2025 marks the 75th anniversary of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army's going abroad to fight against the United States and aid Korea. From 1950 to 1953, 2.4 million Chinese People's Volunteers crossed the Yalu River with the iron oath of "protecting their families and defending their country", rushed to the battlefield of resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea, and built a solid line of defense with youth and blood. In recent years, with the popularity of films and TV series about the theme of "Changjin Lake" and "King Kongchuan" such as "The Deeds of the "Ice Sculpture Company", the Songgufeng Blocking Battle, and the Jincheng Battle have aroused strong emotional resonance among the young people. Some people say, "Looking back today is to illuminate the way forward." Faced with the echoes of history and the call of the times, why do today's ideological and political education still need to tell young people about this history? How can we make the history written with passion and sacrifice more than 70 years ago truly enter the hearts of the younger generation?

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host:

Xu Ziwei, an intern reporter from China Youth Daily and China Youth Network

Guest:

Tian Pengying Professor of the School of Marxism, Northeastern University

Deputy Director of Zhang Xiaoying's Memorial Hall for Resisting U.S. Aggression and Aiding Korea

Professor, School of Journalism and Communication, Nanchang University, Shen Lu

The audience visited the "Scene and Present - Zhang Chongxiu's Photographic Exhibition on Resisting U.S. Aggression and Aiding Korea". Photo provided by Visual China

Host: In recent years, from the big screen to the small screen, from the memorial hall to the cloud classroom, why have the story of resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea been so intensively told and revisited?

Zhang Xiaoying: The War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea was a just war against aggression under the leadership of the Communist Party of China to aid the Korean people and safeguard national security at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China. For the motherland, countless people's children left their families to rush to the Korean battlefield for everyone; for the sake of the people, the vast number of young people actively joined the army and participated in the war; for peace, the people of the whole country worked together to support the frontline.

This war is a comprehensive competition in politics, military, national strength, diplomacy and other aspects. From the perspective of comprehensive strength, the United States is in an absolute advantage, while the newly established People's Republic of China is in a difficult period of incomplete development. While weapons and equipment and supply were at an absolute disadvantage, the Chinese People's Volunteer Army was not afraid of powerful enemies and fought bloody battles, and the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea achieved a great victory.

It is the large number of passionate young people who selflessly make contributions and put the interests of the motherland and the people first. They are heroes, models and role models, and always inspire young people to always put national interests and national dignity first and integrate personal values into the overall national development.

Using film, television, new media and other forms, combining classroom, exhibition, and research with popular communication methods, leading contemporary youth to experience the cruelty of war, the hardships of battles and the fierceness of battles, and the heroic spirit of the volunteer soldiers to die is the demand of the times and also reflects the intergenerational inheritance of the spirit of resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea.

Host: In today's peaceful development, what is the core educational significance of the spirit of resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea to young people?

Tian Pengying: The spirit of resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea can forge the "spiritual calcium" of national integrity. The Chinese People's Volunteer Army used "less steel and more energy" to fight against the invaders with "more steel and less energy", and showed military prestige, national prestige, and broke the invincible myth of imperialism with flesh and blood. This spirit reveals that the true strength of young people is not in their absolute material advantages, but in their character and quality of not fearing strong enemies, not fearing risks, daring to fight, and courage to win.

Today, we are standing at a new starting point in history. On the new journey, we cannot hesitate to retreat and should strive forward bravely. Contemporary young people also need this ambition of "bones are harder than steel". The spirit of resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea can inspire young people to always maintain the unity of "organized" and the fighting spirit of "not being able to provoke", not fear strong enemies, dare to fight, integrate personal struggle into the great cause of national rejuvenation, and use collective strength and firm belief to break through the waves in the new era and new journey.

Zhang Xiaoying: In the magnificent war on resisting U.S. aggression and aid Korea, the heroic Chinese People's Volunteer Army has always carried forward the patriotic spirit of the motherland and the people's interests above everything else and for the dignity of the motherland and the nation, the revolutionary heroism spirit of bravery and tenaciousness and sacrifice one's life, the revolutionary optimism spirit of not fearing difficulties and difficulties, and always maintaining high morale, the revolutionary loyalty spirit of fulfilling the mission entrusted by the motherland and the people, and the internationalist spirit of striving for the cause of peace and justice for mankind, forging the great spirit of resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea. It is worth mentioning that the spirit of "two bombs and one satellite" is closely linked to the great spirit of resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea.

