My Party, My Family

Through the tremendous changes in Chinese families throughout the years， one may notice the Communist Party of China and Chinese people constitute a mutually dependent community， with a shared future， sharing weal and woe during China’s historical development. Without the Party， China’s social progress would not have been attainable， and numerous Chinese families would not have been able to live such happy lives.

My Party， My Family

China Women Publishing House

Compiled by Liaison Department of the All-China Women’s Federation Social Liaison， Exchanges and Cooperation Center of the All-China Women’s Federation （Women’s Foreign Language Publications of China）

July 2021

98.00 （CNY）

One is a general who spent almost his entire life in the military， gave up his generous salary to return to his hometown as a farmer， and led the villagers out of poverty. The other is a teacher who dutifully supported her husband， established herself in a poor mountainous area， and devoted her life to education. Through their actions， Gan Zuchang （1905–1986， the late Major General） and his wife Gong Quanzhen embodied the spirit of the members of the Communist Party of China （CPC）.

In 1927， Gan joined the CPC， and in 1928， he joined the Chinese Red Army and endured a series of difficult trials during the revolutionary struggles in Jinggangshan and during the Red Army’s Long March. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation， he served successively as the head of the Supply Department of the 359th Brigade and the head of the Logistics Department of the Northwest Field Army’s second column. After the People’s Republic of China was founded， he served first as deputy director and then as director of the Logistics Department of the Xinjiang Military Region. In 1955， he was awarded the rank of Major General， and in 1957， he took his whole family to work as farmers in his hometown of Yanbei Village， Lianhua County， in East China’s Jiangxi Province. His wife， Gong， had just turned 34， and she traveled with him to his hometown. After General Gan passed away in 1986， Gong continued to teach， and in 2003， she left her job as an educator and joined the senior cadre educational groups at the county and township levels of Lianhua County.

“I’ve always believed that only by following the Party can my life be meaningful， and I’m determined to follow the Party to the end and do my utmost for communism until the day I die！” said Gong， who is 98 years old this year and has been a Party member for nearly 70 years. She still carries on the revolutionary spirit in Lianhua County and has won many titles， including National Outstanding CPC Member， National Model Worker， National Moral Model， and National March 8th Red-banner Pacesetter.

More than half a century has passed， but Gong’s family has held on to the ideals and beliefs of General Gan， passing on for generations their “family heirloom” of “red family traditions.”

Leading Villagers in Development of Their Hometown

According to Gong， there was nothing special about their wedding in the revolutionary era， as life was so difficult then. In 1953， Gan and Gong held a simple one-table banquet， invited a few good friends， and got married.

In 1952， Gan was involved in a serious car accident. Although he survived， he suffered a severe concussion. Despite this， he decided to continue overworking himself， worsening his brain condition and causing him to faint several times at work. His worsening health affected his work， and he felt guilty that he was impeding the Party’s work. He wrote many times to the CPC Central Committee， saying that he wanted to return to his hometown to work as a farmer. In 1957， his request was finally approved. Before setting off for his hometown， he said to his wife that on the long journey home they should minimize their luggage to save on travel costs， which would be covered by the government. Thus， Gan’s whole family of 14 people fit all their luggage into just three suitcases.

Yanbei Village was located in a very poor area in the mountains， where one third of the land was barren. There were many barren hills behind the village covered with yellow mud that had been left uncultivated for decades. Upon arriving home， Gan told his son that he wanted to cultivate some farmland on the hills. His son replied， “People here have been unable to grow any crops for decades. Do you really think it is possible？” Gan informed his son that there were problems with the cultivation techniques currently in use. When the Red Army was in Nanniwan in Northwest China’s Shaanxi Province， the soil was much worse but the soldiers were still able to grow crops. Gan worked day after day， slowly tilling the infertile land. At last， he managed to plant some crops and obtain a successful harvest. The villagers began to copy his cultivation techniques and transformed the infertile hills behind their village into arable land.

Gan also organized the construction of a ditch to irrigate the village. Every morning at 5 o’clock， he got up for work. The other villagers were worried about his age and advised him not to work so hard， but he replied， “I’m not tired. We have to finish before the rainy season arrives， as it will be difficult to work in the spring rain.” Eventually， Gan and the villagers managed to complete the 20-meter-high， 25-meter-long Jiangshan reservoir， and hundreds of acres of paddy fields in the commune were irrigated， tripling crop yields.

“At the time， Gan was already over 50 years old， but he worked harder than any young man. Gan’s main goal was to lead the villagers in the development of their hometown， so that the people there could lead rich and happy lives，” Gong said. Gan often taught their children not to think of themselves as superior to others， but as merely ordinary people.

General Gan devoted his entire life to the work of the Party and taking responsibility for the villagers. Gong never forgot when Gan was on his deathbed and he asked her to buy some fertilizer and pesticide for poor families to help them with their farming after she received her salary.