatives of all ethnic groups and all walks of life in the province gathered together to discuss the grand plan of building a new river of democracy, freedom and prosperity. The meeting elected a new Rehe provincial government, adopted the administrative program of a provincial-level political power earlier under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the "Rehe Provincial Party Committee's Administrative Program for the Present Situation," and raised the banner of the first provincial-level democratic regime led by the Communist Party, which had a great impact on the whole country. This small story recorded in the "Record of the Election of Datonggou" confirms that the Rehe Liberated Area has truly realized the people's mastery.
Many people are illiterate and vote with soybeans
Small elections, big democracy
The small election recorded in the "Record of the Da Tonggou Election" is only a microcosm of the Chinese Communist Party's general democratic election campaign. Scene after scene of such small elections, which continue to flash throughout the Liberated Areas, reflects the great democracy in which the people are truly masters of their own affairs and have become a reality in the Liberated Areas.
China is an ancient civilization with a long history, more than two thousand years of feudal history, more than ten years of warlord chaos, coupled with a thousand years of unchanged farming culture, strong rural clan relations, the masses of the people do not even have their own land, let alone any democracy, as for elections, only educated and knowledgeable people have heard of it.
Only the Communist Party of China founded the Chinese Soviet power, practiced the purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly, and played the historical prelude of the people's election system. Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out in his discussion of the new democratic political system in early 1940: "It is necessary to implement a truly universal and equal electoral system without distinctions between men and women, beliefs, property, education, etc., so as to be suitable for the position of all revolutionary classes in the state, for expressing the will of the people and directing the revolutionary struggle, and for the spirit of new democracy."
On November 1, 1945, all the delegates of the People's Congress of Rehe Province took a group photo
The gradual introduction of the democratic election system has truly aroused the people, awakened the masses of workers and peasants, who account for 90 percent of the country, and truly realized the people's desire to be masters of their own affairs. Ownership can be manifested in many ways, but the most important is the implementation of democratic elections, "democratic politics, election first".
Through democratic elections, the people's desire for democracy, freedom and equality has been fully stimulated, the awareness of participation in politics has been aroused, and the right to be the masters of their own affairs has been fully exercised. This will play an important role in mobilizing the masses to defend the fruits of victory in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and in carrying out the great decisive battle to end the old China and create a new China.
File photo: Fang Ji and Huang Renxiao's family in 1977
The precious historical material of "Record of the Da Tonggou Election" carries the code of history and the people's choice of the Cpc: The CPC is the vanguard of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation, and the CPC represents the fundamental interests of the broadest masses of the People in China.