In 1934, Xie Zichang, who commanded the battle on the front line, bravely advanced, but unfortunately was hit in the chest by the enemy and was seriously wounded. At the beginning of the following year, Xie Zichang, who had been elected chairman of the Northwest Revolutionary Military Commission, died in Anding County on February 21 of that year at the age of 38 due to his deteriorating injuries.
Xie Zichang died in early 1935, and when the Party Central Committee and the Red Army's Long March successfully reached northern Shaanxi, it was already October, and eight months had passed, so Mao Zedong and Xie Zichang had not met, but mao Zedong had written an inscription for Xie Zichang three times in Yan'an.
Xie Zichang and Liu Zhidan
In 1897, Xie Zichang was born in Anding County, Shaanxi Province, and studied at Xi'an Provincial No. 1 Middle School, Yulin Middle School, and Taiyuan Cadet Corps, and then returned to Anding County to establish a militia group, and joined the Communist Party of China in 1925. Since then, Xie Zichang and Liu Zhidan have overcome all kinds of difficulties together and worked hard to create a revolutionary base area in the northwest.
At the beginning of 1934, Xie Zichang was seriously wounded in the battle, so he returned to the rear to recuperate, but at that time, the revolutionary team was in a difficult environment, and Xie Zichang's injuries gradually worsened. Before his death, he had been waiting for Liu Zhidan's arrival, and just after the New Year, Liu Zhidan came. As long-time comrades-in-arms, the two embraced each other as soon as they met, and then the two revolutionary comrades-in-arms began to exchange ideas on the revolutionary issues at that time.
Xie Zichang
Although it was an exchange of revolutionary work, in fact, Xie Zichang, who was seriously ill, was explaining the aftermath to his revolutionary comrades-in-arms. Xie Zichang told Liu Zhidan: "Old Liu, I have been hurt to this extent, the chairman of the Northwest Military Commission is up to you", Liu Zhidan disagreed, "As long as you are in one day, this chairman wants you to be the chairman", and then the two began to quarrel, until Xie Zichang issued an order.
Before Liu Zhidan left, he touched Xie Zichang's futon and said that it was too thin, and he could not be frozen, but Xie Zichang replied that it was not thin, it was hot and not cold, and from their simple conversation, we could see the hardship of the conditions at that time.
Xie Zichang's son Xie Shaoming was already 10 years old at the time, Liu Zhidan asked him what he would do when he grew up, Xie Shaoming replied that he wanted to become a soldier of the Red Army like his father, Xie Zichang was very pleased when he heard it, and immediately said that when he grew up, he would join the Red Army with Uncle Liu. That is to say, Xie Zichang, who was seriously injured, had already planned to entrust his son to his revolutionary comrades-in-arms, but only more than a year later, Liu Zhidan also died on the battlefield.
Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region
Xie Zichang successively led and participated in the Qingjian Uprising and the Weihua Uprising, participated in the creation of the Northwest Red Army and the opening up of the Shaanxi-Gansu Base Area, and it was this later Northwest Revolutionary Base Area that provided a foothold for the Party Central Committee and the Red Army. Mao Zedong once said: "I say that northern Shaanxi is two points, one foothold and one starting point." The base area that Xie Zichang participated in creating became a new starting point for the Communist Party of China and contributed to the development and growth of the revolutionary cause later.
After Xie Zichang's death, due to his great influence in the northwest base area, in order to avoid the enemy taking advantage of the situation, after Xie Zichang's burial, the documents of the Northwest Military Commission were still issued in the name of Xie Zichang. By 1939, the revolutionary situation in northern Shaanxi had greatly improved, the party committee of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region decided to formally repair the tomb for the founder of the base area, and thousands of people from the party, government, military, and civilian groups participated in the burial ceremony of Comrade Xie Zichang.
Mao Zedong inscribed the inscription
In 1939, Mao Zedong received Xie Shaoyan, the youth minister of FuXian County, who was Xie Zichang's nephew, and xie Zichang's nephew Bai Zhuowu. Mao Zedong inquired in detail about Xie Zichang's family, confirmed whether there were any difficulties, highly praised Xie Zichang's revolutionary contributions, and encouraged his family. After that, Mao Zedong asked the two to go to the mountain to measure the size of the stone stele and write down the inscription "Although dead and alive" and Xie Zi Changshengping, this was the second time Mao Zedong had written an inscription for Xie Zichang.
In 1943, the Northwest Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region Government decided to build the Zichang Mausoleum, the location was selected in Wayao Fort, three years later the Zichang Martyrs Cemetery was completed, on the 11th anniversary of Xie Zichang's sacrifice, his coffin was moved to the Zichang Martyrs Cemetery, after the memorial service, Mao Zedong once again wrote an inscription for Xie Zichang: "Comrade Xie Zichang has been in the past, going forward and succeeding, and overthrowing the people's enemies"! This was the third time that Mao Zedong had written an inscription for Xie Zichang.
Mao Zedong was in northern Shaanxi
Xie Zichang's family was a revolutionary family. His older brother, Xie Dehui, joined the revolution in 1925 and joined the Communist Party of China two years later. He dedicated everything he had to the revolutionary cause, and Xie Dehui had 6 sons, three of whom joined the Red Army, two of whom died on the battlefield and became martyrs. He sold all his family property, dozens of acres of land, a hundred sheep, a donkey, a horse, and two cows, into silver dollars to buy ammunition for the guerrillas.
In 1936, less than two years after the death of his younger brother Xie Zichang, Xie Dehui died. Before his death, Xie Dehui was still fighting the enemy, hiding in the hidden woods during the day and returning to the town at night to distribute leaflets to encourage the masses to struggle.
Inscription by Mao Zedong
Xie Zhanyuan, the second brother of Xie Zichang, was always indomitable under the severe torture of the enemy and was eventually killed by the enemy, and he was only one of the families of Xie Zichang's family who dedicated their lives to the revolution. According to the statistics of later generations, a total of 26 people in Xie Zichang's family joined the revolution, of which 9 became revolutionary martyrs.
It is precisely because of the heroic struggle of countless martyrs that we have a good life today. Draught does not forget to dig wells, remember the martyrs, do what is beneficial to the people, and be beneficial to the people!