Qiao Anshan, a comrade who served in the army with heroic Chinese soldier Lei Feng, is the honorary director of the Lei Feng Memorial Hall, located in Fushun, a city in Northeast China's Liaoning Province. Year after year, three generations of Qiao's family have inherited the spirit of Lei, by learning from the model soldier, and by sharing his stories with people from all segments of society.

Keeping Lei Feng's Spirit 'Alive'

Lei, who was a soldier in the People's Liberation Army, has long been renowned for having devoted much of his spare time and money to helping others. Lei had been an icon of altruism long before he died in an accident in 1962 at the age of 22.

Near the end of 1959, Qiao got to know Lei when they both worked in Angang, a time-honored steel factory in Anshan, in Liaoning Province. In January 1960, they joined the army, at the same time, and were assigned to the same squad. Lei become the squad leader one year later. For two years and eight months, Qiao was a comrade of Lei, and he was deeply impressed by Lei's spirit of always lending a helping hand to people in need.

"Every time Lei took a train, he helped someone who was traveling on the train. When I was a comrade of his, I thought I ought to do some kind deeds as well, if I had an opportunity to travel by train," Qiao recalls. Once, Qiao was traveling by train to Yingkou, also in Liaoning, to deliver a letter. He wanted to help someone who was in need; however, he was quite nervous. Even until the train arrived in Yingkou, Qiao did not get a chance to help anyone. "Squad leader, why was I so nervous when I was planning to help others?" Qiao asked Lei, who was then head of his team. Lei answered, with a smile: "Doing kind deeds can be a habit. Just start by doing a small, kind deed. That's fine."

Qiao has always remembered Lei's words. During the past several decades, Qiao has led his family members as they have performed kind deeds; by doing so, they have used their actions to keep Lei's spirit "alive." 

In 1996, a Chinese film, The Days Without My Comrade, was released. The film focused on Qiao's life, and viewers learned how Qiao had followed and inherited the spirit of his model comrade, Lei, by doing kind deeds to help others.

Since the film was released, Qiao has been invited — nearly 4,000 times — to talk about and promote the spirit of Lei. More than 160 schools have invited him to give lectures, as a special instructor. For more than two decades, Qiao has donated more than 100,000 yuan (US $14,286) to support students from impoverished families.

Family, a Special 'Lei Feng Squad'

Zhang Shuqin both supports and accompanies her husband, Qiao, when he acts like Lei and helps people in need. Zhang used to work at a rubber plant in Tieling, another city in Liaoning. "I was responsible for keeping various goods, in my workplace, when I was working at the plant. Now, I am retired, but I continue to collect and keep my husband's honorary certificates, and the letters he receives. I am like a 'secretary' who helps my husband do a better job while he learns from Lei Feng," Zhang explains.

During the past 20-plus years, Zhang has kept the hundreds of letters Qiao has received from people across the country. She also helps her husband write letters, compile materials about Lei, and document stories about his one-time comrade. 

Qiao urges the younger generations of his family to pass on the spirit of Lei. He gave copies of Lei's diary to his sons when they got married. When both of his sons became laid-off workers, in 1997, Qiao encouraged them to find their own way to make a living. Qiao's sons listened to his advice. One opened a stall to sell tea, while the other opened a restaurant. Both have worked with honesty, and both have done their best to uphold the spirit of Lei.

Qiao Wei, Qiao Anshan's oldest son, once met a pregnant woman, who was about to give birth. While others dared not help, Qiao Wei did not hesitate; he immediately took her to a hospital. In 1997, when the company where Qiao Wei worked was closed, someone offered Qiao Wei a job simply because he was a son of Qiao Anshan, the comrade of Lei. But Qiao Wei turned down the offer. "I will make a living by myself, to repay the great spirit my family has learned from Lei Feng," he said at the time.

Wang Zhenli, Qiao Anshan's daughter-in-law (the wife of Qiao's youngest son), is a teacher. She has been named by her school, several times, as a pacesetter of learning from Lei. Now, Qiao Anshan's family has three generations of members. Qiao Anshan likes to compare his family to a special "Lei Feng squad."

Successors

In 2009, Qiao Tingjiao, Qiao Anshan's granddaughter, then a university student, joined the army. She also worked as a guide at Lei Feng's memorial hall in Shenyang, capital of Liaoning Province. During her five-year stint in the army, Qiao Tingjiao visited Beijing, Changsha, and other places, to give lectures about Lei, and to share his stories.

After she was discharged from the army, she got a job at Tsinghua University. Qiao Tingjiao and students from Tsinghua University had arranged for left-behind children, whose parents had left their hometowns to earn a living, to learn about Lei, and to participate in various social activities to inherit the spirit of Lei. In 2019, Leifeng Academy of China was established in Fushun. Qiao Tingjiao returned to her hometown, and she took on the responsibility for liaison work at the academy. Qiao Tingjiao has written a book, Following Lei Feng's Path to Move On, and she has been invited by many schools to give lectures about Lei.

During the past decade, Qiao Tingjiao has helped establish several teams of volunteers under the name of Lei Feng. She has donated more than 30,000 yuan (US $4,286), and more than 2,600 milliliters of blood, to help people in need. Qiao Tingjiao is known as "a third-generation successor of the spirit of Lei Feng." Says Qiao Tingjiao: "When my family members gather to have a meal during a holiday, we will place a bowl and a pair of chopsticks, for Lei Feng, on our table. During the Qingming Festival every year, we visit Lei's tomb to commemorate him."

Lei is "kept alive" in the hearts of each member of Qiao's family. In May last year, Qiao's family was named a National Five-Virtue Family.

Photos Supplied by Interviewees and VCG 

(Source: The Department of Family and Children's Affairs of the All-China Women's Federation/Women of China English Monthly March 2023 issue)