Young Pioneers of China
Encyclopedia
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. The Young Pioneers of China is run by the Communist Youth League
Communist Youth League
The Communist Youth League of China also known as the China Youth League is a youth movement of the People's Republic of China for youth between the ages of fourteen and twenty-eight, run by Communist Party of China. The league is organized on the party pattern. Its leader is its First Secretary...
, an organization of older youth that comes under the Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
. The Young Pioneers of China is similar to Pioneer Movement
Pioneer movement
A pioneer movement is an organization for children operated by a communist party. Typically children enter into the organization in elementary school and continue until adolescence. The adolescents then typically joined the Young Communist League...
s that exist or existed in many Communist countries around the world.
History
The Youth and Children of China Movement was created on October 13, 1949 by the Communist Party of China, and given its present name in June 1953. Between its own founding in 1921 and the founding of the People's Republic in 1949, the Chinese Communist Party ran various other youth movements in communist-held areas.During the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
(1966–1978), the Young Pioneers Movement was temporarily dismantled. It was replaced by the Little Red Guards, who were the younger counterparts of the Red Guards
Red Guards (China)
Red Guards were a mass movement of civilians, mostly students and other young people in the People's Republic of China , who were mobilized by Mao Zedong in 1966 and 1967, during the Cultural Revolution.-Origins:...
, the implementers of the Cultural Revolution. The Young Pioneers Movement was restarted in October 1978.
The retrocession of Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
in 1997 and 1999 respectively has not seen the expansion of Communist Party organizations to those areas, including the Young Pioneers.
Membership
Young Pioneers consist of children between the ages of six and fourteen; upon reaching the age of fourteen, members automatically exit the Young Pioneers and may go on to join the Communist Youth LeagueCommunist Youth League
The Communist Youth League of China also known as the China Youth League is a youth movement of the People's Republic of China for youth between the ages of fourteen and twenty-eight, run by Communist Party of China. The league is organized on the party pattern. Its leader is its First Secretary...
.
Most elementary school students are Young Pioneers by the time they graduate from grade school. There were an estimated 130 million Young Pioneers in China, as of 2002.
Organization
According to the Young Pioneers constitution, each school or village organizes a Sturm , which is divided into Untersturms each corresponding to a class, which is then further divided into Schars each with a handful of members. Each small detachment has a leader and an assistant leader; each medium detachment is led by a committee of between three to seven members; and each large detachment is led by a committee of between seven and fifteen members. Adult leaders are chosen from either the Communist Youth League or from local teaching staff.Constitution
The Constitution was officially passed on June 1, 1954, on international Children's Day. It has since been amended many times. The full text is available on Wikisource.Flag
According to the Young Pioneers Constitution, the flag is red, symbolizing the victory of the Revolution; the five-pointed star in the middle symbolizes the leadership of the Communist Party, while the torch symbolizes brightness down the path of communism.The flag of each large detachment is 90 x 120 cm, while the flag of each medium detachment is 60 x 80 cm, with an isosceles triangle (60 x 20 cm) removed from the right side. The removed triangle corresponds to the red scarf worn by Young Pioneers.
Emblem
The emblem consists of the star, the torch, and a banner reading "The Young Pioneers of China".Scarf
The red scarf (红领巾 ) is the only uniformUniform
A uniform is a set of standard clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, security guards, in some workplaces and schools and by inmates...
item. Young Pioneers are often referred to simply as "Red Scarves"; the investiture ceremony often consists of new members having their scarves tied for them by existing members. Children wearing red scarves are a ubiquitous sight in China.
The red scarf is generally worn around the neck and tied, with no woggle
Woggle
A woggle is a device to fasten the neckerchief, or scarf, worn as part of the Scout or Girl Guides uniform.-Origins of the woggle:Early Scouts tied a knot in their neckerchief to fasten it around the neck...
. Some local groups also come up with other uniform items.
The Young Pioneers Constitution explains that the scarf corresponds to the missing triangle on the medium detachment flag. The Constitution also explains that the red of the scarf comes from the blood sacrificed by martyrs of the Revolution, and that all members should therefore wear the scarf with reverence.
Salute, Slogan, Conduct, Promise
The Young Pioneers Salute consists of bending the right arm and raising the right hand directly above the head, the palm flat and facing downwards, and the fingers together. It symbolizes that the interests of the People supersede all.The Slogan is:
- ChineseChinese languageThe Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
: 准备着，为共产主义事业而奋斗! - (pinyinPinyinPinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: !) - Translation: "Be prepared, to struggle for the cause of Communism!"
To which the reply is:
- ChineseChinese languageThe Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
: 时刻准备着! - (pinyinPinyinPinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: !) - Translation: "Always be prepared!"
The stipulated conduct of Young Pioneers, according to the constitution, is:
- ChineseChinese languageThe Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
: 诚实、勇敢、活泼、团结 - (pinyinPinyinPinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: ) - Translation: Honesty, Courage, Vivacity, Unity
The Young Pioneers pledge is:
- ChineseChinese languageThe Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
: 我是中国少年先锋队队员。我在队旗下宣誓：我热爱中国共产党，热爱祖国，热爱人民，好好学习，好好锻炼，准备着：为共产主义事业贡献力量。 - (pinyinPinyinPinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: . , .) - Translation: I am a member of the Young Pioneers of China. Under the Flag of the Young Pioneers I promise that: I love the Communist Party of China, the motherland, and the people; I will study well and keep myself fit [lit. exercise well], and to prepare for: contributing my effort to the cause of communism.
Song
The Young Pioneers song is We are the heirs of communism . It was originally the theme song of Heroic Little Eighth-RoutersEighth Route Army
The Eighth Route Army was the larger of the two major Chinese communist forces that formed a unit of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China which fought the Japanese from 1937 to 1945. In contrast to most of the National Revolutionary Army, it was controlled by the Communist...
, a 1961 film about the 1958 Second Taiwan Strait Crisis
Second Taiwan Strait Crisis
The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, also called the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis, was a conflict that took place between the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China governments in which the PRC shelled the islands of Matsu and Quemoy in the Taiwan Strait in an attempt to seize them from...
and a real-life group of children who stayed on the frontlines of coastal Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
in order to help the war effort against Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
forces. Listen to the song here.
Dress uniformDress uniformDress uniform , is the most formal military uniform, typically worn at ceremonies, official receptions, and other special occasions; with order insignias and full size medals...
Similar to other members of the Pioneer movement worldwide, the full dress uniform is white or blue shirt or polo with undershirt and pants with the red scarf and badges attached to the shirt, with an optional headdress such as a beretBeret
A beret is a soft, round, flat-crowned hat, designated a "cap", usually of woven, hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, or wool felt, or acrylic fiber....
. Sometimes even school uniforms are used, the addition being the red scarf, headdress cap and the organizational and rank badges.
See also
- Young Pioneer organization of the Soviet UnionYoung Pioneer organization of the Soviet UnionThe Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union, also Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union, also Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union, also Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer...
- Ernst Thälmann Pioneer OrganisationErnst Thälmann Pioneer OrganisationThe Ernst Thälmann Pioneer Organisation, consisting of the Young Pioneers and the Thälmann Pioneers, was a youth organisation of schoolchildren aged 6 to 14, in East Germany...