My Chronicle (1939---1945)

Author: Yu Guangyuan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: This book is Yu's recollections of the six years from 1939 to 1945, when he was in Yan'an during the War of Resistance. He experienced the ups and downs of this period, sometimes being swept by the tide of history, sometimes on the edge of "the whirlpool," or even in the "whirlpool." Through his own experiences, he provides many historical facts and materials, offering thorough observations and in-depth analyses of history.
Regarding My Chronicle of Stories and its third volume, My Chronicle of Stories, the third volume was published in October 1996, and the second volume was published in April 1998. In the preface to the second volume, it was written that the book would be published in four volumes: 1915–1935 (before the age of 20); 1935–1939 (during the War of Resistance in the Guomindang-controlled areas); 1939–1945 (eight years of the War of Resistance); and 1945–1949 (). After the second volume was published, I began working on the manuscript for the third volume and had almost completed it. However, it was delayed for several years without being submitted. Recently, I found the manuscript and prepared to submit it. After reviewing it, I realized that in addition to revising the text of the existing chapters, I needed to add more content. In the 1998 preface, it was written that the phrase "eight years of the War of Resistance" for this volume should be changed to "in Yan'an before the victory of the War of Resistance," as some content about the War of Resistance had already been covered in the second volume of My Chronicle of Stories. Debts must be repaid. In 2001, the publisher followed up on this matter, and I had been keeping it in mind. In the summer of 2002, I had the opportunity to visit Zhengzhou, a city I had not been to in many years. When I met Comrade Li Yana, I promised to submit the third volume of My Chronicle of Stories by the first half of 2003. After returning to Beijing, I began working on it. At that time, I was very confident in completing it on time, as my work rhythm was such that once the machine was running, the product would be ready in no time. After several months of effort, I had revised almost half of the manuscript. However, things did not go as planned. This work was interrupted again for various reasons, one of which was the discovery of occult blood in my stool during a medical examination in January 2003. Further tests, such as a colonoscopy and barium enema, suggested it might be colon cancer. I was hospitalized for surgery. During the surgery, it was determined that there was no cancer. However, at the age of 88, my body was relatively weak after the surgery. At that time, "SARS" was raging in Beijing. It is only now that I have returned to my computer and resumed my work. Resuming work means starting from the beginning. Upon review, I realized I needed to add and revise content. Revising once would naturally be better, but I do not know when I can pick up where I left off. I hope this time I can complete it without interruption.
The scope of the third volume of My Chronicle of Stories is "in Yan'an before the victory of the War of Resistance," which covers the six years and a few months from July 1939, when I arrived in Yan'an, to September 1945, when Japan surrendered. The concept of "in Yan'an before the victory of the War of Resistance" is distinct from "I was in Yan'an," as after the victory of the War of Resistance, I stayed in Yan'an for a short period. In August 1946, I returned to Yan'an again. At that time, it was the historical period of "overthrowing Chiang Kai-shek and liberating all of China," which would be covered in the fourth volume.
Regarding the writing method for this third volume, I do not have any new ideas and still plan to organize it completely by year. Each chapter will be numbered by year, such as the chapter from 1939 being marked as "39-01." The first, second, and third volumes of My Chronicle of Stories were written and organized differently. I feel that this method is more suitable for this volume. The fourth volume may likely adopt a different writing and organization method.