Ding Deke: The Zhaojin Spirit: The Spiritual Motivating Force for the Existence and Development of the Northwest Revolutionary Base Area
The Northwest Revolutionary Base Area was the "sole surviving" [1] revolutionary base of the Communist Party of China (CPC) during the Agrarian Revolutionary War [2]. The Shaanxi-Gansu Border Revolutionary Base Area, centered on Zhaojin, was the first attempt by Party organizations in the Northwest to establish a base in a mountainous region; out of these revolutionary struggles, the great Zhaojin Spirit was forged. It represents the ideological and cultural essence distilled from the early revolutionary struggles in the Northwest—particularly those of the Zhaojin Revolutionary Base Area—and served as the spiritual impetus throughout the Northwest revolutionary struggle, becoming a precious cultural resource for the Party’s revolution, construction, and reform. During his 2015 inspection tour of Shaanxi, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The reason the older generation of proletarian revolutionaries was able to establish a foothold in Zhaojin was their strong mass base; they maintained close ties with the masses, and the local people supported the revolution. Today, our Party must rely on the masses and successfully pass down and develop the Zhaojin Spirit. If we can achieve this, our cause will be as solid as a city of bronze and a moat of boiling water [3]."
The Zhaojin Spirit emerged and took shape amidst the treacherous environment, arduous struggles, and the baptism of blood and fire in the Northwest region. In October 1927, the Northwest Party organization launched the Qingjian Uprising, marking the beginning of the armed struggle against the Kuomintang (KMT) reactionaries. In May 1928, the Weihua Uprising was launched, and the armed struggle developed rapidly. More than 70 "soldier mutinies" [4], student movements, and urban and rural "tool-surrendering" (jiāonóng) [5] struggles broke out across the Guanzhong, Shaanxi-Gansu Border, and Northern Shaanxi regions, striking fear into the hearts of the reactionary authorities. In October 1930, Liu Zhidan established the Nanliang Guerrilla Force, marking the first time the CPC possessed an armed force in the Northwest. This force was subsequently reorganized into the Northwest Anti-Imperialist Allied Army and later the Shaanxi-Gansu Guerrilla Force of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. In March 1932, the Ter-Cun-Yuan Red Political Power (red state power) was established in the Shaanxi-Gansu border, but due to a lack of strong military support, it lasted only 22 days. Based on the lessons learned from the Red Army guerrilla maneuvers, the balance of power between the enemy and ourselves, and geographical factors, the Zhaojin area was ultimately selected as the central hub for establishing a revolutionary base. In December 1932, the Shaanxi-Gansu Guerrilla Force was reorganized into the Second Regiment of the 26th Army of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. In the spring of 1933, the revolutionary base area centered on Zhaojin in Yao County was opened. By the autumn of that year, the base area spanned the borders of Yao, Xunyi, and Chunhua counties, covering approximately 2,500 square kilometers. Although the base area was later lost, under the leadership of Liu Zhidan, Xie Zichang, and Xi Zhongxun, the Shaanxi-Gansu Border Revolutionary Base Area centered on Nanliang was successfully opened in January 1934. On this foundation, it further developed into the Shaanxi-Gansu Revolutionary Base Area, providing a landing point for the Party Central Committee and the various Red Army forces at the end of the Long March, and a jumping-off point for the main forces of the Eighth Route Army as they headed to the front lines of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. It became the only complete revolutionary base area remaining in the country during the late period of the Agrarian Revolutionary War.
As an important component of the Spiritual Pedigree of Chinese Communists [6], the connotation of the Zhaojin Spirit is: "firm conviction of loyalty to the Party, the heroic spirit of tenacious struggle, and a work style rooted in the masses." It reflects the faith, ideals, and pursuits of the Northwest Communists and revolutionaries; their world-facing attitude of revolutionary optimism; and their style of wisdom and ability. It is a true manifestation of the original aspiration and founding mission and the excellent character of Communists.
The firm conviction of loyalty to the Party embodies the faith, ideals, and pursuits of the Northwest Communists and revolutionaries. In the years before the revolutionary flames were lit in Zhaojin, several armed uprisings in Qingjian, Weihua, and Xunyi had failed. After the failure of the Weihua Uprising led by Liu Zhidan, his efforts to organize soldier mutinies suffered multiple setbacks, and he was even imprisoned; however, his will remained resolute, and he grew more courageous with every defeat. He said: "Can one conduct a revolution without ever failing? If we fail, we do it again." When Xie Zichang took the Party admission oath, he said with emotion: "I will struggle for communism for the rest of my life." Xi Zhongxun joined the Party while in prison, determined that "the Communist Party is good, and I will follow the Communist Party to the very end!" During the arduous process of creating the Soviet areas and revolutionary bases, underground struggles were treacherous, and the guerrilla forces moved through life-and-death situations. Many experienced the bitterness of prison, the dangers of military uprisings, the hardships of establishing government power, the pressure of powerful enemies, the pain of defeat, and the threat to their lives—particularly following the setbacks in the battles of Miaowan and Yuyuan. It was precisely by virtue of their rock-solid loyalty to the Party and their firm conviction in the Party's cause that they created the first mountainous base area in the Northwest. Later, interference from the "Left" opportunistic erroneous line [7] led to the failure of the 26th Army's southward expedition to Weihua; the base also suffered several "encirclement and suppression" campaigns by large numbers of KMT troops, leading to the fall of Xuejiazhai. However, the Northwest Communists, represented by Liu Zhidan, Xie Zichang, and Xi Zhongxun, relied on their loyalty and firm conviction to persist in tenacious struggle, eventually ushering in the dawn of a new victory.
