Xinhua Daily Telegraph WeChat (ID: xhmrdxwx) integrated Xinhua Daily Telegraph reported on October 19, 2018 (reporters: Li Kunsheng, Tong Fang, Zhang Shuqi), CCTV News, China News Network, etc
According to CCTV news, on March 28, the reporter learned from Ma Shitu's family that Ma Shitu, a revolutionary, writer and calligrapher, died at 19:25 on the evening of March 28 at the age of 110 due to ineffective medical treatment.
As a well-known Chinese revolutionary, writer and calligrapher, Ma Shitu is known as the "Five Elders of Shuzhong" along with Ba Jin, Zhang Xiushu, Sha Ting, and Ai Wu. After entering the age of 100, Ma Zhitu still maintains a strong creative enthusiasm, and has completed works such as "The Continuation of the Night Tale" and "Ma Zhitu Southwest Associated University Oracle Bone Notes".
When he was 104 years old, Mr. Ma Shitu was interviewed by a reporter from Xinhua Daily Telegraph, and during the two-hour interview, the old man expressed himself clearly and full of neutrality, and what he said the most was his original intention and mission as a revolutionary.
Now, we republish this old article that was first published in 2018, remembering this professional revolutionary who always cherishes the heart of a child-
104-year-old Ma Shitu was interviewed
What is said the most is the original intention and mission of the revolutionaries
It is hard to imagine that this old man who talked with the Xinhua Daily Telegraph reporter for nearly 2 hours and was full of energy is 104 years old.
Today, in the hearts of many people, the old man Ma Shitu is undoubtedly a writer. He has officially started literary creation in the 60s of the last century, and has published more than 20 novels, poems, and essays with more than 500,000 words in the past 60 years. The movie "Let the Bullets Fly" directed by Jiang Wen is adapted from "The Story of the Thief of the Official" in Ma Shitu's work "Ten Tales of the Night".
On October 10, 2018, the Beijing launch ceremony of "Ma Zhitu Anthology" and the Ma Zhitu calligraphy exhibition were held at the Museum of Modern Chinese Literature. The old man took the high-speed train from Chengdu to Beijing. As a respected veteran in the Chinese writers' circle, the guests naturally want to praise and affirm the achievements of the old man Ma Shitu in literature. But the old man insisted that he was a professional revolutionary.
In an interview with a reporter from Xinhua Daily Telegraph, the old man said the most about his original intention and mission as a revolutionary.
In 1938, the Chinese nation reached its most dangerous time.
The Kuomintang army was losing ground on the frontal battlefield. The fall of Tengxian, the fall of Xiamen, the fall of Hefei, the fall of Xuzhou, the fall of Guangzhou, the fall of Wuhan...... In order to delay the southward movement of the Japanese army, the Nationalist Government dug the Yellow River embankment at Huayuankou. Everywhere the yellow water went, the houses collapsed, and the hungry people were everywhere. At the end of the year, the Wang Jingwei clique openly committed treason and defected to the enemy, dealing a heavy blow to the morale of the Chinese people's anti-Japanese fighters.
Millions of Chinese are asking: Is there any hope for China? Where is the way out for China?
This year, Ma Qianmu, a 24-year-old progressive youth, joined the Communist Party of China as he wished. After "918," this young man, who had traveled to Beiping, Shanghai, and Nanjing to study, actively participated in the anti-Japanese salvation movement and looked for a way to save the country. He found that at a time when the country, the nation, and the Chinese civilization were in peril, the power of the individual was insignificant, and it was necessary to rely on the strength of the organization to save China. He believed that the Communist Party was the party that really saved China. He is convinced that he has found the right path. So, he filled in the name of "Ma Zhitu" on the "application form for joining the party".
"I did underground party work before liberation, and I engaged in construction after liberation, and they were all the same. For the revolution, for the salvation of the country, for the sake of the people. ”
At the event site on October 10, the old man presented one of his calligraphy works to the Museum of Modern Chinese Literature, with eight powerful characters on it: "Don't forget the original intention and keep the mission in mind".