Zhu Guangya is one of the main pioneers of nuclear science and technology in my country, and the winner of the "Two Bombs and One Satellite Medal". During the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, Zhu Guangya served as the foreign secretary and senior translator of the delegation during the Panmunjom Armistice negotiations, and competed face to face with the "United Nations Army" led by the United States at the negotiating table; Qian Sanqiang was a famous nuclear physicist, the founder of my country's atomic energy science career, and the winner of the "Two Bombs and One Satellite Medal". He was known as the "father of China's atomic bomb". He made important contributions to the scientific investigation of anti-bacterial war in the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea. In 1958, troops from the triumphant Volunteer Army, the 20th Corps, the 19th Corps, the Volunteer Army Engineering Command and other troops secretly went to the Northwest to shoulder new missions, and integrated the great spirit of resisting U.S. aggression and aid Korea in the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea into the "Two Bombs and One Satellite" spirit.

Learning this history is not only to let young students understand "where we come from", but also to allow them to absorb historical wisdom that they are not afraid of hardships and dare to fight in the new journey of "where to go".

On the eve of the May Fourth Youth Day in 2025, people from all over the country spontaneously came to the Memorial Hall of Resistance and Aid Korea to commemorate the heroes. Photo provided by the interviewee

Host: What cultural relics are there in the Memorial Hall of Resistance and Aid Korea that have attracted much attention from young people? How can these cultural relics help young people understand the spirit of resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea?

Zhang Xiaoying: The Memorial Hall of Resistance and Aid Korea fully utilizes the historical information contained in cultural relics to infect audiences. There is an important cultural relic in the exhibition hall, which is the "offensive and defensive" award flag, and there is a very touching story behind it. On November 30, 1950, during the Second Battle of Resisting U.S. Aggression and Aiding Korea, the 3rd Company of the 1st Battalion, 335th Regiment, 112th Division of the 38th Army of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army, had an encounter-style blocking battle with the US military at Songgufeng. The 3rd Company killed and wounded more than 500 US troops on a high ground without fortifications, winning valuable time for our main force to gather and annihilate the enemy. As the US military could not capture it repeatedly, it concentrated 32 aircraft, 18 tanks, dozens of grenades, etc., and blasted the position of the 3rd Company into a sea of fire. The US infantry then rushed forward. Under the crazy enemy's attack, the number of casualties in the 3rd Company continued to increase. The platoon leader died, the squad leader acted; the squad leader died, and the soldiers succeeded. The 3rd Company was not afraid of the situation when there were serious casualties and food and bullets, and all the people who could fight (including the wounded) bravely rushed towards the enemy with flames all over their bodies, and fought with the enemy with their butts, bayonets, stones and even teeth. They kept their only grenades from their waists and fought with the enemy until they thought the battle was over, so they pulled the grenades and died with the enemy.

The officers and soldiers of the 3rd Company defended the position with their blood and lives, and fought a classic battle example of winning with fewer and winning with more, which is a vivid interpretation of the great spirit of resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea. After the war, the Chinese People's Volunteer Army Command and Political Department awarded the "offensive and defensive" banner to the company of special meritorious officials and the 3rd Company of the 1st Battalion, 335th Regiment, 112th Division of the 38th Army of the Volunteer Army. Based on the heroic deeds in the battle of Songgufeng, the writer Wei Wei wrote the reportage "Who is the Cutest People". From then on, the Chinese people gave a noble title, "the cutest person", to all the soldiers of the Volunteer Army.

