He Lianzhi

He Lianzhi, courtesy name Juhua, was born in 1905 in Cangle Village, Sila Township, Mianyang City, Sichuan Province, at the Sanguan No. 3 section Duanjia Shikeng. Her hometown was in an area called "Ji Guan Stone," named after a stone behind her home that resembled a rooster's comb. He Lianzhi’s family consisted of three siblings; her parents died early, and her family was impoverished. Her elder brother, He Wanxing, and younger brother, He Wanzhong, were sent to live elsewhere during their childhood. Around 1935, her elder brother He Wanxing had a son named He Mingchun born in Wangjiagou, Xikou Township, and her younger brother He Wanzhong was adopted by a family in Zhongjia, Hongqiao Township, with three children of his own.

In her early childhood, He Lianzhi was taken to live with a family surnamed Yu in Xikou Township as a child bride, experiencing hardships in her youth. At the end of 1932, news of the Red Army entering Sichuan reached her, inspiring her to join the revolution. She decided to leave her child bride status and flee to the Red Army in pursuit of liberation. During this process, she and another child bride, He Cuiying, went up the mountain to gather firewood and encountered the Red Army along the way.

After joining the Red Army, He Lianzhi served as a squad leader in the Red Guard. She voluntarily volunteered for reconnaissance missions to scout enemy forces. When captured by the Qinggong group, she was subjected to cruel beatings under the “Red Army Tree,” a large camphor tree, and was later sent to Huangzhongbao Prison. Under threats and inducements by the enemy, she maintained a firm revolutionary stance. According to the evaluation of the local county and township leaders at the time, although she was a child bride, she had already committed herself to the Red Army.

During the resistance against Sichuan warlord Liu Xiang’s “Six Routes Encirclement and Suppression,” she served as the Women's Minister of the Su District in Wanyuan County, leading work teams to promote revolutionary ideas and mobilize impoverished masses to support land reform and the protection of the new government. In 1934, He Lianzhi accompanied the Fourth Red Army on the Long March. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, her family members gradually learned of her deeds, including her relation as the wife of Deng Buwei, her eldest aunt.

After the founding of New China, He Lianzhi visited her hometown repeatedly to see relatives and ancestors. In 1950, when searching for her parents' graves, she refused the suggestion to travel by horseback and chose to walk, demonstrating her unwavering spirit of remembering her roots. In 1963, she returned to her hometown again, comforting villagers and learning about their lives. Until her final years in 1979, she continued to care about her hometown affairs, educating the younger generation to never forget their roots. Her story reflects a persevering revolutionary spirit and deep affection for her homeland.