Ma Zhitu talked to this reporter. Photo by Xinhua Daily Telegraph reporter Zhang Shuqi
China's road depends on the Communist Party
Similar to Lu Xun's ambition to save the country through medicine, in 1936, Ma Shitu was admitted to the Department of Chemical Engineering of the School of Engineering of Nanjing Central University. He wanted to learn to make ammunition and take the road of industrial salvation. But witnessing that the seniors after graduation either became compradors or entered the agency to work as "copyists", Ma Shitu quickly understood that without completely changing China, industrial salvation was just a beautiful dream. While studying at Chung-Ang University, he embraced communist ideas and eventually embarked on the path of revolution.
On the day Ma Zhitu joined the party, the introducer Qian Ying opened two books. One book has a picture of Marx, and another book has a pattern of the party flag. Qian Ying stood two books on the table, handed a piece of paper with the oath of joining the party to Ma Zhitu, and asked Ma Zhitu to swear an oath to the photo of Marx and the pattern of the party flag.
"My life has gone through all kinds of struggles, dangers, and tortures, and it has not been smooth. But I have never changed my belief in Marxism, nor will I betray my organization, the Communist Party of China. Ma Zhitu told the Xinhua Daily Telegraph reporter.
Only the Communist Party can save China, this is Ma Shitu's unswerving belief in the 80 years since he joined the party. The movie "Let the Bullets Fly" uses the framework story of "The Story of the Thief of Officials" to let more people know about Ma Zhitu. But now when it comes to director Jiang Wen's expression in the movie, the old man is not satisfied.
"I respect Jiang Wen's pursuit, but the original meaning of my book is different from his. I wrote about how the peasants could be emancipated. It is not okay to rely on stealing and robbing; it is not okay to set up a cottage to be a bandit; and it is not okay to rob officials and become a county magistrate and be a blue sky. ”
After punishing the bully in the original book, Zhang Muzhi, the bandit leader played by Jiang Wen, was finally suppressed and beheaded by the reactionaries. But one of his right-hand men, the One-Eyed Dragon, is nowhere to be found. Legend has it that he went to northern Sichuan and defected to Wang Weizhou. In the 30s of the last century, Wang Weizhou was an important leader of the underground party in eastern Sichuan. Although the full text is only a few strokes, Ma Shitu hints that if the great ideals of communism are not realized, and without the programmatic guidance and organizational leadership of the Communist Party, the peasant movement will inevitably end in tragedy.
"China's road is to rely on the Communist Party. Ma Shitu said, "It is very good to strictly govern the party now, and we must adhere to it." ”
Our party is on the right path
Many years ago, Ma Shitu met Marshal Nie Rongzhen while attending a conference in Shanghai. Nie Shuai asked: "Ma knows the way, have you known the way?" Before Ma Zhitu could answer, Nie Shuai said again: "It's not easy to know the way!"
"I'm happiest now because our party has found the best guide. The road problem is the most important one. Our party has gone through so many ups and downs and gone through many complicated and tortuous roads, and it is not easy for us to walk on the right road now. I admire Comrade Xi Jinping for leading everyone to strengthen their confidence in taking the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Ma Zhitu told Xinhua Daily Telegraph.
In Ma Zhitu's eyes, the word "sober" is commendable. China is a big country, but it is still some way from becoming a modern power. In the report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the "two centenary" goals pointed out the direction for China's path.
"Today's Party Central Committee is very sober and knows what our tasks are, what our difficulties are, what needs to be done and how to do it. In 2020, 2035, and 2050, each stage has clear goals. I'm sure we can do it. "Ma is full of confidence in China's future.
Before the liberation, he struggled on the hidden front and engaged in construction after the liberation, but Ma Zhitu's original intention never changed. All his life, he has been thinking about and pursuing the right path for this country and this nation. But after 80 years of ups and downs, his heart has also been painful.
