Laoshanjie Text Original Text Introduction to Laoshanjie Text

1. We decided to climb a 30-mile-high Yaoshan Mountain. It is called Yuechengling on the map and its local name is Laoshanjie.

2. Set off in the afternoon and walk up the ravine. I don’t know why I couldn’t move forward. I waited for a long time before taking a few steps, and then I had to stop and wait. The team was packed tightly, and when they got tired of standing, they would sit down by the roadside. When the people in front of them shouted "Go, go, go," they would stand up and start walking again. I wish I could walk a little longer, but I have to stop after walking a few times. It was getting late and they were hungry. Many people screamed and cursed in annoyance. We stole a moment and ran to the front. The terrain gradually became steeper. We had overtaken our own column and ran to the tail of the "Red Star" column. We happened to find a house on the side of the road at the turning point, so we went in to take a rest.

3. This is a family of Yao people, a mother and a daughter. The man probably went to hide somewhere because he heard about the team, and followed his habit.

4. "Sister-in-law, let me take a rest here."

5. "Please sit inside." She said with a somewhat frightened look. The team still moved forward very slowly. We started chatting with the Yao people. According to our experience along the way, no matter who they are, no matter how afraid they are of us at first, as long as we explain clearly to them what the Red Army is, their worries will turn into joy and they will become very friendly with us. Today we have to give the Yao people a try.

6. We talked about the Red Army, the exorbitant taxes, the Guangxi warlords who forbade the Yao people from believing in their religion and massacred the Yao people, and talked about her living conditions here. The woman began to cry.

7. She said that she once had land, but the Han people drove them away from their land. Now I live on this barren mountain and farm other people's land, and I have to pay a very heavy rent every year. She said: "The exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes in Guangxi are particularly heavy on the Yao people, and the Guangxi warlords particularly bully the Yao people. If only your Red Army had come earlier, we would not have suffered like this."

8. She Asked if we were hungry. This question touches our heart. She took out the little rice she had and put it on a wooden stove in the middle of the room to cook porridge. She apologized to us and said that she didn't have much rice or a big pot, so she would cook more for the troops. We gave her money, but she didn’t want it. Finally, a comrade we knew came and brought a bag of rice, which was enough for three days. Although we knew clearly that there was a shortage of food in front of us, we still gave the whole bag of rice to her. She accepted it with great joy.

9. The troops had to march at night today. Her house and fence were made of dead bamboo. We were afraid that someone would tear them down and use them as torches, so we wrote a few slogans and posted them conspicuously outside with rice soup. We were informed that our troops were not allowed to tear down fences and use them as torches. We asked the Yao people and found out that there was a bamboo forest ahead that could be cut down to make torches, so we sent people to the bamboo forest ahead to make preparations.

10. The porridge tastes very sweet, because I am really hungry. We also served bowls to the Yao people mother and daughter. After asking about the journey ahead, I found out that there is a place called Leigongyan, which is very steep. It goes up the mountain for thirty miles and down the mountain for fifteen miles. Beyond that is the edge of Tangfang. We haven't reached the bottom of the mountain yet.

11. When we arrived at the top of the mountain, it was already past two o'clock in the afternoon. It suddenly occurred to me: I will build a monument here in the future and write down that on a certain day of a certain year and month, the Red Army passed by here when they went north to fight against Japan. I took a long breath and sat on the top of the mountain to rest for a while. Looking back at the team, there were only a few people who had not climbed over the mountain. We completed the task and instilled a strong will into the hearts of everyone in the entire column. Hunger, fatigue and even the pain of injury were overcome by this will. The difficult mountain boundary was defeated by a cumbersome team like ours.

12. The fifteen miles down the mountain is also very steep. We ran down in one breath, so fast. There are several beautiful scenery along the way. In the dense woods, silver-like spring water flows down the mountain, and it is crystal clear. Beside each stream, there are many soldiers using washbasins, rice boxes, and teapots to cook porridge and eat. Although we were also very hungry, we still ran down the mountain to the campsite.

13. This time over the mountains, the troops began to develop a new habit: using washbasins, rice boxes, and tea jars to cook and eat. This habit has been maintained for a long time.

14. Laoshanjie was the first difficult mountain we passed during the Long March. But after we walked through the Jinsha River, Dadu River, snow-capped mountains, and grasslands, we realized that the difficulties in Laoshan were still very small compared to these places.