**Gift two mules to the United States, the United States shocked the world in return.
Mr. Harrison Foreman, an American photographer, war correspondent, and explorer, once published the sensational albums "Journey to the North" and "Journey to the West", which triggered the "China fever" and made many journalists from Europe and the United States yearn for China.
Among them, the story of Mr. Foreman riding a mule is even more unforgettable.
When Harrison first arrived in Yan'an, he made a request to the commander-in-chief: "I want to go around the border area and see the scenery here." Commander-in-Chief Zhu readily agreed: "Of course you can, but your foot strength may be a little difficult, and you can't walk far in a day."
I gave you a mule, and you rode it, not only to go fast, but also to save effort. So the Commander-in-Chief called the guards to bring a tall mule and taught Harrison how to ride smoothly.
It was this mule that allowed Harrison Foreman to complete the interview task successfully. The American journalist, who weighed 280 pounds, rode on the back of a mule, walked all day, and took more than 1,000 photos of northern Shaanxi.
How did he get into northern Shaanxi to shoot freely? Harrison has visited China several times. His first arrival in the Soviet region of northern Shaanxi was in 1937, on the eve of the "July 7 Incident", when he interviewed the Chinese Red Army on its way to the front line of resistance against Japan.
After meeting with the Red Army generals, he was deeply moved by the CPC's policy of establishing an anti-Japanese national united front and its sincerity in cooperation between the KMT and the CPC.
In 1940, Harrison came to China again as a correspondent for The Times, The New York Times, and the BBC.
Harrison, a seasoned journalist, was deeply disappointed by the shallow coverage of Chongqing. He decided to go to Yan'an, which was blockaded by the military, to explore the truth and expose the slander of the Kuomintang against the Communist Party.
He was desperate to understand how the Communist Party survived under the blockade and to reveal the facts to the world. However, the Kuomintang adopted obstruction and imprisoning methods, and for five years from 1939 to 1944, no Chinese and foreign journalists were allowed to enter Yan'an, in an attempt to cover up the fact that the Communist Party was actively fighting the war.
In May 1943, Harrison and a number of other foreign correspondents applied to China to go to Yan'an for an interview. After a year of hard work, Harrison and 20 Chinese and foreign journalists finally entered the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo border region in May 1944 and began to explore this "red China", allowing the world to understand the miracles created by the Communists.
Arriving in Yan'an, Harrison was warmly welcomed by the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party, who held a grand welcome ceremony for Chinese and foreign journalists, including senior Chinese and foreign generals.
Harrison's first impression was the pristine nature of the place. In Yan'an, both the leaders and the warriors lived in the same caves, and the clothing here was uniform and simple and old, but clean and tidy.
Harrison and *** will chat freely like old friends, and he and ** have become "bosom friends" because of their shared pipe hobby.
Harrison has been in frequent contact with the Commander-in-Chief recently, and he had received a mule from Commander-in-Chief Zhu before, but it didn't take long for him to hurry to the Commander-in-Chief's office again.
Commander-in-Chief Zhu asked him with concern about the recent progress of his work and the use of the mule, and Harrison said with some anxiety that the mule was not very easy to use, and he died of exhaustion after only two days of riding.
He really wanted to know more about Yan'an, so he hoped that Commander-in-Chief Zhu would give him another mule so that he could walk around and see more.
Harrison is a tall photographer who weighs more than 280 pounds and travels to many places every day to interview and photograph. Due to the frequent travel, his previous mules were exhausted.
Although ** felt sorry for the mule, in order to let Harrison complete the task, he found a very strong mule in northern Shaanxi. Harrison cherished his new companion and rode it to many places, documenting and photographing the liberated areas.
In Harrison Foreman's album, we can see the life and battle scenes of the people and the army that he photographed in the northern border area of Shaanxi. He spent five months conducting a comprehensive interview on the military and civilian life in the northern Shaanxi border region, and truthfully reported to the world the picture of the military and civilian resistance against Japan in the Jinsui border area, as well as the life scene of the Eighth Route Army under the leadership of the Communist Party in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo border region.
Yan'an is located on the Loess Plateau in the north of Shaanxi Province, in the middle reaches of the Yellow River, with complex terrain, drought and little rainfall, and extremely harsh conditions.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, the core leaders of the Communist Party of China lived here for 13 years, and it has always been the base of the War of Resistance against Japan and the War of Liberation.
Harrison's Yan'an, as a red holy place, has always maintained a sense of mystery, and that is because the Kuomintang army imposed a tight blockade here. However, despite the long blockade of the Soviet region in northern Shaanxi, it has never been cut off from the outside world.
Every command given here has resulted in the victory of the revolution throughout the country. With the expansion of the influence of the Red Army, many knowledgeable revolutionary youths came to Yan'an, injecting "fresh blood" and intellectual power into the Loess Plateau.
There were many intellectuals in these ranks, whose arrival made it possible to apply cultural knowledge to the revolutionary struggle and the practice of teaching.
As children, most of the Red Army soldiers came from poor backgrounds and did not have a good education. However, they seized the gap between war and production during their time in the army, and eagerly learned Xi, hoping to contribute to the victory of the revolution and the construction of New China.