In the 60s of the last century, Ma Shitu was sent to Nanchong County, Sichuan Province as deputy secretary of the county party committee. He saw that the life of his fellow villagers was hard, and he felt very uncomfortable. "We sacrificed a lot of people in the revolution just so that the people would have a better life in the future. Why is it that the peasants' lives are still so difficult, and why are we working so hard that the common people are still not satisfied?"
In 1980, when he had just entered the reform and opening up, Ma Shitu went to the senior seminar of the Central Party School to study. The comrades who participated in the study loved to argue, sometimes their faces were red, sometimes they beat their chests and feet, and sometimes they wept bitterly, but the focus of the debate was still -- where is China's road?
Fortunately, time has allowed Ma Zhitu to witness the great achievements made by the Chinese people under the leadership of the Communist Party of China in the 40 years since the reform and opening up. In 1931, at the age of 16, he went out of the Three Gorges to Beiping to take the high school entrance examination through Hankou, and took a boat, a hotel, and a train. This time, Ma Shitu attended the launch ceremony of his anthology and calligraphy exhibition, and it took less than 10 hours for Ma Shitu to travel from Chengdu to Beijing by high-speed train.
The old man appreciates General Secretary Xi Jinping's emphasis on "empty talk to ruin the country, hard work to prosper the country". In 2017, he wrote a couplet for the 96th anniversary of the founding of the party: "Since ancient times, the Qing Dynasty has talked about misleading the country, and now it is hard work to prosper the country." ”
"Now our party has found the right way. For those of us who have gone through so many complicated journeys, we truly know in our hearts the meaning of talking about the wrong country, the right path, and working hard. I think it's best to use such ideas to guide work. ”
Ma Zhitu at work. Photo by Xinhua Daily Telegraph reporter Zhang Shuqi
Intellectuals are patriotic
In 1931, Ma Shitu studied in high school in Beiping. One day, he went with his classmates to listen to a lecture at the Hepingmen Foreign State Peking Normal University. When I took a look, it turned out that the speaker was Mr. Lu Xun. This was the first time Ma Shitu met Lu Xun. Mr. Lu Xun, known as the backbone of the nation, is one of the people Ma Shitu admires the most.
In 1940, the underground party organization in western Hubei was seriously damaged, and Ma Shitu's wife and daughter who had just completed the month were arrested and imprisoned. In order to avoid Ma Zhitu's identity being exposed, the party organization asked him to apply for the Southwest Associated University and go to Kunming to hide. In 1941, he was admitted to the Department of Foreign Languages of Southwest Associated University, and a year later, he transferred to the Department of Chinese.
At the Beijing launch ceremony of "Ma Zhitu's Anthology" on October 10, Pan Jiluan, chairman of the Beijing Alumni Association of Southwest Associated University and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that Ma Zhitu was the pride of Southwest Associated University. At that time, Ma Shitu, who had been lurking, mobilized and organized students in the United Nations General Assembly, and participated in leading the "12.1" movement of "opposing the civil war and fighting for democracy".
In the Southwest Associated University, although Ma Shitu put a lot of energy into revolutionary work, he was deeply impressed by the open-mindedness and erudition of well-known scholars such as Wen Yiduo, Zhu Ziqing, Shen Congwen, Li Guangtian, and Chen Mengjia at Chinese that time.
The person who has the deepest relationship with Ma Zhitu is Mr. Wen Yiduo. Ma Shitu was the deputy secretary of the Huxi Special Committee, and Mr. Wen Yiduo's nephew Li Zhi (Wen Lizhi) was a county party secretary under the Huxi Special Committee, and later went to Yan'an. Because of Comrade Li Zhi's relationship, Mr. Wen Yiduo knows the political outlook of Ma Zhitu. Later, Wen Yiduo became an important leader of the Democratic League. Ma Zhitu is one of the main contacts between the CCP and Mr. Wen.
