Political Work

"Most Beautiful Revolutionary Soldier of the New Era" Wang Xiaoming: Standing as a Banner, Setting the Example

“最美新时代革命军人”王晓明：立身为旗作表率

PLA Daily (解放军报) 3 August 2026

Summary

Wang Xiaoming, political instructor of a company in an unidentified Army brigade, is profiled in PLA Daily as one of the 'Most Beautiful Revolutionary Soldiers of the New Era,' recognized for holding Grade-One qualifications in marksmanship and communications, a Grade-Two driving qualification, and achieving full marks across three subjects in an Army-level military training spot-check assessment, with his coached marksmanship setting a brigade record. The article documents the PLA's ongoing institutional push to close the gap between political cadres and combat-arms proficiency — the specific problem being that political officers are often perceived by enlisted soldiers as militarily unserious, a credibility deficit Wang's example is explicitly framed to address. The 'Eighteen Bayonets' unit heritage invocation and the slogan 당兵打仗、带兵打仗、练兵打仗 are standard political work devices; the article's value is as a record of how the institution is using individual exemplars to enforce the norm that political instructors must lead from the front in tactical training, not as evidence of a systemic capability shift.

Translation

Wang Xiaoming, Political Instructor of a Company, a Certain Brigade, Army ——

Standing as a Banner, Setting the Example

■ Sang Yinghao, PLA Daily Reporter Qian Xiaohu

On a midsummer exercise and training ground, heat waves billowing, a new-type infantry fighting vehicle races forward.

"Communications link severed, target lost!" Confronted with a sudden unexpected situation, the commander's fingers fly across the controls, rapidly switching to a backup frequency band and reacquiring the target. The order is issued; the round falls, the target destroyed. The commander directing this engagement is Wang Xiaoming, political instructor of a company in a certain brigade of the Army.

Comrades who know Wang Xiaoming are well aware that he has an obsessive drive when it comes to training. When others rest, he puts in extra practice, and he constantly thinks about how to further improve training quality and effectiveness. At the new platoon commanders' training course, he ranked first in the group army; when serving as a staff officer, the training plan he drafted was rated outstanding… The conviction of "soldiering for war, leading soldiers for war, training soldiers for war (当兵打仗、带兵打仗、练兵打仗)" has long since been fused into his very bloodstream.

When the brigade launched a discussion and analysis on "strengthening the life-line role of political work (强固政治工作生命线作用)," Wang Xiaoming's remarks carried weight: "Political work must keep pace with the rhythm of fighting, and political cadres must stand at the vanguard of fighting." He set a rule for himself: whatever soldiers train in, he must first master it himself.

In order to hone his professional skills, Wang Xiaoming often "welds" himself to the simulator seat, wearing out dozens of pairs of gloves, until he has drilled the operational standards into "muscle memory."

Someone advised Wang Xiaoming: "An instructor just needs to manage education well — there's no need to train this hard!" He replied: "If you're not solid militarily, soldiers won't believe a word you say. If you can't take the primary combat position, you can't get into the hearts of officers and soldiers." Sergeant Wang Wei's 400-meter obstacle course results were poor; Wang Xiaoming trained alongside him every day, igniting Wang Wei's fighting spirit through his own actions. Wang Wei then trained harder and harder, not only surpassing his previous performance but going on to win first place overall in the brigade-wide professional assessment.

In a battle in 1947, 18 soldiers from the unit that was the predecessor of this company were killed in action. This was the first story from the company's history that Wang Xiaoming heard after joining the unit, and it is also the story he most loves to tell officers and soldiers. Wang Xiaoming said: "We must carry forward and inherit the spirit of the 'Eighteen Bayonets (十八把刺刀),' and forge ourselves into the sharp blade that wins on the battlefield."

Standing as a banner, tempering soldiers for war. Among all political cadres in the brigade, Wang Xiaoming is the only all-around political instructor who holds both a Grade-One qualification in marksmanship and communications and a Grade-Two qualification in driving. The year before last, in the Army's military training spot-check assessment, he achieved full marks in all three subjects he was tested on, and his coached marksmanship subject set a brigade record. Under his leadership, six members of the company were rated "Special-Grade Technical Experts," 43 were rated "Grade-One Technical Experts," 11 won first place in competitions at the brigade level or above, and 13 were commended for meritorious service for outstanding military training performance.

Original Chinese

陆军某旅某连指导员王晓明—— 立身为旗作表率 ■桑英豪解放军报记者钱晓虎盛夏演训场，热浪蒸腾，一辆新型步战车疾驰向前。 “通信链路中断，目标丢失！”面对突发特情，指挥员手指翻飞，迅速切换备用频段，重新捕捉目标。指令下达，弹落靶毁。指挥这场战斗的，是陆军某旅某连指导员王晓明。熟悉王晓明的战友都知道，他对训练有股痴迷劲儿。别人休息时他加练，还常常琢磨如何进一步提高训练质效。新排长集训，他拿了集团军第一名；当参谋时，他制订的训练方案被评为优秀……“当兵打仗、带兵打仗、练兵打仗”的信念，早已融入他的血脉。旅里开展“强固政治工作生命线作用”讨论辨析，王晓明的发言掷地有声：“政治工作必须紧跟打仗节奏，政治干部更要站在打仗排头。”他给自己立了条规矩：战士练什么，自己必须先练精。为了练好专业，王晓明常把自己“焊”在模拟器座椅上，磨坏几十双手套，最终把操作规范练成“肌肉记忆”。有人劝王晓明：“指导员抓好教育就行了，没必要这么拼命训练！”他回答：“军事上不过硬，讲的道理战士就不信。你站不上主战位，就走不进官兵心里。”中士王伟400米障碍成绩不佳，王晓明每天陪他训练，用实际行动点燃了王伟的血性。随后，王伟越练越勇，不仅实现了反超，还在全旅专业考核中夺得综合第一的好成绩。 1947年一场战斗中，该连前身部队有18名战士牺牲。这是王晓明来到连队后听到的第一个连史故事，也是他最爱给官兵讲的故事。王晓明说：“我们要弘扬传承‘十八把刺刀’精神，把自己锻造成制胜战场的尖刀利刃。” 立身为旗，为战砺兵。全旅政治干部中，王晓明是唯一一名射击、通信“双一级”兼驾驶二级的全能型指导员。前年，陆军军事训练抽考，他参考的3个课目全部满分，教练射击课目创下旅队纪录。在他的带领下，连队6人获评“特级技术能手”，43人获评“一级技术能手”，11人在旅以上比武中夺冠，13人因军事训练成绩突出立功。