In Shazhouba, Ruijin City, Jiangxi Province, when Comrade Mao Zedong was in Ruijin, in order to solve the drinking water problem of the local soldiers and civilians, he personally led the Red Army soldiers and the villagers to dig a well. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the local people erected a stone tablet next to the well, with 14 characters engraved on it: "When you drink water, you will never forget the man who dug the well, and you will always miss Chairman Mao." The well in Shazhouba was later called " "Red Well".
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Shazhouba was originally a drought-stricken village. At that time, the villagers were very superstitious and believed that digging wells would destroy the feng shui of the village. As a result, no one in the village dared to dig without permission. For wells, villagers have to fetch water from a small river several kilometers away. In April 1933, after the Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Union moved from Yeping to Shazhouba, Chairman Mao Zedong also moved into this small village. In September of that year, after learning about the difficulty of drinking water for local soldiers and civilians, Chairman Mao Zedong led several Red Army soldiers to conduct water source exploration in the village. After determining the location of the well, he broke ground. Later, many villagers also brought their own tools and dug wells together with the Red Army soldiers. The military and civilians worked together and soon dug a well with a diameter of 0.85 meters and a depth of 6 meters, thus solving the water problem of the villagers in Shazhouba.
Later, due to the failure of the fifth anti-"encirclement and suppression" campaign in the Central Soviet Area, the main force of the Central Red Army was forced to withdraw from Ruijin and embark on a thousands-mile journey of strategic transfer. Subsequently, the Kuomintang troops and local reactionary forces launched a wild counterattack, clamoring for the Central Soviet Area to be stoned, houses burned, and people rekindled. They not only destroyed the building facilities left by the Red Army in Ruijin and other places, but also destroyed Mao Zedong and the Red Army soldiers. The well that was dug was filled up. Faced with the arrogance of the reactionary forces, the Shazhouba villagers did not give in. They tried every means to dig out the filled well. After that, the villagers and the reactionary forces fought many battles of wits and courage. After several fillings and excavations, the well was finally saved.
In 1950, in order to welcome the arrival of the condolence delegation from the old central southern base area, the people of Ruijin renovated the Shazhouba well and named it "Red Well". At the same time, a wooden sign was erected next to the well. , wrote a letter "Don't forget the well diggers when you are in trouble, and always miss Chairman Mao" to express gratitude and memory for Chairman Mao and the Red Army. Soon, the local people changed the wooden sign into a stone tablet. In 1952, the People's Education Press collectively created a short article of more than 100 words based on the relevant materials of "Red Well", which was uniformly compiled into primary school Chinese textbooks by the Ministry of Education. As a result, the story of "Red Well" has become a classic handed down from generation to generation, educating and touching generations of Chinese people for decades. In March 1961, "Red Well" was listed as a national key cultural relic protection unit by the State Council. Perhaps because of drinking water and remembering the source, or perhaps because of the cultural landscape, "Red Well" has become an important scenic spot for red tourism and red education in Ruijin.
Source: People’s Daily Online: Don’t forget the man who dug the well - commemorating the 123rd anniversary of the birth of Comrade Mao Zedong