Mao Zedong, the founding leader of the People’s Republic of China, was proud of the Chishui Battle and praised it as a big victory in his life. In Chishui Memorial Hall, located in Xishui County of Guizhou Province, the exhibits include a door plank used to build a floating bridge in the battle, a rope used to bind ships, and a grenade found at the site of the Qinggangpo Battle. These historical relics bear witness to the glorious history of the Central Red Army crossing the Chishui River four times, getting rid of the besieging of 400,000 enemy troops, and realizing the great victory of strategic transfer.

When the spotlights fall on the relics in the exhibition hall, revolutionary years are unfolded to the audience... For Cao Xingyan, everything in the exhibition hall is not only solemnly telling the red history, but also full of her memories.

Ten letters carry cherished emotion of the revolutionary years

“Now is my 12th year working at Chishui Memorial Hall. Looking back on the pastyears, there were many memorable days. The one that touches me the most is December 21, 2019, when 74-year-old Zhang Degao donated ten letters which he had treasured for 52 years to the memorial hall.” Cao Xingyan told the story of a cultural relic.

Zhang Degao’s father Zhang Zhixian saved wounded Red Army soldier named Huang Wanxian from the enemy. And Zhang Degao’s grandfather took Huang in for the healing. After the founding of New China, Huang wrote to Zhang’s family many times to thank them and local villagers for saving his life.

In a letter, Huang Wanxian wrote: “Regardless of personal safety, they took me in at the risk of being arrested and served me with food and drink. They looked after me, cleaned my wound, and looked around in severe winter for medicine to cure me. They kindly treated me like their own flesh and blood. ”

In the 1990s, Huang Wanxian’s eldest son Huang Guanrong also wrote a letter of gratitude: “More than 60 years ago, my father was badly wounded in the Battle of Tucheng during the Long March. Thanks to the rescue of your predecessors, my father was able to survive and brought up me and my brothers, which our family will always remember. My father’s last words expect us to repay your families for the kindness.”

Following the clue, Cao Xingyan not only visit Zhang Degao’s home several times but also visit the surrounding neighbors to collect more information about Huang’s story. She walked the route of the Qinggangpo Battle and researched the site of fake graves that were used to fool the enemies. Seeing that Cao and other workers cherished those letters so much, Zhang Degao decided to donate ten letters to Chishui Memorial Hall. The letters are officially assessed as national revolutionary cultural relics of Level 3. “The sincere content of these letters truly reflects the selfless support and protection of the Red Army by the people and expresses the gratitude of the Red Army soldiers to the people, carrying deep revolutionary emotion.”

Three “sacrifices” reflect the original aspiration and mission of CPC members

Among her experiences with relics, a visitor in 2012 was also unforgettable to Cao Xingyan. He looked carefully at every paragraph of texts and every photo in the memorial hall. When he came to the last part of the exhibition, with the end of the docent’s explanation, he made a decision to donate his father’s notebook to Chishui Memorial Hall. The notebook has followed Luo Jianmin through many places where his father, General Luo Yourong, once fought. He wanted to donate the notebook to the memorial hall that he found most satisfied.

“We were quite touched by the donation, especially the words in the notebook.” Cao Xingyan recalled a paragraph in the notebook: “A CPC member or a revolutionary soldier should follow three ‘sacrifices’: sacrifice your life, sacrifice your money, and sacrifice the care of your family. The sacrifice of life is for the good survival of millions of toiling masses! The sacrifice of money is for the poor to live a rich life! The sacrifice of family care is for a future that every family in the country can live a happy life.” This was the Commander-in-chief Zhu De’s speech in the mobilization of all commanders when the Central Red Army crossed the Chishui River in 1935. This was also what 53 years later General Luo Yourong wrote on his notebook after being awarded the first-class Red Star Medal of Honor for Meritorious Service.

“General Luo Yourong’s notebook has attracted wide attention since it was exhibited and was reported by the media such as Xinhua News Agency, People’s Daily, and Xuexi.cn. The most representative reports include Look at the original aspiration of CPC members from the three ‘sacrifices’, and CPC members should follow three ‘sacrifices’. Especially since the Party History education was launched this year, it has become a vivid subject and material for education.”

In order to understand the story on the notebook more deeply, Cao Xingyan interviewed Luo Jianmin and his family to write materials for the relic, so that the revolutionary story can be better handed down. Luo Jianmin also donated his father’s Red Star Medal to the memorial hall. “My father’s notebook finally finds its home where it could play its historical value and help more people to understand the arduous Long March and the hard-won happy life today. It will strengthen people’s confidence and determination to be grateful to the Party, listen to the Party, and follow its lead.”

The Chishui Battle carries a red spirit that will never fade

The story behind each piece of relics was recorded by Cao Xingyan. Pursuing every clue to discover the story, she visited historical sites, interviewed witnesses, and wrote down the story behind each relic. She also searched for clues in books and documents and captured historical details suitable for the exhibition. Cao carefully considered the display form and compiled the outline, so that the cultural relics are able to “open their mouth” to tell their stories. She said, “although most of the revolutionary relics are ordinary objects, they are the ‘stars’ of the memorial hall. They witnessed the glorious history of the heroic struggle of the Party and Chinese people. They saw the great course of the Chinese revolution.”

With the technological development and change of media, Chishui Memorial Hall also expands its exhibition to the internet through VR technology, so that the audience can easily engage in the immersive exhibition via mobile devices. The offline exhibition also makes full use of scientific and technological means to show the fierce battle scenes, where visitors can enjoy the impressive interactive game and the Red Army slogan writing experience. “The Communist Party of China has built a system of red spirits through one century of arduous exploration. I believe that no matter how the times change, the red spirit of motivation will always remain an essential part of Chinese values. It is also an important source of national centripetal force, cohesion, appeal and spiritual vitality.”

As one of the “National Best Narrator of Revolutionary Cultural Relics”, Cao Xingyan expected to offer more people a vivid understanding of historical connotation and the red spirits behind revolutionary cultural relics. “Every exhibit in Chishui Memorial Hall is an important spiritual carrier of the Chishui Battle. As a staffer, it is my responsibility to carry forward and spread the precious spirit left by our ancestors and make unremitting efforts to pass on the red gene by telling revolutionary stories.”