I am from Hancheng County (Huihan City), Shaanxi Province, and I grew up in the era of war and chaos.Since childhood, she has been seeking to survive and find her own way out. She left her family at the age of 9 and lived independently. At the age of 20, by chance, I went to the Soviet Union.In the Soviet Union, there were gains and depressions.What I gained was that I learned Marxism-Leninism, learned knowledge, and became a communist fighter; what was depressing was that I wanted to go back to my motherland but could not, and I stayed abroad for 15 years. He returned to Yan'an in early 1940 and worked beside Chairman Mao for 18 years.Later, because of Kang Sheng's framing, he was imprisoned for 13 years. With the "preface" and "postscript", he had no job and was isolated from the world for 20 years. In 1979, I made a conclusion: "After 13 years of review, there is no political problem." At this time, I was 74 years old, and I was appointed as a "consultant" for comfort.I am 88 years old and my valid age in my home country is only 18.

18 years is short, but it is the era when the motherland was turned upside down, and it was the era when our country had a huge impact on the world, and the content is very rich.Especially the contacts between the two giants in the socialist camp—Mao Zedong and Stalin. On many occasions, no one except us could know about them, because my Russian translator was needed as a bridge for their contacts.Their words, deeds and decisions undoubtedly affected the course of history, and they are also precious historical facts.It is an important basis for people today and future generations to study this period of history.

The sun has black spots, and our great, glorious, and correct Communist Party of China also has evils like Kang Sheng; the huge torrent of historical development also has local countercurrents and eddies.These are all objective facts of history.Acknowledge history, study history, for today and for the future.The scientific attitude is first of all to seek truth from facts! In the 13 years in prison, I thought about my life experience countless times.After I was released from prison, Comrade Hu Yaobang ordered someone to help me organize my memoirs.The written materials that have been sorted into millions of words are all handed over to the Central Literature Research Office.

With the passage of time, some historical events no longer need to be kept secret, while some misinformation has become rampant.Such as: "Stalin will not let us cross the Yangtze River", "Chairman Mao visited the Soviet Union, Stalin let him sit on the bench for 5 hours", etc., not only spread orally, but even appeared in the newspapers.There are also constant visits, wanting to confirm this period of history. In 1988, my daughter Qiu Lang suggested that I publish a memoir to set the record straight, but at this time I was suffering from cerebral thrombosis, so Qiu Lang had to write it for me.First, "Accompanying Chairman Mao on Visiting the Soviet Union" was published in "People" magazine, which received a great response.From then on, I gradually published the facts I recalled.

In 1991, Comrade Li Haiwen of the Central Literature Research Office compiled the book "Beside the Giants of History--Memoirs of Shi Zhe" based on my past memories, which was published this year and attracted attention at home and abroad. What is included in this book are some published reminiscence articles and unpublished materials that are not reflected much in the book "Beside the Giants of History".To this day, there are still some historical facts that are not yet suitable for publication, so we have to wait for the future. When the published articles were included in this book, some adjustments and additions were made, which are also explained here.