Dong Cunrui

In this Chinese name, the family name is Dong.

Dong Cunrui
Photo of Dong Cunrui
Native name	董存瑞
Born	1929 Huailai County, Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, China
Died	25 May 1948(1948-05-25) (aged 18–19) Longhua County, Chengde, Hebei province, China
Allegiance	Communist Party of China
Service/branch	People's Liberation Army Ground Force
Years of service	1945–1948
Battles/wars	Chinese Civil War
Awards	Order of Mao Zedong Bravery Medal

Dong Cunrui (Chinese: 董存瑞; pinyin: Dǒng Cúnruì; 1929 - May 25, 1948) was a Chinese Communist soldier in the People's Liberation Army during the Chinese Civil War who blew himself up in order to destroy a Kuomintang bunker guarding an approach to an important bridge in Longhua County.

Death

Under heavy fire, he reached the bunker, but there was no place to effectively position the explosives. Reportedly shouting "For a new China!", he detonated the explosives he carried, killing himself and the defenders within the bunker. He was posthumously awarded three "Bravery Medals" and one "Mao Zedong Medal", and his squad was titled "Dong Cunrui Training Model Squad".

His sacrifice was heavily publicized by the Communists, who called him a "hero" and "model communist", and he remains well known in China. He was depicted in a 1955 film Dong Cunrui directed by Guo Wei, and a 2009 TV miniseries titled For a new China, forward. His story was also published in national elementary Chinese textbooks.

See also

• Lei Feng, another PLA soldier frequently depicted in Chinese propaganda
• Zhang Side
• Huang Jiguang
• Qiu Shaoyun
• Zuo Quan

External links

• Dong Cunrui
• PLA honored models: Dong Cunrui
• 1955 Film Dong Cunrui
• 人民網對董存瑞的介紹 Archived 2020-04-02 at the Wayback Machine(in Chinese)