"Longtan Sanjie" is the youngest one
He was China's earliest martial arts movie star, known as the "Oriental Fan Punk"; he was the president of the "Great Wall News Agency", a secret service organization of the Kuomintang "Central Unification" in Tianjin; and his real identity was that of a senior intelligence officer of the CCP's special branch under zhou Enlai. Who is the highest-profile movie star and the lowest-profile lurking agent, who is he? He was Hu Di, a red agent who crisscrossed the battlefield without the smoke of gunfire and saved the Party and the Red Army in a critical moment. Together with Qian Zhuangfei and Li Kenong, he was also known as the "Three Masters of Longtan" and was the most outstanding representative figure in the history of the CCP's struggle on the hidden front. Both Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai mentioned many times: If it were not for the "Three Masters of Longtan," the history of the CCP would have been rewritten.
Acting in martial arts films is likened to van punk
Hu Di was born on March 10, 1905, to a family of industrialists and landlords in Songyuan Village, Xinjie, Ganfenhe Town, Shucheng County, Anhui Province, where Zhou Yu was born. Formerly known as Hu Baichang, aliases include North Wind, Huma, And Tiantian. In 1921, Hu Di was admitted to hefei Provincial No. 2 Middle School with excellent results, and after two years of study, he was admitted to the university.
In 1924, Hu Di was introduced by his classmate Wu Luming and met Qian Zhuangfei at the Anhui Guild Hall in Beijing. Mr. and Mrs. Qian Zhuangfei were studying at the Beijing Medical College at the time, and the two became close friends from then on. At that time, Qian Zhuangfei lived in Ping'anli, Xicheng, Beijing, and Hu Di often went to qian Zhuangfei to talk. In 1925, Hu Di and Qian Zhuangfei joined the Communist Party of China. In 1926, Hu Di graduated from college and has been living in Qian's house.
At the same time, Qian Zhuangfei, Hu Di and Xu Guanghua jointly established a film company "Guanghua Film Company". At that time, "Yanshan Xiayin" was an early feature film in China, which was sent to Japan for screening.
Hu Di and Qian Zhuangfei's whole family joined the battle, and they all became actors in the play, and Qian Zhuangfei's 11-year-old daughter Zhen Zhen also played a role in the film. After this, Zhen Zhen assumed the pseudonym Li Lili. Hu Di and Qian Zhuangfei played the roles in the film while using this to cover up the secret work of the party.
At that time, Qian Zhuangfei often invited some comrades to his home to play cards, and the party's secret meetings were held on the mahjong table; Qian Zhuangfei and his wife also packed the party's secret documents and slogan leaflets in a leather bag painted with red crosses in the name of "practicing medicine" and took advantage of the opportunity of "going to the doctor" to pass them around everywhere; they also ran into the streets under the cover of night, stuffed leaflets into the cracks in the doors of residents' homes, posted them in the streets and alleys, and circled around the alleys with reactionary police and secret agents; sometimes on holidays, the whole family went out to row boats in Beihai Park. Separately, I posted the flyers I brought to all corners of the park.
He was China's earliest martial arts film star, known as the "Oriental Fan punk"; he served as the president of the "Great Wall News Agency", a secret service organization of the Kuomintang "Central Unification" in Tianjin; and his real identity was that of a senior intelligence officer of the CCP under the leadership of Zhou Enlai.
Hu Di, a red agent who saved the Party and the Red Army in a critical moment on a battlefield without smoke of gunfire, together with Qian Zhuangfei and Li Kenong, was called the "Three Masters of Longtan".
In 1927, Chiang Kai-shek created the "April 12" counter-revolutionary coup. On April 28, Li Dazhao was killed by Zhang Zuolin in Beijing, and comrades who knew each other almost every day "disappeared" since then. Hu Di and Qian Zhuangfei were also blacklisted by the enemy and wanted by the reactionary government. After Hu Di received the alarm from the party organization, he immediately changed his name to HuMa, the word "North Wind"; Qian Zhuangfei and he changed their names at the same time, becoming "Nanfei".
