Agnes Smedley, once described as a flaming American journalist, a feminist and a political radical, had broadcast the Events to the world in English at critical moments.
Agnes Smedley
Before she came to China, she became famous for her autobiographical "Daughter of the Earth", and in the best sister of "Daughter of the Earth", "China's Battle Song", she described the great historical process of the Chinese people rising up against Japanese aggression and fighting for national liberation from the perspective of ordinary people such as soldiers, intellectuals, women and children in the form of an autobiography.
This tome has been hailed as the best reportage and the best field communications of the Second World War period.
In this "China's War Song", she once proudly spoke of her "Chinese son", but for this famous writer and journalist who never had children in her life, what is the origin of her "son"?
It was in January 1940 that Smedley arrived at the Anti-Japanese Democratic Base Area of the New Fourth Army's Yu'e Border Region, accompanied by another legendary woman, An'e, the lyricist of "Fishing Light Song" and "Selling Newspaper Song".
Escorting them was Zhang Zhiyi, chief of the liaison section of the Political Department of the Yu'e Advance Column, who sent Japanese prisoners to the headquarters of the Twenty-ninth Group Army in the Fifth Theater in the name of "staff officers." When he returned, he took Smedley and An'e to the Yu'e Border Area of the New Fourth Army.
When they came to the base area of the border area, a woman who was collecting the soles of her shoes saw them from a distance and greeted them. When she saw Smedley and Ann E, she thought it was Japanese again.
"Staff Sergeant Zhang" hurriedly waved his hand, pointing to Smedley and An'e, these two are an American lady, a famous female journalist in the world; one is our Chinese female writer, who can write articles and write better than male writers...
These two legendary women came together and will go deep into the anti-Japanese front, visit the New Fourth Army's Yu'e Advance Column, and write countless exciting reportages to lead readers to the scene at that time:
"From the end of 1939 to June 1940, before the fall of Yichang, the anti-Japanese fronts in northern Hubei and central Hubei, that is, at the beginning of the stalemate stage of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression after the fall of Wuhan, the hardships and tragedies of the frontal winter offensive in the Fifth Theater, the Battle of Suizao, and the Battle of Zaoyi (the first paragraph); the vigorous vitality of the New Fourth Army's Advance Column in the guerrilla battlefield behind enemy lines at the beginning of the formation, and the initial military prestige of actively cooperating with frontal battlefield operations and marching deeper into the enemy's rear..."
Soon, the group came to the guest house of the political department of the column, which was a room vacated from a private house. After entering the house, Smedley and An'e looked up and saw that they were happy, only to see a large caricature on the broken wall and a welcome speech in Chinese and English, as if pasting the wall all over the wall.
Look at the new white paper on the window, the bed is covered with white sheets and fleece blankets, candles are lit, and the house is burning with charcoal, which looks very warm.
All this made the two ladies very moved, in that era of war, especially in the battlefield behind enemy lines, there was a shortage of materials. It seems to be such a simple arrangement, and behind it is full of the painstaking efforts and respect of the people and soldiers.
The welcoming ceremony for the troops was also special, as an emergency assembly.
When they followed the notice's request to the assembly, they found that there were red, green and green signs posted everywhere along the way:
"Welcome to Ms. Smedley, who presides over humanitarianism!"
"Welcome to ms. Smedley, an international comrade-in-arms!"
"Welcome to the callers of justice!"
"Welcome to Ms. Stuartley's critical guidance!"
"People from China and the United States will join hands to overthrow Fascists!"
Everyone came to the basketball court of the meeting place, only to see a platform set up in the middle, with pine branches tied to the platform, the red cloth above read "Welcome to the International Friends Conference", and the pillar next to it also had a slogan.
The leader of the political department of the column announced the start of the meeting and said: "I report to you today a gratifying news, we have three guests here, three friends. They all love us and help us. ”
"Three guests" refers to Smedley, Ann E, and a translator.
Then he said, "This yellow-haired lady is our international friend, Ms. Smedley!" This is Ms. An E, who wrote "Fishing Light Song". ”
They met with everyone in a long and warm applause...
Smedley and Ann
In the following months of interviews with the army, Smedley and An'e traveled all over the mountains, plains, and lakes of Jingshan, Anlu, Yingcheng, Hanchuan, and other counties, constantly walking, watching, asking, listening, speaking, and remembering, very diligent, very keen, and very happy.
At a joint meeting on women's work in the Border Region, Smedley briefed everyone on what she knew about the rear area and the international situation, particularly with regard to the women's movement in the United States.
She was born in the United States to a poor working family, worked as a maid, a tobacco factory worker, a book salesman, etc., went to Europe in 1919, lived in Berlin for 8 years, and came to China in 1928...
When it was An'e's turn to speak, everyone unanimously asked her to teach singing, which was difficult for An'e.