During this period, Harrison Foreman photographed some Red Army soldiers learning Xi culture in caves, documenting their efforts to improve their own quality and cultural level.
Harrison's ** provided a precious record of the life of the common people in the Red Liberated Zone, and he carefully observed and recorded the story of Wu Manyou's peasants. Wu Manyou was rated as a model worker because of his hard work and active agricultural production.
The policy of "rent reduction and interest reduction" implemented by the border area has helped Wu Manyou's family solve the problem of food and clothing. In addition, many people in northern Shaanxi have also actively engaged in agricultural production under the promotion of the "rent reduction and interest reduction" policy, thus solving the local poverty problem.
Under Harrison's lens, we can see pictures of "military and civilian families". The women were delivering food to the soldiers of the Eighth Route Army, who had only wooden barrels of rice at meal time, and in between battles, the villagers brought everything they had.
These ** vividly demonstrated the lofty position of the Red Army in the minds of the common people in northern Shaanxi. Harrison Foreman also posed for a photo with the militia in Yan'an, and it seemed that everyone was getting along very well.
He also captured the scene of the militia in Yan'an standing guard on the hill. Although the militia is not advanced, they have all kinds of self-made, including large knives and long sticks, and even homemade cannons.
Harrison also personally witnessed the militiamen's process of making explosives. Despite the difficult living conditions, the militia members were full of spirit and firm in their convictions. They contributed to the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in their own way, demonstrating the tenacity and courage of the Chinese people.
When Harrison first arrived in Yan'an, the food supply of the 100,000-strong army in the northern Shaanxi border region was facing severe challenges, and in order to break the economic blockade of the Kuomintang diehards and the Japanese invaders, the border area launched a large-scale production campaign for the troops.
** Emphasize to him that the Red Army is the people's soldiers, and it cannot add to the burden on the people, and it is necessary to carry both guns and hoes. Although the soldiers seldom came out because of their busy preparations and production, Harrison approached them and recorded their labor scenes with guns in one hand and hoes in the other.
These military myths created by the Red Army have been preserved through Harrison's lens.
Harrison admired the character of the Red Army, praising it: "No other army in the world can produce labor on such a large scale as the Red Army, and that is the key to civil-military cooperation."
He questioned the veracity of the Kuomintang's long-standing claim that the Communist-led Red Army refused to resist Japan. In search of answers, Harrison bravely risked his life, trekked through mountains and rivers, and even went to the front lines of the battle to photograph, thus obtaining a wealth of valuable first-hand information.
In August 1944, together with reporters from Time magazine such as Wudao and Epstein, he went deep into the Jinsui anti-Japanese base area to conduct on-the-spot interviews regardless of the danger, and observed the battle between the Eighth Route Army and the Japanese army at close range on many battlefields.
On the battlefield of resistance against Japan, Harrison Foreman conducted a field trip on the front line for more than a month. He recorded in detail the life and production scenes of the people and the army in the border areas, and even personally experienced eating and living with the soldiers, so as to gain an in-depth understanding of their fighting ability and spirit.
Harrison was surprised to find that although the Eighth Route Army led by the Communist Party of China lagged far behind the first in terms of equipment, they were brave and fearless, resourceful and flexible, unpredictable in tactics, and first-class in combat ability.
He said with emotion that war is cruel and bloodshed and sacrifice cannot be avoided. When Harrison saw a small Eighth Route Army soldier who had been hanged by Japanese soldiers on a tree, he couldn't help but shed tears.
It was only a teenager, but his sacrifice was incomparably heroic and tragic.
This is the story of a heroic little soldier who stood up without hesitation, took all the responsibilities, and made sacrifices in order to protect the villagers at a critical moment.
Harrison also captured many precious shots, including the scene of the Eighth Route Army's transport caravan crossing the ancient city gate of Yan'an in the early morning, the soldiers carrying ammunition waiting for the leader's command, and the front line of the Eighth Route Army about to face fierce battles.
In addition, Harrison also recorded some heartwarming moments, such as the Eighth Route Army's reconnaissance team using bicycles captured from the Japanese puppet army, riding happily, which was an indispensable tool in their reconnaissance work.
There is also a ** showing that the Eighth Route Army captured a large amount of Japanese trophies on the battlefield.
General Zuo Qi died heroically in the ambush of the Eighth Route Army and lost his right arm. His strong will touched *** and said with emotion: "How many one-armed generals are there in Chinese history?
Only our Eighth Route Army can cultivate such special talents. "Harrison Forman witnessed on the battlefield that the Eighth Route Army, led by the Communist Party of China, actively participated in the anti-Japanese struggle, overcoming the difficult geographical environment and the total blockade of the Kuomintang and the Japanese army.
On the occasion of farewell, Harrison Foreman gave an exciting speech at the Yan'an Conference. "Our mission is to seek the truth, and as journalists, we start here with questions," he said.
The Kuomintang spread rumors that the Eighth Route Army did not fight, and that the masses hated the Eighth Route Army. "However, when I witnessed the fact that the Eighth Route Army fought valiantly on the battlefield, and saw that the people supported the Communist Party and the Eighth Route Army so much, I decided to write these facts into an article, accompanied by a photographed **, so that the whole world would know that the Chinese Communist Party actively participated in and heroically resisted Japanese aggression. ”