This winter, they left Beijing together and moved to Shanghai. In the spring of 1928, Hu Di infiltrated the Shanghai Film Company as an actor in the Jiangwan Kunlun Film Studio, specializing in martial arts films, and starred as the male protagonist in martial arts films such as "Pansi Cave" and "Kunlun Thief", known as "Oriental Fan Punk".
Who is Van Punk? I believe that in addition to the ashes of the film fans, not many people remember the most famous action star in the United States in the 1920s. Van Punk starred in "The Mask of Zorro", bringing the image of the folk hero to the screen for the first time. In 1919, together with Chaplin, he founded the United American Film Company, producing a series of classics such as City Lights and Modern Times.
Comparing Hu Di to Van Punk shows his position in the Shanghai film industry at that time.
Just when Hu Di applied for the Shanghai Film Company, Qian Zhuangfei had already entered the Shanghai Radio Administration, where Xu En, the head of the Central Command, had served as the director, and was trusted by Xu. In December, Hu Di was assigned by the organization to work in the Shanghai Radio Administration.
After entering the secret service organization, Hu Dixian presided over the "Minzhi News Agency" in Nanjing, and in the second half of 1930, he was sent to Tianjin to prepare for the establishment of the Great Wall News Agency.
When Hu Di was working in Tianjin, he first found a house in the French Concession and later moved to the Japanese Concession. Because the Japanese concession authorities did not approve, in the end, Qian Zhuangfei personally went out on the horse, found some personal friends to help, and actually "invited" Kenji Doihara, the head of the Japanese secret service, to open the door and obtain approval to open a four-story building at No. 5 Akiyama Street in the Japanese Concession.
In those days in Tianjin, Hu Di had to go to the street almost every day to "interview", that is, to engage in intelligence, but he did not travel mysteriously like the agents in novels and movies, and often went to various places in the name of interviews.
Hu Di likes to play mahjong very much, which has become his main means of spying on intelligence and pulling relations in Tianjin. Hu Di asked Zhang Jia'an (Qian Zhuangfei's brother-in-law) to copy down the news of Tianjin's main newspapers and periodicals every day and send them to the headquarters of the Nanjing Yangtze River News Agency, which was a message to the secret service organization, but the really valuable information was sent to Li Kenong.
At that time, Hu Di formed an iron triangle with Qian Zhuangfei and Li Kenong, Qian Zhuangfei held an important position in Nanjing, Li Kenong stayed in Shanghai to preside over the work, and Hu Di served as the president of the "Great Wall News Agency" in Tianjin.
In April 1931, Gu Shunzhang was arrested and defected. On the night of Gu Shunzhang's rebellion, Li Kenong sent a telegram to Hu Di in code: "Hu Di, Ke Chao is sick. This is the code code they agreed upon in advance: "Ke" means Li Kenong, "Chao" refers to Qian Zhuangfei's alias Qian Chao, and "sick Du" means that the situation is serious and must be acted upon immediately.
After Hu Di received the telegram, he could not come up with enough money to buy a ticket. Still Qian Zhuangfei's brother-in-law Zhang Jiayan hurriedly sold his lover's bracelet, and then stuffed the money into Hu Di to let him go quickly. Hu Di left Tianjin on a foreign ship, but did not go directly to Shanghai, but disembarked halfway through.
The disguised Hu Di tossed and turned to pick up with Qian Zhuangfei at a small railway station in Shanghai, and then left Shanghai by boat together, arriving in the Soviet area and completely getting rid of the pursuit.
Zhou once spoke highly of the work of the three of them: "The three of them went deep into the Dragon Pond Tiger Cave, which can be said to be the Three Masters of Longtan. Without Longtan Sanjie, history would have been rewritten. ”
Because in Zhou's mind, the "Three Masters of Longtan" made outstanding contributions to the party. If they did not pass on the information in time after Gu Shunzhang caught the rebellion, they might be devastated and a large number of people would fall into the hands of the enemy.
