A Class on Fine Traditions: 47 Ordinary Officers and Soldiers "Walk" into the Political Commissar's Lesson Plan
47 Ordinary Officers and Soldiers "Walk" into the Political Commissar's Lesson Plan
——Exploring the Warmth and Strength Behind a Class on Fine Traditions
■ Sun Bo, PLA Daily Reporters Zou Fei and Xu Xiaolong; illustrated by Cai Runhan
Not long ago, a certain brigade of the Rocket Force organized all officers and soldiers to attend a class on fine traditions. This class did not recount the brigade's glorious history, nor did it enumerate model examples. It contained only the names of 47 ordinary officers and soldiers and 47 stories of vigorous, hard-fought struggle. The brigade's political commissar was the one who taught the class. He wrote the people around him and the things happening around him into the lesson plan and brought them to the podium, using plain language and heartfelt narration to let the brigade's fine traditions truly enter the hearts of the officers and soldiers. After the class, officers and soldiers offered praise one after another, and the lesson plan became a model for ideological education. To that end, we invited the brigade's political commissar to appear on "Appointment with the Grassroots" and asked him to talk about the story behind this class on fine traditions.
Reporter: Officers and soldiers have heard many education classes about fine traditions. But few use the people and events around them to talk about fine traditions. What was your thinking?
Political Commissar: When giving a large lecture to the whole brigade, my biggest worry was that everyone would be uninterested and unable to muster any enthusiasm. So before preparing the lesson, I specifically sought out many young officers and soldiers for conversations. One college-educated soldier's words left a deep impression on me. He said: "We deeply admire the old predecessors, but we always feel their deeds are beyond our reach." That remark woke me up — if tradition stays only in the past, it is hard to truly enter the hearts of today's officers and soldiers.
The brigade's history is glorious, but that glorious history was built through the continuous struggle of generation after generation of officers and soldiers, with their youth and even their lives. Among them are a First-Class Master Sergeant who stood watch on a position amid the roar of machinery for 30 years; a technical backbone who lay in the oil and grime under a vehicle for most of a night to troubleshoot a single fault; and young officers who went wherever the organization told them to go and did whatever the organization told them to do… The "roots" and "source" of tradition are nowhere else — they are right there on every ordinary combat post.
So I decided to become a recommender, to turn the spotlight on the unsung models around us. That is why I selected these 47 officers and soldiers — to let everyone find, in the stories of their peers and the people around them, their own connection to the brigade's fine traditions.
Reporter: As the brigade's principal officer, you have a great deal of work to handle every day. How did you come to know the stories of these 47 officers and soldiers?
Political Commissar: I enjoy being with the soldiers. Whenever I have the opportunity, I go to the squads, platoons, and positions to have a look. After taking up my post at the brigade, within a few months I had visited every position across the entire brigade and had heart-to-heart talks with most of the officers and soldiers. In what I originally thought would be one-way conversations, I myself received a profound education. For example, some officers and soldiers stay in the mountains for several months at a stretch. When you ask them whether it is hard, they smile and answer: "It is an honor."
Take First-Class Master Sergeant Hu Baojin, for instance. Last year I visited his company several times and heard many stories about him. He knows the routing of every cable on the position, knows the number of lights along every passageway, and can identify a fault from sound alone. This veteran, rooted in the deep mountains for 30 years, charges to the front for difficult, dangerous, and arduous tasks, yet always steps back when it comes to commendations and awards.
Then there was the repair mechanic Pu Liankang during last year's confrontation exercise, who left a strong impression on me. When a vehicle suddenly broke down, oil fluid sprayed into his eyes while he was replacing the fuel filter, turning them bright red, yet he gritted his teeth and completed the task within the time limit. At that moment, seeing him covered in oil and grime with calloused hands, I felt both heartache and admiration.
These stories all came from what I saw beside the combat posts and what emerged from conversations on the edges of the training ground. The loyalty and fighting spirit of these ordinary officers and soldiers are a vivid portrayal of the brigade's fine traditions. Writing their deeds into the lesson plan is meant to let officers and soldiers see: fine traditions are nowhere else — they live in the daily perseverance of these admirable and beloved comrades.
Reporter: After the class, many officers and soldiers gave this feedback: the class felt like a silent "heart-to-heart talk," and many truths became self-evident. How do you view the effect of "heart-to-heart talks" in political education?
Political Commissar: Education sometimes requires few words. One person, one event, one genuine feeling is worth more than earnest exhortation.
In class, I told a story spanning 20 years: 20 years ago, Company Commander Han Jinbao of a certain company was running a high fever; he moved an IV stand into the testing room and directed operations while receiving a drip. Twenty years later, Company Commander Zheng of the same company, in the same situation, pulled out his IV and crawled into the testing workstation with a high fever to troubleshoot a fault. After class, soldiers of that company said: "Hearing the stories of the two company commanders, I feel proud to be a member of this company."
I also told a story of old-to-new transmission: veteran engineer Jiao Chuanxin spent his whole career on the position, and when he retired he said through tears, "I can't bear to leave this home." Those words moved a new platoon leader who had once complained about aging equipment and poor conditions. He quieted his mind and thought: if our predecessors could start from nothing under even harsher conditions, what reason do we have not to carry this baton well? At the awards ceremony at the end of last year, it was precisely this new platoon leader who personally presented Jiao Chuanxin with his certificate of honor. In that moment, the spirit completed its handover, and transmission took on a concrete form.
Reporter: One can sense that this class earned genuine, heartfelt recognition from the officers and soldiers. What inspiration does this offer for conducting ideological and political education going forward?
Political Commissar: The greatest inspiration this class gave me can be summed up as "three returns."