In the Memorial Hall of Resistance and Aid Korea, a box of stone powder and shrapnel that were blown up on the Shangganling Battle Position was also highly concerned by young audiences. On the Shangganling position with an area of only 3.7 square kilometers, the United Nations Army led by the United States has successively invested more than 60,000 people, more than 300 artillery pieces, nearly 200 tanks, dispatched more than 3,000 aircraft and dropped more than 5,000 bombs. The two tops of the Shangganling Highland 597.9 and 537.7 highland Beishan were almost cut down by two meters, and the soil and rocks on the mountain were bombed into powder more than 1 meter thick. The volunteer army successively invested more than 40,000 troops, and used inferior equipment, relying on a solid defensive position with tunnels as the backbone. After 43 days and nights of fierce fighting, it repelled more than 600 enemy attacks, annihilated more than 25,000 enemies, and won the victory of Shangganling defending the defensive operations. After the battle, the box of white granite powder collected by the volunteer soldiers from the position was mixed with five pieces of shells, telling the world about the tragic and heroic battle.

After the Volunteer Army returned to China in 1958, the box of rock powder mixed with shrapnel was donated to the Memorial Hall of Resistance and Aid Korea. This heavy box of rock powder has witnessed countless tragedies and legends. Faced with the enemy's fierce firepower and troops that were several times more powerful than their own, countless volunteer soldiers such as Huang Jiguang, Sun Zhanyuan, and Hu Xiudao continued to bravely and fearlessly. With the iron oath of "people are in positions", they repelled the attacking enemy again and again with the spirit of revolutionary heroism. As a witness to that period of history, these cultural relics in the memorial hall always remind the young people: peace is hard-won and the spirit of revolutionary heroism will last forever.

Host: In recent years, many film and television dramas on the theme of resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea have appeared. For example, popular movies such as "Changjin Lake" and "King Kong River" have been well received by young audiences. Compared with red classics such as "Shangganling" and "Heroic Sons and Daughters" launched in the 20th century, what changes have taken place in the works of the new era? What are the characteristics of today's young audiences?

Shen Lu: As an important expression medium for "dominant culture", classic red films and television works bear the important ideological and artistic mission of writing the official history of the country and building consensus widely, but how to deal with the relationship between historical reality and artistic fiction has always been a difficult point in creation. Compared with similar works on the 20th century, a significant change in the creation of film and television works on the theme of War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea in recent years is the writing of details. Many works attach more importance to the exploration and display of historical details, striving to explore the multi-dimensional aspects of historical situations from the details, show the complexity of human nature, and present the reality and beauty of audio-visual shapes from the details. At the same time, "writing details" has also created an adjustment of the creative strategy from a grand perspective to micro individuals. This adjustment is the basic narrative logic that the current red film and television creation generally follows, thus driving the "rewriting" and "deep cultivation" of red-themed film and television works in the new era. This creative leap has strongly responded to the new needs of contemporary audiences for historical truth, new stories and complex human nature. The "red spirit" and "red feelings" including the spirit of resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea are no longer boring missionary and abstract interpretations, but concrete and sensible "individual history" and "individuals in history".

The film and television works of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea in the new era focus on the fundamental goal of "telling good stories", achieving changes in film and television creation in terms of concepts, technology and aesthetics. At the conceptual level, more "story" is based on the understanding and meticulous exploration of "little people"; at the technical level, the advantageous technical resources and industrialization standards of the current domestic film and television industry should be allocated as much as possible, and dare to try and make breakthroughs in the exploration of the sense of form of film and television dramas; at the aesthetic level, "keeping the truth" lies in maintaining the basic belief in the historical reality, human emotions and values of film and television art aesthetics, and "innovation" lies in creating a new style that has both Chinese literary and artistic characteristics and does not violate the universal artistic laws.

Host: How do you view the role of film and television works such as "Changjin Lake" and "King Kongchuan" in ideological and political courses? Faced with the characteristics of the "Gen Z" audience, how can red education be deeply rooted in people's hearts?

Tian Pengying: The value of main theme film and television works such as "Changjin Lake" lies in their ability to transform abstract history into sensible narratives. In the course of the outline of modern and contemporary Chinese history, if students rely solely on textbooks and data, it is often difficult for students to truly understand the spiritual connotation of "less steel and more energy" for the history of resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea. But through visual language, such as the scene of volunteer soldiers holding their positions in the extreme cold, the movie can allow young people to intuitively feel the weight of history. This emotional resonance is irreplaceable by theoretical teaching.