At this time, I don't know who said: "If you don't teach songs, just sing "Fishing Light Song" to everyone!"
Sing it, An'e shyly sang this popular song, and Smedley gently clapped her hands with everyone to beat An'e.
After this head finished singing, someone over there asked Li Xiannian, the commander of the column, to sing.
Li Xiannian smiled and sang it, singing it gently and delicately, and he couldn't hear that he was a commander who had experienced hundreds of battles.
The delicate Commander Lee sent two attendants to Smedley and An'e to take care of their work and life. The older one is called Wang Xinghua, and the younger one is called Shen Guohua, who is said to be a waiter, but in fact, they are all teenage little ghosts.
In particular, Shen Guohua was not tall, a little malnourished, and his thin body was wrapped in a fat cotton military uniform, which was full of lice.
The two guards brought them food, water, letters, and cleaned their rooms during the day, and burned charcoal at night to warm up the house in advance. The rest of the time is spent writing or reading in class.
Stuttley and An'e liked the two children, especially Shen Guohua, and treated him like their own son. Smedley prefers to affectionately call him "Little Guohua".
Every time Xiao Guohua came, Smedley always had to "rectify" him first. In the middle of the cold winter month, she built a pot of charcoal in the house, boiled the water, washed Xiao Guohua from head to toe, and then hung the cotton clothes he was wearing on the brazier and baked, and the lice fell in the brazier...
Listening to the crackling sound, looking at Smedley's busy figure, Xiao Guohua was uncomfortable, muttering in his heart, his task was to take care of her, how to let her take care of himself.
After spending a long time together, Smedley slowly learned about Xiao Guohua's origins.
Xiao Guohua originally lived in a family of five, the family has several broken grass houses, although poor, but also warm.
But misfortune soon came, and after the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the people were not happy, his father was killed in a war, and his mother was injured. Two older brothers joined the army one after another, one of whom died in battle, and the other was uncertain.
Xiao Guohua supported the life of mother and son by begging, and at that time, he was also full of lice, and he also had many sores, and often fell ill.
He once came to the door of a rich man's house and stood outside the courtyard trembling all day, getting nothing. Seeing the children of the rich family going to school, Xiao Guohua was very envious, but he could only go to the landlord's house to herd cattle...
When the lonely little Guohua heard that the Eighth Route Army was "the army of the poor" and could still learn to read and write, he was determined to find this team.
Xiao Guohua asked questions whenever he encountered people, looked for them when he encountered the army, and was beaten for asking the police. However, he did not give up until he met Wang Laohan (a veteran of the New Fourth Army), and under the introduction of Wang Laohan, he came to the New Fourth Army Yu'e Advance Column.
There is no scolding, there is food to eat, there is clothing to wear, and you can read...
Listening to Xiao Guohua's narration, looking at his sometimes sad and sometimes joyful expression, Smedley fell into contemplation.
Although she had long understood the suffering of the Chinese people, facing a child who had come from the depths of the water in such a direct way gave her a great impact.
She thought that although the life of the army had made Xiao Guohua very satisfied, this kind of life was still too harsh for a child in his early teens.
Children, the future of the country, need to learn knowledge, learn science. However, in this era of military chaos, except for a small number of rich children, other children do not come to the army, what better way out?
Thinking of this, Smedley pulled Xiao Guohua into his side and lovingly combed his hair and clothes for him.
Feeling the warmth of Smedley, Xiao Guohua looked up at her and sighed: "You are like my mother." ”
Smedley and Shen Guohua
In the process of getting along with half relatives and half friends, Smedley found Xiao Guohua very interesting, although he was young, he had "the unique intelligence of Chinese children".
During one evening march, they were disoriented, and Xiao Guohua looked at the stars in the sky, pointed ahead, and said, "Go here, that's right." Sure enough, they quickly caught up with the troops.
One night, the north wind was howling and the sky was snowing heavily, and Smedley was worried about whether he could leave after dawn.
Xiao Guohua came to the window, observed for a while, and said, "The wind and snow will soon stop." ”
Then he explained to Smedley, "The wind whistles like that, the snowflakes flutter like this, and the blizzard will soon stop." There was no profound insight in the discourse, but it was quickly fulfilled again.
In the days when Xiao Guohua accompanied Smedley and An'e, no matter where he went, whether it was night or day, he could do and find everything they needed.
For example, to eat late at night, or which kind of thing to eat, or more firewood, charcoal, lamps, candles, pots, pots, and everything in bits and pieces. As long as there is a surrounding area, Xiao Guohua can find it, and when there is no time, he can also find a very clever substitute.
The revolutionary journey was very different, and soon Smedley and An'e were ready to go to the Honghu guerrilla area west of Hankou for interviews. Considering the long distance and the danger of taking Xiao Guohua all the way behind enemy lines, Smedley was ready to say goodbye to him.
