The legacy continues
A frequent visitor to a Red Army hospital in Xingguo to offer help, Zhang's father was moved by what Snow described as "sheer dogged endurance" in his book.
"He was deeply impressed that the Red Army soldiers braved bad weather and were never afraid of shedding their blood and laying down their lives to fight for people's happiness. He then vowed to be a soldier like them though he had no idea about what the Party was then," Zhang Chunming said.
Before Zhang Fangyi passed away in 1998, he repeatedly stated the reason the Long March succeeded was because of unwavering trust and belief they would triumph. The veteran said he and his comrades often had to eat tree bark and grass roots. It was also not unusual that they boiled leather belts from the enemy for food.
All Zhang Chunming's seven siblings are going to retire this year, and they have decided to pass their father's spirit on by collating over 10 bundles of his handwritten papers into a book.
"We deeply know that our honor does not come from being decedents of a Red Army veteran, but from passing on the aspirations of our father's generation," he said.
The seven siblings will not be alone in passing their father's spirit on.
During his visit to Yudu on May 20, President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, paid tribute to a monument marking the departure of the Long March and noted China is on "a new Long March".
He said that the country will depend on the firm faith and strong will of the whole Party and all people to overcome major challenges at home and abroad and secure new victories in building socialism with Chinese characteristics.
