Bright Sword: Zhao Gang’s Life in the Flames of War

In 1938, Zhao Gang, a Yenching University student who had graduated from the Anti-Japanese Military and Political University, was assigned to serve as political commissar of the Eighth Route Army’s Independent Regiment. His partner was its commander, Li Yunlong, a troublemaker who was as good at starting fights as he was at winning them. What awaited him was not only a demoralized unit and a partner who made things difficult at every turn, but also an elite Japanese force known as the Special Commando Unit. From the cave dwellings of Yan’an to the Taihang Mountains battlefield, from political work to the mass line, how does an idealist temper himself into steel amid blood and fire? How does a scholar bring a pack of wolves and tigers to heel? This is more than Zhao Gang’s story of growth. It is a record of a generation’s convictions: using the pen to direct the gun, and ideas to ignite fighting spirit.