Chapter 13 12. Mao Anying - a shining example of the red descendants

In the cemetery of the Volunteer Army Headquarters in Gunchang County, North Korea, there is a world-renowned martyr——Mao Anying.Chinese who have visited North Korea for decades always pay their respects there with special feelings.According to Peng Dehuai, he was "the first volunteer in our volunteer army." His glorious sacrifice not only reflected the agreement between the leader and the people, but also showed his noble dedication. Among his peers, it is very rare to have his tortuous experience.He wandered, studied abroad, participated in the war in Eastern Europe, studied agriculture in China, participated in land reform, worked as a cadre in a factory, joined the volunteer army, and finally died in the sea of ​​​​flames formed by the incendiary bombs dropped by the US military.

Mao Anying, born in Changsha, Hunan in 1922, is the eldest son of Mao Zedong and Yang Kaihui.After his birth, he went to Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Wuhan with his parents. When the Great Revolution failed in 1927, he went back to Itacang, Dongxiang, Changsha County with his mother and two younger brothers to hide. In 1930, when Yang Kaihui was arrested by Hunan warlord He Jian, 8-year-old Mao Anying was also arrested and imprisoned. She witnessed her mother's tragic struggle against the enemy and her sacrifice.Later, he was released on bail and was taken to Shanghai by his maternal grandmother and aunt the following year and handed over to Mao Zemin.

Shortly after the three Mao Anying brothers were sent to the Datong Kindergarten run by the underground party, the younger brother Mao Anlong passed away (there is also a rumor of a sudden disappearance).The party organization was repeatedly destroyed due to incidents such as Gu Shunzhang's rebellion, and the children in the kindergarten were forced to evacuate.Mao Anying and his younger brother Mao Anying were taken home by Dong Jianwu, known as the "Red Priest". Because the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China moved to Ruijin, Jiangxi Province in 1933, the party's financial support was interrupted.Dong's original wife's attitude towards the two brothers turned bad when life was difficult.According to Mao Anying, the brothers once lived a wandering life.Later, Dong Jianwu retrieved them and connected with the underground party. In 1936, he entrusted General Li Du of the Northeast Army to send the two brothers to Europe, and then went to Moscow to enter the International Children's Home.

In the International Children's Institute, Mao Anying studied hard, and soon served as the captain of the Young Pioneers. In 1939, he joined the Communist Youth League and served as the branch secretary. In 1941, after the outbreak of the Soviet Union's Great Patriotic War, Mao Anying insisted on joining the war even though the Chinese and Soviet parties had agreed not to allow Chinese children to serve in the military.Soon, he found the deputy director of the General Political Department of the Soviet Army and was approved to study in a military academy. When he graduated in 1943, he was awarded the rank of lieutenant and joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks). Later, he returned to China and became a member of the Communist Party of China.Soon, he entered the Frunze Military Academy. During his school days, he served as the party representative of the tank company in the Red Army and participated in the battles that marched into Belarus, Poland and the Czech Republic. In January 1946, he returned to China by plane with the doctors sent by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union to Yan'an.Before leaving, Stalin specially met him and presented him with a pistol, which he still carried with him until he died.

In the spring of 1947, when the Kuomintang attacked Yan'an, he withdrew to the north with the central government, and went to the land reform work group according to Mao Zedong's arrangement to participate in the pilot project in Linxian County, Shanxi. In the spring of 1950, Mao Anying followed Li Kenong to visit the Soviet Union and worked as an interpreter, and then asked to go to the grassroots. In the summer of 1950, he served as the deputy secretary of the Party branch of the Beijing Machinery General Factory, and determined to "do continuous work in this factory for ten years."

In October of the same year, Mao Zedong made the decision to resist US aggression and aid Korea.Mao Anying met Peng Dehuai who was about to go to war at home, and asked to join the DPRK to join the war, and Mao Zedong supported him.Later, he went to the Volunteer Army Command as a Russian translator and confidential secretary.Except for Peng Dehuai and a few people who knew about his life experience, everyone else only knew that he was a lively, simple and capable young man. The second battle began on November 25, and the U.S. military detected a lot of reports from Dayu Cave where the "Volunteer Army Headquarters" was located. They determined that there was an important institution and sent planes to bomb it.At that time, Mao Anying and four other people were in the wooden house.The moment the incendiary bomb fell, a high temperature of thousands of degrees was formed.After two people jumped out one after another, the wooden house was reduced to ashes.Afterwards, among the two remains, Mao Anying's remains were identified based on the remains of a Soviet watch.

On the day of Mao Anying's death, someone proposed to transport the body back to China.Although Peng Dehuai was so sad that he didn't eat all day, he decided to bury him on the spot.Later, Peng Dehuai proposed to erect a monument for him, explaining how he voluntarily joined the volunteer army, "worthy of being Mao Zedong's son."After hearing the news of Mao Anying's sacrifice, Mao Zedong endured the pain of losing his son and said slowly: "In war, people always die. The Chinese People's Volunteers have sacrificed the lives of so many commanders and fighters. Their sacrifices are glorious. Ying is an ordinary soldier, don't take it as a big deal just because he is my son." This is the sixth relative of Mao Zedong's family who died for the revolutionary cause of the Chinese people.

Although Mao Anying entered North Korea to participate in the war for only 34 days, he did not perform heroic feats like Qiu Shaoyun, Luo Shengjiao, Huang Jiguang, and Yang Gensi, nor did he receive any honorary titles or commemorative medals.However, as "the first person in the volunteer army", he left the people's thinking when the smoke cleared and China ushered in today's peace and development, which is even more precious.