Red Star Over China （ 3 ）—— The Heroes of Tatu

Edgar Snow

    In the vanguard of the Red Army was Commander Liu Po-ch'eng, who had once been an officer in a warlord army of Szechuan. Liu knew the tribal people, and their inner feuds and discontent. Especially he knew their hatred of Chinese, and he could speak something of the Lolo tongue. Assigned the task of negotiating a friendly alliance, he entered their territory and went into conference with the chieftains. The Lolos, he said, opposed warlords Liu Hisang and Liu Wen-hui and the Kuomintang; so did the Reds. The Lolos wanted to preserve their independence; Red policies favored autonomy for all the national minorities of China. The Lolos hated the Chinese because they had been oppressed by them; but there were “White” Chinese and “Red” Chinese, just as there were “White” Lolos and “Black” Lolos, and it was the White Chinese who had always slain and oppressed the Lolos. Should not the red Chinese and the and the Black Lolos unite against their common enemies, the White Chinese? The Lolos listened interestedly. Slyly they asked for arms and bullets to guard their independence and help Red Chinese fight the Whites. To their astonishment, the Reds gave them both.

    And so it happened that not only a speedy but a politically useful passage was accomplished. Hundreds of Lolos enlisted with the “Red” Chinese to march to the Tatu River to fight the common enemy. Some of those Lolos were to trek clear to the Northwest. Liu Po-ch'eng drank the blood of a newly killed chicken before the high chieftain of the Lolos, who drank also, and they swore blood brotherhood in the tribal manner. By this vow the Reds declared that whosoever should violate the terms of their alliance would be even as weak and cowardly as the fowl.

【 参考译文 】

西行漫记（ 3 ）——大渡河英雄

埃德加 · 斯诺

    率领红军先锋部队的是指挥员刘伯承，他曾在四川一个军阀的军队里当过军官。刘伯承熟悉这个部落民族，熟悉他们的内争和不满。他特别熟悉他们仇恨汉人，而且他能够说几句彝族话。他奉命前去谈判友好联盟，进入了彝族的境内，同彝族的首领进行谈判。他说，彝族人反对军阀刘湘、刘文辉和国民党；红军也反对他们。彝族人要保持独立；红军的政策主张中国各少数民族都自治。彝族人仇恨汉人是因为他们受到汉人的压迫，但是汉人有“白”汉和“红”汉，正如彝族人有“白”彝和“黑”彝，老是杀彝族人，压迫彝族人的是“白”汉。“红”汉和“黑”彝应该团结起来反对他们的共同敌人“白”汉。彝族人很有兴趣的听着。他们狡黠的要武器和弹药好保卫独立，帮助“红”汉打“白”汉。结果红军都给了他们，使他们感到很意外。

    于是红军不仅迅速地而且安然无事地高高兴兴过了境。好几百个彝族人参加了“红”汉，一起到大渡河去打共同的敌人。这些彝族人中有一些还一直走到了西北。刘伯承在彝族的总首领面前同他一起饮了新杀的一只鸡的血，他们两人按照部落传统的方式，歃血为盟，结为兄弟。红军用这种立誓方式宣布凡是违反盟约的人都像那只鸡一样懦弱胆怯。