The eternal "little soldier Zhang Ga" - an interview with the 99-year-old writer Xu Guangyao
On the eve of "July 1st", Xu Guangyao, the author of "Little Soldier Zhang Ga", was interviewed by a Xinhua Daily Telegraph reporter, a 99-year-old famous writer with a keen sense of hearing and clear thinking.
In a hospital in Shijiazhuang, Xu Guangyao, who was recuperating, told about his 86-year experience and life insights after joining the party, told about the indissoluble love between Xiaobing Zhang Ga and Baiyangdian, talked about his yearning for the construction of his hometown Xiong'an New Area, and expressed his expectations for young authors.
Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Wenhua is interviewing Xu Guangyao. (Photo taken on June 16, 2024) Except for the signature, this group of photos was taken by Xinhua Daily Telegraph reporter Su Kaiyang
Xu Guangyao, born in Xiongxian County, Hebei Province in 1925, joined the Eighth Route Army in 1938 and joined the Communist Party of China in the same year. During the Anti-Japanese War, he adhered to Jizhong, from orderlies, clerks to hoe and rape officers, and experienced hundreds of battles large and small. In 1941, he began to write a diary and write war newsletters. In 1947, he entered the Department of Literature of North China Associated University, and published the novel "Zhou Yuzhang" in the same year. In 1949, he served as a reporter for the 20th Corps Branch of Xinhua News Agency, and in the same year, he wrote the novel "Fire on the Plains". In 1951, he entered the Central Institute of Literature and became a professional writer. In 1961, the novel "Little Soldier Zhang Ga" was published in "Hebei Literature", and the movie of the same name was released in 1963. In 1999, his work "Last Night the West Wind Withered the Green Tree" won the second Lu Xun Literature Award. In 2015, the ten-volume Diary of Xu Guangyao was published.
Printmaking "Beacon Years--Little Soldiers Zhang Ga and Yuying on Baiyangdian". (Photo provided by the interviewee)
Although Xu Guangyao is in the hospital, his health is fine, and he is looking forward to his old age, and he is refreshed. Different from other wards, there is a print "The Beacon Years-Little Soldiers Zhang Ga and Yuying on Baiyangdian" pasted on the wall opposite the bedside: in the reeds, the two sit in the bow of the boat, the close-up scene is full of youth and bright smiles, and the distant view is vast and the weather is thousands......
Why did the little soldier Zhang Ga ask to join the party
In "Little Soldier Zhang Ga", 13-year-old Zhang Ga, after his grandmother was killed by the Japanese army to cover the Eighth Route Army, took the initiative to ask to join the army, and grew into an excellent little scout in the battle. At the end of the novel, it is written: "Xiao Gazi jumped off the stage with all his enthusiasm, ran to Yuying, and before he sat down, he whispered into her ear: 'You give me an idea,—— but don't tell others first-I want to join the Communist Party now, do you think you are qualified?' ……’”
In the bloody storm of the Anti-Japanese War, Xu Guangyao soon grew into a strong revolutionary soldier. (Photo provided by the interviewee)
The story of the little soldier Zhang Ga took place in 1943, and the origin began in 1938, when 13-year-old Xu Guangyao joined the army and joined the party.
Reporter: "July 1st" is coming, you are an old party member, you joined the party in 1938, what was the situation of you joining the party at that time?
Xu Guangyao: I joined the army in July 1938 and asked to join the party in November of the same year. At that time, I was young and vigorous, and I was very serious in my work, and I often saw others asking to join the party, so I followed the request to join the party, because my performance was quite good, and I passed it quickly.
Reporter: After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, there were many various forces in Xiongxian County, why did you choose the Communist Party of China?
Xu Guangyao: At that time, there was really a great chaos in the world, and our place was the "Pingjinbao" triangle, which was very close to Pingjin, and it was soon affected, and the Kuomintang ran away, the government, the soldiers, and the police all ran away, and the people were left alone. In this way, the heroes rose up together, and the land was divided as king. The first to rise was the "Lianzhuang Society", in which the landlords and rich peasants in the big villages, in order to ensure their own safety, linked the villages with the villages, armed with guns, and guarded against bandits and stragglers. When the "Lianzhuang Society" became more powerful, it independently took up a name, such as the "People's Self-Defense Army" and the "Anti-Japanese Self-Defense Army." Your 18th Road and my 47th Road, if you give a name, they will occupy a place and collect taxes, which do not belong to the Communist Party or the Kuomintang. After the Eighth Route Army came, these armies were gradually reorganized by the Eighth Route Army.
