Chapter 31 love between two worlds

It's another year of Qingming rain, and the old love is vaguely in the dream.This year marks the 94th anniversary of the birth of Comrade Ma Mingfang, a proletarian revolutionary of the older generation.Comrade Ma Mingfang was born in Mizhi County, Shaanxi Province. He studied in Suide Normal School in northern Shaanxi in his early years and joined the Communist Party of China in 1925. It was more than 70 years ago that I first met Mr. Ma. It was the spring of 1928. My father, Bai Mingshan (style name Leting), later served as a member of the Northern Shaanxi Special Committee of the Communist Party of China, was recuperating at home.I was still a 7-year-old baby at the time.

Comrade Ma Mingfang came to Gaojie Village, Qingjian County to visit my father's injury, and was going to connect with the underground party organization of Qingjian County No. 2 Senior Primary School.So my father introduced Comrade Ma Mingfang to live in the "Second High" in Qingjian. Among the teachers of Qingjian No. 2 Higher Primary School at the time, many of them were members of the Communist Party. I remember Bai Ziqiang, Baiyunsi, and Bai Shengzong from our village; Liu Chengyun, Li Zongbai, Zhang Qihan, etc. Bai Dongcai, Du Siyao, and others from Shenmu County who were aliased as "Mr. Shang".Among the students of the school, many people also joined the permanent group organization. Among them, Gao Helin, Gao Xitang, Feng Zhiguo (alias Feng Tianyou at the time) were party members, and He Shuhuai, Bai Xiangyin, Bai Zhimin and other comrades were members of the group.

After Comrade Ma Mingfang came to the "Second High" in Qingjian, he quickly established contact with comrades in the underground party group and carried out secret revolutionary activities. One afternoon, we were having dinner at home, and a stranger came in, and I saw him and my father talking and laughing happily, speaking very harmoniously.So I secretly asked my father: "Who is this person?" My father smiled and said: "He is a good friend of mine, you can call him godfather from now on." After finishing speaking, he stroked my head : "Hurry up and eat your meal!" Don't let me ask any more questions.Since then, I have left the impression of "godfather" in my mind.

In 1934, nine girls from our Gaojie village and several sisters from other villages took part in revolutionary activities.Among the dozen or so people, the oldest was Qin Manpo. She was the lover of the martyr Cui Yuhu.Among the nine sisters in our village, the oldest is Comrade Liu Jinru, who is 23 years old, and the youngest is me, who is only 13 years old.There was also a younger comrade, Bai Yunfan, who was only 11 years old at the time. Except for two or three of us lesbians who have studied for a year or two, most of us are uneducated.When I participated in the revolution, I was not only illiterate, but I also didn't know much about revolutionary principles.In order to train us, the organization asked us to go to the Soviet area of ​​the county (also known as the "red area") to carry out propaganda work.In July and August of this year, the organization concentrated us in Zaopingta Village in the eastern district of the county for training.During the study period, Comrade Hui Zhiming (pseudonym "Old Yu") asked Comrade Ma Mingfang to give us lectures.Comrade Ming Fang was called "Lao Li" at that time

Comrade Mingfang spoke very vividly, and mainly told us three issues, which I still remember clearly. He said that to make a revolution, you must first have a revolutionary spirit that is not afraid of bloodshed and sacrifice, and at the same time, you must not be afraid of hardships, tiredness, and hard work. He also cited many examples and told us that the purpose of participating in the revolution is to overthrow the three mountains that are pressing on the Chinese people.Overthrow feudal warlords, corrupt officials, landlords, tyrants and local tyrants and evil gentry, implement "land to the tiller", so that everyone in the poor has a job, food to eat, and clothes to wear. The ultimate goal is to achieve communism.

