The 25,000 Li Marched by: A Chronicle of the Red Army's Long March

Author: Hu Zhaocai
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: Soldiers are always accustomed to seeking lessons from history, and even more so to deriving wisdom from its vivid narratives. For many years, I have had the habit of reading historical stories after meals. Whenever I contemplate the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, as well as the post-Han Three Kingdoms era, that time of feudal lords' division, warlord conflicts, and widespread chaos, I am struck by the emergence of numerous military strategists like a galaxy of stars. The ingenious strategies of renowned figures such as Sun Wu, Wu Qi, Guan Zhong, Cao Cao, Zhuge Liang, Sun Quan, and Zhou Yu have been revered as classics to this day. The history of the Long March of the Red Army is one of the few heroic epics in the annals of ancient and modern China. This army managed to survive and persevere through a "flight," achieving extraordinary feats that stunned the world, all thanks to the correct leadership of a group of master strategists like Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, Liu Bocheng, Xu Xiangqian, He Long, and Xu Haidong. Their military strategies during the Long March were no less brilliant than those of Sun Wu, Wu Qi, or Zhuge Liang, and are worthy of special mention. The Long March of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army was a thrilling, majestic, and spectacular scene in the great struggle of the New Democratic Revolution. In the history of world military, there are many brilliant battles, but none like the Long March of the Red Army have ever occurred. Even after 70 years, no second such event has emerged. As time passes, the Long March's brilliance only becomes more radiant, and its charm never fades. For 70 years, many Chinese and foreign military experts have been studying the historical experience, revolutionary spirit, and fine traditions of the Red Army's Long March. On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Red Army's Long March, the author has written this book to record the grand and heart-stirring struggle of the Red Army during the Long March, to inform readers, and to inspire people to inherit and carry forward the spirit of the Long March.