On March 22, 1990, China's only female general Li Zhen passed away, and at her memorial service, people looked at her **, deeply recalling her lifelong military career, tears were pouring in.
The table and chair where she used to read are still there, but Li Zhen can no longer sit here. The slightest hint of the scent of books has now turned into white flowers, which are clustered in front of Li Zhen's mourning hall, as if escorting her to the end of her journey.
People wept bitterly in front of Li Zhen's mourning hall, not only because of the death of a heroic female general, but also because of their deep regret for Li Zhen's suffering in the first half of her life. The life experience of this female general is destined to be different.
In the old days, the lives of ordinary people were gray, and General Li Zhen's past was more like black. She grew up in poverty, with dilapidated thatched huts and broken walls as her background.
Although the addition of a new life to the family should have been a happy event, Li Zhen's birth brought sorrow to her father.
Because the family was tired of the heavy farm work, Li Zhen's father felt that her birth would only bring a burden to the family, so he was disappointed in her. However, when he saw that his second child was also a girl, he fell into despair, was bedridden, and finally died of illness and psychological stress.
Losing her backbone, Li Zhen's mother was grief-stricken, and she had to let Li Zhen go to a distant relative's house as a child daughter-in-law for the sake of her family and children's lives.
Li Zhen, who is only 6 years old, is regarded as a slave by her in-laws, and she has to do any dirty work. They believe that because she is a child daughter-in-law, she should endure all the hardships while eating the family's food.
Although life was difficult, Li Zhen gritted her teeth and persevered, because in that era, children like her were not rare, and children from poor families seemed to be born to suffer.
Ten years later, 16-year-old Li Zhen married 20-year-old Gu Tianshun, and there was no luxurious wedding, just because they were of marriage age. Gu Tianshun has a low level of education, is full of vices, and has a short temper.
He never cared about Li Zhen's feelings, and he had no gratitude. In his eyes, Li Zhen is just a pawn at his disposal.
Gu Tianshun's behavior was obviously influenced by Li Zhen's mother-in-law. This family is not kind, but arrogant, unreasonable, vulgar and ignorant. Li Zhen went to the mountains to chop firewood as usual, but was trapped by the sudden rainstorm, and the firewood was wet and her clothes were also wet.
After returning home, her mother-in-law's accusations became the last straw that crushed her. The mother-in-law blamed Li Zhen for not going down the mountain as soon as possible, delaying the time, and not being able to light the soaked firewood.
Li Zhen looked at her soaked body, the anger in her heart could no longer be suppressed, and she began to reason with her mother-in-law. However, the mother-in-law did not want to listen to her explanations, only concerned about whether she had a good attitude.
Her husband Gu Tianshun picked up a rattan and beat her, and Li Zhen felt both aggrieved and angry, and finally ran out of the house.
Li Zhen stood by the river, tears blurring her vision, and she walked towards the center of the river while crying. She was puzzled, working so hard every day and giving so wholeheartedly, why did she get such a result?
Maybe God saw Li Zhen's hardships and couldn't bear to see her end her life. Just as she was in despair, an old woman from the village passed by and discovered her predicament.
The old woman could not do anything else but sigh deeply, because she knew that the behavior of the Gu family was unacceptable in the eyes of the villagers. The old woman tries to comfort Li Zhen, give her hope, and encourage her to keep going.
Although life is full of suffering, good deeds are rewarded, and hardships are sweet. These words rekindled Li Zhen's enthusiasm for life. In 1917, the introduction of Marxism brought a new turning point in Li Zhen's life.
The Women's Liberation Association was formed in the village, and although it was a novelty at the time, Li Zhen did not hesitate to join it. She believes that only through her own efforts can she change her destiny and meet a better future.
Li Zhen's in-laws learned that she had joined the revolutionary ranks, and thought that a woman would ruin her morals by doing so, so they gave her a letter of resignation. But Li Zhen looked at Xiu Shu, not only did she not feel troubled, but felt that it was a relief, after all, she could finally get rid of that sea of suffering.
After joining the revolutionary team, Li Zhen seemed to have started a new journey, everything was a new beginning, and her heart was full of hope. Because Li Zhen had always been kind and hardworking, she also made many contributions to the organization, and by 1927, she had become a member of the Communist Party.
During this period from joining the revolution to becoming a party member, Li Zhen remained enthusiastic about the revolutionary movement, and she helped many women who suffered during this period. Even Li Zhen herself did not expect that one day she would be able to get rid of the pain of being imprisoned, let alone that she would become the "life-saving benefactor" of those unfortunate women.
In the course of the revolution, Li Zhen deeply realized that people of faith are different from those who are ignorant. She saw that the partners in the organization were deeply in love with each other, free from oppression and inequality, and respected and loved each other.
During the revolutionary journey, Li Zhen was introduced to her partner, Gan Siqi. Time has proved the deep revolutionary feelings between Li Zhen and Gan Siqi, although at first Li Zhen felt that she was a little different from Gan Siqi, because Gan Siqi was a cultural person who had returned from studying abroad, and she was just a country girl who had been someone else's child daughter-in-law.
But Gan Siqi used practical actions to make Li Zhen let go of her doubts, because she had suffered physical torture during the Long March and was even unable to have children, but Gan Siqi always treated her with a kind attitude.
Gan Siqi believes that none of this can weaken the relationship between them.
When the title was conferred in 1955, Li Zhen became the only female general in my country. Even as her living conditions gradually improved, she continued to live a thrifty lifestyle, not only doing her own simple daily life, but also donating the money she saved to those in need.