Versatile playwright in the Soviet Union
At the end of 1931, Hu Di, Qian Zhuangfei and Li Kenong arrived in the Central Soviet Region one after another, and Hu Di served as the chief of the interrogation section of the executive department of the State Political Protection Bureau. In the more than 3 years in the Soviet Zone, Hu Di was quick-witted and passionate, not only creatively organizing the Red Army to carry out colorful cultural and recreational activities according to local conditions, but also creating many short and concise dramas for the troops to perform, becoming the most prolific drama writer in the Soviet Zone.
In December 1931, Zhao Bosheng and Dong Zhentang led 17,000 people of the Kuomintang 26th Route Army to launch an uprising in Ningdu, Jiangxi Province, joined the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, and reorganized it into the Fifth Army of the Red Army. In order to comfort the rebel soldiers and publicize our party's policies, Mao Zedong personally summoned Hu Di, Qian Zhuangfei, Li Bozhao, and others and asked them to organize a propaganda team to do condolence work. According to Li Bozhao's recollection, Hu Di reported to Mao Zedong that the propaganda team that went to the Red Fifth Army to do propaganda and agitation work was organized, a total of 17 people. Mao Zedong instructed that, first, to stabilize their political mood, they had fought for the warlords in the past and now they were fighting for the Soviets. The second is to let the rebel soldiers understand through performances who they sacrificed for before and for whom they died. According to Mao Zedong's opinion, the three immediately created a drama "For Whom to Sacrifice", which mainly tells the story of a White Army soldier who was pulled by the Kuomintang to go to Jiangxi to "suppress bandits", his wife was living in the streets begging and singing, the White Army soldier was defeated and captured by the Red Army, after several twists and turns, he decided to join the revolution and become the Red Army, and finally met his wife in Ruijin. In this "big drama", Hu Di and Li Bozhao starred as young couples, and Qian Zhuangfei played Chiang Kai-shek. When the rebel troops performed, the effect was surprisingly good. After the end of the play, the venue broke out into warm applause. This play was performed in the army for more than a month and had a huge impact. In order to educate the middle and senior officers of the former 26th Route Army, Comrades Hu Di and other comrades also performed plays with different contents and characteristics according to different objects and people of different levels. They performed "Black Slave Hate," based on the Soviet drama "Black Calling heaven." This play is about how slave owners oppress black slaves. On the surface, this play is not about China or the Red Fifth Army, but from the inhuman torture suffered by the black slaves, a feeling of revenge and hatred for the black slaves has risen in the hearts of the officers, and many people have been moved to tears. These theatrical performances in which Hu Di participated played an excellent educational role in the transformation of the ningdu rioters.
On June 26, 1933, the Central Bureau of the Communist Party of China in the Soviet Union decided to make August 1 every year the anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army from 1933 onwards. Around the time of "August 1st", a grand celebration was held in the Central Soviet District, and the literary and artistic performances of various units were unprecedented. Based on Zhou Enlai's belly draft, Hu Di wrote the script "Kill Lushan". The cast of the play is spectacular, Hu Di and Li Bozhao, Li Kenong, Qian Zhuangfei and other co-screenwriters, Zhou Enlai reviewed the script, Luo Ruiqing as the director, Nie Rongzhen as the character Song Ziwen, Qian Zhuangfei as Chiang Kai-shek, Tong Xiaopeng as Song Meiling, Li Zhuoran as the German consultant Seckert, and the other main actors, almost all of them were Red Army generals whose names were thunderous in the revolutionary war. As for the audience, it was the officers and men of the Red Army represented by Mao Zedong and Zhu De. When the play was performed, the atmosphere was high, and at the climax (the Red Army entered the Camp of Chiang Kai-shek in Lushan, Jiangxi), there was a thunderous up and down the stage, which played a great role in boosting the morale of the troops.
