The Unforgettable Historical Memory of the Chinese Nation

In March 2011, Comrade Xi Jinping, while participating in the deliberation of the Henan delegation at the Fourth Session of the Eleventh National People's Congress, pointed out: "The Red Flag Canal spirit is a concentrated embodiment of the nature and purpose of our Party; it is timeless and will never become outdated." In September 2019, during an inspection tour in Henan, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The Jiao Yulu spirit, the Red Flag Canal spirit, the Dabie Mountains spirit, and others are all precious spiritual treasures of our Party." On October 28, 2022, during an inspection tour in Anyang, Henan, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The Red Flag Canal spirit is of the same lineage as the Yan'an spirit; it is an unforgettable historical memory of the Chinese nation, forever stirring the heart." "The Red Flag Canal spirit is eternal!" General Secretary Xi Jinping's important remarks fully affirmed the contemporary value and enduring charm of the Red Flag Canal spirit, providing a fundamental guide for further inheriting and promoting the Red Flag Canal spirit in the New Era, and for drawing wisdom and strength to overcome difficulties and unite in struggle.

2011年3月，习近平同志在参加十一届全国人大四次会议河南省代表团审议时指出：“红旗渠精神是我们党的性质和宗旨的集中体现，历久弥新，永远不会过时。”2019年9月，习近平总书记在河南考察时指出：“焦裕禄精神、红旗渠精神、大别山精神等都是我们党的宝贵精神财富。”2022年10月28日，习近平总书记在河南安阳考察时指出：“红旗渠精神同延安精神是一脉相承的，是中华民族不可磨灭的历史记忆，永远震撼人心。”“红旗渠精神永在！”习近平总书记的重要讲话，充分肯定了红旗渠精神的时代价值和永恒魅力，为在新时代进一步传承和弘扬红旗渠精神，汲取攻坚克难、团结奋斗的智慧和力量提供了根本遵循。

The Red Flag Canal spirit was formed during the period of socialist construction, emerging from the social practice of the people of Lin County (present-day Linzhou City), Henan Province, in building the Red Flag Canal. Linzhou is located at the eastern foot of the Taihang Mountains, at the junction of Shanxi, Hebei, and Henan provinces. This area was once characterized by "seven parts mountains, two parts hills, one part farmland, with thin soil, thick stone, and an extreme scarcity of water sources." According to the Lin County Annals: from the first year of the Zhengtong reign of the Ming Dynasty (1436) to the founding of New China in 1949, over 514 years, Lin County experienced 104 natural disasters and 38 instances of severe drought with total crop failure. Before the founding of New China, out of 550 administrative villages in the county, 307 villages required crossing mountains and ridges to fetch water from afar. The county had over 980,000 mu of cultivated land, but only slightly more than 10,000 mu were irrigated; the vast majority of farmland could only "rely on the heavens for harvest," and the people lived a poor life subsisting on chaff and vegetables for half the year. In 1959, Lin County encountered another severe drought; wells and ponds dried up, reservoirs ran dry, and almost no usable water sources could be found within the county. The suffering of history and the predicament of reality compelled the Lin County Party Committee to emancipate their thinking and seek water sources outside the county. After investigation, the county committee decided to divert water from the Zhang River in Shanxi into Lin County, a project called "Diverting the Zhang into Lin," later renamed the Red Flag Canal. From February 1960 to July 1969, the Lin County Party Committee united and led the people of the entire county, with the heroic spirit of "vowing to rearrange the rivers and mountains," on the cliffs of the Taihang Mountains, cutting through mountains to bore tunnels, building bridges across gullies, eating wild vegetables, living in mountain caves, enduring scorching heat and bitter cold, persisting in hard work for ten years. Relying on hammers, drills, and their bare hands, they leveled 1,250 hilltops, chiseled through 211 tunnels, erected 152 aqueducts, excavated and moved 15.15 million cubic meters of earth and stone, and carved out a "man-made river" stretching over 1,500 kilometers—the Red Flag Canal—completely ending Lin County's history of "nine years of drought in ten, with water as precious as oil." This gave birth to the Red Flag Canal spirit, with its basic connotations of "self-reliance, hard struggle, unity and cooperation, and selfless dedication," which became renowned nationwide and famous overseas. Zhou Enlai praised the Red Flag Canal as one of the two miracles of New China. In 1974, Vice Premier of the State Council Deng Xiaoping led a delegation to a United Nations conference, and the first film screened was the documentary "The Red Flag Canal." From 1971 to 1980, over 11,300 foreign visitors came to see the Red Flag Canal, covering 119 countries and regions across five continents.

