Introduction:

The following propaganda piece was featured predominately on Xinhua News Agency’s website in early October 2018, as well as on other major media websites.

English Translation:

General Secretary Xi Jinping has deep patriotic feelings. From the time of his childhood until he become the country’s highest leader, serving his country with the utmost loyalty has been his unswerving devotion. At the time of China’s National Day celebrations, Xinhua Publisher’s Studying Xi (1) has arranged for you the following vivid stories.

Story One:

The Life-Long Influence of Children’s Picture Books (2)

When he was about five or six years old, Xi Jinping came into contact with Chinese traditional culture under his mother’s influence. At that time, there were two children’s picture book editions of the story of Yue Fei (3). One was ‘The Biography of Yue Fei’, a set comprising many volumes; among them one was called ‘Yue’s Mother’s Tattoo’. Another edition especially emphasized the unreserved patriotism in the story. After buying the book and bringing it home, young Xi Jinping’s mother discussed with him serving his country with the utmost loyalty, and the story of ‘The Mother-in-Law’s Tattoo’. He asked his mother whether getting a tattoo must have hurt a lot a lot. His mother said, it must have hurt, but [Yue Fei] would always remember it in his heart.

Xi Jinping later recalled, “From that time continuously until now, these words – to serve China with unreserved loyalty – has been the goal I have been pursuing my whole life.”

Story Two:

Asking 68 Questions in a 72 Minute Visit

On the afternoon of 13th December 2014 in Nanjing, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the State Council, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and the Central Military Committee solemnly held a national mourning ceremony for those killed in the Nanjing Massacre. After the ceremony, Xi Jinping went to visit the Memorial Hall of the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders (4).

Owing to the fact that Xi Jinping cares especially about this period of history and the survivors, he constantly asked questions. The originally scheduled 45 minute itinerary of the visit was extended to 72 minutes, with Xi Jinping successively raising 68 questions.

The Memorial Hall’s Director, Zhu Chengshan, recollected that during his 22 years as Director he has given explanations to countless national and international political dignitaries and experts, but it was Xi Jinping who asked the most questions, and the most informed questions. Clearly, General Secretary Xi’s understanding of this part of history has been accumulated over a long period of time.

What most astonished Zhu Chengshan was that the General Secretary not only knew about Iwane Matsui (5), he also knew about the circumstances surrounding Akira Muto (6), Heisuke Yanagawa (7) and other commanders in the Japanese army who participated in the Nanjing Massacre. “Many professionals don’t necessarily understand these details,” Zhu Chengshan said.

Story Three:

Sighing with Emotion in Front of Three Pictures

On 31st October 2017, Xi Jinping led the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to Shanghai to look with reverence upon the site of the first plenary session of the Party, as well as to admire the Red Boats in the South Lake of Jiaxing city in Zhejiang province (8). In two commemorative museums, in front of three similar pictures, Xi Jinping gazed for a long time. One picture was Picture of the Current Situation, a current affairs cartoon from China’s recent history [i.e. the mid-nineteenth century to the early twentieth century] (9). Another piece was the astonishing figure of compensation given to the Great Powers in the later period of the Qing Dynasty. The other piece was a passage written by Marx after observing China’s national celebrations.

Xi Jinping sighed over and over again. “How humiliating! How disgraceful! China at that time was a fat lamb waiting to be slaughtered.” (10)

At an important meeting, Xi Jinping once said, “I often look at historical materials about China’s recent history [during the period from the mid-nineteenth century to the early twentieth century]. As soon as I see those wretched scenes [of China] coming under attack for its backwardness, pain pierces the depths of my heart.” (11)

Story Four:

“Receiving an Education” on Liugong Island (12)

On the afternoon of 12th June 2018, Xi Jinping took a boat to Liugong Island. The ruins of the Beiyang Fleet fortifications (13) and the Museum of the Sino-Japanese War (14) push open the heavy doors of History, attentive to the warnings and revelations of the war. Xi Jinping said, “I’ve always wanted to come here to experience and to receive an education. [We] must constantly be on our guard and always remember the lessons of History. More than 1.3 billion Chinese people must make an effort to become strong.”

The next day during an inspection in Yantai (15), Xi Jinping again mentioned the realization he had on Liugong Island. He said, “Yesterday I went to Weihai (15), because I wanted to see Liugong Island to see our war dead from the sea battles of the Sino-Japanese War [of 1894-1895]. I was unable to feel calm for a long time. Now again is a time of great change. In this kind of historical process, we must all get into our respective positions and each strive to make our own contribution to History.”

