Memoirs of Lieutenant General Du Ping -- Number 2
Categories of Psychological condition of the Chinese Soldiers
  1. The first consisted of those troops, approximately 50 percent, with a positive attitude towards participating in the Korean War. Those soldiers came from a reliable group with high political awareness. Seasoned during the civil war, most of them had fought well and without any hesitation about sacrificing themselves in the battles. Facing the outrages of American intervention in Korea, they were filled with indignation. They even submitted written statements asking to fight the American troops and to help the Korean People.
  2. The next category, the intermediate elements, made up about 40 percent of our troops. Their attitude was that they could fight as ordered but it did not matter to them if there was a war or not.
  3. The last 10 percent consisted of those soldiers who were in an unsettled state of mind. Generally, they were the liberated soldiers who came from the GMD's troops (Nationalist troops of Chiang Kai Chek) or the young soldiers who joined the PLA from liberated regions. They lacked sufficient recognition of the great significance of resisting America and aiding Korea. Reluctant to leave their peacetime life behind, they were afraid of hardship and war. Scared of American troops and nuclear weapons, they were greatly worried about fighting against the imperialist forces. A few of them even named the Yalu's bridge the "Gate of Hell," complaining that "to resist America and aid Korea is like poking our nose into other people's business" or "to draw fire against ourselves."

    One rumor underestimated the enemy by claiming the American soldiers were spoiled boys. They had to lie down on their carpets before they could shoot and could not bear hardships and casualties. Another rumor, however, was that the American forces were formidable. They had many airplanes and big guns. One of their artillery shells could kill an entire company.

As the director of the Army Group's Political Department, I realized the current political task was to guarantee the successful transformation of each soldier's mind-set from peacetime reconstruction to combat-ready preparations. Therefore the whole army group launched a campaign of ideological education emphasizing patriotism, internationalism, and revolutionary heroism.

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