红旗渠精神形成于社会主义建设时期，是在河南省林县（今林州市）人民修建红旗渠的社会实践中孕育产生的。林州位于太行山东麓，晋冀豫三省交界处，这里曾经是“七山二岭一分田，土薄石厚，水源奇缺”。据林县县志记载：从明正统元年即1436年到1949年新中国成立，514年中林县曾发生自然灾害104次、大旱绝收38次。新中国成立前，全县550个行政村中，需要翻山越岭、远道取水的就有307个村。全县耕地98万多亩，而水浇地面积仅1万多亩，绝大多数耕地只能“靠天收”，群众过着糠菜半年粮的贫苦生活。1959年林县再遇大旱，井塘干涸，水库见底，林县境内几乎找不到可用水源。历史的苦难与现实的窘境逼迫林县县委解放思想，向境外寻找水源。经过考察，县委决定从山西引漳河水进入林县，即“引漳入林”工程，后来改名为红旗渠。1960年2月至1969年7月，林县县委团结带领全县人民，以“誓把河山重安排”的豪迈气概，在太行山的悬崖峭壁间，逢山凿洞、遇沟架桥，吃野菜、住山崖，顶酷暑、战严寒，坚持苦干10年，靠着一锤一钎一双手，削平1250个山头，凿通211个隧洞，架设152个渡槽，挖砌土石1515万立方米，开凿出长达1500多公里的“人工天河”——红旗渠，彻底结束了林县“十年九旱、水贵如油”的历史，孕育产生了以“自力更生、艰苦创业、团结协作、无私奉献”为基本内涵的红旗渠精神，享誉全国，名扬海外。周恩来称赞红旗渠是新中国的两个奇迹之一。1974年，国务院副总理邓小平率团参加联合国会议，放映的第一部影片是纪录片《红旗渠》。1971年至1980年来参观红旗渠的外国人士达11300多人，涉及五大洲119个国家和地区。

Self-reliance is the essential essence of the Red Flag Canal spirit, manifesting the historical subjectivity of the masses and the endogenous driving force of relying on local conditions and one's own efforts. When the Red Flag Canal project began, the country was in the midst of the Three Years of Difficult Period. Although the higher authorities approved the construction, they did not provide sufficient material and financial support. Faced with poverty, should they wait or work? The people of Lin County firmly believed: "With a red heart and two hands, self-reliance provides everything." They did not wait, rely on others, or ask the state for handouts; they preferred to endure hard work rather than endure hardship passively. Without roads, they built them themselves; without tools, they made them themselves; without materials, they produced them themselves. Between 1960 and 1966, 77% of the cement, 44% of the explosives, and 100% of the lime used in the project were produced and manufactured by the people of Lin County themselves. The total investment in the Red Flag Canal project was 68.6564 million yuan, with state subsidies amounting to 10.2598 million yuan, accounting for 14.94% of the total investment. The industrious and wise people of Lin County, refusing to accept their fate or admit defeat in the face of difficulties, relied on their own strength based on local realities, realizing a millennium-old dream and creating a human miracle.

自力更生是红旗渠精神的精髓要义，彰显了人民群众的历史主体性和立足本地、依靠自身的内生动力。红旗渠开工时正值国家三年困难时期，上级虽然同意修建，却没有提供足够的物资和资金支援。面对贫困，是等还是干？林县人民坚信：“一颗红心两只手，自力更生样样有。”他们不等不靠不向国家伸手要，宁愿苦干，不愿苦熬。没有道路自己修，没有工具自己造，没有材料自己生产。1960年至1966年间，水泥的77%、炸药的44%、石灰的100%都是林县人民自己生产和制造的。红旗渠工程总投资6865.64万元，国家资助1025.98万元，占总投资的14.94%。勤劳智慧的林县人民面对困难不认命、不服输，立足本地实际，依靠自己的力量，实现了千年梦想，创造了人间奇迹。

