The Awardee of Medal of the Republic—Shen Jilan“共和国勋章”获得者—申纪兰

张建

她曾荣获“全国劳动模范”“全国优秀共产党员”“全国脱贫攻坚奋进奖”“改革先锋”等称号。但她只把荣誉看作一种鞭策。她“勿忘人民、勿忘劳动”的话语，成了自己对人生的一种诠释。她就是“共和国勋章”获得者——申纪兰。

Shen Jilan， who lived a remarkable life， was the only deputy toattend 13 consecutive sessions of the National People’s Congress（NPC） established in 1954. She was a 1）pioneer who encouragedwomen in her hometown to work instead of staying at home， and her2）proposal for 3）gender pay equality was written into the first constitutionof the People’s Republic of China.

She was born in 1929 in a remote village in PingShun County，Shanxi Province. As soon as she married a man from Xigou Village，she actively participated in labor.

In 1951， the government of Xigou formed a cooperative to boostfarming. Shen Jilan was appointed deputy head of the cooperativeand started to persuade women to join men in doing agricultural work.

However， Shen soon encountered a barrier—pay inequality. Men got10 work points a day， but women only got a maximum of five points.So， She organized many contests to plant and 4）fertilize seeds to provethat women can do the same work like men. After that， the women inXigou were given equal pay.

In 60-plus years serving as a NPC deputy， Shen made 5）numerousproposals covering education， transportation， the conservation anddevelopment of water resources and many others， most of which wereclosely related to benefiting farmers.

In 1973， she was appointed the head of the provincial women’sfederation and moved to the capital， Taiyuan. However， she refused toreceive any salary， a house or other benefits for her new position. Afterserving the provincial women’s federation for 10 years， Shen returnedto Xigou Village， where she was given another task—help fellowvillagers get rid of poverty.

Shen opened the first collectively owned enterprise， a 6）ferroalloyplant， in her village in 1985， and later built a walnut oil factory and acannery. These projects became the pillars of Xigou’s economic growth.

In 2013， Shen shut down the ferroalloy plant as it failed to meetthe country’s standards on environmental protection. Later， sheproposed the closures of a number of companies that had high energyconsumption， high levels of pollution and excessive emissions， and setup environmentally friendly businesses.

Shen Jilan was awarded the Medal of the Republic in 2019 for herremarkable contributions. She died at the age of 91 in June， 2020， afterbattling a number of illnesses. Up until her final moment， she was stillraising suggestions on poverty alleviation and improvements to ruralinfrastructure.

1） pioneer n. 先驅；拓荒者

2） proposal n. 建议；提议

3） gender n. 性别

4） fertilize v. 施肥

5） numerous adj. 许多的；数量庞大的

6） ferroalloy n. 铁合金

申纪兰的一生不平凡，自1954 年全国人民代表大会成立以来，她是唯一一位连续13 届参加会议的代表。她是鼓励家乡妇女出去工作而不是待在家里的先驱，她倡导的“男女同工同酬”被写入中华人民共和国第一部宪法。

1929年，她出生于山西省平顺县的一个偏远村庄。一嫁到西沟村，她就积极参加劳动。

1951年，西沟村成立初级农业生产合作社，以促进农业发展。申纪兰被任命为合作社副社长，开始劝说妇女和男子一起干农活。然而，她很快就遇到了劳动报酬不平等的问题——男社员干一天活计10 个工分，而女社员只能计5 个。为此，她组织了许多劳动竞赛，如播种、施肥，以证明女性可以和男性做同样的工作。在那之后，西沟村的女性得到了同等的劳动报酬。

在60多年的人大代表生涯中，申纪兰提出了许多建议，涉及教育、交通、水资源保护和开发等诸多领域，其中大多数都与造福农民密切相关。

1973年，她被任命为山西省省妇联主席，并搬到省会太原工作。然而，她拒绝为她的新职位领取任何工资、房子或其他福利。在省妇联工作了10 年之后，申纪兰回到西沟村，在那里她接到了另一项任务——帮助村民脱贫。

1985年，申纪兰在西沟村开办了第一家集体所有制企业——铁合金厂，后来又建了一家核桃油厂和一家罐头厂。这些项目成为西沟村经济增长的支柱。

2013年，申纪兰关停了这家铁合金工厂，因为它没有达到国家的环保标准。后来，她又建议关停一批高耗能、高污染、高排放的企业，建立环保企业。

2019年，申纪兰因为做出的卓越贡献被授予“共和国勋章”。2020年6月她在与多种疾病作斗争后去世，享年91岁。直到最后一刻，她还在为扶贫和改善农村基础设施提建议。