Dai Qingli: My Child's Study of Party History -- Sharing at the First Party Branch's "My Red Feelings" Reading Session

Children raised under the Party's banner, from their early years, have been exposed to heroic tales. I remember my child asking me while watching TV with us: "Mom, why do the police officers on the news always help people they don't know? Why do the uncles and aunts on TV sing songs about how there would be no New China without the Communist Party?" At that time, I would tell him about how our older generation of revolutionaries sacrificed their lives to bring about our current happy life, and how police officers represent our country and protect our peace.

Later, when he was a little older, while walking along the roadside near the company building, he would ask me why it was so dark and empty behind the large green iron gate. When we visited the Army Lecture Hall by Cuihu Lake, he would ask me who had used the military uniforms and guns on display. I would also take him to learn about the air-raid shelters in Hongshan, built during the War of Resistance Against Japan to defend against Japanese air raids; and about the Army Lecture Hall's commemoration of the significant contribution of the people of western Yunnan and the Yunnan Expeditionary Force's bloody battles on the China-India-Myanmar battlefield, ultimately leading to victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan.

Gradually, children's books adapted from classic red literature became the first choice for my child every time we went to the bookstore. Together, we read "Chinese History Stories - Modern Chinese History," "A Children's History of the World - World Wars," and "The Story of the Long March." These included China's modern "May Fourth Movement," "September 18th Incident," and "War of Resistance Against Japan"; the modern world's "Origin of the 38th Parallel," "Hero Huang Jiguang," and "The Story of Premier Zhou at the Bandung Conference"; and stories from the Red Army's Long March, such as "A Piece of Dry Food," "Sacrificing to Build a Bridge," and "Saving Comrades in the Snow Mountains." One by one, the glorious heroic images forged by our Party, and one by one, the arduous years experienced by our Party, planted red seeds in my child's heart.

The protagonists of "The Story of Lei Feng" and "How Steel Was Tempered," two classic children's books, both had impoverished backgrounds and tragic childhoods, with their relatives perishing in the wars and turmoil of the old society. When we read together about how Marxism and the Communist Party gave them a new lease on life, how under the guidance of communist ideology they transformed from ordinary people into proletarian revolutionaries, and how they dedicated their ordinary yet great lives to the red faith and ideals, I saw the stars shining in my child's eyes and the resolute expression on his lips.

In the new era, contemporary Chinese heroes abound. Heroes are not only born in war, and patriotism, the "May Fourth Spirit," and the "Long March Spirit" are not only ignited in the midst of gunfire, but also have deeper connotations in the new era: around us, there are soldiers who have long stationed on the border, defending the country's borders with their lives; medical workers and volunteers who have long been on the front lines of fighting the epidemic; village secretaries and poverty alleviation teachers on the front lines of the poverty alleviation campaign; and intellectuals who have broken through international technological blockades and successfully launched the Tiangong space station for the motherland. Our national spirit and red patriotic sentiments will continue to enrich and develop in this new historical period. Through repeated readings and joyful sharing with my child, we will root the red genes in the bloodline of the next generation, allowing the descendants of the Chinese nation to grow into new-era builders who inherit the red spirit on the land of the motherland.

【Contract Budget Department/Dai Qingli Editor/Hu Hengjin】