In 1952, the editorial board of China Youth received a letter from a reader from Hubei, the subject of which was: Is the sacrifice of the Luo Sheng sect martyr worth it?
"Comrade Luo Shengjiao's task is to fight and fight against the enemy, and he should not risk his life to rescue a Korean child... Rescued a small child and drowned a People's Volunteer soldier. It's not worth it! ”
The comrades of the editorial department did not immediately reply to the letter, but published it in the sixth issue of 1952 in the column "Life, Thought, and Study". Subsequently, the editorial department received more than a thousand letters from readers across the country, unanimously believing that the heroic deeds of Luo Shengjiao's self-sacrifice and salvation were great, and as to whether it was worth it, 70 years later, we may be able to see a clearer answer...
Luo Shengjiao was born in April 1931 to a poor peasant family in Xinhua County, Hunan Province.
In November 1949, he joined the Chinese People's Liberation Army and entered the Xiangxi Military and Political Cadre School. On July 1, 1950, he was honored to join the Chinese New Democratic Youth League.
Figure | The Martyrs of the Luo Sheng Sect
In the spring of 1951, Luo Shengjiao crossed the Yalu River with his troops to participate in the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. Here he met many poor Koreans, many of whom were homeless because of the war, countless elderly people, women and children fleeing, and the Rasang Sect gritted their teeth in hatred for the invaders.
The Chinese volunteers were disciplined, they had to respect the customs and habits of the Korean people, and they could not ask for a grain of rice or firewood from the Korean villagers.
Like many warriors, Luo Shengjiao studied Korean seriously and was like a family with the villagers.
Once, the enemy's warplanes suddenly bombed, and the village was suddenly caught in flames, and Luo Shengjiao rushed into the burning house in spite of himself to rescue An Da Niang and her granddaughter.
In the ambush battle of Niuwei Cave in the Linjin River, Luo Shengjiao took the initiative to ask to go to the front line to rescue the wounded. Suddenly, a bomb exploded beside him, and without hesitation, he rushed forward and covered the wounded with his body.
In the midst of one danger after another, Luo Shengjiao's first thoughts were of comrades-in-arms and the masses.
In the cold winter of 1951, Luo Shengjiao's reconnaissance company was ordered to rest in Ishida-ri, Sungcheon-gun, South Pyongan Province, North Korea.
On January 2, 1952, while the warriors were still immersed in the joy of celebrating the New Year, Luo Shengjiao went alone to the mud oak river to find two grenades that had not exploded during training the previous days.
On that day, 4 teenagers on the river were happily skating, and one of them, Cui Ying, suddenly stepped on the air, the ice surface broke, and he suddenly fell into the ice cave more than eight feet deep.
The 3 children shouted and cried in fright, and Luo Shengjiao immediately ran to them after hearing the cry for help.
He took off his cotton coat and boots as fast as he could, and jumped into the ice cave without hesitation in the freezing cold of minus 20 degrees Celsius.
The first dive, Luo Shengjiao did not touch Cui Ying, he surfaced for a breath, and dived into the water, the second time, Luo Shengjiao still did not find Cui Ying, at this time his physical strength was almost exhausted, he still took a deep breath and drilled into the bone-chilling ice water.
The third time, Luo Shengjiao finally touched Cui Ying, and he lifted Cui Ying to the surface of the water several times in succession, but the ice surface that had cracked was very fragile, and Cui Ying reached out several times to climb up, and the ice cubes collapsed.
Luo Shengjiao was already frozen, and with his last strength, he fished Cui Ying, who had fallen into the water, and pushed her out of the water.
Song Zhiyun, the barber of the reconnaissance company, also hurried over after hearing the sound, he could not swim, he could only find a wooden pole and reached the surface of the water, hoping to help Luo Sheng teach. Cui Ying grabbed the wooden pole and was finally rescued.
The 21-year-old Luo Shengjiao was washed away by the water under the ice. By the time the comrades of the reconnaissance company and the masses in ishida came to look for it, the hero could not be found in the ice cave at all.
Later, everyone found the body of Luo Shengjiao more than ten meters downstream.
A few days later, Ye Jianmin, then commander of the 141st Division, and other leaders came to the regiments and commanded the troops to summarize the operations in the previous stage, especially to study the tactics of dealing with the enemy's mechanized troops.
When the vehicle he was riding in slowly drove into the ishida, many ordinary North Koreans suddenly surrounded on both sides of the road, all of them without exception had sad and heavy expressions, and everyone seemed to have something very important to say to the leaders, but ye Jianmin could not understand what they said.
