The Color of Sacrifice 牺牲的颜色 – Chapter 19
The story of a young Chinese peasant’s search for a better life and the Long March ... 中国青年农民寻找更好的生活与长征的故事 by 作者: Ramses Rashidi 华蓝星
Chapter 19 Death & Communism
In the middle of the night there was a banging on the door. Ping got up and with the help of his homemade wooden crutches went to the window which faced the street. There were hundreds of government soldiers with their rifles and bayonets trying to break the door. Ping did not know what to do. He was sweating as he looked at the scene from the corner of the window. There were more truckloads of soldiers arriving every minute. Ping felt something moving over his right foot. It was a field rat. But that didn’t seem to bother him at this point. Ping could see the end of his life. They were here because they knew that this was a base for communists. The soldiers kept banging on the heavy wooden door and finally broke into the house. Ping crawled towards the door as the soldiers entered his room. He decided that he was going to be brave and face death with courage.
“Yes, I am a communist. I am a communist soldier. Go ahead and kill me. Go ahead.” Ping kept shouting again and again.
“Ping! Ping! are you OK?” Teacher Liang had heard Ping shouting. “It’s Ok Ping. You are dreaming.” Teacher Liang kept shaking Ping to wake him up and stop the shouting. Ping opened his eyes and looked at teacher Liang. He was drenched in sweat and breathing heavily as though he had been running. His heart was beating fast. “I am sorry. I must have had a bad dream.” Said Ping. Teacher Liang smiled. “Yes, I was really worried when I heard you shouting. Please drink some water and go back to sleep. Say a prayer. It will help you relax.”
The next day in the morning teacher Liang came by Ping’s room before going to school.
“How are you feeling?” Teacher Liang kindly asked as he brought some tea and breakfast.
“I am really sorry for shouting last night. It was a bad dream. I hope I did not wake you and your family up.” Ping apologized for his behavior.
“It’s Ok. we all were worried about you. We know it’s a difficult time for you. We are here to help you recover.” Teacher Liang tried to comfort Ping and help him get over this difficult episode in life.
The following day after the nightmare, Ping felt a sharp pain in his amputated leg. Teacher Liang took time off from school to take him to the hospital. They got a tricycle rickshaw and arrived at the hospital where there were lots of people waiting to see the doctors.
After examination, the doctor talked to teacher Liang. “His amputated leg is infected and we have to do a surgery to remove the infection.”
Teacher Liang was really shocked to hear that. “is that the only solution?” asked teacher Liang.
“Yes, I have talked to the surgeon and we must do this as soon as possible so the infection could be controlled. He needs to stay here for a few days.”
Teacher Liang explained to Ping what the doctor had said. “You need to be strong and go through this in a good spirit. I know you can do it. There is a reason for all the hardship and you will come out of this stronger.”
Ping was in deep thoughts. He shook his head in agreement and just stayed quiet.
“I will come and see you tomorrow after the operation.” Teacher Liang left the hospital after a couple of hours but he was really concerned about Ping and the operation.
The following day teacher Liang left school a little earlier and went to the hospital. He first talked to the doctor and was told. “We removed the infection from the amputated leg. He should be Ok now but he cannot move or travel for at least three months while the wound is healing. He can leave the hospital in a couple of days.”
Teacher Liang went to Ping’s bed at the crowded hospital and gave him a gift of flowers and some cookies. “I just talked to the doctor. The surgery was successful and they removed the infection but the doctor said you cannot move or travel for three months while your wound is healing.”
Tears rolled down Ping’s face as he tried to control his emotions. “I don’t want to burden you and your family. I wish I could go back to my village.” Ping expressed his wish as teacher Liang took his hand.
“you are also part of our family. I hope you can feel at home while you are here. It’s our honor to take care of you. You have given so much to our country and if we can serve you, it would give us great pleasure. Our home is like your home.”
After two days, Ping was taken back to teacher Liang’s home where his bed was all cleaned up and the books on the small table next to the bed was stacked with what Ping had been reading. It was a happy occasion to get back home and see the family again.
Ping started to delve into the books and topics where he left off. He was ready to get back into the learning mode and not let this glitch bother him. Although his spirit was a little low.
Teacher Liang would come every night to spend time with Ping and now his Wife, teacher Li and teacher Liang’s parents also were spending more time with Ping.
Ping was taking mental notes and thinking of questions that he could ask teacher Liang or at times his wife teacher Li would join in the conversation as well once the baby was taken care of and fed.
Ping had started reading the communist manifesto by Karl Marx and was perplexed by some of the concepts. What he had heard from Comrade Mao, Comrade Lin and others in the camp or Ruijin was pretty much a beautiful picture of future society in China with great freedom and equality for all.
Usually around 7 or 8 PM after dinner and cleaning up, teacher Liang would come to see Ping in his room and start their nightly sessions.
“Teacher Liang, I really appreciate every word that you have been sharing with me. Your wisdom and understanding has helped me to have a better understanding of life. The more I learn the better I feel about myself and my purpose in life. I also feel that the prayers have helped me a great deal to become aware of life at a much higher level in wake of all the difficulties I have been facing. Now, prayers for me are like entering a universe of possibilities where I see with great clarity. Today, I am not the same Ping that left the farm life over a year ago. The time I spent in the camp, the endless days that I spent in prison, the pain that I have endured during the recent months, it has really changed my perspective. I feel much stronger and now listening to you is like a breath of fresh air. I have decided to spend the rest of my life learning every day and sharing what I learn with as many people as possible.” Ping spoke with great enthusiasm and energy.
Teacher Liang was happy to hear what Ping had to say. “Ping, you are a very special soul. I have never met anyone like you. You have a very curious mind and a love for life which is contagious. The world is a better place today because you are here. You have an amazing spiritual perception which I believe it is more important than all the knowledge that is available to humanity. I believe that you are destined for great heights of achievement.”
“Thank you for your kind words and hospitality. I hope to be able to serve people in a meaningful way just like your family has served me.” Ping had truly been transformed in a short time since he came to live with teacher Liang’s family. It took the loss of a leg and further complications for him to gain tremendous insight into the world of existence.
At this point, Ping started asking the questions that he had been contemplating.
“I have been studying the communist manifesto by Karl Marx and I have a lot of questions, If you don’t mind. I really need to have a basic understanding of what Marxism is all about.”
“Sure, I have read the book and some other materials regarding Marx’s theories. So, I would be happy to share with you my understanding.” Teacher Liang paused for a few moments and then continued.
“Well, according to Marx all history is the history of class struggle between capitalists and the working class that would lead to a revolution in which the working class would overthrow the capitalists and seize control of the economy. This is basically the main idea of Marxism. However, Marx failed to acknowledge the great achievements of civilizations throughout history. In fact, most of his claims and predictions are kind of simplistic with undisciplined generalizations in reaction to the industrial revolution and the conditions of factory workers in Europe. So, it’s really a foreign idea to life in China and the Chinese culture. About 90% of our population live by agriculture from poor farmers to rich landlords. Most of our peasants are not literate and have never left their village. It’s a different kind of poverty and exploitation. The issues that we are facing here have deep roots in Chinese dynasties and how the peasants has been treated throughout the long history of China all the way to British imperialism of the 19th century and the Opium Wars. Therefore, It’s totally a different picture from the challenges of the working class in industrial powers of Europe and America.”
Here teacher Liang paused as he looked at the clock.
“It’s getting late and you must rest. We can continue our conversation tomorrow night. I will ask my wife to join us as well. She has done a lot of research in Marxism and listening to her perspective would give us a more complete picture of the topic.”
© 2021 Ramses Rashidi
A fascinating twist...