Reporter: What is the difference between the Eighth Route Army and other armies?
Xu Guangyao: The Eighth Route Army has clear discipline and strong combat effectiveness. When I joined the army, a company had five machine guns, and it was very well armed, and the Communist Party used the correct united front policy.
Reporter: What role did the Communist Party play?
Xu Guangyao: The Communist Party has played a decisive role. The Kuomintang fled, leaving the entire people of North China behind. In such a chaotic situation, the Eighth Route Army came, and it was absorbed step by step and established political power at all levels step by step, which is a very powerful point of the Communist Party. When they arrived at a locality, they set up county governments, district governments, and village governments, developed organizations, and quickly organized the masses to unite under the banner of resistance against Japan, which was something that other armies could not do.
"Little Japan, it's too hateful, it's set fire, it's killing people, how many little dolls' homes have been burned, how many little dolls' fathers have been killed, how many little dolls' mothers have been killed, and we're going to catch little dolls, hateful, hateful, hateful, hateful, we're going to fight Japan!"
This is a ballad that circulated in the anti-Japanese base areas behind enemy lines in North China during the Anti-Japanese War.
The direct reason for Zhang Ga's request to join the army was that the Japanese army killed his grandmother, who depended on him for his life. Xu Guangyao's motivation for joining the army was that he was unwilling to be a slave of the country under the burning, killing and looting of the invaders. He once recalled the situation before joining the army - after the fall of the country, "the miserable situation is really terrifying." We all hated and got angry, and every day we drew some villains on the ground, wrote the words 'Little Japan', and smashed them with bricks. I often think, is there no Yue Fei? Do you really want people to get on their backs? Suddenly the Eighth Route Army ......"
In the face of the invasion of a strong enemy, the Kuomintang was defeated and retreated, the Communist Party rose to the challenge, and the people of North China, including children and teenagers, organized themselves to fight the enemy under the leadership of the Communist Party. Xu Guangyao is one of them, and the little soldier Zhang Ga is their artistic image. Asking to join the Communist Party of China was a natural and inevitable choice for the "Zhang Gamen" at that time.
The awakening and growth of the "Zhang Gamen" changed their own destiny and also influenced the direction of modern China. Some scholars have pointed out that the young heroes represented by Zhang Ga and others "not only played an important role in resisting the Japanese attack in the base areas at that time, but more importantly, their influence continued to the War of Liberation, after the founding of New China, and even to today's society." On the one hand, this change has prepared sufficient reserve cadres for the Communist Party of China to promote the liberation of the whole country and promote socialist construction in the future...... On the other hand, it has become a precious spiritual wealth for the Chinese nation to move toward modernization......"
"Two words I like - chisel true"
In "Little Soldier Zhang Ga", Zhang Ga is an ordinary peasant boy, and Xu Guangyao is the same, he was born in Duangang Village, Zanggang Town, Xiongxian County, and his education level and knowledge were limited when he joined the army.
Zhang Ga was once confined for wrestling and biting people and blocking chimneys, and he is a maturing hero. Xu Guangyao also gradually grew up in the battle and became a famous writer. To this day, he still insists on writing, writing calligraphy and keeping a diary.
Reporter: You have become a well-known writer from a rural child, you have experienced many blows and setbacks, and you are still writing, what is the force that supports you to keep moving forward?
Xu Guangyao: The first is the cultivation of the party, which is not to raise me to adulthood, nor to raise my cultural level, but to transform my thoughts and feelings, improve my political level, strengthen my ability to understand and analyze things, and enable me to understand the future and significance of our existence.
