In rural areas, if roads and bridges are built in a small water area, then the stones that are within your fingertips of the countryside are the best construction materials. It saves costs and can fully meet people's needs.
The stone bridge standing in Hongshi Village, Jinshu Township, Xiangxiang City, Hunan Province, although it has been through storms for a long time, the bridge body is stable and the bridge deck is flat.
This stone bridge has the wisdom and practical value of construction. More importantly, it comes from the good intention of a Taiwanese veteran to give back to his hometown.
Shibanqiao in Hongshi Village
units belong to the certificate
Liu Xiangjiang has left his hometown for many years and is still unforgettable about the childhood he spent in the countryside. In his words, although the conditions are difficult, the life there is simple and humane, optimistic and positive.
Liu Xiangjiang has an uncle named Liu Renqi, who is the younger brother of grandfather Liu Renlu. Liu Xiangjiang heard that this uncle went out to fight in the army since he was a child, and followed the troops to a place called "Taiwan". In the traditional Chinese society in the past, information and transportation were extremely closed, and even if you go out for fifty miles, you will be considered a "foreign land". Around 1949, many mainlanders who retreated to Taiwan with the Kuomintang had never dreamed that there would be Taiwan in a corner of the earth.
Including in mainland China, many people's understanding of Taiwan has been changing: from the retreating Kuomintang troops, to the popular songs and romance novels introduced after reform and opening up , and then to relatives who returned home one after another. Liu Xiangjiang was most touched by the last one, because after his uncle Liu Renqi returned to Hongshi Village to visit relatives, the Xiangxiang Municipal Government also issued a "Taiwanese Certificate" to his grandfather Liu Renlu.
Liu Xiangjiang's grandfather Liu Ren's certificate of Taiwan
people from other provinces
Due to the strict military marriage system and the expectation of "you can go home soon", Liu Renqi was not in a hurry to consider his marriage when he first came to Taiwan. Soon, the Taiwan authorities issued a "martial law order", stipulating that from 0:00 on May 20, 1949, military martial law will be imposed on areas including Taiwan's main island, Penghu Islands and other affiliated islands. All exchanges and contacts between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait were cut off, opening a 38-year "ice period".
Liu Renqi got married at the age of 40. He and his wife are 12 years apart. His wife's family is like him, a "provincial from mainland China" from Taiwan. Unlike him alone, his father-in-law was a Kuomintang officer and moved to Taiwan from his hometown in Dalian, Liaoning.
After retiring from the army, Liu Renqi lived on his retirement salary and tried to invest, but he died in vain. The whole family moved around in Songshan, Taipei, New Taipei, , Xizhi. Although they were not rich and noble, Liu Renqi was very satisfied and carefully protected his only home in Baodao.
Hunan veteran Liu Renqi
Liu Renqi's wife is 81 years old
Shibanqiao
"If you live, let us go back and offer a cup of tea; if you die, let us go back and offer a stick of incense." This is a slogan floating in the streets and alleys of Taiwan in the late 1980s.
8 years after the separation of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, in 1987, Taiwan lifted the "martial law order", and Taiwan veterans have launched the "returning home movement" for the main groups. Under the appeal and struggle from all walks of life, at the end of the year, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait issued relevant policies almost at the same time, officially opening up veterans to return to the mainland to visit relatives.
The first time Liu Xiangjiang saw the camera was when his uncle Liu Renqi returned from Taiwan to visit relatives. Liu Renqi said he would leave images of his relatives and bring them back to Taiwan as a souvenir. Some of the photos are treasured by Liu Xiangjiang to this day.
Liu Renqi also entered the names of Taiwanese children into the genealogy, giving both sides of the Taiwan Strait a common destination.
The stone bridge in Hongshi Village was also built by Liu Renqi for funding and assistance - he hopes to make up for his debts to his hometown and relatives for nearly 40 years in this way.
photo of Liu Renqi (written by suit) and relatives from her hometown in Hunan
relic
As she grows older, Liu Renqi's health is getting worse and worse, and she has symptoms of Alzheimer's disease in her later years. In 2002, he delivered a speech at the wedding of his son Liu Deqing; in 2004, he was in poor mental state when he visited Taroko, a famous scenic spot in eastern Taiwan with his family.
In December 2006, Liu Renqi died in Taiwan due to intestinal obstruction and sepsis. Before his death, he was vague and speechless, and he didn't have time to explain many things to his children, including the situation in his hometown in Hunan.
Liu Deqing sorted out the relics left by his father, and the photos and letters that had been covered with dust for many years were able to see the light of day again. Previously, although he knew that his father had connections with his hometown in Hunan, he was unable to participate due to the restrictions of his military academy, so his understanding was limited.
In 2016, after retiring from the army, Liu Deqing went to a university in Miaoli to teach, and happened to teach exchange students from Henan, mainland China, which reawakened his idea of finding relatives.
Veteran Liu Renqi's photo with his family in the last few years of his life
Douyin
In September this year, after receiving a request from Liu Deqing, Toutiao Search (Tik Tok Search) released the search information on Toutiao and Douyin platforms using official accounts (Toutiao article: Many Xiangxiang netizens received the search information pop-up window
, the search team received a divorce email from Liu Renqi's mainland nephew Liu Xiangjiang. Liu Xiangjiang saw the search information of his uncle on Douyin, and the family group was so excited that they "exploded". Contact the staff member Later, the Liu family in Hunan also sent photos and letters that had been treasured at home for many years, and the dusty memories were awakened again:
In August 2000, Liu Renqi returned home for the last time. Accompanied by his nephew and niece, he climbed Yueyang Tower , sailed on Dongting Lake, bought Hunan embroidery in the prosperous Wuyi Road , and bought Xiangxiu to Tongrentang and cinnamon... No one thought that it was the last side.
letters collected by his hometown in Hunan
In that era of poor supplies, Liu Renqi sent money to send goods Supporting relatives and friends in my hometown has left a deep impression on the whole village and ignited the belief of the younger generations of the family to strive for strength. Nowadays, there are many engineers, doctors, nurses, teachers, etc. in various industries shine in all walks of life.
Liu Deqing relied on the information he had been exploring and pieced together, and with the help of searching for people in Douyin (Toutiao), he found his relatives in Hunan in just four days. He hopes The epidemic dissipated as soon as possible, and he took his mother and wife and children back to his hometown in mainland China to reunite with his relatives.
More than 20 years ago, the stone bridge built by Liu Renqi carried countless dreams and walked out of the mountains and into a broader world. Now, his son followed his footsteps and built a bridge again, connecting two homes in Hunan and Taiwan.
This is the 386th case that has been successfully found since the establishment of the cross-strait family search project. Toutiao Cross-strait family search service is released by Toutiao and Taiwan ETtoday News Cloud as a media partner. If you have relatives in your family who are separated in Taiwan, or you are in Taiwan and want to help Taiwanese veterans find their relatives in mainland China, you can also contact us through Facebook fan page (name: headline personal), email ([email protected]), Douyin (name: Douyin search), WeChat public account (name: Douyin search).
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