2005 China Short Story Annual Selection

Author: Xie Youshun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: During the Japanese occupation period, the urban area of Hangzhou was not even one-fifth of its current size, but the soul of the city: West Lake, was no smaller than it is today. The scenic spots in and around the lake were also not much fewer than now, such as the famous Su Causeway, Bai Causeway, Broken Bridge, Xiling Bridge, Wangxian Bridge, Jin Dai Bridge, Yu Dai Bridge, Suolan Bridge, Three Ponds Mirroring the Moon, Autumn Moon over Flat Lake, Ruan Gong Dune, Lake Heart Pavilion, and Su Xiaoxiao's Tomb at the foot of Xiling Bridge. Near Qingpo Gate were Willow Waves Whistling in the Wind and Qian Wang Temple. On Mount Guishan were the Xiling Seal Society, Qiu Jin's Tomb, Feihe Pavilion, Louwailou, and Tianwaitian. To the south were Baiyun Temple, Mudan Pavilion, Jingcao Temple, Baoyin Temple, and Guanyin Cave. To the north were Baofu Pagoda, Shuangling Pavilion, Yue Temple, Shuangling Cave, and Qixia Cave. In summary, the so-called "One Mountain, Two Rivers, Two Causeways, Three Pagodas, Three Monasteries, Six Bridges, Nine Creeks, and Eighteen Gullies" all existed back then, and the Japanese invaders did not scare them away.
The Japanese had dropped many bombs in Hangzhou. It is said that even today, bombs from that time are frequently unearthed in West Lake, some still unexploded with their manufacturers' trademarks intact. The bombs fell like dead bodies from the sky. Even unexploded ones were terrifying, let alone the majority that exploded. The explosions shook the sky and earth, killing countless people and livestock, scaring the entire city of Hangzhou into fleeing. West Lake and its surrounding attractions would have fled too if they could. But they couldn't, so they had to wait their fate. Some attractions were destroyed in the explosions, such as Yue Temple and many other spots on Mount Guishan, which were hit by bombs.
Walking from Yue Temple toward Baofu Pagoda, along what is now Beishan Road, many luxurious mansions with deep courtyards were built at that time, naturally belonging to the wealthy and powerful. The wealthy and powerful always had more information than the poor, and they all fled in time before the Japanese bombing. After the establishment of the Japanese puppet regime, the city relative calmed down, and these people returned just in time. Even if the owners didn't return, at least some servants did, to guard the properties and prevent them from being seized by the new Japanese puppet regime.
Among them was a large courtyard facing the mountain and the lake. The owner, surnamed Qiu, was once a big boss in the high-end prostitution industry. He himself did not return, and his servants who came back were delayed by a few weeks, so the newly established Japanese puppet Zhejiang Defense Command occupied the courtyard. The main buildings in the courtyard were repurposed. The three-story main building in the front courtyard became the officer training center and guesthouse for the command; a row of concave-shaped houses in the bamboo grove behind became the command's office; and the two small Western-style buildings behind, one on the west side became the private residence of the first puppet commander, Qian Huoyi, while the one on the east side became an apartment for his close aides and bodyguards.
In the winter of 1941, Qian Huoyi's entire family of eleven, including the elderly and children, were mysteriously killed by unknown assailants (rumored to be the hands of a counter-espionage team, but no evidence has been found to this day). The new puppet commander, Zhang Yiting, then drove out all of Qian Huoyi's close aides and bodyguards. As a result, the two buildings were once again empty. It was assumed that such fine buildings would soon welcome new owners, but they remained unoccupied or repurposed. The reason was that the powerful were afraid to live in a place marked by bloodshed, while those who dared to come were not considered for the time being.
Thus, the two buildings remained vacant for nearly a year, until...