General Xu Shiyou had three wives in his lifetime: Zhu Ximing, Lei Mingzhen, and Tian Minglan (Tian Pu). The eldest son, Xu Guang, was born to the original Zhu Ximing. And Lei Mingzhen did not have children. The rest were all born to Tian Pu, with sons: Xu Jianjun and Xu Yuanchao, and daughters: Xu Li, Xu Sangyuan, Xu Huashan, and Xu Jingjian (Tian Xiaobing). Their children are very low-key, never wearing the hat of a high-ranking cadre for themselves.
Xu Huashan was 18 years old
Today, some of these children have passed away, and others have also retired, living a life no different from that of the common people. But Xu Huashan has been relatively active in recent years, not only writing a book for her father, but also participating in some commemorative activities between her father and revolutionary ancestors, gradually becoming well known, and among her brothers and sisters, her experience has made her a more "special" one.
In 2018, the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Jinan, Xu Huashan came to the Jinan Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery to pay tribute to the martyrs, and then presented some books to the memorial hall that his father liked to read when he was alive, and gave the military uniform worn by his mother Tian Pu to the memorial hall, which made the staff of the memorial hall somewhat excited.
Xu Huashan and his father
It turned out that Xu Huashan went to the martyrs' cemetery this time to pay tribute to the martyrs for a wish of his father Xu Shiyou: On the eve of the attack on Jinan, Xu Shiyou served as the commander of the Shandong Corps, and the People's Liberation Army only spent 8 days and 8 nights to conquer Jinan in one fell swoop. The Ninth Column seventy-third regiment took the lead in breaking through the inner city, planted the victorious banner on the head of Jinan City, and was awarded the honorary title of "Jinan First Regiment" by the Shandong Corps of the East China Field Army. For this, the Ninth Column sacrificed more than 1,100 people.
In 1985, Xu Shiyou went to Qingdao for a meeting, passing through Jinan, and wanted to lay a wreath for the martyrs who liberated Jinan, especially the cemetery of the nine-column martyrs. However, the staff at that time searched for a long time and found that almost all the martyrs of the several columns participating in the Jinan Campaign were buried in the Jinan Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery, but the martyrs' cemetery of the Ninth Column was not found. After paying homage to the martyrs, Xu Shiyou told the relevant staff that they should continue to be martyrs of the Nine Columns, "otherwise they will be sorry for the martyrs who sacrificed, and they will not be able to account for their relatives." [i]
Xu Huashan donated the military uniform to the memorial
After Xu Shiyou left, people found more than 1,100 graves in the Licheng County Martyrs Cemetery at that time, although at that time only a wooden plaque was inserted on the side of the grave, after years of decay, many handwriting can not be recognized, the names and cemeteries can not be numbered one by one, but most of them are nine vertical. Xu Shiyou was the commander of the Ninth Column of the East China Field Army before he became the commander of the Shandong Corps, so he thought of having the opportunity to see these "forgotten" martyrs again, but he did not realize this wish until his death.
It has been 33 years from 1985 to 2018, so the memorial service of the martyrs in the Xuhuashan Martyrs Cemetery is to fulfill the "last wish of his father Xu Shiyou 33 years ago". Previously, Xu Huashan also wrote a book, "Father", from the perspective of a daughter to the reader to "restore a real founding general Xu Shiyou". In an interview with China News Weekly, Xu Huashan recalled one of the most difficult periods when she attended the Harbin Air Force First Flight Academy, saying she was even worried that she would not live to graduate on the day she graduated. Her father, Xu Shiyou, personally wrote back to her in a red and blue pencil: "Since you have arrived at the military academy, you must persist to the end." If you feel that you will not live to the day of graduation, then you must prepare to die (suffer hardship) and strive to live! ”[ii]
Xu Huashan took a group photo with reporters
Xu Huashan said that his father was a "strict father", and that every word in the letter was very large, and the tone was as sharp as when he usually spoke. He also told reporters many little-known stories about his father Xu Shiyou, saying: "My father Xu Shiyou: his shrewdness is not easy for others to see through." At the same time, newsweek was provided with a photo of herself when she was 18 years old, showing her nimble, pure, beautiful, and a memory of her hidden youth. We compared this photo with some photos of Xu Huashan's participation in the event, and found that when she was older, her expression always revealed some melancholy from time to time, which was not mentioned in the reporters' interviews, and it was also where she was "special".
Xu Huashan went to the Air Force to become a pilot, which was an accident, and she herself said so. At that time, she was a very good female classmate, very eager to join the Air Force, to become a female pilot, so he pulled her to accompany the physical examination. As a result, this classmate was not selected, but she was selected. Xu Shiyou told her to "be prepared to endure hardships" and told her to "first, obey orders; second, to complete her studies and be a good ordinary soldier." However, later Xu Huashan was demobilized and became an ordinary person.
What kind of story is there in between? There are many rumors, the most widely circulated of which is that Xu Huashan met Lin Liguo during this period, and with more opportunities for contact, he had his own "first love". Originally, after the mother Tian Pu learned that her daughter liked Lin Liguo, she had matched her several times with the intention of booking this family affair, but later there was a Zhang Ning. Lin Liguo's "Ming Xiu Zhan Dao, Darkness Chen Cang", let Xu Huashan feel that he was very faceless, began to love and hate Lin Liguo, began to become unsmiling, not good at hilarious, did not like communication, and even chose not to marry.
In the melancholy that Xu Huashan inadvertently revealed, people can always think of such a sentence: You can dissect yourself, how can others understand your life?! The past has passed, and people look forward to the smart, pure, and beautiful girl who will one day open her heart to people. In the past, it is inevitable that people will not be sad, but they have to rely on themselves to get out of the past.
Xu Huashan paid tribute to the unknown martyr
[i] Hui Mingsheng, "Father Xu Shiyou's Last Wish Fulfilled 33 Years Ago"——Daughter Xu Huashan Goes to Jinan Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery to Pay Tribute to the Martyrs", Jinan Daily, 2018-11-09;
[ii] Song Chundan, "My Father Xu Shiyou: His Shrewdness, Not Easy for Others to See Through", China News Weekly, 2018-05.
The pictures in this article are from the network, thanks to the original author!