Red Sun

Author: Wu Qiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-03
Features: It completely establishes the power of artistic imagination on the foundation of observation and experience. By shaping a vivid and layered portrayal of characters, it organizes literature and history together and ultimately allows literature to transcend history, moving towards its own form and essence. This successfully avoids the dilemma in the creation of Red Sun, providing a successful and reference-worthy model for the creation of contemporary Chinese revolutionary historical themes and historical fiction. The success of Red Sun is both possible and inevitable, as its genuine and valuable creative impulse entirely stems from the inspiration of objective life and the sincere desire of an equally authentic and natural heart. This eliminates the possibility of theme-driven creation, achieving a purely literary nature. As a military personnel, the author Wu Qiang personally experienced the Battle of Mengliangguan during the evacuation from Lianshui, which was depicted in both history and the novel. The great miracle of war ignited his creative passion, making him feel the joy of victory while simultaneously desiring to express this historical process and miracle. This desire was permanently buried in his heart, uninterrupted by subsequent military campaigns or peaceful life (as Wu Qiang explicitly stated in his reflections on his creative experiences). Meanwhile, his rich experience in revolutionary struggles continuously strengthened this desire. Thus, after long-term incubation and preparation, the creation of Red Sun became a realistic and possible endeavor.
If the pure creative motivation granted Red Sun the possibility of success, then shaping a group of characters based on his personal experiences and observations demonstrated the author's extraordinary talent in understanding artistic laws. To depict a grand historical process, the spirit and power of the People's Liberation Army, and an inevitable, massive historical structure, relying solely on a few characters and expansive scenes would be insufficient. Unprecedentedly, the author used an entire army as the basic unit of representation, with the image of the army commander at its core to develop a vast system of character portrayals, perfectly corresponding to the structure and momentum of history, showcasing the author's artistic ingenuity.
In terms of character creation itself, Red Sun also made original contributions. First, it set a precedent for portraying senior commanders of the People's Liberation Army, exposing them in the light of daily life without any heroic mystique. For example, the army commander Shen Zhenxin and the deputy army commander Liang Bo are two commanding figures with distinct personalities. Shen Zhenxin is heroic, resolute, and decisive, caring for his subordinates while being strict, and deeply resenting and despising the enemy. Beneath his stern and dignified exterior lies a heart full of emotions and a sense of honor. Liang Bo, in contrast to Shen Zhenxin's solemnity, is cheerful, lively, and boisterous, with a sense of humor but without losing the demeanor of a statesman and military strategist. This treatment of characters undoubtedly gives them a lively and relatable quality, bridging the distance between readers and the author's experience, and enhancing the work's expressiveness and impact.
Second, Red Sun boldly created and characterized antagonists, marking another achievement in artistic innovation. In the work, the author deviated from the fashionable trend of stereotyping and caricaturing villains, delving deeply into their souls and exploring their inner worlds, granting them independent and autonomous status within the narrative structure. For instance, Zhang Lingfu, in the novel, exhibits both arrogance and certain military qualities and talents, a mixture of cowardice and a so-called "loyalty" to duty, and a combination of cruelty and vanity. Such portrayals of antagonists are unparalleled in the literature of contemporary revolutionary military history.
Additionally, Red Sun demonstrates the author's exceptional narrative skills. The novel intentionally employs highly condensed, prose-like language,ing rhythmic jumps, and uses techniques of omission and blank spaces to connect dialogue, resulting in a light, concise, and crisp style. This ensures that readers are not burdened by the language, making the reading experience truly enjoyable. Clearly, such achievements require a high level of literary perception and appreciation.
All these aspects of Red Sun provide practical and thought-provoking insights for the study and creation of contemporary Chinese literature. A deep understanding and research of the work are not only feasible but also highly necessary—an endeavor that will undoubtedly be both enjoyable and meaningful.
In the late autumn of 1946, the Nationalist army's elite 74th Division began to launch a frenzied offensive against the liberated areas of East China. Shen Zhenxin's army of the East China People's Liberation Army bravely resisted. After fierce battles, the army was forced to retreat northward to Shandong, implementing a strategic transfer. The defeat in combat and the departure from familiar homes left the troops in a state of depression and confusion. Shen Zhenxin, the army commander, felt as heavy-hearted as his soldiers, restless and irritable, consumed by hatred for the enemy and frustration over the defeat. This once-brave and skilled commander temporarily lost his normal life order and rhythm. He longed for the day when he could once again clash with the 74th Division and settle the score.
