For the People: The Fish-and-Water Bond Reflected in Half a Quilt

BEIJING, Oct. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- An interview from China.org.cn with Wang Xiaohui and David Ferguson on the Long March:

Wang Xiaohui:

We have recounted many brutal battles and perilous ordeals along the Long March. Now, I'd like to tell some heartwarming stories. Let me start with a thought experiment.

It's freezing cold, and you have only one quilt to ward off the chill — but then you notice everyone else wrapped in nothing more than tattered cotton rags. What would you do? Maybe you'd say, "Let's split my quilt in half," so that even if you part ways later, they'd still have something to cover themselves. But what if giving half away means you won't make it through the frigid night? This raises a profound question: What would a person have to believe in, to be willing to surrender their last and only possession to a stranger?

David Ferguson:

Honestly, I'm not sure. Not because I wouldn't care, but because of human nature — when resources are very scarce, the natural human instinct is to take care of your own interests first. Everyone understands that.

And that is why, when someone goes against human nature and gives away the last of their meager possessions, we want to understand why. We want to know what enabled them to overcome their basic instinct."

Wang Xiaohui:

In November 1934, rumors swept Shazhou Village, Rucheng, Hunan Province, spreading false tales of "communist bandits" burning, killing, and plundering. Almost all villagers fled deep into the mountains to hide. Xu Jiexiu and her husband, however, had to stay at home because their son was running a high fever.

What the local tyrants and evil gentry slandered as "communist bandits" were actually the Central Red Army, who had just begun the Long March and were passing Rucheng to break through the Kuomintang (KMT) blockade.

At dusk on Nov. 6, three young female Red Army soldiers came to Xu Jiexiu's doorstep. They spoke gently through the door crack: "Fellow villager, it's pouring. May we shelter under your eaves?" Xu cautiously peeked out and saw the armed soldiers standing neatly against the wall, causing no disturbance whatsoever — a stark contrast to the marauding officials and troops they had seen before.

After striking up a conversation, Xu took pity and invited the three women in for the night. Late autumn nights were piercingly cold, yet Xu's only means to fend off the cold was a straw rain cape and a worn cotton mat, which were far from enough. Seeing that, the Red Army soldiers took out the only army quilt they had and shared it with Xu and her feverish son to get through the night.

The march allowed no delay. Before they left, the three soldiers offered to leave their quilt to Xu Jiexiu, but Xu firmly refused: "This is your only quilt. The cold is brutal and you still have a long journey ahead. How can I bring myself to take it?"

There was little time for back-and-forth refusal. The eldest of the three soldiers borrowed a pair of scissors from Xu, cut the quilt cleanly in two, and pressed half into her hands: "Sister, please keep this half," she said. "When we secure triumph in the Revolution, we will come back to visit you, and bring you a large, thick new quilt."

Xu took the half-quilt safely and treasured the promise. In her spare time, she would go to sit by the river at the village entrance, waiting for the Red Army's return. Fifty years slipped away in quiet waiting.

Pitifully, Xu Jiexiu never saw the three female soldiers again. On her deathbed, she told her grandson: "I had plenty of quilts to keep me warm after the CPC liberated China. But I miss those women. They showed me exactly what makes the Red Army, and what makes the CPC — they are people who, even with just one quilt in their possession, will cut it in half and give it to us!"

After her passing, local authorities built a bridge at the spot where Xu Jiexiu used to wait, and named it "Wangjun Qiao," meaning "the bridge of waiting for the Red Army."

The deep fish-and-water bond between the Red Army and the ordinary people transcends regional divides and ethnic boundaries.

In May 1935, the Central Red Army reached the inhabited area of the Yi people in southwestern Sichuan. Decades of cruel ethnic oppression policies under the KMT and local warlords had bred deep estrangement between the Yi and Han peoples, leaving the Yi community deeply wary of the Red Army's arrival.