The unique advantage of film and television works lies in "implicit education". When students understand history through film and television plots, they have a higher acceptance of values and longer memory. This kind of active thinking inspired by the film is more in line with the cognitive habits of contemporary youth than one-way indoctrination. However, to avoid being superficial in this type of "experiential classroom", the key is to "seek from empathy to think". For example, the teaching of ideological and political courses should organically integrate film and television materials with historical documents, situational simulation and reality relationship, emotional experience and action guidance. The significance of young people studying party history is not only to understand the past, but also to gain wisdom to deal with reality from history. The embodiment of the spirit of resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea in the contemporary era can be the collaborative research team's research and development, or the persistence and dedication of ordinary positions. Only when students can spontaneously connect history with the present can ideological and political education be truly immersed in their minds.

Shen Lu: What young people always care about is the dialogue between history and reality, the times and the destiny of individuals. As an audio-visual medium, film and television can show easy-to-understand ideological connotations and cultural philosophy, and stimulate young people's interest in learning, becoming increasingly important resources and means for ideological and political education.

Taking film and television works on the theme of War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea as an example, historical details such as "Ice Sculpture Company" and "Low Steel and More Gas" must be "legendary" to the real war while creating several heroes with mainstream ideological propaganda roles, which is precisely the key to the "main theme" film and television works that are difficult to grasp. In the past "main theme" film and television works, heroes often had problems such as flatness, stereotypes and excessive idealization in aesthetic levels, which were difficult to arouse strong aesthetic resonance and emotional interaction.

"Gen Z" audiences value realism, so it is more important to ensure the accuracy of historical details. For example, film and television works can add more life-oriented details and daily dialogues. While highlighting the main characters, they do not deliberately solidify, beautify, and deify these main heroes. Instead, based on the audience's general acceptance psychology, with the help of the hidden love lines and family lines, the heroes' "normal" and "normal" states are presented from emotional details, and this "normal" is displayed in the ups and downs and exciting storylines.

In addition, in traditional "main theme" film and television dramas, the country, collective and individuals often have an unbalance and harmony in aesthetic treatment. Specifically in the shaping of characters, "national rationality" often overtakes "character personality", forming a moderate style, resulting in thin characters and lack of attractiveness to the audience. But in fact, the "individual heroism" advocated by many young people is not incompatible with the construction of "national image", but is precisely a "family-country integration" consciousness based on the concept of "people-oriented". Therefore, at the narrative level, if the "individual value" and "national will" can be compatible and mutually reflected in film and television dramas, and are not bound by common sense or contrary to normal feelings, they can narrow the psychological distance with young audiences, so that they can empathize and feel and feel.

Host: Some young people feel that there is a sense of "distance" and "distance" about past history. Do you think that how can ideological and political education in the new era let "old stories" trigger "new resonance"?

Tian Pengying: Faced with the problem of "historical alienation" of the younger generation, ideological and political educators need to focus on creative transformation. For example, when teaching the history of resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea, teachers need to find a breakthrough that hits people's hearts. I have summarized the following 3 experiences. First, use real details to restore history and let details touch people's hearts. History is not a few lines of words in a textbook, but is composed of specific people and things. For example, when discussing the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, personalized historical materials such as letters from home and diaries can be displayed at that time, so that students can see that the heroes are first and foremost ordinary people with flesh and blood. A student once told me: "I saw the letters written by the soldiers to their families during the march, and I truly understood what it means to 'save the small family for everyone'."

The second is to encourage rational discussion. Contemporary young people are more accustomed to establishing cognition through interaction and discussion. Instead of avoiding young people’s questions, it is better to guide them to find answers through historical analysis. For example, in response to the inappropriate remarks such as smearing heroes and spoofing history on the Internet, students should be promptly guided to review first-hand materials such as archives, news reports, and speak with facts. This is far more likely to arouse thinking and resonance than to directly tell students "a hero is great."

The third is to connect history with the lives of young people. Many successful teaching cases show that when students find that the historical spirit is still of practical significance today, their acceptance will be greatly improved. For example, ideological and political teachers can guide students to think in class: Why could the "less steel and more energy" volunteer army win against the advanced enemy army? In addition, the "fried noodles and rifles" during the period of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea can be compared with the logistical support of the modern army, and guide students to discuss the relationship between material conditions and fighting will. It is not that young people are unwilling to accept heroic narratives, but they hope to understand a more three-dimensional and scrutiny history. Telling history truthfully and thoroughly is a key task in ideological and political education.

