Yang Gensi (Chinese: 楊根思; November 26, 1922 – November 29, 1950) was a military hero of the People's Republic of China, remembered for his efforts and death in the Korean War.[1] A frequent topic of Communist Chinese propaganda, the people of the republic were taught to emulate his acts in their daily lives.[2]
Yang Gensi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Native name | 楊根思 |
| Birth name | Yang Gengxi (Chinese: 羊庚璽) |
| Born | November 26, 1922 Taixing, Jiangsu, China |
| Died | November 29, 1950 (aged 28) Hagaru-ri, Changjin County, North Korea |
| Allegiance |  China |
| Service | People's Volunteer Army |
| Years of service | 1944 - 1950 |
| Battles / wars | Korean War † |
Gensi was born in a poor peasant family in Taixing, Jiangsu Province.[1] According to the stories about him, his family was killed by "landlords and capitalists" and he swore revenge and to overthrow the regime.[3] He joined the New Fourth Army in 1944 and joined the Communist Party in 1945. In October 1950, his unit entered the Korean War as part of the People's Volunteer Army to support the communist North Korea against the United States-backed South Korea.[1] In November of the same year, Yang Gensi was killed when protecting a strategic position. According to the official story, after withstanding eight waves of attacks, only he and two injured soldiers remained alive in the fortification, and they were out of ammunition. He threw himself into a group of more than 40 American soldiers while holding a satchel charge, sacrificing his life and killing the American soldiers.[1][3]
In 1952, the Chinese authorities gave him the honorary title of "super hero". The Yang Gensi Memorial Park was established in 1955.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b c d 永远的丰碑：杨根思
- ^ Michael J. Wintle. 2008. Imagining Europe: Europe and European civilisation as seen from its margins and by the rest of the world, in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Peter Lang. ISBN 90-5201-431-0
- ^ a b 特级英雄杨根思：与40余敌人同归于尽_新闻_腾讯网[citation needed]
- ^ Yang Gensi martyr tourism, Yang Gensi martyr tickets and pictures about China Tourism « China Travel Guide, China Tours, Travel to China[permanent dead link]