《Yueli》 Memorial Anthology

"To stand without shame before Heaven and Earth; to aspire, never forgetting the people" — this was the couplet Comrade Cui Yueli loved most in his lifetime. It was his personal motto, and the truest portrait of his life. For the people was the starting point and the highest principle of every action he took. His devotion to the cause of the Party, his belief in Marxism-Leninism, his love of country and of his nation — all flowed from his deep affection for the people themselves. No one knows how many good things he did for the people in his lifetime, how many people he helped — and even less how much of his heart's blood he poured into the people's cause.

Comrade Cui Yueli often said: "Only without selfishness can one be without fear." That fearlessness was not only courage in the face of the White Terror's blood and storm, where he stood firm in the face of death — it was, more demandingly, the willingness in peacetime construction to take responsibility, to write what must be written, to expand democracy, to fight against degeneration and corruption. He despised most of all the worms of flattery, bribery, and embezzlement; he loathed the bureaucrats who acted on their own authority, divorced from reality; he was repelled by the foot-dragging hesitancy of those who looked back before stepping forward; he held in deepest contempt the cold, unfeeling self-protectors. With profound responsibility, he safeguarded the interests of the people and the Party at every moment; with full-hearted warmth, he attended to every drop of the people's hardships. The power in his hand was, to him, neither privilege nor pleasure, but the chance to do more good for the people; illness, when it came, was for him neither retreat nor despondence, but reason to seize each day. His heart was ardent, warming all around him; his bearing was open and forthright, never afraid of "being beaten with the stick" or "being made to wear the hat"; his will was firm — from the day he stepped onto the path of revolution, it never once wavered.

Comrade Cui Yueli's life passed through the War of Resistance, the War of Liberation, and the building of New China. He lived through the post-liberation campaigns: the Three-Anti and Five-Anti movements, the Anti-Rightist campaign, the Great Leap Forward, the Anti-Right-Deviation, the Cultural Revolution — and the twenty years of Reform and Opening since. Through all of it, he stood almost always at the focal point of struggle and contradiction. His life is the epitome of this historical period. Every person carries the limitations of his time, and Comrade Cui Yueli was no exception. What set him apart was that he made the people's cause his own — devoting all his energy, his wisdom, and ultimately his life to seeking the people's interest and the people's happiness. Because of this, he could remain clear-eyed amid the changing winds, keep his integrity through the cruelest persecution, and find the right point of entry — even from a position of high office — for serving the people. Far from the courts, he still worried for the masses; high in the halls of power, he was for the people alone. In advance and retreat, in honor and disgrace, he never strayed from the root. In high winds and dangerous waves, he walked as if through a quiet courtyard.

People revere Comrade Cui Yueli's character, love his way of working, and miss his lofty bearing. In the three years and more since he left us, the longing for him has not faded — it has grown stronger. People have not for a moment paused in their remembrance. When the comrades, old and young, who once worked or lived beside him gather and speak the name "Old Cui," there is not one who is not stirred, not one who is not moved to action. We feel that Comrade Cui Yueli's life can stand as a model for the world — and that gathering memorial essays into a volume would not only carry our grief, but would also help us understand history, address the ills of our time, and educate those who come after. Once the news that we would publish this collection was out, memorial essays poured in, piling on every desk.

The essays span different periods; the authors come from every corner of the country, each with their own style and emphasis. But every one of them carries deep feeling within plain language, and shines with quiet wisdom — just like Comrade Cui Yueli's character: no flattery, no falsehood. That alone makes them precious.

In keeping with historical fact and the requirements of this collection, we have made varying degrees of correction and editing to the manuscripts; we will not annotate each one. Where we have erred, the responsibility is ours, not the authors'; we welcome any corrections by letter. Because of space, we had no choice but to part — painfully — with some manuscripts, retaining only about one-third of what was submitted. We ask the affected authors for their understanding, and we offer both apology and gratitude. In the editing process, many warm-hearted comrades reached out to authors and supplied materials, pouring in a great deal of effort. To all of them, our thanks together.

This volume is divided into two main parts: a self-account of his life, and the memorial essays. To reflect Comrade Cui Yueli's life as fully and truthfully as possible, the memorial essays are arranged broadly by period, following the coherence of the content rather than the seniority of the authors or rank.

Comrade Cui Yueli's deeds move the heart and stir reflection. While gathering these materials, we were often moved to tears — this has been work that purifies the soul and lifts the spirit. The east wind quickens the dawn moon; the great earth awaits the spring plough. We believe this volume can move our readers in the same way, educating and inspiring those who will continue the work — devoting themselves to the building of the country, devoting themselves to the people's cause for which Comrade Cui Yueli gave his whole life.

— The Editorial Committee for «Yueli» 1 July 2001