Chapter 29 28. Liu Hulan - The Greatness of Life and the Glory of Death

Liu Hulan (1932-1947), formerly known as Liu Fulan, female, Han nationality, was born in Wenshui County, Shanxi Province, and a member of the Communist Party of China. Liu Hulan was born on October 8, 1932 in a middle peasant family in Wenshui County, Shanxi Province.His mother died early, and his father Liu Jingqian continued to marry Hu Wenxiu as his wife.Hu Wenxiu changed the character "Fu" in Liu Fulan's name to her own surname "Hu", and changed her name to Liu Hulan from then on.The stepmother actively participated in the work of the Women's Rescue Society and supported Liu Hulan's participation in the revolution.

Liu Hulan went to the village primary school at the age of 8, and joined the children's group at the age of 10. In November 1945, Liu Hulan participated in the "Women Cadre Training Class" held by the Wenshui County Committee of the Communist Party of China. After studying for more than a month, she returned to the village and served as the secretary of the Village Women's Salvation Congress. In May 1946, Liu Hulan was transferred to the Fifth District "Anti-Union" women officer; in June, Liu Hulan was absorbed as a probationary member of the Communist Party of China, and was transferred back to Yunzhou West Village to lead the local land reform movement.

In the autumn of 1946, when the Kuomintang army aggressively attacked the liberated areas, the Wenshui County Party Committee decided to keep a small number of armed forces teams to persist in the struggle, and a large number of cadres moved up the mountain.Liu Hulan also received a transfer notice, but she voluntarily asked to stay and fight.This 14-year-old female Communist Party member traveled back and forth in her hometown, which had become an enemy area, secretly mobilizing the masses and cooperating with the armed forces team to attack the enemy. After the outbreak of the National Anti-Japanese War, the Communist Party of China led the people of Shanxi to carry out the national salvation movement, and Wenshui County established an anti-Japanese democratic government.Under the leadership of the party, a group of anti-Japanese activists emerged in Yunzhou West Village, and some poor peasants joined the party one after another and established party branches.Liu Hulan actively participated in the Anti-Japanese Children's Corps in the village, standing guard, guarding the sentry, and delivering information for the Eighth Route Army.Later, Liu Hulan became the secretary of the Women's Rescue Association in West Village of Yunzhou, participated in mass activities led by the party such as delivering public food and making military shoes, and mobilized young people to sign up for the Eighth Route Army.After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Yan Xishan's troops occupied Wenshui County, and the soldiers and civilians in the liberated areas were forced to take up self-defense weapons to defend the victory of the Anti-Japanese War. In November 1945, Liu Hulan participated in the training class for women cadres organized by the party organization, and her class consciousness was further improved. In February 1946, Liu Hulan participated in the pre-support work of our army's counterattack against Yan Xishan's stubborn army in the Dongzhuang battle, and got further training and growth.Liu Hulan withstood severe tests in the struggle and was approved as a candidate member of the Communist Party of China in June 1946.

Shi Peihuai, the reactionary village head of Yunzhou West Village, distributed food and information to Yan Xishan's army, and became a local victim. One day in December 1946, Liu Hulan cooperated with the military workers to execute him.Yan Xishan's bandit army became furious and decided to take revenge. On January 12, 1947, Yan Jun suddenly attacked Yunzhou West Village, and Liu Hulan was arrested on the basis of a traitor's informant.After she calmly handed over three precious souvenirs, the silver ring from her grandmother, the handkerchief from the company commander of the Eighth Route Army, and the panacea box as a token of joining the party, to her stepmother, she was taken away by fierce enemies.Liu Hulan remained unmoved in the face of coercion and temptation. When she was brought to the guillotine, she saw several people being cut off by the bandit army, and asked angrily, "How can I die?" on the knife block.When Liu Hulan died, she was not yet 15 years old, and she was the youngest known female martyr of the Communist Party of China.

In February 1947, Shanxi's "Jin Sui Daily" published news for two consecutive days, making the name of a female Communist Party member spread like wildfire in North China.Later, Mao Zedong wrote an inscription for her: "Great life, glorious death!" This glorious name is Liu Hulan. After the liberation of the whole country, Liu Hulan's deeds were written into books and adapted into dramas, movies, and TV series. The village where she lived was changed to "Liu Hulan Village". On the 10th anniversary of the death of martyr Liu Hulan in 1957, a martyr Liu Hulan cemetery was built locally.In front of the martyrs' tomb, there is a whole body statue of Liu Hulan carved from white marble.Liu Hulan has never taken a photo before, and this image was created by her stepmother Hu Wenxiu's oral introduction to Liu Hulan's appearance characteristics, which was enlarged and processed from the original created by the famous sculptor Wang Chaowen.

Six months after Liu Hulan's death, on August 1, 1947, the Jinsui Branch of the Communist Party of China decided to make an exception (usually the 18-year-old can only become a full-time member) and ratify Liu Hulan as an official member of the Communist Party of China.Soon, the People's Liberation Army conquered Wenshui County, and the company commander Xu Desheng of the Yan Army who killed the martyrs, and the bearded Zhang Quanbao were successively executed by public trial. Liu Hulan has five brothers and sisters, three of whom were born to stepmothers.When she died, her second sister Liu Ailan witnessed it. At the end of 1948, Liu Ailan joined the army and was assigned to the Combat Drama Club, where she played the role of her sister in the performance of "Liu Hulan".Her two younger brothers later joined the army and were renamed "Jiying" and "Jilie" by the local leaders respectively.Because Liu's father was not good at words, he went out to give a report on the deeds of the martyrs, and his stepmother Hu Wenxiu was usually in charge.

However, for a while, Liu Hulan's stepmother was in serious political trouble.Exactly who betrayed Liu Hulan has not been found out for a long time. Hu Wenxiu was once suspected and criticized for this.Father Liu Jingqian and daughter Liu Fanglan rushed to Beijing together to find out right from wrong with party and state leaders.The problem was finally reported to Premier Zhou Enlai, and Premier Zhou intervened in person, which enabled Hu Wenxiu to resolve his injustice. The truth was not found out until 1963: the traitor was Shi Wuze, the secretary of the Yunzhou West Village Farmers' Association. He was criticized by Liu Hulan for protecting the second widow of the landlord Duan, and was later dismissed from his post and expelled from the party, so he held a grudge.Once Yan Jun arrived, he betrayed all 7 people including Liu Hulan.Shi Wuze was shot and executed by the government on February 14, 1963, and received the punishment he deserved.