Ye Jianmin asked busily, "What happened to this?" The staff officer next to him shook his head.
Ye Jianmin immediately stopped the car and sent staff officers to get out of the car to inquire, it turned out that there was a soldier named Luo Shengjiao in the reconnaissance company, who died because he had saved a teenager named Cui Ying.
The villagers spontaneously came to the leaders of the troops, hoping that the volunteer army would agree to them and bury Comrade Luo Shengjiao with the local customs and habits of the DPRK.
Hearing the name "Luo Shengjiao", Ye Jianmin felt very familiar, and when he thought about it carefully, he did see an accident notice a few days ago, which mentioned that the soldier had drowned in the water.
In the war environment at that time, the warriors would encounter various dangers at any time in a foreign country, and the report did not describe in detail the sacrifice of the Luo Sheng sect. Several leaders in the division went down to the army to grasp the reorganization and training, and only a newly transferred deputy chief of staff in the headquarters was presiding over the work. There were so many people in the whole division, and all the work was heavy and complicated and complicated, and the sacrifice of Luo Shengjiao was so characterized as "accident".
Unexpectedly, today, Ye Jianmin actually saw so many Korean masses spontaneously come to the division headquarters to petition, and you can imagine how important this soldier is in their hearts.
Ye Jianmin demanded that his subordinates immediately go deep among the masses to learn more about the situation and truthfully report to him.
After the staff officers returned, their emotions had not yet calmed down, and he explained in detail to Ye Jianmin the people's requests, and they wanted to ask for credit for Luo Shengjiao. A 55-year-old North Korean lady named Won-sun was willing to offer her grave to Comrade Luo. He said to the comrades who came to investigate: "There is no difference between Comrade Luo and my son. ”
A white-haired Korean master had been asking the troops to bury Therason in accordance with North Korea's most solemn funeral.
After Master Ye Jianmin listened, his heart could not be calmed for a long time. Soon, the chief of the propaganda section and the chief of the work section directly under the organ who had been ordered came to Ye Jianmin, and Ye Jianmin asked the chief of the direct engineering section if he could understand how Luo Shengjiao was sacrificed.
The chief of the direct engineering section replied: "I know this, he fell into the river and drowned, we have reported the Luo Sheng Sect to the army as a non-combat attrition according to the custom, and have informed the regiments according to the drowning accident." ”
Photo| Cui Ying, center, poses with a Chinese reporter during an interview in North Korea
In times of war, this kind of thing that has been reported at the upper and lower levels cannot be easily changed, otherwise it will have a negative impact.
But Ye Jianmin knew that this was about the honor of a volunteer soldier who had already sacrificed himself, and it was also about the wishes of so many Korean villagers.
Ye Jianmin inquired in detail about the process of the chief of the direct engineering section in handling the Luo Shengjiao incident, and told him in a serious tone that he must understand the situation in depth and meticulously when doing things.
Ye Jianmin and the two braved the freezing cold of minus 20 degrees Celsius to the river where the Luo Sheng Sect had sacrificed to inspect them, and Cui Ying's mother heard that the division commander himself had come, and immediately brought her children to find them.
As soon as they met, Cui Ying and her mother knelt in front of Ye Jianmin, and Cui Mother was in a hurry to use Korean mixed with Chinese, detailing the process of Comrade Luo saving Cui Ying.
The ice cave that Luo Shengjiao jumped down from was not completely frozen, Ye Jianmin crouched down silently, looking at the edge of the ice cave, his mood was very excited, he felt sad for the sacrifice of a soldier, and he was also proud of having such a volunteer comrade.
As soon as he returned to the division headquarters, Ye Jianmin told the political commissar Peng Qingyun about the situation learned from the investigation and exchanged views with him.
That night, Ye Jianmin presided over a meeting, mainly on the decision to learn from the martyrs of the Luo Sheng Sect.
The Luo Shengjiao is a positive image worth vigorously publicizing; division commander Ye Jianmin and political commissar Peng Qingyuan signed the report materials on Luo Shengjiao's sacrifice to save others, and submitted a report to the superiors asking for merit.
At that time, the fighting conditions were limited, and the division party committee still decided to hold a memorial service for Luo Shengjiao with the highest etiquette and specifications.
Luo Shengjiao did not die in battle, but like the martyrs on the battlefield, he embodied the noble internationalist spirit of our volunteer army.
A memorial service for Luo Shengjiao was held in Shitian, and more than 2,000 officers and men of the volunteer army and hundreds of local people came to attend the memorial service.
