Internal Security Political Work

Jun Zhengping: "We Are the People's Army, Going to Tibet to Serve the People"

钧正平：“我们是人民的军队，到藏区去为人民服务”

PLA Daily (解放军报) 23 May 2026

Summary

Jun Zhengping, a PLA political commentary outlet, published a historical narrative recounting the 18th Army's 1950 march into Tibet—covering the force's 2,400-kilometer advance from Sichuan, the Battle of Chamdo, and the army's conduct among Tibetan civilians after entering Lhasa in 1951. The piece closes by linking that historical episode to a recent viral story about soldiers in Xinjiang ('beyond the Tianshan Mountains there are people'), framing both as timeless proof that 'serving the people' is the PLA's permanent institutional identity. This is standard political work content that documents how the PLA's propaganda apparatus uses historical legitimation—specifically the Tibet liberation narrative—to reinforce the 'serve the people' ideological line among contemporary soldiers; its value is as a record of that framing technique, not as evidence of any new policy or operational development.

Translation

Jun Zhengping: "We Are the People's Army, Going to Tibet to Serve the People"

"The march into Tibet should come sooner rather than later." Shortly after the founding of New China, on a train bound for Moscow, Comrade Mao Zedong placed the liberation of Tibet on the important agenda.

At that time, Tibet remained a dark, backward feudal serf society governed by the unity of religious and political power (政教合一). Countless serfs had no means of production and no personal freedom—they could not fill their stomachs or clothe their bodies, and the people's lives were mired in misery. At the same time, imperialist forces continued to covet Tibet.

The mission of smashing the shackles of the feudal serf system and driving the imperialist aggressors out of Tibet fell historically upon the shoulders of the Chinese Communists.

In 1950, the 18th Army of the People's Liberation Army's former 5th Corps, originally assigned to garrison southern Sichuan, received a new mission while on the march: advance into Tibet. With a single order, the great army turned westward and began moving toward the vast snow mountains.

Before setting out, the troops pressed ahead with Tibetan language study, and the officers and soldiers wrote the following line on a blackboard: "We are the people's army, going to Tibet to serve the people."

From the land of Sichuan to the snow-covered plateau, the officers and soldiers of the 18th Army traversed more than 2,400 kilometers, crossed more than ten snow mountains at elevations above 4,500 meters, forded dozens of frozen rivers, and pushed through primeval forests with no human presence for miles on end. The difficulties and trials came from the enemy, but even more so from the challenge that the harsh natural conditions posed to the limits of life and survival.

But nothing could stop this force's determination to press forward. Army Commander Zhang Guohua and Political Commissar Tan Guansan issued a call to the soldiers: no matter how many hardships and obstacles lay ahead, we must resolutely complete the mission of entering Tibet and plant the Five-Starred Red Flag on the Himalayas.

Along the long march, stretching before the great army were shortages of supplies, extreme cold and oxygen deprivation, and complex terrain. The Ancient Tea Horse Road alone could not sustain the force's advance, and the officers and soldiers sometimes had no choice but to build roads as they marched. That "road to heaven" later became the Sichuan-Tibet Highway—the road that rewrote Tibet's closed and backward face and led Tibetan compatriots toward happiness and well-being.

After a series of grueling marches, the troops reached Chamdo, the eastern gateway to Lhasa. Faced with the stubborn resistance of Tibet's old forces, the officers and soldiers of the 18th Army executed flanking thrusts and, in one sustained effort, annihilated the effective strength of the Tibetan army. The Battle of Chamdo laid the foundation for the ultimate peaceful liberation of Tibet.

On May 23, 1951, the Agreement of the Central People's Government and the Local Government of Tibet on Measures for the Peaceful Liberation of Tibet was signed in Beijing, proclaiming the peaceful liberation of Tibet. Five months later, Zhang Guohua and Tan Guansan led their troops into Lhasa. A Xinhua News Agency dispatch from Lhasa recorded: "Twenty thousand people from all walks of life in Lhasa held a grand rally to warmly welcome Generals Zhang and Tan and all the officers and soldiers."

