This year marks the 30th anniversary of the death of Wu Yunduo, China's "Paul Kochakin," and the China Workers Publishing House has recently launched "Dedicate Everything to the Party" (Centennial Edition of the Founding of the Party), which has sold more than 200,000 copies in more than a month. This 110,000-word red classic book has traveled through time and space for nearly 70 years since its publication in 1953, and still shows strong vitality among today's young generation of readers.
The first generation of workers' writers was born
At No. 45 Gulouwai Street in Beijing, China Workers Publishing House, "Dedicate Everything to the Party" Several editions of the book are placed on the desk, and under the illumination of the light, the versions that have gone through the vicissitudes of the years are even thicker.
In July 1953, "Dedicating Everything to the Party" was first published, and the editors of the publishing house had the old version published for the seventh printing in December 1953. This version is a vertical version, and famous painters such as Luo Gongliu, Wang Shikuo, Li Zongjin, Shang Husheng, and Gu Qun have been accompanied by many illustrations, and each work is vivid and vivid. As can be seen from the copyright page of this edition, the book has been printed more than 1.3 million copies in the five months since its publication in July 1953.
In fact, Wu Yunduo's autobiographical novel "Dedicate Everything to the Party" has been published more than 10 editions and printed more than 100 times so far, and more than 10 million copies have been distributed. This book made Wu Yunduo's deeds a household name, Wu Yunduo's spirit was passed down from generation to generation, and the China Workers Publishing House also became the pioneer of the publication of red classics in the early days of the founding of New China because of this book.
Zhao Chang'an, who was a member of the editorial board of Workers' Daily, met Wu Yunduo in 1979, interviewed Wu Yunduo many times, and contacted him by phone and letter for many years. "Together, we talk about life, faith, morality, and intellectual curiosity, as well as about society, marriage, family, and so on." Over the years, Zhao Chang'an has written and created 7 books related to Wu Yunduo, and his new work "The Complete Biography of Wu Yunduo" has been completed. He collected a large amount of information about "Give Everything to the Party".
On October 5, 1951, the People's Daily published "This is how steel is made- introducing Wu Yunduo, a hero of China's Paul Kochajin's military industry." Later, the Workers' Daily published "China's Paul Kochakin - Remembering wu Yunduo, the banner of China's military workers", which caused great repercussions in society. Wu Yunduo was invited by the All-China Federation of Trade Unions to give a report, and Lai Ruoyu, the main leader of the ACFTU, approached him and asked him to write a book about his experience.
Letters from Wu Yunduo kept by Zhao Chang'an
Regarding the origin of the book, Zhao Chang'an said that Wu Yunduo was invited by workers' daily in 1952 to be interviewed by Zhao Rongsheng, head of the newspaper's literary and art department, and completed "I am the son of a working people", which was serialized in "Workers' Daily" on April 3, 1952. The article is mainly narrative, briefly describing Wu Yunduo's experience from birth to 1949. After "I Am a Son of a Working People" appeared in the newspaper, it was warmly welcomed and praised by readers.
The real book was written in 1953, When Wu Yunduo finished his study at the Russian College in Beijing and waited for a gap of studying abroad, he spent half a year creating "Dedicating Everything to the Party" with the help of He Jiadong, editor of the Workers' Publishing House. The book quickly caused a sensation after publication, and was also translated into Russian, English, German, Japanese and other languages and published abroad. According to information collected by Zhao Chang'an, Zhou Yang, then chairman of the China Writers Association, believed that the book had played a "pioneering role" in the publication of Chinese biographical literature. Feng Xuefeng, president of the People's Literature Publishing House, also fully affirmed the style and content of the book.
Because of "Dedicate Everything to the Party", Wu Yunduo has since gained an identity. In 1954, he was admitted as a member of the Chinese Writers Association and became the first generation of workers' writers after the founding of New China.
Wu Yunduo
Illustrations by famous artists such as Luo Gong Liu Wang Style
In beijing's Ganjiakou No. 8 Courtyard, Wu Yunduo's former residence, the reporter saw the 1983 edition of "Dedicate Everything to the Party", which is now treasured by Wu Yunduo's son Wu Xiaoqin.
Qu Li turned to find The No. 8 Courtyard of Ganjiakou, and the neighbors knew where Wu Yunduo's former residence was. This is an old Soviet-style building, and the revolutionary elders who lived in some ministries and commissions walked along the wide corridor to the fourth floor, and the reporter walked into the former residence of Wu Yunduo.
Former residence of Wu Yunduo
The three-bedroom house remains intact, and there are traces left by Wu Yunduo everywhere. Wu Xiaoqin said that the door bolt was made by his father himself, and the partition installed in the bedroom is also his father's masterpiece, and this partition is still used as a storage space. When the walls were full of hammers, axes, and saws, Wu Yunduo slept under the storage partition, accompanied by these tools.
Wu Xiaoqin, the son of Wu Yunduo, remembered his father
For Wu Xiaoqin, when he read "Give Everything to the Party" as a child, it was in a primary school textbook, and before that, he never knew that his father had written this book. At that time, Wu Yunduo's five children all lived in the school, and they only returned home every weekend, and they spent very little time with their father, but Wu Yunduo loved his children and always brought gifts when he returned from a business trip.
Following Wu Xiaoqin, the reporter went to the residence of his mother, Wu Yunduo's wife Lu Ping, which was not far from Wu Yunduo's former residence. As soon as he entered the door, the elderly Lu Ping tightly held the reporter's hand, she was 98 years old, still energetic and clear-thinking. And Wu Yunduo's daughter Wu Ke and Wu Yunduo's daughter-in-law Huang Huaying were also there, and everyone searched for "Giving Everything to the Party" in the depths of their memories.