Hard struggle is the will and character of the Red Flag Canal spirit, manifesting the heroic spirit of the masses in battling the elements and the pragmatic work style of universal innovation. "Chaff in the morning, soup at noon, and soaking the moon in the celestial pool at night"—this was a true depiction of the laborers' diet during the most difficult period; they even dug wild vegetables and scooped up river grass to fill their stomachs. Without building materials for work sheds, the laborers had to live in mountain caves, where winter saw dripping water freeze into ice, and summer saw mosquitoes and insects run rampant. During the river closure at the canal head, the canal builders, disregarding the biting cold of the river water, jumped into the torrent to form a human wall, declaring heroically: "The weather is cold, but our hearts are hot; the current is fierce, but our will is firm. Difficulties fear only heroes; we vow to force the Zhang River up the high mountains!" The people, now masters of their own destiny, unleashed boundless creativity through hard work. Methods such as the "open kiln stone-pile lime-burning method," the "long vine with melons" reservoir and pond system, aerial transport lines, makeshift cranes, and basin-level surveying techniques highlighted the wisdom of universal innovation. When good steel drills were insufficient on the construction site, they cut one good steel drill into three sections and welded them onto ordinary steel drills to turn them into three good steel drills; stones dug from the canal trench were used to build the canal banks and pave roads—everything was used to its fullest and to the extreme.

艰苦创业是红旗渠精神的意志品质，彰显了人民群众战天斗地的英雄气概和万众创新的实干作风。“早上糠、中午汤，晚上天池泡月亮”，这是最困难时期民工伙食的真实写照，甚至挖野菜、捞河草填肚子。没有建筑材料盖工棚，民工们只好住在山崖里，冬天是滴水成冰，夏天又是蚊虫肆虐。渠首截流时，修渠民工不顾河水的冰冷刺骨，跳进激流筑起人墙，他们豪迈地说：“天寒，我们心里热；水猛，我们意志坚。困难就怕英雄汉，誓逼漳河上高山！”当家作主的人民群众在苦干中迸发出无限的创造力，“明窑堆石烧灰法”、长藤结瓜库池工程、空运线、土吊车、盆面测量法等凸显了万众创新的智慧。工地上好钢钎不够用，他们就把一根好钢钎截成三段，焊在普通钢钎上变成三根好钢钎；挖出渠沟里的石头用来垒砌渠岸、铺路等，可谓是物尽其用、用到极致。

Unity and cooperation is the distinctive trait of the Red Flag Canal spirit, manifesting the institutional advantage of concentrating resources to accomplish major tasks and the collectivist spirit of taking the overall situation into consideration. The Red Flag Canal project was vast and fraught with difficulties; it was by no means the product of individual effort, but a miracle created through unity and cooperation. On the front-line construction site, responsibilities were divided according to the area benefiting from irrigation, but when difficulties arose, elite forces from various sectors were mobilized to jointly tackle the tough problems. In the rear, all industries and sectors actively supported the front line. For example, the Lin County Dazhong Coal Mine cleared out its warehouses, providing tools and materials like tents and hammers without haggling over prices; the grain department set up temporary grain management stations on the construction site to ensure supplies; the industrial system established blacksmith forges to repair tools and provided waste automobile and bicycle tires for making shoe soles; when explosives were insufficient, women and the elderly in the rear were mobilized to make crude explosives; with few motor vehicles, transporting materials, grain, and tools relied on human shoulder poles, wheelbarrows, and donkey packs; on the roads leading to the front line, people came and went day and night. Truly, "a thousand people, a thousand hands; ten thousand people, one heart." Shanxi provided water source support, and the people of Pingshun County also showed great tolerance and support, forging a deep friendship between Lin and Pingshun counties; military units also provided selfless assistance, highlighting the institutional advantage of socialist China: "When one place is in trouble, support comes from all quarters." On the construction site, cadres and the masses practiced the "Five Togethernesses" (eating together, living together, working together, studying together, and consulting together); Party members and cadres took the lead in the most dangerous work, and the grain subsidy standards were always lower for cadres than for the masses. The masses said from the heart: "If Party members and cadres can shed sweat, we are not afraid to shed blood. If Party members and cadres can move stones, we are determined to move mountains!"

