At the end of 1949, after the peaceful liberation of Xinjiang, the policy makers of the Republic ordered the 200,000 officers and soldiers stationed in Xinjiang to forge swords into plowshares, reclaim wasteland and farmland, and take root in Xinjiang, so as to change the situation in which the cultivation of land has been limited to one generation since the Han Dynasty. To achieve the strategic goal of long-term peace and stability. But "you can't settle down without a wife, and you can't put down roots without children." If the marriage problems of officers and soldiers are not resolved, it will affect the smooth realization of this strategic goal. Therefore, policymakers decided to recruit female soldiers to solve this problem. They first recruited 8,000 Hunan women.
Most of these female soldiers are educated young people, including top university students, daughters of Kuomintang generals, and daughters of wealthy businessmen. With youthful dreams in mind, everyone marched for several months to reach the distant frontier. From then on, they began to interpret stories of joys and sorrows one after another in this vast Gobi desert, as well as their ideals and pursuits, glory and dreams. They gave birth to future generations and also gave birth to the spirit of love, tolerance, righteousness and perseverance. They are known as the "first generation mothers in the wasteland of Xinjiang".
This reportage is written in the form of "oral narrative". The fate of the Hunan women reported in it is actually the epitome of the fate of eight thousand Hunan women. It is a collective memoir of the female soldiers who entered Xinjiang, a document narrated by them, and a historical testimony. It is the first comprehensive revelation of historical facts that have been dusted away, and it is an effort to restore the obliterated public memory.
In order to write this book, the author spent five years, revised the manuscript three times, and visited hundreds of Hunan women in Hunan, Beijing, Sichuan and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. After some chapters were published and serialized in newspapers and periodicals, they received a strong response and won the China Reportage Award and the Kunlun Literary Award.
Reader comments
After watching a fifth of it, it was still within my tolerance, but I still felt uncomfortable watching it. It is more recommended for people who have not yet woken up. Sisters who are already enlightened can just read the first few chapters to get a rough understanding of the content. Reading too much will only make the pain more and more painful. The successful version of Warm Blanket a few years ago, at that time Hunan women could not resist. Fortunately, now we can do not accept it and not get involved.
What do you mean if pregnant women don't look good in military uniforms and they all change jobs? Is it still like this?
He believes that Hunan girls can endure hardships. If he can recruit some educated female students, he can first solve the marriage problems of the regiment and camp cadres. … It has given strong support to the work of the Xinjiang Military Region Recruitment Corps. A building on Yingpan Street has been set aside as the Recruitment Corps office. News and reports have also been published in the "New Hunan Daily" to mobilize young women to join the army. Because the newspaper only mentioned that after arriving in Xinjiang, they could enter a Russian school, work as a textile worker, or work as a tractor driver, and there was no mention of "marriage." So after hearing the news, girls from all over the province rushed to Yingpan Street to sign up for the army. Yingpan Street, where Xin Qiji and Zuo Zongtang once camped as soldiers, became the busiest place in Changsha for a while.
The following is the original content:
I was first assigned to be a broadcaster at the Infantry School. Not long after, a "young old revolutionary" was introduced to me. I had not met him yet. The mediator was a deputy section chief of the Political Department. He first asked about my family situation, and then learned about my social relationships in great detail, and then said to me, Comrade Lin Ziyu, when you arrive in the army, the army is your home and the organization is your parents. You must obey the organization's arrangements.
He is the leader and I am a soldier. After hearing what he said, I quickly stood up and said loudly, please don't worry, chief, I will definitely obey the organization's arrangements.
He said, very good. How old are you this year?
Eighteen years old. I hesitated and said. Because although the file at that time stated that I was eighteen years old, it was a false report for the purpose of enlisting in the army. My actual age was not yet sixteen.
Then just think of it as eighteen years old. When you are eighteen years old, you should consider personal issues.
A deputy section chief came to talk to a girl like me about such an issue. I felt very embarrassed and didn't know what he meant by this. I quickly said, I have just turned eighteen and I don't want to think about this issue yet. I came to Xinjiang to build and defend the border.