For the first time in history, this Roof of the World had an army like this: military doctors carrying medicine boxes placed medicine in the mouths of serfs; soldiers shouldering hoes channeled water into highland barley fields; they did not enter temples, did not touch prayer flags, did not lodge in private homes, and did not even eat Tibetan grain. "Jinzhu Mami" (菩萨兵—"Bodhisattva soldiers"), the name spread across the entire plateau like the wind, and the local Tibetan people always said, "Jinzhu Mami Yagudou (解放军好—the People's Liberation Army is good)."

Not long ago, the simple words "beyond the Tianshan Mountains there are people" moved countless hearts. They echo across time with one force's pledge to "go to Tibet to serve the people"—as if a dialogue spanning time and space—together telling the story of "serving the people" (为人民服务). No matter how time passes or circumstances change, this conviction must forever surge through our veins, tested again and again, never fading.

Original Chinese

钧正平：“我们是人民的军队，到藏区去为人民服务” “进军西藏宜早不宜迟”。新中国刚刚成立不久，在前往莫斯科的火车上，毛泽东同志就把解放西藏提到重要议事日程。彼时的西藏仍是一个黑暗、落后的政教合一的封建农奴制社会，无数的农奴没有任何生产资料和人身自由，食不果腹、衣不蔽体，人民的生活困苦不堪。与此同时，帝国主义势力对西藏依然虎视眈眈。打碎封建农奴制枷锁、驱逐帝国主义侵略者出西藏的使命，历史性地落在了中国共产党人的肩上。 1950年，原定驻防四川南部的解放军第五兵团十八军，在行军途中接到进军西藏的新任务。一纸命令，大军调头向西，开始向着茫茫雪山前进。开进前，部队抓紧开展了藏文学习，官兵们在黑板上写下这样一行字：“我们是人民的军队，到藏区去为人民服务。” 从川蜀大地到雪域高原，十八军将士跋涉两千四百余公里征途，翻越十余座海拔四千五百米以上的雪山，跨越数十条冰河，穿行渺无人烟的原始森林……困难和考验，来自敌人，更来自严酷的自然条件对生命和生存极限的挑战。但没有什么能阻挡这支队伍向前的决心。军长张国华和政委谭冠三向战士们发出号召：不管有多少艰难险阻，我们都要坚决完成进藏任务，把五星红旗插到喜马拉雅山上。漫漫征途，横贯在大军面前的是物资短缺、高寒缺氧、地形复杂……仅有茶马古道支撑不了部队的前进，官兵们有时只能边修路边进军。这条“天路”，后来成了改写西藏封闭落后面貌，引领藏族同胞走向幸福安康的川藏公路。经过一系列艰苦卓绝的行军，部队抵达了拉萨的东大门昌都地区。面对西藏旧势力的顽抗，十八军官兵们穿插突进、一鼓作气歼灭藏军有生力量。昌都之战，为最终和平解放西藏奠定了基础。 1951年5月23日，《中央人民政府和西藏地方政府关于和平解放西藏办法的协议》在北京签订，宣告西藏和平解放。5个月后，张国华、谭冠三率部进入拉萨。新华社拉萨电文记载：“拉萨各界人民两万人盛大集会，热烈欢迎张、谭两将军及全体指战员。” 这片世界屋脊历史上第一次有了这样的军队：背着药箱的军医，把药喂进了农奴的口中；扛着锄头的战士，把水引进了青稞田；不进寺庙、不动经幡、不住民房甚至不吃藏粮。“金珠玛米”（菩萨兵），这称呼像风一样传遍了整个高原，当地的藏族人民总是说“金珠玛米亚古都（解放军好）”。前不久，一句“天山那头有人民”的朴素话语令无数人动容，它和一支队伍“到藏区去为人民服务”的誓言遥相呼应，仿佛一场跨越时空的对话，共同述说着“为人民服务”的故事。无论时光如何流转、环境如何变迁，这种信念当永远奔涌于我们的血脉之中，历经考验，永不褪色。