Barracks Observation | The Torch Light of "Heirlooms" Deep in the Mountains
On a midsummer morning, two soldiers stood before a cultural display case at a subunit of a certain base under the Zhengzhou Joint Logistic Support Center, carefully wiping down an old open-end wrench on exhibit. The wrench's edges were pitted and scarred, covered in marks from knocks and strikes; several conspicuous weld lines along the middle of the handle bore silent witness to its years of wear. "Looking at it is like seeing the figures of our predecessors fighting hard back then," said the subunit's political commissar, Meng Xiaodong, feeling a sudden warmth in his chest.
The wrench's "rebirth" traced back to a storeroom cleanout several months earlier. When the officers and soldiers pulled this blackened piece of iron from a pile of scrapped parts, someone suggested: "It's rusted this badly—let's just scrap it." At the very moment the wrench was about to be consigned to the discard pile, the senior squad leader leading the detail, Chen Chi, reached out and stopped them. He took the wrench, fingertips tracing the worn jaw, and said with feeling: "We can't throw this away—it's the 'bread and butter' of our old-generation mechanics."
Those words brought instant silence to the noisy storeroom. The soldiers who had gathered around sat down on the storeroom steps and listened as the old squad leader recounted stories from deep in the mountains decades ago.
When the depot was first established, the mountains were remote and supplies desperately scarce. Excavating the underground storage tunnels, laying pipelines, maintaining facilities—all of it depended on a few simple tools. This wrench accompanied generation after generation of mechanics as they split rock by day and conducted depot inspections and repairs by night. When a tool broke, they ground it back into shape; when a part wore out, they made do with what they had. Never requisition what you can repair yourself; never replace what can be reused—a single wrench served for decades.
No fine appearance, no technological enhancement—yet this unassuming old object stirred a powerful resonance in the hearts of the young soldiers.
Comparing that era to today's well-supplied, advanced-equipment barracks, they felt for the first time, concretely, that the efficient and complete logistic support capability of the present did not arise from nothing—it was wrested from hardship by their predecessors, "one turn of a bolt and one repair at a time, one pickaxe and one shovel at a time," through sheer hard work. The spirit of enduring hardship, which had once seemed intangible, now crystallized—through the mottled marks on the old wrench and the stories of those predecessors—into the soldiers' deep understanding of the original aspiration and steadfast commitment of guarding a depot deep in the mountains.
The next day, on the unanimous proposal of the subunit's officers and soldiers, the old wrench that had nearly been discarded was solemnly placed in the barracks' cultural display case, becoming the subunit's "heirloom" of building the military through diligence and thrift (勤俭建军).
An old storeroom, a story told by a veteran soldier—these gave a long-silent old wrench new luster, and also prompted reflection among the base's leadership: the best form of inheritance does not rely on rigid constraints and rote preaching, but on using tangible, touchable objects and weighty, vivid stories to awaken deep resonance within the soldiers' hearts.
Immediately, a "treasure hunt" activity themed "Seeking the Base's Old Objects, Inheriting the Dabie Mountain Spirit of Struggle" was launched with great enthusiasm across the base's various units. Searching storerooms, scouring corners, recalling the past—old tools, old ledgers, and old photographs together sketched out a red lineage (红色谱系) of the base's troops forging ahead through hardship, educating and inspiring soldiers to carry forward the red gene (红色基因) and shoulder the responsibility of strengthening the military.
**The Torch Light of "Heirlooms" Deep in the Mountains**
The mountains stand tall; the years pass in silence. Decades ago, predecessors answered the call, shouldered their packs, and plunged into the heart of the Dabie Mountains.
No buildings, no roads, no water, no electricity, no equipment, no support—they relied on sheer passion to blast open the mountains and carve out the depot tunnels, some leaving their lives forever on this land. As time has passed, the objects they left behind have long since transcended their utilitarian value, becoming vivid teaching materials for political education.
At a certain base under the Zhengzhou Joint Logistic Support Center, an exhibition themed on building the military through diligence and thrift is drawing the attention of officers and soldiers. An old oil lantern covered in dents, a handwritten diary with yellowed pages, old rubber shoes with cracked uppers—these objects and photographs bearing the hardships of the founding era, accompanied by detailed background stories, speak silently of years gone by.
Over the past two years, the base has continuously conducted activities to seek out "heirlooms" of struggle, allowing silent old objects to become the "main narrators" of history and occupy an important place in the barracks' displays. This spiritual torch, lit from deep within history, is quietly illuminating the soldiers' conscious drive to train and prepare for war. On the eve of the exhibition, the base followed the thread of the "heirlooms," going deep into the grassroots to seek out veterans and record these moving stories—rooted in the mountains, about original aspirations and inheritance.
