Three Main Red Army Forces Meet - The Complete History of the Long March of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Part 5)

Author: Xu Zhanquan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features: In late September 1935, the Shaanxi-Gansu-Jinshui Provincial Committee of the CCP began conducting a mistaken campaign of purges in the Shaanxi-Gansu base area and among the Red Army. By early October, they had arrested numerous party, government, and military leaders, including Liu Zhidan, the Deputy Corps Commander and Chief of Staff of the 15th Corps, severely damaging the unity within the party and the Red Army, provoking strong opposition from the masses and military personnel, and creating a highly critical situation. Liu Zhidan was a "leader of the masses and a national hero," an outstanding proletarian revolutionary and military strategist, and one of the main founders of the Shaanxi-Gansu revolutionary base area and the Red Army. Born on October 4, 1903, in Bao'an County (now Zhidan), Shaanxi Province, Liu Zhidan from a young age deeply admired heroic figures who sought justice, fought against inequality, and risked their lives for righteousness. Particularly influenced by the new culture and new ideas of the May Fourth Movement, he valued democracy and science, opposed feudal rituals, and, having lived among the impoverished and backward laboring people of northern Shaanxi for a long time, witnessed firsthand the miserable scenes of hunger and suffering in his homeland. He was deeply dissatisfied with the dark state of old China, determined to pursue truth, save the nation and its people, and change the unequal social conditions. In 1922, Liu Zhidan, with a simple desire to transform society and revitalize China, applied to Yulin Middle School in northern Shaanxi. At the time, Yulin Middle School was an active, progressive, and revolutionary school, especially under the influence of Mr. Du Bincheng's idea of "democratic education to save the nation." Marxism-Leninism and the New Culture Movement were widely disseminated there, and the CCP and the Communist Youth League organizations had been established early in the Northern Expedition period. From the Northern Expedition period to the liberation of Yulin, the party conducted long and arduous struggles at Yulin Middle School, cultivating and training a large number of outstanding young students, among whom Liu Zhidan was a distinguished representative. After entering the school, under the guidance of teachers like Wei Yechong and Li Zizhou, a member of the CCP, Liu Zhidan studied progressive publications such as "The Manifesto of the Communist Party," "The Guide," and "New Youth," and, like many young people who loved their country and pursued progress, began to observe China and the world with new eyes, examining history and reality. Through the discernment of various social trends, political claims, and political forces, and after historical comparison and practical choice, he accepted Marxism and realized that only socialism could save China. This was a qualitative leap in his understanding of the Chinese revolution. In winter 1924, Liu Zhidan joined the Socialist Youth League (which was renamed the Communist Youth League in 1925). In spring 1925, he became a member of the CCP. From then on, he became a staunch communist, dedicating himself wholeheartedly to the revolutionary movement. He once firmly stated, "Joining the party means fighting for one's beliefs until the end." He not only declared this but also practiced it. In early 1926, following the decision of the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the CCP, Liu Zhidan traveled through Shanxi, Beijing, and Tianjin to Guangzhou and, with great determination, applied to the famous Whampoa Military Academy. He was assigned to the first company of the first infantry regiment of the fourth term and later transferred to the artillery department. This was a major turning point in his revolutionary career and the beginning of his military career. P2-3