People's Republic of China(1949-Present):石油工人幹勁大 "The Oil Workers are Motivated"
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Wang Jinxi (王进喜) was a Chinese model worker and socialist hero known as 'Iron man' Wang, who led No. 1205 drilling team at Daqing Oil Field. He was the subject of a 1964 documentary Tieren, "Iron Man".
In 1956, he joined the Chinese Communist Party. In the same year, he became the captain of the predecessor of Brigade No. 1205 and successfully led the completion of the drilling rig in the Yumen oil field. Following the start of the Great Leap Forward in 1958, he led a team to drill 5009.3 meters per month, which was then the highest record in mainland China at that time. In October, he was awarded the 'Red Flag' award by the Ministry of Petroleum Industry. In 1958, during the ceremonies for the 10th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, he met with Chairman Mao Zedong and participated in an elite meeting between industrial and communication ministries.
In 1960, Mao Zedong and Party Central Committee issued a declaration "to fight 'a massive battle' to open up Daqing" and become self-sufficient in oil. In April, Wang and his No. 1205 Drilling Team rushed to the bleak grasslands from Yumen Oil field. Undeterred by temperatures of between -20 and -30 Celsius, they continued to work. Despite fatigue, injuries and difficulties, Wang kept going throughout. He and 30 others manually carried 60 tonnes of equipment from a railway station to the oil field. They broke the ice of a nearby pond and fetched water to cool the drill. In five days, they transported more than 50 tonnes of water. After five days of drilling, they struck oil, and Daqing's first production well went into operation. Within three years, Daqing became China's first-rate big oilfield.
Wang Jinxi participated in a 10,000-person inauguration ceremony of the oil field, during international Labor Day. During the ceremony, he shouted the slogan:
"I would give up 20 years of life so China can produce oil on its own land."
During the work, he said to his co-workers:
"We have to do everything possible. And we have to make the impossible possible."
For this, the people called him 'Iron Man' (“铁人”), and the name 'Iron Man' Wang stuck and spread. In 1960, the nation was called upon to learn from the 'Iron Man', and he was appointed as the captain of the Drilling Command and Construction Brigade. The oil workers' exploits were depicted in the play The Rising Sun, by Sun Weishi. The plot of the Rising Sun focused on the contributions that women made in agriculture and the construction of oilfields and featured a cast made up exclusively of local people. The play was well-received in Daqing, Beijing, and Shandong and also was the first time in the history of New Chinese drama that experts and the public collaborated to create the art.
In February 1961, Wang Jinxi was assigned as the captain of the second production team of the Drilling Command. In 1964, he was elected deputy to the 3rd National People's Congress. On December 26, while attending the 71st birthday party of Chairman Mao Zedong, Wang was praised by Mao, who called him an "industrial leader."
On 1965, Wang was appointed the member of the Standing Committee of the Drilling Party Committee and Deputy Commander of the Drilling Command of the CCP Daqing Committee. On July 24, he joined the Ministry of Petroleum Industry and put forward for the first time, the goal of "half a ton of oil per person in the country". In 1966, he was appointed as the deputy commander of the Daqing Petroleum Campaign Command by the State Council of the People's Republic of China. He was awarded as one of the 'Five Good Models of the Ministry of Petroleum Industry'. On June 4th, he was part of the Chinese delegation that visited the People's Republic of Albania.