In more than 3 years in the Soviet District, Hu Di stimulated great creative enthusiasm. The early actor experience, the life experience of engaging in underground work, and the vigorous social environment of the Soviet Union have provided rich materials and references for his script creation, and he has created a wide range of themes, profound content, distinct themes and strong artistry. There are both "Shenyang Cannon", which exposes the brutality and ferocity of the Japanese Kou and the heroic struggle of the masses of the people, as well as "Class", which reveals the cruel class oppression of the old society and the strong resistance of the working people; there is both "Volunteer Army", which shows the anti-Gort uprising of the soldiers of the White Army, and "Squirrel", a revolutionary detective drama that reflects the anti-defense work in the Soviet union. His literary and artistic genius and creative ability were praised by Nie Rongzhen and other leading comrades and admired by the vast number of Red Army commanders and fighters. Nie Rongzhen commented in his memoirs: "Especially Comrade Hu Di, he loves literature and art and has a great creative talent. Li Kenong also said that among their "three masters", Hu Di was the youngest, and his writing talent was the best.
Heroic blood spilled on the Long March
In October 1934, Hu Di began the Long March with the Central Red Army. Soon, he was ordered to the Red Army, serving as the chief of the reconnaissance section of the Security Bureau of the Headquarters of the Red Army, and serving as a pioneer for the large troops. Outstanding achievements have been made in reconnaissance of enemy spies to poison, smash the enemy's incitement to incite people's hearts and minds along the way, and armed sabotage. Hu Di was very conscientious about his work and resolutely carried out the instructions of his superiors. Whenever the reconnaissance section of the headquarters went to a place, he did his best to search for all kinds of intelligence data, analyze and sort it out in a timely manner, and send it to the headquarters for reference in studying the enemy's situation. Every time he accepted an important reconnaissance task, he thought carefully and carefully arranged it, arranged the work, explained the task very specifically, and repeatedly instructed the scouts to have a few hands to prepare just in case.
However, such an excellent Red Army reconnaissance cadre and intelligence expert was actually killed by Zhang Guotao on the Long March Road.
After the Red First and Fourth Fronts joined the divisions, in August 1935, the Central Revolutionary Military Commission divided the Red Army into left and right routes and went north. Zhu De, commander-in-chief of the Red Army, Zhang Guotao, general political commissar, and Liu Bocheng, chief of the general staff, accompanied the Left Route Army. The central column of Hu Di was divided into two, and he and some of his comrades were incorporated into the Left Route Army. However, after the Left Route Army reached the Aba area, Zhang Guotao, who held real power, suddenly refused to go north and arbitrarily ordered all the Left Route Army and the Fourth and Thirty Armies of the Right Route Army to go south respectively, in an attempt to confront and split the Party Central Committee. Hu Di, who followed Zhu De and Liu Bocheng to work at the headquarters, was extremely dissatisfied with Zhang Guotao's separatist behavior, scolded Zhang Guotao for "what is something", and revealed his resentment on some occasions. At that time, some people kindly advised him: Pay attention to what he says, and be careful. Hu Di said, "I'm afraid of something, I'm not afraid of him!" ”
When crossing the meadow, Hu Di had a continuous fever because of eating poisonous mushrooms by mistake, and in his whispers, he also scolded Zhang Guotao as a fascist. When Zhang Guotao learned of this, he became so angry that he went so far as to take Hu Di, who had been ordered to break into the Kuomintang secret service organs, take control of himself on charges of "Kuomintang secret agent" and "counter-revolution," cancel his horses and attendants, and let him march with a large burden of "wearing a crime." Hu Di was seriously ill and weak, and he was left behind almost every day, and the Red Fifth Army, which served as a defender, often took him in. Ouyang Yi, who had worked with Hu Di at that time, was the director of the Political Protection Branch of the Red Fifth Army, and his heart was painful, so after consulting Zhu De and Liu Bocheng, the two chiefs, hu Di secretly left Hu Di in the Red Fifth Army in order to take care of him along the way. Without seeing Hu Di, Zhang Guotao ordered the Headquarters Security Bureau to find out his whereabouts, and the bureau chief Zeng Chuanliu captured Hu Di in a tent and detained him in the communications battalion directly under him. Ouyang Yi immediately reported to Zhu and Liu, and Liu Bo said with a heart, "Zhang Guotao is going to poison his hand!" Judd went to Hudi's place of detention to visit him, send something, and comfort him, but could not rescue him. Zhang Guotao was very arrogant, and in front of Zhu, Liu, Ouyang Yi and others, he threatened to pursue those who agreed to take Hu Di. Lieutenant General Ouyang Yi once recalled: "Zhang Guotao was a tyrant who killed innocents indiscriminately, and many people became victims. ”
In September 1935, Zhang Guotao led his troops back to Aba, Sichuan, and continued to move south, in an attempt to realize his ambition to establish another Central Committee and become chairman of the Politburo and the Central Military Commission. In order to eliminate dissidents and eliminate "hidden dangers", Hu Di became one of the key targets of his killing plan. When the troops marched to the vast grassland Songgang area, Zhang Guotao sent people to execute them secretly.
