The Style Construction of Yuan Guoping and the New Fourth Army

Yuan Guoping, director of the Political Department of the New Fourth Army, who died in the "Southern Anhui Incident", was an important pioneer and leader of the political work of the New Fourth Army. Mao Zedong spoke highly of Yuan Guoping and praised "Yuan's political development and experience".

Yuan Guoping was born in Shaodong, Hunan Province on May 26, 1906. He joined the Communist Party of China at the end of 1925. He participated in the Nanchang Uprising and the Guangzhou Uprising. In June 1930, he served as the director of the Political Department of the Red Army and the political commissar of the Eighth Red Army. He was also the acting director of the Political Department of the Red Army. After the outbreak of the war of resistance, in a letter to his nephew, he revealed his desire to go to the front: "From Qingyang to Yan'an for treatment for two months, my body has recovered, I am used to living in the trenches, and I am asking the Party Central Committee to send me to work on the front line of the war of resistance against Japan. I am willing to fight bravely for the survival and liberation of the Chinese nation and win the final victory in the war of the war of resistance, even if I die without regret." On April 26, 1938, Yuan Guoping arrived at the military headquarters of the New Fourth Army in Yansi, Anhui Province, and was officially appointed director of the Political Department of the New Fourth Army.

In the special environment behind enemy lines in the south of the Yangtze River, he always emphasized that the New Fourth Army is a revolutionary army led by the Communist Party of China, and regarded improving the party's work and strengthening the party's leadership as the primary task of the New Fourth Army's political work. In June 1938, Yuan Guoping presided over the first political work conference of the New Fourth Army, which aimed to determine the principles, tasks, systems, leadership methods, and working methods of wartime political work. "Gradually complete the establishment of political organs at all levels and establish a unified company. Political organizations, successively train and supplement political cadres." The New Fourth Army was made up of Red Army guerrillas in the eight southern provinces and previously had few political institutions. Yuan Guoping carried out his work in a bold manner, improved the work system, and stipulated that there should be political organs above the regiment level, party representatives or political commissaries, company instructors, and political fighters in the squad. Yuan Guoping demanded that the political work of the New Fourth Army should "integrate teaching, learning, and use", and explore collective learning and collective research in the teaching of military political education, teaching students in accordance with their aptitude, teaching students in accordance with the time, and environmental education to form a learning atmosphere. "Twelve principles". These principles and methods not only promote the political education of the New Fourth Army, but also have positive reference value for today's ideological and political work.

Yuan Guoping attached importance to the cultural propaganda work of the New Fourth Army. The most urgent task of the cultural construction of the New Fourth Army is to introduce a large number of outstanding talents as soon as possible. He introduced talents to the New Fourth Army through various channels and improved their treatment. The New Fourth Army stipulates that the allowance for cadres above the regiment level is only 4 yuan per person per month, and the battalion and company cadres are 3 yuan, while the experts and scholars hired can receive an allowance of more than ten to tens of yuan per month, or even hundreds of yuan. With the arrival of a large number of educated young people and outstanding talents, the New fourth Army, which was short of talents in the early days of the founding of the army, was full of talents, laying a solid foundation for the cultural building of the New fourth Army. Under the guidance of Yuan Guoping, the literary and artistic soldiers of the New Fourth Army created a number of works serving the real struggle, which inspired the confidence of the majority of soldiers.

As a famous Confucian general in the New Fourth Army, Yuan Guoping, in addition to Marxist-Leninist works, also loved literature and history books. His speech was humorous, profound and simple, and had a strong appeal. Chen Yi praised him as "a good propagandist and a talented person". On April 26, 1938, at the mobilization meeting of the New Fourth Army's Anti-Japanese War, Yuan Guoping made an impromptu speech when he made his debut. Li Yan, a soldier of the New Fourth Army present, recalled: "I have listened to a lot of speeches and reports, but I have never heard a speech like Director Yuan. He is so eloquent, his voice is so loud, and he is very inspiring." Xia Zhengnong, editor of the Shanghai Taibai semimonthly magazine and a leftist fighter, recalled Yuan Guoping and said, "After I went to work in the Political Department, my impression of him grew deeper and deeper because I met him often. He treated people equally and did not put on airs, and he showed great grace and literary talent, whether he spoke at seminars or gave reports to cadres. I felt that he was a highly educated person."

Entrusted by Xiang Ying, Yuan Guoping presided over and participated in the creation of the "New Fourth Army Military Song", which made this military song sing across the country and became a classic war song that boosted the confidence of the New Fourth Army. When communicating with composer He Shide, Yuan Guoping explained to him the background of the lyrics, the strategic environment in southern Anhui, and stressed that the lyrics should highlight the idea of advancing eastward to resist the enemy and marching behind the enemy, so as to strengthen the fighting momentum. He Shide later recalled: "In the process of composing military songs, it was Director Yuan Guoping who inspired me." On the eve of the "Southern Anhui Incident", Yuan Guoping also personally composed the lyrics of "Farewell, Three Years of Southern Anhui", which was composed by the composer. This tragic battle song witnessed the battle course of the New Fourth Army in the south of the Yangtze River leaving southern Anhui, crossing the Yangtze River in the north, developing eastward, and opening up northern Jiangsu.

In the style construction of the New Fourth Army, Yuan Guoping has never forgotten that the mass line is the lifeline and fundamental work line of the Communist Party and its leading army. Only by thinking of the masses and strictly observing discipline can the purity of the party and the army be maintained. He demanded that the political work cadres of the New fourth Army should have the character of "honesty, sacrifice, diligence, honesty, modesty, sincerity, and consistency in words and deeds. To this end, Yuan Guoping and his wife Qiu Yihan set an example for others. His son Yuan Zhenwei asked his mother Qiu Yihan later, "My classmates said that my father was a high-ranking official, and my mother would definitely ride a horse on the Long March, right?" Qiu Yihan smiled faintly, "My father's horse carried the wounded, and I dragged the horse's tail through the snow-capped mountains, and then some people criticized me for being special!" In Yuan Guoping's eyes, corruption starts with the separation of public and private, and starts with taking advantage of the public. He wrote to his nephew: "Some people may say that we are too unsmart, but there should be some unsmart people like us in the world."

In the "Southern Anhui Incident" in January 1941, Yuan Guoping did not fear the powerful enemy and commanded the soldiers of the New Fourth Army to rise up to resist, take the lead and sacrifice heroically.

November 27, 2017 Source: China Discipline Inspection and Supervision News