The third issue he talked about is also the issue of women's liberation that we are most concerned about.He searched wildly, men and women are equal, women should also participate in politics, and turn themselves into masters.Oppose arranged marriages, let women let go of their little feet, no longer bind their feet, short hair for short... When he decided to make a revolution, he gave an example: There was a Communist Party member in northern Shaanxi who joined the party in 1928. During the Great Revolution, his father returned to northern Shaanxi after graduating from China University in Beiping and served as the county magistrate of the Kuomintang. .The Communist Party member had a falling out with his family over matters such as participating in revolutionary activities and wanting to raise funds for the family. He drew a knife to kill his grandfather and severed contact with the family.Comrade Mingfang said that the father of the Communist Party member also changed his thinking later and was elected as the second senator of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region.After liberation, he was elected vice chairman of the CPPCC Yulin County.The thoroughly revolutionary spirit of this Communist Party member had a profound impact on me.Coincidentally, in 1939, grandma and I met him (Comrade Zhu Min) unexpectedly when I was working in Heshui County, Longdong District, where I went to the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia border, and we worked together. Later, we became acquainted with each other, and finally formed a married couple.

In May 1934, in Huchangping Village in the eastern district of Qingjian County, the Special Committee of the Northern Shaanxi Special Committee of the Communist Party of China held a mass meeting attended by thousands of people, and a dozen of us lesbians also came to attend.This is the first time I have seen such a vigorous scene.Many leaders of the Special Committee attended this meeting. I remember Ma Mingfang, Guo Hongtao, Cui Tianfu, Li Tielun, He Jinnian, Bai Xueshan, Gao Langting and other comrades. After the meeting, Comrade Ma Mingfang called me: "Fei'e (my baby name), let's knock on the door and talk together." We sat on the edge of an old man's kang in the village and chatted with each other.

He first asked me: "Do you still remember that year I went to your house for dinner?" His question stunned me, and I couldn't remember it for a while.He smiled and said, "That year when I went to your house for dinner, your father asked you to call me godfather!" When he said this, I immediately called out my father who had died, and couldn't help crying.Comrade Ma Mingfang comforted me and said: "Son, don't be too sad. If you struggle, you will sacrifice. You have also joined the revolutionary ranks now, which is very good." He also repeatedly told me: "In the future, in the revolutionary ranks , you must study hard, work hard, strengthen your training, and learn from your father, Comrade Bai Mingshan, to be as strong, brave, and unyielding as he was." He said, and I kept nodding, feeling that he was like my father, and taught me It has taught me many revolutionary principles.

At the beginning of 1935, I came to work in the printing office of the Northern Shaanxi Special Committee.At that time, northern Shaanxi was still shrouded in white terror, we were still in the environment of guerrilla warfare, the situation was turbulent, and the staff of the special committee often had to be transferred.At that time, I was only 14 years old, and I was a girl, so Ma Mingfang and Guo Hongtao arranged for me to work as a sender and sender in the special committee.At the same time, I was also asked to help Comrade Bai Qian, then head of the Women's Department of the special committee, do some women's work.I knew that they wanted me to be trained in the actual fight.

Since I am not very literate, I also had many difficulties when I started to do sending and receiving work.In order to improve my cultural level, Comrade Ma Mingfang personally taught me culture and taught me how to write.In order to help me send and receive the documents, he ordered me a small notebook and wrote the names of more than a dozen counties under the leadership of the Special Committee on it, and asked me to write the names of these counties every day. I still remember The names of those counties are: Qingjian, Suide, Jiaxian, Wubao, Shenmu, Fugu, Anding, Chiyuan, Xiuyan and so on.Comrade Mingfang also told me again and again: "We must clearly record the documents and letters sent every day one by one, so as to avoid mistakes." As if it happened yesterday.