Twice posthumously recognized as a revolutionary martyr
Time flies, time passes, and heroic deeds have not been obliterated in history. In April 1945, on the eve of the Seventh National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Hu Di's name was loaded into the "List of Dead Martyrs" compiled and printed by the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee and the General Political Department of the Central Military Commission. In February 1962, Li Kenong died of illness in Beijing, and Premier Zhou Enlai officiated. In his eulogy, Premier Zhou specially added a sentence: Li Kenong "After the defeat of the Great Revolution, under the severe white terror, he fought against the enemy strongly and bravely, and together with Comrade Qian Zhuangfei and Hu Di, who sacrificed heroically for the revolution, made outstanding contributions to safeguarding the security of the leading organs of the Party Central Committee." This is extraordinary. This is actually a memorial service to the two martyrs, Qian Zhuangfei and Hu Di, who unfortunately died during the Long March, and is the people's eternal remembrance of Li Kenong, Qian Zhuangfei, and Hu Di's "three masters."
The loyal soul died early, there was no news, and the relatives in the hometown were looking for it in their eyes. Because Hu Di left his hometown in his 10s and never returned, his name was changed, and his family has not found any news of this missing relative. At the end of the 1970s, Hu Qichang, the fourth brother of Hu Di, who was working as a teacher in the countryside of Shucheng County, happened to see an article written in the newspaper by Qian Jiang, director of the Beijing Film Studio, commemorating his father Qian Zhuangfei, which introduced the deeds of Qian Zhuangfei and Hu Di, Li Kenong, and others, and noted that Hu Di, also known as Hu Baichang, was a native of Shucheng, Anhui. Hu Qichang's eyes lit up, and he immediately wrote a letter to Qian Jiang, asking for help in understanding the relevant situation of his eldest brother. With the help of Qian Jiang, the voice of Hu Di's family was transmitted to the relevant central departments. In November 1981, Luo Qingchang, then director of the Investigation Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, personally wrote a letter to Cheng Zihua, the minister of civil affairs, arguing that Hu Di "should be posthumously regarded as a revolutionary martyr." On December 8, 1981, the Ministry of Civil Affairs issued the document "(81) Minyou Zi No. 211" to the Civil Affairs Department of Anhui Province, and wrote in the letter: "Please notify the Shucheng County Civil Affairs Bureau to compile Comrade Hu Di's name in the "List of Revolutionary Martyrs" and inform his younger siblings of the fact that he has been approved as a revolutionary martyr." At this point, the news of the sinking for half a century finally surfaced, and a martyr's honor certificate with the inscription "For the sake of sacrificing more ambitions, dare to teach the sun and the moon for a new day" was hung up in the old residence of the Hu family in Songyuan Village, Xinjie Township, Shucheng County. Although it was too late, it was undoubtedly a consolation and affirmation for the loyal souls who had died unjustly. In 2015, the Hudi Martyrs Memorial Hall was built in Ganfenhe Town, Shucheng County, Anhui Province, showing Hu Di's life deeds and his contribution to revolutionary activities with a large number of graphic materials. In 2018, with the approval of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, the "Sculpture of the Hudi Revolutionary Martyrs Monument "Looking North" was built in Songgang Town, Malkang City, Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, and the memorial square became the "National National Security Education Base".
Hu Di was loyal to the party, hated the enemy incomparably, and with outstanding talent and fearless spirit, he brilliantly accomplished various arduous tasks and made outstanding contributions to the party's intelligence cause and the political propaganda work of the Red Army. Let us always remember this spy hero who died young.