Text/Photo: Ma Dongming
Farmer County Mayor Baixingdao
Baixingdao, male, from Manshan Village, Nanying Township, Lingshou County, was born on the eighth day of the first lunar month in 1919 in a peasant family in Manshan Village. When he was a child, because his family was poor, he often worked for wealthy families. During this period, he studied in a private school with his relatives for a period of time. Later, he participated in the party's peripheral organization and worked as an underground traffic officer for the party. He went to Fuping , Pingshan , Wutai and other places to deliver letters. In October 1937, the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army came to Lingshou Mountain District to carry out anti-Japanese and national salvation work. During this period, the political instructor of the Sixth Team of the Education Brigade came to Manshan Village to carry out the Eighth Route Army's anti-Japanese and national salvation propaganda. Under the education and mobilization and introduction of the instructor Cheng Shaofu, Bai Xingdao joined the Communist Party of China and actively participated in the revolution. On September 25, 1939, the Chenzhuang annihilation battle started. Bai Xingdao, then director of the Manshan Township Farmers Association, organized a machete team to actively participate in the battle. After the Chenzhuang annihilation battle, he traveled to Shijiazhuang , Zhangjiakou , Laiyuan and other places. Under the leadership of the Party, he engaged in revolutionary work and contributed to the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan and the War of Liberation.
After the founding of New China, in November 1949, Bai Xingdao was appointed as the head of the Finance Section of the Lingshou County People's Government. On December 26, 1951, the first session of the Third People's Congress of All Circles of People's Congress of Lingshou County was held. Bai Xingdao, who was a farmer, was elected as the deputy county magistrate of the Lingshou County People's Government. On January 25, 1953, the first session of the Fourth People's Congress of All Circles of Lingshou County was held, and Bai Xingdao was elected as the county magistrate. On July 10, 1954, the first meeting of the first People's Congress in Lingshou County was held, and County Mayor Bai Xingdao delivered a government work report to the conference. On October 2, 1955, the First Congress of Lingshou County of the Communist Party of China was held in the county town, and the county magistrate Bai Xingdao was elected as deputy secretary of the county party committee. In May 1957, Bai Xingdao was transferred from the county government and served as the deputy secretary of the county party committee; on December 19 of the same year, the Second Congress of Lingshou County of the Communist Party of China was held. Bai Xingdao, deputy secretary of the county party committee, made a report to the conference on behalf of the first county party committee. At this party congress, Bai Xingdao was re-elected as deputy secretary of the county party committee.
Bai Xingdao served as the county magistrate of Lingshou County People's Government for 4 years and 4 months. This period was the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China. The consolidation of the people's regime, the establishment and stability of social order, the restoration and development of the national economy, the improvement and improvement of people's living standards, etc. are all problems that the new regime needs to resolutely and effectively solve. Bai Xingdao often leads the staff of the agency to study and understand the party's lines, principles and policies all night long, analyzes the actual situation of Lingshou , and studies measures to implement the instructions of superiors; often walks deep into villages, contacts the people, and conducts investigations and research; often warmly receives visiting people, makes friends with representatives from all walks of life, patiently listens to their opinions, suggestions and demands, guides and improves the government's work, and under the strong leadership of the superior party committee, government and Lingshou County Party Committee, it has made important contributions to the restoration and development of the county's national economy and the consolidation and stability of the people's regime.
