29 years ago, an 8-year old boy buried a match box near his home. Inside the match box is a note that says "Jiang Jie (Sister Jiang), Cheng Gang, Liu Si Yang, Hao (great)!" The boy had to bury that box because the novel "Hong Yan" is considered "poisonus grass" (Du Cao) at the time. The boy loved the novel, the second novel he ever read. 
   
    10 years ago, a 27 years old Ph.D. candidate (of a science major) was busily reading in the library of an Ivy League university in US that even many Chinese people can name. He was not reading anything for his thesis. He was searching for any piece of paper about the people he loves (Jiang Zhu Jun, Liu Guo Zhi, Chen Ran ...). He was so happy that he found some interesting documents, 5000 miles away from Chong Qin, a city that facinates him even though he has never been there.
   
    Today. A 37 year professional with 2 doctoral degrees was driving his van along a U.S. highway. His two young children asked him what strange music he was playing. He told them the songs are from a Chinese opera named "Jiang Jie." He told them those are his favorite songs.
   
    You must have now known that "he" is me. Almost no one knows my fascination about an old novel and the true story behind that novel. How could those around me understand, my rich collegues or my even richer Fortune 500 clients? Most of them know nothing about the history of China. Even my Chinese friends will not understand -- I am not a communist or even remotely like communism, how could I be so fascinated by a group of communist martyrs? They will not understand that people like Jiang Zhu Jun and Liu Guo Zhi are not just communist martyrs to me: Jiang and Liu are people who are willing to sacrifice everything for something hornorable, no matter what the name of the ideology is -- they are beautiful people, people who can do amazing things that I can never do. They will also not understand that a hisotry buff can not resist the temptation to solve so many unsolved mysteries (why Pu Hua Fu and Tu Xiao Wen were killed? are there different kind of traitors?)
   
    Thanks to those who build this wonderful site. The best thing about this site is that I finally know that I am not alone -- there are people like Meng Yuan who are just as crazy as me! I hope some of you can read in English and understand my appreciation (typing in Chinese is simply beyond me)! 
   
    When I first heard about Jiang Zhu Jun and Liu Guo Zhi, I was a young boy. I am now a middle-aged man. But Jiang and Liu are still in their 20s, the same age as they were in 1949. They are forever young.