Wu Yunduo's wife Lu Ping
In everyone's common memory, "Giving Everything to the Party" has a special relationship with the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Huang Huaying said that according to the oil painter Luo Gongliu, Luo Gongliu found Wu Yunduo at a hotel according to the address, when he was writing the book "Dedicating Everything to the Party". In order to facilitate the illustration, Luo Gongliu consulted with Ding Jingwen, the principal of the Attached Middle School of the Academy of Fine Arts, and asked Wu Yunduo to transfer to the campus of the Affiliated Middle School of the Central Academy of Fine Arts to write a book. A young teacher took the initiative to vacate his room, Luo Gongliu's wife also helped Wu Yunduo pick up his daughter Wu Ke every week, and other teachers helped to transcribe manuscripts, buy meals, etc., and took good care of Wu Yunduo.
Wu Yunduo liked to paint when he was a child, and during his writing at the Central Academy of Fine Arts Affiliated Middle School, he would from time to time go to the classroom of the Central Academy of Fine Arts to see Li Keyan and Li Kuchan painting, and became friends with these great painters. During this period, the famous painters Wu Zuoren, Ai Zhongxin, Li Hu, Li Hua, etc. also used Wu Yunduo as a model to paint drawings and prints, and later Wu Yunduo's eldest daughter Wu Ke married Luo Gongliu's son Luo Anxi and became a relative.
In 1975, Wu Yunduo's family took a group photo at the Zizhu Courtyard
Wu Ke recalled that when she first came into contact with "Giving Everything to the Party", when she was about 5 years old, her father took her to the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and in an ordinary bungalow dormitory, she listened to Luo Gongliu, Wang Shikuo, Li Zongjin, Shang Husheng, Gu Qun, etc., and discussed the illustrations in the book that would later be called classics. She remembered discussing the successful illustration of Li Zongjin's painting of a trial gun grenade, which had just been completed, and Li Zongjin wanted to listen to Wu Yunduo's opinion. Wu Ke was also impressed by a painting painted by Luo Gongliu: "Anti-Sweeping", Wu Yunduo rolled to the edge of the paddy field, holding up muddy water, and everyone praised the painting as "well painted!" And the oath of joining the party of Wang Shikuo was also praised by everyone.
Readers called it "a book that is so passionate"
Nearly 70 years after the advent of "Give Everything to the Party," its influence has grown day by day, with a younger generation of readers calling it "a book of passion."
"For the sake of the country and the cause of the party, Wu Yunduo is disabled and determined, and the spirit of fighting against fate, struggling against difficulties, never yielding, and never giving up is reflected in him, and readers of any era will be touched by their heartstrings." Wang Jiaoping, deputy head of the leading group for the construction of the National Trade Union Staff Bookstore and president of the China Workers Publishing House, said that "Dedicating Everything to the Party" as a classic red book that has influenced generations of people continues to show the strong vitality and appeal of the red gene, and this book will be distributed to the newly built National Trade Union Staff Bookstore demonstration site every year. According to reports, this year, 100 nationwide activities to study and educate the party history of workers and staff members throughout the country were also carried out nationwide, and extensively carried out party history study and education in various forms and rich contents around reading red classic books such as "Dedicating Everything to the Party."
Wu Yunduo with a disabled youth
Shen Yan, director of the Equipment Design Research Office of the Second Academy of Aerospace Science and Industry, said that after working for 5 years, he was tired of repetitive work and even had self-doubt. After reading "Dedicating Everything to the Party", he deeply understood that it takes a lifetime of energy to accomplish a thing, he said: "I also want to be like Wu Yunduo, from small to large, from scratch, never give up." ”
Product designer Dai Shiyu of Xuzhou Heavy Machinery Co., Ltd. won the gold medal of CAD machinery design in the first national skills competition in 2020. Dai Shiyu studied "Dedicating Everything to the Party" during his college years, and drew courage and strength from it. During the preparation of the National Skills Competition last year, Dai Shiyu had to practice the speed of operating software modeling every day, and also practiced the on-site design, physical scanning and comparison of missing parts, training at least 15 hours a day. "Wu Yunduo has firm convictions and is not afraid of hardship, and his book tells me that difficulties are the tempering of his own life and the paving for the development of a higher life."
"This is a patriotic book, the simple text is very attractive, and I want to contribute to the country like Wu Yunduo." Xu Brownwei, an employee of the Second Bureau and the First Company of China Construction, said.
According to an editor of the China Workers Publishing House, on October 1, 1949, New China was founded. A new country, a new people, needs a new culture, a new expression, and "Giving Everything to the Party" is born at the right time. "It was hard to imagine that a literary biography of a worker could have such a big social impact and become a bestseller." The editor believes that this book fits the historical trend of the Communist Party of China leading the Chinese people to build a new China through arduous struggle, and expresses the people's deep love for the party and the country. "Dedicating everything to the party" has sent out the strongest voice of the times and is the simplest voice in the hearts of the new Chinese people.
【Message of the Times】
After my father gave the ideal education report at the Yucai School where I attended, he also wrote an inscription to the children: "A real person, his answer to difficulties is to fight; his answer to battle is victory; his answer to victory is always modest!" "My father's inscription has always been engraved in my heart.
- Wu Yunduo's daughter Wu Ke