Railroad soldier culture trivia
Author: Liu Jinlong, former Railway Corps Headquarters Office
Culture is the crystallization of human beings engaged in material and spiritual activities.
There are many types of cultures, such as high-level and large-scale cultures such as national culture, ethnic culture, ancient culture, and modern culture; the culture of different regions such as central plains culture, Hetao culture, and Naxi culture; and there are also various thematic cultures in society. As an army, there is a culture with military characteristics, and as a military branch, there is a unique culture of the army. The railway soldier culture is the wonder in the hundred gardens of the military culture.
The culture of railway soldiers has inherited not only the excellent culture of the Chinese nation, but also the red army culture of the Chinese workers' and peasants' Red Army. The railway soldier culture was formed and developed by the railway troops in the course of the War of Liberation, the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the War to Resist us in Vietnam, and socialist construction. In the past, the railway soldiers were road construction workers in military uniforms as a special soldier; now, after the collective transfer of railway soldiers, China Railway Construction is a railway soldier who does not wear military uniforms.
Railroad culture is multicultural and mainly has the following aspects:
The first is a unique battlefield culture. As a wartime support unit, the railway soldiers cultivated the spirit of "not being afraid of suffering and not being afraid of death" in the protracted revolutionary war, and the battlefield culture formed in the rush to repair the railway is the spiritual force that encourages the commanders and fighters not to be afraid of sacrifice. This battlefield cultural strength was transformed into combat effectiveness, and one victory after another was achieved. During the Liberation War, "when the field army hits there, the railway will be built there", and the railway troops successfully completed a large amount of transportation support work, making important contributions to winning the victory in the war and liberating all of China. In the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea and aid Vietnam to resist the United States, the railway soldiers created "steel transportation lines that cannot be broken and constantly exploded" on the Korean battlefield and the Vietnamese battlefield, ensuring that all kinds of military supplies and daily necessities are transported to the front in a timely manner, and making major contributions to winning the victory of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea and the War to Resist Vietnam and resist the United States. The culture of the battlefield has been more prominently manifested in the Vietnamese battlefield; since there is no confrontation with the AMERICAN aggressors on the ground, the ideological and political work on the battlefield can be carried out more effectively; at the stations, bridges, and main repair sections, Chairman Mao's quotations such as "Make up your mind, not be afraid of sacrifice, overcome all difficulties, and strive for victory, as well as other propaganda slogans and agitating slogans can be seen everywhere, which has played a very good role in encouraging and promoting commanders and fighters to ensure the smooth flow of the railway in the midst of the enemy's wild bombardment
The second is the railway culture that benefits the people. Various thematic cultures in society, such as tea culture, wine culture, vinegar culture, etc., have a long history, while the railway culture history is short but thick and broad. Each new railway is the result of the sweat and wisdom of the commanders and fighters of the railway soldiers. In the period of socialist construction, our country needs to vigorously build railways, and the most arduous task of road construction is entrusted to the railway soldiers by the state. In particular, the completion of high-difficulty and high-tech railways such as the Chengdu-Kunming Railway, the Xiangyu Railway, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, and the Beijing Subway has made the world sigh with its high cultural content! The soldier song "Railway Soldiers Are Determined in the Four Directions" writes about the hearts and wills of the railway soldiers in road construction. It shows the railway culture of hard work and smart work for the country to build roads for the benefit of the people and take pride in suffering. Cultural power is transformed into productive forces, sweat is sprinkled on the ground today, and splendid mountains and rivers are woven into the railway network tomorrow. The brave and good-fighting railway soldiers overcame all kinds of difficulties and hardships and played a commando role in railway construction, national defense construction, and emergency rescue and disaster relief. The railway soldiers have made significant contributions to the social development and economic construction of our country. The railroads are the planters, and the railroads are the propaganda teams. A song "Heavenly Road" sang the voice of people's hearts, and dragons crossed the mountains and mountains to bring well-being to the snowy plateau. It was a magical heavenly road that brought the warmth of the world to the frontier. Since then, the mountains are no longer high, the roads are no longer long, and the people of all ethnic groups gather together. In the foreign aid project, the Pyongyang subway, which is mainly constructed by the railway soldiers, and the Zantan Railway, which has the participation of railway soldiers, have shown the world the thickness and breadth of China's railway culture.
The third is the colorful culture of cultural and sports activities. A great man once said that "an army without culture is a stupid army." Due to the suspension of schools during the Cultural Revolution, the education level of young people conscripted into the army in that special era was relatively low. The railway soldiers fought in the lofty mountains and mountains of the remote areas of the motherland, and the cultural life was relatively boring and poor. Under the circumstance that the material conditions are very limited, how to make the cultural and sports life of the railway soldiers rich and colorful, so as to enhance the combat effectiveness of the troops. The units tried their best, such as organizing singing competitions, and on the eve of the open-air movie screening, the company and the company sang louder and higher than the waves, showing the high morale of the officers and men. Another example is the organization of watching various literary and artistic performances, and the performances of the troops under some professional literary and artistic groups have enriched the cultural life of the grass-roots units. For example, the condolence performances at the grass-roots level under the Railway Corps Cultural and Labor Troupe, the touring performances of the division and regiment literary and artistic propaganda teams to the company, and so on. The regular self-amusement activities were mainly written and performed by the company cadres and soldiers, especially in the era when there was no television, and most of the weekends and holiday soldiers spent in self-entertainment. Although the camp has limited space, table tennis and various chess activities can be carried out frequently. Even if the conditions for aiding Vietnam and resisting the United States and China are very limited, you can find a cave to play ping-pong. Officers and men who like ball games have tried to open up venues, and some camps can only accommodate half a court and a basketball rack, and can also play a unique basketball game.