On the morning of May 22, a Red Army vanguard entered the territory of the Guoji family of the Yi clan. The clan's elders, women and children fled into remote mountains, while Yi armed groups launched probing attacks against the troops. However, the Red Army held their fire. Instead of retaliating, they stopped to communicate peacefully with them, and even paid 400 yuan in silver coins as a "passage fee."

Guoji Xiao Yedan, head of the clan, sent scouts to gather intelligence before learning the truth about the Red Army: They upheld strict discipline, treated captives humanely, and never drew their guns on the Yi people even after being stripped of their clothes and supplies.

The Red Army's conduct deeply touched Xiao Yedan, who then agreed to negotiate, and later became a sworn brother with Liu Bocheng, commander of the Red Army vanguard, following traditional local customs. With the help of Xiao Yedan, the main force of the Red Army passed smoothly through Yi territory. What's more, inspired by the Red Army's integrity, over 100 Yi villagers volunteered to join the army.

Stories of such mutual devotion abound all along the Long March. The CPC firmly believes in the maxim that the country is the people, and the people are the country. The CPC is deeply rooted among the people; it always stands with the people, shares their aspirations and works side by side with them.

A party and army that truly cherishes the people will in turn win the people's love and respect. Along the banks of the Yudu River, 300,000 villagers rallied to help the Red Army's strategic shift, donating grain and daily supplies. Outside Yizhang, peasants and laborers volunteered to assist the Red Army's siege — building assault ladders, digging tunnels, hauling timbers, and pouring into the city to welcome the Red Army once the walls fell.

Why such unwavering support? Because where the Red Army took control, local tyrants and evil gentry were overthrown, and seized farmland was returned to its rightful owners. Gone were the days of groveling in fear; ordinary people could finally hold their heads high with dignity.

The Long March is far more than just a grueling chapter in history; it is an enduring spiritual asset passed down through generations.

Today, countless CPC members stand on the "new frontlines" of poverty alleviation, rural revitalization, and grassroots governance. Huang Wenxiu, former First Secretary of a small mountain village in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, turned down promising career opportunities in big cities after earning her master's degree in Beijing and chose instead to work in the mountain villages. During her tenure, she trekked every village lane, visiting households one by one to solve their problems, lobbying for road construction, securing industrial projects, and introducing new industries. Under her leadership, more than 100 villagers were lifted out of poverty. In 2019, a flash flood took Huang's life on her way back to the village for flood prevention work. Her young life at just 30 was forever dedicated to serving the people.

Her silhouette echoes the countless weary figures who pressed ahead along the Long March. The motto "everything for the people" stands as the most vivid footnote to this unbroken spiritual legacy.

David Ferguson:

They had to "extend" the definition of their interests. They were fighting not only for their own survival, or for the survival of the army — but for the well-being of the entire Chinese people and for the future of the entire Chinese nation.

"What impresses me most about the story of the three female Red Army soldiers is not simply that they cut their only quilt in half — that action speaks volumes — is that they set aside the questions, "Will one half quilt be enough for us?" "What will happen to us in the future?" That mindset was not something they were born with — it was shaped and strengthened through countless days of reaffirming why they had embarked on that journey in the first place.

Wang Xiaohui:

Ninety years ago, the Red Army crossed snow-capped mountains and vast grasslands, forging a path toward independence and liberation for the Chinese people. Today, the Communist Party of China shoulders new missions and faces new struggles and challenges, but its original aspiration and founding mission — to seek happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation — remain unchanged. Relying closely on and uniting all ethnic groups across the country, the CPC strides confidently on its new journey toward a brighter future, working tirelessly to fulfill the people's yearning for a better life.

Times change, and the tasks before us evolve, but the CPC has always shared weal and woe with the Chinese people and moved forward together with them.

China Mosaic
http://www.china.org.cn/video/node_7230027.htm

For the People: The Fish-and-Water Bond Reflected in Half a Quilt
http://www.china.org.cn/2026-10/19/content_118739723.shtml 

source: China.org.cn