**Echoes from the Mountains: The Spiritual Power Contained in Old Objects**
Entering the headquarters barracks of a certain base under the Zhengzhou Joint Logistic Support Center, a brightly lit display case immediately caught this writer's eye.
Behind the glass, an old oil lantern covered in scratches sat quietly. The dents in the lamp shade and the smoke-blackened lamp opening told of more than sixty years of wind and rain. Senior Sergeant First Class Lu Tao of the base stood before the display case and explained: "Back then, there was no electricity in the mountain gully. Tunnel inspections, mountain patrols, hazard checks—all of it depended on this lantern."
He paused, then continued: "Lamp oil was precious then. Everyone agreed to use it only on the most treacherous stretches of the path. That faint glimmer of the lantern not only lit up cold nights deep in the mountains—it also planted in the hearts of generation after generation of soldiers the original aspiration of careful calculation and treating the depot as home." Looking at the wear marks of varying depths on the lantern body, this writer seemed to see a line of figures groping their way forward in the faint light along a winding mountain path.
Driving deep into the mountains, in the honor room of a certain subunit, a pair of old rubber shoes in the central display case moved all who saw them. The uppers had yellowed, densely covered with five or six patches; at the heel and ball of the sole, thick layers of rubber sheeting obscured the shoe's original tread pattern.
"These shoes literally trod a path through the rocky mountains." The senior squad leader accompanying the visit spoke with pride. He recounted the hardships of the 1960s: supply storage points were scattered across more than a dozen hilltops, with no paths to patrol. The soldiers relied on their own hands and feet to carve roads out of the steep slopes. "The subunit Party branch organized everyone to set a goal: if the road isn't open, don't stop even if you wear through the soles of your feet." For a full eight months, patch upon patch was added, and the road extended inch by inch. On the day the road was completed, the soldiers kept the pair of shoes with the most patches as a memento.
In the archives room of a certain subunit, a 1989 work diary is displayed with great solemnity. The pages have yellowed, but the handwriting remains neat and clear. "Use the kitchen's rice-washing water to irrigate the vegetable garden; strip usable parts from scrapped equipment and build a 'second-hand parts depot'; sew old rain gear into dust covers…" Line after line of handwritten requirements for managing the depot with diligence and thrift—rigorous and plain. "This is a set of rules and regulations, but it is also the thrift gene (勤俭基因) inscribed in action by the older generation," said Subunit Commander Wen Chao with feeling. Running through every line is the wisdom of using every resource to its absolute limit, and the commitment to hard work without complaint.
Walking through the various grassroots subunits of the base, more old objects bearing the weight of the years have been carefully "awakened": a canvas tool bag with dense, net-like repair stitching; an old wrench with layers of weld marks; a mountain-splitting pickaxe worn blunt at the tip, engraved with the hardship of carving out the underground tunnels; a toolbox assembled from spare parts, a vivid embodiment of turning waste into treasure… They have been "invited" out from the corners of storerooms and placed in the barracks' display cases—not merely to exhibit history, but to illuminate the present.
These mottled old objects have, in truth, lost all practical value. But each of them reveals a single truth: every brick and tile, every road and tunnel in this mountain fastness is a position wrested inch by inch, a fortress carved out blow by blow, a reserve saved up cent by cent by the predecessors. What these old objects embody is not merely nostalgic stories, but a spiritual power that transcends time and space, silently nourishing the hearts of those who came after.
**Transforming Silently: Fine Traditions Taking Root in Soldiers' Hearts**
Now that the old objects are on display, how can the spirit they carry truly be integrated into the thinking of the new generation of soldiers and transformed into conscious action? This has become a deep-seated challenge facing the base's Party committee.
As the force has undergone transformation and development and the composition of its personnel has changed, certain phenomena have gradually emerged: some young soldiers, upon first arriving in the mountains, find their thinking prone to wavering when confronted with the relatively harsh environment and monotonous pace of life; awareness of conservation has faded somewhat in the daily use of water and electricity and the requisitioning and use of supplies and equipment; and a mentality of "fearing hardship and avoiding difficulty" (怕苦避难) has occasionally surfaced during training and duty. These problems reflect the real-world challenge of effectively inheriting the fine tradition of arduous struggle and building the military through diligence and thrift in an era of improved material conditions.
