Wu Rui, Political Instructor of a Certain Subunit of the PAP Nanchang Detachment: Wherever We Redeploy, the "Loyalty Stone" Follows
In a certain subunit of the People's Armed Police (PAP) Nanchang Detachment, a blue-gray stone stands silent guard at the camp gate, the two characters "忠诚" (Loyalty) blazing red on its face. Since the subunit first moved into its original garrison in 1987, this "Loyalty Stone" has followed the officers and soldiers through four relocations (移防), becoming a "spiritual anchor point" for generations of the subunit's personnel. In this installment of "Traditions in Today's Conversation," we invited the subunit's political instructor Wu Rui to share the story behind the "Loyalty Stone."
Answer: A single stone bears witness to the journey of strengthening the military (强军历程) and embodies a set of values. The two characters "Loyalty" carved on the stone represent both the conviction passed down from generation to generation among the subunit's officers and soldiers, and speak to our bond of blood with this land.
Ninety-nine years ago, the Party led the people's army in firing the first shot of armed resistance against the Kuomintang reactionaries from the city of Nanchang. After Nanchang was liberated in 1949, the subunit's predecessor took on urban garrison duties, putting down roots in this heroic land. At that time, Nanchang faced a complex threat environment and had everything yet to be built; our predecessors started from nothing and devoted themselves fully to safeguarding local stability and the people's peace. "Loyalty" had long since been fused deep into the blood and soul of the subunit's officers and soldiers.
In 1987, the subunit was commended as an "Advanced Duty Subunit." Several veterans on the verge of discharge wanted to leave the subunit a gift. They searched the hills, forests, gullies, and ravines near the garrison, found a large boulder, and chiseled the two characters "Loyalty" into it.
On the day the characters were painted red, the subunit held a solemn ceremony. Officers and soldiers stood straight as pines and raised their fists in an oath before the "Loyalty Stone": "Loyal to the Party, devoted to the mission; when the subunit flourishes, I share its glory; when the subunit falters, I share its shame." From that day on, the stone became our heirloom.
Answer: Fine traditions are the "true gold" panned from the long river of history. They must not be discarded — to discard them is to lose one's soul. They must not be altered — to alter them is to corrupt their essence. And so, each time the subunit relocated and the question arose of whether to move the "Loyalty Stone," every generation of officers and soldiers gave the same answer.
In 1988, the subunit was relocated in its entirety due to a mission adjustment. Some said the cost of transporting the "Loyalty Stone" would be better spent on extra rations to reward the soldiers. The political instructor at the time, Sun Chuankui, felt that while officers and soldiers certainly needed material encouragement, spiritual motivation would produce a more lasting and profound effect. And so the "Loyalty Stone" moved with the officers and soldiers for the first time.
Ten years passed in an instant. The Yangtze River basin suffered catastrophic flooding; surging floodwaters poured into the city, and the people's lives hung in the balance. The subunit's officers and soldiers moved on order — by day they hauled sandbags, plugged seepage channels, and reinforced levees; by night they patrolled the embankments to check for danger, keeping watch through the night. They fought for dozens of days on the flood-control front line and returned with a collective Third-Class Merit citation. Shortly after returning to their garrison, the subunit was to move to another compound. What was to be done with the "Loyalty Stone"? Everyone's thinking was the same — winning the hard battle of flood control had depended on the firm conviction of loyalty to the Party, and the two characters "Loyalty" must be forever engraved in the heart. And so the "Loyalty Stone" completed its second transfer.
The "Loyalty Stone's" third relocation came in 2007. To accommodate the local city's development plan, higher authorities built the subunit a new garrison compound. Someone suggested that the "Loyalty Stone," weathered and somewhat worn, clashed with the brand-new barracks, and proposed taking the opportunity to replace it with a more attractive and imposing stone — but the officers and soldiers rejected the idea. They said that every mark on the stone is a witness to the subunit's growth and struggle. What does it matter that it looks plain? That cannot conceal the spiritual radiance contained within. Officers and soldiers worked together and moved the "Loyalty Stone" into the new garrison.
In the course of deepening national defense and military reform, the detachment's organizational structure was adjusted and the subunit's designation changed. Beginning at midnight on January 1, 2018, the PAP came under the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee and the Central Military Commission (CMC). The subunit decided to move the "Loyalty Stone" from the cultural corridor to a prominent position at the garrison gate, so that officers and soldiers entering and leaving the compound would see it the moment they looked up.
Answer: Compared with the older generation, young officers and soldiers have grown up in a very different environment — but every generation has its own mountains to climb and passes to break through; that has not changed. The "Loyalty Stone" is like a spiritual "refueling station." When we look at it, we recall the stories of struggle of generation after generation of officers and soldiers, and it stirs in us the will to strive and refuse to fall behind.
Not long ago, higher authorities organized a mass military skills competition (群众性比武竞赛). The eight competitors the subunit sent were not deeply experienced, but they carried the vigorous energy of youth. Before setting out, they assembled in front of the "Loyalty Stone" and revisited the stories of their predecessors' determined charges forward —
That year, many areas were struck by rare low-temperature rain and snow disasters. In one location, roads were blocked and the power grid had collapsed, leaving large numbers of people stranded in the rain and snow. At the critical moment, subunit backbone Dai Bing volunteered for the mission, leading his team members through knee-deep snow with power cables on their shoulders and repair tools in hand, fighting continuously for dozens of hours. After long hours of high-intensity work, his strength gave out as he climbed a steep slope, and he collapsed unconscious in the snow…
"We must shout our own declaration of loyalty (忠诚宣言)!" In the end, carrying that strength with them, the officers and soldiers worked continuously through intense heat and achieved outstanding results in the competition.