The muscular man of the spy company
Chen Guangjian
Dai Guangquan, a comrade in the spy company who had exercised with him, sent me a picture outside the gate of the 33rd Regiment. In the photo, on the left is Dai Guangquan of the Engineer Platoon, wrestling , single, parallel bars , basketball is his strength. In the middle is Wu Xiugui from the reconnaissance platoon, who is good at boxing and Park Dao . The one on the right is the author. The shooting time should be in 1975. In the early 1970s, soldiers from the Tibetan border defense forces had very few opportunities to take pictures. This was the only photo of the spy teamed up by three muscular men. The so-called muscular man is because our biceps was relatively developed back then. Those two pieces of muscle will not grow by themselves and must be exercised. To show off your muscles, the biceps are the ones that show off.
If a war breaks out on the Sino-Indian border, the soldiers of the Tibetan border defense forces will face the Indian army, which is a fact we know when we put on our military uniforms. From the veterans who participated in the border self-defense counterattack on in 1962, we learned that our 33rd Regiment of the 11th Division had competed with the Indian Army's Sikh and the Gurkha United. Sikhs and Gurkha are two ethnic groups in India, known for their toughness and good combat. His soldiers had received strict military training from British instructors, and were strong in body, good endurance and accurate shooting skills. In World War II , he participated in the battles of North Africa and Southern Europe, and adapted to fighting in plateau areas.
Therefore, the primary task faced by the recruits of the Tibet troops is to adapt to the climate and environment of the plateau as soon as possible. In the 1970s, most of the soldiers from the 33rd Regiment were composed, except for some Shaanxi and Gansu soldiers from the Loess Plateau, and a few Tibetan soldiers, and most of the soldiers came from low-altitude areas in the mainland. The commander of the army was very clear about this, so high-intensity training is a normal subject for the troops stationed in Tibet. Due to the special nature of its mission, it is more important to strengthen the physical exercise of soldiers.
When the recruits first arrived in the company, they encountered frequent emergency gatherings and long-distance running with weights to test the recruits' physical fitness and endurance. Those with poor physical fitness are sent to the logistics department, and are better assigned to the engineer platoon and the guard platoon, and the best assigned to the reconnaissance platoon. I joined the army from the city, and my physical fitness was naturally not comparable to other comrades, but I was not the weakest and I was assigned to the platoon of engineers. The troops have regular routines, training and production labor , which makes our bodies gradually stronger. In addition, the altitude of Wolongtai is below 3,000 meters, which is not a high-altitude area, so it quickly adapts to the environment. People are lazy. If there is no war, you will have no health problems as a peace soldier. Later, I was sent by the company as a backbone to participate in the training of the entire regiment squad leader and the training of the backbone of the engineering soldiers held in the Jiagetai Engineering Battalion. Going up the mountain to log wood, build fortifications, bury and eliminate landmines. During this training that consumes a lot of physical energy, my appetite has increased greatly. Two or two taels of steamed buns or steamed buns in a pressure cooker can be eaten in one meal. As soon as the lights sounded, he fell asleep. He was young and vigorous, and his physical strength recovered quickly.
really made me think that as an assistant to the training department of the regiment headquarters, I went to Longzi County, Shannan to participate in the exercise held by the division headquarters at Cuonashan Pass. This exercise lasted for one month, and my mission was to assist the staff in copying the war report and conveying orders. This way, we learned about the overview of the combat areas of the 11th Division and the 33rd Regiment. Yadong , , Bondira , and Dawang line are all at high altitudes above 4,000 meters. Not to mention carrying dozens of kilograms of weapons and equipment, even if you walk with bare hands, you will feel shortness of breath and slow movement. If we seize the mountain with the Indian army or fight for bayonets, our current physical fitness will definitely not work. After the exercise, I returned to the company and transferred to the company's office, I began to think about how to improve my physical fitness and endurance.
I first found two old pieces of cloth, filled them with small stones with empty bullet shells, wrapped them in three rows, and sewed them with needles and thread to make leggings. Except for the rest time, I will keep it on my legs for the rest of the time, and run, train and give birth as usual. At first, it felt difficult to run and walk.After about three months of persistence, after removing the leggings, I participated in the company's Saturday mountaineering training, climbed the mountain on the right side of the Wolong Terrace Group's logistics, and there was an abandoned sky burial platform in Gajia Village on the mountain. I was one of the first people to climb up and felt very relaxed. It seems that this method is very effective in improving physical fitness and endurance.
In the early 1970s, except for basketball stands on the playground, there were single, parallel bars and Trojans, there were no other fitness equipment in the company. In order to exercise my arm strength, I found four idle eight-pound two-hammers and asked the carpenter in the company to match the handles to make a pair of dumbbells. One eight-pound two-hammer weighs about 3.6 kg, and the four weighs a total of 14.5 kg. This pair of dumbbells became my silent comrade-in-arms. Except for rainy and snowy days, almost every night after self-study, I would lift up the dumbbells to the playground to exercise until the lights sounded. At first, I could only lift it for about twenty times at a time. Because of my long-term persistence, I was able to continuously lift it up, expand my chest, bend my arms, raise my side, and squat more than 300 times in one breath. Push-ups won't stop for less than a hundred times, single bar pull-ups, parallel bars bent arms stretched, starting fifty at a time. This action led to a group of comrades joining. Some of them are good at single and double bars, while others are familiar with wrestling. We discussed and encouraged each other. A conscious training atmosphere has emerged in the spy company, and even attracted comrades from the communication company, health team and logistics company. As a result, these comrades who participated in the exercise became muscular men in the company. It is no longer difficult to climb mountains and run long distances with loads. The company holds tug-of-war competitions, and they are all the main players.
