[Red Culture Picking]
The first female writer to enter the red zone of northern Shaanxi
—— Ding Ling Literary Activities and Writing in the Luohe Basin
Bai Feng ( Vice Chairman of Shaanxi Literary and Art Critics Association )
In September 1936, Ding Ling boarded the train west from Shanghai and arrived in Xi'an, determined to defect to the red base in northern Shaanxi and find the spiritual destination of a revolutionary writer. On November 1, under the arrangement of the party organization, Ding Ling passed through Sanyuan , Yaoxian, Yijun , and Luochuan , and went north along the Luo River, and arrived at the security guard.
comic strip " Sun shines on the Sanggan River " (adapted from Ding Ling's novel of the same name) cover red leaves, Dong Hongyuan/painted
Ding Ling arrived at the security guard and entered the red base in the Luo River Basin, which was grandly welcomed by the party. The Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held a welcome meeting in a cave. More than 30 people including Chairman Mao, Zhou Enlai, Zhang Wentian, Kaifeng, Lin Boqu, Li Kenong attended the welcome meeting. When Ding Ling walked into the venue, Zhou Enlai warmly greeted her: "Welcome to our party's good daughter back home!" Jiang Zulin in "The Biography of Ding Ling", he described it like this:
Ding Ling only had one thought at this moment: it's home, it's really home! At the welcome meeting, the intimate and harmonious atmosphere deepened her feelings. She felt that this was the happiest and most glorious moment in her life. In this cave, she met almost all the leaders of the Party Central Committee and she was invited to speak at the meeting. Ding Ling had no worries and was full of joy. She spoke in front of so many leaders for the first time. She talked about her pursuit and yearning, her progress after engaging in literature, her struggle for three years in prison in Nanjing, and her feelings when she first arrived in Soviet area, just like a child who returned home from a distance, chatting endlessly to her father and mother.
Ding Ling fulfilled her wish for many years and entered a new life, completely different from the world she had lived in before. She felt that everything was fresh. Here, people are all full of revolutionary passion and full of happy youthful vitality. In this business-filled atmosphere, Ding Ling felt happy and encouraged.
Entering the red zone of northern Shaanxi, Ding Ling was completely immersed in the happy mood of being thrown into her mother's arms. As a writer and a party literary and artistic worker, she also thought about the literary and artistic work in the red base area. She believes that literary and artistic workers in the red base should be organized, just like establishing a literary and artistic organization like Left-Lianlian in Shanghai, which will play a great role in promoting the revolutionary literature and art of China in the entire country. Therefore, Ding Ling talked to Chairman Mao, Zhou Enlai and Zhang Wentian about the idea of establishing a literary and artistic group, which was approved by them and was initially named "Literary and Art Workers Association". Subsequently, the "Foundation of the Art and Art Workers Association" was released, with 34 people including Ding Ling, Cheng Fangwu, Wu Xiuquan, Li Bozhao, Xu Teli, Li Kenong, and Lu Dingyi. On November 22, 1936, the founding conference of the first literary and artistic group in the red base in northern Shaanxi was held. At the meeting, everyone discussed the name of this group. Chairman Mao proposed to call it " Chinese Literature and Art Association ", which was unanimously approved.
Ding Ling served as the director of the association and immediately started investigating member registration, notifying all localities and military forces to establish branches, formulate research plans, etc., and also founded the "Red China Supplement" in the "Red China" newspaper. She published the "Essay on the Tail of the Red Middle Supplement" in the first issue of "Red Middle School" and wrote as a submission of the issue:
Some people say that a pen can live and die, so we can also say that a pen is a weapon of battle... We must use pens from all aspects, use various forms, the most popular poems, pictures, stories, etc. to penetrate into the hearts of the entire Chinese people, and strive for them to stand on a front and a united front to fight for national liberation and anti-Japanese resistance.
Chairman Mao clarified the tasks of the association in his speech at the conference of the establishment of the China Literary and Art Association. From then on, connecting literature and art with the future and destiny of the motherland and connecting literature and art with the great national liberation became a distinctive theme of Ding Ling's literary creation in the Luo River Basin.The Party Central Committee approved Ding Ling's request to go to the front line when the Red Army was led by Yang Shangkun to go north to Dingbian .
The journey to Dingbian north was undoubtedly a profound experience of life and life experience for Ding Ling. It was completely different from the hard and fresh scenery of northern Shaanxi in the city. Ding Ling quickly wrote the essay "Go to the Frontline". She described the marching on the banks of the Luo River at that time:
first followed the Luochuan River for two days, and for a while, she climbed to the suspended shores on both sides. These roads were very steep, and the animals could not go up. They had to walk far away around the opposite side of the river, and walked along the path under the rocks. Most of the time, there was still a lot of mud, some places that were dissolved by the sun. Later, I turned to the mountain, crossed one ridge, and there was another ridge, dozens of miles, and there was no village to see for dozens of miles. These mountains have no trees, withered yellow weeds, or even grasses that cannot be seen, extending to the end of the sky, but this sky is endless, because when you walk to the end of the mountain, you will see that there is still that simple picture spreading under your feet. These places have some strange place names, but they will be forgotten immediately.
In fact, Ding Ling and the others entered the Baiyu Mountains on the Loess Plateau and walked along the Luo River to Dingbian. Her feeling was indeed good, and the scenery on the banks of the Luo River was also described very clearly. If you haven't walked through this mountain road, you will definitely not be able to write such an accurate itinerary. To be honest, more than 80 years have passed. I drove along the provincial highway on the bank of Baiyushanluo River. I also often encounter Ding Ling's feelings from time to time, especially the "some strange place names" she said. Although there is a sign with the village name standing high on the roadside, I don’t recognize the Chinese characters on the sign . These obscene words often forget them later - they are great writers, Ding Ling's artistic sense is very sharp and the words are accurately expressed - after several consecutive marches, they arrived at their destination - the Shaogou edge outside the city of Dingbian County - the front headquarters of the Red Army was stationed here. On the edge of Shaogou, Ding Ling met Commander Peng Dehuai and Political Commissar Ren Bishi of the Red Army Front Command.
