To write ”The Long March: The Untold Story” (Harper & Row, Publishers Inc.), journalist Harrison E. Salisbury retraced the 6,000 miles that the Communist Chinese walked 50 years ago as they fled from Chiang Kai-shek`s Nationalist forces. Along the way, he talked to scores of soldiers who had taken part in that feat.
Q–What exactly was the ”long march”?
A–It was actually a long retreat by the Chinese Red Army to save their necks. Some 86,000 men and women started the long sneak–they literally tiptoed out in the middle of the night–and 4,000 of them made it to northern China one year later. The others were either killed in battle; died of cold, starvation or disease; fell off the hundreds of mountains they crossed; or got lost in the terrible marshes they had to cross. It is the most treacherous terrain I`ve ever seen.
Q–What kept them going?
A–First, they believed in what they were doing. Second, as one of them told me, they knew that if they stopped they`d be killed, so they might as well go forward.
Q–Tell me about one of the common soldiers you interviewed.
A–I met a funny little man, just a little more than 5 feet tall, who looked like Popeye the Sailor Man. He told me he was 15 or 16 when he joined the Red Army as it passed through his village. His family was so poor his parents had killed his four brothers; infanticide was common then. He spent his whole life in the Red Army. They taught him to read and write and fight. After the march, he went back to his village and the Communists gave him a good job. But during the cultural revolution in the later years of Mao Tse-tung`s regime, he was put on a truck and carted through the countryside as a traitor. It was a grim end to a great career.
Q–Of all the leaders you interviewed, who stands out most in your mind?
A–Deng Xiaoping, now the leader of China. He is a little man, less than 5 feet tall, who made the march as a common soldier with a pack on his back. He was punished for being an early supporter of Mao, who was not originally the top man. He came into power only because so many of the other leaders were killed. When Mao rose to power, so did he. His whole career has had violent ups and downs, but he has always clawed his way back up. I think his tenacity and will were formed during that march. Most of the high Chinese officials are veterans of the long march.
