Two letters from home on the front line of Pingjin before and after the Spring Festival in 1949

For thousands of years, the Spring Festival has been the most important festival among Chinese people. It means getting rid of the old and the new, family reunion, and it is also a festival with the most frequent information exchange and the strongest expression of family affection. However, not every family can be reunited during the Spring Festival. When they have to, some families can only rely on the "see the word as the face" family letter to convey family affection.
 

In the collection of family letters in the Museum of family letters of Renmin University of China, there are memories of the Spring Festival in various periods in the past hundred years. These memories are closely related to the social and historical environment at that time and are a microcosm of the social situation at that time. No matter whether it is a high-ranking official or a common people, no matter whether life is good or bumpy, everyone can not miss this worrying festival, or go all the way home for reunion, or write a family letter solemnly. The family letter is full of regrets that they cannot go home, affectionate wishes to their families and expectations for the coming New year.
 

The selected issue here is the Ping An Family Letter written by two soldiers on the front line of Pingjin around the Spring Festival in 1949. From it, we can see the mental state of people in that era of great changes.
 
　Luo Shijie's Spring Festival Letter
 

For people living in Beijing and Tianjin, the Spring Festival in 1949 was ushered in by the gunfire of the Pingjin campaign. On January 15, 1949, under the fierce attack of the Northeast Field Army, after 29 hours of fierce fighting, the 130000 Kuomintang defenders were defeated and Tianjin was liberated. On the 24th, Luo Shijie, a soldier from the Propaganda Team of the Political Department of the Fourth Army Division of the Northeast Field Army, who participated in the takeover of Tianjin, wrote a letter to his father in Harbin after his busy work.
 

Father:
 

Has the news of victory spread to my hometown? Tianjin and Beiping have been successively liberated in the early 1949 years of victory. With the advance of the army, I have entered China's famous industrial city "Tianjin", where I may spend the old calendar year. Since entering the customs, our propaganda team has taken part in the war work of liberating Pingjin. our son has been assigned to the working group to receive materials. every day, we take the bus to receive either this or that. the mountains of victory goods are gathered by us one after another. I am working excitedly and enthusiastically in such a victorious situation. Everything I have is happy to meet the victory of the army, and my body is also very strong. I hope not to read it.
 

About soon we still have to cross the Yangtze River, hit Nanjing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Guangdong ...... has been the liberation of the whole of China, and then the victory to return to their hometown, please wait!! This day will not be too far away. As long as there is another year, this bright day for the whole country will come. I hope you will take care of your health, work hard and support the front line, so as to help us complete the victory of national liberation as soon as possible.
 

Father, the old calendar year is approaching, and the people in the family are all very well! Is the business of the station still being done? Has Shixun's brother gone to school? Does Shuqing still work in Harbin or go home? How is Shijun's work? It must be very good! Please let me know if there is any rotation so that I can communicate in the future. Moreover, I hope to know how the family government will take care of it.
 

A group of brothers and sisters:
 

I can't play with you in the old calendar year of this year. All the major scenic spots and cities in Guanli have been visited. It's really nice and interesting. When I return to the northeast after the victory, I will certainly introduce you some good things and take some souvenirs back to you. Please wait. This day is never too far away! I think this year's Chinese New Year must be very interesting. You can be as happy as possible, because you all have worked for a year. Although it is simpler, it is interesting. Don't worry the elderly. This year's life is not very good, next year it will be even more oily, and you will all work hard on your own! When I come home, how glorious it will be! I think our family will be stronger every year. I have a lot to say to you, because I am too busy to have time. Stop writing. Finally bless you
　　

Happy New Year!

Rosje on
　　1949.1.24
　

This Spring Festival, although Luo Shijie was far away from his hometown and could not spend the festival with his relatives, he was fortunate enough to participate in the battle for the liberation of Tianjin and was responsible for receiving the spoils. He was happy and beyond words. The important thing is that he passed the joy of victory to the whole family through his family letter. On the fourth day after Luo Shijie wrote this family letter, Tianjin ushered in the first New Year's Eve after liberation. This is a real transition between the old and the new, not only the transformation of seasonal festivals, but also a great change in the face of society.
 
Song Yunliang's Spring Festival Family Letter
 

The Northeast Field Army conquered Tianjin by force, which directly contributed to the peaceful liberation of Peiping.
 

On January 31, the third day of the Lunar New Year, more than 200,000 Kuomintang troops in Peiping City went to designated locations to be reorganized. The People's Liberation Army began to take over defense and Peiping was peacefully liberated. Song Yunliang, who was the battalion commander of the Second Battalion of the 66th Artillery Regiment of the North China Field Army at that time, also participated in the Pingjin Campaign. However, due to the peaceful liberation of Beiping, his army did not fight, but lived in Changping, north of the city, on standby.
 

On February 13, the 16th day of the first month of the lunar calendar, they were invited by the garrison troops to visit the city. This is Song Yunliang's first visit to Beiping. At the end of the day, a variety of activities and experiences kept him awake at night. In the guest room of the National Hotel where he stayed, he wrote a letter to his fiancee Hu Yuhua (Yuhua). The letter first introduced the situation of the Pingjin campaign and the missing of his fiancee, and also mentioned the situation of the New Year in the army:
 

We have lived in Changping County, Beiping for a long time. It is not far from Beiping City. It is only more than 50 miles away. We have spent the year here. It is very lively and life is very good. We have eaten a lot of comfort products (pork, Big fish, rice, white flour, wheat, etc.). Now I still have two packets of biscuits. I want to keep them for you, but I think I may not be able to keep them, because other comrades will eat them when they see them. Secondly, the condolence bag for me contains a very beautiful diary. I have already saved it and am going to send it back to you. You should also know that a soldier has nothing better to give to his lover in this situation.
 

Let me tell you one more thing. The security forces in Peiping invited us (cadres) to visit the city. We came by car today and stayed at the National Hotel. Beiping is really lively. There are trams, dense pedestrians, many shops and cars on the streets. There are more than donkeys carrying grain! This evening we went to the National Theater to see the play, saw the famous horn Ye Shengzhang's "Kowloon Cup", is really good. It is said that tomorrow we will visit the Forbidden City (that is, the Golden Luan Hall), Beihai Park, Zhongnanhai, Wanshou Mountain, etc. Tomorrow night we may also go to the theater. Yuhua, it is indeed a rare opportunity to visit these places of interest and historical sites in Beiping, the ancient capital! The most exciting thing is that today we took a bus to Dongjiaomin Lane. I heard that when the Kuomintang ruled, this was a "foreign land", and the Chinese did not dare to go there, but today Peiping is already a city of the people, and the foreigners in East Jiaotong Minxiang are no longer so domineering. Later, Song Yunliang had the honor to attend the founding ceremony and directed the firing of a salute. Soon, with the approval of the organization, Song Yunliang and Hu Yuhua got married.
　　

(The author is the deputy curator of the Family Letter Museum of Renmin University of China)
(Responsible editor: Wu Chun)

February 24, 2018 Source: People's Political Consultative Conference