Xiao Guohua was so sad that he was about to cry, looking at the skinny appearance of the little devil, Smedley was also a little unbearable, she wrote a letter to Xiao Guohua, and applied to the leader of the column for Xiao Guohua to accompany him. Xiao Guohua, who was holding the letter, ran away with a cigarette.
Early the next morning, Smedley was ready to leave, but he couldn't find Xiao Guohua everywhere. Smedley thought that the leader of the column had not approved her request, and was a little sorry, and no longer hesitated, and decided to set off.
As soon as the group got on their horses, they heard a rapid shout and a horse's hooves from behind: "Wait a minute..." Looking back, it was Xiao Guohua who caught up with full armor and looked at Smedley with a smiling face...
Afterwards, Smedley learned that Xiao Guohua had not handed over the letter, and he jumped into the commander's room with a jump, and after a military salute, repeatedly explained the reason why he wanted to go to Honghu Lake with Smedley.
He knew her habits and needs, which no one else necessarily knew; he was short, but he could carry heavy burdens, and he marched all night...
Smylet recalled: "This little ghost is really 'ghost', I don't know if he is afraid of cheating in my letter, or he is not willing to push the responsibility on me." ”
Under the protection of a platoon of the New Fourth Army, Smedley and his party marched to the swampy area of Honghu Lake.
One night a few days later, they came to a road. This was the main communication route for the Japanese army from Hankou to the dahongshan front, and it was heavily guarded, and all the villages along the line were stationed with Japanese troops.
In the middle of the night, the procession was quietly circling a village, preparing to cross the blockade line. Suddenly, a strong light came from not far away.
"Enemy! Get ready for battle! The experienced commander gave an urgent order, and the soldiers quickly pounced on both sides of the road.
Smedley was stunned by this sudden situation, and she stood on horseback in the middle of the road, forgetting to move for a moment.
"Quick, hidden!" Before Smedley could relax, the horse was jerked and sped across the road.
"Hooray, fight! A rare battle to experience. Smedley was so excited that she dismounted and hid behind a grave bag in the bushes next to her, quietly observing. Xiao Guohua was lying on a small mound, carrying a small pony gun, covering Smedley.
"Gah... Gah..." The tracer shell cut through the night sky, and the roar of bullets and the explosion of grenades resounded deafeningly.
Thrills come and go quickly, and soon the battle is over. However, as soon as he turned around, Xiao Guohua could not find Smedley.
The commander was also anxious: "I can't find Mr. Shi, and no one should want to go back." ”
The warriors knew the heavy responsibility and quickly looked for them separately.
"Snap, snap!" The warriors gave two gentle high-fives for each leg of their advance, a code sign agreed upon by the Night Marchers.
……
"Snap, snap!" Two slight echoes came from the front. Following the direction of the sound, Xiao Guohua vaguely saw a war horse, only to see Smedley standing by the horse, and she was also anxiously looking for troops.
Xiao Guohua hurriedly rushed forward, and two small hands grasped Smedley's arm tightly, afraid that she would disappear again as soon as she let go.
Everyone told Smedley that after Xiao Guohua found out that she was lost, he was in tears, running around in the dark, looking for someone, and not listening to anyone he tried to persuade.
Listening to it, Smedley's eye sockets were moistened...
Afterwards, the soldiers excitedly recounted the course of the battle, and it turned out that the troops encountered the Japanese patrol, and under the fierce counterattack of the fighters, they retreated in a hurry.
Equally excited, Smedley wrote the chapter "A Battle I Experienced" with a stroke of his pen, which was recorded in "Hymns of China".
In the course of China's revolution, she left a deep trace of battle, using not a gun, but a pen, and her soul, composing a moving revolutionary song.
Along the way, her carry-on luggage was also simple: a black handbag containing a camera and a notebook for interviews.
She once said to the soldiers humorously: "I am a poor journalist, a real proletarian, with nothing but pen and paper." But with you, I feel very fulfilled and rich. ”
In the early morning, the group came to the town by the lake. The people in the town suspected that the enemy was coming, and they all fled by boat to the center of the lake, but later found that there was no abnormality and returned one after another.
When she returned, the crowd was amazed, and the crowd surrounded Smedley and looked at her, guessing whether she was a man or a woman, an American or a German...
A woman pulled the frightened child to her side: "Yo, her eyes are like cat's eyes!" ”
Smedley often encountered this situation, and did not say anything, just smiled at them.