The second is that I am more serious and responsible. I write now, often writing two words, the two words I like - chiseling. I think doing things is to gouge, chisele, and chisel the truth out of the stone. I feel that I have taken advantage of this in my life, I only went to elementary school for four years before joining the army, and the improvement of my cultural level stems from my love of literature. When I usually read the newspaper, I like to read the supplement. When I went to live at the landlord's house, I would look through the landlord's books and read literary and artistic works. Later, I went to the Department of Literature of North China Associated University and transferred to the class for 8 months, which made me make a qualitative leap in the growth of literary thought. I like literature, and I "chisel the truth" in literature. I am fascinated by reading some literary and artistic works, and if I can be fascinated by reading, I will be able to absorb some things relatively quickly and more.
Reporter: Judging from your diary, you buy a lot of books, and sometimes you spend all the money you spend on food and read a lot of books.
Xu Guangyao: I like books, I like to read, but the scope of my reading is not wide enough, I read a lot of literature books, and I don't read enough social science books such as history.
Reporter: When you write a diary, pay attention to using the diary to improve yourself, write in the diary about the process of ideological progress, where you have shortcomings, how to correct them, as well as the criticism and self-criticism of the organizational life meeting, and the records are relatively detailed.
Xu Guangyao: This embodies the spirit of "chiseling truth" that I just said. I strive for progress, and I work hard. From a primary school student to a writer, this is the result of my hard work all year round and the result of the party's training.
Reporter: Since the first volume of your diary, I see that you have been constantly carrying out self-revolution, can you understand this?
Xu Guangyao: At that time, the organizational life of the army was relatively strict, and there was a meeting of criticism and self-criticism once a week. It was supposed to be held once a week, so it was very difficult to be a laggard and do something bad at that time.
Reporter: This spirit of self-revolution is very important.
Xu Guangyao: Yes. It is to urge people, urge you to improve, and urge you not to learn badly. In this regard, the political work of the Eighth Route Army played a great role. I think the victory of the Chinese revolution, the victory of the Eighth Route Army, the victory of the People's Liberation Army, and the victory of the Volunteer Army have a lot to do with the fact that we dare to carry out self-revolution, often self-revolution, and take the initiative to eliminate some internal defects and some dark things.
A certificate of the Medal of Honour to which Xu Guangyao was awarded. (Photo provided by the interviewee)
The first and second volumes of Xu Guangyao's Diary record his experiences before and after he participated in the land reform in Luxian County (now Luquan City) in Shijiazhuang, and there is a lot of ideological self-struggle. There are many similar records throughout the book.
"The task of 1948 was to intensify political study and rectify bad ideas! Yes, last year I felt burdened by organizational life, lazy to review, and afraid of meetings. In the future, we should strengthen our organizational life and organizational concepts, and have the courage to criticize ourselves and expose ourselves. (January 2, 1948)
In the morning, the county party committee convened people to talk about the attitude and content of the reflection. The content is mainly a matter of position, and the attitude should be honest and profound...... In the course of introspection, I thought of the issue of overcoming shortcomings, giving up individualism, serving the people wholeheartedly, and being of one mind with the party. So I deeply felt that it was not easy to overcome the shortcomings. We must go through a long and cruel process of self-struggle, and from every small and specific thing in our daily life, we must defeat the old self and establish a new self. If you relax a little, you will be defeated. (January 22, 1948)
"Baiyangdian should have such a gazi"
When it comes to Xiaobing Zhang Ga, people often think of Baiyangdian, the story takes place in the ghost village on the edge of Baiyangdian, the waterscape filmed in Xiongxian County Qijianfang Township, the first shot of the movie is the waterscape of Baiyangdian, many people know Baiyangdian by watching "Little Soldier Zhang Ga".
Reporter: You are from Xiong'an, the story of "Little Soldier Zhang Ga" takes place in Baiyangdian, and the film shooting is also in Baiyangdian, so if you say that Little Soldier Zhang Ga is a native of Xiong'an, or a "household registration" in Xiong'an, do you agree with this statement?
Xu Guangyao: I agree with that. The people of Baiyangdian are very fond of the little soldier Zhang Ga. Without my knowledge, the people of Baiyangdian built some huts on the edge of their villages, and the huts were piled up with reeds and mud to build the image of a small soldier Zhang Ga. This has been a long time, and they have long made the little soldier Zhang Ga a a local "hukou" and regarded it as their idol.
