Xiao Hua is the youngest founding general in the Chinese People's Liberation Army. He was only 39 years old when he was awarded the rank of general in 1955. He worked hard to compose the "Long March Suite" and left behind a precious spiritual wealth.

In April 1964, Xiao Hua, then director of the General Political Department of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, went to Hangzhou to recuperate due to hepatitis. But instead of lying in bed and resting quietly, he thought about commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Red Army's Long March. He thought: As a participant and survivor of the 25,000-mile Long March, he had the responsibility and obligation to write a work that truly described the Long March.

After much consideration, he decided to write a series of poems. Therefore, starting from September 1964, he devoted himself to creation regardless of his illness. Later he recounted the situation at that time: "I wrote the Long March poems, and I don't know how many tears I shed. Some passages, such as "Farewell", "Entering Zunyi", "Crossing the Snowy Mountains and Grasslands", "Announcement of Good News", etc., just made me shed tears. "Written." In order to compose the Long March poems, Xiao Hua spent many sleepless nights. His transfection enzyme increased four times and he lost several kilograms. People are haggard”.

Two months later, the poem was basically finalized. Xiao Hua considered it again and again and used the first line of Mao Zedong's "Seven Rules: Long March" - "The Red Army is not afraid of the difficulty of the expedition" as the overall title of the poem.

In March 1965, Xiao Hua's poems were composed by four composers from the Comrades Art Troupe of the Beijing Military Region - Chen Geng, Sheng Mao, Tang He and Yu Qiu. During the process of composing the music, Xiao Hua fell ill and spent 10 consecutive mornings telling the four composers about the Long March in detail, which fascinated the composers. Composer Sheng Mao recalled: When General Xiao Hua, who was ill, talked about the Long March, "sometimes he was beaming with joy, sometimes he was impassioned, sometimes he burst into tears. When the general talked about 'Four Crosses of Chishui', he vividly sketched out the spectacular scene of 'Chairman Mao's military use is really like a god' "The general's detailed description of the Long March laid a solid foundation for us to complete the task of composing music."

In October 1965, on the occasion of commemorating the 30th anniversary of the victory of the Red Army's Long March, the Beijing Military Region Comrades Art Troupe presented Xiao Hua. A group of poems was put on the stage. This is the "Long March Suite" known as one of the "red classics". "Long March Suite" quickly became popular throughout the army with its majestic momentum, touching emotions, and melodious tunes, and then became popular all over the country. It has been performed more than 1,000 times in the past 40 years and is still performed frequently.