Xiao Guohua couldn't help it: "Her eyes are definitely not like the eyes of a cat!" She was a woman and our American friend. She also changed bandages, washed bloody clothes, and fed water to the wounded soldiers. ”
As he spoke, he lifted one of Smedley's hands, the bandaged one, and beckoned, "Look! This is what she burned when she bathed the wounded soldier with boiling water! ”
Looking at Xiao Guohua's serious look, Smedley liked it in his heart. A thought flashed in my mind, why not adopt a child, how cute Xiao Guohua is!
She remembered that there was a children's school in Chongqing, founded by a professor who had received special training for American children, where children managed themselves, with simple food and clothing, and low costs.
If Xiao Guohua goes there to learn scientific and cultural knowledge, he will be able to send him to the United States for further study in the future. Although Guohua is a child, he especially loves to learn, especially has a scientific mind...
But on the other hand, the days when Smedley left the Yu'e Border Region were getting closer and closer, and she had to calm down and think: Can she bear this responsibility by being alone, making her home from all over the world, and adopting a child? Also, although Xiao Guohua is a child, he is even more a soldier of the New Fourth Army, will the leaders of the unit agree?
Thinking of this, when Smedley was about to leave the border area, she found the commander of the column, Li Xiannian, and talked about the adoption of Xiao Guohua.
Li Xiannian was very surprised, and then smiled and asked, "Why are you willing to adopt Guohua?" ”
Smedley said: "Don't look at the small country, but he has a scientific thinking mind." For example, he has careful observations and judgments about lice (typhus) and blizzards; he can look at the stars to identify directions. He and I also have a deep affection..."
After listening to Smedley's sincere words, Li Xiannian agreed, but there was a request that Xiao Guohua himself volunteer.
Smedley found Xiao Guohua and told him that she wanted to adopt him, send him to a children's school in Chongqing, and then go to the United States in the future...
Xiao Guohua listened, bowed his head and did not speak, and after a long time, he raised his head: "Please allow me to discuss with my comrades-in-arms." ”
The next day, Xiao Guohua and another little ghost came to Smedley, his eyes were red, and he said with embarrassment: "Mother Shi, you are even closer than my biological mother!" You're going to adopt me, and I'm thankful. We discussed the matter and thought that all men should stay ahead. ”
Smedley was a little surprised, and he froze there, staring at Xiao Guohua and sighing halfway.
Xiao Guohua didn't know how to be good, took her hand, and whispered, "You can adopt me after the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan." ”
Smedley was very touched, and she held Xiao Guohua tightly in her arms. At this moment, she understood Xiao Guohua.
Before leaving, Smedley still couldn't rest assured of Xiao Guohua, and she asked the leader of the column to arrange her "son" Shen Guohua to go to the children's theater troupe of the column.
The troupe is led by a young female teacher who spends half a day reading and half a day rehearsing plays, group dances, or singing.
Soon, a flat leaf boat carried Smedley away from honghu Lake. Xiao Guohua squeezed in front of the group of senders, waving a pair of small hands vigorously.
Smedley stood at the bow of the boat for a long time, until everything on the shore of the lake was shrouded in fog...
A few years later, Smedley, who returned to the United States, wrote in an article: "I once tried to adopt a skinny war orphan of the New Fourth Army, send him to a school in Chongqing, and then bring him back to the United States. The kid thought about it all night.
In the end he refused, telling me to adopt him 'after the final victory' because 'now the front needs everyone'. This is the cry of all the children, the cries of fifty million people, and now it fills my studio..."
But where did she know that her Chinese son had sacrificed his young life for the cause of the liberation of the motherland? Inside and outside the Great Wall, north and south of the great river, Shen Guohua's figure can no longer be found, he sacrificed, sacrificed on the battlefield full of bullets.
But at this time, the moment when Smedley said goodbye to this world was not far away. Due to the prevalence of McCarthyism in the United States, she was forced into exile and prepared to come to China via Britain.
However, her health deteriorated due to bleeding from a stomach ulcer and she survived on milk alone. She had a premonition about this and wrote down her will lightly:
I am not a Christian and do not wish to hold any religious ceremonies in front of my body.... I have only one loyalty and one faith, aiming for the liberation of the poor and oppressed, that is, loyalty to the revolution that is under way in China...
If I could sing a song in front of my body: "Get up...", that is China's national anthem, I will be infinitely grateful. Except for China, my soul cannot be at peace anywhere in the world. I want my ashes to be with the Chinese revolutionaries who sacrificed their lives...
On May 6, 1950, Smedley died of surgery in London, England, at the age of 58. On the first anniversary of her death, Beijing held a memorial service and a solemn funeral for her.
Her ashes are placed among the pines and cypresses of the Chinese Martyrs' Cemetery in Babaoshan, Beijing, and a marble tombstone is engraved with gold characters with the inscription written by Zhu De: "The Tomb of Ms. Smedley, a friend of the Chinese people, an American revolutionary writer."
She was finally with her Chinese son and was buried in the land of China...