This kind of seemingly boring but we enjoy training, but in fact we have inner spiritual motivation. The 11th Division is the Red Army Division, the Spy Company is the Red Army Company, and we are the inheritors of the Red Army's spirit. If you are brave and good at fighting, you must have unsuppressed physical strength; if you are invincible, you must have excellent military skills. We did not catch up with the bandit suppression in 1959, participated in the Sino-Indian border self-defense counterattack in 1962, and were not stationed on the front line of the border defense. However, we raised our troops for a thousand days just to fight. When the motherland needs you, you can’t run or rush up. What’s the use of you? The spirit of the Red Army is by no means a few slogans, but is ready to fight at any time and defend the motherland with its lives.
At that time, there were many role models worthy of our learning from. Among his comrades, the deputy company commander who won the assassination competition in the army competition in 599, was said to have pierced through empty cans. We tried it and it was impossible to complete without strong arm strength and explosive power after long-term training. There is a guard platoon leader who has achieved excellent results in the of the entire army shooting competition. While practicing pistol aiming, he hung a brick on his wrist to maintain stability. I've tried it, and I can only hold on for a short time. Reconnaissance of the Tibetan warrior Duoji, the grenade and can be thrown to 78 meters, and the arm strength is great! It seems that all the skills of military technology are practiced hard.
In 1974, a large playground was leveled outside the gate of the regiment headquarters, and our training ground was moved here. I remember that there was a ten-meter-high wooden frame standing beside the playground, with two climbing ropes hanging down. Later, we could not move our legs and feet, and just grab the ropes alternately with our arms, so we could easily climb up. In March this year, after contacting a comrade who had been out of contact for many years and had been exercising with him, the first thing he recalled was that he had compared his biceps with me at Wolongtai, but mine was bigger than him. Through more than three years of persistent exercise, our chest muscles, biceps and muscles on our legs have become significantly stronger. Mountain climbing during training and cross-country with ten kilometers of weights have become a relaxed and pleasant enjoyment.
At that time, the troops stationed in high-altitude areas were very difficult to take a bath. If you don’t get a cold, it will turn into pulmonary edema , which is life-threatening and cannot be treated. Exercise with a lot of exercise will inevitably cause a lot of sweat. After regular exercise, we can only scrub with warm water or cold water. In summer, the temperature at noon in Wolongtai is around 28 degrees. You can go to the canal to take a bath during lunch break. There are clusters of red willow trees on both sides, which should be considered a "wild bath". Although the water temperature is low, as long as you warm up, there will be no big problem. Some comrades recalled that I had taken a cold winter night when everyone was resting and took a bath in the ice water by the pool alone.In my memory, I must have had this kind of experience, but I never caught a cold. It was a miracle. During my five years of service in Wolongtai, I have never been to the regiment headquarters' health team once, nor have I asked for any medicine from the health staff. I think this is all due to the exercise of asking for trouble.
In 1974, the Training Section of the Regiment Command convened various company documents to speak on the battlefield, and was tutored by Staff Zhang, who had just returned from a university in Beijing, who had just studied in Hindi. I still clearly remember the content of the shouting: Don’t move! Raise your hands! Stop the gun and don’t kill it! The pronunciation in English is: Dongtemefu! Like a man when he is sad! To Wu A’s servant, Luo Hamu! The pronunciation in Hindi is: Lu - Fruit! Hart, me,! Buy Delai Saudi Arabia for a briefing, Niele, me! Hindi has tongue-playing sounds, and learning is difficult. When teaching warriors, you need to correct your pronunciation many times. When the entire company soldiers shouted "Stop the gun and don't kill" in Hindi in unison, I felt an overwhelming momentum. I think on the battlefield, you are competing for strength. If your muscles are strong enough and your military skills are strong, the enemy will naturally surrender. If you are weak and powerless, no matter how loud you shout, you cannot intimidate the enemy.
After forty-seven years, when we think back to these past events, we have no regrets in our youth! When the mission of defending the motherland sends you to the Tibet border defense, you do not complain about giving up on yourself because of the hard conditions of the past, but instead seek hardships to exercise your body to fill the emptiness that has nowhere to be consumed due to your energy. With the responsibilities shouldered by the soldiers, exercise their physique to be ready to go to the battlefield at any time. Although the times have not allowed us to go to the battlefield to charge and kill the enemy, this kind of tenacity cultivated in training has become a precious spiritual wealth in our lives. The physical foundation laid will benefit us endlessly on the road of life.
Invincible, invincible, and daring to see the bayonet is the blood of the Red Army. In addition to the political belief of obeying the Party’s command, inheriting blood must also have a strong body. The People's Army needs a muscular man who can lift, carry, catch up, and hold down during wartime.
I wonder if the dumbbell that has been with me for more than three years is still in the military camp of Wolongtai, and whether there is a new master? I really miss it!
(Note: The illustrations in this article are provided by the author.)
Author profile:
Chen Guangjian: from Chengdu, Sichuan, and his ancestral home is Jiashan, Anhui. He joined the army in 1971 and was discharged from the army in 1976. A clerk and an ordnant directly under the 33rd Regiment of the 11th Infantry Division of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Xiling Seal Society Publishing House published the author of "Qingyuantang Left Notes" and is specially invited editor of "Seals - Yi Junshi's Two Collections of Rubbings and Seals". "Chengdu Cultural Relics", freelance writer of "Cultural Chengdu".
Author: Chen Guangjian