1958, the Lingshou County Party Committee and the County People's Committee fully utilized the superiority of the socialist system. Under the instructions of Chairman Mao that "water conservancy is the lifeblood of agriculture", with extraordinary courage and fearless revolutionary spirit, they made a strategic decision to cure the Cihe River, benefit the people, and build a large reservoir in the middle of the Cihe River; on March 1, the Cihe River Management Committee, with Bai Xingdao, deputy secretary of the county party committee, was established to handle Cihe River governance matters specifically; on March 15, the "Cihe River Governance Plan (Draft)" was formulated to scientifically plan the governance of Cihe River. Bai Xingdao, deputy secretary of the county party committee, volunteered to go to the front line to organize and direct the construction of the reservoir. On the 15th day of the eighth lunar month in 1939, He Long, commander of the 120th Division of the Eighth Route Army, led his troops to launch the Chenzhuang annihilation battle, known in history as the Chenzhuang battle, also known as the "August 15th" battle. In order to commemorate the Chenzhuang annihilation battle and remember the heroic deeds of revolutionary martyrs, the Lingshou County Party Committee decided to select the reservoir dam in Hengshanling and named it the "August 15th" Reservoir, also known as Hengshanling Reservoir . In order to implement General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important statement that “ green waters and green mountains are gold and silver mountains ” and to adapt to the needs of the development of the tourism industry, the “Hengshanling Reservoir” was later renamed “ Hengshan Lake ”.1 On June 1, 1958, the Lingshou County "August 15" Reservoir Engineering Bureau was established, and Bai Xingdao also served as the Party Secretary of the Engineering Bureau and organized and led the "August 15" Reservoir construction work. Under the strong leadership and unified deployment of Lingshou County Party Committee and County People's Committee, the "August 15th" reservoir was officially started on June 20. In October, Lingshou County and Zhengding County merged, called Zhengding County. On April 28, 1960, when the August 15th" reservoir was about to be completed, Marshal He Long wrote a letter to the Party Committee of the "August 15th" Reservoir Engineering Bureau of the Communist Party of China and sent a congratulatory message: "Carry forward the fighting spirit of Chenzhuang, engage in water conservancy, develop production, eliminate thousands of years of floods, and create thousands of years of happiness." After more than two years of hard work by the majority of reservoir builders, the "August 15th" reservoir was successfully completed in early June 1960, and the largest water conservancy hub project in Lingshou County was built; on the 6th of that month, the Zhengding County Party Committee and the County People's Committee held a celebration of the completion of the "August 15th" reservoir under the reservoir dam, and the "August 15th" reservoir was officially put into use. "August 15" reservoir project mainly includes one main dam, three auxiliary dams, one water supply cave, and two spillway . Among them: the main dam is 490 meters long, 40 meters high, 214 meters wide at the bottom of the dam, and 5 meters wide at the top of the dam; the No. 1 sub-dam is 317 meters long, 25.7 meters high, and 4 meters wide at the top of the dam; the No. 2 sub-dam is 240 meters long, 20.2 meters high, and 4 meters wide at the top of the dam; the No. 3 sub-dam is 49 meters long, 6.2 meters high, and 4 meters wide at the top of the dam; the water transport hole is a circular pressure hole with an inlet elevation of 212 meters, a diameter of 2.5 meters, a length of 236.4 meters, and a maximum flood discharge volume of 72 cubic meters/second; a normal spillway is a wide top weir, with a net width of 12.5 meters, and a maximum flood discharge volume of 1353 cubic meters/second; an extremely spillway is also a wide top weir, with a net width of 77 meters on the weir top, and a maximum flood discharge volume of 2544 cubic meters/second. The reservoir control area is 440 square kilometers, the normal water storage capacity is 127 million cubic meters, the maximum water storage capacity is 243 million cubic meters, and the water surface is 11 square kilometers all year round.
From the spring of 1958 to the successful completion of the reservoir in June 1960. It was a period of national economic difficulties caused by three years of natural disasters and other reasons. During the more than two years of building the reservoir, Baixingdao had been living in the small and tight dormitory of the reservoir construction site, eating and living with the reservoir construction personnel. In order to ensure the quality of reservoir construction and the progress of the project, Baixingdao often convenes engineering and technical personnel to study related issues in detail; often go deep into the construction site to check the progress and quality of the project; often talk directly to migrant workers to understand their living conditions, be sure to have a clear idea in mind, solve the problems of direction, overcome difficulties such as difficulty in relocation, poor family background, and poor technology, and work hard to build the reservoir. From the selection of the reservoir to the construction of the reservoir, from the immigration of reservoir to the settlement of in other places, from water storage and irrigation to hydropower generation , all of which are filled with Bai Xingdao's hard work and sweat. After the completion of the
reservoir, it played a significant role: First, it cured the flood disaster in Cihe River. It can intercept all floods in normal years. The flood once in a century can intercept most of the floods in the upstream, and relieved the flood disasters of more than 300,000 mu of arable land in Lingshou, Xingtang, , Xinle, , Wuji, , and Shenze . In 1963, the heavy rainstorm of 7 days and nights was greatly reduced due to the "August 15" reservoir storage, which greatly reduced the losses in the downstream; Second, the vast river beaches on both sides of the main river channel of the downstream no longer have floods. Lingshou, Xingtang, Xinle and other counties use wastelands to build land or build more than 400,000 mu of orchards; Third, the reservoir immigrant village raises fish in the reservoir, and the income of one acre of water surface is equivalent to that of one acre of arable land. Up to now, the reservoir has been built for 62 years, and all the items are operating normally, and there has been no dam deformation or leakage, which shows the excellent quality of the reservoir construction. Today, the "August 15th" reservoir is named Hengshan Lake, and continues to play multiple roles such as water storage and aquaculture, irrigation and power generation, ecological water replenishment, and mass tourism. It has become the general valve of Lingshou County's agricultural industry, the patron saint of high-quality ecology, the inheritance of the red gene, the scenic spot for rural tourism, and the veritable Fumin Lake.
