The spirit of Zhang Side 

Zhang Side (1915-1944) was a soldier in the Guards Regiment of the CPC Central Committee, a force responsible for the safety of Mao Zedong and other senior CPC leaders. He joined the revolution in 1933 and took part in the Long March. In the Autumn of 1944, he and his unit were assigned to burn charcoal in the mountains of Ansai County, Shaanxi Province, to provide fuel for the revolutionary base in Yan'an. On September 5, he and some other soldiers were working on a charcoal kiln when it suddenly collapsed. At the last moment the young Zhang Side pushed a fellow soldier to safety, and he himself was buried and killed.

Zhang Side exemplified the mission of the CPC through his own deeds. Mao Zedong wrote an elegy "Salute to Comrade Zhang Side who died for the people" for a memorial gathering for this loyal soldier, and delivered a speech entitled "Serve the People." He said, "Comrade Zhang Side died for the people, and his death is indeed weightier than Mount Tai." He called on the whole Party and the whole army to learn from him and carry on Zhang's commitment to serving the people wholeheartedly.

The essence of the spirit of Zhang Side is living simply, working diligently, and being ready to die for the people.

張思德精神

張思德(1915—1944)是全心全意為人民服務的典范。1944年9月5日,他帶領戰士們在陜北安塞縣執行燒炭任務時,即將挖成的窯洞突然塌方,他奮力把戰友推出洞去,自己卻被埋在窯洞,犧牲時年僅29歲。

張思德的行為和一生詮釋了中國共產黨的宗旨和共產黨人的情懷。在張思德追悼會上,毛澤東主席親筆題寫了“向為人民利益而犧牲的張思德同志致敬”的挽詞,并作了《為人民服務》的講話,認為張思德同志是為人民利益而死的,他的死是比泰山還要重的,號召全黨全軍學習和發揚張思德為人民服務的革命精神。張思德精神的內核就是“全心全意為人民服務”的精神,具體說來,就是為人民利益勇于犧牲、任勞任怨、艱苦奮斗。