Mr. Wen Yiduo was a great patriot and a staunch fighter for democracy. At Southwest Associated University, Ma often accompanied Mr. Wen home and chatted. Mr. Wen once told him that he wanted to go to Yan'an to see what the situation of the Communist Party leadership was.
In Ma Zhitu's heart, intellectuals must first be patriotic. "At that time, China was about to die, and the whole of China had to rise up and fight. What's more, those who have a little knowledge and a little education must stand up. ”
For the revolution, Ma Shitu's first wife died heroically, and his eldest daughter was separated from him for 20 years.
When it comes to intellectuals in the Republic of China, Ma Shitu believes that it is necessary to look at it objectively. "Some intellectuals sacrificed their blood and ran for the country. However, there are also intellectuals who are divorced from society and the masses, backward and stubborn in their thinking, and even become traitors. I don't appreciate such people. ”
Ma Shitu, who adheres to the people's view of history, believes that the greatest strength of intellectuals is to provide knowledge and think tanks for the country. "The real elite intellectuals should know where China is going and how to go. Ma Zhitu said.
I write for the revolution
When Ah Lai, chairman of the Sichuan Provincial Writers Association, was a teenager, he read Ma Shitu's short story "Looking for the Red Army". However, the book that Ah came to see back then did not have a cover. He never knew who the author was. It wasn't until Ah came to the Sichuan Provincial Writers Association to participate in the training that he knew that the author was Ma Zhitu.
On October 10, at the Beijing launch ceremony of "Ma Zhitu Anthology" and Ma Zhitu calligraphy exhibition, A Lai said: "Ma Lao has always insisted on writing at such an old age, and has published a book almost every two years after the age of 90, and has written two books after the age of 100. ”
The Collected Works of Ma Zhitu consists of 18 volumes, of which 3 volumes are edited and published for the first time. Ma Shitu announced at the scene that two more books will be published soon.
In 2016, Ma Shitu wrote a memoir "Character Impression - That Era, That People". He wrote down the characters he admired in his memory. Among them, there are leaders he came into contact with in revolutionary work, as well as famous writers such as Lu Xun, Ba Jin, Wu Mi, Xia Yan, Cao Yu, Li Jieren, Wu Zuguang, Ai Wu, and Sha Ting. In total, he wrote more than 90 characters.
Last year, Ma Lao was diagnosed with lung cancer. He still continued to write the sequel to "Ten Tales of the Night" in the hospital room. Like the previous work, it's still 10 stories.
The first half of the first story of "Ten Tales of the Night", "The Story of Breaking the City", "The Inspection Committee is Coming", was originally Ma Zhitu's study in the Chinese Department of Southwest Associated University in 1942. Later, because of his continued revolutionary work, Ma Zhi stopped writing. It wasn't until the 1960s, with the encouragement of Wei Junyi (former president of the People's Literature Publishing House), that Ma Shitu resumed writing these 10 stories. By the time I finished writing the last story "Military Training" in 1982, it had been 40 years since I wrote the first word in 1942.
"At the beginning, Wei Junyi discussed with me to continue this series, "Ten Tales of the Night", "The Continuation of the Tales of the Night", "The New Tale of the Night", ...... Later, she passed away, and there was no one to supervise me, so I put it aside. Now I'm 104 years old, and I'm going to report to her in a few years. Ma Zhitu said wittily.
Although he is over 100 years old, Ma Shitu still writes hard, "Engaging in writing is to express my thoughts. The purpose of a writer's writing is to speak for the world. ”
Revolution is the way of the horse. Ma Shitu said that his writing is mainly to cry out for the revolution.
At the end of the interview, a Xinhua Daily Telegraph reporter asked him for an autograph. Ma Shitu wrote in the reporter's interview book: "The text carries the Tao, the book carries the Tao, and the news should also carry the Tao!"