Cui Ying and his mother, as well as the Yuanshan lady who offered to donate her grave to the hero, all spoke. The division's artillery fired 21 cannons to mourn Luo Shengjiao.
Pictured| Cui Ying
According to the etiquette of the North Korean people, The Luosheng Sect was buried on a small hillside in a stone field, and the villagers planted pine trees symbolizing "immortality" around his cemetery.
While cleaning up the relics of the Luo Sheng Sect, the comrades found that he had written the following verses in his diary:
When I was hit by the aggressor's bullet,
I hope you don't stop in front of my corpse,
Should continue to move forward bravely,
Avenge the tens of millions of Korean people and comrades who sacrificed their lives!
During this period in Korea, Luo Shengjiao wrote a total of 4 letters to his family.
The day before his sacrifice, he wrote to his mother the last words of his life:
Youth is beautiful, but a person's youth can be mediocre or radiate the fire of a hero. I had to put me in the fire to see if I was a piece of steel.
Luo Sheng taught that saving a Korean child who had never been born was not a momentary emotional impulse. He has a very high ideological consciousness and moral sentiments, and also has a simple and moving writing.
At this time, Kim Il Sung ri, after hearing about the deeds of the Luo Sheng Sect, must come to the Stone Field to see the luo Sheng Sect cemetery.
The river where the Luosheng Sect died was later named "Luo Sheng Sect River", and the mountain on the other side of the river where the Luo Sheng Sect was buried was named "Luo Sheng Sect Mountain", and ishida Li was renamed "Luo Sheng Sect Village".
The Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea awarded the Order of the National Flag of the First Class and the Medal of Honor for Soldiers of the First Class on the Luo Shengjiao; the Political Department of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army posthumously awarded the martyrs of the Luo Sheng Sect a special meritorious service and conferred the honorary title of "Model of Loving the People" of the first class.
Chairman Mao personally inscribed for him: International Communist Fighter.
It was a turbulent and poor time, but it nurtured countless selfless and loving parents.
After Luo Shengjiao's sacrifice, Cui Ying wrote a letter to Luo Dikai, luo's father, calling him "father".
On July 28, 1953, the day after the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement, Rodi Kai wrote a letter to the family of the Korean People's Army:
I am an ordinary farmer, I love my son, I also love my country and land...
After the death of my son Shengjiao, the Korean people buried him as if he were their own son in the land of your heroic country. I am deeply grateful to you that my flesh-and-blood friendship with you is unbreakable.
Cui Ying, a soldier | (wearing cotton military uniforms in the picture), took a group photo with the condolence group
After reading this great father's letter, we can deeply feel that the reason why Luo Shengjiao has such a lofty spirit is inseparable from his father's education and the cultivation of party organizations.
Cui Ying's parents have been telling Cui Ying that "the grace of saving lives should never be forgotten", and they have repeatedly expressed their wishes to the relevant parties, hoping to see Luo Shengjiao's family.
In October 1953, the Chinese government sent a condolence delegation headed by He Long and Luo Ruiqing to visit North Korea, of which Luo Dikai was a member.
At this time, Pyongyang is full of bombed houses and collapsed factories, and North Koreans who are not convinced are riveting to rebuild their homes.
The condolence group successively arrived in Wonsan, Hamsin, Shangganling and other places in north Korea, and everywhere they went they were warmly welcomed by the common people.
One day, after watching a large performance in the condolence group, the North Korean interpreter brought in a Platoon Leader of the Korean People's Army. His face was agitated and nervous, his hands were constantly rubbing the corners of his clothes, and he seemed to have a lot to say to the chiefs, but he didn't know where to start.
Picture | Gong strokes, Cui Ying sees Luo Sheng's parents
The translator introduced to everyone that this teenager was Cui Ying, who was rescued from the ice cave by Luo Shengjiao, and now he is already a real soldier of the People's Army. The delegation was very happy to see him, and they all gathered around him to shake hands, and someone hung an August 1st medal on his chest.
During this visit, Luo Dikai was received by Kim Il Sung, and the DPRK side also arranged for Luo Dikai to go to Choi's house to meet with Choi Young.
In order to wait for Luo Diekai's arrival, Luo Shengjiao Village and nearby villagers got up at 3 o'clock in the middle of the night and lined up for more than a mile. The girls went up the hill to pick up the welcome bouquets, and the old farmers brought up their solemn top hats.