Explanatory Notes:

(1)《学习进行时》is a periodical published by Xinhua Press in 2015 entitled Studying Xi, which is a play on words relating to the fact that the second character of the word ‘study’ (学习) is the family name of Xi Jinping (习近平). (Link: Official Website)

(2) 小人书, translated here as Picture Books, are a distinctly Chinese phenomenon which refer to a huge collection of small picture books, usually around 20cm by 10cm in size, mostly depict historical or mythological stories. (Link: Baidu Baike)

(3) 岳飞 Yue Fei was a Han Chinese military general who lived during the Southern Song Dynasty. According to Wikipedia, “since his death Yue Fei has evolved into a standard epitome of loyalty in Chinese culture.” According to one version of the story, Yue Fei’s mother inscribed a tattoo reading “Serve the country with the utmost loyalty” 尽忠报国 across his back. (Link: Wikipedia)

(4) 侵华日军南京大屠杀遇难同胞纪念馆 Memorial Hall of the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders. (Link: Official Website)

(5) 松井石根 Transliteration of Iwane Matsui, the Japanese commander in charge of forces which invaded China in 1937. (Link: Wikipedia)

(6) 武藤章 Transliteration of Akira Muto, a Japanese general. (Link: Wikipedia)

(7) 柳川平助 Transliteration of Heisuke Yanagawa, a Japanese general. (Link: Wikipedia)

(8) 红船 Red Boats 浙江嘉兴 Jiaxing city in Zhejiang Province. In 1921 the Communist Party of China held a secret first meeting of delegates on this kind of boat in Nanjing. Later, in 1959, replicas of these boats were arranged in Jiaxing city to commemorate this historic event. (Link: Baidu Baike)

(9) 时局图 The picture depicts a map of China under attack by various foreign powers. Many versions along this theme have been made over the years. (Link: Baidu Baike)

(10) 那时的中国是待宰的肥羊 A “fat lamb” 肥羊 is often used figuratively to mean “a cashcow” or “an easy mark”. Here, Xi’s words have been translated literally to express his “lambs to the slaughter” metaphor.

(11) 落后挨打的悲惨场景 Translated here as “come under attack”, 挨打 has a more literal meaning of “suffer a beating”.

(12) 刘公岛 Liugong Island, occupied by the Japanese, British, then Japanese again from the end of the 19th to the mid 20th century, is located near Shandong province in the north east of China. (Link: Wikipedia)

(13) 北洋海军 Commonly referred to as the Beiyang Fleet (of the Qing Dynasty). Literally meaning the “Northern Seas Fleet”. (Link: Wikipedia)

(14) 甲午战争博物馆陈列馆 The Museum of the Sino-Japanese War (Link: Official Website)

(15) 烟台 Yantai is a city in Shandong Province.

(16) 威海 Weihai is a city is Shandong Province.



Original Chinese Text:

Original Link (Xinhua): (accessed 04/10/2018)

http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/xxjxs/2018-10/04/c_1123514946.htm

从这些故事，看习近平的赤子之心

习近平总书记有着深沉的爱国情怀。从幼年时代直至成为国家最高领导人，精忠报国是他始终不渝的赤子之心。在国庆节之际，新华社《学习进行时》为您整理了以下几个生动的故事。

故事一：

影响一生的小人书

五六岁时，习近平就在母亲的影响下接触中国传统文化。当时讲述岳飞故事的小人书有两种版本，一个是《岳飞传》，一套有很多本，里面有一本是《岳母刺字》；还有一个版本是专门讲精忠报国这个故事的。母亲买回来之后，就给幼小的习近平讲精忠报国、岳母刺字的故事。他问母亲，把字刺上去，多疼啊！母亲说，是疼，但心里铭记住了。

习近平后来回忆说，“精忠报国”四个字，我从那个时候一直记到现在，它也是我一生追求的目标。

故事二：

72分钟参观提了68个问题

2014年12月13日上午，中共中央、全国人大常委会、国务院、全国政协、中央军委在南京隆重举行南京大屠杀死难者国家公祭仪式。仪式后，习近平走进侵华日军南京大屠杀遇难同胞纪念馆参观。

由于习近平对这段历史和幸存者特别关心，不断提问，原定45分钟的参观行程，延长到了72分钟，习近平先后提出68个问题。

纪念馆馆长朱成山回忆说，当了22年馆长，给无数国内外政要、专家学者讲解，但习总书记是提问最多、最专业的，显然，总书记对这段历史的了解是有长期积累的。

最让朱成山惊讶的是，总书记不仅知道松井石根，还知道武藤章、柳川平助等参与南京大屠杀的日军指挥官的情况。“很多专业人士对此都不见得了解。”朱成山说。

故事三：

在三幅图前的感慨

2017年10月31日，习近平带领中共中央政治局常委赴上海瞻仰中共一大会址、赴浙江嘉兴瞻仰南湖红船。两个纪念馆，在三幅相似的图片前，习近平久久凝视。一幅是中国近代时事漫画《时局图》，一幅是清末给列强赔款的惊人数字，一幅是马克思观察中国国庆后写下的一段话。

习近平连连感叹：“多屈辱啊！多耻辱啊！那时的中国是待宰的肥羊。”

习近平曾在一次重要会议上说过，我经常看中国近代的一些史料，一看到落后挨打的悲惨场景就痛彻肺腑！

故事四：

刘公岛上“受教育”

2018年6月12日下午，习近平乘船登上了刘公岛。北洋海军炮台遗址甲午战争博物馆陈列馆，推开历史的厚重大门，倾听战争的警示启迪。习近平说，我一直想来这里，来感受一下，受受教育。要警钟长鸣，铭记历史教训，13亿多中国人要发奋图强。

次日在烟台考察期间，习近平再次提到在刘公岛上的感悟。他说，昨天我去了威海，因为我要看看刘公岛，看看我们甲午海战之殇，心情久久不能平静。现在又是一次大变革之际，在这样一个历史进程中，我们各就各位，做出自己的努力，做出自己的历史贡献。

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