After my father died, life at home was very difficult. In 1936, I was doing women's work in Yanchuan County.One day, my mother suddenly brought her 11-year-old brother Tianlin (later renamed Bai Zhibin) to the county to look for me.As soon as our mother and daughter met, my mother hugged me and cried bitterly.She told me that since I joined the revolution and left home, she has been taking her younger brother Tianlin and younger sister Chun'e around to beg for food.Later, my 5-year-old sister starved to death on the way to beg for food... After listening to my mother's crying and looking at my 11-year-old brother, I immediately thought of Comrade Ma Mingfang, so I wrote him a letter, reporting to him the changes in my family and the current predicament in detail.After he received the letter, he immediately wrote back to me and asked his younger brother Tianlin to go to the special committee to find him.After my younger brother left for a few days, he wrote to me and told me that Uncle Ma had sent him to the Northern Shaanxi Conservation Primary School to study, so that he also embarked on the road of revolution. In the autumn of 1946, I was studying at the Central Party School in Yan'an. After learning that Ma Mingfang and other comrades had studied in the Soviet Union, they were arrested and imprisoned by Sheng Shicai, a Kuomintang reactionary warlord in Xinjiang, on their way back to Yan'an.Comrade Ming Fang was tortured in prison, and after many negotiations with Comrade Zhou Enlai, he returned to Yan'an.When they returned to Yan'an, they were warmly welcomed by Chairman Mao, Commander-in-Chief Zhu and other central leaders. After Ma Mingfang returned to Yan'an, he lived in Wangjiaping.Because I haven't seen him for many years, I miss him very much.So on a Saturday afternoon, I asked for leave from school and went to Wangjiaping to visit him.He was very happy to see me, asked about my health, my study and my work.During the conversation, I made a suggestion, hoping to build a cemetery and a monument for my father, martyr Bai Mingshan, so as to carry forward the great achievements of the revolutionary martyrs and inspire future generations. After listening to my suggestion, he said: "I agree with this matter very much. However, there are still many difficulties in doing this matter in the current environment. After the whole country is liberated, we will find ways to build a mausoleum for Comrade Mingshan. "He said very emotionally, full of nostalgia and longing for the comrades who have died. That day, he left me to have dinner at his residence.After dinner, he took me to the weekend dance.To my surprise, Chairman Mao, Boss Zhu, Comrade Shaoqi, Boss He and other leading comrades all came that night.Comrade Ma Mingfang and I danced around.Then, he took me to meet with many central leadership comrades present, introduced me as the daughter of a martyr, and asked me to dance with them.That night was the happiest night in my life. I danced with Chairman Mao, Commander-in-Chief Zhu, Comrade Shaoqi, and Boss He.The heads of the central government also asked about my study and work with concern. After returning to the party school that night, I was so happy that I didn't close my eyes all night... After the liberation of the whole country, I worked in Ningxia. In 1952, I went to Xi'an on a business trip to attend the Women's Federation Conference in Northwest China.After the meeting, I went to the Northwest Bureau of the Central Committee to visit Comrade Ma Mingfang.Seeing me, he was still as happy as before. He took my hand and asked me about my work in Ningxia. He also thought about my brother Bai Zhibin and asked about him.Then he asked about Zhu Min and the child.When he heard that Zhu Min was in poor health, he said with concern: "Comrade Zhu Min, I know him very well. He is a good comrade and very capable." I will tell Zhu Min in the future that I have to take some time to exercise every day... Listening to his earnest teachings, I couldn't help calling him silently in my heart: "Dad!" He is really like a father, caring about our family all the time. During the "Cultural Revolution", Comrade Ma Mingfang was deeply persecuted by Lin Biao, Kang Sheng and the "Gang of Four", and suffered brutal physical and mental torture and destruction. In 1972, he was tortured to the point of death and had to be sent to Beijing Tongren Hospital for treatment.After hearing the news, I was so anxious that I really wanted to come to his side immediately, carry his shit and urine, and serve him well.However, under the extreme restrictions of the "Gang of Four", I have not been able to achieve my wish.I can only see his wife and daughter, and every time I see them, I have to carefully ask Mr. Ma about his health. What makes me regret for the rest of my life is that I never saw him again until he was persecuted to death. Comrade Ma Mingfang passed away on August 13, 1974.Hearing this bad news, my heart was like thunder.However, at that time, I didn't even have the right to say goodbye to his old man, so I could only mourn him in my heart... After smashing the "Gang of Four", it was also Ching Ming Festival. I took my son and grandson to the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery to pay tribute to Comrade Mingfang. Thinking of the two-generation bond between Ma Lao and my family, I couldn't help tears, so I wrote a poem , as his eternal memory: