Did the Red Army really eat belts on the Long March？
Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, September 14th Question: Did the Red Army really eat belts on the Long March?
Xiao Shizhong, Yu Jikun, Sun Jie
On the Long March, did the Red Army really eat belts?
The answer is yes, but the belts eaten by the Red Army are not belts that have been industrialized now, but leather products that farmers and herdsmen have simply processed in the past, and belts that were originally prepared to fill their hunger on the road. This reflects the hardships of the Red Army’s Long March from the side, and reflects the determination and will of the Red Army to overcome difficulties and hardships.
In the 1930s, China’s industry was very backward. Most of the belts used in pastoral areas and rural areas were used only after simple initial processing without industrialized processing, that is, without processes such as peeling and shrinking leather. Such a belt can be cooked and eaten when it is necessary.
Chuankang area, where the Red Army’s Long March passed, is sparsely populated and has a harsh natural environment. In particular, in order to be able to pass through the inaccessible snow-capped mountains and vast water grass fields, according to the experience and lessons of the vanguard troops, before crossing the snow-capped mountains and grasslands, every soldier should try his best to bring enough food before starting.
However, in the remote, barren and economically backward minority areas, coupled with the blockade of the Kuomintang army, the Red Army could not raise enough food, so it had to take whatever it could. For example, after the cattle and sheep are slaughtered, there should be no waste. In addition to drying the beef into a dry belt, the cowhide is cut into a belt and tied around the waist after drying, making it a special belt. When the food is eaten up, take it out and eat it. The method of eating is also very simple. After soaking the belt in water, put it in a pot and cook it. If there is salt, put some, whether it is rotten or not, as long as it can satisfy the hunger.
The two belts collected by the National Museum witnessed the hardships of the Red Army when crossing the grass. It was left by Ren Bishi, the leader of the Red Second Army, and Zhou Guangcai, a soldier of the Red Fourth Army, when they crossed the grassland on the Long March.
When Ren Bishi, He Long and others led the Long March across the grassland, many soldiers fainted because of hunger. In the absence of any food substitutes, Ren Bishi and the guards cut the belt into several sections and cooked it in a pot, and each person could only get three small pieces at a time. Although it tastes bad and hard to swallow, they are humorously called "eating boiled beef". After walking out of the grass, he kept the remaining half of the belt. In 1938, when Ren Bishi returned to Yan ‘an from Taihang Mountain, he gave this half belt to Li Shaoqing, a guard, for preservation. After liberation, Li Shaoqing donated it. On this half belt, there are still clear traces of cutting with a knife.
Some officers and men of the Red Fourth Front Army have crossed the grassland three times, and the conditions are extremely difficult. Zhou Guangcai, a soldier, was given a belt as a trophy. When crossing the grass, six comrades-in-arms ate their belts one after another. When it was Zhou Guangcai’s turn, he burst into tears at the age of 14 or 15 and begged everyone not to eat his booty. In this way, everyone resisted hunger and didn’t want to eat this belt. In order to remember the difficult course of the Long March, and to commemorate those comrades who depend on each other for life and death, Zhou Guangcai lovingly carved the words "Long March" on the back of his belt, and kept it with him until the country collected cultural relics.