Men should marry when they are older, and women should marry when they are older. It has been natural since ancient times. Don't worry, the organization will give you careful consideration and will definitely introduce you to someone who is excellent in all aspects.
I already knew what he meant when he came to tell me this, and I suddenly became nervous. I said, I am still young and don't understand anything. I don't want to think about this issue, and I don't need the organization to think about this issue for me.
But the deputy section chief just smiled, said, let's talk about it then, and left after that.
. . . Whenever recruiting soldiers say marriage is guaranteed, reading the book will not make you feel so sad and angry.
I cried while reading it. I couldn't stand it anymore. Every word was stained with blood, so I forced myself to read on. Many thanks to the author for recording this history
Remember history and learn from history.
Chapter 2, you must read it [crying]
Good book, but it makes me cry easily
The people at that time were simple in thought and noble in moral character.
After watching a fifth of it, it was still within my tolerance, but I still felt uncomfortable watching it. It is more recommended for people who have not yet woken up. Sisters who are already enlightened can just read the first few chapters to get a rough understanding of the content. Reading too much will only make the pain more and more painful. The successful version of Warm Blanket a few years ago, at that time Hunan women could not resist. Fortunately, now we can do not accept it and not get involved.
What do you mean if pregnant women don't look good in military uniforms and they all change jobs? Is it still like this?
He believes that Hunan girls can endure hardships. If he can recruit some educated female students, he can first solve the marriage problems of the regiment and camp cadres. … It has given strong support to the work of the Xinjiang Military Region Recruitment Corps. A building on Yingpan Street has been set aside as the Recruitment Corps office. News and reports have also been published in the "New Hunan Daily" to mobilize young women to join the army. Because the newspaper only mentioned that after arriving in Xinjiang, they could enter a Russian school, work as a textile worker, or work as a tractor driver, and there was no mention of "marriage." So after hearing the news, girls from all over the province rushed to Yingpan Street to sign up for the army. Yingpan Street, where Xin Qiji and Zuo Zongtang once camped as soldiers, became the busiest place in Changsha for a while. The following is the original content: I was first assigned to be a broadcaster at the Infantry School. Not long after, a "young old revolutionary" was introduced to me. I had not met him yet. The mediator was a deputy section chief of the Political Department. He first asked about my family situation, and then learned about my social relationships in great detail, and then said to me, Comrade Lin Ziyu, when you arrive in the army, the army is your home and the organization is your parents. You must obey the organization's arrangements. He is the leader and I am a soldier. After hearing what he said, I quickly stood up and said loudly, please don't worry, chief, I will definitely obey the organization's arrangements. He said, very good. How old are you this year? Eighteen years old. I hesitated and said. Because although the file at that time stated that I was eighteen years old, it was a false report for the purpose of enlisting in the army. My actual age was not yet sixteen. Then just think of it as eighteen years old. When you are eighteen years old, you should consider personal issues. A deputy section chief came to talk to a girl like me about such an issue. I felt very embarrassed and didn't know what he meant by this. I quickly said, I have just turned eighteen and I don't want to think about this issue yet. I came to Xinjiang to build and defend the border. Men should marry when they are older, and women should marry when they are older. It has been natural since ancient times. Don't worry, the organization will give you careful consideration and will definitely introduce you to someone who is excellent in all aspects. I already knew what he meant when he came to tell me this, and I suddenly became nervous. I said, I am still young and don't understand anything. I don't want to think about this issue, and I don't need the organization to think about this issue for me. But the deputy section chief just smiled, said, let's talk about it then, and left after that.
. . . Whenever recruiting soldiers say marriage is guaranteed, reading the book will not make you feel so sad and angry.
I cried while reading it. I couldn't stand it anymore. Every word was stained with blood, so I forced myself to read on. Many thanks to the author for recording this history
Remember history and learn from history.
Chapter 2, you must read it [crying]
Good book, but it makes me cry easily
The people at that time were simple in thought and noble in moral character.