The fourth is the culture of military reclamation according to local conditions. After Wang Zhen, the brigade commander of the 359th Brigade, became the commander of the railway troops, the old general brought the spirit of Nanniwan to the railway troops. In the era of relatively scarce supplies, the food costs of army soldiers are four dimes per person per day, it is very difficult to improve good food, and the railway soldiers who are engaged in heavy physical labor are eager to eat better. In order to improve food and improve the combat effectiveness of the troops, the Nenjiang Farm built by the Logistics Department of the Railway Corps in the northeast has a bumper harvest every year, and timely transfers rice, soybeans, and other food to the troops, thus enriching the rice bags of the troops. However, the problem of the troops' food basket needs to be solved on its own. Fortunately, most of the railway soldiers lived next to the sparsely populated woods and hills, and the soldiers carried forward the spirit of Nanniwan to open up the land and plant vegetables, and many soldiers also mailed seeds from their hometowns and raised their own pigs while growing their own vegetables. Although the tense construction during the day was very tiring, the officers and men in the morning and evening also had to water and fertilize all kinds of vegetables that "reserved land." The role of military reclamation culture in aiding Vietnam and resisting the United States was even more obvious. In the early days of Vietnam, I ate canned food and dehydrated vegetables every day, and I was very uncomfortable for a long time. Although the phrase "do not eat green for three days, and have Venus in both eyes" is a bit exaggerated, it is impossible to eat fresh vegetables for a long time, which is not good for human health and thus affects the combat effectiveness of the troops. After adapting to the local environment and obtaining permission from the Vietnamese side, the troops opened up land and planted vegetables according to local conditions, which quickly improved the lives of the troops. Do it yourself, eat and drink. As a modern soldier, clothing is guaranteed, so the only reward for doing it yourself is "enough food". The officers and men deeply felt that the pigs they raised were particularly fragrant to eat, and the vegetables they grew were particularly delicious.
Fifth, the culture of military history that advances with the times. The history and culture of the Railway Corps has continued since its abolition. With the continuous advancement of the wheel of the times, in the past, the railway soldiers built ordinary railways, and now china railway construction is building high-speed railways, and the railway soldier culture has also continued to develop with the development of the times. History depends on the convergence of culture, and culture keeps pace with history. Among the books describing the history of the railway soldiers, there are mainly Chinese the volume of the "Railway Soldiers" series of historical materials of the People's Liberation Army, the historical materials of the railway soldiers' memories, and the memorabilia of the railway soldiers, which objectively, fairly and comprehensively reflect the combat history of the railway soldiers. The establishment of the Railway Soldier Memorial Hall and the China Railway Exhibition Hall recorded and displayed the glorious history of the Railway Soldiers in writing and physical objects. It is worth mentioning that the inheritors of the military history culture also built the "Railway Soldier Museum" on the Chengkun Line; those who helped Vietnam and resisted the United States edited and published two memoirs, "The Heroic Wind of the Iron Army" and "The Iron-Blooded Division", which truly recorded the history of the Railway Soldiers' aid to vietnam and the War against the United States. Comrades-in-arms who are enthusiastic about public welfare undertakings have raised funds to build the "Memorial Garden for Aiding Vietnam to Resist the United States" in Fuzhou, and Comrade Zhang Jinchun of Jingzhou, Hubei Province, has established the "Museum of Aiding Vietnam and Resisting the United States" at his home, adding luster to the military history and culture of railway soldiers! Taking history as a mirror can make clear our minds, and using history as a mirror can love the party, the country, and enterprises even more. This is the subtle role played by the military history culture of the railway soldiers.
The report of the Eighteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China has long pointed out: "To build a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way and realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, we must promote the great development and prosperity of socialist culture." In this period of great cultural development and prosperity, the culture of railway soldiers will also be passed down forever by china railway construction without military uniforms, and will be better prospered and developed.
Curriculum vitae of Liu Jinlong Male, Han ethnicity; Shanghai native, born in December 1943; college culture, CPC member; enlisted in the army in September 1961, successively served as soldier, squad leader, platoon leader, regiment propaganda unit officer, division propaganda section officer, secretary of the office of the railway corps headquarters; transferred to Baosteel in October 1978, successively served as the chief of the research section, deputy department-level researcher; and the director of the Shanghai Institute of Systems Engineering. He retired in December 2003.
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