Reporter: During the Anti-Japanese War, you mainly fought and lived in the area of Ningjin and Zhao County in Hebei Province, which belonged to the sixth division of central Hebei and Baiyangdian was the ninth division.
Xu Guangyao: I am a person near Baiyangdian, I like Baiyangdian very much, the scenery of Baiyangdian is very good, it is the pearl of North China, it is not easy to find such a beautiful place in North China, it is different from Jiangnan, there are more waterscapes in Jiangnan, and there is such a pearl in Baiyangdian in the whole North China, which is a kind of pride of North China people.
When I was writing about the little soldier Zhang Ga, I liked the story of the little soldier Zhang Ga very much, especially I liked Gazi, and I created such a typical character as Gazi. I thought that such a good story and such a good character should be arranged for him to have a beautiful background, so I gathered the stories that actually happened in Ningjin and Zhao County, including the stories of the type of Gazi that I have experienced in my life, and chose the performance location in Baiyangdian, just to give Zhang Ga's story a beautiful background.
Reporter: Duangang Village is more than 20 kilometers away from the Baiyangdian Wharf in Xiongxian County, after you joined the army, you crossed the Daqing River, and then went to Baiyangdian, was that the first time you saw Baiyangdian?
Xu Guangyao: Before I joined the army, I didn't leave the village ten miles away, I didn't go far away, and the countryside was much more isolated than it is now. The first time I was a soldier, the first time I marched, I pulled the team up the bank of the Daqing River, and I looked at my village on the bank of the river, and then got on the big boat, the big boat with two troughs. When the big ship passed through Baiyangdian, I was dizzy for a while, and the comrade-in-arms next to me asked you if you were seasick? I said I don't know, and he said don't look close, you have to look far away, and your eyes should keep looking into the distance, so that you don't get seasick. It was the first time I had seen such a wide and vast surface of water.
I grew up loving water. It rained heavily in my hometown, and there was a lot of water in the puddle, so I often ran in, and we called it a bath at that time, which was actually playing in the water, so I learned to tie the fierce son, and the advantage for me was that after the Eighth Route Army, I crossed the river and crossed the water, and I was more courageous, and I was not afraid of drowning in it all at once, and I could pierce the fierce son out.
Reporter: Baiyangdian has achieved the image of Gazi, and in turn Gazi has also increased the popularity of Baiyangdian, in this sense, can it be said that Gazi has achieved Baiyangdian?
Xu Guangyao: I don't dare to say that Gazi has achieved Baiyangdian, and it is natural that Baiyangdian should produce such a Gazi. Baiyangdian does have such an armed organization as the Yanling team, and during the anti-Japanese period, the reed pond of Baiyangdian played a great role. The devils swept back and forth, and the command organs of several military subdivisions had nowhere to run, so they ran to the Baiyangdian reed pond to take refuge. The consciousness level of the people in Baiyangdian is also high, and the protection of the Eighth Route Army is meticulous.
Xu Guangyao mentioned that the statue of Zhang Ga, a small soldier with reeds and mud, happened more than 30 years ago, when Baiyangdian had just begun to develop tourism, and there was a place with the theme of small soldier Zhang Ga, and made a few rooms, and made some statues with clay, called Ga womb, although rough and simple, it was also regarded as Zhang Ga's "settlement" in Baiyangdian.
In 1964, Xu Guangyao and Sun Li took a group photo in Mancheng, Hebei. (Photo provided by the interviewee)
After entering the 21st century, a folk tourism village named after Gazi was built in a scenic spot, which became a tourist check-in place in Baiyangdian. Gazi Village reproduces the appearance of the villages in Jizhong during the Anti-Japanese War, and uses stone sculptures, wax figures and other forms to show the characters and scenes of the movie "Little Soldier Zhang Ga". The scenic spot also launched the sitcom "Impression of Gazi" to perform the wonderful plot of the movie.