Bai Xingdao, due to overwork during the revolutionary and construction period, overworked illness and persisted in working with illness for a long time, his physical condition has been poor, and sometimes he has to be hospitalized for treatment, and it is even difficult to insist on working normally. In 1975, Bai Xingdao applied to the organization for early retirement and suggested that personnel be arranged to replace him to avoid affecting his work.In the organization, considering the poor physical condition of the old county magistrate and the poor conditions in the deep mountains, it is recommended that he live and recuperate in Lingshou County. In order to reduce the burden on the country, Bai Xingdao politely declined the organization's concern and resolutely returned to his hometown in Manshan, who had been away from him for 38 years, and moved into his old house when he left home to participate in the revolution. The old house still maintains its original appearance. It is located at the foot of the mountain in the southwest of Manshan Old Village, with its back against the towering green mountains. There are still family members living in it.
Bai Xingdao, although he left his leadership position and returned to his hometown, he did not stop working, and he still did his best to change the backward situation in his hometown and the difficulties of the villagers' lives. He helped his hometown develop small hydropower, ending the history of no electricity in Manshan Village; he led the villagers to build tap water, allowing the villagers to drink clean mountain spring water, ending the days of drinking river water all year round; he studied and ran with village cadres, built the large stone bridge in Manshan, connecting the east and west sides of the village, and completely solved the problem of inconvenient transportation in Manshan Village. The Manshan Dashi Bridge is 90 meters long, 6 meters wide and more than 20 meters high. It is a stone arch bridge structure with one main, two sub-pairs and three holes. The main bridge holes span 30 meters and the sub-bridge holes on both sides span 15.5 meters. The three bridge holes have 14 culverts on the shoulders, spanning the Ci River. It is strong and durable, beautiful and atmospheric, and has guaranteed safe passage to this day. It is the best interpretation of the old county magistrate's hometown feelings. Bai Xingdao followed the Party all his life, being honest and honest, obeying the public and law-abiding, working hard and simple, devoted himself to the Party and the people, set an example, and devoted his life. Natural Disaster During the period, the national economy encountered difficulties. The superiors called on the families who entered the city to return to their hometown to farm. The families could not understand for a moment and had great resistance. The county party committee decided that leading cadres would take the lead. Bai Xingdao firmly took the lead in implementing the decision of the county party committee, allowing his wife and three children, who were originally urban household registration, to return to his hometown in Manshan in a carriage. All four urban household registrations became farmers overnight, and they relied on labor to earn labor points from the production team to maintain their lives. In order to earn more work points and reduce life difficulties, the second son Bai Zhenzhong went home to work without completing junior high school. In the 1980s, after the implementation of the policy, Bai Xingdao's wife was transferred to a urban household registration again. After Bai Xingdao retired and returned to his hometown in Manshan, he lived a life of an old farmer like his fellow villagers and often participated in public welfare labor. Sometimes when he is in poor health, he will come to a doctor for treatment. When his wife catches up, he also needs to take injections and take medicine. Bai Xingdao enjoys reimbursement according to regulations when taking medicine, and his wife pays all the medicines. He cannot mix with his medicines and reimbursement, and cannot let his family take advantage of the public.