This was the first time Cui Ying had met Papa Luo in China, and he shouted loudly: "Daddy, Daddy, you're here!" ”
Luo Dikai's tears burst out of his eyes, as if he saw that Luo Shengjiao was rushing towards him.
Before Luo Di came to North Korea, the Luo family carefully prepared a gift for Cui Ying: a plaster statue of Chairman Mao Zedong, a set of clothes made by Luo's mother, and so on, and a school bag. Ms. Choy also presented her family with a thank-you gift: two sets of Korean national costumes and a family silk that his mother had woven by hand
Cui Ying's heart was full of guilt, although more than a year had passed, but when he mentioned Luo Shengjiao, he still kept blaming himself.
Luo Dikai slowly enlightened him: "You must study well, improve your culture, and do things for the people wholeheartedly in the future. ”
At the evening feast, Kim Il Sung specifically asked which was The father of Luo Shengjiao, and he raised his glass and said to Luo Dikai in Chinese: "Thank you, thank you for having such a good son and sacrificing for the Korean people, thank you for such a good father." ”
When Luo Dikai appeared, he was surrounded by hundreds of children wearing green scarves in the center, and they were all shouting "Daddy" and "Abba Ji".
That night, Luo Dikai stayed at the Cui family.
In addition to hanging photographs of Mao Zedong and Kim Il Sung, the Choi family also has a portrait of Luo Shengjiao. Luo Dikai and Cui Ying's parents chatted about this year's harvest and plans for next year's harvest.
Cui Ying, who had no restraint on Luo's father, snuggled up to him and begged him to tell more about Luo Shengjiao's childhood.
Picture | Cui Ying (the person wearing the hat in the middle) and the Young Pioneers of the Attached Middle School
The warm conversation continued late into the night.
Luo Dikai knew that the Korean people attached great importance to their son, and he also heard that the villages, mountains and rivers here were renamed "Luo Shengjiao", implying that the spirit of the martyrs of the LuoSheng Sect would be with the mountains and rivers, and the people here would pass on this touching story from generation to generation.
However, Luo Dikai did not expect that Kim Il Sung would come with him to the tomb of Luo Shengjiao to visit the grave, and he personally wrote an inscription for Luo Shengjiao: "The internationalist spirit of the martyrs of Luo Shengjiao will coexist with the Korean people forever."
In 1954, Choe Young came to China with the third Korean delegation to China.
On the train, Cui Ying, who was anxious to see her Chinese parents, kept complaining: "The train is too slow, too slow..."
At the same time, Luo Shengjiao's family also traveled to the county several times a day, asking the county cadres: "When is Cui Ying coming, Luo Shengjiao's younger brothers and sisters are anxious to see Cui Ying's brother." ”
On May 30, the North Korean delegation visited Mao Zedong's hometown of Shaoshan and headed to Changsha, Hunan Province. Early the next morning, Li Yonghao, deputy head of the delegation, and 12 other people, accompanied by Li Yuezhi, director of the Provincial Department of Civil Affairs, and Tian Houyi, deputy chief of staff of the Provincial Military Region, went to Xinhua County, Luo Shengjiao's hometown.
At noon, when the convoy arrived in Xinhua, more than 3,000 people in the county were waiting in the rain, Cui Ying got out of the car, Luo Dikai greeted him, Cui Ying immediately ran to Luo Dikai, hugged him, and cried: "Daddy, Daddy!" ”
After arriving at the lounge of the county civil affairs department, Cui Ying immediately asked Luo Diekai where his brothers and sisters were, and Luo Dikai told him that the family had been waiting for him for a long time, and was cleaning up at home at this time, preparing meals for him.
At 5 p.m., the North Korean delegation came to Luo's house. Mother Luo waited at home all day, and when she saw Cui Ying, she couldn't help but shed tears.
Cui Ying hugged Luo's mother tightly, and Luo Shengjiao's four younger siblings also hugged him tightly.
Mama Luo prepared 4 large tables of wine and dishes at home, and the members of the delegation and the accompanying personnel dined together at the Luo family.
Cui Ying sat next to Luo's mother, the relatives of the Luo family have been pouring wine for him, Cui Ying sensibly toasted Luo's father Luo's mother, and also gave dishes to his younger siblings, and chatted with them about their current study and life.
That night, Cui Ying slept at Luo's house.
He personally sent the letter from his father and mother in North Korea to Papa Luo and Mama Luo, saying that the two families must be good friends for generations.