The first is a return to the source (回归本源). If educators are not themselves sincere, they will inevitably fail to win genuine hearts in return. While going down to the companies and battalions, I had a heart-to-heart talk with a Second-Class Master Sergeant who had worked at a small, scattered position for more than 20 years. Learning of his family's difficulties, I worked together with the headquarters to find ways to resolve his concerns. Later, he wrote a letter to the "Party Committee Mailbox" expressing his resolve to take root at his post and contribute his strength. Though a small matter, it made both me and the colleagues at the headquarters who handled it see more clearly: paying genuine attention wins trust. Only when we ordinarily keep the affairs of officers and soldiers in our hearts will they be willing to listen to what we say when we conduct education.
The second is a return to the subject (回归主体). The "mental codes" (心灵密码) of officers and soldiers in the new era are more complex. After the class, I discussed this with the brigade's "gold-medal political instructors," and they all said that preparing lessons now requires three parts of effort on stage and seven parts of effort off stage. The off-stage effort means understanding your own soldiers — knowing what they pay attention to, what confuses them, and what they aspire to. Only then can our reasoning reach their hearts.
The third is a return to the law (回归规律). True education is absolutely not one-way indoctrination. One must be skilled at transforming grand narratives into nearby, knowable, and tangible stories. For example, when I told the story of new platoon leader Yu Xuheng, I did not lecture on grand principles — I only described two details that happened to him: the last light to go out in the late-night study room, and his solo extra practice after his first live-equipment failure. One light makes struggle visible; one extra practice session makes pressing forward despite difficulty resonate. When educators speak with stories that carry the smell of earth, officers and soldiers can see themselves in the stories and find recognition.
Reporter: In your view, what impact has this "different" class on fine traditions brought? How can we let more officers and soldiers continuously feel the power of "being seen"?
Political Commissar: In the past, when we talked about dedication and hard work, some soldiers may have felt it was a demand placed on them. Now everyone sees that the comrades around them are seen and commended for their dedication and hard work, and this becomes an orientation that is tangible and worth emulating. Recently, when higher authorities organized a "martial instructor" (武教头) competition, the number of registrants set a new record, and in the end 11 people won first place in their respective specialties, many of them young comrades.
One class is only "lighting the fire." We immediately added "several more pieces of firewood": we continue to hold the "Forging-the-Sword Story Sessions" (砺剑故事会) on "the most resounding slogan, the most precious experience, the most unforgettable moment, the most admired comrade," letting officers and soldiers take turns at the podium to tell stories from military camp life; we organize evaluations such as "Training Star" and "Iron Cavalry Vanguard," combined with assemblies to offer timely commendation… Our ultimate goal is to turn the spotlight on every corner of earnest struggle, to establish a clear orientation in which those who work hard win glory and those who dedicate themselves earn respect, so that every officer and soldier can find value, gain strength, and win glory at their own combat post.
Eyewitness Account
Feeling the Power of "Being Seen"
■ Platoon Leader Yu Xuheng, a certain brigade of the Rocket Force
The day the brigade organized the concentrated education session, I was sitting in the audience, carefully listening to the political commissar's lecture. Suddenly, the three characters "Yu Xuheng" came from the podium. The hand I was using to take notes paused; my cheeks burned as if on fire, and my heart began to race.
I looked up and saw the gazes of the comrades around me converging on me. On the large screen in front of the podium, my name and a photograph were prominently displayed — I was directing operations on the training ground.
"This comrade has not been with the brigade long, but on the training ground he dares to carry the red flag, take the lead, and compete for first place…" The political commissar recounted the small details of my efforts in day-to-day training and work, encouraging everyone to maintain their drive and tenacity. Listening to the political commissar's account, my nose stung and my heart surged without stop: those late nights of overtime planning, the anxiety and sweat of repeated coordination, the camouflage soaked through… Those efforts that I thought only I remembered had not only all been seen, but in that moment had become examples for others to learn from.
A year ago, when I first arrived at the "Missile Launch Vanguard Company," faced with the company's weighty honors and the "gunpowder smoke" of combat-realistic training, I felt an intense panic about my own capabilities. In the first live-equipment operational assessment, the launch frame I led came in last. The old squad leader's words — "Our launch unit has come in last two times in a row now" — hit like a dull hammer, leaving me unable to hold my head up.
At that time, the political commissar happened to come to the grassroots for research. Seeing that he had not the slightest air of superiority, I set aside my reservations and poured out the confusion in my heart to him. After listening, the political commissar did not lecture on grand principles but encouraged me not to lose heart: "A new platoon leader just arriving at the company always needs an adjustment period. Learn bit by bit from the old squad leaders and build a solid foundation."
The political commissar's words helped me regain my confidence. After that day, I began putting in overtime to study theoretical knowledge, training hard on operational skills, and repeatedly working through contingency scenarios, determined to shed the label of falling behind.
Half a year later, the brigade organized confrontation training. On the day of the assessment, facing a field full of skilled competitors, I led several young operators on the launch frame, held firm under pressure, completed more than ten simulated launches, and achieved a "double hundred" score — 100% task completion rate and 100% ignition success rate.
In the classroom, the political commissar spoke with intimate familiarity about the deeds of one ordinary comrade after another around us. Every story was moving: who repeatedly verified procedures to be one second faster, who inspected equipment in the dead of night, who drilled the regulations into muscle memory, who solved a thorny problem for training… These bits and pieces, soaked in sweat and effort, together painted a real and vivid canvas of struggle by the brigade's officers and soldiers.
That lesson plan bearing 47 names let us feel the power of "being seen." That power surpasses any award or honor. It is like a beam of light that clearly illuminates the contours of everyone's struggle and also lights up the heart of every officer and soldier. The driving force it has inspired is being transmitted from one combat post to the next.
(Compiled by Ma Xiaowei and PLA Daily reporter Xu Xiaolong)