A Glimpse of Officers and Soldiers of the "Ren Changlun Company" Carrying Forward the Spirit of Heroes
Songs Temper the Warrior's Heart — A Glimpse of Officers and Soldiers of the "Ren Changlun Company" Carrying Forward the Spirit of Heroes
■ Wang Shaoxing, Wang Mingcheng, Wang Zemin — Photo Report
On July 9, 2026, company officers and soldiers evacuate residents trapped by floodwaters.
Officers and soldiers sing the company song in full voice.
Conducting tactical training.
"Combat hero Ren Changlun, he is a man of Sun Huzhuang in Huangxian County, at nineteen he joined the Eighth Route Army. In battle he was fierce as a tiger, charging at the head of the assault…"
Eighty years ago, this song rang out again and again in the villages of the Jiaodong region and among marching troops. Eighty years later, inside the garrison of the "Ren Changlun Company" of a certain brigade of the Southern Theater Command Army, officers and soldiers still sing this song every day. The singing crosses time and space, fusing the spirit and sentiments of an anti-Japanese war hero deep into the bloodline of officers and soldiers of the new era.
Looking back to the years of the War of Resistance Against Japan: Ren Changlun joined the anti-Japanese self-defense corps at age 17, enlisted in the Eighth Route Army at 19, experienced more than 120 engagements large and small, was wounded nine times yet continued to charge forward, and was awarded the title of "First-Class Combat Hero" by the Shandong Military District. In November 1944, during the Battle of Haiyang Changshabo — the final counter-"mopping-up" (反"扫荡") operation by the military and civilians of Jiaodong — then-Deputy Platoon Leader Ren Changlun fought with all his blood. When his ammunition ran out, he resolutely engaged the enemy in bayonet combat. In the end, after killing five enemy soldiers with his bayonet, he fell heroically in battle at only 23 years of age.
The hero fell; his spirit endures. After the Battle of Changshabo, the company in which Ren Changlun had served was named the "Ren Changlun Company." The following year, his comrades-in-arms composed the song "Combat Hero Ren Changlun." From that point on, this song became the company song, sung without cease, inspiring generation after generation of officers and soldiers to shoulder heavy responsibilities and press forward with courage.
The company's current platoon leader, Luogulari, is a heroic successor who grew up listening to this song. In 2023, he led a team to participate in the "Southern · Cutting Edge" (南部·锋刃) sniper training course; due to insufficient preparation, they lost in the competition, leaving him both dejected and remorseful. The following year, when he again heard news of the training competition, Luogulari was for a time hesitant and undecided. It was at that moment that a familiar melody rose from the garrison. "Compared to the heroic predecessors, what do the setbacks I've encountered amount to?" Luogulari suddenly came to his senses and once again volunteered to serve as an instructor. During the training course, he and his team members kept their bows fully drawn and gave everything they had: they stacked cartridge cases on the barrel and held a firing position for three hours at a stretch; they ran 15 kilometers under a 25-kilogram load and immediately dropped down to practice breath control; their notebooks were filled, line after line, with data on wind speed, humidity, and ballistics…
On the day of the assessment, a torrential rain suddenly arrived. Luogulari did not hesitate for a moment, leading his team members charging into the curtain of rain. Hold breath, aim, fire… In the end, they achieved the outstanding result of first place in the overall evaluation and won the honor of "Gold Medal Sniper Team."
Standing on the awards platform, Luogulari sang the company song at the top of his voice. His comrades praised him as the "Eagle of the Yi Mountains" (彝家山鹰), but he said: "It was the hero's anthem of praise that inspired me to fly over the most treacherous peaks."