团结协作是红旗渠精神的鲜明特质，彰显了集中力量办大事的制度优势和顾全大局的集体主义精神。红旗渠工程浩大，困难重重，绝不是单打独斗的产物，而是团结协作创造的奇迹。前方工地上按照受益面积分工负责，但遇到困难，又会调遣各路精兵强将合力攻坚；后方各行各业都积极支援前方，比如林县大众煤矿清理仓库，帐篷铁锤等工具物资不讲价钱；粮食部门成立工地临时粮管所保障供给；工业系统设立铁匠炉修理工具，提供汽车自行车废外胎掌鞋；炸药不够用，发动后方妇女和老人造土炸药；机动车辆少，运送物料粮食和工具靠人挑、车推、驴驮，通往前方道路上，不分昼夜人来人往。真可谓“千人千双手，万人一条心”。山西给予水源支持，平顺县人民也给予极大宽容和支持，林平两县因此结下深厚友谊；驻军部队也给予无私帮助等，凸显了社会主义中国“一方有难，八方支援”的制度优势。工地上干部与群众实行“五同”（同吃、同住、同劳动、同学习、同商量），最危险的工作党员干部带头干，粮食补助标准始终是干部低于群众，群众发自内心地说：“党员干部能流汗水，我们就不怕流血水。党员干部能搬石头，我们就有决心搬山头！”

Selfless dedication is the value orientation of the Red Flag Canal spirit, manifesting the mission and responsibility of Communists and the mutual assistance of the masses. Faced with difficulties and risks, County Party Secretary Yang Gui said: "If building socialism were always smooth sailing, without the need for arduous struggle, and easily achieved, then what need would there be for a Communist Party county committee? What need would there be for us Communists?" "Danger-defying hero Ren Yangcheng, his name registered in the Palace of Hell." Faced with the danger of dangling in mid-air to clear hazards, he said: "I raised my fist and took an oath at the Party members' meeting; a coward afraid of death is not fit to be a Communist." Technician Wu Zutai, to ensure the people of Lin County had water to drink, voluntarily gave up his urban job to devote himself to mountain area construction, and lost his life in a cave-in. The Dongyao Commune was farthest from the Red Flag Canal head and benefited last, yet they were an "expeditionary force" actively participating in canal construction. Someone asked them: "The water from the Second Main Canal won't irrigate Dongyao's land; why are you wasting your effort?" The Dongyao laborers replied: "As long as we can divert the Zhang River water to Lin County, even if it irrigates other communes' land first, won't our Lin County still produce more grain for the state?" This was the prevailing style on the Red Flag Canal construction site, embodying the spirit of selfless dedication that disregards personal gain and fears no sacrifice.

无私奉献是红旗渠精神的价值导向，彰显了共产党人的使命担当和人民群众的守望相助。面对困难和风险，县委书记杨贵说：“如果建设社会主义总是一帆风顺，不需要艰苦奋斗，很容易获得成功，还要共产党的县委干什么？还要我们这些共产党人干什么？”“除险英雄任羊成，阎王殿里报了名。”面对凌空除险的危险，他说：“我是在党员大会上举过拳头发过誓的，怕死不当共产党员。”技术员吴祖太，为了林县人民有水吃，主动放弃城市工作投身山区建设，遭遇塌方而献身。东姚公社距离红旗渠渠首最远，受益最迟，他们却是一支积极参加修渠的“远征军”，有人问他们：“二干渠的水浇不到东姚的地，你们白费那个劲干什么？”东姚的民工说：“只要能把漳河水引到林县，即使先浇其他公社的地，咱林县不也是多为国家打粮食吗？”这是红旗渠工地上的普遍风格，诠释了不计得失、不怕牺牲的无私奉献精神。

(The author is Vice President of the Henan Red Flag Canal Executive Leadership Academy)

（作者系河南红旗渠干部学院副院长）

Online editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