Wang Shengsheng, a descendant of soldiers from the 18th Army, tells us stories about his father, Wang Xingyou who joined in a peasant uprising 90 years ago.

90 years ago, Wang Xingyou, who came from a family of cattle herders, took part in the Liuhuo peasant uprising and joined a revolutionary rank. Along the revolutionary journey, he met a senior Red Army soldier named Pu Xiuzhen and got married.

In early 1950, the 18th Army received the Central Government’s instructions to begin preparing to march into Tibet. The officers and soldiers of the army hurried to the front lines, but what about the elderly and children in the army? In order to ease soldiers’ worries about their families, the 18th Army’s Military Party Committee decided to establish a school for these children. Wang Xingyou, who was the chief of the rear office of the 18th Army, accepted the order and began to establish the primary school for the children of the 18th Army.

Zhang Guohua, the commander of the army, said sincerely to Wang Xingyou that this assignment was not the same as carrying out a combat mission on the battlefield, nor was it the same as the task of supporting the front lines from the back. The success or failure of this assignment would have an impact on whether the commanders and soldiers would be able to feel at ease as they construct Tibet and defend the borders.

“It’s not easy for someone who can’t read a single letter to run a school and work in education!” Wang Shengsheng said. However, considering the importance of the task, Wang Xingyou accepted it resolutely.

Later, Wang Xiaoyou was seen running around everywhere in the streets of Leshan. “At that time, a lot of intellectual youths joined the army, and the Eighth Military School organized them and trained them. My father would go to these places and choose talented individuals, and then went to even more areas to recruit students.” The school dormitory was set up inside a warehouse in wharf of Leshan harbor, and a small courtyard in Leshan City was selected for the teaching building. Soon, the school was established and classes began. The primary school of the 18th Army of the People’s Liberation Army was born! Wang Shengsheng and five other children became the first students of the school.