On July 18, 2019, the Xu Guangyao Literature Museum was completed and opened in Gazi Village, and the 94-year-old Xu Guangyao returned to Baiyangdian to attend the opening ceremony and deliver a speech.
The cover of the novel "Little Soldier Zhang Ga" released in the early years. (Photo provided by the interviewee)
So far, the novel has been circulated in more than 10 million copies, and has been translated into English, German, Thai, Arabic, Mongolian, Korean and other languages. The audience of the movie "Little Soldier Zhang Ga" has been several generations, and the TV series and cartoons of the same name have also been launched one after another. In May and June this year, the Hebei Peking Opera Art Research Institute launched a performance of Peking Opera "Little Soldier Zhang Ga" in Xiong'an New Area.
Gazi, who walked out of Baiyangdian, is still moving forward.
"I want to live a life in Xiong'an New Area"
Zanggang Town, where Duangang Village is located, is the location of Xiong'an Station and one of the key construction areas of Xiong'an New Area. There is a big stone standing at the head of Duangang Village, which is written in Duangang Village, Xiong'an New District. The village is neat and full of trees. On the wall of the village there is a brief introduction to Duangang Village and a photo and introduction of Xu Guangyao.
At the entrance of Duangang Village, Zanggang Town, Xiongxian County, Hebei Province, a building reads "Glorious Hometown". (Photo provided by the interviewee)
The profile of Duangang Village reads: "There are 448 households and 1,406 villagers, including 81 party members and 25 villager representatives. The village has 1,778 acres of land, and its economy is dominated by agriculture and handicrafts. Xu Guangyao is a famous contemporary Chinese writer, former chairman of the Hebei Provincial Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and the eternal pride of Duangang Village. Based on this actual situation, our village digs deep into history and culture, creates red highlights, inherits red genes, and builds a red township. ”
Xu Xinmin, secretary of the party branch of Duangang Village, said that since the beginning of this year, the village has cleaned up more than 200 firewood, grass, and sundries on both sides of the road, planted more than 640 seedlings, planted more than 30,000 acres of Gesang flowers, and added about 6,000 square meters of public greenery. The village has begun to develop rural tourism, and there are now 3 homestays, and projects such as picking tours have been launched.
At Duangang Primary School in Duangang Village, Zanggang Town, Xiongxian County, Hebei Province, a teacher introduces Xu Guangyao and his works. (Photo taken on June 14, 2024)
Duangang Primary School is the name of Xu Guangyao's school, and there are many introductions of Xu Guangyao and his works posted on the walls of the teaching building. Teacher Zhao Jing introduced that the school will arrange exhibitions of Xu Guangyao and Xiaobing Zhang Ga every semester to organize children to learn. Surrounding schools also often come to organize special activities, and some schools have also established a small soldier Zhang Ga squadron.
Reporter: Judging from your diary, in the fifties and sixties of the 20th century, it was very difficult for you to return to your hometown from Beijing, or to go southwest to Baoding and then to the east. Or go southeast to Tianjin and then go west, hitchhiking, cycling, walking, you have to take the waterway during the flood season, go back to your home early and get up early and stay dark all day long. Now, Zanggang has built Xiong'an Station, and it only takes one hour to travel from Beijing to Zanggang by high-speed rail.
Xu Guangyao: I was surprised to hear that the train station was the size of 66 football fields.
Reporter: In 1985, you wrote an article "Zisaisi Shenzhen", hoping that the construction speed of your hometown will be as fast as Shenzhen, and now the construction speed of your hometown Xiong'an New Area is very fast.
Xu Guangyao: I can feel it. I think the central government has put a lot of effort into the construction of Xiong'an, including the efforts of the Hebei Provincial Party Committee. The changes and progress of Xiong'an New Area are not too much to describe as earth-shaking.
Reporter: What do you have to say to the people in your hometown?
Xu Guangyao: I am glad for them, I think they are drawn in the circle of Xiong'an New Area, and they live, produce and move forward in this circle, which is their great happiness. I myself am very envious, I think if I can live in our Duangang Village, it would be great to live a life in Xiong'an New Area, this is a kind of yearning of mine, I think it is a very happy, very happy thing.
