Chinese Literature

‘What makes you agree with me so easily?” he retorted, taking me aback.

“Well, I also believe in the advance of scientific knowledge, and the technical abilities of our country. Aren’t I right to do so?”

‘Hm. What I’m getting at is that it’s the masses I’m going to rely on, not experts. Now do you see what I’ve got up my sleeve?”

We had fairly got to this point in our breathless talking when we got to our destination. Enemy flares hung in the night sky, giving out their unearthly cold light, and there in front of the stores lay five ungainly monsters. Certainly they were holding up the traffic! The Chief of Staff and the Transport C.O. were already there, and so were the mobilized workers. Only naturally, for such an unusual task, they were inclined to be hesitant about removing such objects. Commandant Shen realized that this was only to be expected. But the mounting queue of lorries and cars might lead to heavy losses, should one of the circling planes get on to them. This was the urgent problem. The occupants of the cars, laden with records and files, had got out and seattered to the sides of the road. The medical corps took over the wounded, and nurses were staggering along, carrying their wounded soldiers by the fireman’s lift. I saw one who passed me just as the soldier realized it was a girl who was carrying him. Wounded as he was, he insisted on getting off and managed to hobble along by himself. ... The scene was one of the intense expression of the common will to overcome the difficulties. But no one could take the responsibility off Commandant Shen’s shoulders. He strode backwards and forwards purposely, organizing the movements. For the first time I found him somewhat hurried. As he passed me, he said briefly, “I haven’t done much of a job here, I’m afraid. The situation’s a tough one... .” But he was interrupted by the impatient halloos of the lorry drivers, who were fed up with waiting. They didn’t know that Commandant was about, and were properly letting off, as you might expect. ‘“Where’s the responsible comrade? Let’s get cracking, for God’s sake.”

Everyone was wanting to play his part. But what was the individual responsibility? Perhaps everyone has his own interpretation. Commandant Shen had one, certainly, and exemplified it in his work. I remember several incidents—when he had been the first to go into one of his flour stores and carry out the damp sacks—or when he was the leader in hauling out cartridge boxes from an exploding ammunition dump which had been raided. Of course he had a definition of what responsibility meant to him... the call of the Party spirit, voluntary self-sacrifice. Now he pushed aside Feng Hsiao-kui, who was trying to stop him going near, as though Feng were just the gate-keeper of a zoo. He eyed the delayed action bombs, for that matter, as though they were black bears safely in a cage! He went on till he was near the biggest, and scrambled up on top of it. From this pulpit he spoke to the workers, who would not

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