Dong Cunrui (; 1929 - May 25, 1948) was a Chinese Communist soldier in the
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
during the
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
who
blew himself up in order to destroy a
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
bunker guarding an approach to an important bridge in
Longhua County
Longhua County () is a county in the northeast of Hebei province, China, bordering Inner Mongolia to the east. It is under the administration of Chengde
Chengde, formerly known as Jehol and Rehe, is a prefecture-level city in Hebei province, ...
.
Death
Under heavy fire, he reached the bunker, but there was no place to effectively position the explosives. Reportedly shouting "For a new China!", he detonated the explosives he carried, killing himself and the defenders within the bunker. He was posthumously awarded three "Bravery Medals" and one "Mao Zedong Medal", and his squad was titled "Dong Cunrui Training Model Squad".
His sacrifice was heavily publicized by the Communists, who called him a "hero" and "model communist", and he remains well known in China. He was depicted in a 1955 film ''
Dong Cunrui
Dong Cunrui (; 1929 - May 25, 1948) was a Chinese Communist soldier in the People's Liberation Army during the Chinese Civil War who blew himself up in order to destroy a Kuomintang bunker guarding an approach to an important bridge in Longhua ...
'' directed by Guo Wei, and a 2009 TV miniseries titled ''
For a new China, forward''. His story was also published in national elementary Chinese textbooks.
See also
*
Lei Feng
Lei Feng (18 December 194015 August 1962) was allegedly a soldier in the People's Liberation Army who was the object of several major Propaganda in China, propaganda campaigns in China. The most well-known of these campaigns in 1963 promoted ...
, another PLA soldier frequently depicted in Chinese propaganda
*
Zhang Side
Zhang Side () (April 19, 1915 – September 5, 1944) was a Communist Party of China, Chinese Communist soldier killed during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
Life
Zhang Side was born in a poor tenant-peasant family of Hanjiawan, Liuhechang, Yilon ...
*
Huang Jiguang
*
Qiu Shaoyun
*
Zuo Quan
Zuo Quan (; 15 March 1905 – 2 June 1942), also named Zuo Shuren (), born in Liling, Hunan, was a general in the Chinese Red Army during the Chinese revolution and the war against Japan, and a senior staff officer of the Eighth Route Army. ...
References
External links
Dong Cunrui
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunrui, Dong
1929 births
1948 deaths
People from Zhangjiakou
People's Liberation Army personnel
Propaganda in China
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