Source record CMC Political Work Department · 2026-05-23

From "Commander" to "Old Xu": General Xu Shiyou Joins a Company as a Common Soldier to Shed His "Official Airs"

从“首长”到“老许”，将军许世友下连当兵打掉“官架子”

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Desk	China Desk
Publishing institution	CMC Political Work Department
Source outlet	PLA Daily (解放军报) (pla_daily)
Source language	zh-Hans — an attribute of the source, not of this record
Source-stated publication date	2026-05-23
Original URL	http://www.81.cn/yw_208727/16462779.html
Collected at	2026-05-23 16:14:14 — collection metadata, not a publication time
Content fingerprint	7fbe2206d89304df652a8a342bf2726eb5d3492fa7cc859d832389600910ac73 — taken when the record was captured, over the stored original title and text
Collection run	35
Analysis model	claude-sonnet-4-6
Prompt version	v1

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中国人民革命军事博物馆收藏了一套许世友将军穿戴使用过的上等兵军服衣物、装具都与当时一名普通士兵别无二致为什么一名高级干部会穿上等兵的军装？这背后的故事得追溯到1958年许世友穿过的军装、草鞋和下连队使用的挎包。 1958年8月毛泽东同志倡导 “所有军队干部每年下去当一个月兵” 与士兵们一同训练、生活许世友积极响应成为首批主动报名参加此活动的将军之一许世友。同年10月17日许世友头戴船形帽身穿士兵服来到海防前线某步兵六连七班当了一名“上等兵” 第一天吃饭时班长和战士争着替许世友舀水盛饭许世友谢绝道： “班长同志，我在你们班当兵，你就是我的上级，就要大胆管教我，不要太客气了，要让我拿下官架子。” 许世友下连队期间的留影。连队进行攀登绝壁训练趁大家不注意许世友也抓起绳子攀登起来最终他顺利登顶晚上的班务会上班长张吉生批评了许世友，说： “你年纪大，应该休息休息。” 许世友笑答： “要休息何必来当兵？我来当兵就是要和大家同吃同住同操练，我不当特殊兵。” 还有一次许世友和班里的战士一起锄草、扫垃圾有个干部拿着照相机在一旁请求许世友停下来照个相许世友没有停他边扫边说： “人民公社五六十岁的老社员一天干到晚，也没有人给他照相。我们干了一点活，就要照相，我看还是不照。” 许世友下连队期间的留影。训练间隙知道许世友年轻时习过武武术功底深厚战士们就一致要求他表演武术许世友站起来双拳一抱就虎虎生风地打了起来许多战士看后缠着他学功夫最后全连战士都成了他的“徒弟” 被他改进的“板凳操” 成了连队里风靡一时的运动项目他还利用空隙时间和战士们谈心班里的战士原来还有点拘束但看到他那样诚恳且平易近人很快消除了顾虑开始战士们称他为“首长” 后来称“老许同志” 最后索性直接叫“老许”了从这些称谓的变化上许世友知道自己像个兵了夜间，许世友和战士一起站岗。转眼间30天过去许世友了解了战士们的生活、训练和思想状况与战士们建立了深厚的感情要离开连队时彼此间都恋恋不舍班长张吉生代表班里给许世友作了详细的鉴定许世友成了连里的荣誉战士许世友将军于天命之年再为兵严于律己又能和战士打成一片用实际行动证明真正的政绩不在于肩上的军衔有多高而在于脚下的泥土有多厚在于是否真正赢得了战士和群众的真心拥护（资料来源：中国人民军事革命博物馆、新华社、人民网）

Summary

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In October 1958, General Xu Shiyou — then a senior commander — spent thirty days as a private first class in the 7th Squad, 6th Infantry Company at a coastal defense frontline position, eating, drilling, and standing guard alongside enlisted men as part of Mao Zedong's directive that all military cadres serve one month annually as common soldiers. The article is a commemorative profile drawn from the Chinese People's Revolution Military Museum's holdings; its value is as a record of how PLA political education frames the officer-soldier relationship and the ideal of 去官气 (shedding official airs) for contemporary junior personnel, not as evidence of any current policy or institutional change.

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Source text. CMC Political Work Department. "从“首长”到“老许”，将军许世友下连当兵打掉“官架子”." PLA Daily (解放军报), 2026-05-23. http://www.81.cn/yw_208727/16462779.html.

As held. Indo-Pacific Record, China Desk Corpus, Record 602, Snapshot — 2026-08-26 (3,574 records).

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