Between 1934 and 1936, the Red Army, led by the Communist Party of China (CPC), trekked up to 12,500 km to break through the encirclement of Kuomintang forces, a journey later known as the Long March.
Hong Shui joined the CPC in 1927 at the age of 19 and dedicated himself to the Chinese revolution.
He was later conferred the rank of general by both Vietnam and China, becoming the sole foreign national to be commissioned as a general of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army after the founding of the People’s Republic of China — a distinction that earned him the revered title of “two-nation general.”
Among the stories passed down in the family is one about a belt that was boiled and eaten when food ran short, a detail that has come to symbolize the hardships Hong Shui and his comrades endured.
When Hong Shui set out on the Long March in October 1934, food and water were scarce, and the rugged terrain and punishing weather added to the hardships.
“He crossed the snow mountains three times. Sometimes he traveled on horse and sometimes on foot, without warm clothing,” recalled Nguyen Mai Lam, his fourth daughter, born in 1948.
Lam also remembered how her father described the odyssey in a poem when speaking to trainees at a military school in Vietnam’s central province of Thanh Hoa in 1948.
“Many comrades sacrificed their lives
Blood reddened the snow
Blood flowed and turned into fire
Lighting the road of the Long March,” she recited.
Her younger sister Nguyen Thanh Ha, born in 1949, lived with their father in China from age one until his death when she was seven.
Though she could not recall details of the Long March, she remembered his stories about Chinese comrades and ordinary families who helped him during the revolutionary years.
“My father had very warm feelings toward the Chinese people,” she said, recounting how he frequently spoke of the close bonds among them, describing the relationships as “almost as if they were family.”
That sense of connection has also shaped the younger generations.
For his great-grandson Nguyen Minh Quan, Hong Shui’s experience has become a source of strength.
“The difficulties and hardships I face are nothing compared with what General Hong Shui experienced during the Long March,” Quan said.
Remembering his great-grandfather’s experiences gives him confidence and courage to move forward, he added.
Quan said inheriting his great-grandfather’s legacy also means putting the greater good and justice ahead of small personal interests.
The family has sought to keep that legacy alive by publishing more than 10 books about the general and working with the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam this year to republish a photo book.
It also maintains the Nguyen Son-Hong Shui two-nation general scholarship fund, providing scholarships for excellent Vietnamese students learning Chinese and students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Two years ago, Quan traveled to Beijing to donate his great-grandfather’s handwritten poetry notebook to a Chinese museum, keeping a copy to preserve as a family heirloom.
“I’m trying to promote the story of General Nguyen Son so that what he contributed during his lifetime to the revolutions of Vietnam and China will live on,” he said. ■
