Mr. Zhang Ming
1. Q: what did the Great Wall refer to in Mao's poem?
A: this question is argued by many researchers. Most of us believe that it refers to the Qin Great Wall in Guyuan City.
There is a well-know sentece in Chairman Mao's poem: he who has never been to the Great Wall is not a true man. The Great Wall here is used to refer to the destination of the Long March. Why Mao chose to use this image not other abstract nouns? There are several reasons.
Firstly, in 1935, the Red Armies walked along the Qin Great Wall from west to east in Guyuan County of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. The journey was more than 200km. At the foot of the Great Wall, the Red Armies conquered KMT and succeeded in reaching the destination in Shanxi Province. Secondly, in ancient times, the Great Wall was used to resist aggression of Xiongnu in the north. The Long March, beginning in Oct 10, 1934, was to fight against the invasion of Japan. The soliders of the Red Armies are compared to the Great Wall to protect our nation.
Thirdly, in Sep of 1935, Zhang Guo-tao rebelled against the central government's authority, commaned the Fourth Front Armies to retreat to Sichuan Province and Tibet. Chairman Mao sincerely hoped the soldiers in that army could come back to fight against the invasion of Japan.
Fourthly, in Oct of 1934, Chairman climbed on the top of Liupan Mountain, when he hoped the Second and Sixth Front Armies could join the First Armies at quickly as possible.
Fifthly, at the end of the Long March, the junction of three Red Armies reflected the outstanding capabilities of the Chinese Communists in leading the revolutionary war, the undaunted spirit of the Red Army officers and soldiers who bravely sacrificed their lives for national independence and people's emancipation.
Sixthly, the Long March, describing it a rarely-seen expedition in the history of human warfare and referred to the long time it took, the perilous route it traversed and the great disparity of force between the Red Army and enemy troops.
Seventhly, the Long March was a crucial turning point for the Chinese Revolution which ushered in a new dawn and opened up a bright future for the Party to unite and lead the people to defeat Japanese aggressors; and strive for building a new country.
Chairman Mao's poem- "he who has never been to the Great Wall is not a true man" has endless implications. He ever said that,"I hope all the soldiers in the Red Armies can overcome all the difficulties to fight against Japanese aggression after finishing the Long March."

2. Q: what's the sense of propagandize the Long March Spirit nowadays?
A: the Long March spirit encourages us to main the tradition of hard struggle. We should insist and carry forward the Long March spirit.

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Red Liupan team, Zhangyi Middle School, Ningxia, China.2007