Political Work

Giving Full Play to the Role of Red History in Forging the Soul and Educating People, 'Root-Seeking Squad' Travels Thousands of Li to Comprehend the Original Aspiration (悟初心)

发挥红色历史铸魂育人作用，“寻根小队”跨越千里悟初心

PLA Daily (解放军报) 19 May 2026

Summary

A brigade of the 80th Group Army sent a 'Root-Seeking Squad' to Chaotou Village, Danzhou City, Hainan Province, to commemorate martyrs from the 1950 Hainan Island liberation campaign, with new platoon leader Du Yingxin of the 'Landing Vanguard Battalion' among the participants; the brigade has institutionalized these visits around Qingming Festival and August 1st, converting collected combat histories into multimedia educational materials fed into a brigade-level repository for use by education cadres. The article documents the PLA's persistent problem of making ideological and political education feel credible to junior officers rather than formulaic — the brigade's solution is to anchor abstract loyalty messaging in unit-specific combat lineage and first-person testimony from participants in recent high-visibility events like the 2015 parade. This fits the broader pattern of grassroots units developing localized 'red gene' content to compensate for the low resonance of standardized political work materials, a workaround the institution has encouraged but not yet systematized above the brigade level.

Translation

A Brigade of the 80th Group Army Gives Full Play to the Role of Red History in Forging the Soul and Educating People; 'Root-Seeking Squad' Travels Thousands of Li to Comprehend the Original Aspiration (悟初心)

PLA Daily News, reported by Liu Xiaoyu and special correspondent Fu Junchen: Recently, the 'Root-Seeking Squad' of a brigade under the 80th Group Army traveled thousands of li to Chaotou Village, Baimajing Town, Danzhou City, Hainan Province, to pay tribute to Fu Shijun and other revolutionary martyrs who gave their lives 76 years ago in the campaign to liberate Hainan Island. At the event, Du Yingxin—a new platoon leader of the 'Landing Vanguard Battalion' (登陆先锋营) participating in a root-seeking activity for the first time—stepped slowly forward, placed fresh flowers before the tombstone of former platoon leader Fu Shijun, and reported to him the achievements the unit has made in recent years.

'The deeds of our predecessors are precious red resources and vivid teaching materials for carrying out ideological and political education.' The brigade's leadership introduced that the brigade has a weighty history and distinguished combat record, and has produced a large number of advanced collectives and heroic models. In order to give full play to the role of red history in forging the soul and educating people (铸魂育人), in recent years they have organized officers and soldiers to carry out root-seeking activities, guiding everyone to strengthen their ideals and convictions (坚定理想信念) through commemorating martyrs, and to temper their capabilities for strengthening the military through carrying on and inheriting that legacy.

In practice, the brigade selects representative officers and soldiers to form 'Root-Seeking Squads' which, in conjunction with occasions such as Qingming Festival and 'August 1st,' conduct on-site visits to martyrs' cemeteries, battle sites, and other red venues to revisit the deeds of their predecessors and comprehend the spirit of their predecessors. The 'Root-Seeking Squads' collect and compile the combat stories of predecessors by visiting and consoling veteran soldiers and seeking out descendants of revolutionary predecessors, then produce these into educational materials combining graphics, text, audio, and video, so as to enhance the appeal and inspirational power of ideological and political education. In addition, the brigade has established educational cooperation mechanisms with a number of red memorial venues, regularly organizing officers and soldiers to visit and study there, conducting on-site instruction around themes such as 'Carry Forward the Spirit of Our Predecessors, Strive to Be Worthy Heirs of Heroes' (传承先辈精神、争当英雄传人), and guiding officers and soldiers to draw the strength to forge ahead from the red gene (红色基因).

'In battle, the old platoon leader was wounded in the abdomen and his intestines spilled out, but he endured the pain, pushed his intestines back in, and persisted in fighting until the last moment of his life…' Before the tomb of martyr Fu Shijun, cadre Yuan Zhiwei combined the martyr's combat deeds with an account of his own experience participating in the parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. 'On the training ground, whenever I feel I cannot keep going, the image of the old platoon leader fighting heroically always rises in my mind, and my whole body fills with strength again.' His remarks struck a powerful chord with the officers and soldiers present.

The brigade's leadership introduced that they have incorporated the valuable historical materials collected and compiled by the 'Root-Seeking Squads' into the brigade's educational materials repository, available for selection by education cadres at all levels when preparing lessons, so as to maximize the effect of root-seeking activities.

Original Chinese

第80集团军某旅发挥红色历史铸魂育人作用‍ “寻根小队”跨越‍千里悟初心‍ 解放军报讯刘小语、特约记者付君臣报道：近日，第80集团军某旅“寻根小队”跨越千里，来到海南省儋州市白马井镇超头村，祭奠76年前在解放海南岛战役中牺牲的傅士俊等革命先烈。活动现场，第一次参加寻根活动的“登陆先锋营”新排长杜英鑫缓步上前，将鲜花轻放在老排长傅士俊墓碑前，并向他汇报单位近年来取得的成绩。 “先辈事迹是宝贵的红色资源，也是开展思想政治教育的生动教材。”该旅领导介绍，旅队历史厚重、战功卓著，先后涌现出大批先进集体和英雄模范。为了充分发挥红色历史铸魂育人作用，近年来，他们组织官兵开展寻根活动，引导大家在缅怀英烈中坚定理想信念，在赓续传承中砥砺强军本领。实践中，该旅遴选官兵代表组成“寻根小队”，结合清明节、“八一”等时机，实地走访烈士陵园、战斗遗址等红色场所，重温先辈事迹、感悟先辈精神。“寻根小队”通过看望慰问老战士、寻访革命先辈后代等方式，收集整理先辈战斗故事，并将其制作成图文并茂、音视频结合的教育素材，增强思想政治教育吸引力、感染力。此外，该旅还与多家红色场馆建立教育协作机制，定期组织官兵前往参观见学，围绕“传承先辈精神、争当英雄传人”等主题开展现地教学，引导官兵从红色基因中汲取奋进力量。 “战斗中，老排长腹部受伤，肠子流了出来，但他强忍疼痛将肠子塞回腹中，坚持战斗至生命最后一刻……”在傅士俊烈士墓前，干部袁志伟结合烈士的战斗事迹，讲述自己参加纪念中国人民抗日战争暨世界反法西斯战争胜利80周年阅兵式的经历。“训练场上，每当感到坚持不下去的时候，我的脑海中总会浮现出老排长英勇战斗的画面，全身又充满了力量。”他的发言引起现场官兵强烈共鸣。该旅领导介绍，他们将“寻根小队”收集整理的宝贵历史素材，纳入旅队教育素材库，供各级教育骨干备课时选用，让寻根活动效果实现最大化。