Author: Deng Yuguan (Unit: Shanxi University of Finance and Economics)
Recently, “more than 2,000 middle school students in Ningxia hiked 54 kilometers in the early morning to pay homage to the heroes” which shocked and moved the majority of netizens. This activity that has persisted for 28 years is of great significance.
“It rains heavily during the Ching Ming Festival, and passers-by on the road want to die.” The famous sentence through the ages expresses the true meaning of the Ching Ming Festival, one of the 24 solar terms in traditional China, that is, to pay homage to the ancestors and sages. In fact, the more important connotation of the Qingming Festival lies in remembering the revolutionary martyrs, remembering history, and inheriting the legacy.
Every year around the Ching Ming Festival, various forms of revolutionary traditional education and patriotic education will be carried out all over the country. By remembering the revolutionary martyrs and accepting the baptism of thought, they will pay high respect to the revolutionary martyrs and inherit their red genes.
We know very well that the red mountains and rivers were bought with the blood and lives of thousands of revolutionary martyrs, and that today’s happy life is achieved through the struggle of generations of ancestors. With their devotion to the country of “sacrificing their lives to go to the country’s calamity, seeing death as if they were returning home”, and their unrepentant pursuit of “always thinking about their lives and sacrificing themselves for the country’s urgency”, they will not change their hearts, will not change their aspirations, and will not destroy them in times of crisis. In this festival, the actual actions of shedding blood and not shrinking forward bravely show the true qualities of a hero. In the new journey of comprehensively advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with Chinese-style modernization, we need heroes, and more importantly, heroic spirit.
Young volunteers painted gold on the tombstones of the martyrs at the Martyrs Cemetery in the West Coast New District of Qingdao, Shandong Province.Photo by Wang Peike/Guangming Pictures
In recent years, from the establishment of Martyrs Memorial Day, to the introduction of the “Heroes and Martyrs Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China”, punishing acts of slander and blasphemy against heroes according to law, and then to the rise of red tourism, advocating heroes, defending heroes, learning from heroes, and caring for heroes have become a common practice in China.
Tomb-sweeping Day is a traditional Chinese festival. On this special day, we remember the tenacity in the wind and rain, and the loyalty in the blood and fire. It is to pay tribute to the heroes with practical actions, inherit the red spirit, pass on the red belief, and continue Forge ahead.
“Heroes are the backbone of the country. In the age of stormy weather, it is they who continue to fight for national independence regardless of their own lives; when the nation is in peril, it is they who stand up and do not hesitate to build the Great Wall of Steel with their flesh and blood; When the people needed it, it was they who, without hesitation, were brave and fearless, and defended national independence and national dignity with their lives. They are the loveliest people, the backbone of the Chinese nation, and their deeds deserve to be remembered by everyone.” Open China On the webpage of the People’s War of Resistance Against Japan, click on the interface of “Remembering the Heroes and Creating New Great Causes”, and the two options of “I want to present flowers” and “I want to send a message” come into view, and this commentary about heroes really hits people’s hearts . Since 2009, the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression has held a series of educational activities on the theme of “Remembering the Ching Ming Festival” during the Ching Ming Festival for 15 consecutive years.
Revolutionary traditional education should start from the baby, not only pay attention to knowledge instillation, but also strengthen emotional cultivation, so that the red gene can penetrate into the blood and heart, and guide the majority of young people to establish a correct world outlook, outlook on life, and values. It is of great significance to carry out revolutionary traditional education among young people. On the one hand, the revolutionary tradition of the party is the precious spiritual wealth of the Chinese Communists. Only by strengthening the education of revolutionary tradition, patriotism education, and ideological and moral education of young people can the red gene be passed on and ensure that the red country will never change color. On the other hand, the adolescent stage is the “joint-jointing and booting period” of life. Through revolutionary traditional education, we can deeply cultivate the feelings of loving the party, patriotism, and socialism, and fasten the first button of life. The soul and develop a good character, so that they can truly become newcomers of the era to take on the great task of national rejuvenation.
“Today, please present them a bouquet of flowers and tell them what is in your heart.” In recent years, youth patriotism online publicity and education activities sponsored by relevant departments and a series of activities such as “Ching Ming Festival for Heroes and Martyrs to Forge the Soul of China” have set off a commemoration of heroes and martyrs in various places. , Remember the history, inspire the upsurge of youth. Commemorative activities such as sweeping martyrs’ cemeteries, lectures on revolutionary history, exhibitions of heroic deeds, and recitals of martyrs’ poems were widely organized in various places, and spread through online and offline linkages to achieve multiple impact coverage. In Shaoshan, Jinggangshan, Zunyi, Yan’an, and Xibaipo, young people came to the revolutionary memorial venues, concentrated on the theme group day activities of “Ching Ming Festival for Heroes”, held solemn commemorative ceremonies, participated in the “Ten Thousands of People Walking the Road of the Red Army” The team entry ceremony stimulated the patriotic enthusiasm of the younger generation. And such activities have gradually formed more and more abundant forms of expression in places such as patriotic education bases established on the basis of former revolutionary sites, revolutionary memorial halls, and historical museums.
A nation that does not forget its martyrs, a country that dares to express its true feelings, is bound to be more hopeful and more respected, while ignoring heroes and forgetting history will only make its future more lost. Don’t forget the well digger when you drink water. We must remember all the heroes who have contributed to the Chinese nation and the Chinese people, admire heroes, defend heroes, learn from heroes, and care for heroes. We must deeply miss the older generation of revolutionaries who made great contributions to the Chinese revolution, construction, and reform, and the establishment, consolidation, and development of the Communist Party of China. The revolutionary martyrs who dedicated their lives to socialist modernization, deeply miss all the people with lofty ideals who have fought for national independence and people’s liberation since modern times.
An inch of mountains and rivers, an inch of blood, a pinch of hot soil, and a pinch of soul. We must take advantage of the opportunity of offering sacrifices to heroes during the Qingming Festival to tell the story of the party, the story of the revolution, and the story of heroes in innovative ways, pass on the red gene, and ensure that the red country is passed on from generation to generation. It is necessary to dig deep into red resources, and guide young people to understand what is true, good and beautiful, what is fake, evil and ugly, what is worthy of affirmation and praise, and what must be opposed and criticized through touching stories of party history. It is also necessary to further innovate educational carriers and methods. Through classrooms, books, exhibition halls, memorial halls, audio and video and other forms that conform to the cognitive rules of young people, let young people understand the ins and outs of the development of the party and the country, and deeply understand that only socialism can save China. Only by upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics can the historical and realistic logic of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation be realized.
Remembering heroes and martyrs, remembering history, and strengthening the revolutionary tradition education of young people is not only a task of laying a solid foundation, but also requires long-term efforts and joint efforts. We also need to promote the integration, serialization, and long-term effect of revolutionary traditional education through top-level design and relying on red tourism and red education. Let revolutionary traditional education provide strong spiritual nourishment for the healthy growth of young people, ensure that the revolutionary fire is passed on from generation to generation, and that the great cause of national rejuvenation will be followed by successors. Let the majority of party members and cadres keep their original aspirations and missions in accepting red education, and push forward the great cause of revolutionary martyrs fighting and sacrificing for it.
“Guangming Daily” (version 05, April 5, 2023)