Focused on this, the base's Party committee has a clear approach: the "heirlooms" that have been carefully recovered must truly become educational vehicles that touch the soul and guide action. They went deep to seek out discharged veterans, meticulously combed through long-sealed historical materials, and repeatedly screened and selected objects, ultimately identifying 10 red "heirlooms" most representative of the tradition, and worked to build a series of educational courses:
Each month, these carefully selected "heirlooms" rotate on display among the various subunits. Ten minutes are reserved at each unit affairs meeting to organize soldiers to discuss their understanding and share their reflections in connection with their own posts, drawing spiritual nourishment from the old objects. Before setting out on major missions, all personnel conduct a special "heirloom" education session together in the honor room, reviewing the arduous journey of the predecessors' founding efforts and inspiring a sense of mission through looking back at history. When new soldiers join or when cadres are promoted in rank, they are organized to retrace the patrol route, with veteran comrades recounting the stories of the predecessors' founding struggles, allowing soldiers to feel the weight of inheritance with every step. In conjunction with Party Day activities, "heirloom micro-Party lessons" (传家宝微党课) are routinely conducted, with Party members each selecting an old object, examining their own shortcomings against the work style of their predecessors and setting goals against their post responsibilities, inspecting their own gaps in diligence and thrift and work standards, and clarifying the direction of their efforts.
At the same time, the base has also relied on its internal network to open an interactive platform called "Xiong Guan Xin Sheng" (雄关心声, "Voices from the Mighty Pass") to hear soldiers' opinions and suggestions on the "treasure hunt activity." By mining typical examples from among the soldiers themselves, it regularly organizes "Ordinary People, Ordinary Things" (凡人凡事) deeds report meetings and has established a "Pioneer Lecture Hall" (先锋讲堂), bringing to the podium those who have practiced the "heirloom" spirit in ordinary posts, using real stories to move and inspire more people.
Like a spring breeze bringing gentle rain, the message has entered hearts drop by drop. The ideological transformation of Private First Class Long Yu of a certain subunit under the base is quite representative.
When he first joined the company, his first instinct whenever equipment had a minor malfunction was always "replace it with something new." However, after listening again and again to the stories of his predecessors, his thinking quietly changed. During one equipment maintenance session, faced with a worn small component, he did not rush to requisition a replacement but instead pondered repeatedly and attempted to repair and reuse it. In his study notes he wrote: "The lamp oil in the lantern will eventually burn out, but the red spark of arduous struggle must not be extinguished; the rubber shoes will always wear through, but the forward steps of taking root in the mountains and ensuring victory in battle will never stop."
Facing the new changes in soldiers' thinking, the base's leadership clearly recognized that while some soldiers' understanding of the core spirit of building the military through diligence and thrift still needs to deepen, the seed of identification has been planted—the moment to effectively transform ideological identification into conscious action has arrived.
**Passing the Torch: Diligence and Struggle Becoming Conscious Action**
The power of the spirit will ultimately shine forth in hard work.
Not long ago, the technical assault team led by Master Sergeant First Class Wang Zuwen of the base was formally "upgraded" into the base's first "High-Skill Sergeant Workshop" (高技能军士工作室). This veteran, who has taken root in the mountains for 33 years, spoke plainly but powerfully: "The predecessors' spiritual torch has been passed into our hands; the red gene will be passed down from generation to generation on the road to strengthening the military."
This is not only a pledge—it is a call to action. Over the past two years, the base's Party committee has taken the lead in deeply integrating the spiritual core of the "heirlooms" into its central work: on one hand, leading soldiers to carefully manage resources and live through "lean times" (紧日子), starting from saving a single drop of water, a single sheet of paper, a single drop of oil, weaving the spirit of diligence and thrift into daily life; on the other hand, carrying forward the predecessors' wisdom of managing the depot with diligence and thrift, integrating limited resources to overcome difficulties, successfully completing the military's first batch of autonomous supply tasks within quota standards, and achieving a deep integration of fine traditions with the digital logistics support system.
Under the Party committee's lead by example and the inspiration of the "heirloom" spirit, diligence and struggle have been internalized as the soldiers' conscious action. When facilities in the barracks sustain minor damage, soldiers no longer sit and wait for repairs to be reported—they proactively pick up tools and fix things themselves. Careful calculation in the use of consumables and the recycling and full utilization of waste materials have become a shared understanding. The use of every resource to its maximum has become consensus.
Even more commendable is the enthusiasm for innovation and creation that has burst forth in practice, with the "small innovations, small modifications, small inventions" (小革新、小改造、小发明) activity yielding abundant results: an "Intelligent Rapid Search System for Ordnance Maintenance Materials" has significantly improved support efficiency; an "Automatic Identification System for War Reserve Materials" ensures precise management and control; a "Depot Inventory Management System" has optimized resource allocation; and a "Fully Automatic Ultrasonic Degreasing and Rust Removal Process" has effectively reduced labor and material costs. Several of these innovative achievements, born from practice and serving combat readiness, have received national invention patents and have been promoted and applied across the force.