The army entered northern Shandong for rest and preparation, unifying its thoughts and enhancing combat readiness. After the reorganization, the army's morale was high, and the fighting spirit was at an all-time peak. Meanwhile, Chiang Kai-shek made his final decision to launch a full-scale offensive against the East China liberated areas,, aiming to crush the 300,000 East China People's Liberation Army with superior forces into the narrow, elongated in Shandong for a decisive battle. However, the East China People's Liberation Army headquarters, after meticulous planning, resolved to eliminate the enemy in batches, opening a gap in the enemy's encirclement and completely destroying their plan. The target of the strategic counteroffensive was first set on encircling the enemy forces led by Li Xianzhou, centered around Laiwu and the surrounding area of Tusi Kou. Shen Zhenxin's army joined the battle from south to north.
After a forced march, the army arrived at Tusi Kou at the scheduled time, joining friendly units to encircle the 50,000-strong Li Xianzhou forces. The battle of Laiwu began. Along a 30-li front, the East China People's Liberation Army launched an irresistible offensive. Shen Zhenxin's army quickly captured the enemy's outer perimeter at Tusi Kou, but the enemy, relying on their fortified bunkers and superior equipment, resisted stubbornly, leading to a stalemate. At this critical moment, East China People's Liberation Army Commander Chen Yi directly instructed Shen Zhenxin to swiftly resolve the battle at Tusi Kou.
In a decisive move, Shen Zhenxin transferred Liu Sheng and Chen Jian's "Tiger Brigade," the reserve force, to the front lines, forming a force to break through the enemy's fire net and penetrate the heart of Tusi Kou to eliminate the enemy command post. Supported by artillery fire, the soldiers charged forward bravely, quickly breaking through several enemy lines and reaching the enemy's division command post. Seeing the situation was dire, the enemy commander He Mang panicked and disguised himself to flee, but was captured alive by sharpshooter Wang Maosheng. The fall of Tusi Kou forced Li Xianzhou to decide on a breakout, but upon entering the East China People's Liberation Army's ambush zone, the enemy was routed, losing combat effectiveness quickly, and Li Xianzhou was captured.
The battle of Laiwu lasted less than three days, eliminating over 56,000 enemy troops and completely disintegrating their encirclement and attack against the East China People's Liberation Army. Chiang Kai-shek was furious, flew to Jinan to personally supervise the battle, and attempted to deploy the 74th Division, his elite unit, as the core and backbone for a new offensive against the strategic key of Shandong's, hoping to force the East China People's Liberation Army into a decisive battle. However, the enemy's actions were quickly contained by the East China People's Liberation Army. After deliberation, the decision was made to encircle the advancing 74th Division and eliminate it decisively to strike at the enemy's arrogance.
The enemy commander Zhang Lingfu, personally nurtured by Chiang Kai-shek, was arrogant and autocratic, believing his well-equipped division and close relationship with the leader would protect him from danger. Unaware of the crisis, he confidently chose the area around Mengliangguan as his defensive center, attempting to encircle and eliminate the main forces of the East China People's Liberation Army with a "middle" strategy, in coordination with other enemy units.
Meanwhile, Shen Zhenxin's army received orders to rush from Shandong's southern region at night to participate in the battle in the. The entire army was in high spirits, ready to confront the 74th Division and avenge the defeat at Lianshui. Liu Sheng and Chen Jian's brigade arrived first at Duozhuang,ed an enemy logistics unit that had also reached Duozhuang, and then seized a crucial high ground between Duozhuang and Mengliangguan, posing a severe threat to the enemy. The pincer movement to encircle the 74th Division tightened further, and the battle entered its fiercest phase.
Shen Zhenxin personally arrived at the front to command the battle. Liu Sheng and Chen Jian's forces were the first to reach the mountain slopes, engaging the enemy in a brutal close-quarters fight. The battle was exceptionally fierce, with the enemy stubbornly loyal to Zhang Lingfu, refusing to surrender in the hope of grasping any chance for victory. Shen Zhenxin's army demonstrated great sacrifice, pressing forward relentlessly without retreating. At the critical moment of salvation, the commander of Liu Sheng's brigade was martyred. Liu Sheng's sacrifice further enraged the soldiers, and they finally captured the main enemy position on Mengliangguan—Yuhuangding.
Shen Zhenxin decided to have Chen Jian's brigade hold Yuhuangding, using the advantageous terrain to strike the enemy, while sending elite small units to find a path along the sheer cliffs to directly attack the enemy command post. Led by Yang Jun and others, the small unit approached Zhang Lingfu's lair with ingenuity and courage, engaging the enemy both outside and inside the cave in a bloody battle. In the fierce fighting, Zhang Lingfu was shot and killed by stray bullets.
Without their commander, the enemy saw the defeat was inevitable and surrendered en masse. The once-arrogant 74th Division was now completely annihilated, and the victorious flag of the East China People's Liberation Army fluttered atop the peak of Mengliangguan.