It is close to the desert, the north wind is biting cold, the scenery is desolate, and life is extremely difficult. Ding Ling does not think it is bitter, and she happily feels full of vitality everywhere. In "Missing Comrade Cheng Fangwu", the Baiyu Mountains and Dingbian scenery described by Ding Ling are so beautiful and pleasant:
On this day, when the sun emerged from the east horizon, I rode the horse east among a group of newly gathered people. The air is very cold, fresh, the road is very flat, there are very few trees on the plateau. Occasionally, I see a few poplar trees that are not big. The sky is full of red gauze, not as bright as brocade or fire, but it is as if frozen from the frost. It is floating with a light and thin fog-like veil, covering the earth, containing a not-strong and faint tenderness, but it can stabilize my easily excited mood. I looked at the world and felt at ease. Ancient poems emerged in my mind. Those poems that confirm this feeling and scene are so heroic and comfortable! It is winter, like frost and morning; it is a journey, like a wanderer; it is a warrior, like a wanderer... The sound of hooves is so loud, the wind and sand are swaying on my face. I am like a dream, like a painting, but the laughter and joy coming from my comrades make me think of where I am and where I am going!
This passage contains poetic language, expressing Ding Ling's comfortable and happy mood, and also describing the unique beautiful scenery of Baiyu Mountains in the Luo River Basin - it really corresponds to the saying that all the scenery is love. People are happy and their eyes are full of beautiful scenery. Ding Ling is in this mood at this time, so her prose works also dance with excited emotions and all the beautiful scenery. In Dingbian, she attended a mass meeting commemorating the ninth anniversary of the Guangzhou riots. After the meeting, she wrote "Guang Bao Commemoration in Dingbian", which was published in the second issue of "Red and Middle School Supplement".
Ding Ling not only observes the surrounding mountains, rivers, trees and undulating mountains, but also observes and gains in-depth understanding of the Red Army soldiers and Red Army generals. At this time, Ding Ling observed Peng Dehuai so carefully, and she saw Peng Dehuai's every word and action.In her diary on her way south with the army, she wrote: "There was no rest along the way. As soon as she rested, Comrade Peng Dehuai, who planned a telegraph or instructions, was sitting at the door where people were coming and going, writing something." "Suddenly, a powerful voice came from outside the door, making everyone listen quietly. This was the commander-in-chief sitting on the threshold to write something." "I marched with the commander-in-chief of the commander-in-chief of the commander-in-chief. It's three days, and I haven't seen him thinking about something else for a minute." "It's 11 o'clock, I'm still sitting by the fire, writing a diary with the light of the fire, and snoring sounds on the kang... The Organic Institute sends some telegrams to the commander-in-chief and political commissar from time to time, and these telegrams are what I want to read every night." Her famous prose chapter "Sketches of Peng Dehuai" vividly depicts General Peng's personality and expression:
His face is hard to see clearly, because there are often many small mouths that are cracked by the cold wind, but on this not-so-pretty face, there are two black and lively eyes turning, and you can see the innocent and naughty that cannot be found on his adult face... The excited heart will appear gentle in his most natural and sincere handshake.
After the "Xi'an Incident", Peng Dehuai led the main force of the Red Army to the areas of Qingyang and Xifeng, and then went south to Xianyang , Sanyuan and Chunhua. Ding Ling also followed the General Command to the south. In this way, Ding Ling left Dingbian and left the Luo River Basin. In the Luo River Basin, she also created seven or eight works of "Security Travel", including chapters such as "Records of Comrade Zuo Quan's Battle at the Mountain Castle" and "A Gun Bullet Without Break". Later, Ding Ling collected and compiled them into works such as "Going North" and "Going South" and prepared to publish them, because the war was tensely shelved - although Ding Ling was in the Luo River Basin for not long, under the care of the Party and under the guidance of Chairman Mao, it was a new starting point and a turning point in her literary creation, and it was also a historical period when her literary and artistic style had undergone tremendous changes. It laid a strong ideological foundation for future literary creation and strengthened the correct literary creation direction for literature to serve the people and the cause of the Chinese revolution. Therefore, Ding Ling's literary activities and creations in the security guard and in the Luo River Basin deserve careful research and summary.
Just when Ding Ling followed the main force of the Red Army to Qingyang, she received a military telegram from Chairman Mao to give her " Linjiangxian·To Comrade Ding Ling ":
The red flag fell on the wall, and the west wind swept across the lonely city. The security guard is new. A banquet was held in the cave and the prisoners were welcomed. Who is the same as a thin pen? Three thousand elite soldiers of Mauser. The formation map opens toward Longshandong. Miss Wen yesterday, General of the War of Today. The poem
fully expresses Chairman Mao’s high praise and high expectations for Ding Ling, the first female writer to enter the red zone of northern Shaanxi. It is from the perspective of revolutionary needs that Chairman Mao regards the role that the literary and artistic war of resistance can play as equally important as the growth of military power. Among the poems written by Chairman Mao throughout his life, the title only stated "For a certain comrade" is "Six-character Poetry·To Comrade Peng Dehuai" and this "Linjiangxian·To Comrade Ding Ling". These two poems were written by security guards in the Luo River Basin and are extremely precious.
"Guangming Daily" (16th edition, September 30, 2022)
Source: Guangming.com - "Guangming Daily"
