"Searching for Relatives of Suning's Unknown Martyrs" National Media Joint Reporting Team
Overview News Reporter Li Jian
In Wobei Town, Suning County, Hebei Province, there is an ordinary small village, located on the saline-alkali land. Every spring, the salinity rises and becomes as white as snow, hence the name Snow Village.
Such a poetic name is always associated with a tragic battle every time it is mentioned. On May 1, 1942, the Japanese invaders launched a brutal "big sweep" against the Eighth Route Army in the Jizhong area. Chang Deshan, commander of the Eighth Division of the Jizhong Military Region, and political commissar Wang Yuanyin led their troops to fight in Jizhong, waiting for opportunities to annihilate the enemy. On June 8, the Japanese invaders launched a fierce attack on Xuecun, Suning County. During the breakout, due to being outnumbered, more than a thousand Eighth Route Army commanders and fighters died heroically. Chang Deshan and Wang Yuanyin died for their country.
This is the "Snow Village Breakout Battle", and it is also the battle in which "the martyr who embraced the photo of a woman 82 years ago" sacrificed his life in recent days, which has made countless netizens cry. On the morning of April 30, Zongwang News reporters rushed to Wobei Town, Suning County, to explore the story behind the battle 82 years ago.
"It is said to be a battle in Xuecun, but in fact our Wobei Village is closer to the battlefield and the place where the martyrs died. After the battle, Yin Dianchen, the head of the Wobei Village Party at the time, and Li Tizheng, the first party member in the village, organized the villagers to use the unused kang mats To bury the fallen martyrs, they even took off the mats on the kang,” said Wang Jizheng, a 76-year-old retired cadre from Wobei Village in Wobei Town. The senior's narration restored the scene to the reporter in a sad tone: "At first, a kang mat was used to wrap the body of a martyr, and then half of it was used. Finally, only one kang mat could be spread at the bottom of the pit, with the bodies of several martyrs placed side by side. , so there are not enough Kang mats in the whole village."
A detail said by the elders in the village still remains in Wang Jizheng's memory: "There was a wounded soldier hiding in the wheat field to the north of the village, and a villager happened to look at it. When they saw him, the soldier was eating green apricots to satisfy his hunger. The villagers quickly arranged for the soldier to hide in a hut in the wheat field, and also gave him dry food and water from home. "In the 1980s, the soldier returned. Suning looked for the villager who had helped him back then, but unfortunately he couldn't find him.
Wang Jizheng told reporters the story of the battle in Xuecun. Overview News Reporter Wang Sining/Photo by
Local people have never forgotten the heroic deeds of the martyrs. After the martyrs were buried, villagers spontaneously went to pay homage every Qingming Festival. Since the 1950s, nearby schools have organized students to visit the tombs of the martyrs every year, and also invite veteran party members such as Yin Dianchen and Li Tizheng to tell the story of the Eighth Route Army's battle with Xuecun.
"The Eighth Route Army's living conditions were very difficult at that time. Everything they ate was in their pockets, including chestnut noodles, stick noodles and other coarse grains. Even so, everyone insisted on fighting the Japanese invaders to the end, and no one surrendered. We will never surrender. I miss them!" Wang Jizheng said excitedly.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Suning. Yuan Shukai, director of Suning County Culture, Sports, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau, who has studied local red culture for many years, told reporters the touching stories that happened in Suning.
"Suning was liberated on September 30, 1944. It was the first county in central Hebei to be liberated. Speaking of the liberation battle of Suning, it is quite legendary." Yuan Shukai introduced. At that time, the number of people and militia participating in the liberation battle of Suning was more than twice that of regular troops. “At that time, on the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival for family reunion, two companies from the 34th District Team of the Jizhong District 9 of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region, together with the county armed forces, formed an siege force and braved the enemy’s bullets to conquer Suning City in one fell swoop. "Yuan Shukai said that the enthusiasm of the people is very high and they treat the Eighth Route Army like family members.
The "drum sound" is another legendary factor in the Suning liberation battle. "The people of Suning have a tradition of beating drums since ancient times, and they would beat the drums whenever there was an important event. After the battle started, the local people spontaneously brought 108 large drums from their homes, surrounded Suning County, and beat the drums to cheer the soldiers. Fighting. It lasted for 19 hours, and the drum beat also lasted for 19 hours. This is what the oil painting "Drum Beating Suning" shows," Yuan Shukai said while taking out his mobile phone to show the painting to reporters.
Yuan Shukai recalled that Yang Dongliang, one of the commanders who liberated Suning, once said, "The soldiers listened to the drums and their morale was so high that they dared to rush forward in the face of the bullets. The common people were watching us from behind, and we couldn't Disappoint the common people!"
This thumping drum is good news of military-civilian cooperation and common hatred. It was written by the writer Wei Wei in the 49th chapter of the third volume of his novel "Fire Phoenix", "Wenqi Follows the War Drum."
The picture shows the 16-episode documentary documentary "Monument of the Plains". Suning County Culture, Sports, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau/Photo provided by
Relevant departments in Suning County began planning to shoot 16 episodes of the documentary "Plain Monument" in 2014. They traveled 20,000 kilometers in 4 years and interviewed more than 200 comrades who fought in Suning. and their families, the film was promoted throughout the county as an important part of party history education. At the same time, relevant departments established a martyrs memorial exhibition hall in Suning County Martyrs Cemetery, and the Party History Office also took the lead in publishing a series of books.
"Next, we will use the cultural relics unearthed from the tombs of Xuecun battle martyrs to dig out the red stories behind them and do a good job in publicizing the heroic deeds of the martyrs." Yuan Shukai said.