"Zisaisi Shenzhen" wrote: "There are thousands of thoughts, concentrate on one point, just one word: fast." The reason why Shenzhen is Shenzhen is first of all fast...... Ah, Shenzhen! My heart is calling you. We learn from you, and we should race against you. ”
In 1987, Baiyangdian Lake was in a dry state, and Xu Guangyao wrote in "Xiongfei Miscellaneous Records": "Thousands of changes, Xiongxian County will continue to change greatly." Baiyangdian will be filled with water from the Yellow River, the Daqing River will be covered with new green again, and the tide of reform will be surging everywhere......"
Photograph of Xu Guangyao's early years. (Photo provided by the interviewee)
Now, those hopes of Xu Guangyao have become a reality.
In the start-up area of Xiong'an New Area, the public transportation network of the east-west axis continues to extend horizontally; In the Xiong'an Intercity Station and the International Trade Center area, buildings are growing upward; More than 478,000 acres of forests have been planted in the "Millennium Forest" project, and the forest coverage rate of the new area has increased from 11% to 34.9%; Large-scale ecological restoration and management have been carried out in Baiyangdian, the water quality of the lake area has been improved from inferior class V to class III and has remained stable for three consecutive years, the water level in the lake area has been maintained at about 7 meters, and the number of wild birds and fish in the lake area has increased by 80 and 21 species respectively compared with before the establishment of the new area.
"Chinese literature should serve the Chinese people"
"Reading books, reading newspapers, and watching news broadcasts is my father's habit every day." Xu Dan, the son of Xu Guangyao, told reporters that although the old man's physical activity ability is not as good as before, he has always been very concerned about national affairs, especially about Chinese literature, and he has never stopped paying attention to which writer has published a new book and who has won an international award.
Xu Guangyao was interviewed by Xinhua News Agency. (Photo taken on June 16, 2024)
Reporter: In 1953, after graduating from the Central Institute of Literature at the age of 28, you were already a well-known professional writer, working in Beijing, and your family was also settled in Beijing.
Xu Guangyao: My motivation at that time was purely to write. Ding Ling taught me to go deep into life, to be hard, to be unable to write for a while, not terrible, terrible is to never write well, this has a deep impact on me. At that time, I was already a creative staff member in the creative office of the General Political Department, a full-time writer, just married, the conditions were very good, the monthly salary was 210 yuan, and I couldn't spend it all, but I left the city life behind and decided to return to the countryside. Because the countryside was undergoing tremendous changes at that time, I thought that I must experience this change, otherwise I would not be able to write about the countryside in the future. Moreover, the vast majority of PLA soldiers are peasants, and if I don't understand the current peasants, I don't understand the real PLA soldiers. It was from this motive that I decided to go to the countryside and "eat together," live and work with the masses.
Reporter: Do you have any messages or encouragement for young people who are now engaged in literary work?
Xu Guangyao: Many of the younger generation of literary workers are more influenced by foreign literature, and they tend to like the avant-garde, pursuing magical realism and stream of consciousness. I think it's right to pay attention to absorbing the characteristics of foreign literary works, and you can learn some foreign techniques, but you must be restrained and sinicize them.
Chinese writers must have Chinese style, Chinese style, Chinese thought, and Chinese style. Chinese literature should serve the people of Chinese, the working people of China, and sing the praises of all kinds of progress and construction in China's political, economic, and military fields Chinese.
Xu Guangyao used to be the secretary and chairman of the party group of the Hebei Provincial Federation of Literary and Art Circles. After the interview, Shi Jianwei, secretary of the party group and vice chairman of the Hebei Provincial Federation of Literary and Art Circles, informed Xu Guangyao of the recent work and achievements of the Hebei Provincial Federation of Literary and Art Circles. Congratulations! He also presented his newly completed calligraphy work "Bacon Casting Soul".
Xu Guangyao wrote: "The sun and the moon are faltering, the times are evolving, and people are constantly weeding out the old and bringing forth the new in the midst of changes, but I am old, but there is something in my heart that can never grow old, loyalty to the motherland and the party." ”
Source: Xinhua Daily Telegraph