After breakfast the next day, Choe Young was leaving with the North Korean delegation. Luo Dikai gave Cui Ying the graduation certificate of Luo Shengjiao before his death and encouraged him: "I hope you will study hard like Shengjiao's brother." ”
Luo's mother gave Cui Ying a pair of cloth shoes, which was just a few days ago when she heard that Cui Ying was coming, and Luo's mother brought illness to him personally, she choked and said to Cui Ying: "Wear it to study well and serve the people well." ”
Cui Ying couldn't help it and cried out loud.
On this day, they talked late, as if there was an endless topic. Luo's mother was distressed that he had been rushing, urging Cui Ying to hurry to sleep, Cui Ying could not help her mother, so she had to get into Luo Dad's bed and sleep peacefully overnight.
When Cui Ying got up the next day, she saw that Mother Luo had prepared a table of snacks such as sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and peanut candy, and Mother Luo also asked him if he slept well at night and whether he had been bitten by mosquitoes.
The two laughed and didn't talk for long, when Mother Luo suddenly had a sour nose and red eyes.
According to the arrangement, Cui Ying will leave with the delegation early this morning.
Luo Dikai and his wife have been sending Cui Ying to the intersection. Seeing them so sad and unwilling, Cui Ying comforted them that he would definitely come back to see them in the future.
On October 25, 1960, Luo Dikai was invited to participate in the commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the volunteer army's combat abroad.
Mao Zedong saw Luo Dikai from afar, and in the company of other central leading comrades, he walked toward him with a smile on his face.
Luo Dikai was very nervous, and he didn't know how to talk to Chairman Mao. Chairman Mao saw him with a little trepidation and said to him cordially: "Feel free to come to Beijing!" Are you the father of the Luo Sheng Sect? I heard you have a son in a foreign country! ”
Chairman Mao was so approachable that he made a joke with Luo Di, who instantly relaxed and replied, "It is not your old man's teaching, how can I have a son abroad!" ”
Luo Diekai went to Beijing eight times, Mao Zedong received him seven times, and in October 1966, Luo Diekai also lived in Zhongnanhai for three days.
Mao Zedong once said to Huang Jiguang's mother: "We have all lost our sons. ”
His closeness to the old father may have come from this empathy, who also lost his excellent son in this cruel war.
In October 1970, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Volunteer Army's entry into the Korean War, Luo Dikai was invited to visit North Korea again, arrived in Pyongyang City, and found hundreds of thousands of Korean people waiting for him and welcoming him.
Luo Dikai attended the Pyongyang Mass Assembly and took a seat at the rostrum. Now in Pyongyang, he was very different from the Pyongyang he had seen for the first time, and Luo Dikai was too happy to speak.
This year, Cui Ying has already established a family, and he has four children. Cui Ying's mother must have insisted on sending a child to Luo Dikai as a grandson, and Luo Dikai Xiying recognized this exotic grandson and named the child "Luo Jihong" according to the customs of her hometown.
Before leaving, Luo Dikai repeatedly told Cui Ying: "To listen to Prime Minister Jin's words, we must be a good soldier of Prime Minister Jin." ”
In 1982, luo dikai's 80th birthday, chairman Kim Il Sung's birthday gift was delivered in advance.
In 1983, as North Korea celebrated its 35th anniversary, "The New Legend of the Boiling River" was released in North Korea. This is Comrade Kim Jong-il personally instructed to shoot and produce, the actor who plays Luo Shengjiao has been selected by thousands of times, and finally decided to be the meritorious actor Kim Seung-woo, who played an important role in "Blood Sea".
On June 25, 2010, the special correspondent of "Global People" in North Korea made a special trip to the tomb of the Luo Shengjiao martyr to pay his condolences, and the elderly Jiang Rende, who was guarding the tomb of the Luoshengjiao martyr, introduced the Chinese martyr to the Chinese reporter in detail.
Comrades in north Korea regretfully told reporters that in 1977, Choe Young, who was already the commander of a tank battalion in North Korea, was killed in the line of duty! His mother and wife have since been taken to live in the army.
This is tragic news, a North Korean soldier, walking in the footsteps of a Chinese volunteer martyr, eventually became a martyr.
Luo Shengjiao was an ordinary warrior who did something that made the Korean people grateful for decades, and he saved a soldier who also gave his life for the cause of the people.
His spirit is immortal, the mountains and rivers here bear his name, and the children here follow his example for generations to come. Is the sacrifice of the Luo Sheng sect martyr worth it? But if our volunteer soldiers have weighed the question of "worth it" in their hearts, this battle will not be won! Our soldiers are never exquisite egoists.