The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) unit that the late hero Dong Cunrui served under has applied to save his reputation through a lawsuit.

This snapshot taken from the movie "Dong Cunrui" features the hero, portrayed by star actor Zhang Liang, holding aloft a dynamite bag, preparing to blow up the blockhouse, thus sacrificing his life for victory. [Xinhua]

The Legal Daily reports that the People's Court in Chaoyang District, Beijing, has accepted the first application the army has ever made in such cases.

The army's decision came after Dong Cunmei, the younger sister of the hero, took Guo Wei, the director of the movie "Dong Cunrui", to court.

Guo presented her brother's heroism as the subject of conjecture, based on a number of disparate clues. Guo said that nobody witnessed the gallant deed of Dong Cunrui who perished together with his enemies.

Dong Cunmei accused the 85-year-old Guo Wei of tarnishing the reputation of her elder brother.

Guo firstly made the remarks in an interview with Popular Cinema, a leading film periodical in early 2006, and reaffirmed the conclusion in a TV series aired on a famous domestic TV station in August.

Guo's allegation sparked a nationwide dispute and enraged members of the army unit. Some say he should be held responsible for questioning the hero.

Soldiers say the courage of Dong Cunrui has been widely recognized by the Chinese people and can embody a part of the spiritual essence born by all nationals.

A political official with the unit, Xu Xuequan, said Dong Cunrui's feat has influenced the people for generations. Any attempt to distort these heroic deeds will not be tolerated, he says.

Three comrades-in-arms of Dong Cunrui, Xiao Zequan, Song Zhaotian and Cheng Tuanjiu, make up the third-party plaintiff in the case.

The magazine and the TV station are also listed as defendants.

Dong Cunrui, who headed a commando unit during combat in Longhua, north China's Hebei Province in May 1948, impressed the people with his spunk when he held up a dynamite bag to destroy an enemy's bridge-like blockhouse to clear way for fellow commando members. It cost him his life.

Dong's sacrifice has been compiled in Chinese school textbooks and also enscrolled in the history study books of the Chinese army and of the Communist Party of China.

The movie "Dong Cunrui" was shot in 1954 under the guidance of Guo Wei, who then worked with the Changchun Film Studio.