Shen Lu: The "new mainstream movies" in recent years and the "young" drama represented by "Awakening Age" have won the emotional recognition of most young people by their careful consideration of the details of the characters and the detailed description of human nature and human feelings. In my observation, most young people are full of expectations for these red film and television works. As an ideal, belief and spiritual motivation, the "red" history has always been a surging collective memory.

In addition, after these film and television works are broadcast, they often launch derivative content such as short videos, games, cultural and creative industries to further expand the scope of communication. For example, the highlights of the characters in the play are spread on major social media, while offline products such as canvas bags, refrigerator stickers, notebooks, etc. This cross-media interactive communication has created innovative cases such as "Changjin Lake", "Awakening Era" and "National Memory", successfully ignited the youth circle and demonstrated a powerful "breaking circle" communication power.

Host: At present, colleges, middle schools and primary schools are using various carriers to tell the spirit of resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea. How to scientifically design the curriculum system and achieve cognitive advancement in ideological and political education?

Tian Pengying: The key to connecting ideological and political courses in colleges, middle schools and primary schools is to design good steps like climbing, follow the laws of education and the characteristics of students' cognitive development, and scientifically set up teaching content for each stage. Among them, the secret to avoid repetition is: primary school students remember stories, middle school students analyze cause and effect, and college students discuss rules.

Taking the theme of resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea as an example, in primary school, students' patriotism can be cultivated by telling vivid and touching heroic stories. For example, when learning the excerpt of "Who is the Cutest People", multimedia technology can be combined to allow children to intuitively feel the heroic spirit of volunteer soldiers. This emotionally-influenced teaching method is in line with the cognitive characteristics of primary school students. In the middle school stage, teaching of war background, important battles and other content should be appropriately added in the history course. For example, in ideological and political courses, students can be guided to analyze the historical significance of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea and cultivate their historical thinking ability. The teaching focus of this stage should be to help students establish a correct historical view. At the university stage, it is more suitable for in-depth theoretical discussions. For example, in the course of the Outline of Modern and Contemporary History in China, students can be organized to analyze the impact of this war on the contemporary international pattern under the framework of international relations theory. This discussion-based teaching method helps improve college students' analytical ability of history.

Zhang Xiaoying: The annual visit to the Memorial Hall of Resistance and Aid Korea is more than 3 million, with young visitors accounting for about 67%. In view of the characteristics of young audiences, our exhibition is carried out in historical sequence, fully demonstrating the justice, necessity and far-reaching influence of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea. In the design of display formats, we should focus on highlighting the characteristics of the times, and use artistic means that current audiences (especially young people) more appreciate and accept more to create a brand new display format. The memorial hall is based on rich cultural relics, historical materials, and historical photos, and is assisted by artistic works such as paintings, sculptures, restoration scenes. It uses digital, multimedia, sound, light, electricity and other technologies to reproduce classic battle scenes and enhance the impact and appeal of the exhibition.

In recent years, the Memorial Hall of Resistance and Aid Korea has also successively launched on-site teaching courses such as "Ice and Snow Soul - Dialogue across Time and Space" and "Steel and Gas on Songgu Peak". In accordance with the idea of "university talks about the inheritance of the spirit of resisting U.S. aggression and aid Korea in middle schools, and primary schools tell the story of resisting U.S. aggression and aid Korea", it has jointly cultivated and built with universities, middle schools, and primary schools, and jointly explored a new path for integrating red resources into the integrated construction of ideological and political education under the new situation. Among them, the course contents select real historical events such as "the outbreak of the Korean Civil War", "the background of the decision-making and dispatch of troops", "the battle against Qingchuan River", "the fierce battle against Songgu Peak", "the fierce battle against Changjin Lake", and "the bloody battle against Shangganling". These historical events are an important node in the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, and are also the basis for the victory of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea. Understanding these historical facts will make young people living in peace understand that peace and happiness are hard-won and are not taken for granted.

(Compiled by Xu Ziwei, an intern reporter from China Youth Daily and China Youth Network)