Ma Shan’s giant plant slogan

The huge plant slogan "Long Live Chairman Mao" made of millions of cypress trees is located on the open slope of 35° to 60° on the east side of Mashan. Each word is 235.2 meters long and 142.6 meters wide on average. The total length from north to south is 764.8 meters, with a total area of ??184,584.9 square meters (equivalent to 276.9 acres). From a close look, you can see the pines and cypresses, hidden by the green mountains; from a distance, the fonts are vigorous and majestic.

This plant slogan was planted in March 1959. At that time, the newly established People's Commune, with respect and love for the Communist Party, organized and transferred four art teachers from Zhoumiao Primary School, Zhang Yi, Shi Fengxian, Yang Zhaogeng and Wang Yuxiang, by Comrades Zhang Guanglin and Qi Bingxiang, then deputy secretaries of the commune. Planning and design, under the leadership of teacher Zhang Yi, using relatively primitive tools such as meter rulers and ropes to measure and write out the range of the characters, using lime and straw to mark, several changes of plans, and finally using thousands of pieces of white paper to mark the strokes It was pressed with stones and laid on the hillside. People observed and adjusted it from 3 kilometers away, and then marked the holes and completed the planting design.

After a series of preparations, at the end of March of the lunar calendar in 1959, more than 20,000 villagers from 53 commune villages and personnel from all walks of life including workers, farmers, businessmen, students, and soldiers were organized to plant trees in the mountains and mobilize We purchased more than one million arborvitae saplings from Mashan Commune Nursery and Wufeng Commune Forest Farm. According to an old comrade who participated in tree planting at that time: Except for the elderly and children, everyone who could move went up the mountain. Many people went voluntarily because in people's minds at that time, the kindness of the Communist Party was as high as the sky. , deeper than the sea, being able to go up the mountain and plant a few trees yourself is the best reward for the kindness of the Communist Party.

On the day of the tree planting, the sky was blue and the red flags were waving on the ground. The gongs and drums were loud, and the crowds were all over the hillside. According to the predetermined division of labor, they were divided into groups of two, one word at a time, scrambling to be the first, and working enthusiastically. There was a long queue of people transporting saplings, and pots were buried at the foot of the mountain for cooking, and smoke curled up from the cooking pots. The slogans one after another resounded throughout the land of Mashan and spread for more than ten miles. In just one day, all one million saplings were planted, and the giant characters "Long Live Chairman Mao" composed of five pines and cypresses were majestically inlaid on Mashan.

The five large pine and cypress characters "Long Live Chairman Mao" grow on the hillside of Mashan and remain in the hearts of the people of Mashan. If this greening project is the organization of the government, the wisdom of the leaders, and the wishes of the masses, it is a masterpiece under specific historical conditions, and the various events that followed have a certain degree of mystery that blends with nature. color.

The purpose of planting trees is of course to ensure the survival rate of the trees. Millions of cypress trees are planted on slopes of 35 to 60 degrees. Watering is impossible. During the few days when the trees are planted, , the sky was surprisingly clear. Just when people were worried, two days later, a few clouds suddenly came from the sky, and it started to rain lightly. After the rain, people went to the mountains to see that none of the millions of saplings had withered. Later someone said: It was Chairman Mao’s kindness to the Communist Party that moved heaven.

In the autumn of 1976, the "Long Live Chairman Mao" planted with cypress trees on Mashan suddenly suffered a large-scale insect infestation. In just two days, large cypress leaves were eaten away by "cypress cocoons". The government organized more than 3,000 primary and secondary school students to carry out the "Pest Control and Tree Protection" campaign. Although the pest control was timely, the trees were still chewed down to only branches and trunks. People were heartbroken because these trees were of great concern to the people of Mashan. In my heart, it is no longer just a tree. According to the local elders, as far back as they can remember, they have never heard of cypress trees "bringing disasters." September 9 of this year was the day Comrade Mao Zedong passed away. Was it a "natural disaster" or a historical coincidence? In the spring of 1977, the cypress trees came back to life and became even more lush.

Coincidentally, this year, a huge earthquake occurred in Tangshan that had not happened in a century. The earthquake affected Mashan. On that night, a huge boulder fell from the mountain and hit the plant with the slogan "Long Live Chairman Mao." ", the word "lord" has changed to the word "king". It is rumored by the locals that Mao Zedong was a "man" when he was alive and became a "god (king)" after his death.

In the mid-1960s, relevant departments at higher levels ordered to remove Chairman Mao’s quotation boards, portraits, and sculptures built on the roadside. The memorial arch for Chairman Mao's portrait in the courtyard of Mashan Commune and the slogan "Long Live Chairman Mao" on the mountain are also being cleaned up.

The county party committee specially sent a working group to Mashan to clean up within a time limit. This task fell on Comrade Li Xiangyun, who was a cultural and educational assistant at the time. Under the political situation at that time, orders from superiors must be carried out unconditionally. The chairman's memorial arch in the commune courtyard was quickly cleared, but it was not easy to "clean up" the trees on the mountain. Cutting down the trees was undoubtedly the "best" way, but it would be charged with cutting down trees and destroying greening. , although it did not go against the instructions of the "superiors", people could not accept the felling of trees psychologically. Comrade Li Xiangyun thought about it for several days and thought of many ways. Finally, he proposed that the problem could be solved without cutting down the trees. Wait until next spring and use trees to fill in the spaces with the words "Long Live Chairman Mao" so that people can't see the handwriting. This method was approved by the working group. Although the tree was not planted later, "Long Live Chairman Mao" was spared a catastrophe. Although the orders of "superiors" must be carried out, the wisdom of the executors plays a role intentionally or unintentionally, and sometimes even the people involved cannot tell clearly.

In order to better protect and develop this precious wealth, Mashan Town formally applied to the Shanghai headquarters of the Guinness Book of World Records in mid-May 2001. After review and approval by the Shanghai headquarters, the application was officially launched in mid-August. Named "Plant Slogan 'The Best of China'". And a stele pavilion was built at the foot of the mountain to commemorate.