The inheritance of the spirit is also giving rise to "heirlooms" belonging to the new era.
Today, the precious objects carefully preserved by each subunit have gained new members: new-style combat boots with soles worn through during major exercise and training support missions; hand-drawn design sketches recording ideas for equipment innovation; multi-function tool kits used repeatedly during field training; handwritten optimization ledgers from digitized depots… These new objects record the footprints of struggle of the new generation of soldiers.
The mountains speak no words, yet they witness the relay of protection by generation after generation of soldiers; the old objects make no sound, yet they tell of an original aspiration and mission that will never fade. Ten "heirlooms" from deep in the mountains carry not only the founding years of pioneering hardship (筚路蓝缕), but also the spiritual power of building the military through diligence and thrift, working hard and working practically, and ensuring victory in battle.
**The Spirit of Arduous Struggle Will Never Be Outdated**
Ten plain old objects string together decades of self-reliance and diligent entrepreneurship in a single unit.
These weathered "heirlooms," as the concrete material embodiment of the fine tradition of building the military through diligence and thrift, also offer profound lessons for grassroots units in conducting solid ideological education and honing a combat-winning work style: no matter how much living conditions improve or how much support equipment is upgraded, the fundamental quality of arduous struggle must never be abandoned; deeply integrating this precious spiritual wealth into support practice will efficiently empower the accomplishment of combat readiness tasks.
Arduous struggle is the red gene born with the people's army; building the military through diligence and thrift is a fine tradition our military has carried forward for a hundred years. Looking back on the journey—from the Red Army making their own straw sandals and subsisting on wild vegetables during the revolutionary war years, to island-garrison soldiers opening wasteland and building their own barracks during the period of peaceful construction, to generation after generation of joint logistic support soldiers blasting roads through mountains and repairing their own equipment, laying a solid support foundation in harsh environments—historical practice has fully confirmed: the revolutionary spirit of building the military through diligence and thrift and arduous struggle is not only our heirloom, but also the most solid foundation of confidence for our military to overcome hardship and obstacles and effectively fulfill its mission.
Entering the new era, the modernization level of our military's joint logistic support system has comprehensively leaped forward, with large transfer vehicles, intelligent warehousing facilities, and digital maintenance and support equipment being fielded in large numbers, and the duty environment and material support conditions for grassroots soldiers are incomparably better than before. However, the improvement of material conditions has also brought ideological challenges: a small number of soldiers have developed a "wait, rely, and demand" (等靠要) mentality; field support has become excessively dependent on large equipment; minor equipment malfunctions routinely trigger requisitions for new parts; daily consumables are used extravagantly; and the concept of diligence and thrift has quietly weakened. This erroneous understanding—that "conditions have improved, so arduous struggle is outdated"—runs directly counter to our military's glorious traditions.
A certain base under the Zhengzhou Joint Logistic Support Center has transformed the stories of struggle behind old objects into immersive, real-scene lessons (沉浸式实景课), guiding soldiers to thoroughly correct ideological deviations and establish correct behavioral standards, effectively inspiring soldiers' conscious drive to integrate the thinking of building the military through diligence and thrift into training and combat readiness—an approach worthy of study and emulation.
The mountains stand firm; the torch burns without cease. The faint light emitted by 10 "heirlooms" from deep in the mountains illuminates the eternal value of the spirit of arduous struggle across time and space. Joint logistic support missions in the new era are arduous and demanding; the better equipped and the more favorable the conditions, the more firmly we must grip the heirloom of building the military through diligence and thrift, and let the spirit of arduous struggle shine brilliantly on the support front line. All officers and soldiers should take history as a mirror and examine themselves, consciously abandon thoughts of ease and slackness, stand firm at their posts, temper hard skills through suffering and hard work, improve efficiency through diligence and thrift, and with an unrelenting spirit of struggle and solid support capabilities, shoulder the historic responsibility of strengthening and rejuvenating the military in the new era.
**The "Treasures" Hidden in the Mountain Gullies**
A rusted maintenance wrench, a chipped mountain-splitting pickaxe, a mottled patrol lantern, a yellowed work diary… These old objects engraved with the marks of the years, interwoven with the rapidly changing light of the times, silently tell of the remarkable years deep in the Dabie Mountains.
They are historical witnesses to generation after generation of officers and soldiers of a certain base under the Zhengzhou Joint Logistic Support Center taking root in the mountains and struggling through hardship, and they are also the spiritual wellspring from which joint logistic support soldiers of the new era draw strength and strive to strengthen the military.
Please scan the QR code to begin a dialogue across time, and explore the spiritual code behind these "heirlooms" from deep in the mountains.