The heroic spirit of tenacious struggle embodies the world-facing attitude of revolutionary optimism held by Northwest Communists and revolutionaries. The revolutionary struggle for the freedom and happiness of the toiling masses won deep popular support; the masses loved the Red Army, trusted the Communist Party, and consciously followed both. This was the source of the confidence behind the heroic spirit of the Northwest revolutionaries. When the Party organization sent Wang Taiji, commander of the 42nd Division of the 26th Army, back to his hometown in Henan to conduct work among the soldiers, he was arrested in Tongrun Town, Chunhua County, due to a betrayal by a traitor. Before his execution, he wrote an "Impromptu Death Poem," in which his revolutionary heroism and defiance of death were vividly expressed: "Let this head be severed as you wish, let this flesh be trampled as you please; I leave everything to nature." Xi Zhongxun’s personal motto, "fight for a lifetime, be happy for a lifetime; struggle every day, be happy every day," is a succinct expression of this world-facing attitude of revolutionary optimism. During the critical situation in which the 26th Army was engaged in bloody battles in the Qinling Mountains, the Chenjiapo Meeting resulted in a strategic policy to rebuild the main Red Army forces, carry out extensive guerrilla warfare, and open new regions for the base area. Zhou Enlai later highly appraised this, saying: "In my view, this is the Marxism of Northern Shaanxi." Recalling the history of the revolutionary struggle, Xi Zhongxun pointed out that the struggle in the Zhaojin base area "did not blindly rely on instructions from superiors or abstract dogmas, but was adept at combining the Party's correct line and policies with the realities of Shaanxi and Gansu, correctly assessing the enemy's situation and our own, deciding policies according to objective conditions, and handling major issues independently, demonstrating political maturity and originality." The self-sacrificing spirit of the Red Army officers and soldiers, who gave their lives for the sake of righteousness, was truly heroic. During the battle to defend Xuejiazhai, more than 400 people—including guerrilla fighters, workers from the munitions depot and garment factory, and personnel from the Red Army hospital and logistics—fought fiercely for five days and nights. Preferring death to surrender, the female guerrilla fighters eventually detonated grenades to perish along with the enemy, while several others leaped off cliffs to a heroic death.
The work style of rooted in the masses embodies the style of wisdom and ability of Northwest Communists and revolutionaries. Through the revolutionary struggles carried out by Xi Zhongxun in the Nur village area of Zhaojin and Li Miaozhai in the Yuyuan village area, they worked village by village and household by household. They persisted in ideological leadership, publicized and educated the masses to build consensus, mobilized and relied on the masses to conduct people's guerrilla warfare, and systematically expanded the guerrilla areas. This demonstrated a work method and style deeply rooted in the masses. People said: "The Communist Party has great ability and cares wholeheartedly for us commoners; everyone is willing to follow them." The people of Zhaojin trusted the Party, loved the Red Army, and enthusiastically joined the army to join the revolution. Establishing close ties with the masses was the prerequisite for expanding the mass base and forming a broad united front. Faced with the reality of various armed forces being intertwined ("interlocked like dog's teeth") [8] while the revolutionary forces were relatively weak, Liu Zhidan and others believed that the Red Army guerrillas should not make enemies everywhere and isolate themselves. Instead, they should adopt rational and flexible methods to win over and unite all local armed forces for their own use. He made mutual non-aggression pacts and established united front relations with local militias (biāntuán), such as those led by Xia Laoyao in Miaowan, He Shixing in Jianzhuang, Jia Shicai in Haozuipu, and Li Xuzeng in Taibai Town. Our army gave a certain amount of captured silver dollars and livestock to the militias, asking them to help us purchase ammunition, medicine, and food, shelter the sick and wounded, and scout enemy movements. This both neutralized potential hostile forces and facilitated our army's movements while helping solve many practical difficulties. During the Shaanxi-Gansu Guerrilla period, the correct handling of relations with Xia Yushan's militia in Miaowan facilitated the movements of the nascent revolutionary armed forces. When the 26th Army moved through the Qinling Mountains, these united front relations played a vital role in emergencies. In the winter of 1933, the Red Army guerrillas lacked food and clothing, and the troops were exhausted; many contracted typhoid fever and were seriously ill. Upon receiving a letter from Liu Zhidan, Jia Shicai, the head of the Haozuipu militia, secretly sent people to arrange for the sick and wounded to recover in a cave deep in the forest, allowing them to rejoin the troops after they recovered.
(The author is a Distinguished Professor at the Shaanxi Zhaojin Cadre College)
Source: Learning Times (Xuéxí Shíbào), June 6, 2025, Page 5
Web Editor: Tongxin