Bai Xingdao, with his unswerving party spirit, noble and excellent character, and fair and selfless actions, has established a good family tradition, always inspiring future generations, and contributed to the construction and development of the motherland and national defense and security. During the Cultural Revolution, there was a serious shortage of rural teachers, and the eldest son Bai Zhentao passed the unified examination and became a substitute teacher. After the Cultural Revolution, many substitute teachers became formal teachers. Zhentao's substitute teachers at the same time and many later-employed teachers, some even his students, were transferred to regular classes, but he still "substitute teachers". Zhentao felt unbalanced and wanted his father to take advantage of the opportunity of the county leaders visiting each year. The father refused and said, "Everything is listened to the organization." Finally, Zhentao was about to reach retirement age and became a formal teacher according to the policy. In 1962, conflict broke out on the Sino-Indian border. In Taiwan, Chiang Kai-shek clamored to counterattack the mainland. The international and domestic situation was urgent, and rural recruitment was in a low tide. Bai Xingdao actively supported his second son Bai Zhenzhong to take the lead in joining the army. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Soviet Union provoked the Zhenbao Island incident and deployed millions of troops on the Sino-Soviet border, and was in danger of large-scale invasions at all times. Chairman Mao issued a call to the whole party, the whole country and the entire army to "be vigilant and prepare for war." Under this situation, Bai Xingdao firmly supports his third son Bai Zhenhui to join the army and defend the motherland.
1995, Bai Xingdao's physical condition further deteriorated. After the Spring Festival, he was diagnosed with lung cancer. On the way home from the hospital, he passed by Hengshanling Reservoir, sitting outside Baijiahe Village on the bank of Hengshanling Reservoir, staring at the solid Hengshanling Reservoir dam in the distance, and said to his family who was escorting him with tears in his eyes and affectionately: "I am the most satisfied with two things in my life: the first is that I participated in the War of Resistance Against Japan and the War of Liberation, and I have worked with the Japanese devils and the Kuomintang with real guns, and it can be considered as conquering the world; the second is that I presided over and led the construction of the Hengshanling Reservoir, which really did something practical for the people." On the 24th of the leap August that year, the old man Bai Xingdao unfortunately passed away at the age of 76. After Bai Xingdao passed away, his wife Gao Tianrong solemnly explained to the children: "I don't understand the party's rules and requirements. You can see when your father's party dues should be paid. You pay them to him. He is very strict in this matter." This is the last voice of a Communist Party member. Bai Xingdao, in the years of anti-Japanese wars and gunpowder, with revolutionary ideals and risked his life, walked out of an inconspicuous old courtyard in the old village of the mountains. Thirty-eight years later, with an unchanging original intention, he returned to this inconspicuous old courtyard until he returned to dust. The experience of "changing the world" was rarely mentioned to his family. When asked about his descendants about Bai Xingdao's deeds, all he got was a few memories of life. I can only walk into the dusty history and find some of the footprints of the peasant county magistrate in the vast mountain-like primitive archives. Perhaps this is the most precious memory left to us by that generation, which lasts forever and touches history. Nowadays, we often go to Hengshanling for education, and sometimes we slowly walk past the large stone bridge of Manshan. Occasionally, we also go to the old village of Manshan to have fun and leisure. How many people can think of the stories behind history, the characters behind the stories, and the former residence behind the characters? Perhaps we focus on a momentary heartbeat, on leisure scenery, on comfortable life, but what we really lack is a look back at the history around us. When you look back, you will find that what is touching is party spirit, what is respected is character, and what is eternal is spirit. small note:
Bai Xingdao has three sons, the eldest son Bai Zhentao, born in 1940, a rural teacher, teaches and educates people all his life, works hard, and lives in his hometown of Manshan after retirement, guarding Bai Xingdao's former residence; the second son Bai Zhenzhong, born in 1945, joined the Communist Party of China in 1963, enlisted in 1964, served as squad leader, platoon leader, and staff officer in the army. In 1969, he was transferred to the Beijing Military Region organ, and served as staff officer, director and deputy minister. In 1993, he served as commander of training base , with the rank of colonel. He retired in 2000. During his 36 years of service, he has been repeatedly named an activist in studying Chairman Mao's works, a model for learning Lei Feng, and an outstanding cadre in the organs of the army. He has won the third-class merit of ht 4 times ml6, after retirement, he still plays his remaining energy for military construction and social development. He has been awarded the titles of "Beijing Outstanding Military Personnel " and "Beijing Urban and Rural Community Co-construction Advanced Individual" by Beijing; his third son Bai Zhenhui, born in 1954, joined the army in 1974, joined the Communist Party of China in 1980, and served as a soldier, technician, squadron leader, captain, business director, chief engineer, and the rank of colonel. The team he led has won the second-class merits and the third-class merits one time each. He himself won the second-class merits one time and three times. In 2010, he was commended by the General Staff Department of the People's Liberation Army and the General Political Department of the as a model figure for 60 years of military surveying and mapping. He is a backbone of the military surveying and mapping major in the entire army. He retired in 2010.
