Yan Mingguang (left) and Yan Mingfu with their parents in Wuhan in 1938. Photo Provided to China Daily

Yan, who had secretly joined the Communist Party of China in 1937, wasted no time in reporting to his superiors in Yan'an, where the CPC was headquartered, and the news was passed on to Moscow.

On June 22, 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Eight days later, Stalin telegraphed Yan'an, to thank Yan "for his accurate information that prompted us to prepare for what's to come".

In 1995, on the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, Yan was awarded a posthumous medal by a representative of then-Russian president Boris Yeltsin.

Early years

Born into a poor peasant family in Liaoning province in 1895, Yan earned the right to an education by standing outside the classroom window until a teacher took pity on him. In 1918, almost immediately after graduation from the local normal college, Yan opened a charity school for children from similar backgrounds to his own. He also became a member of the Young Men's Christian Association, where he met Zhang Xueliang, the son of Zhang Zuolin, who was known as the "Warlord of the Northeast".

"Founded in London in 1844, the YMCA was a global organization. It was introduced to China by an American Dane at the end of the 19th century. What it gave to Yan was not just religion, but a new way of living and a new way of thinking," Guan said.

From 1927 to 1929, Yan, sponsored by Zhang Xueliang, studied at the University of Edinburgh and toured Europe. By the time he returned to China, the political situation had changed dramatically. Zhang Zuolin had been killed by the Japanese, who saw him as an obstacle to their ambitions in China, and Zhang Xueliang had declared his allegiance to the Nationalist government.

"Yan came back to help Zhang and do his duty for the country," Guan said. "In around 1934, Zhang introduced Yan to Chiang Kai-shek and his wife Madame Soong. Yan impressed the couple, and was soon invited to take a government post.